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 32
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Benjamin and Sarah E., aforesaid, had a son, Benjamin M., who m. Hattie Gould, and was a lawyer of much promise, and d. 1867, at the age of 28. His widow now owns the place.
JACOB TOWNSEND lived on West Street, near Wilmington line, on the place lately of Timothy, and now of James Bancroft.
Jacob Townsend was the son, probably, of John and Tabitha (Damon) Townsend, and b. 1729. It is said that he succeeded his grandfather on this place. He m. 1763, Elizabeth Bancroft, and had no issue.
JONATHAN TEMPLE lived on Summer Street, on the place lately of Mark M. Temple, and now of Oscar Foote. He was a deacon ; son of Richard and Deborah Temple, b. 1699. (See Early Settlers.) He bought land of John Boutwell, on the west side of the street, and settled where Mr. Foote's house now stands. He d. 1789, aged 90.
JONATHAN TEMPLE (Lieut.) lived on Summer Street, on the place now owned by Wm. Hawes.
John, aforesaid, was the son of Richard and Deborah, b. 1704. (See Early Settlers.) He succeeded his father on the old place, which his father bought of James Pike, in 1696. His son William, b. 1745, succeeded to the place, and m. 1778, Rebecca Weston. The children of Wm. and Rebecca were : Rebecca, b. 1769, who m. John, son of Dea. John Temple ; William, b. 1773, who m. in 1800, Zervia Richard- son. Rebecca and William died before their father, and the place descended to Wm., son of Wm., and to the children of Rebecca.
JOHN TEMPLE (Deacon) lived on West Street, on the place late of Richard Temple and subsequently of Aaron Temple, now of Abram G. R. Hale, Esq. Deacon John Temple was the son of Lt. John and Rebecca, b. 1738, and d. 1821. (See Early Settlers.) He succeeded his father and grandfather on the old homestead, and was succeeded by his son Richard, who was b. 1770, m. 1795, Hannah, dau. of Simeon and Mary Nichols ; she d. 1826, and he m., 2d, Fanny Beard. Children (by Hannah) : Richard, Amos, Aaron, and Hannah, who m. James Nichols. His son, Aaron, now owns the place.
ISAAC WESTON lived on West Street, on the place lately of Capt. Abijah Weston and now of Chas. A. Weston. Isaac, aforesaid, was the son of Stephen and Sarah (Townsend) Weston, and grandson of John and Sarah (see Early Settlers) ; was b. 1699, and succeeded his father on this place. He m. 1727, Elizabeth, dau. of John and Sarah Pratt. His sons were : John, b. 1731, and m. Mary Atwood and
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OF THE TOWN OF READING.
settled on a part of the place, in an old house that stood where R. F. Gray's house now stands ; Jabez, b. 1741, m. 1767, Anna Weston. He settled on a part of the farm and built the house, afterward owned by his son Jabez, and now by his grandson, L. E. Weston. Jabez (Sen.), d. 1795, and his wid. d. 1808; Abijah, b. 1737, m. 1764, Eunice Weston, and settled on the old homestead; he d. 1776. His son, Capt. Abijah, b. 1768, succeeded his father on the homestead, m. 1790, Anna Buck. He d. 1854, and his wid. d. 1858, aged 93. Charles A. Weston, a grandson of Capt. Abijah, now owns the place.
JOHN WESTON lived on West Street, on the place now owned by R. F. Gray. He was the son of Isaac, aforesaid, grandson of Stephen, and great-grandson of John and Sarah. (See First Settlers.) He was b. 1731, and m. Mary Atwood, of Woburn. His children were : James ; Molly, b. 1767, and m. 1789, Ephraim Weston ; John, b. 1770, and m. 1794, Polly Pratt, of Malden, and succeeded to the place, and d. 1849. He was father of Isaac Weston, now of Reading.
JOHN WESTON, Jr., lived on Main Street, on the place lately of David Weston and now of Isaac G. Wellington. John, Jr., aforesaid, and his brother James, lived here in 1865. They were sons of Benja. and Eunice (Upham) Weston, grandsons of John and Mary (Bryant) Weston, and great-grandsons of John and Sarah. (See Early Settlers )
James, aforesaid, b. 1733, m. 1775, Lucy Damon, and had children, viz. : Lucy, b. 1778 ; Wyman, b. 1776; Nancy, b. 1780 ; John, Jr., aforesaid, b. 1736, m. 1765, Joanna Weston ; she d. 1775 ; and he m., 2d, in 1776, Martha Farmer, and she d. 1827, aged 79. Children by Ist wife : John (Esq.), b. 1768 (see after) ; Joanna, b. 1772 ; James, b. 1776. Children by 2d wife : Lettis, b. 1782, and m. 1800, Wm. Lewis ; David, b. 1778, and m. 1813, Lucinda Boutwell, of Amherst, N. H., and succeeded his father on the place. A son of David and Lucinda, David F., succeeded, occupied the place a few years, and sold to I. G. Wellington, the present occupant.
