USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Uxbridge > Address delivered at the Unitarian church, in Uxbridge, Mass., in 1864, with further statements, not made a part of the address, but included in the notes > Part 4
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John Capron, whose name has been continually connected with the history of Uxbridge, was born in Cumberland, R. I., July 28th, 1757, and died July 11th, 1834. He became a citizen of Uxbridge about the year 1792, and purchased property, which with the additions afterwards made to it, has since been known as the Capron estate. He was the first President of the Blackstone Bank, and was Town Clerk of Uxbridge from 1804 to 1821. IIe was a plain, blunt man of consistent character, sturdy honesty, solid material and no veneering. It has been said of him, that after vainly endeavor- ing to decline a re-election to the office of Town Clerk, at a time when that officer was in the habit of orally publishing the intentions of marriage, he quietly made the proclamation on the next, Sunday after the town meeting at which he was re-elected, that "I, John Capron, intend marriage," adding whatever more was necessary according to the custom of that day. Almost his first entry as Town Clerk was, "voted that swine run at large being yoked and ringed, according to law." At May meeting, 1804, after recording that Bezaleel Taft was chosen representative, he adds, "N. B. A considerable number of votes were given for Benjamin Adams, Esq., for representative, the precise number I forgit." At May meeting, 1808, he writes, "met according to the foregoing warrant,
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and gave in their votes as follows :- for Mr. Peter Farnum 101, Hon. Bezaleel Taft, Esq., 89, for the Hon. Benjamin Adams, Esq., 1. Of course Far- num was chosen and accepted the choice, and returned his thanks to the meeting."
Daniel Day was born in Mendon at the Kempton place, and died Oct. 23, 1848, aged 81 years. Hc was a man of great industry and energy. He pur- chased a large farm in Uxbridge and carried it on with eminent success. He was engaged in trade for a number of years. His store was formerly situated opposite the house of Captain Otis Wilcox, and afterwards in the village. He was a man of large information, strong mind and retentive memory, and although he had but six weeks schooling in his life, he was one of the most thorough and careful readers in town. He was the first person in Uxbridge to make woolen goods by machinery, and was the second person to manufacture them in this country. HIe acquired a respectable amount of property, and has left descendants who carry in their marked qualities of mind and character, the traits of an an- c'estor whom they will learn to respect the more, the more they reflect upon the qualities which won for him the estimation in which he was held by the men of his day and generation.
Joseph Richardson was born in Burrillville, R. I., and spent the larger portion of his life on the farm
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now occupied by Caleb and William B. Richardson. He was the first democrat elected from this town to the Legislature. IIe was a large farmer and prob- . + ably acquired more property by farming than any other person in this vicinity. He was always present in the town meetings, and always listened to with marked interest and attention, and often had pitch- ed political battles with his brother-in-law, Bezalcel Taft, senior, who was a Federalist of the deepest dye. Mr. Richardson was a man of much modesty of feeling and demeanor, and repeatedly refused to accept the office of Justice of the Peace. The office at that day was free of charge, but at the present day, most men are happy to pay the sum of five dollars which is charged for it. He was an out- and-out Universalist from the deepest conviction, and made much exertion to attend the meetings cf that denomination. He was a man of such sim- ple habits of thrift and industry, that he probably never spent an hour in a store or hotel, when he was not engaged there in business. He possessed a wonderful faculty for the accumulation of prop- erty, and whatever he touched may be almost said to have turned to gold. I close my remarks upon him with one simple illustration. As he showed to a neighbor his various notes and mortgages, the neighbor inquired, " How under the heavens did you come by so much property? " " Ah! " said he,
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" any fool can make money, but it takes a wise man to keep it!". He has gone, but his mantle may be floating over some of his kith and kin.
