USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Genealogical history of the town of Reading, Mass., including the present towns of Wakefield, Reading, and North Reading, with chronological and historical sketches, from 1639 to 1874 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76
XV
CONTENTS.
Constitution (of 1780) unanimously accepted - Dark day - Beef for the army - Continental soldiers, and how paid- Rev. Mr. Whitney, of Northboro' - Value of old and new emission - Warning out of town - First Parish debt - Death of Rev. Mr. Haven - Third Parish repurchase their parsonage - Dissatisfaction with Rev. Mr. Prentiss- First Parish burial ground, and treasury - First Parish petition for incorporation as a town - Social Library formed - Shay's Rebellion - Rev. Mr. Sanborn invited to settle with Third Parish - His letter of accept- ance - Warning out- Mysterious disappearance of Thos. Sweetser - His sup- posed skeleton afterwards found - More warning out - School-dames rejected - Mr. Sanborn ordained - Watts' Hymns - School Committee and appropria- tions- School-dames restored - Small-pox inoculation - Dr. John Walton - Stove in West Parish meeting-house- French victories - Civic feast - Liberty tree and pole- Baptist Society and Mt. Moriah Lodge organized - Baptist So- ciety secretly purchase land for a church - Baptist Society erect their first meet- ing-house - Rev. Mr. Nelson -Death of Rev. Mr. Prentiss, with biographical and genealogical items - Turnpike opposed - Samuel Wiley's house burned - Baptist Church in First Parish constituted, and Rev. Mr. Nelson settled - Turn- pike favored - Law suit, Baptist Society versus Lynnfield - Death of Rev. John Mellen -Common lands confirmed to the several parishes - Persons drowned - First Parish purchase a hearse - Cold Friday - Dr. John Hart, Jr.
CHAPTER IV.
[PAGES 203-241.]
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
Organization of First Church - First meeting-house and parsonage - Succession of ministers - List of deacons - Baptist Society and Church in South Reading, now Wakefield - Organization and erection of first meeting-house - First min- ister, Rev. Mr. Nelson -Rev. Mr. Davis, second minister, with biographical sketch - Removal of meeting-house - Death of Lilley Eaton - Resignation of Mr. Davis - Third minister, Rev. Mr. Warne - Death of Naomi Badger - Fourth minister, Rev. Mr. Huckins - Fifth minister, Rev. Mr. Sawyer- Meet- ing-house burnt, and second meeting-house erected - Seventh minister, Rev. Mr. Cole - Eighth minister, Rev. Mr. Evans -Ninth minister, Rev. Mr. Adams- Tenth minister, Rev. Mr. Phillips- Death of important members - Donation from Mrs. E. E. Wiley - Eleventh minister, Rev. Mr. Bullen- Twelfth minister, Rev. Mr. Willmarth - List of deacons of Baptist Church of South Reading - Universalist Society organized - First pastor, Rev. Mr. Newell - Second pastor, Rev. Mr. Morse -Third pastor, Rev. Mr. Jewell - Erection and dedication of their first meeting-house - Fourth pastor, Rev. Mr. Lyon - Fifth pastor, Rev. Mr. Barden-Seventh pastor, Rev. Mr. Hichborn-Eighth pastor, Rev. Mr. Moore - Ninth pastor, Rev. Mr. Smith - Tenth pastor, Rev. Mr. Eaton - Enlarge- ment of the meeting. house - Eleventh pastor, Rev. Mr. Hayward - The Second Church of Old Reading and First of North Reading organized - First pastor Rev. Mr. Putnam -Second pastor, Rev. Mr. Stone - Third pastor, Rev. Mr. Pierce- Fourth pastor, Rev. Mr. Eastman - Fifth pastor, Rev. Mr. Lewis -
xvi
CONTENTS.
