USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Groton > Groton historical series. A collection of papers relating to the history of the town of Groton, Massachusetts, Vol III > Part 16
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THE FIRST PARISH, GROTON.
was remarkable for its correct expression and clear, distinct enun- ciation of the words.
You will perceive, Messrs. Editors, I am not much used to writing notices of this kind, and you will please omit whatever may not be proper. I should not have attempted what I have done, had I not thought some one should make a passing record of so interesting an event, an event auspicious in its beginnings and hopeful in its results. This good old parish in Groton I love and honor. It was the first in these parts to do battle with Orthodox pretensions and assumptions. Nobly has it fought the good fight, and gloriously has it triumphed. Under two able and experienced leaders it has established her banner firmly on an unmovable basis. May their young Elisha gird himself with the armor of the faithful, and go forth in their spirit and power conquering and to conquer, till its very 'walls shall be called salvation and its gates praise.'
August 5, 1843-
INSTALLATION AT GROTON, MASS. On Wednesday, Jan. 26, Rev. Crawford Nightingale was installed as pastor of the First Congregational Church and Society at Groton. The Council having voted to proceed to Installation with the order of services prepared by the Society, entered the Church about 11 o'clock.
The day was fine and the Church was crowded. Rev. Mr. Chandler of Shirley offered the introductory prayer ; Rev. Mr. Fosdick of Groton read from the end Epistle of Peter; Rev. Dr. Hall of Providence preached from Ephesians Chap. V. 25 and 27 verses.
The subject was - the duty of the Church of Christ designed and bound to be " holy without blemish." If it be not so, and so long as it is not, the responsibility rests upon all believers in Christ, all who are of the Church and all who are not of it - but it should be a personal responsibility, not ecclesiastical - a practical and spiritual work, not doctrinal or denominational. Men must be Christians themselves, before they can christianize the world. They must aim more, and do more, to elevate the character of the Church, than to extend its area, or multiply their own converts. Let them own one Master and one Mediator, and not let names rule, or doc- trines and forms mediate. Let them recognize all as brethren, and be willing to work with all, who believe in Christ as the Son of God, and would do good to man. Let them do battle with sin, more than with forms, and care more for evils than differences.
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CONCERNING SWAN POND AND RALPH READ.
Thus united, and content with this union, thus co-operating and praying in one spirit for the faith and furtherance of the Gospel, and only thus- they may hope to form a universal and holy church, throughout the earth.
Rev. E. E. Hale of Worcester offered the Prayer of Installa- tion. Rev. C. Lincoln of Boston gave the Charge; Rev. G. M. Bartol of Lancaster the Right Hand of Fellowship; Rev. Mr. Babbidge of Pepperell the Address to the People.
The various addresses were animated and to the point ; - and listened to with unabated attention. Excellent music was united to the devotions ; - and the length of the service, two and three- quarters hours, was not such as to exhaust patience, which was otherwise so well rewarded.
The Council, Parish Committee, and several clergymen of the neighborhood, dined together in the afternoon.
January 29, 1853.
In connection with the services held at the Reverend Mr. Wells's installation, see the Reminiscences of the Reverend Dr. Lothrop printed in the second volume (pages 400, 401) of this Historical Series.
CONCERNING SWAN POND AND RALPH READ.
IN the second volume (pages 84, 85) of this Historical Series appears an article entitled " Two Lost Ponds," which tells of two small sheets of water in Groton that have within two centuries entirely disappeared from the face of the earth, and only by record are known ever to have existed. The dis- appearance of these ponds was brought about by the ditching and draining incident to the cultivation of the land in the neighborhood. In the article are some early allusions to these ponds, showing their existence more than two hundred years ago. Within a few weeks I have seen an old Survey made by Jonas Houghton, Jr., and now belonging to the venerable William Ames, Esq., of Dedham, that further identifies the site of Swan Pond, as given in that article, and brings the
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THE OLD TAVERNS OF GROTON.
