USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Medway > The history of Medway, Mass., 1713-1885 > Part 1
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M. L
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01114 8837
The
HISTORY of MEDWAY
MASS.
17,13
1885
EDITED BY - REV. E. O. JAMESON. PUBLISHED
ILLUSTRATED BY A-LA CROL
By the TOWN.
Copyright, IS86. E. O. JAMESON, MILLIS, MASS, All Rights Reserved.
j. A. & R. A. REID, PRINTERS. PROVIDENCE, R. I.
Goodspeed 10.00
1204250
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE EARLY SETTLERS, TO THEIR DESCENDANTS, WHEREVER RESIDING, AND TO THE PRESENT INHABITANTS OF MEDWAY, MASS.
BY THE AUTHOR.
The ction of the Town.
"Medway, Mass., 4 April, 1881. "At a meeting of the inhabitants of Med. way this day, it was
Voted, To publish a History of the Town, and the following committee was chosen, to whom the matter was committed :
"Non. M. M. Fisher, Dea. Anson Daniels, Dea. William Daniels, Rev. A. W. de, Rev. E. O. Jameson, Rov. R. S. Harlow, O. A. Mason, A. M. B. Suller, 8. F. Holbrook.
"O. A. Mason, Down Clerk."
THE PREFACE.
THE HISTORY OF MEDWAY given to the public in this volume, embodies the results of five years of cooperative effort and research to bring together all matters of local record and interest, by the members of the Com- mittee of Publication, besides the more distinctive editorial work, which has been in hand for nearly two years. The editor has received valuable assistance from many persons interested in the undertaking, and for the gen- ealogical data has depended very largely upon representatives of the different families in the town, who were duly invited to cooperate, and in many instances have generously responded. Any seeming omissions, however, from the pages of genealogy and from other parts of the book, are due to the neglect of those solicited to make the desired returns. Some errors will doubtless be found. Among those who have contributed data, records, papers, biographical sketches, and materials of various kinds, most largely, may be mentioned the Hon. M. M. Fisher, the late lamented Dea. Anson Daniels, Orion A. Mason, Esq., Dea. William Daniels, A. M. B. Fuller, Esq., George L. Richardson, A. M., and William S. Tilden, Esq.
The ready cooperation and valuable contributions of these gentlemen, and of others not particularly named, are hereby gratefully acknowledged.
This volume covers the entire period of local history, embracing two hundred and twenty-five years, from 1660 to 1885 ; or, from the first appear- ance of a white settler within the territory, to the recent date of the incor- poration of the town of Millis. The book is divided into ten sections, and gives, in consecutive order, an account of the first settlement, the municipal doings, the churches, the schools and other institutions, the industries, the military service, the miscellaneous matters, the cemeteries, the biographies of many persons, and the genealogies of numerous families.
The volume is printed on paper of excellent quality, and in mechanical execution is a model of skill and neatness. It is embellished with twelve steel engravings by different artists, and nearly one hundred fine wood engrav- ings, largely executed by a native of the town, George J. La Croix, Esq. No labor or expense has been spared to make the book attractive and valu- able as a volume of local history, and it is given to the public with the best wishes of the compiler.
MILLIS, MASS., June 10, 1886.
E. O. JAMESON.
THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION,
ELECTED BY TIIE TOWN,
APRIL 4, ISSI.
MILTON M. FISHER,
WILLIAM DANIELS,
ANSON DANIELS, A. M. B. FULLER,
R. K. HARLOW,
ORION A. MASON, E. H. HOLBROOK, ALEXIS W. IDE,
E. O. JAMESON.
The Organization of the Committee.
M. M. FISHER, Chairman.
O: A. MASON, Secretary. E. O. JAMESON, Editor.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS
BY GEORGE J. LA CROIX, ASSISTED BY FRANK MYRICK and F. CHILDE HASSAM.
THE ENGRAVINGS BY J. C. BUTTRE, S. H. RITCHIE, AND GEORGE J. LA CROIX.
THE CONTENTS.
PAGES.
