USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Ancient Middlesex with brief biographical sketches of the men who have served the country officially since its settlement > Part 5
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He wrote a fine history of the town of Groton. It is a standard work, the preface to which is scholarly and instructive. In politics he was first a Federalist, but afterwards a Whig. He was Town Clerk of Groton, 1815 to 1812, and from 1823 to 1831 ; Trustee of Lawrence Academy from 1801 to 1836; elected to the Legislature in 1829, but declined to serve ; Postmaster for twenty years; Chairman of the Selectmen; appointed by the Governor as Chairman of the first Board of County Commissioners .* He was widely known and respected for his sterling integrity, moral independence, courage, simplicity, and modesty. He was famous, also, as a critical scholar. and for the energy and wealth of his intellect. It has been truly said of him that if his ambition
*The venerable ex-Governor George S. Boutwell. a contemporary. in his recently-published "Sixty Years of Public Life," says that the politics of Mr. Butler. being a Whig. caused him to lose both the office of "Postmaster and that of County Commissioner." It is related of the latter that when the news came that his fellow-townsman. Mr. Boutwell (a Democrat), was elected Governor in 1851 as a "fusionist," he ex- claimed, "God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts!" Political
animosities were strong in those days .- [ Ed.
HON. AUGUSTUS TOWER, OF STOW, County Commissioner, 1826-1835.
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had equalled his modesty, he would have become eminent. His mental qualities were not clouded at the approach of age, but re- mained bright and clear to the last. He delighted in literature and the classics as of old, and during his last years read the works of Virgil and Horace in the original. One of the most in- teresting events of his long and honorable career occurred at the jubilee of Lawrence Academy July 12, 1854, a few weeks before his death. At this celebration there was assembled a notable gathering. Among others of his pupils who were present were Hon. Abbott Lawrence, formerly Ambassador to England, Hon. Amos Kendall, formerly Postmaster-General, Hon. Joel Parker, LL.D., Rev. Andrew Bigelow, D. D., Rev. James Walker, D. D., President of Harvard College, and Hon. John P. Bigelow. Hon. Abbott Lawrence, in a beautiful tribute, said : "He was my only preceptor, and I thank God that he is able to be with us to-day at the age of seventy-eight. A sweet aroma hangs about his name, in his love of truth and justice, in his integrity of character it all relations of life, which I doubt not will endure long after he and all of us shall have passed away."
Such was the character and such the abilities of the first Chairman of the County Commissioners of Middlesex County. In intellectual attainments, it is no disparagement to others to say that his equal has never yet appeared upon the board.
Hon. Augustus Tower.
Augustus Tower
Son of Benjamin and Anna (Vose) Tower. Born in Sud- bury June 25, 1267, died in Stow on Independence Day, 1838, aged seventy-one. He was a descendant in the sixth generation from John and Margaret (Ibrook) Tower, who came from Eng- land, and were inhabitants of Hingham as early as 1631. His father, Benjamin Tower, was a soldier in the old French war, serving in Captain Thomas Williams' company in 1156; in Cap- tain Josiah Richardson's company in 1457, and in Captain Nicholas Dakin's company in 1:58; he was also a soldier in the
HON. ABNER WHEELER, OF FRAMINGHAM, County Commissioner, 1826-1828, and 1831-1841.
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War of the Revolution, and was granted a pension March 4, 1789. When the battle of Lexington occurred, the subject of this sketch, Augustus, was not quite eight years of age. Emu- lating the patriotism and courage of his father, he enlisted in March, 1982, for three years in Captain Coburn's company at- tached to the Seventh Massachusetts regiment, Colonel John Brooks, and served at Fishkill, Newburgh, West Point, and at New York after its evacuation by the British. At the time of his enlistment, this valiant and youthful patriot was less than fifteen years of age. For service in the War of the Revolution, he was granted a pension January 5, 1833, which was continued to his widow, Polly (Leathe) Tower, after his death. As early as 1:99, he was a Selectman and Assessor of the town of Stow, to which offices he was repeatedly chosen. He was Town Clerk and Town Treasurer uninterruptedly from 1804 until 1826, when his son, Charles Tower, succeeded him. He was a member of the House of Representatives in 1809-19 -11-12-13-14-15-19-20-21- 22-23, and 1826, and a Presidential Elector in 1824. In 1826 he was appointed by the Governor as one of the first Board of Highway Commissioners for Middlesex County. In 1828 he was appointed a member of the first Board of County Commis- sioners of Middlesex County, upon which he served until 1835, and was a magistrate for the county during seven years. He was a carpenter by trade, and had a small farm. The present town clerk of Stow has in his possession a map of Stow which was made by Mr. Tower in 1830, showing that he possessed talent and skill as a surveyor, in addition to other accomplishments. As a soldier and civilian, old Middlesex can produce no better example of the typical yeoman than Augustus Tower.