existence of the pond down fifty years later. The Survey has in the lower left-hand corner the following writing : -
Janvary ye 26th 1725 "[6] then taken a Platt of y" Land on which Cap' Jonas Prescott Ju' of Grotten now Lives it being five hundred acres with Robinis Land Lying in it
Survey" ? JONAS HOUGHTON Ju'
Robert Robins's land is laid down on the plat, as being on the north side of the highway leading from the Ridges to Forge Village, about equally distant between Swan Brook and Stony Brook, just north of Forge l'ond. Ralph Read's farm is also mentioned in the Survey, and lay apparently on both sides of the same road, somewhat nearer to the Ridges. The site of this farm has some interest in connection with the early land-grants of Groton, as it is said to have been given by the General Court to the owner in consideration " of ex- traordinary Suffering in the former Indian Wars." See "The Boundary Lines of Old Groton " (page 39). Read was an original proprietor of the town, owning a " fifteen-acre right," and by his marriage to Mary, daughter of Anthony Pierce, of Watertown, was a brother-in-law of his neighbor Daniel Pierce.
THE OLD TAVERNS OF GROTON.
THE following advertisement is found in the " Independent Chronicle " ( Boston), December 18, 1809, and refers to the dwelling situated at the south corner of Main Street and Broad Meadow Road, and formerly owned and occupied by Charles Gerrish. It was built for a tavern by Martin Jennison about the year 1805, and a long time ago was so kept for a short period. Very recently, a year or two since, it was again opened as a public house by Hall and Knight, but given up in the summer of 1891. Thomas Gardner was a trader who erected the build- ing formerly known as Gerrish's Block, and who lived in the immediate neighborhood, on the north side of the Common.
HES
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JOSEPH CHAMBERLIN'S FAMILY.
To be Sold or Let,
A LARGE HOUSE, nearly opposite the meeting-house in Groton, almost new, 3 stories high, containing a spacious hall, and accommodated with large, convenient and secure Stables. It being on the great road to Keene, Windsor and Mon- treal, and combining every advantage for travellers and parties of pleasure : affords as eligible a situation for a Tavern as any in the country. A quantity of extreme fertile Land adjoining the prem- ises, from 1 to 20 acres may be had with the House.
Also, A small Dwelling-House and Hatters Shop, near the said Meeting House. Likewise,
A Farm about 1 mile from the Meeting-House, containing about 60 acres of excellent Land, and having on it a 2 story Dwelling- House, and two large Barns, all in good repair. For further infor- mation, apply to THOMAS GARDNER, opposite the premises.
For other references to the Old Taverns of Groton, see the first volume of this Ilistorical Series, Number VII. ; and also Volume II. (pages 66, 78, and 404).
JOSEPHI CHAMBERLIN'S FAMILY.
THE following item is found in the Reverend Wilkes Allen's History of Chelmsford (page 190), where it appears among the charitable contributions made in that town during the last century. In former years such gifts by the church for private objects were more numerous than at present, when there are so many other calls for public charity both at home and abroad; and they were duly entered in the records. Similar instances of beneficence are given in But- ler's History of Groton (pages 259, 260), which were copied from the church books.
For Joseph Chamberlin, whose wife and son are at Groton dis- tracted ; May 10, 1752 was collected lawful money [6] 38 2 0
In olden times the word " distracted " was equivalent to " insane." Shakespeare says : " and, the truth is, poverty hath distracted her." Even nowadays one sometimes hears the expression " ravin' distracted " to denote violent mania.
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LIST OF DEATHIS.
LIST OF DEATHS.
[DIED] 3d inst, at the Massachusetts General Hospital [ Boston ], Mrs SARAH G. COLBURN, late of Groton, 51.
" Daily Evening Transcript " (Boston), November 6, 1848.
Died at one o'clock A. M., Sept. 2d, 1859, in Groton, Mass., Mr. Luther Gilman, aged 69. - Five hours after on the same morn- ing, in the same town and neighborhood, Mrs. Betsey Alexander, wife of Amos Alexander, aged 72. Mr. Gilman and Mrs. Alex- ander were members of the same church, and were both exemplary Christians. The church and neighborhood feel that two of its most worthy members have been taken to their eternal rest.
"The Groton Gem," September, 1859.
In Groton, Mr. Ezekiel Goodridge, aged 68, formerly of Lunenburg.
" Columbian Centinel " ( Boston), November 3, 1821.
In Groton, on Tuesday [October 16], by a fall, Mr. Aaron Lewis, aged 36 - By this dispensation of Providence, his relations and friends has to lament an affectionate husband, a kind brother, and a sincere friend - and society a valuable member.
"Columbian Centinel " (Boston), Saturday, October 20, 1821.
