USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Groton > Epitaphs from the old burying ground in Groton, Massachusetts > Part 10
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James, the eldest son, represented the town in the General Court, as his father and grandfather had done before him ; was a member of the Senate and of the Executive Council. At the beginning of the Revolution, he was a member of the Provincial Congress and of the Board of War, and subsequently Sheriff of Middlesex County, and a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He died February 15, 1800, aged 79 years.
William, the second son, settled on a large estate owned by his father, in that part of Groton com 4 a was the Gore, new included in Pepperell. He was a Lieutenant in the expedition sent in the year 1755 to remove the French Neutrals from Nova Scotia, and a Colo- nel of Minute Men enrolled in this neighborhood in the year 1774. As commander of the American forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, his name will never be forgotten. In subsequent years, at various times he filled the offices of town clerk, select- man, and representative in the General Court. He was the father of William Prescott, the lawyer and jurist, and the grandfather of William H. Prescott, the distinguished historian. He died October 13, 1795, aged 69 years, and was buried at Pepperell ; his widow died October 21, 1821, at the advanced age of 88 years.
On the opposite page is a representation of the monument in the Pepperell Burying Ground, erected to their memory. It consists of a thick slate slab, resting on a solid granite foundation.
Oliver, the third and youngest son, graduated at Harvard Col- lege, in the class of 1750, and studied the profession of medicine, in which he afterward had a wide reputation and an extensive prac- tice. He was town clerk during thirteen years, and selectman during thirty-two years. Before the Revolution, he held the re- spective offices of Major, Lieutenant-colonel, Colonel, and General, in the militia. Subsequently, in the year 1778, he was appointed third Major General of the militia, and in 1781 second Major General ; but soon afterward he resigned the position, on account of ill health. He was a Justice throughout the Commonwealth, a member of the Board of War, a member of the Council of Massa- chusetts until he declined the office, and, in the year 1779, was
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appointed Judge of Probate, and continued as such until his death. He took an active part in suppressing Shays's Rebellion, which had many supporters in this neighborhood. He was one of the original Trustees of Groton Academy, and the first President of the Board of Trustees. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of various medical societies. He died November 17, 1804, aged 73 years.
Sartell. A family of this name settled in Groton about the beginning of the last century. It is said to be distinct from the Sawtells, who were here before them, though it is not improbable that they both came from the same stock. The head of the family was Nathaniel, and he had two sons and two daughters. Na- thaniel, the elder son, lived at Charlestown, and was a mariner. He sailed on a voyage, and was never afterward heard from. Josiah, the second son, lived in Groton, and was the last rep- resentative of the town to the General Court, under the charter of William and Mary. By his will, dated September 3, 1775, he bequeathed to the town and church three farms and some other property, of which the proceeds constitute the greater part of the present Groton Ministerial Fund. He was buried in the old Bury- ing Ground. Some years ago, his gravestone wa's taken to the new cemetery, and the following is a copy of the inscription on it : -
JOSIAH SARTELL EsQ. died Aug: 30h 1784. aged 74 MARY SARTELL his widow, died March. 30: 1790. aged 80. and their Children who died in minority NATHANIEL SARTELL EsQ. his
father, who died Jan! 16ª 1741. aged 60 ABIGAIL GREEN her sister, who died Dec. 20th 1790. aged 83. and other relations. From death's arrest no age is free.
Removed from the Old Cemetery to the new by Nathanict Cilloon to the lot of Simeon Cilleon.
His widow, Mary, also made a bequest to the church. The following is the first clause in her will, which is dated November 28, 1789, and on file in the Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge : --
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"I give and bequeath to the first church in the Town of Groton aforesaid my Silver Tankard, and the sum of Fifteen pounds Lawfull money, to be for the use of said Church Forever "
Samtell. Richard Sawtell, the ancestor of numerous families bearing this name, was an original proprietor of Groton, and the possessor of a twenty-acre right. Two of his sons were also original proprietors, Jonathan having a five-acre right, and Zecha- riah a ten-acre right. He came here from Watertown, where he was living as early as the year 1636. He was town clerk of Groton in 1662 and the two subsequent years. He died August 21, 1694, at Watertown, where he went, doubtless, in the spring of 1676, after the destruction of this town by the Indians. In his will, dated May 16, 1692, he mentions his wife Elizabeth. She died October 18, 1694. They had a large family, born probably at Watertown, three of whom, Obadiah, Jonathan, and Zechariah, lived at Groton. Obadiah, the eldest, married Hannah, daughter of George Lawrence, had Abigail, born March 13, 1665-6, and probably Obadiah. Jonathan, born August 24, 1639, married, July 3, 1665, Mary -, and had six children, of whom Jonathan, the youngest, was born April 6, 1676, at Watertown. Jonathan, the father, died January 6, 1690-1, and his wife, April 26, 1676, a few days after the birth of her youngest son. Zechariah, born about the year 1644, married -, and had Anna, born March 14, 1673-4, and probably Nathaniel.