I. THE REGION AND ITS SETTLEMENT, 9-43
II. THE TOWN AND ITS DOINGS, 44-96
III. THE CHURCHES, .
97-147
IV. THE SCHOOLS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS,
148-188
V. THE INDUSTRIES OF THE TOWN,
189-210
VI. THE RECORD OF THE MILITARY SERVICE, 211-320
VII. THE MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS,
321-325
VIII. THE CEMETERIES, 326-332
IX. THE BIOGRAPHIES,
333-442
X. THE GENEALOGIES,
443-529
THE WOOD ENGRAVINGS.
PAGE.
ALMSHOUSE, 1865-1885, THE TOWN, 67
BARBER, THE PORTRAIT OF GEORGE, 342
BARBER, THE PORTRAIT OF MRS. LOIS (WHITING),
BOGGASTOW POND, THE, . 343
BRIDGE AT THE NECK, THE STONE, 16
BROOK, THE TROUT, . 21
BURDON, THE PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM O., 350
CHURCH, THE CHRIST, 147
CLARK, THE RESIDENCE OF PUTNAM R., 466
CLARK HOUSE, 1710, THE OLD, 57
COLLINS, THE RESIDENCE OF MICHAEL H.,
354
COLLINS' RESIDENCE, THE SOUTHERN VIEW OF M. H.,
355
DANIELL, THE PORTRAIT OF DEA. PAUL,
359
DANIELS, THE RESIDENCE OF DEA. ANSON, 363
DANIELS, THE PORTRAIT OF CHARLES F .. 365
DANIELS, THE RESIDENCE OF CHARLES F., 366
DINGLEHOLE, THE MYSTERIOUS, 13
EATON, THE PORTRAIT OF EDWARD, 368
EATON, THE RESIDENCE OF EDWARD, 360
EMERSON ARMS, THE COAT OF, 370
ENGINE-HOUSE, THE NIAGARA, 184
ENGINE-HOUSE, THE TORRENT, 183
FACTORY OF SEAVEY BROTHERS, THE BOOT, 201
FACTORY OF D. D. CURTIS, THE VILLAGE STRAW, 192
FARM-HOUSE, THE OAK GROVE, . . 190
FISHER, THE PORTRAIT OF DR. THEODORE W., 274
FOLSOM, THE RESIDENCE OF DR. JOHN S., 379
FORT SUMTER IN 1861, THE FIRST GUN FIRED ON, 233
GROVE, THIE PINE, 14
HALL, THE PARTRIDGE, . 181
HALL, THE SANFORD, 172
HILL, EsQ., THE PORTRAIT OF DON GLEASON, 388
HODGES, THE PORTRAIT OF WILLARD, 390
HUNT, THE PORTRAIT OF JOEL, . 393
360
DANIELL, THE RESIDENCE OF DEA. PAUL,
9
7
PAGE. LA CROIX, THE PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM, 402 LA CROIX, THE PORTRAIT OF JAMES, . 403 LA CROIX, THE RESIDENCE AND MANUFACTORY OF JAMES, 404 LA CROIX, THE STUDIO AND SEAL OF GEORGE J., 405 LE FAVOR, THE RESIDENCE OF MRS. EDENA JANE (SANFORD), . 429
MAIN STREET, 1850, THE, EAST MEDWAY, 97
MAIN STREET, 1885, THE, WEST MEDWAY, 122
MAPLE WOOD FARM, THE, . 478
MEDWAY, 1713, THE MAP OF,
46
MEDWAY, 1875, THE MAP OF, 89
MEETING-HOUSE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, THE FIRST, . 100
MEETING-HOUSE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, THE SECOND, 109
MEETING-HOUSE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, THE THIRD, I12
MEETING-HOUSE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, THE FOURTH, 118
MEETING-HOUSE OF THE THIRD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, THE, I37
MEETING-HOUSE OF THE VILLAGE CHURCH, THE, 139
METCALF, THE PORTRAIT OF THE HON. LUTHER, 412
METCALF, THE RESIDENCE OF THE HON. LUTHER, 413
MILL, THE OLD COTTON, 195
MILLIS, THE RESIDENCE OF LANSING, 415
MILLS, THE SANFORD, 205
MONROE, THE PORTRAIT OF DR. ALEX. LE B.,
416
OAK GROVE FARM, THE, 190
OLIVER OPTIC, THE BIRTHPLACE OF,
333
PARSONAGE OF THE FIRST PARISII, THE, I20
PARTRIDGE, THE PORTRAIT OF THE HON. CLARK, . 420
PARTRIDGE, THE RESIDENCE OF THE HON. CLARK, 421
RETREAT, THE LOVERS', 12
RICHARDSON, THE PORTRAIT OF THE HON. JOSEPH L. 424
SAINT CLEMENT'S CHURCH AND SCHOOL, 145
SANFORD, THE RESIDENCE OF THE REV. DAVID, 428
SCHOOL-HOUSE, THE HIGH, 152
SCHOOL-HOUSE, THE OLD, .
