USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Charlton > Charlton historical sketches > Part 2
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an older citizen we are permitted to know the exact date of its beginning as a repose for the dead. The first grave was that of James, a young son of Lieut. John Dresser, who died in May, 1745. Lieut. Dresser gave the right of burial in this lot to his neighbors. The stone which is placed at the head of the first grave was placed by one Aaron Dresser, a great grandson of the orig- inal donor, who knew the place of hu- rial and the date. He was a man of historical turn of mind, and bore in mind many reminiscences which he received from those older. This yard, however, has ever been private proper- ty until 1868 when George Thompson gave a deed of it to the town and a right of way to the highway, in consid- eration that the town would maintain the fence and the two gates leading to it. Prior to 1868 it was in the deed of the farm now owned by George Thomp- son though with a reservation that it was to be used as a public burial place, and that the owner was permitted to mow the grass, or pasture the same with sheep, or such stock as would not deface the premises. This yard com- prises an acre of ground. It was an excellent labor in Mr. Thompson to deed it to the town, and the communi- ty at large have many thanks to give Mr. Thompson for the manner i which the yard has been kept for some forty years. The land is in good repair, it is pleasantly situated, though it may be inconvenient to reach, It contains about 160 head stones, but there are many more burials. This yard is the
resting place of many of the pioneer of the town in that vicinity. In this yard are buried the Dressers, the Bloods, the Chamberlains, the Cleav- lands, the Conants, the Clemences and Fessendons, and many others of less numerous families. Many who are buried here bad an extensive influ- ence in the early affairs of our town, and to them we owe much for their en- ergy and zeal in preparing the way for us.
Capt Richard Dresser, the "District clerk" [Town] for some years at the formation of the town, died August 27, 1797 aged 82 years .- Lieut. John Dres- ser the owner of the ground died Jan- uary 24, 1789 aged 73 .- By the records of the town we learn that John Dres- ser Jr. was chosen "grave digger for the South burial place" March 7, 1770. Also at the town meeting held April 14, 1808, Moses Dresser Jr. was voted sex- ton for the South burial place.
CHARLTON NORTH-SIDE CEMETERY.
Concerning the origin of this yard we are as yet in the dark. It is on the land which orignally belonged to the Wheelock family, who settled in that section. The north part of the town was quite thickly settled at an early date, hence we think if the date be found it would confirm our impression that this is one of the oldest burial places in the town. The land may have been given by Jonathan Wheelock, and permissions for burials continued by Mr. John Wheelock, who died in 1816. The heirs of John Wheelock gave fur- ther permission for the enlarging of the
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yard, and it was only a few years since that it passed into the full possession of the town. Since that time an enlarge- ment has taken place, and the grounds repaired and beautified. A little outlay of time and means every season would make this a beautiful yard. Of late years there have been some new mon- uments which have added much to the general appearance. Among them can we especially mention the Bacon mon- ument, erected by the descendents of Deacon Daniel Bacon who died in 1813. Also the Levi Hammond monument, and the one in the family lot of
our citizen Samuel Rich. In this yard are buried the Lambs, the Bacons, the Hammonds, the Stones, the Wheelocks, the Davis', the Tuck- ers, the Marbells, che Williams' and Pratts. And in the back part of the cemetery there are many unmarked graves. If we could only know the names of those buried there no doubt we would find many names among us of to-day. 1t is a sorry fact that so many of our early prominent citizens have unmarked graves. The earliest marked grave we found in the yard was that of Mrs. Esther Hammond, in 1762, the first wife of Ebenezer Ham- mond, the grandfather of our aged cit- izen Samuel Hammond. There must have been carlier burials than this.
liberality to that Institution." David Dunbar, a soldier of the Revolution, is also buried here. He was quite a prom- inent man in all church work of this locality. In 1825, when General La- Fayette made his tour through the States, he was greeted by Mr. Dunbar, an old friend and companion in arms, in words of hearty welcome. Mr. Dun- bar died quite suddenly on New Year's eve, 1827, at the age of 80 years. Eb- enezer Davis finds a resting place in this cemetery. At the time of his death he was among, if not the wealthiest, land- holder in Worcester county. IIe was in the French war, and 'during a portion of the Revolutionary war supplied a portion of the army, at various points, with beef. He was an intelligent man and ever active for the interests of the town. He held many offices of trust in the gift of the people. He was one of the founders of the Baptist church at the North-Side; and in 1779, being converted to Universalism, became one of the early and earnest advocates of it in Charlton. Accounts of Mr. Davis are found in Ammidown's Historical Sketch of Charlton, and in George Davis' Historical Sketches of Stur- bridge and Southbridge. He died in 1816 at the age of 79.