JONATHAN WESTON lived on Main Street, near Stoneham line, on the place now of Jonathan Moulton. He was the son (probably) of Ephraim and Mary (Pool) Weston, grandson of Thomas and Elizabeth, and great-grandson of John and Sarah. (See Early Settlers.)
He was born 1731, m. 1753, Ruth Flint, and d. 1794; his widow died the same year ; he at the age of 63, and she at the age of 64. Their children were : Jonathan, b. 1757, and settled on the place now of S. S. Crouch ; Samuel, b. 1761, and settled in Rowley ; James, b. 1763, and settled on the place now of Clinton Emerson ; Ephraim, settled on the place now of Clifford Weston, his grandson ; Lois, m.
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1794, David Flint; Amos, settled on the old place for a time, then sold to Wm. Lewis, and removed, in 1804, to Manchester, N. H. His son, Amos, Jr., has been long a prominent man in the city of Manches- ter, and his grandson, James A., has been for several years mayor of the city, and is now (1871) Governor of the State.
The old house has since been owned and occupied by Wm. Lewis and James Leathe, and is the residence, at present, of Jonathan Moulton, aforesaid.
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OF THE TOWN OF READING.
CHAPTER IX.
SOUTH READING.
THE First Parish was separated from the town of Reading and incor- porated as a distinct town in the year 1812.
The causes that induced the First Parish, the oldest and largest settlement, thus to separate from her younger sisters, to forego in part the prestige and charm of its time-honored name, and to surrender all its ancient and valued archives and records and other municipal prop- erty, were principally political ones. The town of Reading at that time consisted of three distinct parishes, namely : -
The First, or South, then called the " Old Parish"; the North, then usually called the " Precinct," and the West, often called the "Wood End," and now constituting the three towns of Reading, Wakefield, and North Reading. The South Parish were then almost unanimously of the Democratic Republican party ; while the other two parishes, with similar unanimity, were of the Federal party; and although the South Parish was the largest of the three in population, yet it was not equal to the other two. Party spirit ran high in those days; war with England had just been declared ; the Republican party were in favor of Madison and the war ; the Federalists were opposed to both ; polit- ical party lines were drawn closely ; prejudices were strong - stronger than we have ever known them since.
Mr. John Damon, a man of wealth and position, of the West Parish, long since dead, was heard to say, at that time, "that if he were drafted and obliged to fight, he would commence his bloody work at the 'Old Parish,' for he deemed its inhabitants far worse than the British."
On the other hand, Cornelius Sweetser, then a venerable citizen of the South Parish, and a soldier of the Revolution, in speaking of the Federalists, said, "Federalists, they all ought to be damned, - except some few of his acquaintance, who did not know enough."
The consequence of this state of feeling was, that the leading men of the South Parish, being mainly of the Republican party, were excluded from public office altogether. For if, as was sometimes the case, a resident of the South Parish was elected to important office, it was a Federal resident, who was chosen by the votes of the other parishes,
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and was not the choice of the people of the South Parish. Under this exclusive system it was that Capt. James Gould and Hay Nichols, Esq., gentlemen of respectability and capacity, for that matter, but of the Federal clique, were, with one single exception for one single year, the constant members of the board of selectmen for many years. And only twice in a period of thirty-three years, next before the separation, was the South Parish permitted to have a Representative to the General Court, and then in both instances it was a Federalist, viz. : Hay Nichols, Esq., in 1805, and Adam Hawkes, Esq., in 1811.
This state of things, of course, did not suit the feelings of the ambi- tious and aspiring spirits of the South Parish ; and taking advantage of the opportunity, when the Republicans were in power and Gerry was chief magistrate, they succeeded in obtaining a charter for a distinct town.
We shall now give a description of the South Parish at the time and about the time that it was incorporated as the town of "South Read- ing" (1812); shall show how it looked to us, when we first stepped forth and rambled upon its pleasant hills and vales and dewy meads, traversed its narrow ways, caught alewives and tortoises in its rivers and streams, bathed and fished in its lovely lakes, and sailed or skated upon its wavy or glassy surfaces ; describe some of the principal public buildings and dwelling-houses then standing, and give brief sketches of some of the leading families and influential citizens, who then controlled the social, civil, ecclesiastical, political, and industrial interests of the town ; and so present a sort of polyoramic view of the place as it looked at that time.