In Groton, 18th inst. Mrs. Alice Woods, wife of Sampson W. Esq. aged 58.
"Columbian Centinel " (Boston), November 24, 1826.
GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 1892.
HISTORICAL SERIES, VOL. III., No. VI.
THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.
FOR MANY YEARS after the settlement of New England there was no distinct class of men following the profession of law but the practice was taken up in connection with some other calling. Several of the magistrates of the Colony had been educated in England as lawyers, but here they never appeared at the bar as advocates, though at times they sat on the bench and wore the ermine. During the Colonial period of Massa- chusetts it is doubtful if any educated attorney ever practised in her Courts of Justice, with the single exception of Thomas Lechford, who lived in Boston for three years only ; and even he, at one time, for tampering with the jury, was debarred by the Legislature from pleading any man's cause, except his own, before the Courts. The first code of laws ever proposed to the Colony was prepared by John Cotton, a minister of Boston, though it was rejected; and another code, prepared by Nathaniel Ward, a minister of Ipswich, was adopted in De- cember, 1641, and at that date became known as the Body of Liberties. This code was fraught, relatively, with as big results to the Colonists as Magna Charta ever was to the English na- tion, and is to-day, in a great measure, the basis of all public legislation in this Commonwealth. At one time Amos Rich- ardson, a merchant tailor of Boston, and a petitioner for Groton Plantation, was active as an attorney in the Courts ; and during Governor Andros's administration Dr. Benjamin Bullivant,
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THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.
a physician of Boston, was the Attorney-General. Instances like these are numerous, and show that in the early days of the Colony, when professional services were required, the lawyers, like the physicians of the same period, were re-inforced from any class that had the needed skill, and particularly from the ministers. Under the First Charter there was in every im- portant town a class of officers who performed certain duties which were closely akin to those now undertaken for the most part by the legal profession ; and such men, although they had never been formally admitted to the bar, to-day would probably be lawyers.
Of this class were the Commissioners of Small Causes, who were empowered to act in all cases within the jurisdiction of a magistrate, and were approved, either by the Court of As- sistants or the County Courts, upon the request of any town where there was no resident magistrate. They were three in number in each of such towns, and were chosen by the peo- ple. The following entry is found in the Groton town-records, under date of December 12, 1681 : -
Comishinurs too iud small casis in Toown acordin too law Captin [James] Parkr Leftenint [William] Lackin Insin [Nathaniel] Lorins
On December 11, 1682, these same Commissioners were re-chosen.
Of this class also was the Clerk of the Writs, who was "nominated by each town and allowed by each Shire Court, to grant Sumons and Attachments in all civil actions, at the liberty of the Plaintiff, and Summons for witnesses," and "to grant replevins, and to take bond with sufficient security of the party to prosecute the suite." For twelve years before the town of Groton was destroyed by the Indians in the spring of 1676, James Fiske was Clerk of the Writs, and, as such, made returns of the Births, Deaths, and Marriages to the County Court at Cambridge. There was probably such an officer chosen on November 1, 1680, as is inferred from the town-records; and a few years later, on April 21, 1686, Josiah Parker was elected to the office.
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THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.
On December 15, 1669, at a public meeting, the selectmen were authorized " to petition to the [General] Court for one to marry persons in our towne." In the early days of New England marriages were performed by magistrates only ; and it was many years before ministers of the Church were allowed to take part in the ceremony. It is likely that the petition was granted, and that some officer was duly appointed.
The Assistants of Massachusetts, often called Magistrates, were the forerunners of the Provincial Council and the State Senate. They were few in numbers, and, in point of dignity and honor, next to the Governor and Deputy-Governor. Their duties were largely of a judicial character as well as legislative. Major Simon Willard, the only citizen of the town who ever was a member of this body, became a resident of Groton about the year 1671. He was first chosen to the position of Assistant in 1654, when living at Concord, and remained in the office till the day of his death. Major Willard was a native of Kent, England, and came to Massachusetts in 1634. He lived first at Cambridge and Concord, then at Lancaster, from which town he removed to Groton; and in all these places he exerted a wide influence. His name first appears in the Groton records on December 10, 1672, when he was chosen one of the selectmen. In his day he filled various civil offices, and was a noted military man. His farm in Groton was situated at Nonacoicus, now within the limits of Ayer; and his dwelling-house was the first building burned at the attack on the town, March 13, 1676, in Philip's War. During several months previously Major Willard had been engaged with his command in scouting along the line of frontier settlements and protecting the inhabitants. At this assault he came with a company of cavalry to the relief of the town, though he did not reach the place in time to be of service in its defence. He died at Charlestown, on April 24, 1676, a very few weeks after Groton was abandoned.