Elder James Boomer, so long pastor of the Baptist church, lies buried in this yard. He became a resident of Charlton in 1804, and lived here until his death in 1837. He is spoken of by aged citizens as being an earnest, hard- working man, who, to gain a livelihood,
Capt. Israel Waters who died in 1823, was buried here. He carried on quite an extensive tannery at the North-Side. The monument over his remains bears this inscription: "Erected by the Trus- tees of Leicester Academy, as a token labored on week days on his farm, and of respect to the deceased for his great on; Sunday preaching in the church at
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North-Side and elsewhere. His daugh- ter, Mrs. Ruhimah Hammond, is still living at the Hammond homestead in town, at the age of 80 years. The fol- lowing is the inscription upon the tomb- stone of Elder Boomer: "Rev. James Boomer, died February 25, 1837, aged 78 years. The gospel that he preached to others was his support in sickness and in death. To my children, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and your children.
God has laid up in Heaven for me A crown which cannot fade, The Righteous Judgment at that great day Will place it on my head .
THE CHARLTON CENTRE YARD.
From a vote found in the town rec- ords of March 12th 1764, it was decided to accept an acre of ground "a little south-east of Ebenezer McIntire's barn," for a yard for the district to bury therein their dead. This yard was needed. This hill was declared by a commission selected by the town to be the centre of the town; and the citi- zens thought it proper to have a place in close proximity to bury their dead. The other yards were too far distant Mr. McIntire had previously given land for the town church; and now again he was prompt in being generous. He gave land at the outset on the road leading west to Rev. Warren Fiske's, just in the rear of the residence of Wm. A. Weld. The first grave was dug for a little child, a baby brother of Joel Parker, who died some years since quite aged. When the time came to bury the child, the grave was filled with water; and on consultation it was
thought advisable to change the loca- tion; thereupon, Mr. McIntire offered another acre of land on the east side of the road, the present north-west corner of the yard. This account of the first grave and change of locations came to the author, from Mr. Albert Mckinstry of Southbridge, who received it from one, who received it from Mrs. Madden a sister of Ebenezer McIntire. This first thought of plot of ground is still quite springy, and damp though culti- vation has improved it much.
The original acre of the present cemetery was soon filled with graves, and in 1810 or '12 an enlargement was needed. The original road from Ox- ford came directly up the hill, near the road from Dudley to the road leading west from the Congregational church, hence the house of Mrs. Clarissa Case was on one of the four corners. On the north-west corner of these four, stood the tavern of Ebenezer McIntire, which was the great resort for all the citizens. For some reason, prior to this century, this road from the east was changed, bearing to the south-west, and entering the highway leading south near the plain entrance of the present cemetery. To enlarge the cemetery required a change in this road once more, therefore the road was closed from the present lower entrance, and the highway was made the north boundary of the original acre, as it is today. The cemetery was enlarged on the south and east sides, the south boundary being near the main front entrance. The remains of this high-
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way through the cemetery are quite visible today. To the original acre, there were two entrances, one midway in front, and the lower one just back of the first tomb. At the time of this enlargement, there must have been quite an interest in the yard. At this time Daniel Alexander erected a tomb for his wife, who had died two or three years previous. This was the first tomb, and is nearest the road. Mr. Alexander died in 1831 aged 89. The tomb now is in the care of Mrs. Joshua Vinton of Dudley. In 1812 Mr. Rufus Wakefield, a brother in law of Gibbs Dodge, Esq., took a contract to build eight tombs for prominent citizens in town. They were built altogether and in the same manner with the exception of two or three doors. These tombs belonged to Salem Towne; Wm. S. Welds; Gen. John Spurr; John Stev- ens; Jobn Rich; and two other famil- ies whose names were not inscribed upon the doors. A few years later on the death of his wife in 1819, Mr. Gibbs Dodge, built another tomb, which makes the full complement of tombs. That one owned by Wm. S. Welds was sold to Harvlin Towne, in part, for the entombing of his father and mother, though he, as we have stated built for himself a tomb near the depot.
Fays, the Spurrs, the Stones, the Fitts, the Willards, the Meritts, the Good- ales, the Bartons, the Richs, the Woodburys the Wakefields, the Stev- ens, the Bullins, the Comins and Lamsons. There are many more whom we might notice but whose families were not so numerous.