In this connection, allow me to refer to one or two men of a very different style of character. Who has not heard of Simeon Richardson, son of the gentleman of whom I have just spoken ? Im- agine to yourselves a genial, burly-looking man, weighing between two and three hundred pounds, who with all his good qualities, had a large infusion of those of a more questionable character; who threatened to set fire to his father's house if he would not alter his will; who applied the nose of a simple minded neighbor to a grindstone until he would say, " Blessed be Simeon; " who said, that he thought he never really loved his wife until he had taken so much comfort sleeping with a pair of twins, one on each arm; who threatened one of the most respectable magistrates in Uxbridge, that if he could catch him in the state of Rhode Island he would boot him within an inch of his life; who was remping, rollicking, genial, profane, witty and clever by turns ; whose heart, in spite of his errors, often overflowed with generosity and kindness, and who left upon one the impression of an unhewn, or niore properly speaking, of a rough-hewn, diamond; and you have a tolerably correct idea of Simeon Richardson.
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Who has not heard of Ananias Gifford, the sprightly little brickmaker of the valley ? Who that ever met him has forgotten his friendly greet- ing ? And who, to whom he chanced ever to be- come indebted, will not recognize his stereotyped jocularity, "Oh! yes; all casy, cousin, my name is Ananias; and wait "?
It would be pleasant to me to speak at length of many of the former people of Uxbridge-of Jona- than Whipple, who was the soul of hospitality and good cheer, the pride of whose life was, that no man could say that he was not an honest man ;* of Samuel Read, who possessed the elements of per- manent popularity; of Ephraim Spring, whofe sneeze was said to have been heard in a clear mori ing from North Uxbridge to Lumpbottom; of Alpheus Baylies, once so active and enterprising; of Frederic Taft, the unsurpassed land-surveyor of the town, from time immemorial; of Eastman Taft, the dream of whose life was to be elected representative from the town, and whose experience uniformly was to be defeated; of Jerry Wheelock, so thoroughly informed, and yet always so modest and unassuming; of Amariah Chapin, so smooth and gentlemanly and so kindly of speech; of Jonathan Gregory, the first cashier of Blackstone Bank; of Abiel Jaques, the blunt, outspoken
* See Appendix VIII., Jonathan Whipple.
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preceptor of Uxbridge Academy; of Dr. George Willard, whose accommodating nature rarely allowed him to contradict one; of Dea. Danicl D. Payne, who, among his many decided opinions, believed that it was a misfortune for a girl who had been in the habit of carning large wages to marry a man of small means, because she would be likely to have contracted extravagant habits; of Adol- phus Spring, with a temper so even and a character so pure; of Daniel Carpenter, the puritanical lib- eral, the Unitarian worshipper with Trinitarian pro- clivities; of Cato Willard, one of nature's noble- men in spite of the color of his skin; of Daniel Farnum, who with all his wealth and shrewdness, loved to pitch coppers with the boys at a copper a game; of Peter White and Peter Freeman, each of them every inch a man; of the families of Taft, Thayer, Spring, Seagrave, Wood, Farnum, Thomp- son, Williams and others, some of which seemed almost to rival in number the descendants of the father of the faithful; of glorious women, past and present, to describe whom successfully, would need a pen of sapphire dipped in a sunbeam; but time would fail me, if I should make the attempt. One thing, however, I will say in this connection, that no town of the size and population of Uxbridge, has been more successful in bringing up a large number of active and energetic business men than
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this. Without referring to the business citizens of to-day, let me say, that the town which has within a given period, sent out such men as Stephen C. Greene; Josiah, Royal and Amory Chapin; Jacob, Josiah, Edward and George W. Seagrave; John, Paul, Peter, Moses, Welcome and Darius D. Far- num; Sylvanus Holbrook; Effingham L. Capron; Asa Newell; Joseph Carpenter; Daniel Day: Royal C. Taft; David F. Wood; George T. Mur- dock; Stephen and Jason Emerson, and others; need never be ashamed of its record in this respect; while other towns may well look for the cause which has produced so remarkable a result.
