USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Boxborough > Boxborough: a New England town and its people > Part 11
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Still the moaning in the tree-tops ; - But the King of Kings is here.
Christmas morning dawns in splendor, Merry greetings fill the air ; Loving friends round happy hearth-stones Meet, their Christmas joys to share. Christmas bells still sweetly chime them, But the angels' song begun, Changes to a Welcome Chorus For the mother and her son.
1827-1877.
Written for the Golden Wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Dix, Townsend, Mass., Mar. 8. 1877.
My thoughts through vanished years, tonight, Flow back, along Time's rippling stream, As gentle wavelets, clear and bright, Glide 'neath the moonlight's silv' ry beam :
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They lead me backward fifty years, Through joy and sorrow, smiles and tears.
And there I fain would pause, at last, And view that scene of days gone by ; Two hands close-clasped, a promise passed, And then two heads bent reverently ; Kind wishes said, and all is done, Two lives have drifted into one.
The happy days to years increase, --- The quiet years of hope and joy,- Ere sorrow comes to mar their peace, Or mingle it with Grief's alloy : Then,- little hands crossed on the breast, And little forms laid down to rest.
And so the cloudlet veils the sun, And so the sunshine tints the shade, As down the years that ceaseless run, Thought, flowing on, is ne'er delayed ; Yet two familiar forms are seen, Through all the changeful shade and sheen.
And children loved are there to bless, With merry voice and happy face ; And aged ones round hearth-stones press, While still the years roll on apace ; Then,- wedding days and farewells said, And aged ones laid with the dead.
A daughter calmly laying down The pleasures of Life's springtime fair, That up above, the promised crown, She may with joy forever wear. Time passes on ; it will not stay, And fifty years have rolled away.
How fast these fifty years have fled ! Yet happy years they 've been withal, The sun e'er shining overhead, Ev'n while a shadow seems to fall ; A God, e'er watching o'er our ways, Whose blessings crown our earthly days.
And now, kind friends, to meet you here, This eve of early spring, have come To celebrate with words of cheer This Golden Wedding in your home ; Your children, relatives, and all, Unite in this glad festival.
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May many years of quiet peace Be unto you an earnest given Of fairer days, when life shall cease Amid the blissful joys of Heaven ; And may you join when life is o'er, In that Blest Land, friends gone before.
"LOOK UNDER THE DEAD LEAVES AND YOU 'LL FIND FLOWERS."
Beneath the dry and withered leaves On the hillside gray and bare We find the pale arbutus flowers, All dewy wet with April showers, Dewy and sweet and fair.
Unseen their beauty 'neath the leaves, Till the eager, out-stretched hand
Removes the leafy canopy,
Then lowly clustering, we spy Blossoms,- a fragrant band.
A rough exterior often hides From the gaze of passers-by, A heart of truest, purest worth ; A noble soul of heavenly birth, Fragrant - its ministry.
But when we search beneath the leaves,- The forbidding, rude disguise,- We find the blossoms fair and sweet ; We find a soul for glory meet, Which underneath them lies.
FAITH.
If, walking 'midst life's roses With sunny skies above, Upon our brow soft breezes, Around us those we love ; Without a doubt to trouble Our calm unruffled way, We trust to God's great wisdom To guide us day by day, Can this be faith ?
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Poems.
Ah! no : but when the blossoms Are dead around our feet : When skies are dark at noon-day, And all that makes life sweet Has faded with the flowers : If then no doubt intrude Of Him who of our life-walk Has made this solitude, Oh, this is faith.
ARBUTUS.
On a brown and sheltered hillside 'Neath the trees with leaflets sere, 'Mid the mosses and the lichens, In the morning of the year, While the wind of early springtime Through the pine-grove sobs and grieves,
Gathered we the pale sweet flowerets From their nest beneath the leaves. Fragrant, frail arbutus blossoms, Waxen, spotless as the snow ; Just as sweet, and pure, and fragrant, As they were a year ago.
One short year ago and round me Friendship bound her silken thread ; O'er my shadowy way her radiance Like a living glory spread. And the rocky path and thorny Smoother grew beneath my feet, And beside it, just beyond me, Bloomed hope's flow'rets, fair and sweet.