Rev. Caleb Courtis the first town minister is buried in this yard. He was settled over this town from 1762 to 1776. He was quite an active, public spirited man, and in those spirited times often came in contact with the minds of others. After the dismissal from the pastorate he remained a citi- zen of the town until his death in 1802. During the Shay rebellion he took a zealous part, and we understand suf- fered a brief imprisonment in conse- quence. He represented the town in the provincial congress at Watertown in 1775.
One fact is strange that after the generous deeds of Ebenezer McIntire, we who are enjoying the blessings of our common and other gifts of his are
not permitted to know the whereabouts of his resting place. The tradition among his descendents is that it was in the first tier of graves front- ing the road leading to the south, act- ing upon this, his descendents have staked out some unmarked graves and an unclaimed lot, as the one most probably which belonged to the Eben- ezer McIntire family. And after this warning has been give for a sufficient time, and the plat is not claimed posi-
The old families buried in the yard at the Centre are numerous. They are among the upright ones of the town, We can name the Phillips, the Nich- ols, the Harwoods, the McIntires, the Townes, the Welds, the Marbles, the Ryders, the Wards, the Burdens, the tively by any one else, we learn that a
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monument will be erected to the mem- ory of the donor of the cemetery and the common.
SOME OF CHARLTON'S EPITAPHIS.
There are in the various cemeteries of the town epitaphs of which we will make record. We claim for them no exceptional merit; we may say they are such as can be found in almost all an- cient yards. These epitaphs, I pre- sume, were designed to express a sen- timent found in the heart of the one it commemorates, or it was given to in- spire a hope in the reader and passer- by, and often we may well think to give utterance to the theology of the fam- ily. There are many beautiful designs on the tombstones here in Charlton as elsewhere. The rosebush, the broken branch, the doves, the upward, indexed hand and finger, all of these have a meaning, and offer plentiful sugges- tions to the frequenter of the repose of the dead. They should make us more thoughtful regarding our life, and more hopeful in the God "who giveth and who taketh away." We cannot give all the epitaphs-we omit many Some of those given are found in many places elsewhere, and others are purely original. As this kind of literature, by virtue of its inscriptions, become public, common property, we can quote with entire freedom:
Behold, and see as you pass by, As you are now, so once was I, As I am now so you must be, Prepare for death, and follow me.
Rest, loved one, rest, thy suffering is o'er, Thy parting look is given
We see thee here on earth no more, But thou dost rest in Heaven
Ye mourning friends, approach your God, His grace can give relief,
The hand which wounds, can also heal And soften every grief.
What art thou, death, that I should fear The shadow of a shade,
What's in thy name to meet the ear Of which to be afraid ?
Thou art not care, thou art not pain, But thou art rest and peace ;
'Tis thou canst make our terrors cease
I shall know her there. Oh! it cannot be In the Spirit Land she'll be lost to me; That the holiest ties that God has given To bind us. here, will be lost in Heaven. My star of faith shines clear and fair, When I look above I shall know her there, Though the angel's robe and crown she'll wear,
By the song she sings I shall know her there
Les faith and hope assuage your grief, And be your hearts resigned, For all who wait upon the Lord Shall consolation find.
Shed not for me the bitter tear, Nor give the heart to vain regret,
'T'is but the casket that lies here, The gem that filled it sparkles yet.
Naked as from the earth we've come And crept to life at first, We to the earth return again And mingle with the dus ..
Though greedy worms devour my skin And gnaw my waiting flesh, When God shall build my bones again He'll clothe them afresh.
Mourn ye, dear ones, for the spirit that's gone,
And would ye reclaim it thus hastening on ? No! happier far is the brother that's gone Than the spirits detained in a dark world like this.
Then with hearts fixed on Heaven, Oh, may we prepare
To meet him in glory and happiness there.
Great God, I owe thy sentence just, And nature must decay I yield my body to the dust To dwell with fellow clay.
The following is on the gravestone of two wives erected by the surviving husband. Without criticism we will say it found its way ito the "Editor's Drawer" of Harper's Monthly a num- ber of years ago:
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As I pass by With grief I see, Here lies the mates That's took from me.
