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 28
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APPENDIX.
AN ancestor of the Honorable Melville Weston Fuller, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, lived in Groton near the middle of the last century. His name was Nathan Wesson, and during the French and Indian War he served in a Groton company commanded by his eldest brother, Ephraim Wesson. Many years later he removed to that part of Hallowell, Maine, which is now Augusta. His eldest son, Nathan, Jr., was a graduate of Dartmouth College in the Class of 1803, who afterward became a distinguished lawyer of Maine, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of that State. The eldest daughter of Nathan, Jr., married Frederic Augustus Fuller, Esq., a lawyer of Augusta; and the present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is their second son, and a graduate of Bowdoin College in the Class of 1853.
After his removal to Augusta, Nathan Wesson always wrote his surname " Weston," which has since been the cus- tom in that branch of the family ; but the brother Ephraim never made any change, and his descendants still keep the old name.
THE authorities of Harvard University, according to the annual catalogue issued in the autumn of 1890, have named the Groton School at Groton as one of the places where applicants for admission to the Law School at Cambridge can pass their first examination, which is held each year near the end of June. A few places at accessible points, in different parts of the country, have been selected for that purpose ; and they include Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, Denver, and San Francisco, as well as other localities.
The same opportunity for an examination at Groton is also given, by the authorities, to applicants for admission into the Undergraduate, Medical, and Veterinary departments of the University.
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APPENDIX.
IN "The Massachusetts Register and United States Cal- endar ; for the Year of our Lord 1806 " (page 75), it is stated that Ephraim Wood, of Groton, was at that time one of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas in Middlesex County ; but this was a mistake so far as the place of residence is con- cerned, as he never lived in the town. The same publication for 1831 (page 52) gives the name of Samuel Baker Walcott among the lawyers of Groton during that year ; and this, also, is an error, as he never resided in the town, but at that time was living in Hopkinton.
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APPENDIX.
LIST OF MARRIAGES.
AT Groton, September 14, 1847. Francis Augustus Brooks, Esq., of Boston, to Frances, daughter of Caleb and Clarissa ( Varnum) Butler, of Groton, born October 12, 1822.
Mr. Brooks is a son of Aaron, Jr., and Abby Bradshaw (Morgan) Brooks, and was born at Petersham, on May 23, 1824. He graduated at Harvard College in the Class of 1842, after which he attended two courses of lectures at the Law School, and was admitted to the Worcester bar in 1845.
At Groton, January 26, 1870. George Anson Bruce, Esq., of Boston, to Clara Moors, daughter of Joseph Fletcher, Jr., and Sarah (Longley) Hall, of Groton, born January 3, 1845.
Mr. Bruce is a son of Nathaniel and Lucy (Butterfield) Bruce, and was born at Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, on November 19, 1839. He graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 1861, and served with distinction in the Thirteenth New Hampshire Volunteers during the War of the Rebellion, having been brevetted three times for gallant conduct in front of Richmond. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in April, 1866. He has been a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and in 1882, 1883, and 1884 was a member of the Massachusetts Senate, of which body he was the President during the last year. In 1874 he removed to Somerville, where he has been Mayor of the city for three years.
At Groton, June 4, 1804. Henry Vassall Chamberlain, Esq., of Farmington in the District of Maine, to Hannah Tarbell, of Groton.
Mr. Chamberlain was a son of John Chamberlain, of Wor- cester, and born in that town on January 11, 1777. He studied law with the Honorable Nathaniel Paine, of Worces- ter, and afterward with his brother, John Curtis Chamberlain, of Alstead, New Hampshire, and in 1801 was admitted to the bar of Cheshire County in that State. He began the practice of his profession at Farmington, Maine, where he was the
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APPENDIX.
pioneer lawyer in the town. In 1808 he removed to Mobile, Alabama, and subsequently became Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in that State, besides filling many other responsible positions. Judge Chamberlain died on December 1, 1855.
At Groton, September 24, 1872. Charles Franklin Kittredge, Esq., of Boston, to Adelaide Louise, only child of George Hunt- ington and Mary Jane (King) Lee.
Mr. Kittredge is a son of Franklin Otis and Mary Ann (Dutton) Kittredge, and was born at Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, on February 24, 1841. He graduated at Dart- mouth College in the Class of 1863, and was admitted to the Suffolk bar on October 14, 1867. For eleven years he was one of the Assistant Solicitors of the city of Boston. Mrs. Kittredge is a step-daughter of the late Dr. Norman Smith, of Groton.