Hon. Abner Wheeler.
Avner "Wheeler
Son of Abner and Elizabeth (Brooks-Hunt) Wheeler. Born in Lincoln, 1722, died in Framingham October 11, 1843, aged seventy-one. He was a carpenter by trade, and for quite a long time was a tavern keeper in Framingham Centre. He was a
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HON. BENJAMIN F. VARNUM, OF DRACUT, County Commissioner, 1826-1831. Resigned.
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very active and energetic business man, and was one of the pro- prietors of the Boston and Worcester turnpike. He also assisted in the building of the Saxonville mills, in which he was interested at the time of his death. He was a Representative to the General Court in 1814, and Selectman from 1809 to 1816. He was one of the first board of County Commissioners of Middlesex County, serving from 1826 to 1828 as a Commissioner of Highways, and from 1831 to 1842 as a County Commissioner.
Hon. Benjamin Franklin Varnum, Resigned in 1831 to accept position of High Sheriff.
B. F. barnum
Born in Dracut in 1495, died January 11, 1841, aged forty- six. Son of the distinguished Revolutionary patriot and states- man, Major-General Joseph Bradley Varnum, who was speaker of the lower house of Congress, 1807 to 1811, and President pro tem of the United States Senate, 1813. He was also commis- sioned, February 12, 1794, by Lieutenant-Governor Samuel Adams as High Sheriff of Middlesex County, but declined the office. The subject of this sketch was a Representative to the General Court in 1824 to 1825, and a Senator from Middlesex County in 1826-1827-1828-1829 and 1830. One of the first board of Highway Commissioners, and one of the first board of County Commissioners until 1831, when he resigned to accept the position of High Sheriff of Middlesex County, which posi- tion he honored during two terms of five years each, dying in office at the early age of forty-six, and at the very threshold of a career which promised to equal that of his illustrious father. He had announced to his friends a purpose to retire from the shrievalty at the end of his term to seek higher honors for which his discretion, ability, and popularity eminently fitted him. For his careful and discreet management of the duties of his office during the Ursuline Convent disturbances, he received the thanks of the Governor of the Commonwealth. He was cour- teous and affable, and a splendid specimen of manly grace. His death was universally regretted.
HON. DAVID TOWNSEND, OF WALTHAM, County Commissioner, 1826-1837. Died in office.
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Col. David Townsend, Jr., Died in Office.
Davide Townsend
Son of Cornet David and Sarah (Jennison) Townsend. Born in Waltham June 2, 1722, died there January 5, 1832, aged sixty. After passing through the district schools of his native town, he learned the trade of a cabinet-maker, at which he worked for a time in Boston, where he became interested in mili- tary matters, and, on returning to Waltham, was appointed as Colonel of the First regiment, Massachusetts militia. He was a Justice of the Peace, and a member of the Board of Selectmen eleven years between 1802 and 1818. His father, Cornet David, bought the "Bird" tavern, which his son carried on for many years. If ability and popularity are to be gauged by extended service in the Legislature, then Colonel Townsend must have been the personification of virtue, both social and political, for the people of Waltham honored him by elections to the House of Representatives in 1809-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-20-24-26-21 and 1831, making a total of fourteen years. He also served as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1820. It will be seen that he commenced his career in the Legislature at the same time as did his afterward associate upon the board of County Commissioners, Hon. Augustus Tower, of Stow, who served therein thirteen years, being one year less than Colonel Town- send. As the genial colonel was a tavern keeper, however, it is fair to assume that the character of his public entertainment for "man and beast" might account for his finishing a lap aliead of his more rustic associate. He was appointed by the Governor upon the first board of Highway Commissioners in 1826, and upon the first board of County Commissioners in 1828, serving until his death in 1832. which occurred while yet in office, and was deeply regretted by the entire community.
HON. TIMOTHY FLETCHER, OF CHARLESTOWN, County Commissioner, 1837-1846. Resigned.
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Hon. Timothy Fletcher.