Before proceeding to consider this, let me say, that. among the objects of interest to the people is grow- ing shade-trees. I have learned to make an estimate of the public spirit of a village, or neighborhood, by the simple test of the presence, or absence, of trees of this kind. In one of Scott's novels, entitled, " The Heart of Mid-Lothian," Dumbic- dikes is represented as saying, "Jock, when ye hae nothing else to do, ye may aye be sticking in a tree; it will be growing, Jock, when ye're sleeping." When you look upon the beautiful trees which adorn your common, it may be pleasant to recall something of their history. Early in the present century, when the blacksmith's shop of Elihu Brown stood upon the spot now occupied by the
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Academy building,* directly in front of it stood a large oak tree, which having become somewhat decayed, was blown down in a gale of wind. The two horse chestnut trees that stand near the Academy building were set out by my classmate and friend, Mr. Charles C. Jewett, the accomplished librarian of the Boston Public Library. The fact that he placed them where they now stand, has probably long since passed from his mind; but there they stand to dispense their beauty, fragrance and shade, comforting and blessing those who will never know to whom they are indebted for the pleasure. The rest of the trees upon the common, with the exception of one or two more ancient ones, and some that have been set to replace others which have died, were provided in accordance with a subscription which was made not far from twenty years ago. Who that now looks upon them would suppose that some persons not only refused to aid in the enterprise, but actually threatened to cut them down. Yet such things are true, and it is a fact well known to some persons, that if after those trees had been set out, they had been willfully injured, the aggressor, if discovered, would have learned the penalty which the law imposes for willful and malicious injury to shade-trees. No money or labor was ever better invested than this.
* See Appendix LX., Elihu Brown.
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They stand here to-day, as far as they go, the silent mementoes of a true public spirit; and for a common, not large enough to bear the seeming; constraint and confinement of a fence, they combine utility and grace, and will long be looked upon as one of the crowning beauties of this village; and although it is true that our railroads, as they are. constructed, often impress one with the idea of the' barbarism of civilization, yet if each land-owner' would line them with shade trees, at reasonable distances on each side of the track, these very em- bankments, which extend like artificial deserts through so many homesteads in the land, might be made " a thing of beauty and a joy forever."
We come now to consider a new feature in the history of this town.
· The population of Uxbridge in 1790, was 1,310; in 1800, it was 1,404; and in 1810, the same. In twenty years, the increase of population had been but ninety-four, and all the increase had been in the first half of the twenty years. If no additional clement of industry had been brought into use, I see no reason why the increase in population, be- tween 1800 and 1860, should have exceeded the in- crease between 1800 and 1810, which is represent- ed by a cipher; for this has been the experience of some of the towns where the only business has been farming.
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In one of the stories in an interesting little book, entitled, "John Hopkins' notions on Political Economy," John is represented as being located on a lonely island and getting rather a poor living by the labor of his own hands. During one of his journeys over the island, he discovers a huge giant, and manages by his superior intelligence to make the giant quite useful. He mounted the giant's back, made him carry him home, transport his burdens, draw his wood, logs and various other com- modities about the island and thus relieve John from much of the drudgery of his life. IIe then made the giant grind his corn, saw his wood and lum- ber, and manufacture cloth, until at last this giant, who had been lazily basking in the sun, or running uselessly about from the time of his creation, by means of the skill and ingenuity of John Hopkins, became the comfort and civilizer of the island; and by prudent management, became so safe and tract- able, that while he had the strength of a thousand horses, even a child could lead him whithersoever he would, and ride upon his back with an impunity wonderful to look upon. The name of this giant was aqua fluentes, which in plain English means running streams, or flowing waters. The giant of John Hopkins is a thing of everyday life, and in this favored valley, the giants are all around us. They vary somewhat in size and power, but have
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become more or less beneficent and useful to the community, and have added much to its wealth, industries and population.
The only streams to which I purpose to call your attention are, West River, Blackstone River, Mum- ford River, Ironstone River, the Rivulet and Shuttle Brook.
West River has its origin in the town of Upton, and although it runs through the easterly part of Uxbridge, it takes the name of West River from the fact that Mill River seems to monopolize the eastern part of the town where West River has its rise. Near the head of one of its branches in Upton, is what is known as Pratt's pond, and although it once had the reputation that many of the New England ponds formerly possessed, of being bot- tomless, it does not now look quite as unfathomable as formerly. It is one of the hard lessons taught by the experiences of life to have the poetry attach- ing itself to the scenes of one's childhood all knocked out of him, and to find the visions that once filled his boyish soul, all dwarfed and contracted; but every boy of any imagination has been obliged to learn the disagreeable lesson.
