USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Hudson > Abstract of the history of Hudson, Mass. : from its first settlement to the centennial anniversary of the declaration of our national independence, July 4, 1876 > Part 3
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We have a good illustration of this in the deed to Robert Barnard, conveying the mill and most of the
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land now covered by the village of Hudson. The mill recognized by the deed was erected by Joseph Howe, son of Abraham Howe, who was one of the propri- etors of Marlborough. Joseph was a large speculator in land -owning tracts in Marlborough, Lancaster and Watertown. He died Sept. 4, 1700. His real estate was inventoried at £1,442. What year the mill was built is uncertain ; probably just before his death. Sarah, his oldest child, married Jeremiah Barstow in 17II; he, by his wife or by purchase, came into possession of the mill, and a large number of other lots, which covered nearly if not all of what constitutes the village of Hudson. In 1723 he sold to Robert Bar- nard,* then of Andover, for £600, a large quantity of land amounting to about 350 acres. This land is described in fifteen pieces lying in what was Marl- borough, and three pieces lying in Lancaster, afterwards Bolton. The general description shows that there were a corn mill, a house and barn, an orchard, garden, and fences on the homestead ; that the whole tract extended on the north to the Lancaster line, and easterly to the Bush place (near Daniel Stratton's) ; that it lay on both sides, of the river, and while the northern portion of this general grant extended as far east as the land of Abiah Bush, the portion near the river on both sides, could not have.extended easterly beyond the Indian line, which must have been between the Depot and the Cemetery. It also appears that the pieces on the south side of the river were generally bounded on com- mon or undivided land. It seems that this deed to
* Robert Barnard, Sen., was in Andover early. His son Stephen was born 1649, and married, 1671, Rebecca Howe, by whom he had four sons. Robert, his second son, was born 1689, and married, 1710, Rebecca Osgood. She died 1727, and he married Elizabeth Bailey of Lancaster, in 1729. He had nine children, seven born in Marlborough. He died, 1773, aged 84 years.
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Barnard must cover nearly the whole of the present village of Hudson, so far as it is within that portion which has been taken from Marlborough.
This mill, and dwelling house, and barn, and other " housing," were undoubtedly comprised in the first settlement in this section of the town. While there is nothing special in the soil or natural scenery to draw settlers from the central part of the town, there was one want of a new settlement which could be better supplied here than elsewhere in the township. Though burning coals or hot embers could parch the corn, or a stone pestle could convert it into a coarse hominy, or the boiling kettle into samp; yet it has always been found not only convenient, but highly desirable to have a grist mill where corn and other grains can be changed into meal. This feeling will easily account for building a mill in the out-part of the town,-this being the best water power within their borders.
When this mill was erected, or how Joseph Howe obtained the site is uncertain. In 1662 the valley of the Assabet was doomed to perpetual pasturage, which would seem to prevent any sale or allotment of land upon its banks. There were two exceptions to this restriction. The one was the reserving of four score acres for some needful person, and the other the vote of all the persons at a full meeting of the proprietors. On one or the other of these exceptions, he probably obtained this grant ; for the citizens must have looked favorably upon the erection of a corn mill. Barstow married a daughter of Joseph Howe, about eleven years after the death of her father, and perhaps may have come into the possession of some of this property in virtue of the right of his wife; but in 1718, Barstow bought of Bethia Howe twenty-five acres of land bordering upon the mill-pond, and several other lots
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adjoining, which were beyond question some of the lands which Barstow sold to Barnard.
That Jeremiah Barstow was a speculator in land, is obvious from the fact that in his grant of three hundred acres to Barnard, he bounds the grant in several instances, on lands owned by himself; and two years before his sale to Barnard, he sold land to Jonathan Bush. He had a family of ten children between 1712 and 1730, probably born in the village, as he was the miller and must have resided there. He undoubtedly left town soon after 1730.