Major Willard was thrice married, - first, before leaving England, to Mary Sharpe, of Horsmonden, County of Kent ; secondly, after his arrival in Massachusetts, to Elizabeth Dunster, who died about six months after her marriage ; and
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THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.
thirdly, to Mary Dunster. He had seventeen children; and of this large family, all the sons, nine in number, and five of his eight daughters, reached mature age and were married, leaving issue at the time of their death. Two of his descend- ants were presidents of Harvard College.
During the last century a distinction between attorneys and barristers was recognized by the Massachusetts bar, and the degree of Barrister was conferred by the Courts with considerable form and ceremony. It required three years of study to become an Attorney, and two years of practice as such in the Inferior. Court, and two more in the Superior Court, to become a Barrister. The distinction was finally abolished by the Revised Statutes of 1836.
In this paper I class all attorneys, counsellors, or barris- ters as lawyers ; and I include among their number several yeomen as well as physicians, who represented the learning and cultivation of an early period, and who either practised in the courts or sat on the bench; and I include also several persons who in modern times have pursued a partial course in the study of law, either at the Harvard Law School or else- where, though they may not have been formally admitted to the bar.
BENJAMIN PRESCOTT was appointed by the Governor and Council on June 27, 1735, a Special Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature, in place of Paul Dudley. From time to time such judges were appointed to sit at the trial of particular cases, in which the standing justices either declined to act, or were thought to be incompetent on account of personal inter- est. In this instance the case was an action of ejectment in Worcester County, where the petitioners thought that Dudley was interested. On December 22, 1736, Mr. Prescott was ap- pointed, with three others, a Special Justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in Middlesex County. The appoint- ments were made on the petition of Timothy Sprague, of Malden, for the trial of certain causes relating to Spot Pond, in which the whole bench of justices was said to be interested. On November 10, 1737, he was again appointed, on the petition of
.
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THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.
the inhabitants and proprietors of the town of Boston, a Special Justice of the Superior Court in divers causes, in place of Paul Dudley. In the latter instance the case re- lated principally to a dispute over some real estate, where it was thought that Dudley might be biased in his judgment, as he held lands in Boston. At that period the people watched the decisions of the bench with great scrutiny, and guarded popular rights with extreme jealousy.
Benjamin Prescott was the youngest son of Jonas and Mary (Loker) Prescott, and born at Groton, on January 4, 1695-6. He was brought up on his father's farm, and even as a young man filled many important places of trust and responsibil- ity in the affairs of the town. In the year 1717 he was ap- pointed a Lieutenant of a military company, and in 1724 a Lieutenant of a snow-shoe company raised to protect the town from Indian invasion.
On December 8, 1724, the Massachusetts House of Repre- sentatives, according to the printed Journal (page 61), passed a Resolution, requiring the enrolment of a certain number of men, who were to be provided " with a good suitable pair of Snow-shoes & Moggasins fit for Service." They were to be drilled in marching and running on the snow, and, on the discovery of the enemy, were to go at once in pursuit. These soldiers became known as " snow-shoe men," and constituted a kind of pre-Revolutionary minute-men. Under this Resolve Groton and Chelmsford cach were to furnish forty soldiers, - a larger number than was assigned to any other town in Mid- dlesex County. On March 26, 1725, according to the manu- script records of the Council in the State House, Captain John Shepley presented a certificate that he had drawn forth twenty men out of his company at Groton to be snow-shoe men ; and at the same time Captain Jonas Prescott presented a certificate that he had drawn out twenty men from his com- pany at Groton for the same purpose. Perhaps they were selected by lot. In this command young Prescott held a commission as Lieutenant.
Snow-shoes were first used by soldiers in Dummer's War ; and, on December 17, 1729, according to the printed Journal
1
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THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.
(page 173) of the House of Representatives, a petition for the grant of a tract of land was presented from a large num- ber of men who had served under Captain John Lovewell, " part of whom first discovered the Use of Snow-Shoes."