At Newburyport, on September 1, 1829, Edmund Lewis Le Breton, Esq., of that town, to Lucy Oliver, youngest child of Dr. Oliver, Jr., and Ann (Whiting) Prescott, and a native of Groton.
Mr. Le Breton was a graduate of Harvard College in the Class of 1824, and a lawyer by profession, though he afterward engaged in other business. He died in Lowell, on November 19, 1849, and his widow at Elizabethport, New Jersey, on September 1, 1865.
At Groton, September 25, 1844. Isaac Stevens Morse, Esq., of Lowell, to Eloise La Barte, of Groton.
Mrs. Morse was a daughter of John J. and Mary La Barte, born in South Carolina, and died in Cambridge, on August 31, 1882, aged 58 years, 5 months, and 3 days. Her mother, a native of Lexington, kept a boarding-house at Groton, situ- ated on Main Street, opposite to the Union Congregational Church. Mr. Morse is a son of the Reverend Bryant and Susannah (Stevens) Morse, of Bradford, and was born on December 27, 1817. For many years he was the District Attorney for the Northern District of the Commonwealth, which comprises Middlesex County.
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APPENDIX.
At Groton, July 23, 1869. Burton Willis Potter, Esq., of Wor- cester, to Fanny Elizabeth, daughter of Alvah and Fanny Gilson (Woods) Wright, of Groton, born December 10, 1846.
Mr. Potter is a son of Daniel and Julia (Potter) Potter, and was born at Colesville, New York, on February 8, 1843. Since his marriage he has been a practising lawyer in Worcester.
At Groton, November 15, 1859. Lewis Shearer, Esq., of San Francisco, California, to Mary Helen, daughter of the Honorable Asa Farnsworth and Sarah Jane (Bancroft) Lawrence, of Groton, born January 28, 1839.
Mr. Shearer was a son of Sextus and Elizabeth (Lewis) . Shearer, and born in Buffalo, New York, on May 18, 1832. He graduated at the Harvard Law School in the Class of 1855, and died at Oakland, California, on December 25, 1887.
At Groton, June 15, 1847. George Thacher, Esq., of Monroe, Maine, to Lucy Miranda, daughter of Dr. Amos and Abigail (Whit- ing) Bancroft, of Groton.
Mr. Thacher was a native of Biddeford, Maine, where he was born on September 7, 1790, and a graduate of Harvard College in the Class of 1812; and this was his second mar- riage. For several years he was Registrar of Probate for York County, and afterward Collector of the Port of Belfast. His wife was born at Weston, on December 21, 1798, and died at Harvard, on March 18, 1889.
At Groton, July 31, 1750. Artemas Ward, of Shrewsbury, to Sarah, daughter of the Reverend Caleb and Hannah (Walter) Trowbridge, of Groton.
Mr. Ward was the General of that name so conspicuous during the Revolution. A graduate of Harvard College in the Class of 1748, he was appointed in 1776 Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Worcester County. He was a delegate to the Provincial Congress, as well as a mem- ber of the United States Congress ; a member of the Execu- tive Council, and President of the Board ; and for sixteen years a representative to the General Court, and in 1786
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· APPENDIX.
Speaker of the House. His wife was born at Groton, on December 3, 1724, and died at Shrewsbury, on December 13, 1788.
At Groton, November 19, 1891. George Herbert Warren, Esq., of Manchester, New Hampshire, to Mary Hale, elder daughter of the Honorable Moses Poor and Mary Harriman ( Hale) Palmer, of Groton.
Mr. Warren is a son of Noailles Lafayette and Mary (Bar- nard) Warren, of Shirley, -- where he was born on October 15, 1860, - and a younger brother of Dr. William B. Warren, of Groton.
ERRATUM.
Page 266, for RICHARD FULLER read RICHARD FREDERIC FULLER.
GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 1892.
HISTORICAL SERIES, VOL. III., No. VII.
THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.
THE following sketches were accidentally omitted in the account of the Lawyers of Groton, given in the last number of this Series. They belong in the list of natives of the town who have practised law elsewhere, and should be placed in their proper alphabetical arrangement.
DANIEL HENRY FELCH is now the eldest son of Benjamin Franklin and Mary Elizabeth (Bennett) Felch, and was born at Groton, on September 19, 1856. His mother was a daughter of Abijah and Mary (Green) Bennett, and a native of Groton. He received his early education at Lawrence Academy and Phillips Exeter Academy, and graduated at Bowdoin College in the Class of 1878. He attended lectures at the Harvard Law School for one academic year, and studied in the office of Charles Sprague Hayden, Esq., at Fitchburg. Mr. Felch was admitted to the bar in Worcester, on October 22, 1881, and is now in the successful practice of his profession at Seattle, Washington, having previously been in practice at Cheney in that State.