This family is largely represented at Charlestown, New Hamp- shire, where the name is spelled Sartwell. This branch sprang from Obadiah, an early settler of that town, who went from Groton about the year 1740. He was taken prisoner by the In- dians, May 24, 1746, and was held until August 20, 1747. He finally met his death at their hands, June 17, 1749, being attacked while ploughing in his cornfield, without suspecting any danger.
In the printed "Journal " of the House of Representatives, June 16, 1738, is found
" A Petition of Josiah Sartell, shewing that he was a Soldier in the Service of the Province for sundry Years, and was in divers Fights against the Indian Enemy, wherein many of them were slain, and he himself was wounded in some of the Engagements, that he has received nothing in Consideration of his Smart and Services, but the established Pay, that he has a large Family, and under low Circumstances ; that he lately presumed for want of Lands and Means of pur- chasing, to go upon some of the Province Land on the West side of Connecticut
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River, adjoining to Northfield, a new Canada Town and some Farms, has built a small House thereon, and improved some of the Lands there, praying that he may obtain a Grant, or be allowed to purchase such Part of the Province Land there, as the Court shall think convenient in Consideration of the Premisses. Read and Ordered, That the Petition be considered on Tuesday the 20th Instant."
It was voted June 22, that one hundred acres of the unappro- priated lands of the Province be granted the petitioner, and, in the record of this date, the name is spelled Joseph Sautell.
In the same " Journal," June 13, 1759, there is
" A Petition of David Sartwell of Groton, in the County of Middlesex, set- ting forth, that his Son Abel Sartwell, went forth in the Expedition against Canada the last Year ; that near Half-Way-Brook (so called) he was in an Engagement with the Enemy, and killed ; that his Gun was then lost; he therefore prays the Stoppage may be taken off, and the Treasurer be directed to allow him the three Pounds mentioned."
Shattuck. John Shattuck is the ancestor of all the families in Groton and its neighborhood, who bear this name. He was the son of William and Susanna Shattuck, of Watertown, where he himself was born, February 11, 1647. He married, June 20, 1664, Ruth, daughter of John, Jr., and Ruth Whitney, who was born April 15, 1645, at Watertown. About the time of his marriage, lands in Groton were granted him, but it does not appear that he ever was an inhabitant of the town. In King Philip's War, he was a sergeant of a military company raised in Watertown to protect the remote settlements in the Connecticut valley. On one of the marches the company was attacked by the Indians, and more than one half of the command were slain. Sergeant Shattuck was de- puted to bear the news of the affair to the Governor of the colony, and, on his way, while crossing the ferry between Charlestown and Boston, September 14, 1675, the boat was sunk, and he was drowned. His widow afterward married Enosh Lawrence. In the year 1678, the date of the re-settlement of the town, Lawrence and his wife removed to Groton, bringing with them the four young children of her first husband, all born at Watertown. They prob- ably occupied the land previously granted to John Shattuck, which was situated in the north part of the town. The children were John, born June 4, 1666, and married Mary, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Longley) Blood ; Ruth, born June 24, 1668, and married, probably, Jonathan Farnsworth ; William, born September
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II, 1670, and married, first, Hannah Underwood, and, secondly, Deliverance Pease; and Samuel, who married Elizabeth Blood, a sister of his brother John's wife.
The eldest of these children, John Shattuck, and his son, John, Jr., a young man in the nineteenth year of his age, were murdered by the Indians, May 8, 1709. They were attacked, as they were crossing the Nashua River, in the vicinity of the Stony Ford-way, near the present site of Hollingsworth's paper mills, while return- ing from the west side of the river, where Mr. Shattuck owned land.