Sixth pastor, Rev. Mr. Orcutt -Seventh pastor, Rev. Mr. Allen - Eighth pastor, Rev. Mr. Jones-List of deacons - First meeting-house of North Reading - Second meeting-house -Third meeting-house - Universalists become the own- ers - Orthodox portion of parish separate and erect a new meeting-house - Par- ish meeting-house remodelled - Town Hall - Succession of Universalist pastors - Baptist Church and Society of North Reading organized - Opposition encoun- tered - First meeting-house erected - Succession of pastors and biography of Rev. Mr. Heath - Meeting-house burnt and second meeting-house erected - Succession of deacons - Licentiates - Notice of Dea. Eliab Parker, Jr. - Old South Church, of Reading - First minister, Thomas Haven - Brief notice of his death - Graves of himself and wife - Second pastor, Rev. Peter Sanborn - A difficult field and a stormy council - Great revivals - Mr. Sanborn's marriages - Third pastor, Rev. Samuel Green - His principal publications - Early life - Fourth pastor, Rev. Jared Reid - Fifth pastor, Rev. Aaron Pickett - Early life - Funeral sermon - Sixth pastor, Rev. Lyman Whiting, D. D. - Early life- Marriage - Publications - Seventh pastor, Rev. Wm. Barrows - Early life - His preaching - His writings - Marriages- Deacons of Old South Church - Liberal Church in Reading - Its formation - Original members - Church edi- fice - Occasional preachers - Union of First and Second Universalist Societies -Rev. G. G. Strickland - Rev. Mr. Waitt - Liberal Ladies' Association - Rev. N. R. Wright - Rev. S. M. Barrington - War of Rebellion - Creed - Generous donations - New church building-Salem Street Baptist Church, Reading- Its formation - Original members - Years of trial - Erection of church edifice - Missionary work - Ministers - Church officers, etc. - Second Advent Society of Wakefield organized - St. Joseph's Church (Roman Catholic) of Wakefield organized - Meeting-house erected - Pastor, Rev. Mr. Fitzpatrick - Methodist Episcopal Church and Society organized - First pastor, Rev. Mr. Potter - Place of worship - Second pastor, Rev. Mr. Gray - Third pastor, Rev. Mr. Atkins - Purchase of Albion Hall building- Bequest of Mrs. Jennings - Episcopalian Society of Wakefield organized - Bethesda Church, Reading - And additional Church history.
CHAPTER
[PAGES 242-272.]
EDUCATION.
First educational town action, in 1680- First Free School, in 1693 - First teacher - First school-house erected between 1694 and 1707 - Early members of School Committee and appropriations - Annual appropriations from 1780 to 1811 - Town votes respecting schools and school-houses - Three new school-houses built in Wakefield in 1799 - Description of school-house formerly located on the Common - Grammar School established in 1791 - First regular School Com- mittee chosen by the town in 1792 - Names of Committee Men until I811, in- clusive - School Committee's Reports - List of early teachers of Reading prior to year 1800- School history of South Reading (now Wakefield) from 1812 - South Reading Academy, incorporated 1829 - Names of early Trustees - Town House erected in 1834, with two rooms therein for scho: Is - High School estab-
xvii
CONTENTS.
lished in 1845 - List of teachers and graduates - Presentation of diplomas to first graduates, and speech of the Senior Member of Committee (Hon. Lilley Eaton) - Purchase of South Reading Academy building in 1847 - Annual appropria- tions of the town of Wakefield since its incorporation as South Reading - Names of School Committees since 1812 -School statistics for 1873 - School history of the town of Reading since 1811 - Annual appropriations by Reading for schools, since 1811 - Members of School Committee since 1811 -School his- tory of the town of North Reading - High School in 1868 - Set off from Read- ing, 1853 - Annual appropriations - School Committees from 1812 - Private Academy - Statistics of Schools in the three towns in 1867-8.
CHAPTER VI.
[PAGES 273-280.]
MILITARY AFFAIRS.
First military corps of Reading - First captain, Walker - Indian warfare - Second captain, Poole - Third and fourth captains, Brown and Swain - List of succes- sive commanders - Personal descriptions of officers, and training days - Grog and gingerbread - Martial and other spirit-Music- Its last (not least) captain, and its death - Military organizations in North and West Parishes - Successive captains - Formation of cavalry company, about 1800 - Its commanders - Or- ganization of company of riflemen, about 1812 - Its first officers and members - Change of uniform and name - Roll of the company in 1814 - Formation of the Richardson Light Guard - Its first commissioned officers - Adoption of name - Successive captains - Response to the order to march in defence of the National Capital, April 19, 1861 - Preparations for the march - Roll of the company - Departure - Subsequent movements and return.