But the springtime merged in summer, And the autumn days drew near ; Then the heavens grew dark and threatening, And the leaves fell brown and sere. Winter came, and o'er life's landscape Fell a mantle, cold and white, All the radiance and the beauty Shut forever from my sight. Spring brings not to me the friendship That the winter stole away, But the frail, sweet, springtime blossoms Changeless come to cheer each day.
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EXTRACTS.
The earth resplendent with the golden sunshine Lies glorified along our way.
-OUR BLESSINGS.
A lesson we may learn of thee, Thou busy brook ; To tread unmoved our narrow way, Through cloudy or through sunny day, Unheeding all the world may say, Nor backward look. - THE BROOKLET'S LESSON.
The loving thoughts we shelter in the heart Upspringing there, the blades of good shall grow, Which, kept by watchful care from weeds apart, ---- The evil thoughts we but too often sow,-
Shall flourish, grow in strength, and soon increase,
And we in life's last days the fruit shall see ;
Reward of life well spent,- eternal peace,- For " as our sowing, shall our reaping be." - SOWING AND REAPING.
Oftentimes beside the quiet lake, The merry children searched for shell or stone, Or wandered in the meadow after lilies, Or listened to the water's ceaseless moan.
Past that quiet spot I roamed today, But sound of human voice I could not hear ; Where'er I sought, - no sign of human presence, -- Save Nature's murmur,- silence far and near. - OUR OLD HOME.
The influence of every word I felt for either good or ill, And hearts by loving thoughts bestirred, A kindly influence e'er distil, And, as the dew upon the flower, So falls on man its magic power. - WORD INFLUENCE.
The day, with its cares, is closing, And the twilight shades enfold The gray old hills, The rocks and rills, And the pines beyond the wold,
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The Hager Family.
A quiet, all calm and holy, O'er the world is resting low, As if apart To lift the heart From its earthly care and woe.
- WORK FOR GOD.
Few her years and full of sorrow, Yet across the pale, sweet face, Not a shadow comes to borrow Aught of all its trust and grace. -A TALE OF BRITTANY.
Ah ! we know not; yet God knoweth, Wisely hath he planned it all ; Sow thy seed, then wait with patience Till God's rain and sunshine fall ; Springing forth but at His bidding It shall surely hear His call.
- SOW THE SEED.
-when at last The trial's past The soul shall purer be, And brighter shine, Through coming time, For sorrow's ministry. - AFTER THE RAIN.
And the deep blue heavens low-bending, Seem to bless the woodland bowers, Bidding them awake from slumber 'Midst the gentle April showers. -SPRING HAS COME.
George H. Hager married Florence E. Albee, of Clinton, and they have two daughters, Mabel Elizabeth and Mary Alice. George H. and Benjamin O. Hager are engaged in the grocery business in Clinton. John M. Hager married Mattie L. Coan, of Somerville, and resides in that place. They have a daughter, Mildred Rich, and a son, Clayton Marden.
Daniel Hager, the youngest son of Phinehas and Ruth Hager, born Feb. 16, 1829, married Maria H. Nottage, of Stark,
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Maine, and went to Kansas where they remained eight years. They were the parents of five children, of whom four are living : Esther J. and Ella J., twin girls, William H. and Herbert W. They are now settled in Wendell. Mass. William H. married Miss Margaret Cope and resides in Tully, Mass. They have two children.
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CHAPTER XI.
JAMES R. HAYDEN - HAYWARD FAMILY - JOHN HOAR - WM. S. HOUGHTON - LITTLEFIELD FAMILY.
JAMES R. HAYDEN.
MR. James Rule Hayden has lived upon the farm which he owns at the present time, for fifty-one years. His grandfather, Peter Wheeler, who was born in 1760 and died in 1846 at the advanced age of eighty-six years, formerly occupied the place, and at his death left it to his grandson. James R. Hayden is the son of Rufus and Nabby (Wheeler) Hayden, and was born in Acton, Mass., in 1824, being the youngest but one of a family of five children, four sons and one daughter. Mrs. Susan C. Fletcher, of Fletcher Corner, Acton, is Mr. Hayden's sister. He came to reside with his grandfather in 1840, and took care of him the last six years of his life. Mr. Wheeler was thrice married. His first wife, Mr. Hayden's grandmother, was Abigail Tuttle of Acton, and Nabby was one of a family of thirteen. Mr. Peter Wheeler served as a major drummer in the Revolutionary War. He lies buried in the cemetery at the south part of the town.