A remarkable fatality seems to have followed Mrs. Shattuck's kindred. Her husband and eldest son were killed by the Indians, as has just been mentioned. Her father, James Blood, was like- wise killed September 13, 1692. So also were her uncle, William Longley, his wife and five children, July 27, 1694, and three other of their children were carried away into captivity at the same time. A distant relative, James Parker, Jr., and his wife were killed in this assault, and their children taken prisoners. Her stepfather, Enosh Lawrence, received a wound in an engagement with the Indians, probably in the same attack of July 27, 1694, which almost wholly prevented him from earning a livelihood for himself and family. The three Tarbell children, who were carried off to Canada by the Indians, June 20, 1707, were cousins of Mrs. Shattuck. John Ames, the father-in-law of her niece, Ruth (Shattuck) Ames, was shot by the savages at the gate of his own garrison, July 9, 1724. And lastly, her son-in-law, Isaac Lakin, the husband of her daugh- ter Elizabeth, was wounded in Lovewell's fight at Pigwacket, May 8, 1725. These calamities covered a period of only one generation, extending from the year 1692 to 1725.
Sheplen. This has been a common name in Groton, from an early date. The first settler who bore it, and all his family, ex- cepting a son John, were massacred by the Indians. The sad event took place in the assault on the town, July 27, 1694, when his house was burned, and the boy John carried off into captivity by the savages, and held during several years. The knowledge which he obtained of their language and customs while a prisoner was of much use to him in dealing with them in after-life. Tradi- tion relates that, when buying furs and skins of the Indians, he used to put his foot in one scale of the balance instead of a pound
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weight. In the summer of 1704, while he and thirteen other men were reaping in a field at Groton, they were attacked by about twenty Indians. After some skirmishing, Shepley and one of his comrades, Butterfield by name, succeeded in killing one of the assailants, for which act they were allowed each four pounds by the Government. He is the direct ancestor of the late Honorable Ether Shepley, formerly Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Maine, and of General George F. Shepley, now a Justice of the Circuit Court of the First Circuit of the United States.
John Shepley, who lived at Wenham, was probably the pro- genitor of the Groton family. He removed to Chelmsford in the year 1656, at the time the Reverend Mr. Fiske took a majority of his church to that town.
Stone. This has been a common name for nearly two centu- ries, and the families bearing it have lived in the south part of the town. Deacon Simon Stone was an original proprietor, owning an eighteen-acre right. He was the oldest of the children of Deacon Simon and Mary (Whipple) Stone, of Watertown. Perhaps he is the person referred to by Mather (Magnalia, vii. 74), who was severely wounded by the Indians, July 4, 1690, at Exeter, New Hampshire. Simon Stone and John Stone, mentioned in the distribution of garrisons, March 17, 1691-2, were probably father and son. Simon married Sarah -, and it is probable that several of his children were born before he came to Groton, as their births are not recorded in the town records. Among these were John and Simon, Jr., who were often chosen town officers ; James, a son of Simon, Jr., was a deacon in the church.
Tarbell. Thomas Tarbell, the ancestor of this family, sold his house and land in Watertown in the year 1663, and about the same time removed to Groton. He and Thomas, Jr., were original proprietors of the town, the father owning a twenty-acre right, and the son a six-acre right. The name is sometimes written Tar- bole. He married Mary -, and had Elizabeth, born January 5, 1656-7, and William, born February 26, 1658-9, both at Water- town. The names of two other children, Thomas, Jr., and Abigail, do not appear in the town records of Watertown, and they probably were born before he settled in that town. He was one of four men, to whom twenty acres of land were granted by the town of
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Groton, in the year 1665, on condition that they should build a grist-mill. At the outbreak of King Philip's War, he went to Charlestown, where he married, for the second time, August 15, 1676, Susanna, widow of John Lawrence, Jr. He died at Charles- town as early as the beginning of 1681, and his widow at the same place, January 5, 1692. Thomas Tarbell, Jr., married, June, 30, 1666, Hannah, daughter of William and Joanna Longley, and had four children. He died in the autumn of 1678, and administration on his estate was granted his widow, December 18, 1678. Thomas Tarbell, 3d, eldest child of the preceding Thomas, married, Decem- ber 1, 1686, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard and Isabel Blood, and had ten children. He was town clerk of Groton in the years 1704 and 1705. He lived on what is now known as Farmers' Row, a short distance south of the Lawrence Farm. He was probably the "Corpº Tarboll," who commanded, in the autumn of 1711, one of the eighteen garrisons in the town. Three of his children, Sarah, John, and Zachariah, were carried off by the Indians, June 20, 1707, and never came back to remain. They were picking cherries early one evening-so tradition relates- and were taken before they had time to get down from the tree. They were carried to Canada, where, it would seem, they were treated kindly, as no inducement was strong enough afterward to make them return. The girl was sold to the French, and placed in a convent near Montreal ; the boys remained with their captors at Caughnawaga, an Indian village near Montreal, and subsequently married squaws and became chiefs of their tribe. Their case was brought before the Council and House of Representatives, April 20, 1739, in Boston, by Governor Belcher, when he made a speech, in which he said that -
"There are lately come from Canada some Persons that were taken by the Indians from Groton above thirty Years ago, who (its believed) may be induced to return into this Province, on your giving them some proper Encouragement : If this Matter might be effected, I should think it would be not only an Act of Compassion in order to release them from the Errors and Delusions of the Romish Faith ; but their living among us might, in Time to come, be of great Advantage to the Province."