Born in Groton November 28. 1295, died in Charlestown August 28, 1898, aged eighty-three. Son of Peletiah and Sally (Woodward) Fletcher. In early life he became a resident of Charlestown, where he passed the remainder of a lengthy, active, and honorable career. At different times he was engaged in the lumber and leather business, from which he retired many years before his death. In politics he was a lifelong Democrat, and was honored by his fellow citizens with many offices of trust and responsibility. He was a Selectman of the town, and, after Charlestown became a city, served as an alderman in 1848 and 1849. He was a member of the House of Representatives in 1834-35-36-37-41 and 1812. He was a County Commissioner from 1831 to 1846, having been first elected to succeed Hon. David Townsend, deceased. He was chosen chairman of the board in 1841, but declined to serve. A careful examination fails to reveal any minutes of his resignation upon the Commissioners' records, but in 1846, before the expiration of his term of office, it is found that Hon. Ebenezer Barker. also of Charlestown, was apparently elected as his successor, and so it is fair to assume that he must have resigned. A firm believer in the doctrine of "free trade and sailors' rights, " he enlisted and served in the War of 1812. Surviving until beyond the limit of four score years, he was permitted to see the flag for which he fought proudly floating at the masthead of American craft from sea to sea, and from the islands to the ends of the earthi.
HON. LEONARD M. PARKER, OF SHIRLEY, County Commissioner, 1841-1844. Chairman, 1841-1844.
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Hon. Leonard Moody Parker, Chairman September, 1841, to September, 1844.
Born in Shirley January 9, 1:89, died there August 25, 1854, aged sixty-five. Son of James and Sarah (Dickerson) Parker. His father was a minuteman, and marched in Captain Haskell's Shirley company at the Lexington alarm April 19, 1175. James Parker was a descendant in the fifth generation from Captain James Parker, an original proprietor of Groton, who was much distinguished in early Colonial times. At fourteen years of age, Leonard Moody commenced his preparation for college under the instruction of Hon. Caleb Butler, at that time preceptor of Groton Academy. It is a singular fact that he afterwards suc- ceeded this distinguished gentleman and scholar as the second chairman of the Middlesex County Commissioners, Mr. Butler being the first. lle graduated at Dartmouth in 1808, at the age of nineteen, selecting the practice of law as his profession, read- ing two years with Hon. Abijah Bigelow, M. C., of Leominster. and one year with Hon. Levi Lincoln, of Worcester. afterwards Governor, whose daughter he subsequently married. In 1811 he settled in Charlestown, and at once assumed a prominent position at the bar, politically, and otherwise. He was one of the counsel for "Mike Martin," the noted highwayman, who was hanged for robbing Major Bray and wife on the Medford turnpike ; this was one of his earliest cases. On the outbreak of the War of 1812. he was appointed Judge Advocate of Military District No. 1, and hield that position until peace was concluded. In politics, he was first a Jeffersonian Republican, afterwards a Jacksonian Demo- crat. President Jackson appointed hin in 1830 as Naval Officer of the Port of Boston, a position which he held four years, and then moved back to his native town of Shirley to pass the re- mainder of his days in the home of his childhood. Hle was a member of the House of Representatives from Charlestown in 1816-25-28 and 1829; of the Constitutional Convention in 1820 ; and a member of the Senate from Middlesex County in 1818- 19-20-26-27-36-37 and 1840. He was also a member of the
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House from Shirley in 1851, at which time he was Dean of that body. Thus it appears that he was a member of the lower branch five years, and of the upper branch eight years. A most remarkable period of service, testifying to his great ability and popularity. It is also interesting to note, in this connection, that the people of Shirley elected him to the House of 1836 while the people of Middlesex County were electing him to the Senate of the same year! He chose to sit in the upper branch, and re- signed his seat in the House. He was the second chairman of the County Commissioners, serving in that capacity from 1842 to 1845. but refused a re-election to the board. During his term the board assumed a radical position upon the temperance ques- tion, refusing to grant further licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors, on the ground that the "public good did not require such a traffic." This measure was bitterly opposed, but, being stead- fastly maintained, soon became the settled policy of all the coun- ties of the Commonwealth. His associates were Hon. Timothy Fletcher, of Charlestown, who was offered the chairmanship of the board, but declined in favor of Mr. Parker, and Hon. Seth Davis, of Newton, who was a total abstainer from the use of strong drink, and the first person in New England, probably, to form a temperance society. He died at the advanced age of one hundred and one years, as will be hereafter noted.