149
STONE HOUSE, THE SITE OF THE OLD,
29
TINKHIAM, THE PORTRAIT OF CAPT. BENJAMIN C.,
312
TREE, THE OLD APPLE, 189 TREES, THE KING PHILIP, 31
WAITE, THE PORTRAIT OF ALDIS L., 437
WAITE, THE RESIDENCE OF ALDIS L., 437
WEST PRECINCT IN 1748. THE MAP OF THE.
r ,
THE STEEL ENGRAVINGS.
PAGE.
WILLIAM T. ADAMS, EsQ., .
333
DANIEL D. CURTIS, EsQ.,
358
LEANDER S. DANIELS, EsQ.,
364
OLIVER DEAN, M. D.,
367
HON. MILTON M. FISHER,
375
REV. E. O. JAMESON,
399
REV. JOHN O. MEANS, D. D.,
408
LANSING MILLIS, EsQ.,
414
REV. ABNER MORSE, .
417
HON. ELIJAH A. MORSE,
418
REV. DAVID SANFORD, 427
MILTON H. SANFORD, EsQ.,
429
THE REGION AND ITS SETTLEMENT.
1643 -- 1713.
THE territory embraced within the limits of Medway was included in the patent granted in 1628 of " that part of New England lying between three miles to the north of the Merrimac and three miles to the south of Charles River, and of every part thereof in the Massachusetts Bay : and in length between the described breadth from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea." The settlements projected by these patentees became the " Massa- chusetts Bay Colony."
The Massachusetts Indians were divided into several tribes, each holding a claim to territory within prescribed limits ; and though the crown gave the right and title to their lands without consulting the original owners, yet, when settlements were formed, it was made a condition, in order to avoid difficulty afterward, that the settlers should see that the Indian titles were extinguished by purchase or otherwise. A small sum generally sufficed to effect this object.
The lands lying between the Charles and Neponset rivers were claimed by the tribe of the Neponsets ; and were purchased of their sachem, Chicka- tawbut, by William Pynchon, soon after the settlement of Boston. The country west and north of Charles River was the seat of various small tribes, and was not included in Mr. Pynchon's purchase.
The Charles River was called at first the Massachusetts River, and is mentioned by Captain John Smith in the account of his memorable voyage of discovery in 1614. But its name was soon after changed by him in honor of the second son of James, afterward known as Charles I.
The first town organized in the Chickatawbut purchase was Roxbury ; the next, in 1636, was Dedham, which included all the towns now lying along the southerly and easterly side of Charles River. Boggastow was the
2
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Indian name for the valley of Charles River and the lands immediately north and west of it, from Natick to near the present site of Medway Village ; and it was without doubt the domain of the tribe called the " Natick Indians." The first distinct mention of Boggastow in the Dedham records is in 1640, when Edward Alleyne, a prominent citizen of that town, received, as an acknowledgment of his public services, a grant of land " to lie in or about that place called Boggastow." The fact that this grant was made by the town of Dedham, which embraced no lands west of the river, shows that the name was applied to meadows lying on both sides of Charles River. West of the river at that time was " country land," the property of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, having no town limits, civilization not hav- ing, as yet, pushed so far inland.
NATURAL SCENERY.