The matter was referred to a committee, but no definite result was reached. Nearly forty years after their capture, Governor Hutchinson met them in New York State, and refers to them thus : -
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"I saw at Albany two or three men, in the year 1744, who came in with the Indians to trade, and who had been taken at Groton in this, that is called Queen Ann's war. One of them - Tarbell, was said to be one of the wealthiest of the Cagnawaga tribe. He made a visit in his Indian dress and with his Indian complexion (for by means of grease and paints but little differ- ence could be discerned) to his relations at Groton, but had no inclination to remain there." - Hutchinson's "History of Massachusetts," ii. 139.
Some years after this time, these two boys - now grown up to manhood, and occupying the position of chiefs - moved up the St. Lawrence River, accompanied by several others, all with their families, and established the little village of St. Regis.
In the month of July last, I visited the place, and was interested to learn from the parish priest that the descendants of these two boys were among the prominent families of the settlement, where there are perhaps forty persons who bear the name. They keep up in a great measure the same given names that are common among their collateral kindred in this town. While in Montreal, I procured, through the kindness of the Mother Superior at the Con- gregation of Notre Dame, the record of Sarah's baptism, of which the following is a translation : -
"On Monday, July 23, 1708, the ceremony of baptism was performed on Sarah Tarbell, who was born at Groton in New England, October 9, 1693. Her parents were Thomas Tarbell and Elizabeth Wood, both Protestants, and she was baptized by the minister shortly after her birth. Having been taken by the savages on Monday, June 20, 1707, she was brought to Canada ; she has since been sold and has lived with the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame, established at Lachine, where she abjured her religion on May 1. Her god- father was M. Jacques Urbain Robert de Lamorandière, Secretary of M. l'Intendant ; and her godmother was Madame Marguerite Bonat, wife of M. Étienne Pascaud, the deputy treasurer of the King, in this country.
Her name Sarah has been changed to Marguerite.
[Signed] MGTE BONAT, PASCAUD, LAMORANDIÈRE, MERIEL, PRÊTRE."
Thomas Tarbell, the father of these children, made his will Sep- tember 26, 1715, which was admitted to probate six weeks later. After making certain bequests to different members of his family, he says : -
" all the rest & residue of my Reall Estate I give to be Equally divided be- tween my three children, John, Zachary, & Sarah Tarbell, upon their return from Captivity, or In Proportion unto any of them that shall return, & the rest, or the parts belonging to them that do not return, shall be Equally divided among the rest of my children."
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In the printed "Journal" of the House of Representatives, for April 22, 1746, there is found " A Petition of William Tarbell ` of Groton, a Soldier wounded in the Service of the Province, pray- ing a Consideration therefor." This petitioner was a nephew of the captives.
Tinker. John Tinker, one of the original selectmen appointed by the General Court, was living as early as the year 1643, at Windsor, Connecticut, and afterward at Boston. He was among the first settlers of Lancaster, where he was a selectman and town clerk. At one time he bought of the Government the right to trade in furs at Nashaway [Lancaster] and Groton. He subsequently removed to New London, Connecticut, and died suddenly, in Octo- ber, 1662, at Hartford. -
Winthrop. Deane Winthrop, whose name stands at the head of the earliest list of selectmen appointed by the General Court, was a son of Governor John Winthrop, of Massachusetts, and a native of Groton, England. It was in compliment to him that the name of his birthplace was given to this town. The fol- lowing letter, written by a distinguished representative of his family, will be read with interest : -
BOSTON, 27 February, 1878.
MY DEAR DR. GREEN, - It would give me real pleasure to aid you in estab- lishing the relations of Deane Winthrop to the town of Groton in Massachu- setts. But there are only three or four letters of Deane's among the family papers in my possession, and not one of them is dated Groton. Nor can I find in any of the family papers a distinct reference to his residence there.