CHAPTER VII.
[PAGES 281-295.]
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.
Selectmen of Reading, from 1647 to 1868 - Selectmen of Wakefield, from 1812 to 1873- Town Clerks of Reading, from 1644 to 1862 - Town Clerks of Wake- field, from 1812 to 1873 - Representatives from Reading, from 1650 to 1870- Representatives from Wakefield, from 1812 to 1873 - Representatives from North Reading, from 1854 to 1863 - Senators, from 1815 to 1873 - Councillors - Delegates to Constitutional Conventions- Delegates to First Provincial Con- gress - Civil Officers of Wakefield, Reading, and North Reading, with dates of commissions, up to 1869.
C
xviii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII.
[PAGES 296-320.]
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF INHABITANTS AND DWELLING-HOUSES IN THE THIRD PARISH, NOW READING, AT ABOUT THE TIME OF ITS INCORPORATION AS A PARISH, 1769.
Capt. Samuel Bancroft, Dea. Samuel Bancroft, James Bancroft, Esq., Lieut. Joseph Bancroft, William Bancroft, Captain Abraham Foster, Widow Abigail Merrow, Thomas Richardson, Joseph Bancroft, Emory Bancroft, John Boutwell, Isaac Burnap, Wid. Mary Merrow, Andrew Beard, Nathaniel Batchelder, David Batch- elder, Samuel Damon, Joseph Damon, Lieut. Jonathan Eaton, Thomas Eaton, Sr., Joshua Eaton, Thomas Eaton, 3d, James Eaton, Ebenezer Emerson, Nathaniel Emerson, John Emerson, Samuel Farley, Widow Felch, Captain Abraham Fos- ter, Jonathan Foster, Benjamin Foster, Timothy Hartshorn, Jonathan Nichols, Richard Nichols, John Nichols, Richard Nichols, Capt. Nathan Parker (haunted house), Col. Nathan Parker, John Parker, Benjamin Parker, Phineas Parker, Daniel Parker, Jonathan Parker, Ephraim Parker, Joseph Parker, Amos Pierson, Timothy Pratt, Sr., Timothy Pratt, Jr., Samuel Pratt, Dea. Timothy Pratt, Jr., Daniel Pratt, James Weston, Dea. David Emerson, Edward Richardson, Thomas Symonds, Jeremiah Swain, Jacob Swain, Thomas Hartshorn, Jacob Townsend, Jonathan Temple, Lieut. John Temple, Dea. John Temple, Isaac Weston, John Weston, John Weston, Jr., Jonathan Weston.
CHAPTER IX.
[PAGES 321-408.]
SOUTH READING, 1812.
Causes which led to its incorporation - " Federalists " and " Republicans " - De- scription of the town's appearance in 1812 - Stage to Boston - Roads - Build- ings - Number of inhabitants - Valuation -Taxes -Common - Old masters and early female teachers - Religious Societies - Old burial-ground - Engine company - Dwelling-houses - Descriptive sketches of owners of dwellings at that time - On Main Street : Lemuel Tileston, Joshua Burnham, Thomas Mel- burn, James Gould, Eleazer Baker, Charles Nichols, Thomas Clement, Joseph Cordis, William Stimpson, Thomas Evans, Sen., Rev: Ebenezer Nelson, Jonathan Emerson, Widow Olive Newell, John White, Sen., Jesse Carter, Lilley Eaton, John Gould, Jeremiah Bryant, Thomas Emerson, Jr., (Hon.) William Williams, Stephen Hale, Lilley Eaton, Sen., Jacob Eaton, Burrage Yale, Thomas Bryant, Aaron Bryant, John Rayner, Archibald Smith, Samuel Wiley, Joseph Bryant, Cornelius Sweetser, Noah Smith, Paul Sweetser, Sen., Adam Hawkes, Jr., Caleb Foster, Paul Sweetser, Jr., Joshua Tweed, Benjamin B. Wiley, John Hart, Doctor Spaulding, Jonathan Evans, Samuel Evans, Nathan Bryant, John Waitt,
xix
CONTENTS.