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We may safely date the beginning, or rather the growth of the village from the coming of Barnard into the place, about 1724. He took possession of the mill, and also opened a public house on the site of the house and store occupied by the late Col. Wm. H. Wood. Though the Barnards in the male line, did not multi- ply materially at the " Mills," as the place was called, in the female line they were connected by marriage with the Bayleys, Nurses, Howes, Stevenses, Bruces, Wilkinses, and several other families, who were quite numerous in the northern part of the town. Though there was no particular growth to the village till after the Revolution, yet there were several families of substantial farmers, who settled upon what is now included in Hudson. Among the earliest, perhaps, we may mention the Goodale family .* Samuel Wheeler deeded land to John Witt and John Goodale, from
* GOODALE. - Robert Goodale embarked at Ipswich, England, with his wife Katharine in April, 1634, and landed in Salem. Zachariah, their first child born in America, married and had, among other sons, John, Benjamin, and David, born in Salem. Each of them came to Marlborough, and settled on the Indian Plantation, early in 1700. John married Elizabeth Witt, and had Solomon and Nathan. Nathan married Persis Whitney, and had a large family, - Abner, their tenth child, who. married Molly Howe, was prominent in church and state, and his sons, Nathan and David, were distinguished as educators ; and the latter became one of the leading men of the town. He resided where his son David B. now lives.
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Salem ; and Witt conveyed his right to Goodale, and that prominent and influential family have occupied the place where David B. Goodale resides, since 1702.
Thomas Hapgood settled in the Indian Plantatation, before 1700, on what was afterwards called the Colonel Wessen or Spurr Place. His descendants have been numerous, and the early generations all resided within the present limits of Hudson. Thomas Hapgood died 1764, aged 95 years. An English publication had this notice of his death : "Died at Marlborough, New England, in the 95th year of his age, Mr. Thomas Hapgood. His posterity were numerous ; viz. 9 chil- dren; 92 grandchildren; 208 great-grandchildren ; and 4 great-great-grandchildren ; in all 313. His grand- children saw their grandchildren, and their grand- father at the same time."
Shadrach Hapgood, their original ancestor, came to this country in 1656, and settled in Sudbury. He was treacherously slain by the Indians in Philip's war. The Wilkinses came from Danvers, and settled on the Indian Plantation about 1740, where a number of fami- lies of the name resided for several generations. Artemas Howe, a descendant of Abraham Howe, married Mary Bigelow, 1767, and settled on the road leading from the Hapgoods, to the centre of the town, north of Fort Meadow Brook. He was, probably, the first who settled and reared a family of Howes on the present territory of Hudson. Abiah Bush settled in the northern part of Marlborough, as early, probably, as 1690. John Bruce came to Marlborough about 1740, and settled on what has since been known as the Ezekiel Bruce Place. Nathaniel Hathorn, probably from Lynn, came to Marlborough about 1725, and settled on what is now occupied as the Pauper establishment. Edward Hunter came to Marlborough about the same time, and
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settled in the same neighborhood. Solomon Brigham, a lineal descendant of Thomas Brigham, married Martha Boyd in 1754, and about 1756 located himself on the road leading from the "mills" to the centre of the town, on the place where Charles Brigham now resides. He was the grandfather of Francis Brigham, to whose enter- prise the town owes no small share of its prosperity.
As these settlers were generally farmers, and resided some distance from the "mills," their intercourse was for the most part with the middle of the town, and hence did not contribute much to the growth of the village. About 1794, Joel Cranston * came to the place, and being a man of energy and public spirit, he opened a store, kept a public house, and a few years later, started quite a number of mechanical branches of industry, viz. cloth-dressing, blacksmithing, tanning, carding of wool, &c. He afterward became a farmer and manufacturer, and was the principal agent in building up Rock Bottom. Silas Felton + came to the place in 1799, and went into partnership in the store with Joel Cranston, and con- tinued in trade to the close of his life in 1828. Cranston and Felton were not only useful men in the village, but were highly respected generally, and filled many of the
* CRANSTON. - The early history of this family is meagre. Samuel Cranston, the grand-father of Joel, came to this country, and probably settled in the western part of the colony. He came to Marlborough about 1728. He had a family of six children. Amasa, his fourth child, married Mary Hathorn ; they were the parents of Joel. Amasa served in the French, and in the Revolutionary war, where he rose to the rank of Major. Joel, born in 1763, married, 1784, Lucretia Eager. They had no issue.
¡ SILAS FELTON, born 1776, was son of Stephen, born 1752, and grand-son of Jacob, born 1712, who married, first, Sarah Barrett, and second, Hezadiah Howe. He was son of Samuel, who married, 1709, Sarah Goodale, and had nine children. Samuel was son of John and grand-son of Nathaniel, the original emigrant, who was in Salem 1633. Jacob Felton came to Marlborough about 1728. He died, aged 77, and his last wife died aged 93 years and II months. The Feltons were numerous and respectable, and by marriage were connected with most of the prominent families. Silas married Lucretia Fay, and had two daughters, both of whom were married in the village.