In the first place, in endeavoring to show how the place then looked, and what it then was, let us say how it did not look, and how it was not. It had no post-office, its letters being received and mailed at the Boston post-office. It received no daily papers, weekly and semi-weekly only. It had no daily or weekly stage to and from Boston; some attempts had several times been previously made to sustain such an institution, weekly at least, but they were weakly supported, and were soon discon- tinued. We have a traditional line or two, respecting one of these stage lines, that it ran once or twice a week to and from Boston, for a short time, and the coach was said to be of a somewhat unique pattern, being circular in shape, something like a modern cab; and partly on account of its form, and partly on account of its hailing from "Bean- Town," as Reading had long been nicknamed, from the fact, it is said, that at the ordination of their early pastors, the main article of food
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OF THE TOWN OF READING.
was baked beans, soaked in Reading Great Pond, -the coach, for these reasons, was called the "Reading Bean-Pot." This coach was stopping one day in the street, at Charlestown, waiting for a passenger (it will be recollected that Charlestown, from time immemorial, has been called "Pig-Town "), and while thus waiting, a Charlestown drayman came along and hallooed to our driver, saying, "Get out of the way with your old " Bean-pot !" -" Hold on," said the driver, "I'm only waiting to take in my pork."
The Boston weekly and semi-weekly newspapers were left by the publishers at the toll-house on Charlestown Bridge, and it was consid- ered the duty of the person first returning from Boston, to take the papers for South Reading and leave them at one of the stores for distribution. This was the custom for several years ; there were no railroad giants in those days.
There were then but about sixteen public roads in South Reading, against a hundred or more at the present time. There was then but one single street, opening or leading from Main Street westerly, from the north end of Reading Pond to Malden line ; and opening or lead- ing easterly there were but three within the same limits. These streets were generally narrow, crooked, poorly graded, and without sidewalks, except for a short distance on one side of Salem Street, from the corner of Main Street to the Baptist meeting-house, that stood where Sylvanus Clark has recently bought of T. R. P. Hood. There was no town hall, town-meetings being held in the Centre school-house ; and in contested questions, they polled the house out-of-doors. There was no public library.
But let us speak affirmatively. The number of inhabitants of South Reading was then about 800. The valuation of all the real and personal estate of the town, as estimated by the first board of assessors, viz. John Gould, James Gould, and Benjamin Badger, Senior, was then $100,000, not so much as some single individuals among us are now valued. The whole amount of money raised in 1812, for all State, county, and town expenses, was $1,500, and the rate of taxation was one and one sixth per cent.
The solid men of the town at that time were :-
John Hart, Esq., the heaviest, whose tax was · $50 00
John Sweetser, next 66 66 37 00 .
Jeremiah Green,
66
·
. 24 00
Lilley Eaton, 66 66 66 66
.
. 20 00
Adam Hawkes, 1
John Rayner,
each
.
19 00
Noah Smith,
And so down. Sum raised the same year for schools, $300.
1
S
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The Common was then unfenced and ungraded ; an open ditch ex- tended through one portion of it, and in the central part of it was a hollow, or basin, partially filled with stones, tin chips, and other débris, in which the water stood at some seasons of the year, and where in the winter was quite a skating-park; this basin was called "Ken's Pond," so named from Robert Ken, an early settler, who came here from Salem, about the year 1680, and built a blacksmith's shop on the westerly side of it. There were then but three trees, that we remember, on the Common : two ancient oaks, with huge trunks, whose tops had been broken and dismantled by the blasts of centuries, and one majes- tic elm. One of the oaks stood by the side of the road, near the corner of Main and Crescent Streets, and the other stood near where now stands the Union flag-staff ; and both of them, in our youth, were the goals of the play-ground, the trysting-place of young men and maidens, and from both of them have we seen, hanging in effigy, public charac- ters, whose acts had rendered them obnoxious to the populace. These oaks were subsequently cut down by order of the town. The great elm stood near the new high school-house, near where a smaller one now flourishes, and was prostrated by the memorable gale of 1815.
A tall "Liberty Pole" had long stood a few rods westerly of the Bryant house ; it was not planted in the ground, as is the present custom, but was supported by long braces and transverse sleepers ; and from its top, on training-days and other holidays, proudly floated that glorious ensign that we then learned to admire and love. This pole was blown down on the memorable cold Friday of 1810.