On May 1, 1723, Benjamin Prescott was chosen a repre- sentative to the General Court, and between that date and the time of his death, in different years, he was re-chosen seven times. It is said by Mr. Butler, in his History of Groton (page 290), that Benjamin Prescott in the year 1735 " was chosen agent of the Province to the Court of Great Britain, which office he declined, on account of not having had the small pox, which disease was prevalent at the time." A care- ful examination of the Council records in the State House fails to confirm the statement, though it shows the appoint- ment of the other agents, both before and after this period. Perhaps the position was offered to Mr. Prescott in an infor- mal and unofficial way, so that it would not be a matter of record.
It is also stated by Mr. Butler, on the same page, that Mr. Prescott " died in the prime of life, August 3, 1735, of a sur- feit, caused by great exertion to save some hay from a shower." While this diagnosis of the disease is very obscure, I am in- clined to think that he died of apoplexy, dependent on Bright's disease. The date of his death, however, is given wrong, as he died on August 3, 1738 ; and this statement is borne out, not only by the inscription on his gravestone, but by the following extract from a newspaper of that period : -
Thursday last [August 3] died at his Seat in Groton, after three or four Days Illness, the Hon. Benjamin Prescot, Esq ; Representa- tive for that Town, one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Middlesex, and a Special Justice of the Superiour Court of Judicature ; a Gentleman greatly lamented by all that knew him.
"The Boston Evening-Post," August 7, 1738.
On June 11, 1718, Benjamin Prescott was married to Abigail, daughter of the Honorable Thomas and Mary (Wilson) Oliver, of Cambridge ; and they were blessed with three children, all sons, who became useful citizens in their native town as well
0
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THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.
as distinguished men in the Province. At the time of his death he was a member of the General Court, where he was succeeded by Captain Nathaniel Sawtell, whose surname is sometimes written Sartell.
There has been much confusion between the Groton fan- ilies of Sawtell and Sartell, as they have generally been con- sidered distinct branches; but they probably belonged to the same stock.
WILLIAM LAWRENCE was a son of John and Anna (Tarbell) Lawrence, and born at Cambridge Farms, now Lexington, on August 11, 1697. The father, soon after his marriage, removed from Groton to that precinct, where he had a large family of children, of whom three sons and one daughter married and settled in Groton, and also brought up large families. On June 27, 1722, Mr. Lawrence was married to Susanna, daughter of Jonas and Mary (Loker) Prescott, who was born on Decem- ber 31, 1691, and a sister of Benjamin Prescott, previously mentioned ; and they were blessed with six children, who grew up and had families. He and his wife were admitted to the church on March 24, 1722-23, during the pastorate of the Reverend Caleb Trowbridge. Their eldest child, the Reverend William Lawrence, born at Groton on May 7, 1723, was a grad- uate of Harvard College in the Class of 1743,-the first of the name at that institution, - and the minister of the Church of Christ in Lincoln for more than thirty-one years. Their sec- ond son, Abel, born on February 25, 1729-30, represented the town of Groton and the districts of Pepperell and Shirley in the General Court for four years from 1762, following his father in that capacity. He was the town-clerk of Groton for seven years from March 1, 1757, a selectman and a justice of the peace, and the father of the late Abel Lawrence, Esq., of Salem.
William Lawrence occupied a prominent position among his neighbors, filling many places of trust and responsibility in the affairs of the town. On May 25, 1743, he was chosen a member of the Great and General Court, and re-chosen six- teen times, - a longer term of service than has ever fallen to
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THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.
the lot of any other Groton representative. In military mat- ters he began as a private during Dummer's War, and rose through the different grades of service to the rank of colonel during the French and Indian War. His dwelling was situ- ated at the north corner of Main and Court Streets, on the site of Liberty Hall which was burned on March 31, 1878.
On August 12, 1749, Mr. Lawrence was appointed a Special Justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in the County of Middlesex, in all causes where any of the Standing Justices were interested ; and two years later, on June 21, 1751, he received a similar appointment of like import. On June 26, 1755, he was made a Justice of the Inferior Court in the County of Middlesex, in place of Thomas Fulham, Esq., who had resigned ; and he continued to hold the position as long as he lived. Governor Emory Washburn, in his "Sketches of the Judicial History of Massachusetts from 1630 to the Revolu- tion in 1775" (page 337), alludes to the appointment, and says : " Judge Lawrence belonged to Groton, but I have found no memorial of him."
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