Medway has little to boast of beyond its neighbors in picturesque scen- ery. But there lies all about much of that quiet loveliness of landscape which abounds in this part of Massachusetts, and especially along the banks of the sleepy Charles. There are no mountains, no abrupt and rugged hills, no dashing, clamoring waterfalls, no singing brooks and broad, silvery lakes, such as give a wonderful charm to some towns in New England. But gentle elevations, beautiful valleys, the meandering river, broad, far- reaching meadow-lands skirted by forests of evergreen, the quiet flow of Boggastow and Chicken brooks, the waters of Popolatick, Winthrop, and Boggastow ponds furnish the elements of a scenery not destitute of beauty.
In approaching the town from the northeast, one is struck with the extent of the broad meadows stretching several miles to the south and southwest, with the silent and sedate Charles winding gracefully through them, without at any point sufficient fall to produce a perceptible current. This flat, unbroken plain is so near a dead level that an unusually heavy rainfall con- verts it into a broad lake. A circumstance especially inconvenient to the early farmers, who relied upon the grass to sustain their cattle during the winter, if it occurred in the early summer before the hay crop was gathered, as it not infrequently happened. In consequence of this we find that as early as 1673 the town of Medfield voted to tax the owners of the meadows upon the Charles and Stop rivers three pence per acre, to be expended in clearing the channels of these rivers, that their lands might be more per- fectly drained. The proprietors afterward spent much money and labor in blasting rocks, and digging a canal below the meadows for the same pur- pose. But the sluggish Charles still remained about the same, preferring to lie quiet and stretch out into a broad lake whenever tempted by the melting of the snow or a great fall of rain, rather than fret and worry and dash about in a sparkling torrent, or become a moderately brisk stream. The owners of the meadows were naturally extremely jealous of any influence that even remotely might encourage this inactivity of the river. Therefore, in 1723, they petitioned the General Court not to grant Mr. Thomas Sawing leave to build a dam at Natick, lest it should hinder the slow-paced Charles and cause the flooding of the lands still more widely. At a later period, in 1753, the owners brought a suit for damages against Matthew Hastings, the
II
owner of a dam at Natick, which resulted only in expense and in a suit brought by Hastings for malicious prosecution, which was, however, stayed by order of the court. The commissioners of sewers, upon the petition of the owners, attempted some measures of relief; this, too, ended in a tax to defray charges. The river has not improved in energy, but still winds grace- fully along, and lingers as if enamored of the green meadow-lands.
Following the stream along upward there are found many quiet bits of picturesque landscape, where the wood lands from the hills jut out in points and groups of trees, invading the level meadow. Some of the bridges, too, of which there are twelve crossing from Medway, are structures of interest for their quaintness. At Rockville, so called, and above, the river changes its character and becomes more rapid. The Popolatick Pond, stretching out upon the Franklin side and surrounded by woods, deserves more attention than it receives. While at the arched bridge and along the mill-pond above Medway Village are scenes of great beauty, the masses of foliage on the opposite hill-sides adding greatly to the effect.
In the midst of the town, stretching almost from one side to the other, is the Black Swamp. The felling of the pine forest with which it was for- merly covered has shorn it of much of its original weird blackness, but still it remains the most remarkable natural feature of the town, dividing it terri- torially, and depriving it of a municipal centre.
Its dark, sullen, and persistent occupation of so central a position has been the cause of sectional jealousies and petty rivalries in the town, that might otherwise have been avoided. It would afford no site for a town hall, although one might have been located upon its borders. A permanent high school was a dream originating in the ardent desires of some of the more in- telligent of the citizens, which for many years seemed uncertain of realization for the same cause. Nothing but the railroad could flank the swamp and make such a school practicable.
Parties, both in church and state, have sprung up on either side, having their party feelings intensified, perhaps, in being kept apart by this passive, silent, dogged intermeddler, until dangerous discussions were held upon the propriety of dividing the town, which, at least in one instance prior to our day, almost led to such a result. And yet Black Swamp has not proved an unmitigated evil, for it has no doubt prevented the centralization which so often in other towns has led to extravagant expenditure and so to burdensome indebtedness. And at last it served an excellent argument for establishing the new town of Millis.