Mr. James R. Hayden married for his first wife, Miss Aro- line Dickey, of China, Me., and they were the parents of three children, Orville J., William H. and Nellie A. Orville J. Hayden married Miss Mary Stone, of Royalston, Mass., and they have one daughter, Harriet Edith. They reside in Somerville, Mass., where Mr. Hayden is employed by the Adams Express Co. William H. Hayden married Miss Flora Strickland, of Lowell, Mass., and they, with their three
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children, Arthur A., Florence A., and George, are settled at East Acton. Nellie A. Hayden married Mr. Frederic Norris, of Boston, and removed to Medford, Mass. Mr. Norris is a painter in that place. They have three sons, Ernest, Frank, and Harold.
Mr. James R. Hayden married for his second wife, Miss Harriet Sargent, daughter of Elijah and Abiah (Foster) Sargent, of Denville, Vt. She was the youngest of a family of eight children.
Mr. Hayden's brick dwelling is situated at the junetion of the old turnpike and the Stow road, and in close proximity to the Congregational church and parsonage. He has been sexton of the church twenty-eight years. He has always been an industrious man, and the farm of his ancestors has improved under his hands.
In Peter Wheeler's time, a blacksmith's shop arose on the site of the present parsonage. The house in which he lived was situated on the common in front of Mr. Hayden's dwelling, which was built about sixty years ago. An old well marks the spot. After the erection of the new edifice, the old building was removed, and forms a part of the barn on the premises at the present time.
THE HAYWARD FAMILY.
I am indebted to Mr. Herbert Nelson Hayward, of Rowley, Mass., formerly of Boxborough, for information regarding the Hayward family, nearly all of which has been selected from the " Genealogy of the Hayward Family " which he is preparing at the present time.
" Georg Heaward " or Hayward, and his wife, Mary (American ancestors of the Boxborough Haywards), were one of the "about twelve families " that Rev. Peter Bulkeley, of Odell, England, and Simon Willard, a merchant of Horsmon- den, County of Kent, brought with them, embarking from London, May 9, 1635, in the ship " Susan and Ellen" (Cap- tain Edward Paine, of Wapping, England), and settled at
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The Hayward Family.
Musketaquid (Concord, Mass.), in the fall of 1635. He was one of the first settlers of Concord, and had an allotment of land from the first division of lands of, the original grant, by the General Court, of six miles of land square, where he built a house and barn. In 1664 he built a saw-mill, afterward a corn-mill, at what is still known as Hayward's Mills. His full name has appeared in ancient records, in addition to that above, as Gog Heaward, Georg Heward, George Heyward, Georg Heyward, George Heiward, George Heywood and Geo. Howard; but Savage in his " Genealogical Dictionary " says, " he wrote his name Heaward." Georg Heaward and wife are quite likely a branch of the Hayward, alias Haward, or Howard family, that early settled on the Isle of Hartrey, in the northeast part of Kent County. England. This Hayward family was a branch of the very ancient and original family of Havard or Hayward, alias Havert. Heyward. Haward. Howard, of Wales, where the earliest records of the Norman ancestor,- who, it is said, came in the eleventh century from Havre de Grace, the seaport town of Normandy, in the northern part of France,- are found to be.
"Joseph ; heaward," or " hayward," as he signed his name to his will, Jan. 29, 1711, was the second son of Georg Hea- ward and Mary, his wife, of Concord, Mass. He was born in Concord, Mar. 26, 1643 ; married(1) Hannah Hosmer, of Con- cord, who died Dec. 15, 1675; (2) Elizabeth Treadway, of Watertown, who probably died 1699. He died Oet. 13, 1714, aged 71.