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most important offices in the town. Their enterprise and popularity invited people to the place ; and, in the space of a few years, several important families came to the village : - Mr. George Peters, the ring of whose anvil would awaken the village from their slum- bers ; Captain Jedediah Wood, who would card the wool for spinning, and dress the cloth when the rolls were converted into a fabric ; Stephen Pope, who could convert the hides into leather, and his father, Folger, in whose hands the leather would become a saddle or a harness. These men came to the village about 1800. Nor were these the only acquisitions. About this time Ebenezer Witt, long known as the "honest miller," came to the village, where he spent his days, which were closed in 1840, in his 85th year.
Of the families which settled in the village about this period, George Peters probably came from Medfield. He married Lydia Maynard, and had George, Ephraim, Luther, Adolphus, and John H .- Jedediah Wood was son of Peter Wood, who came from Concord to Marl- borough, and was a descendant of the third generation from William, the original emigrant. Jedediah married Betsey Wilkins, and was father of Colonel William H., Elbridge and Alonzo .- The Popes were from Salem, and for a time owned the principal land in the village ; the family have been prominent in the place .- Ebenezer Witt was a descendant of John Witt, who came to Marlborough in 1707. Ebenezer was son of Josiah and grandson of Samuel, who represented Marlborough twenty-three years in the General Court. Ebenezer Witt had one son and three daughters, all of whom married in the town. About 1800, Phineas Sawyer came to the place, and bought the saw mill and grist mill. He was a man of character and enterprise, and about 1810 he built a small cotton factory, the first and
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only one in the town and vicinity. Mr. Sawyer being a Methodist by profession, was the first who introduced Methodist preaching into the place. He came to a sad end. The water-wheel at his mill being obstructed by ice, he went upon it to cut the ice away, when the wheel started and carried him into the water ; where, confined by the wheel, he was soon drowned.
These settlements would naturally promote the busi- ness of the place, and not only increase the population of the village itself, but would induce farmers to settle around. Lovewell Brigham, Ivory Brigham, Stephen Rice, Daniel Stevens, and others, located themselves within the circuit of a mile of the village. Efforts were made to build up the place. The factory employed but a few hands, and produced only yarn. Some little weaving was done in families ; and Cranston, Felton, and Hale, employed two or three young women to weave satinet, a fabric of cotton and wool, used exten- sively at that time for pantaloons. Another enterprise of the same parties, was the introduction of a distillery for the manufacture of cider brandy. During the war of 1812, spirits of all kinds were high, and Marlborough, famous for its apple orchards, had at that time an unusual quantity of fruit, and had established in the centre of the town two distilleries; but it was found that their utmost ability, running night and day, could not consume the cider that was brought in. This induced Felton and Company to establish another dis- tillery. They gave out word that they would have vats of sufficient number and capacity to receive the cider as fast as it came; and by running their still night and day, and by transferring to casks the first run of the still, without raising it to the desired proof, they would so clear their vats as to empty all barrels as soon as they were brought: but a few days' experience convinced
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them of their mistake; for the cider was brought in such quantities, that with all their large vats, their yard, after the first ten days, showed an accumulation of hun- dreds of barrels, waiting for their turn to be discharged. Some idea of the quantity of cider may be formed from the fact that the distillers allowed but sixty-two cents per barrel, and paid with goods from their stores.
With all the effort to increase the growth of the village, it remained nearly stationary for a considerable period. One cause which retarded its growth, was the fact that land in the village for building could not be obtained. In 1802, Folger Pope, then of Salem, bought of John Peck of Newton, one hundred acres of land, which was the foundation of the Pope estate in the place; it covered almost the entire village of the "mills." And though Mr. Pope introduced tanning and saddlery into the village, he adopted a policy somewhat common at that day, to hold on to his land ; thinking it better to have a large farm than a growing village. This unwill- ingness to sell, even enough for a house lot, checked the growth of the place for years, - a misfortune which many towns have experienced from the same cause.