To the east of the swamp is a range of sandy and not very productive hills, some of which are still crowned with pines, the principal of which was formerly called Bare Hill, and more recently Meeting-house Hill, on which was built the first meeting-house, and where the oldest burying-ground. in the town is located. Still farther east, lying between hills and meadows bordering upon the Boggastow Brook and Charles River, is a plain extend- ing from the brook on the north almost to the river on the south, called in the early records the "Long Plain," upon which the meeting-house now stands. On the middle and southern portion of this plain the soil is light and sandy, while the northern portion and parts adjacent are very fertile and productive. Several hills springing out of the swamps and meadows with
I2
which they are surrounded, and still covered with wood, are called Great Island, Bridge Island, and Poorduck Island. These add much to the beauty of this part of the town.
1
LOVERS' RETREAT.
This sequestered spot is not far from the ancient Wheeler place.
The region lying along the River Charles naturally took the name of Boggastow, which was the Indian name of the Charles River valley southward from Natick, and is still the name of a brook which traverses the region from east to west. The southern part of this valley lies within a large bend of the river, and from early times has been called "The Bent," while to the northward there is a small section cut off by the Boggastow Brook, which has long been, and still is, known as "The Neck."
On the west of Black Swamp a range of hills, the highest in town, stretches across its entire width from north to south. The soil on this swell of land is heavy and strong, and in some parts encumbered with boulders. This region produces good crops of grass and fruitful orchards. The views from many elevated points are worthy the attention of the lover of nature, especially that to the east and southeast, embracing the Blue Hills in Milton and the Moose Hills in Sharon in the distant horizon, and nearer the Noon Hill in Medfield, with a wide stretch of country to the northeast ; also to the southwest, including the villages of West Medway and Caryville, and the town of Bellingham, and to the northwest the beautiful valley of the Chicken Brook, bounded by forest-crowned hills on the opposite side, dotted with farm buildings and variegated by orchards and growing crops, and with many single trees and groups, elms, oaks, hickories, and maples, scattered here and there. There are few quiet rural scenes more lovely. From the north end of this eleva- tion the view of Winthrop Pond and the village of Holliston beyond, is very beautiful.
On the west of the Chicken Brook valley is another elevation, consisting of a heavy, wet, rocky soil, mingled with clay, which in its natural state produces chestnut, oak, maple, and hickory trees with surprising rapidity, and under cultivation is the best grass producing land in the town. To the
13
waters of Chicken Brook belong the honor of being the motive power of the first carpet-loom in New England.
Duncan Wright commenced in his woolen mill on Chicken Brook to weave carpets. He subsequently became the founder of the Lowell Carpet Works, of world-wide reputation.
That part of the town west of the New Grant which formerly belonged to Holliston has a rough, broken surface, requiring much labor for its culti- vation. It is crossed by Hoppin River, a small stream flowing to the south- east and falling into Charles River, forming at its mouth the boundary be- tween Medway and Bellingham.
The region to the northward, lying on the south side and bordering upon Winthrop Pond, was called " Squit," from the Indian name of this region, which was Mucksquit. The large number of stone implements discovered and dug up in this vicinity seems to indicate that near this beautiful pond, which they called Winnekening - the Smile of the Great Spirit -was an Indian settlement. The early settlers named this sheet of water after the son of Governor Winthrop, who received a grant of land upon its borders.
DINGLEHOLE lies a little to the northeast of the present residence of C. W. Emerson, M. D., and is embraced in Oak Grove Farm. In the olden times it was supposed to be the rendez- vous of witches and of the evil one, the place where Satan met with his disciples, who there pledged themselves to his service. Unearthly sounds were heard, and strange lights were seen glancing about in this uncanny place. A tall pine tree, with its topmost branches strangely wo- ven and twisted together into a fantastic crown, was supposed to mark the trysting-place.