Aaron Green, Benjamin Emerson, Jr., Charles Green - On Greenwood Street : Reuben Green, Nathan Green- On Oak Street: Benjamin Walton, William Williams - On Nahant Street : Joseph Eaton, George Sweetser, Capt. Thomas Emerson, Sen., Benjamin Emerson, John Smith - On Water Street : Nathaniel Wiley, Leonard Wiley, Jeremiah Green, John Vinton, James Wiley, Peter B. Wiley, Eli Wiley- On Salem Street : Thomas Evans, Jr., Thomas Swain, Molly Parker, Lemuel Sweetser, Timothy Poole, Benjamin Badger (Sen. and Jr.), Amos Evans, Elizabeth Bryant, James Walton, Thomas Woodward, Eben- ezer Bryant, Thomas Skinner, William Patch, Jeremiah Brown, William Brown, John Brown, Samuel Peters, Michael Burditt, William Gould, Daniel Gould, Issachar Stowell, Benjamin Peters, John Brown, 2d, Timothy Walton, Ebenezer Walton, Andrew Walton, Oliver Walton, Sen., Adam Hawkes - On Vernon Street : Peter Gould, John Sweetser, Thomas Swain, Caleb Green, Jonathan Pratt - On Lowell Street : Elijah Merrill, Reuben Newhall, Samuel Sweetser, Lydia Sweetser, Aaron Burditt, Thomas Parker, James Burditt, Edward Burditt, James Crain, Widow Sarah Burditt, John Burditt - On Church Street : Reuben Emerson, David Gardner, William Deadman, Nathaniel Brown, James Harts- horn, Jr., Francis Hay, Ebenezer Wiley, Joseph Atwell, Henry Knight, William Emerson - On Elm Street : Amos Boardman, Timothy Kinsman, James Nich- ols, John Hay, James Hartshorn, Sen., Jeremiah Hartshorn, Benjamin Swain, Suel Winn, William Simpson, Rebecca Bryant, James Boutwell, David Smith, William Lambert, John Lambert, Davis Foster - On Prospect Street : John B. Atwell, Aaron Cowdrey, Jesse Dike, Jesse Pope, William Beard, Cornelius Sweetser, Jr., Joseph Hopkins, Ebenezer Hopkins - On Cedar Street : James Emerson (Sen. and Jr.), Enoch Stocker, Charles Gould, Daniel Gould.
CHAPTER X.
[PAGES 409-461.]
FROM 1812 TO 1844, INCLUSIVE.
Act of Incorporation of town of South Reading - First meeting of new town, and list of town officers elected - Second meeting and town action - War of 1812 - Resolutions adopted - Wood for Schools - Action against Jonas Parker for trespass - Petition for a Congressional Representative District - Celebration of the return of peace, 1815- Great gale - Bell purchased by town - Disa- greement between members of School Committee regarding teacher, and its results, 1827 -Incorporation of South Reading Academy- Lyceum organized - Law cases - Emerson versus Wiley decided - Celebration of Independence, 1832-Town statistics, 1832 - Dedication of Universalist meeting-house, 1839 -- Ornamental trees planted, 1842 - Work commenced on Boston and Maine Railroad (extension), 1844 - Bi-Centennial Celebration of First Parish - Bi- Centennial Celebration by the united action of the towns of Reading and South Reading - Account of celebration - Address by James Flint, D. D. - Poem by Hon. Lilley Eaton.
XX
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XI.
[PAGES 462-480.]
HISTORICAL RECORD OF WAKEFIELD FROM 1845 TO 1874.
Notable events - Important town action -Laying out of new streets and naming of old ones, etc.
CHAPTER XII.
[PAGES 481-566.]
MISCELLANEOUS.
Situation - Soil - Topography - Manufactures - Trade - Public buildings - Pop- ulation - Valuation - Railroads - Rivers - Lakes - Mills, etc.
CHAPTER XIII.
[PAGES 567-573.] BURIAL-GROUNDS.