Simeon hayward, of Concord, sixth son of Joseph and Elizabeth hayward, born in 1683, married Rebecca Hartwell, of Concord, in 1705, died May 18, 1719. Dea. Samuel Hay- ward, of Acton, Mass., second son of Simeon hayward, or Hay- ward, and Rebecca (Hartwell) Hayward, of Concord,- born 1713. married 1739. Mary Stevens died Mar. 6, 1791, aged 77 years, 11 months, 1 day. Paul Hayward, of Boxborough, second son of Dea. Samuel and Mary (Stevens) Hayward, of Acton, born Apr. 2, 1745, married Anna White, of Acton, July 14, 1768, died May 16, 1825, aged 79 years, 10 months, 17
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days. His wife. Anna, died at the advanced age of 91 years, 8 months, 24 days. On coming to Boxborough, they settled on the farm now owned by Mrs. Eliza A. Hayward. They had a family of ten children : Anna, Paul, Sarah, Mather, Elizabeth, James, Susannah, Ebenezer, Mary and Samuel Hayward. AAnna married Moses Whitcomb ; Dea. Paul (1771-1841) married Lucy Whitcomb; Sarah (1772-1866) married Reuben Graham ; Mather (1774-1850) married Lucy Page. of Bedford; Eliza- beth (1776-1854) married (1) Gates. (2) Whitcomb, of Little- ton ; James (1779-1846) married Eunice Wood, of Boxborough ; Susannah married Moses Hartwell, of Littleton; Ebenezer (1783-1861) married Polly Wetherbee ; Mary married (1) John Wood, (2) Jonathan Nource, of Boxborough ; Esquire Samuel (1785-1863) married Sophia Stevens, of Marlborough.
Dea. Paul and Lucy (Whitcomb) Hayward had fourteen children : Paul. Lucy. Ephraim, Joel, James, John, Stevens, Samuel, Hannah. Eliza Ann, Joseph, and three who died young. Paul, Ephraim, Joel, James, John and Samuel, all settled in Ashby, Mass. ; Lucy married John Kimball, of Littleton ; Stevens married Harriet Johnson ; Hannah died at the age of twenty-four: Eliza A. married (1) Ebenezer W. Hayward, (2) Col. John Whitcomb, both of Boxborough ; and Dea. Joseph, born Mar. 12, 1819, married (1) Catherine Walton Wellington, and (2) Mrs. Ellen A. Bezanson, of Chelsea, Mass., Sept. 30, 1884.
JOEL FOSTER HAYWARD.
James Hayward, who married Harriet Foster, and settled in Ashby, had one son, Joel Foster, born in Ashby. Nov. 8, 1835. He remained upon the farm with his father until twenty-one years of age, and then attended school at Wilbra- ham for one year. Returning home, he soon after came to Boxborough, remained with his Uncle Joseph Hayward a short time, worked for James C. Houghton. of Littleton, a few months, and then upon solicitation returned and taught the winter term of the South school in Ashby. In the spring,
feel J. Hayward
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Joel F. Hayward.
Mr. Adelbert Mead, of Acton, engaged him to work through the summer for Isaac Whitney, of Harvard. The following winter he spent in the employ of A. and O. W. Mead and Co., Acton, of whom he bought a farm in that town, where he remained twelve years. Afterward removing to Boxborough, he resided upon the Stone place nine years, and then having purchased the farm of Col. John Whitcomb, he removed thither with his family.
July 6, 1859, he married Sarah E. Webber, of Ashby, and they were the parents of eight children : Cornelia A., who married Granville Veasie, of Boxborough ; Cordelia E., who died young ; James P., Stevens, Joel Foster, Minnie, Martha J. and Roland.
Joel Foster Hayward, Sr., was for ten years deacon of the Congregational church in Acton. He taught school one term in No. 4 District, 1860 ; and he has served the town as super- intendent of schools, also as auditor and selectman.