This Dinglehole is like a large pit, with black, stagnant water of un- certain depth at the bottom, a scary place and famous in the legends of the neighborhood on account of the many curious incidents and marvelous ad- ventures which have happened there. It is reported that in the early days
I4
many strange apparitions were seen and noises heard in and about Dingle- hole, to the great annoyance and disquietude of the good people of Boggas- tow in their lawful callings and accustomed avocations. Dinglehole, in its form, is thought very much to resemble a goose-yoke, but its name is un- doubtedly derived from the dingling or tinkling of a bell, which was fre- quently heard there on dark, misty summer evenings, and by the neigh- boring inhabitants supposed to be rung by the hobgoblins of the place, and thence called the "spirit's bell." Formerly this enchanted ground was bounded on all sides by a circular road, but more recently a highway has been built through it.
In this same vicinity, and within the limits of Oak Grove Farm, is a beautiful thicket of pines, whose fragrance and shade in summer render this spot an attractive resort.
The PING
ROVE® O
On a dark, moonless night, when the spirit's bell was always most sonorous, strange lights and globes of fire were fre- quently seen playing about Dinglehole, and the benighted traveler was astonished and almost petrified by the apparition of a man without a head, who would most uncere- moniously lead him around all night in the circular road without advancing him a step on his intended journey. It was anciently the custom of the good people in the vicin- ity of this terrific glen, on approaching it in the night, to say their prayers, and it was believed that on the pronunciation of cer- tain words the bell would cease its tinkling, the lights vanish, and the man without a head disappear in the deepest recesses of the woods, and there wait the arrival of a more ignorant or less pious traveler.
LACROIX
15
But mysterious bells, nocturnal fire-balls, and grim spectres of headless men were not the only terrors of this gloomy region. The place is said to have been infested with witches, in the shape of 'coons, weasels, and other little odoriferous animals, none of which could be caught or slain by the ordinary means. One day, as a famous modern Nimrod was hunting on this enchanted ground, he espied a large raccoon, sitting with the utmost dignity and composure upon the limb of an old pine tree. He leveled his gun with the most accurate aim, and discharged it at the object, within point-blank distance, without producing the least visible effect upon the crea- ture at which he aimed. After repeatedly loading and discharging his piece with the same ill success, he cut a young witch-hazel, and with great acute- ness of thought sharpened and fitted it to the bore of his gun, and " let off"" full upon the countenance of his adversary. The unfortunate 'coon was never seen after this final shot, and it was rumored at the time that Mrs. Murkey Mullen, an elderly and somewhat unpopular lady in the neighbor- hood, was badly wounded in the face by some unaccountable accident, which had well-nigh terminated her sublunary existence. It was customary in olden times among the goodly dames of Boggastow and its vicinity, on the long winter evenings, to go out singly or in groups to spend a cheerful hour among their friends in knitting woolen stockings of divers colors, and chat- ting upon such subjects as most naturally engage the attention of the fair. Some of the most expert knitters, by making it a rule to form a stitch every time their tongues uttered a syllable, would knit up a prodigious long yarn in the course of an evening, and by this wise regulation the boys and girls of the neighborhood were most abundantly supplied with black. blue, and red stockings, manufactured with various taste by the skillful management and industry of their mothers. It was on one of these occasions that Mrs. Cathe- rine Cabbage was returning home through Dinglehole from a winter even- ing visit. She had a large ball of black yarn and an unfinished stocking of the same material suspended from the waist and fastened to her dress by a pin, when she suddenly heard immediately behind her upon the snow-crust a noise like a step. She looked round with great trepidation, and saw, close to her heels, a small black creature, which seemed intent on overtaking her, and which at every new look seemed to increase both in size and speed. Her walk soon became a trot, next a run at full speed, but the frightful ani- mal still kept at nearly the same distance, and continued to increase in size till it become as large as a bear. Mrs. Cabbage was in the greatest trepida- tion, but being favored by nature with the means of rapid locomotion, she soon reached home, almost breathless with terror and fatigue, and just enough in advance of her rabid pursuer to close and bolt the door upon his bearship. After she had recovered in some degree from her terror and confusion, and related with all proper exaggeration the story of her adventures, she exam- ined her waist for her knitting-work, and was surprised to find that stocking and needles were missing, though the ball of yarn still remained appended to her person.
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