Location - Epitaphs - Description of Lake Side Cemetery, etc.
CHAPTER XIV.
[PAGES 574-657.]
REBELLION RECORD.
The memorable 19th of April, 1861 - Departure of the Richardson Light Guard for Washington -Service at the National Capital -The Virginian campaign - Prisoners at Bull Run - Expiration of three months' term - Return and recep- tion - Recruiting of three years' men-Sixteenth Massachusetts - Army of the Potomac - Flag raising, July 4, 1861 - Return of prisoners captured in Bull Run battle - Account of their home reception - Third enlistment of the Rich- ardson Light Guard for one hundred days - Relief and Sanitary Associations - Triumphal review at Washington of the returning victorious troops from Richmond -Rolls of Enlistment, South Reading, Reading, and North Read- ing - Roll of Company E, Sixteenth Massachusetts, regular service, three years' enlistment - Roll of Company D, Fiftieth Massachusetts, nine months' service, 1862-3- Roll of Company E, Fiftieth Massachusetts, nine months' service, 1862-3-Report of Recruiting Committee of town of South Reading - List of enrolled men, and amount paid by each in aid of filling quota, under call of July 18 1864- Names of volunteers under call of July 18, 1864.
xxi
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XV. [PAGES 658-683.]
LIFE SKETCHES OF DR. NATHAN RICHARDSON, HON. JOHN PRENTISS, HON. THOMAS EMERSON, HON. LILLEY EATON, HON. PAUL HART SWEETSER, DR. SOLON O. RICHARDSON, AND CYRUS WAKEFIELD.
APPENDIX.
A. INDIAN DEED OF LYNN AND READING. B. C. LAYING OUT OF NORTH PARISH, IN 1666.
D. LIST OF SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION.
E. PETITION OF NORTH PRECINCT TO THE TOWN FOR AID, IN 1719.
F. REV. RICHARD BROWN'S PETITION, 1719.
G. SOLDIERS IN FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS, 1745 TO 1760.
H. ROLLS OF THE THREE MILITARY COMPANIES OF READING, 1775. HH. REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES.
I. COL. BENJAMIN BROWN'S LETTER FROM THE SEAT OF WAR, 1776.
J. ANECDOTES OF CAPT. JAMES BANCROFT, AND LETTER OF HIS WIFE, 1777.
K. LIST OF DONATION PEOPLE, 1775.
L. BIOGRAPHY OF HON. JOHN HART, BY HIS SON, DR. SAMUEL HART.
M. CEREMONIES AT WAKEFIELD ON ITS CHANGE OF NAME.
N. CEREMONIES AT READING AT THE DEDICATION OF SOLDIERS' MONUMENT.
O. OWNERS OR OCCUPANTS OF DWELLING-HOUSES, FROM 1765 TO 1865, OR LATER.
P. INAUGURAL EXERCISES, AT WAKEFIELD, IN DEDICATING NEW TOWN HALL.
Q. DEDICATION OF NEW HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING, IN WAKEFIELD, OCT. 10, 1872.
R. AGREEMENT WITH MILL-OWNERS ON SAUGUS RIVER.
S. LEGISLATIVE ACT FOR SUPPLYING WAKEFIELD WITH WATER.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE.
ABBOTT, EBENEZER T. (Portrait) .
43
BECKWITH, R. S.
587
BARNARD, B. F.
579
BATCHELDER, GEORGE
46
BATCHELDER, JOHN
301
BAPTIST CHURCH, WAKEFIELD
507
BOSTON AND MAINE FOUNDRY, WAKEFIELD
488
EATON, LILLEY (Portrait)
· Frontispiece.
EATON, JOSEPH H. "
67
EATON, JOSEPH
98
EATON, J. S.
340
EATON (COAT OF ARMS)
· Preface.
EATON MANSION
339
EATON (LILLEY'S LATE RESIDENCE)
34I
EMERSON, THOMAS (Portrait)
662
EMERSON, MRS. RUTH
344
FLINT, ADDISON
76 78
FLINT, DANIEL
77
HART, SAMUEL
363
HARTSHORN, JAMES
393
HAY, JOHN
92
HAY, WILLIAM
91
HILL, CHARLES H.