Deacon Joseph and Catharine (Wellington) Hayward had two children, Joseph Warren and Lucie Helena. J. Warren, born Apr. 3, 1843, married, Jan. 29, 1874, Margaret A. V. Hutchins, of Carlisle, Mass., and they have four children, Lena, William W., Warren and Charles M. Mr. Hayward has served the town as selectman and assessor for several years, also as school committee. Lucie H. married Edgar C. Mead, of Boxborough, and they have four children, Clarence W., Eben H., Ethel W. and Catharine L. Joseph Hayward was deacon of the Congregational church in Boxborough for twenty- six years. He died June 22, 1888.
James and Eunice (Wood) Hayward were the parents of nine children : Eunice, Susannah, James Wood, John (who died when 26 years of age), Stevens, Lucy Ann, Paul (who died at the age of twenty), and two who died in childhood. Eunice married Emery Fairbanks : Susannah married Sewell Fairbanks ; James Wood married Hannah E. Conant, of Acton, Mass. ; Stevens married Charlotte Conant, of Acton, who was eighth in descent from Roger Conant, the first Colonial Gover- nor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony at Cape Ann, in 1624;
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Lucy Ann married Thomas Burbeck, of Acton, buried her husband in 1870, and is now living with her brother. Stevens Hayward, in Boxborough. "James Hayward " says William S. Wood in his "Wood Genealogy," " was named for his uncle, James Hayward, of Acton, Mass., who fell at Lexington, Apr. 19. 1775. the day of the Concord fight." He was said to have been an excellent man and universally esteemed by those who knew him. He was for a number of years, selectman, assessor. and highway surveyor of Boxborough. Captain James Wood Hayward, his son, resides in West Acton. He has been active and enterprising, and is a prominent man in his town.
Stevens and Charlotte (Conant) Hayward were the parents of five children : Charles H., who died in infancy, Herbert N., J. Quincy, Clara S. and Lottie M. Herbert N. married Sarah P. Baldwin. of Waltham. and they have one son, William Baldwin. Mr. Hayward is engaged in the retail grocery and provision business in Rowley, Mass., where he resides with his family. J. Quincy, a graduate of Amherst, class of 1882, is at present engaged on the staff of the Bunker Hill Times, Boston. Clara S. married Charles L. Woodward, of Landsgrove, Vt., Mar. 25, 1884, and is settled on the home- stead place of her father in Boxborough. They have one son, Harry. Lottie M. married Charles V. McClenathan, of West Rindge, N. H. They have one child.
Stevens Hayward received an academic education, taught school in Boxborough and Acton, and finally settled on his father's farm, where he has lived most of his life. He was a member of the Boxborough Light Infantry Company when it existed, and has been school committee and highway surveyor of Boxborough.
Ebenezer and Polly (Wetherbee) Hayward had seven children : Ebenezer W., Albert, Mary, Franklin, Susanna, Anna and Paul. Ebenezer W. married Eliza Ann Hayward, daughter of Dea. Paul and Lucy (Whitcomb) Hayward. Dea. Albert married Eliza Wetherbee, of Concord, and settled in Acton, Mass. Their two sons, George and Edwin, reside in West Acton. Anna married Ariston M. Hayward, of Bridge-
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The Hayward Family.
water, Nov. 16, 1867, and removed to that place, where she now resides. She taught school in Districts Nos. 2, 3 and 4 in her native town, also in the Primary and Intermediate or Grammar schools in West Acton. Hon. Paul Hayward married Alice M. Balcom, of Sudbury, Mass., and they were the parents of four children, Alice P., who died in infancy ; Florence M., Albert H. and Cally H. Florence M. married Maurice G. Cochrane, of Melrose. Albert H. is master mechanic of the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, of all work on the West End Street Railway System, Boston, and he is also purchasing agent for the same company. Hon. Paul Hayward resided on his father's homestead for many years. He was school com- mittee and deacon of the Congregational church for a long time. He had the honor of being sent representative from Boxborough in 1871, and he served in the late civil war for nearly two years. On account of the sickness and suffering experienced while in his country's service, he was granted, in 1885, an invalid pension. He removed from Boxborough to Reading in 1864, thence to Melrose Highlands in 1879. In 1887 he went to Los Angeles, California, and entered the employ of the Los Angeles Electric Street Railway, as a con- ductor. He is now temporarily residing there.