In the cemetery at the centre of the town is buried John Adams, or we may give the name by which he is known over the land, "Grizzley" Adams. He was a native of Charlton, though for long years he was in the extreme West, where he became famous for his bear hunting and bear taming. P. T. Bar- num at last secured him, and Mr. Adams and his bears joined the great museum. There is an account of him in the "Life of P. T. Barnum," though Mr. Barnum gives his name incorrect- ly. He died in 1860, aged 48 years. On the tombstone erected there is sculptured a man, evidently designed for Mr. Adams, in a hunting suit, sur- rounded by bears. The epitaph upon the stone is from "The Funeral Tree of Sokokis," a poem by Mr Whittier, though it has been slightly altered. It reads as follows:
And silent now the hunter lays, Sleep on, brave tenant of the wilds, Great Nature owns her simple child, And Nature's God, to whom alone The secrets of the heart are known, In silence whispers that his work is done
At a town meeting held May 2, 1808, Comins Litchfield was elected sexton for the middle of the town, for the year ensuing. Mr. Litchfield held this of- fice for twenty-six years, ending with sickness and death. Mr. Litchfield made all the coffins of the town in his day and had the oversight of most all the funerals. He was a man much liked by the citizens and was well fitted by his genial and sympathetic ways for this office. At the March meeting of
1810 we find this vote: "Voted to grant the petition of Comins Litchfield and others for the purpose of building a new hearse, and a suitable harness for said hearse, and a suitable building for the safe keeping of the same, and likewise to procure a new burying-cloth." Capt. Thos. Farnum, Capt. Free Comins and Maj. Salem Towne were appointed a committee to purchase the same. The new hearse house which was at this time voted, stood upon the northwest corner of the cemetery at the Center, and ou the plot of ground now held by the family of Capt. Comins Litchfield. It was removed from this place to a spot farther south, and the spot upon which it stood was secured by Mr. Litchfield, who had so long faithfully served the town as sexton. The hearse which was cast aside by this new one it still dimly remembered by our aged people. It was simply two wheels with two long shafts, drawn by a single horse whose harness consisted of one of those large English saddles, with chains sus- pended over it to hold up these shafts Upon the axle and shafts was an open platform on which the coffin was car- ried. After the coffin was once upon tbe platform and securely fastened, a black pall or burying cloth was thrown over it and pinned about the head. The use of the burial-pall was contin- ued for some years after, as a new one was purchased by order of this same town meeting. The new hearse here spoken of we infer to be the one, the body of which is used at present on runners, though it has undergone many repairs.
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Upon the retirement of Mr. Litch- field, Leonard Towne was selected for the position of sexton, which position he held for twenty-five years, ceasing in 1859 when age made it difficult for him to expose himself in all kinds of weather. Since that time the office has been held by Thompson McIntire and others. At present Chauncey Nickols is serving well and faithfully the public in this capacity. While Mr. McIntire was sexton the town needed a larger and better hearse house-having pur- chased a much better hearse-and built the present hearse house; and the old one was purchased by Mr. McIntire, who conveyed it to Charles E. Morse, and is now used as a wood-sned to one of his tenant houses.
THE COST OF FUNERALS.
We have seen the private account book of Comins Lichfield, sexton of the town from 1808 to 1834. He not only was sexton but he had the labor of making most all of the coffins and su- perintending almost everything about the funerals of his time. This private ac- count reveals almost the entire expense of the funerals of those days. Com- paring the cost of funerals then with the cost of to-day we find quite a differ- ence. The wealthiest men of our town, though able to purchase the best mate- rials did not have costly funerals com- pared with our funerals of to-day, yet theirs were the costliest known in our communities. Without mentioning the names we can say that the expenses of the funerals of our wealthiest men, dying between the above dates, did not
exceed sixteen dollars. This includes the very best kind of a coffin, which means a "cherry" coffin, with the initials and age of the deceased placed upon the lid by means of brass-headed nails; the use of the horse to draw the hearse, the digging of the grave and pay of the sexton for his time. This truly seems a small sum compared with the expenses of to-day. This account book is in the keeping of Mrs. Rachel M. Blackman, a daughter of Sibley Barton, the second wife of Captain Comins Lichfield, who is still living, though at an advanced age, in Charlton.
THE MORTALITY OF CHARLTON.