342
KINGMAN, SAMUEL
404
MCKAY, THOMAS
596
MEETING-HOUSE ERECTED IN 1688.
203
PARKER, RICHARD (Portrait)
312
PRENTISS, CALEB
193
PRENTISS, JOHN
194
RATTAN WORKS, WAKEFIELD
484, 485
RICHARDSON, NATHAN (Portrait)
658
RICHARDSON, SOLON O. "
671
.
FLINT, CHARLES F.
xxiv .
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
SANBORN, PETER
(Portrait)
PAGE. 189
SMITH, NOAH
353
SMITH, NOAH, JR.
354
SWEETSER, PAUL H.
668
TWEED, BENJAMIN F.
357
UPTON, EDWARD
I20
WAKEFIELD, CALEB
122
WAKEFIELD, HORACE P.
123
WAKEFIELD, CYRUS
677
WAKEFIELD, C. (LATE RESIDENCE OF)
505
WAKEFIELD HALL
510
WARREN, HORACE M. (Portrait) .
578
WHITE, JOHN =
338
WILEY, BENJAMIN B.
358
WILEY, FREDERIC S.
.
359
WOODFIN, J. H.
575
GENERAL INDEX.
PAGE.
Act incorporating town of South Reading
409
Third Parish
164
Act of Legislature for supplying water to Wakefield and Stoneham 811 Agreement with mill-owners, Saugus River 810 Alphabetical list of persons in military and naval service, during Re- bellion, from South Reading 600
Alphabetical list of persons in military and naval service, during Re- bellion, from Reading 633
Alphabetical list of persons in military and naval service, during Re- bellion, from North Reading 650
Anecdotes of Capt. James Bancroft, and wife's letter (1777) . 703
Banking institutions
540
Baptist Church edifice, Wakefield .
506
Biographical sketch of Hon. John Hart .
716
Boston and Maine Foundry
487
Burial-grounds and epitaphs
567
Cemetery, Reading . .
541
Centennial Celebration, 1844 (Parish)
425
(Town)
426
Centennial Poem, 1844 .
427
Chronological and historical sketches, 1700 to 1812
128-202
Civil officers
293-295
College graduates
471-474
Dedication of Soldiers' Monument, Reading . 749
High School building, Wakefield . Descriptive list, inhabitants of Third Parish, 1769. " First Parish, 1812 .
.
789
296-320
321-408
Division of lands, and minister's rates, 1692 . Donation people, list of, 1775 . d
37
715
xxvi
GENERAL INDEX.
PAGE.
Earliest list of male inhabitants
II
Early settlers, arranged alphabetically
42-127
Ecclesiastical history
203-24I
Education
242
Enrolled men, South Reading .
654
Female Antislavery Society, Reading 515
Historical incidents, 1639 to 1700 .
I-41
66 1700 to 1812
128-202
1812 to 1844
409-46 [
1844 to 1874
462-471
In memoriam .
658
Inaugural ceremonies, Wakefield, change of name
723
exercises, hall dedication . 760
Indian deed of Lynn and Reading .
687
Lakeside Cemetery, Wakefield
571
Lawyers .
472
Letter of Col. Benjamin Brown from seat of war, 1776
711
Libraries of Reading
513
Wakefield .
496
Local manufactures, Wakefield
482
66 Reading
525
Mercantile affairs
521
Military affairs
273
Minister rates in 1666
19
Miscellaneous .
481
Municipal affairs
281
New buildings in Wakefield .
506
Newspapers
495
North Parish, laying out of, 1666
692
Old dwellings in Wakefield
502
Owners of dwellings in 1667 . 20
or occupants, 1765 to 1865 759
Personal reminiscences (by Hiram Barrus)
545 Petition of North Parish, in 1719 .
696
GENERAL INDEX.
xxvii
PAGE.
Petition of Rev. Richard Brown, 1719
697
Physicians
473, 564
Population
501
Poem, flag-raising in 1861
583
Wakefield Town Celebration
741
66
Grand Review at Washington
598
Post-office, Reading
5II
Professional
472
Railroads
510, 518
Rattan Works, Wakefield
483
Rebellion history · .