Starting down this stream, small as it is, we find the giant has been at work, and as time has rolled on, his work has become more and more important. It is true, that the old fashioned saw mills have in
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some places disappeared as the result of the clear- ing off of the logs and timber, formerly so abun- dant; but the grist-mills still remain to grind the grain which has taken the place of the primeval forest, and box-work, sash-work and various kinds of lighter and richer labor mark the progress of civilization and the improvement in the machinery of our time. Still the giant stands ready, to the extent of his power, to carry into full effect the various inventions to which the active intellect of man has made him subservient.
The first attempt to manufacture woolen goods by machinery in this country, was made at Water- town in the spring of the year 1811. In the autumn of the same year the next attempt was made by Daniel Day. He erected a small building upon a brook which may be called a part of West River, upon the spot now occupied by the mill of Samuel W. Scott. A part of it was used by Mr. Wheelock for turning bobbins, and the other part of it was occupied by Mr. Day, with a billy, a jenny with thirty spindles, and a carding machine. Ile sent to Watertown and procured an English- man to work for him. In the spring of 1812, Mr. Orsmus Taft* went into this mill to work and is supposed to be the first yankee who learned to
* For a notice of Orsmus Taft, see Appendix X.
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weave satinet in this country. Everything, except the picking and carding, was then done by hand. No looms were run by water in Uxbridge until a number of years after this time. It seems to me eminently becoming, when giving this brief sketch of this town, that we should not forget the man who had the foresight and the courage to com- mence here the manufacture of woolen goods, nor the humble river which was considered worthy of running the first card and the first picker in this neighborhood. There may be larger rivers than West River, and there may have been better pickers and cards than those which were run by Daniel Day; but I doubt not that you will agree with me that none are more entitled than these to our generous and candid notice.
The next privilege above, upon West River, now occupied by Messrs. C. A. and S. M. Wheelock, was afterwards, about the year 1828, taken up and occupied by Luke Taft and George Wall, both re- cently deceased. The praise of both these men is upon the lips of all who knew them, and their mem- ories are fresh and fragrant to those who loved them. The time may not have come to say all we should love to say of these men, but whoever shall have occasion to speak of their lives in detail, will have a large margin of what is truthful, honest and of good report to pass to their credit.
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After leaving West River we come to Black- stone River, which, in the days when people used to 1 meet to arrange about letting the fish run up stream, went by the name of " ye Great River." I suppose this name was given to it, from the fact that this river becomes the receptacle of all the other streams referred to, and conducts their waters to the great ocean that absorbs them all.
The most northerly source of the Blackstone, or Great River, is North Pond, in Worcester. From this pond flows a small but beautiful stream called Mill Brook. Its main branch originates in Paxton; thenre it passes through the casterly part of Leices- terL .. Id entering the south-western part of Worces- ter, passes into Auburn, where it is called Kettle Brook. There it receives the waters of Ramshorn Pond from Sutton, then again appearing in Wor- cester, it unites with Tatnuck, or Half-way River from Holden. After uniting with Mill Brook, it passes through Millbury, Sutton and Grafton, where it receives the Quinsigamond River from Quinsigamond Lake, or Long Pond, situated in the eastern part of Worcester, and passing through Northbridge, Uxbridge and Blackstone, it enters the State of Rhode Island. Says a writer in the year 1826, " The Blackstone is one of the most import- ant rivers of the county. This noble stream washes some of the most flourishing and opulent districts of
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the county." He speaks of the traveler as delighted by the hum of a continued series of manufacturing establishments, furnishing employment for a vast amount of capital and subsistence to an enterpris- ing, intelligent and thriving population. This state- ment must strike one as rather poetical when he re- members it was made in 1826, when Worcester, now numbering over 30,000 souls, by the then last census numbered 2,962; and Uxbridge numbering according to the census of 1860, 3,000 souls, by the then last census numbered 1,551. This was before the Blackstone Canal had been laid out; before what is known as the river-road had been constructed . be- fore the Uxbridge Woolen Factory had been incho- rated; when the old meeting-house stood upon your common; when the old hotel had not been removed; when the Union Building was nowhere; when old Mr. Baker's tannery stood near the spot where the Union Building, Mr. Whiting's carriage factory, Mr. Wing's shop and their surroundings are now located. It was the time when the Central Village of Uxbridge was rejoicing in a woolen factory built a few years previously, in the famous Capron brick store, the admiration of all the surrounding country ; when the people were interested in the es- tablishment of a new bank; when Esq. Jaques kept school in the Academy; when Ayers the Juma- tic used to dress in uniform, brandish his sword, or
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play the flute without making a noise, and declare he was playing inwardly; and when the portly Han- cock used to indulge his voracious appetite at every house where the people would give him anything to eat, and write acrostics upon the name of every man, woman and child, who requested him to do so.