During the long political career of Mr. Parker, he was called upon to perform many public duties, which required the most careful and considerate action. Among others, he was appointed by the State Legislature in 1825 "to prepare a system for the es- tablishment of a seminary for the education of the working classes in the practical arts and sciences." The same year he was one of the Commissioners who settled the long-contested boundary line question between Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 1830 he was a Commissioner appointed by the Legislature to examine into the condition of the banks of the County of Suffolk. In 1824 he was Chairman of the State Committee of the Repub- lican party which supported Hon. William H. Crawford for the presidency, but ever after, as heretofore stated, he was a Jack- sonian Democrat. In legislative matters he was an indefatigable worker, and originated many changes in the laws which have
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proved valuable. It was his principle to oppose all manner of legislation which enriched corporations and individuals at the expense of the people.
It was largely through his watchful care that millions were saved to the educational institutions of the Commonwealth, in the uncompromising opposition which was organized against a proposition to sell the state's interest in the public lands of Maine for the paltry sum of $150,000. In 1826-27 and 1828 he was Chairman of the joint standing committee on Roads and Rail- ways. The resolves which he reported foreshadowed the build- ing of the Boston & Providence and the Boston & Albany rail- roads, which he stoutly maintained ought to be done by the state. as they "would prove a source of profit, and not a burden." Think of the millions which might have been saved to the people had his advice been heeded. Ever alert in the interest of his constituents, he was the principal factor in the legislation which finally freed the bridges between Boston and Charlestown, win- ning against the inveterate opposition of those monopolies which had set up and were determined to maintain a toll-gate against posterity. Defeated the first year by a veto from his father-in- law. Governor Lincoln, he was not cast down, but the next year fought it out to a finish. The results of this victory, even after the lapse of more than half a century, are of incalculable benefit to the people of Boston and the suburban districts, who might now be groaning under this unjust tribute, were it not for his exertions. To Mr. Parker must be ascribed the authorship of that provision in the charter of all railroad corporations which permits the Commonwealth to ultimately assume the manage- ment of the road. This amendment, when first introduced by him, met with the most determined opposition, but finally pre- vailed. Mr. Parker was one of the first, if not the very first, to agitate the slavery question before a legislative assembly, being chairman of a committee of the Massachusetts Senate which re- ported a series of resolutions, February 22. 1832, calling upon Congress in the most solemn manner to "abolish slavery within the District of Columbia," which, it was claimed, they had a con- stitutional right to do.
The foregoing is but a brief synopsis of the work accom- plished by this industrious and distinguished public servant, who
HON. SETH DAVIS, OF NEWTON, County Commissioner, 1841-1844. Died at age of 101.
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appears to have been a man of absolute sincerity, of remarkable independence, of much more than ordinary ability, and whose aim in life seemed to be "to do good and to prevent harm." He had a brother, Daniel, who graduated at Dartmouth in 1801, who was so greatly distinguished as Judge Advocate of the Third Division of Massachusetts militia during the War of 1812 as to attract the attention of President Madison, who appointed him as Inspector-General of the Army of the United States, with the rank of Brigadier-General. Ile died in 1848, and was buried in the Congressional burying ground in Washington.
Leonard Moody Parker died in Shirley, and was buried in Worcester by the side of Martha Lincoln, his wife.
Hon. Seth Davis.