A few rods south of where the old town-house long stood, there stood the Centre school-house. It was erected in 1799, was 28 feet long by 24 feet wide, with a porch ; against its north side stood Bryant's hay-scales, built with a heavy and high frame, from which the loads of hay were suspended, in weighing, by iron chains. This old school- house is associated in our memory with pictures bright and glowing. As we recall our school-day connection with it, visions of the olden time arise before us in images vivid, brilliant, charming - but dissolving soon away in shadows and sadness ; the old masters: Swain, with his perforated ferule, nervous, trembling, but faithful and assiduous ; Scott, majestic and morose ; Reed, the cruel and severe ; Willey, the witty, vivacious, and well-beloved ; Merrill, the sedate and good, afterwards minister of Dracut ; Fiske, the grammarian ; Haines, the eloquent and humorous, who delivered a patriotic oration in the Congregational church in 1815, on the occasion of celebrating the return of peace, and who was afterwards Attorney-General of New York; and our early
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OF THE TOWN OF READING.
female teachers, Sarah Boardman (afterwards Mrs. Yale), gentle and attractive, but faithful and thorough in her instruction and discipline ; Rebecca Boardman, her sister (afterwards Mrs. Long), not les's faithful and thorough, but more stringent and severe ; that company of my co- temporary schoolmates, the older and the younger, the male and the female, the manly, the brave, the beautiful and the lovely, some still living, but more gone into darkness ; all these, with a thousand stirring recollections, come thronging around us, as we look back into that old seat of the Muses ; but with them comes the Eolian refrain : -
" Days of our youth, ye have passed away."
Near the site of their present church stood the old Congregational meeting-house. This house was erected in 1768, was a large, unpainted edifice, with a porch at one end, and a tower and tall, slim spire, with a weather-cock, at the other. Its front door was on one side, and opened to the south. At the time referred to, it was very much out of repair ; its clapboards were loose and falling, and afforded to the Yan- kee schoolboys a fine source for whittling material for darts, arrows etc. (For a more particular account of this old house, see the year 1768.)
The Baptist meeting-house then stood on Salem Street, as we have said, near where Sylvanus Clark now lives ; was not a large building ; was erected in 1800, removed to the Common in 1820, and enlarged, and in 1835 was consumed by fire. (For further account of this edifice, see Chapter IV.)
As we remember these two religious societies, when we first came upon the stage of observation, there existed on the one side a strong spirit of intolerance, and on both sides a vast deal of sectarian preju- dice, which were not productive of that Christian union where hatred is conquered by love, and of that charity that hopeth and believeth all things. Perhaps this state of things was not strange; for it was not easy for a society, which had held unrestrained and unopposed influence over the parochial affairs of the village for more than a century and a half, to look with complacency upon the efforts of a young and rising organization, whose sentiments they considered heterodox, and whose increase would be their decrease ; and this at a time when the princi- ples of perfect toleration and entire religious liberty had not become so universal as at the present day ; hence there was much denomina- tional war and sectarian exclusiveness in those days ; our good fathers not realizing that, in matters of faith and belief, any new sect is like the camomile plant, - the more you press it down, the faster and wider
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:
e
e
.
!
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GENEALOGICAL HISTORY
it will spread. We rejoice that, at the present time, these two societies, and all our religious societies, canst and unmolested upon the same plane of equal rights and equal brotherhood.
Near the site of the old town-house stood a small, low shop, occupied by Jeremiah Bryant, then and long afterwards the village blacksmith. Near it, a little farther west, was the gate of the old burial- ground. This was the first burial-place in which the early settlers of the town were interred ; at that time (1812) the grave-stones, such as had not been broken down, were still standing at the graves to which they respectively belonged ; they have since been entirely removed, and the space they occupied has become a portion of the public park. The oldest date upon these monuments was that of Capt. Jonathan Poole, who died in 1678 ; and the latest date was that of Joshua Gould, who died in 1772, with this inscription : -
"Not four years old before he found A wat'ry grave, where he was drowned."
Tradition says this was the last burial made in this old yard.
A l ttle west of this burial-ground gate stood the small engine house, owned by the " Republican Extinguisher " Engine Company, who once a month came out, in a uniform of short white frocks and white overalls, made of Russia sheeting, and worked their tub at the pump on the Common, by hand power ; and, after returning to their house, they put on steam power, and often poured out a fiery stream that kindled such a flame of social enthusiasm as the little " Republican Extinguisher" could not easily subdue.