Nothing worthy of note occurred in the village until the introduction of manufactures, of which we shall speak hereafter. The subject we wish to present now, is the desire of the people to be erected into a township. We have shown that the part of Marlborough, known as the " Mills," or " Feltonville," has some associations, events, or elements, which will form a basis of character, and that she does not rely simply upon her ten years' corporate existence for her history. So far as indi- vidual character and enterprise are concerned, she had displayed her full share of stability. Being situated more than three miles from the centre of Marlborough, and having stores, schools, churches, a post-office, and
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all other conveniences which constitute a town, except municipal privileges, it was natural for the citizens of Feltonville to desire corporate powers, so that they could do their own public business in their own way. There were also a number of families residing within the township of Bolton, whose territory approached within a hundred rods of the village of Feltonville, and who were four miles from the centre of Bolton : these families were desirous of acting with the people in the village, and becoming a part of a new town.
A meeting was held on the third of May, 1865, to take into consideration the forming of a new town. Captain Francis Brigham was called to the chair, and Silas H. Stuart was chosen Secretary. Resolutions were passed, expressing their belief that their interest would be promoted by becoming a corporate munici- pality, and recommending that a petition be presented to the General Court, to be set off from their respective organizations, and be made a town. A committee of nine was chosen to report upon the boundary of the proposed town. This committee consisted of Francis Brigham, George Houghton, E. M. Stowe, S. H. Stuart, and J. T. Joslin of Marlborough, Albert Goodrich, Caleb E. Nurse, and J. P. Nurse of Bolton, and Ira H. Brown of Berlin. This committee recommended a line which was substantially adopted, and agreed to by the parties, so far as it related to Marlborough.
At a meeting of the citizens at Union Hall, June 13, 1865, it was voted to alter the line near the house of Daniel Stratton, so as to take in a corner of Stow, and to appoint a committee of five, to make all the necessary arrangements for the purpose of incorporating the new town, -and Francis Brigham, James T. Joslin, George Houghton, Daniel Stratton, and Ira H. Brown 6
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were appointed. At a meeting held September 27, it was decided that the contemplated town should be called Hudson. It being recommended that the different parties should present their own separate petitions, George Houghton and 264 others, Lyman Perry and 7 others, Daniel Stratton and 24 others, and Ira H. Brown and 7 others, sent in their petitions. Here is an aggregate of more than three hundred, stating different reasons why a new town should be created. But the town of Bolton, and the county of Worcester, by their counsel, Hon. G. F. Hoar, made a strenuous effort to defeat the petition, relying in a good degree upon the fact, that taking a parcel of land from Bolton, would require altering the county line, which could not be done constitutionally. This position was fully met and satisfactorily refuted by J. T. Joslin, Esq., counsel for the petitioners. But still, for reasons best known to themselves, the Legislature refused to include in the town they created, that portion of land lying within the limits of Bolton, though some portion of it was within a stone's throw of the village of Feltonville. The petitioners, knowing that this territory, situated in the immediate neighborhood of Feltonville, and at least three miles from the centre of Bolton, must affili- ate with the village where the property was owned, and where the population did business or found employment, consented to take a bill without the Bolton section, believing that that would ultimately come by the force of gravity.
The act was passed March 19, 1866, creating the town of Hudson, giving it a boundary, not very intelli- gible, I confess, as follows : "Beginning at the westerly corner of the territory, at a stone monument on the dividing line between said territory and the town of Berlin, in the county of Worcester; thence southeast-
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erly, angling twice, as said dividing line now runs, ninety-seven and sixty-eight one hundredths rods to a stone monument standing on the southeasterly side of the road leading from Feltonville, so called, to North- borough ; thence in an easterly direction in a straight line across the entire territory of said Marlborough, to a stone monument on the dividing line between said Marlborough and Sudbury, standing on the southerly side of the Sudbury road, near the house of Albion Parmenter, and about two hundred and fifty-one rods south of the Stow line ; thence in a northerly direction on the present dividing line between said territory and said Sudbury; to a stone monument at the northeasterly corner of said territory, and at the Stow line ; thence in a northeasterly direction, as the present dividing line between said territory and the said town of Stow now runs, to a stone monument near the house of Abijah Wolcott ; thence in a direct continuation north, fifty-four degrees west, across a corner of said town of Stow, to a point on the county line between said Stow and Bolton ; thence in a southerly and southwesterly direc- tion, as the county line between the counties of Middle- sex and Worcester now runs, to the first mentioned bound."