Goth Davis 1841
Son of Timothy and Betsey (Flagg) Davis. Born in Ashby. Mass., September 3, 1287, died in Newton, 1888, aged one hun- dred and one. He was the son of Timothy Davis, a Revolu- tionary soldier, and in some respects was one of the most re- markable men of his generation. In 1499, at the tender age of twelve, he was apprenticed for the term of one year to a West Townsend miller, and was given charge of a saw-mill, grist-mill, and cabinet shop! In 1802, when fifteen years of age, he came to seek his fortune in West Newton, at that time a sparsely set- tled place of half a dozen families, with twenty-five cents in his pocket, and all his other worldly possessions tied up in a ban-
danna handkerchief. Here he found a job, and worked four years for six dollars a month, and ever after remained an active, energetic factor in the life of the community until past the cen- tury mark, without having suffered a day of sickness. It is well to note that he was a total abstainer from the use of both liquor and tobacco. He was in school, all told, but twenty months, and vet he became a noted teacher, establishing a famous private school in 1812, which he taught with great success for nearly forty years. From 1807 to 1817 he taught in Mason, N. H .. Townsend, Ashby, Newton, and Watertown, where he also had
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charge of Seth Bemis' cotton factory. He wrote an arithmetic which was adopted by Newton. He was the first to introduce maps and the study of geography : also of geometry and the cus- tom of declaiming in the public schools of Newton. The town, however, solemnly declared that declamation was "demoralizing in effect and could not be tolerated !" With twenty-seven others, he founded in 1826 what was probably the first temperance organization in New England. He was clerk and treasurer of the First Baptist Church of Newton for thirty years. His thirst for knowledge was said by himself to have been aroused by read- ing the tales of "Robinson Crusoe." Among his scholars were many men who became famous; of such, Governor Alexander H. Rice was conspicuous. He was a lecturer of ability ; was also a Trial Justice and County Commissioner, 1842 to 1845. He had a great fondness for shade trees, and many of the finest elms in West Newton were set out by his hands. He is said to have planted more than a thousand. On the third of September, 1887. the city government of Newton observed the centennial birthday of this grand old man with much ceremony. Addresses were made by the Mayor and many former pupils. Rev. Dr. S. F. Smith, author of "America," recited an original ode, from which is extracted the following stanza :-
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"Friend of our early youth and riper age, The citizen, the patriot, and the sage, Blessed with an eye to see, a hand to do, A heart to throb, a soul both large and true, Man of the present, treasury of the past, How has thy life been honored to the last ! Of old traditions, thou a matchless store, A walking volume of historie lore ; Lover of nature in its varied moods, Its brooks and flowers, its fields and leafy woods. A thousand trees set by thy loving care, Attest thy taste and toil which placed them there."
A few months later this sage philosopher was gathered to his fathers : a most conspicuous example of that occasional product of American institutions, the "self-made" man.
HON. JOSIAH ADAMS, CF FRAMINGHAM. County Commissioner, 1844-1850. Chairman, 1844-1850.
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Hon. Josiah Adams,
Chairman, September, 1844, to September, 1850.
Losich Accus
He came from excellent stock, his father, Rev. Moses Adams, being a graduate of Harvard. and a beloved and success- fill minister in Acton during a long career. Josiah was born in Acton November 3, 1:81, and died in Framingham February 8. 1854, aged seventy-three. His mother's maiden name was Abi- gail Stone. He was graduated at Harvard in 1801, and after reading law with Thomas Heald. Esq., settled at Framingham in 180%, where he remained during the balance of a long and event- ful life. He descended from Henry Adams, a grantee of Brain- tree in 1641. In politics he was a Federalist, while the section in which he lived was overwhelmingly Democratic, so that his political aspirations were rarely gratified ; he was, however, a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1820, a representa- tive in 1822, and a member of the Governor's Council in 1841. He was also Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners from 1844 to 1850. He was prominently identified with the cause of education, and was a trustee of Framingham Academy from 1820 to 1852.
In the first half of the last century a bitter and acrimonious discussion arose between certain citizens of Concord and Acton as to which section was entitled to the everlasting renown of the "shot heard around the world." As a native of Acton, Mr. Adams entered into this controversy with all the force of his brilliant genius, often speaking and writing in behalf of the claims of the men of Acton. In a centennial oration delivered at Acton July 21, 1835, he said : "If the first blood was shed at Con- cord, the men of Acton arrived to shed it." On another occa- sion, in responding to a toast on the battle of Concord, he is said to have stampeded the honorable chairman by giving birth to this famous epigram: "Mr. Chairman, it is true that Concord furnished the field, but Acton the men!" He was widely popu-
HON. JOSIAH B. FRENCH, OF LOWELL, County Commissioner, 1844-1847.
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lar, and an able lawyer. His distinguishing characteristic, how- ever, was in the possession of an infinite fund of wit and humor. which often convulsed the Honorable Court with its irresistible brilliancy; indeed, it has been said by some of his contempo- raries that this propensity for wit and sarcasm acted as a handi- cap to prevent his rising to that eminence in his profession which his education and talents justified. As one writer has said, he continually watched for openings for his wit, and, "whenever he saw a loose nail, drove it home." In this, he sometimes overshot the mark, as in the instance of Chief Justice Shaw, who was at one time speaking before an audience of lawyers of certain won- derful things which had come under his observation, mentioning an Egyptian mummy, from the case of which was taken certain seed, which, when planted, brought forth a crop: "Of mum- mies?" chimed in Mr. Adams! The others laughed, but the eminent Chief Justice scowled and never forgot it.
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