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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01105 3474
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THREE
HISTORICAL ADDRESSES AT
GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS
BY
SAMUEL ABBOTT GREEN
WAith an Appendix
GROTON: 1908.
.
-
1779173
F 84432 .463
Green, Samuel Abbott, 1830-1918.
Three historical addresses at Groton, Massachusetts, by Samuel Abbott Green; with an appendix. Groton (Mass.] 1908.
6 p. l., 1111-181 p. illus. 243^m.
CONTENTS.+An historical address. bi-centennial and centennial, July 4, 1876 .- Ar historical address at the dedication of three monuments erected by the town, February 20, 1880 .- An historical address on the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of the town, July 12, 1905 .-- Appendix : The name of Groton, by Dr. Edward Mussey Hartwell; list of Indian words; list of towns; distinguished citizens; English oaks; town scal; First parish meeting-house.
OHELF CARC 161537
1. Groton, Mass .- Hist.
Library of Congress
F74.G7C7 8-37630
TO
THE MEMORY OF
GEORGE SEWALL BOUTWELL
JANUARY 28, 1818 - FEBRUARY 27, 1905
WHO ALWAYS TOOK AN ACTIVE PART IN WHATEVER CONCERNED THE WELFARE OF THE TOWN
.
PREFACE
T HESE several addresses were delivered on differ- ent occasions by request of the town, and were published originally in pamphlet form. As they have long been out of print, they are now brought together and republished in a volume for the greater conven- ience of those who take an interest in the town. The titlepages have been somewhat shortened, but the several inscriptions or dedications have been allowed to remain. The Address of July Fourth, 1876, was given in the First Parish Meeting-house; and the other two Addresses were made in the Town Hall.
The Archives, often quoted as authority for state- ments in the text, are the Massachusetts Archives found at the State House.
MARCH 16, 1908
CONTENTS
PAGES
AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS, Bi-centennial and Centennial, July 4, 1876 11-63
AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS at the Dedication of Three Monuments erected by the Town, February 20, 1880.
.
65-113
AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS on the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement of the Town, July 12, 1905 . I15-159
APPENDIX : The Name of Groton, by Dr. Edward Mussey Hartwell; List of Indian Words; List of Towns ; Distinguished Citizens ; English Oaks ; Town Seal ; First Parish Meeting-House . 161-172
INDEX
173-181
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGES
Petition for the Plantation, 1655 . 16, 17
Stamp and Counter-stamp issued under the Act of 1765 52
" Useful Instructions," etc., Cambridge, 1673, by Samuel Willard (Titlepage and Preface) 82, 83
Town Seal .
171
First Parish Meeting-House
172
AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS BI-CENTENNIAL AND CENTENNIAL JULY 4, 1876
GROTON BURNED BY THE INDIANS, 1676. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 1776.
TO
the Inhabitants of Groton AND TO
THE NATIVES OF THE TOWN LIVING ELSEWHERE
THIS ADDRESS
A WILLING TASK, IMPERFECTLY DONE, IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY THE WRITER.
HISTORICAL ADDRESS
THE first century of our national existence is completed this day, and we meet to commemorate the event. One hundred years have passed away since the Declaration of Independence was affirmed and a nation was born that is destined to flourish as long as piety, religion, and morality shall prevail in the land, and no longer. Modern times have been full of great deeds; but none of them is greater than that which declared the American colonies to be free, and put them in the rank of independent nations. The rapid development of the United States during this hun- dred years has been watched by thoughtful men throughout the world, - by some with jealousy, by others with sym- pathy; and their success has made them an example for other countries to follow. They have stood the test of a century; and to-day, throughout the land, the great birthday of the nation is commemorated with joy and ex- ultation never before equalled.