The first factory in Uxbridge, operated by the waters of the Blackstone River, was owned by the Uxbridge Woolen Manufacturing Company. The original company consisted of Amariah Chapin, Dr. George Willard, John Taft and Orsmus Taft. In a short time, Jacob Chapin also became a member of the company. The canal was dug and the water was let in, on Thanksgiving day, 1825. There was then no road within the distance of half a mile from the spot where the factory now stands. The first factory was a wooden structure, eighty fect long, thirty-five feet wide and three stories high. It started with two sets of machinery on kerseymeres. This building was burned August 28th, 1828. If any one should ask Mr. Orsmus Taft when was the first time he ever had occasion to limp in his gait, he would fix the date at the same time. Including the date of August 28th, 1828, within the term of one week, seven woolen mills in New England were de- stroyed by fire. All these fires were supposed to be the work of an incendiary. There are traditions to this day of the mysterious stranger who was supposed
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to have ridden like a destroying angel through the country, and of the gleam upon the clouds which seemed to mark his treacherous journey. The fac- tory was re-built of brick in 1828, somewhat wider, but of the same length as the wooden mill which was burned. The proprietors soon afterwards ob- tained an act of incorporation. A few years after- wards, the mill was extended forty feet, making it one hundred and twenty feet in length. This brick mill was burned in 1853, and was re-built the same year. There are now in the mill twelve sets of machinery; and in the difference between two sets of machinery in 1826, and twelve sets in 1864, we see something of the increase and growth here of the business of manufacturing, with the same amount of water- power.
It would be interesting to follow the varying for- tunes of this establishment from the time when the water was let into the canal up to the present time; to show who has made money in the business and who has lost it, because it might be taken as a sort of exponent of the fate of the infancy of woolen manufacturing in this country; but time will not allow it. In its history, there is an illustration of the common law principle, that the owner of land through which water runs, has the right to the run of the water without its being diverted and carried past his land. This right may be parted with by
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grant, or, it may be lost by twenty years adverse use by the party making the diversion of the water. The waters of the Blackstone River, when they were let into the canal of the Uxbridge Woolen Co. were illegally diverted from the owners of land situated on Blackstone River, and before the twenty years had expired, most of the land owners found out their rights and acted accordingly. I well remember about the year 1846, when this matter came home to Mr. Edward Seagrave, the principal owner of the establishment. It came almost like a clap of thunder in a clear day. He walked into the office of a young man who formerly practiced law in the Union Building, and commenced counting out ten dollar bills until he had reached five of them,-rather a liberal fee for Uxbridge in those days,-" There," said he, " help me out of this." The matter was subsequently adjusted. The rigid application of the same law against the diversion of water, pre- vented the . establishment of a manufacturing village,at Skull Rock Bridge by the Messrs. Lock- wood.
The only other mill in Uxbridge operated by the waters of the Blackstone River, is the one now run by Messrs. Bradford and Taft. I could say some- thing of the history of this mill, and of a valuable privilege at Goat Island yet unoccupied; but the facts about it are so modern, and Mr. Moses Taft knows
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so much more about them than I do, that it will be left for him to tell the story.
About seventy years ago, Mumford River was de- scribed as follows: " Mumford River has its rise in Rocky woods, or Douglas woods, in Douglas, being increased by streams from Badluck Pond and from Manchaug Pond in Douglas, and by springs and rivulets, and runs in an easterly course into Uxbridge; then it turns and runs south-casterly within a few rods of Uxbridge meeting-house, where there are several sorts of mills in excellent order and where much business is well performed. This river continues its course and joins the Blackstone River about one mile south-east of the meeting- house." This description was given about the time when John Capron settled in Uxbridge. As nearly as I can learn, the several sorts of mills in this vil- lage at that time consisted of a grist-mill on one side of the stream and a saw-mill on the other side.
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