574
record, South Reading
600
633
66
66 North Reading
650
Representatives
290
Residents of Reading doing business in Boston
552 700
Rolls of the three military companies of Reading, 1775
698
Roll of Company E, 16th Massachusetts Regiment
651
66
D, 50th
652
66
E, 50th 66 66
653
Selectmen
28I
Senators .
292
School appropriations
244, 260 247
¥
after 1812
261, 262
graduates
259, 266
¥ history .
242-272
66 teachers .
248-250
Sketch, life of Dr. Nathan Richardson
658
Hon. John Prentiss
661
66 66 Hon. Lilley Eaton .
665
60
Hon. P. H. Sweetser
668 671
Cyrus Wakefield
677
Slaves .
.
Soldiers in French and Indian Wars, 1745 to 1760
697
Revolutionary War
693
Subscription, new meeting-house, 1688 .
34
Topography
481
Hon. Thomas Emerson
663
Dr. S. O. Richardson
542
Committees, before 1812
Reading
Revolutionary history (by Hiram Barrus)
Hall Dedication .
776
xxviii
GENERAL INDEX.
PAGE.
Tornadoes
543
Town clerks
289
Valuation
50I
Volunteers, South Reading, call of 1864
·
.
657
War of 1812
4II
War of Rebellion
574
Years, from 1639 to 1700 ·
I-41 128-202
1701 to 1811 ·
1812 to 1844
409-461
1845 to 1874 ·
462-471
Young Men's Christian Association, 1767
I 58
CHAPTER I.
HISTORY OF READING.
INCLUDING THE PRESENT TOWNS OF WAKEFIELD, READING, AND NORTH READING.
1639. - THE old town of " Redding," as it is written in the early rec- ords of the town, and in its act of incorporation, began to be settled in 1639. In this year was it born, and its birth was duly chronicled in the Colonial records, thenceforward to live, improve, and, from time to time, to write its name and its fame in the annals of its country's story. Until this year (1639) it had remained in almost primeval solitude ; the light of civilization had not penetrated its shadowy forests, or its march subdued the roughness of its scenery or the wildness of its inhabi- tants. A few Indian lodges, scattered along its rivers and around its lakes, for purposes of hunting and fishing ; and about the cellar-holes and sites of whose ancient wigwams are still found, occasionally, the granite arrow and tomahawk heads : these afforded its only evidence of human denizens.
This particular territory was claimed as a part of the domain and hunting-grounds of the Saugus tribe of Indians, whose chief seat, and the residence of whose sachem, was in the neighborhood of the sea, in the heart of what is now the city of Lynn, but then called Saugus.
The township of Lynn had begun to be settled in 1629, ten years before, and its inhabitants desired to extend their territory farther in- land.
Accordingly, we find that in this year, 1639, sundry inhabitants of Lynn petitioned the Colony Court for a place for an inland plantation at the head of their bounds. Their bounds, at said date, included the present towns of Saugus and Lynnfield, then unsettled.
The Court granted the aforesaid petition, and gave the town of Lynn " four miles square," at the head of their bounds, or so much thereof as the place will afford, upon condition that the petitioners shall, within two years, make some good proceeding in planting, so as it may be a
2
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY
village, fit to contain a convenient number of inhabitants, which may in due time have a church there ; and so as such as shall remove to inhabit there, shall not withal keep their accommodations in Lynn, after their removal to the said village, upon pain to forfeit their interest in one of them, at their election."
Under this grant the settlement commenced. The earliest settlers of this territory were probably all from among the early settlers of Lynn. In 1640, the Court further ordered, "that 'Lynn Village,'" the name first given to the territory, "should be exempted from taxes as soon as seven houses should be built, and seven families settled."
In 1644, a sufficient number of houses having been built, and a suffi- cient number of families having been settled, the Court further ordered, " that 'Lynn Village ' should take the name of 'Redding.'"
This last order of the General Court constitutes the act of incorpo- ration of the old town of Reading.
It was named, it is presumed, in honor and memory of Reading in England, whence some of the first settlers of Lynn Village, it is said, emigrated.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.