The question may recur, Why is this notice taken of a century? Why is a celebration more fitting now than next year or last year? It is because there is a tendency in the human mind to divide time into round periods. At the end of a century comes a stopping-place, - a broad stair in the flight of time, - from which to look back upon any event that marked its beginning. In our decimal notation the number Ten plays an important part, and is a kind of unit. Originally connected in meaning with the fingers of the hand, a hundred, in its primitive signification as well as numerically ten tens, is a large unit, - a natural divi- sion of duration. If man had been endowed originally by Nature with six fingers on each hand, we should now have a duodecimal system of numbers instead of a decimal sys- tem; and it would seem just as easy and natural. This
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tendency in the human mind is strikingly illustrated by the last census returns of the city of Boston. The number of its inhabitants who gave their ages as just forty-five is more than twice as large as the number of those who were just forty-four or just forty-six. The number of those who were just fifty is more than three times as great as the number of those who were just forty-nine, and about five times as many as the number of those who were just fifty-one. According to these returns, there are nearly twice as many persons who are fifty-five as either fifty-four or fifty-six; and there are four times as many who are sixty as either fifty-nine or sixty-one. The tens have a stronger attraction than the fives, and these, in their turn, than the other numbers. This example, beside showing the untrustworthy character, in some respects, of the census returns, - a point not now to my purpose, - shows how widely pervading is the feeling about round periods; and in this universal feeling is found the answer to the ques- tion why we have a celebration at this time.
The present year has also a bi-centennial anniversary that brings us together. It was in the year 1676 that this town was destroyed by the Indians, and the inhabitants, with all their available effects, were forced to leave it. A contemporary account of the removal says that there were sixty carts required for the work, and that they extended along the road for more than two miles. It was a sorry sight to see this little community leaving their homes, which they had first established twenty-one years before. What bitter pangs they must have felt, and how dark their future must have seemed, as they turned to look for the last time upon familiar places, - their rude but cherished homes, their humble meeting-house, in ashes, and the graves of their kindred whom they had laid away tenderly in God's acre. As they made their way along the rough and muddy roads, the hearts of all were heavy with grief; and the mothers' eyes were dimmed with tears, as the thought of blighted prospects filled their minds, for no one could foresee the end of their misfortunes. Their bitter experiences, how-
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ever, affected more than one generation. Fortitude is the logical result of hardships: brave parents will breed brave children. Our fathers little thought that these trials were making them the ancestry of a strong people, who them- selves, a century later, were to contend successfully against the strongest power in the world. At this late day we cannot know all their sufferings, but we do know that they were a God-fearing community; and on this occasion it is fitting that we should celebrate their virtues. They were a plain folk, with homely traits; and their best memorial is the simple story of their lives. For this reason I purpose to give an unadorned narration of some of the more im- portant events with which they were connected from the very beginning of the town, together with a brief account of some of the actors, bringing the account down through the last century, and touching lightly upon the present one.
In the spring of the year 1655, the township of Groton was granted by the General Court to a number of peti- tioners. It was situated on the frontiers, fourteen miles from the nearest settlement; and at that time there were but nine other towns in Middlesex County. What induce- ments were held out to gain settlers for the new town, it is impossible now to ascertain. Probably, however, the country in this neighborhood had been reconnoitred by adventurous men from other settlements; and it is likely that such persons had followed the Indian trails, and pene- trated to what then seemed a long distance into the wilder- ness. These persons knew the rivers and the hills, and the lay of the land generally; and, after coming home, they talked about the good farming region. It would take but a short time thus to establish traditions that might draw a few families to desirable places. It happened then, as it sometimes happens now, that large fires had run through the woods in dry weather, and had burned until they were put out by some rain-storm, leaving a track of black deso- lation that would last for many a year. And, moreover, there were small patches that had been planted by the In- dians with corn, beans, and squashes, and therefore ready for cultivation by whosoever should take possession of
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them. In this way a few places had been more or less cleared; and the wild grasses had caught-in sufficiently to furnish fodder for the cattle. This last consideration was a matter of much importance to the settlers. In planting towns, it undoubtedly weighed with them in selecting the sites. In fact, it is recorded that, during some of those early years, feed was so scarce that the cattle had to be slaugh- tered to save them from death by hunger. It should be borne in mind that grass then was not cultivated as it is now; nor was it for more than a century after this period. In the winter cattle had to be kept on corn-stalks and the native grasses, which the settlers had gathered wherever they could; and it required rigid economy, even on these, to keep them till spring.
It was amid such and other difficulties that our fathers founded their settlements. Prompted by interest or enter- prise, families would plant themselves in the wilderness and make new homes away from neighbors and far from friends. As these settlements increased in numbers, they were constituted towns without much formality. The only Act of Incorporation of Boston, Dorchester, and Water- town was an order of the General Court "that Trimoun- taine shalbe called Boston; Mattapan, Dorchester; & the towne vpon Charles Ryver, Waterton."