There are, however, two brief notes of his, both dated "the 16 of Decem- ber, 1662," which I cannot help thinking may have been written at Groton. One of them is addressed to his brother John, the Governor of Connecticut, who was then in London, on business connected with the Charter of Connecticut. In this note, Deane says as follows : -
" I have some thoughts of removing from the place that I now live in, into your Colony, if I could lit of a convenient place. The place that I now live in is too little for me, my children now growing up."
We know that Deane Winthrop was at the head of the first Board of Select- men of Groton a few years earlier, and that he went to reside at Pullen Point, now called Winthrop, not many years after.
I am strongly inclined to think with you that this note of December, 1662, was written at Groton.
Yours very truly,
SAMUEL A. GREEN, M.D.
ROBT. C. WINTHROP.
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Whitt. John Witt was one of the petitioners for the plantation of Groton ; but he probably never was an inhabitant of the town. As early as the year 1650 he was a resident of Lynn, where he died December 2, 1675.
UMloods. Samuel Woods was an original proprietor of Groton, and owned an eleven-acre right. He is the ancestor of most of the families in this neighborhood, bearing the name. Two of his grandchildren, Thomas Woods and Daniel Woods, were with Cap- tain John Lovewell, in his famous fight with the Indians, May 8, 1725, and both were killed. Henry Woods, a great-grandson, was in an expedition up the Kennebec River, in the summer of 1755. At the Battle of Bunker Hill, he was a Major under Colonel William Prescott, and subsequently promoted to a colonelcy ; after the war he was a general of the militia.
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SOME INSTANCES OF LARGE FAMILIES AND OF LONG-LIVED PERSONS IN GROTON.
THE following are some instances of large families, reared in Groton, between the years 1700 and 1800. The maiden names of the mothers, so far as they are known, are given within paren- theses : -
Robert and Deborah Parker had sixteen children. Ebenezer and Abigail Blood, Joseph and Abigail (Sawtell) Parker, Jonathan and Ruth Farnsworth, and Oliver and Sarah (Tarbell) Farnsworth were blessed, each couple, with families of fourteen children.
Mrs. Joseph Parker, named above, "left two Hundred or up- wards of Children & Grandchildren," according to the inscription on her grave-stone. She died February 19, 1787, in the 90th year of her age.
Jonas and Jemima (Holden) Green were the happy parents of ten children, all born within a period of less than eleven years, and among them were twins and triplets. By a second marriage, Jonas became the father of nine more children.
Elisha and Elizabeth (Adams) Rockwood were favored with thirteen children. Isaac and Priscilla (Dodge) Bowers, John and Ruth Frost, Jonathan and Esther (Shedd) Lawrence, Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Page) Nutting, John and Elizabeth (Nutting) Nut- ting, Joseph and Mary (Prescott) Stone, Captain John and Molly (Everett) Williams, and Nathaniel and Alice Woods were each the parents of twelve children.
Some remarkable cases of longevity and of regular succession of deaths, in this town, during one year, are given in the Groton "Spirit of the Times," for July 26, 1848. The list was furnished by Mr. Butler, and is as follows : -
Molly, widow of Amos Stone, died May 13, 1847, aged 94 years and I month.
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Abigail, widow of John Lawrence, died July 10, 1847, aged 93 years and 9 months.
Mary, widow of John Capell, died September 6, 1847, aged 93 years, 4 months and 25 days.
Major Amos Farnsworth died October 19, 1847, aged 93 years, 6 months and I day.
Elizabeth, his widow, died December 11, 1847, aged 90 years, 7 months and 24 days.
Lucy, widow of Deacon Samuel Rockwood, died May 12, 1848, aged 90 years, 8 months and 23 days.
All the above-named persons, with the exception of Mr. and Mrs. Capell, were natives of Groton, and each one of the six de- cedents was, at the date of death, the oldest person in town.
It is interesting to note the changes that have occurred in bap- tismal names within a few generations. In the early days of New England, certain names that now sound uncouth to the ear were in common use in every community. They were taken largely from the Bible, which was, perhaps, the only book universally read at that time. Zerubbabel Kemp was living in Groton at the be- ginning of the last century, and he gave the name to one of his sons, who lived to grow up, notwithstanding the infliction. Me- phibosheth Adams was a resident of the west parish of Groton a hundred and fifty years ago, but he spared his own boys. A class of names, common in the last century, and representing abstract qualities, such as Faith, Hope, Charity, Temperance, Prudence, and Virtue, have now entirely disappeared. The good old names of Molly, Polly, Dolly, and Sally are never seen in their original spelling ; Susie is considered a better form than Sukey, and Bessie is preferred to Betty.
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