The greatest number of deaths in any one year was fifty-four, in the year 1813. There was a "prevailing fever" in our midst which carried off many of our best people; this disease is describ- ed by our older people to be short, the sickness rarely being more than a week and in almost all cases provedfatal. It was in many respects like the pneumo- nia of to-day. The least number of deaths within this century was in 1876, the number being only 16; in 1820 there were only 18, and the same in 1829. We have examined the records of the town for the past 34 years, from that time which the State more rigidly enforced the keeping of records; in these 34 years there has been 1069 deaths, being an average of 31 plus; in the year 1863 the number was 47, in which year a good number of children died of diphtheria, and several died from wounds received in the army; the year previous diphtheria raged some-
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what. The year 1876 was the healthiest, judging from the mortality record. This period reaches from 1844 to 1877 inclusive, and out of the 1069 who died 300 reached the age of 70, or nearly 1 out of every 4 passed their seventieth birthday; there have been 140 who have reached their 80th year, or 1 out of every 8 passed their 80th birthday; there were 22 whose years were above 90, or 1 out of every 50. We have not found any who had reached their 100th year, though there might have been in those years in which we have not thor- oughly searched; the oldest whom we found was Mrs. Bethany Reynolds, aged 98 years. There was one George Pike, a great-uncle of Stillman Pike, who reached the age of 97 years and 10 months, and died in 1850; there was an- other, Nathaniel Burden (a son, Cyrus, is still living at an advanced age) who died in 1849, aged 97 years and 10 months. These three are the oldest. In 1875 there were 31 deaths, and the average age was 66 years and 7 months. The ages of the residents average good, which shows the healthfulness of the town, and we have no reason to fear if we care for the health of the mind and soul as God cares for the healthfulness of our bodies by giving us the free air of these hills.
THE SPURR FUND.
Our burial yard at Charlton Centre has been privileged to enjoy the thoughtfulness of one of Charlton's no- blest sons. In the early years of the war Thomas Jefferson Spurr, in com- mon with many of our land, joined the
army to bear its privations and suffer its hardships that the honor and unity of our nation might be preserved. He was a son of Samuel D. Spurr, who died Nov. 3, 1842, aged 42, and a grand- son of Gen. John Spurr-who held a prominent influence in the interests of our town. Ycung Spurr was, also, a grandson of Dr. Dan. Lamb, so long a physician of Charlton. A further ac- count of this young man is found in "Worcester in the War," an excellent book of local reminiscence. The in- scription upon the tomb stone is, "Thomas Jefferson, only son Samuel D. and Mary A. Spurr, 1st Lieut. 15th Reg. Mass. Vol. Wounded in battle of Antietam, Sent. 17; died at Hagars- town, Sept. 27, 1862, aged 24 years." The remains of Mr. Spurr were secured and are now reposing in the lot of the family. The selectmen of. Charlton were notified of the will and its condi- tions by the brother-in-law of Mr. Spurr, Senator Geo. F. Hoar. The town accepted the fund, the interest of which has been wisely expended ac- cording to the condition of the will. It would, however, add much to the credit of the town to appropriate moneys once in a while to further the same general design of this fund. The following is that portion of the will which refers to this fund:
I give and bequeath to the town of Charl- ton in Massachusetts the sum of five hun- died dollars, on condition that the same be invested carefully and that the income thereof shall annually be spent-first in taking care of the lot in the burying ground in the centre of said town where the body of my father, (Samuel D. Spurr) was bu- ried, so that the grass, trees, stones, and fence be kept in good repair and condition ;
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-second, if there is any surplus, that the same shall be used for making improve- ments and for ornamenting the burying grounds ;- third, that any surplus remain- ing shall be used for improving and orna- menting the common, so called, in the cen- tre of said town.
THE HOBBS BURIAL PLACE.
The discussion of the cemeteries of Charlton has brought to light a cemetery which the author of these sketches did not know. It is in the northwest cor- ner of Charlton. Mr. Amasa Hobbs, who has taken great interest in these sketches, writes the author as follows regarding it:
"The land was given by Josiah Hobbs in the year 1817, expecting the Univer- salist church, which now stands in the edge of Brookfield, would be built there, or quite near; but owing to a disagreement the church was not built there, and consequently there were but six buried on the grounds, the following are the names: Lydia Hobbs, wife of Nathan Hobbs, and mother of Josiah Hobbs, who died September, 1817; Barnwells and Lucena Hobbs died Sep- tember, 1817, children of Josiah Hobbs; and Charles and Warren Hobbs, who died in May, 1822, children of Israel Hobbs; no headstones were ever placed over the graves. The land is now own el by Henry Stone, who lives at the four corners just south of the Podunk church. To find this burial place you turn in the field just south of Henry Stone's house, and go east, but I doubt if any one not acquainted with the place could find the spot."
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