Towns thus informally established have grown up with certain rights and privileges as well as duties and obliga- tions, and have developed into fixed municipal corporations, as we find them to-day. They did not spring into existence full grown and clothed, like Minerva from the head of Jupiter, but they have been creatures of slow growth. They should be compared rather to the old homestead that has been receiving additions and improvements during sev- eral generations, in order to accommodate the increasing and constantly changing family, until finally the humble house has expanded into a roomy structure.
The prominent idea in the minds of the founders of New England appears to have been the support of the gospel min- istry. After this came the management of their political affairs and the support of free schools. Captain Edward
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Johnson, in his quaint and instructive book, “Wonder- Working Providence of Sions Saviour, in New-England," says that it was " as unnatural for a right N. E. man to live without an able Ministery, as for a Smith to work his iron without a fire; therefore this people that went about placing down a Town, began the foundation-stone, with earnest seeking of the Lord's assistance, by humbling of their souls before him in daies of prayer " (p. 177). The College, which was established so early in the history of the colony, was dedicated "to Christ and the Church "; and down to the present time this motto is kept on the College-seal.
Mr. Butler, in his History, says that " The original peti- tion for the plantation or town of Groton, is not found, or any record of it " (p. II). Since this statement was made, however, one of the petitions - for it seems there were two - has been found among the papers of the late Captain Samuel Shepley, by Charles Woolley, formerly of this town, but now of Waltham. A copy of it was printed in " The New England Historical and Genealogical Register " (xiv. 48) for January, 1860, and is as follows : -
To the honored Generall Courte assembled at Boston the humble petion of vs whose names ar here under written humbly shoeth
That where as youre petioners by a prouidence of God haue beene brought ouer in to this widernes and liued longe here in : and being sumthing straightned for that where by subsistance in an ordinarie waie of Gods prouidence is to be had and Con- sidering the a lowance that God giues to the sones of men for such an ende: youre petioners request therefore is that you would be pleased to grant vs a place' for a plantation vpon the Riuer that runes from Nashaway in to merimake at a place or a boute a place Caled petaupauket and waubansconcett and youre petioners shall pray for youre happy proseedings
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WILLIM MARTIN RICHARD BLOOD JOHN WITT WILLĪM LAKIN RICHARD HAUEN
TIMOTHY COOPER 1
JOHN LAKIN
JOHN BLOOD
MATHU FARRINGTON
ROBERT BLOOD
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1
To the honora Serorall Quarto a fimblot of 230 for the humble potion of NOG solo foram. ar have border written sembly) Poroty
Cent rospro at your polionnet Ir a proxilines of 500 have boons brought one in to tryit withowned and links. Conga hart in: and bring Bunting Axisstron for that ripro By Publi fares in ar ordinario quais of sois proucomedit" to Be kas and forfiltering typ a tomater that 500 : ginow to ty Parrow of man Som fars, ani onto: cours polionon weft tyour favorite that you souto Borloofor to start Now a place for an plantation Ayon the finow that xwird" from nahangy, m. to monimake at a plate ora boute à plano Galo potax parket and An auBan / CONTA and yearo potionsnon fall
Milliman martin Richard Blood Salir will willin Taken Fingan Frauen Timothy, Groupe Fohn sakr John Blood AMother faringlic Robert 21 6000 1
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On the third page of the document, the decision of the General Court is given, which runs thus: -
En ding to for thriferactions are Quite fragen ;A much to go out fitter. Dochicons& light motos square in vivo plane copios to make aComfortable olautan weh Rurt forth shall be Gave Grooten fromEly Priority The name of Pita gawag0: (halms Sam forth of Cambridge ute fue wist that isosiale h goni fall out pourby is Officer to Say it out whale Convention - Seite that so no Aacouragemoul may BE wanting to the PERconos for a safety wroruling of a godly min/or amongst agem. Provided that nomes Shall Enjoy any part of youton of that land by grift from yo saludos - min of neat plan for sure who shall build forfor on ferie Lofts for given ofam onto ihn ensaler mowigs from artimi The Saint Sounds laying on downs grant ho surs ) persons; and for.