On the easterly side of the Common, on the spot now occupied by the brick house of Ebenezer Wiley, was the town pound, in rear of which was Eaton's frog pond, where the boys in winter learned to skate. A few rods southerly of the pound stood Rayner's bake-house, after- wards made into a store, where " Burnham & Rayner," "Gardner & Hartshorn," and others, successively traded, and which was burnt a few years since. The next building south was the house of Capt. Archibald Smith, then nearly new ; and then farther south was the house of Capt. Noah Smith, which is still standing on land farther east. At the mouth of what is now Crescent Street was then a gate, opening into a narrow private lane leading to the house of Dea. Jacob Eaton ; the antique building, long standing at the corner of Crescent and Eaton Streets, and recently taken down to give place to the residence of Daniel Allen, Esq.
North of the said gate, the next building was Jeremiah Bryant's house,
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OF THE TOWN OF READING.
then not half as large as now ; and then, next north, near where is now the house of Joseph G. Savage, stood the old Gould mansion, which was built and once used for a malt-house, and now taken down. On the opposite side of the Common were the Prentiss house, now removed ; a small tin-ware shop ; the old Tavern house, that stood just north of where is now Emerson's shoe factory, and now removed ; the house of Daniel Sweetser, afterwards the residence of Burrage Yale, Esq., and now of C. H. Stearns ; the house of Tho. Bryant, now owned by Edw'd Mansfield, Esq. ; the house of Aaron Bryant, then a small, low build- ing ; the old Rayner house, now removed, that stood where is now Mrs. Dr. Brown's garden ; Samuel Wiley's house, that stood in place of one not long before burnt, on what is now the southerly corner of Main and Albion Streets ; and an old house belonging to Cornelius Sweetser and others, where are now the house of S. O. Richardson and the Quanna- powitt House, formerly so called.
There were then on the Common, on all sides, between Salem Street and Water Street, thirteen dwelling-houses, only four of which now look as they did at that time, the residue having been either demolished, or so altered as to be entirely different buildings ; the four that still look as they then looked are the following : Late Wid. Eunice Eaton's, late Archibald Smith's, late Noah Smith's, and late Tho. Bryant's.
There were then about one hundred and twenty-five dwelling-houses in South Reading ; and of the owners and occupants thereof we pro- pose to give some sketches, genealogical and biographical, touching lightly and briefly, as delicacy requires, upon those who are still living ; with some historical description of many of these places of residence.
MAIN STREET.
LEMUEL TILESTON lived on the place recently occupied by the late Wm. Stimpson, Senior. His immediate predecessor was Silas Penni- man, a Boston trader, who occupied it a few years. It was the ancient homestead of the Woodward family. (See Early Settlers.) It subse- quently became the property of Thomas Stimpson, who occupied it in 1795. Mr. Tileston removed to this place from Boston about 1810 or '12 ; was a retired trader ; was fond of horses ; kept a sort of public house ; had children, of whom Lemuel became a wealthy and honored merchant in New York city, and William, who was also a merchant in New York. Mr. Tileston lived on the place but a few years, when it passed into the hands of the late Wm. Stimpson, whose heirs, we believe, owned it in 1868.
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GENEALOGICAL HISTORY
JOSHUA BURNHAM and THOMAS MELBURN owned and occupied the house now occupied by Geo. W. Stimpson. It was occupied in 1795 by Thos. Stimpson, Jr. Joseph Burnham was son of Col. Joshua and Lois Burnham, and was b. 1785, in Lynnfield ; married Ruth, dau. of Tho. and Ruth Emerson ; chil .: Joseph, James H., and several daugh- ters. Thomas Melburn married Abigail, sister of Joseph Burnham, aforesaid, and d. in Danvers. Mr. Melburn. had some peculiar traits of character ; he was very intelligent, fond of reading, was well posted in history and general knowledge, was a true patriot, honest, capable, social, generous ; but he possessed unbounded vanity, disliked labor, could talk large, but lacked the disposition to execute, and loved, "not wisely but too well," the stimulating glass. He was a soldier and officer in the war of 1812, but was not particularly eminent for brave deeds ; his children have his virtues without his faults.
JAMES GOULD lived on the place now owned and occupied by Dr. Francis P. Hurd. It was occupied in 1795, by Sarah, wid. of Samuel Edes, of Charlestown, who sold to James Gould, aforesaid. It was the former homestead of John Brown, Esq., an early settler. (See Early Settlers.) It was sold by said Gould's heirs to Capt. Aaron Foster, who occupied it several years, planted the fine orchards thereon, and sold it to the present owner. James Gould was son of William and Hepzibeth (Smith) Gould, and grandson of Major Gould, of Ipswich. He was b. 1760 ; m. 1786, Rebecca, dau. of Dr. John Aborn, of Lynn- ' field, and d. 1830, aged 70. He was captain in the militia, selectman of Reading many years, and one of the first board of selectmen of South Reading.
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