Esquire Samuel Haywood and Sophia, his wife, were the parents of five children : Mary Ann, Louisa, Samuel Henry, Sophia Lavina, and Susan. Mary Ann, born in Boxborough, Apr. 19, 1815, married, Oct. 5, 1876, Samuel K. Hildreth, of Medford, Mass. Louisa, born Sept. 8, 1820, married Augustus Rice, of Marlborough, and settled at Rock-bottom. She is now a resident of Cambridge, Mass. Samuel Henry, born Aug. 13, 1823, married Louisa Conant, and died Dec. 6, 1884. Sophia Lavina, born Nov. 12, 1826, married Isaac Warren Fletcher, of Stow, in 1851. He died in 1863. Susan, born June 11, 1829, died Jan. 13, 1854, aged twenty-four years. Esquire Samuel Hayward lies in the beautiful family lot in the lower burying-ground in Boxborough, and his only son, Samuel Henry, is also buried there.
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Deacon M. E. Wood, in his centennial speech, said of the six Hayward sons who removed to Ashby : " They, and their descendants, exert a large influence in all that pertains to the welfare of the town, both agricultural and educational. In all the work of the church they are generous supporters ; one of them at his death left a generous bequest, that these blessings might be perpetuated." The obituary notice of their mother is worthy of note : "This aged Christian was a pattern of industry, kindness, meekness, patience and piety. For three score and six years she was a consistent member of the Congre- gational church in Boxborough ; her eleven children joined the church of their mother, and two of them became deacons in it after their father."
It is related of Dea. Paul Hayward, grandfather of Dea. Joseph Hayward, that, having raised a good crop of corn one season, a thing which no other farmer had succeeded in doing,- seed corn consequently being scarce and high,- he would sell only half a peck to any one person, rich or poor, and that at the rate of $2 per bushel.
Dea. Paul Hayward, the father of Dea. Joseph Hayward, did a great deal for the Congregational church when it was in its infancy. So marked were his efforts in this direction, that he may almost be said to have been the founder of it. Was money wanted for one purpose or another? He helped to raise it. Were there arrearages to meet ? He put his hand into his own pocket and paid them. Was a house wanted for the pastor's residence ? He built one (Mr. Peter Whitcomb's present dwelling) and gave the minister the free use of it dur- ing his lifetime. He was forward in every good word and work. After his death, his mantle fell upon his son, Dea. Joseph Hayward, who was one of the pillars of the church in Boxborough, and will long be missed from his accus- tomed place.
JOHN HOAR.
John Hoar, born July 18, 1791, was one of the old residents of Boxborough, and formerly occupied the house where Jerome
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John Hoar.
Whitney now lives. The artwell, Whitcomb Hand Whitney places, were, in his day, all in one farm. He married Harriet Hartwell, of Littleton, and their three children are married and settled in Boxborough, on these three farms. The eldest daughter, Harriet Elvira, born Nov. 7, 1816, married Mr. Jerome Whitney, Jan. 19, 1839, and resides at the old homestead. Caroline, the second daughter, born March, 1820, married Mr. Granville Whitcomb, Mar. 4, 1841, and resides near by on a farm which was once a part of the original homestead ; and Simon Hartwell (Hoar), born May, 1818, married Lydia Tuttle, daughter of Nathan Tuttle, of Littleton, and settled on the third farm taken from the original homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Whitney have two children living, Harriet Elvira, who married Ephraim Cobleigh, of Boxborough, and Ora, who is a teacher in Malden. Mr. and Mrs. Simon Hartwell have buried three children, and have five living, Cora, Florence, Albert, Linus, and Edna. Cora resides in Boston. Florence married James, son of Captain Tuttle, of Acton Centre, and is a resident of that village. Albert married Nellie Fitch, and settled in Somerville, is in the milk business in that city, and has acquired quite a property. Linus is also engaged in the milk business in Charlestown. Edna, at the present time, is at home. Mr. Simon Hartwell has served the town as selectman, constable and collector, and auditor, and has filled the positions of assessor, and moderator at town meetings, for many consecu- tive years. He is highly esteemed by his townsmen.
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