Vais. Wy. martin matgon farrington John will and Cimory Compris are don omlet y seloch mon for bg, says Sound of Coroahon forone two years from zes time it is lays out, to lay out and difrage of - particulate Esty not Expecting howwhy about to Each hougs los hu. ·to obsdir ge vautonhalle afaires of the plane at age out of whing firmy offer selection shall be chosen and provide a appris formar. De schermen of Grillon giving inte tanfoly sure, satisfaction. foi mi sereines exame; as ding e) he shall ciosos, CHE magiste qui gags Iparaly inferiore to say Content of america budegron ye drzwig. Estrato
R- Droutus Confort Porto William Totroy Olio.
In Ansr to both theise peticons The Court Judgeth it meete to graunt the peticone's eight miles square in the place desired to make a Comfortable plantacoñ wch henceforth shall be Called Groaten formerly knowne by the name of Petapawage: that Mr Danforth of Cambridge wth such as he shall associate to him shall and hereby is desired to lay it out wth all convenient speede that so no Incouragement may be wanting to the Peti- cone's for a speedy procuring of a godly minister amongst them. Provided that none shall enjoy any part or porton of that land by guift from the selectmen of that place but such who shall build howses on theire Lotts so given them once wthin eighteene months from the time of the said Tounes laying out or Tounes graunt to such persons ; and for the present Mr Deane Winthrop
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Mr Jnº Tinker M' Tho: Hinckly Dolor Davis Wm Martin Mathew Farrington John Witt and Timothy Couper are Ap- pointed the selectmen for the sajd Toune of Groaten for one two yeares from the time it is lajd out, to lay out and dispose of particular lotts not exceeding twenty acres to each house lott; And to order the prudentiall affaires of the place at the end of which tjme other selectmen shall be chosen and Appointed in theire roomes. the selectmen of Groaten giving Mr Danforth such sattisfaction for his service & paines as they & he shall agree ;
The magists haue past this wth reference to the Consent of theire bretheren the deputs hereto
25 May 1655
EDWARD RAWSON Secrety
The Deputies Consent hereto WILLIAM TORREY Cleric.
A religious temper pervades the whole petition, which in its language has the flavor of the Old Testament. It speaks of their having been brought over "by a prouidence of God," and of their living long in the wilderness. In an- swer to it, the Court grants a tract of land to make "a Comfortable plantacoñ," and provides for its survey and prompt location; naming as the chief end the "speedy procuring of a godly minister amongst them," and fore- shadowing in its action some of the features of the modern Homestead Acts of Congress. From these expressions we may learn the guiding thoughts of the first settlers of the town; and it is now a pious duty we owe them to com- memorate their virtues and their deeds. They were men and women in every way worthy of all the respect and honor we can pay them; and I congratulate those of my audience who trace back their family line to that stock. The names of Parker, Prescott, and Blood, of whom there are so many descendants still among us; of Farnsworth, Lawrence, and Shattuck names not to be omitted in any Istotical recen of Ve Cows of Gilson, Nutting, and Sawtell, worthy forefathers of worthy progeny; of Stone, Moors, and Tarbell, - all these are familiar to you as the names of citizens descended from the founders of the town;
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and there are other names equally worthy to be mentioned, that will readily suggest themselves.
Mr. Deane Winthrop, whose name stands at the head of the list of selectmen appointed by the Court, was a son of Governor John Winthrop; and it is to him that we are indebted for the name of the town. A native of Groton in Old England, it was natural for him to wish to keep the name fresh and fragrant on this side of the Atlantic. Groton, in Connecticut, - younger by half a century, and famous as the scene of the heroic Ledyard's death, - owes its name to the same family. Groton, in New York, was settled, in part, by families from this town. New Hampshire and Vermont both have towns named Groton, though they are of comparatively recent origin. Why they were so called I have been unable to find out, unless it was that the fair fame and reputation of the one in Massachusetts had made the name auspicious.
There was a place in Roxbury, a hundred and thirty years ago, that was sometimes called Groton .* It was a corruption of Greaton, the name of the man who kept the " Grey Hound " tavern in the neighborhood.
The word Groton, the same as the Grotena of Domesday Book, probably means Grit-town, or Sand-town, - from the Anglo-Saxon, greot, grit, sand, dust; and tun, village or town. The locality of the English Groton is in fact a sandy one. A proper pride of birth would suggest that the name was doubtless also appropriate by reason of the GRIT or pluck, now as well as then, characteristic of the people of any town so named.