This act being acceptable to the citizens of Hudson, they proceeded, according to its requirements, to organ- ize themselves as a town. James T. Joslin, Esq., in virtue of a warrant issued by Charles H. Robinson, Esq., notified and warned the legal voters of the new town to assemble at Union Hall, in said town, on Saturday, the thirty-first day of March, 1866, at nine o'clock in the forenoon, to organize by the choice of the necessary town officers. Pursuant to the warrant the citizens assembled, and in recognition of the ruling providence of God, on motion of David B. Goodale, Rev. H. C.
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Dugan addressed the throne of grace, and implored the Divine blessing upon the infant town.
The citizens then proceeded to business, and chose George S. Rawson, Moderator, and Silas H. Stuart, Town Clerk, for the ensuing year. They further organ- ized by choosing the following town officers :- Charles H. Robinson, George Houghton, Wm. F. Trowbridge, Selectmen; Alonzo Wood, George Stratton, Lyman Perry, Assessors; Augustus K. Graves, Luman T. Jefts, John A. Howe, Overseers of the Poor; Hiram C. Dugan, George S. Rawson, David B. Goodale, School Committee; Wm. L. Witham, Constable, and George L. Manson, Treasurer.
At a meeting legally called, April 16, 1866, George S. Rawson was chosen Moderator.
The remaining town offices were filled. The follow- ing appropriations were made :--
For Schools, · $ 3,000
For Roads and Bridges,
800
For Contingent Expenses, 2,000
Voted to add to the appropriation made, 5,200
$ 11,000
They also voted to pay their fire-engine men five dollars each. They chose James T. Joslin, Esq., Joseph S. Bradley, and Charles Brigham, a Committee to lay out and dispose of the lots in the Cemetery.
Francis Brigham, James T. Joslin, and George Houghton, were made a Committee to communi- cate to Charles Hudson the fact that the name of HUDSON was given to the town as a mark of respect to him. At the same meeting a list of Jurors was presented by the Selectmen, and accepted by the town, as follows :-
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Francis D. Brigham.
Joseph S. Bradley.
Benjamin Dearborn.
Silas B. Fairbanks.
David B. Goodale.
Nahum A. Gay.
Alden B. Gleason.
Augustus K. Graves.
Dana Howe.
Willard Houghton.
Luman T. Jefts.
Lyman Perry.
George S. Rawson.
George Stratton.
Edmund M. Stowe.
Alonzo Wood.
James B. Whitney.
George D. Witt.
George O. Bradley.
Charles S. Buss.
W. H. Chamberlain.
Reuben Hapgood.
Horatio H. Hutchins.
Silas E. Priest.
Alden A. Tarbell.
James S. Welch.
Theodore Wilkins.
John L. Jewell.
Baxter F. Wheeler.
Elbridge G. Lewis.
We have given the names of the town officers, that those who come after us may know to whom they are indebted for the institutions which they have found built up for their enjoyment ; and this list of jurors furnishes thirty men, deemed by their neighbors men of good character and sound judgment, and well qualified to weigh evidence and pass an intelligent decision upon the cases which come before our Courts.
The citizens of Hudson have not only shown by their thrift, that they have been stirring as business men, but their public records show that they have been active as townsmen, in preparing every thing for a prosperous municipal corporation. They directed their Selectmen to look well to the cess-pools, and abate all nuisances, and especially liquor nuisances. Their public officers were requested to consider the subject of supporting their paupers, and in a true Christian spirit were directed to furnish and erect suitable head-stones at the graves of their paupers, and those unable to supply them. The subject of a new school-house was duly considered ; but the extension of their highways and townways appears to have engrossed a larger share of
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attention ; and we venture to say that few, very few, towns in the Commonwealth, have done as much in so brief a period, as the town of Hudson, to increase and improve their roads.
We have already stated that a committee was appointed to inform Charles Hudson that the new town was named Hudson, as a compliment to him. This committee, at a town meeting in 1867, reported that they had conveyed the information of this fact to Mr. Hudson, and that they had received a long and satis- factory letter from that gentleman, in which he speaks approvingly of the enterprise of the town, and especi- ally of the value of a free public library, and concludes with this proposition : -
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