Groton, in Suffolk, England, is an ancient place, - there being a record in Domesday Book of its population and wealth, in some detail, at the time of William the Con- queror, and also before him, under the Anglo-Saxon King, Edward the Confessor .. .. A literal translation of this cen- sus return of seven hundred and ninety years ago is as, follows : -
* New England Historical and Genealogical Register, xxiv. 56 note, 60.
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In the time of King Edward * Saint Edmund held Groton for a manor, one carucate t and a half of land. Always [ there were] 8 villeins and 5 bordarii [a rather higher sort of serfs; cotters]. Always [there was] I plough in demesne. Always 2 ploughs of homagers [tenants] and I acre of meadow. A mill, for winter. Always I work-horse and 7 cattle and 16 swine and 30 sheep and 2 free men of half a carucate of land and they could give and sell their land. Seven bordarii. Always I plough & I acre of meadow [belonging to these 7 bordarii.] Then [i. e., under King Edward] it was worth 30 shillings, and now 40. It has in length 7 furlongs and 4 in breadth. In the same, 12 free men and they have I caru- cate and it is worth 20 shillings. All these could give and sell their land in the time of King Edward. Saint Edmond has the soc, protection and servitude [i. e., the lord's legal rights]. 7 pence of gelt [i. e., Dane-geld], but others hold there.
Such were the census returns, made nearly eight hundred years ago, of the place from which our good old name is taken, and which on that account will always be of interest to us.
It is curious to note the different ways which our fathers had of spelling the name; and the same persons took little or no care to write it uniformly. In those days they paid scarcely any attention to what is now regarded as an im- portant branch of education. Among the documents and papers that I have had occasion to consult and use in the preparation of . this address, I find the word spelled in twenty-three different ways; viz., Groton, Grotton, Groten, Grotten, Grotin, Groatne, Groaton, Groatton, Groaten, Grooton, Grorton, Grotonne, Grouten, Grouton, Grauton, Grautten, Grawten, Grawton, Growtin, Growton, Groyton, Groughton, and Croaton.
* Some idea of the condensed character of the entries in Domesday Book may be gathered from the following transcript of the Latin beginning of the account of Groton, in which the matter within the brackets is what the Norman scrivener omitted : " Grotena [m ] t[empore] r[egis ] E[dvardi] ten [uit] S[anctus] e[dmundus] p[ro] man [erio]," etc.
t The carucate was a "plough land," and is variously set at from twelve to one hundred acres.
£
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Dictionaries of our language were hardly known at that time and there was no standard for spelling; and it seems as if every one spelled according to his own feelings at the moment. In many cases the odder the form, the better. As an instance of orthographic license then prevalent, it is said that there are sixty-five different modes in which the name of Shakespeare was written.
Yonder river, familiar to us as the Nashua, is spoken of in a record by Thomas Noyes, in 1659, as the Groaten River, and is called so more than once. While this would have gratified our local pride, I am not sorry that the name Nashua was finally kept. It is to be regretted that so few of the Indian words have been retained by us to designate the rivers and the hills and other localities. However much such words may have been twisted and distorted by Eng- lish pronunciation and misapplication, they furnish us now with one of the few links that connect us with prehistoric times in America. The word Nashua,* in its fulness and before it was clipped, meant the land between, and referred to the tract on which Lancaster was settled, because it was between the branches of the river; the name, however, was afterward transferred from the territory to the river itself.
Among the earliest papers at the State House, relating to the town, is a request for a brandmark. Joseph Parker represents to the Governor and Magistrates, in a writing dated May 31, 1666, that he has been chosen constable, and asks that the letters GR - or monogram, as we should call it - be recorded as the brandmark of the town. This was wanted probably for marking cattle. "In answer to this motion the Deputies approue of the letters: GR to be the brand marke of groaten." (Archives, i. 21.)
Very soon after the settlement of the town, there was a complaint of improper management on the part of the pro- prietors, and the General Court appointed a committee to look into the matter. This committee visited the place, and reported on "the entanglements that have obstructed the
* Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, ii. 33.
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planting thereof," giving at the same time their opinion that there was land enough here to furnish subsistence by husbandry to sixty families. When we consider that this opinion was the result of deliberate calculation, on the part of disinterested men, before the town was shorn of its original dimensions, it shows the vanity of human prophecy, and should serve as a warning to us all to abstain from prediction in regard to a century hence. There are now nearly ten thousand persons in the territory of the original Groton Plantation, living mainly by the products of the land.
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