WILLIAM HENRY MULLIN is the youngest son of l'eter and Hannah (Rabbitt) Mullin, and was born at Groton, on July 31, 1867. Ile pursued his preparatory studies at the Ayer Hill School, and soon afterward, as a student, he
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THE LAWYERS OF GROTON.
entered the office of George James Burns, Esq., of Ayer. In 1889 he entered the School of Law connected with the Boston University, where he remained for a year and a half, and at the end of that time was admitted to the bar in East Cam- bridge, on January 31, 1891. Immediately afterward he " established himself as a lawyer at East Pepperell, where he is now living.
By a sad accident, which occurred at Groton Junction, on August 12, 1868, his father was run over by the cars of a gravel train on the Worcester and Nashua Railroad, and in- stantly killed.
JAMES SULLIVAN, mentioned on page 199, removed from Groton to West Cambridge, then called Menotomy, in the spring of 1782. Through an oversight this fact was omitted in the sketch.
FREDERICK AUGUSTUS WORCESTER, mentioned on page 318, died at Townsend, on March 3, 1888. Through an inadvertence this date was not given.
SUBSTITUTE the following paragraph for the one at the end of page 252 : -
Among the lawyers, who have lived and practised in the town, are two Governors of the Commonwealth, one United States Senator, four other members of Congress, besides a Delegate to the Continental Congress, a member of the President's Cabinet, various Justices and Chief Justices of different Courts, three Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, an Attorney-General of the Common- wealth, a President of the State Senate, and three members of the Executive Council.
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THE DARK DAY OF 1780.
THE DARK DAY OF 1780.
THE following description of the famous Dark Day, and of its effects as seen in the neighborhood of Groton, is taken from "The Independent Chronicle. And The Universal Advertiser " (Boston), June 1, 1780. The article is signed "A Peripatetick," a signature used by James Winthrop, who was at that period both Librarian of Harvard College and Register of Probate for Middlesex County. Dr. Oliver Pres- cott, of Groton, was then Judge of Probate; and it is not improbable that the writer of the article was visiting in his family, when the account was written.
TO THE PUBLIC.
O N Friday, May 19, 1780, at six o'clock in the morning, at Pepperrell, the peals of thunder were loud and frequent, attended with heavy rain. At seven o'clock the rain and thunder had ceased ; but the sky continued cloudy. Between nine and ten o'clock the clouds were observed to thicken, and to receive con- tinual reinforcements from the low lands. Before ten the darkness had sensibly increased, till it became difficult to read an almanack in a room with two windows. At eleven o'clock candles were lighted at Groton, and at half past eleven the darkness was so great in the meeting-house, where a court was then sitting, that it was difficult to distinguish countenances at the smallest dis- tance, notwithstanding the great number of windows usual in such buildings. At twelve the darkness was greatest and a little rain fell. In the street the appearance was like the beginning of evening, as candles were seen burning in all the houses. The clouds were thinnest at the north, which excited the idea of an Aurora Borealis. At the northeast the clouds were very thick, and so low that hills could not be seen at the distance of half a mile. Southwesterly, hills might be clearly seen at the distance of twenty miles ; but the intermediate space was so shaded, that it was impossible to distinguish woodland from pasture. At half past twelve the clouds, having been hitherto detached, begun to embody at such an height, that all the hills became visible, and the country round exhibited a most beautiful verdure. At one the clouds became uniformly spread, and it was not darker than is
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THE DARK DAY OF 1780.
usual on a cloudy day. The same weather continued through the whole afternoon, except that the sun was seen for a few minutes at Acton, about three o'clock. At eight in the evening the dark- ness was so great as to render travelling impracticable. Although the moon rose nearly full about nine o'clock, yet it did not give light enough to enable a person to distinguish between the heavens and the earth.
The detached appearance of the clouds in the forenoon is alone sufficient to account for the darkness : For as soon as the clouds had spread uniformly over the heavens, there was no remarkable deficiency of light. - If any one chuses to make an experiment for himself to illustrate the matter, let him take a few panes of glass, and place them at a small distance from each other in such a manner, that the sun may shine directly through them all ; in this case he will find that the rays of light are much more obstructed than they will be in passing through a single glass, equal in thick- ness to all the others. - The reason is obvious. - The reflection of light is from the surfaces of transparent bodies, and not from their interior parts.
Various suppositions have been made respecting this subject. - Some have supposed, that the earth was passing through the tail of a comet ; to this it is a sufficient answer that stars are visible through the tails of comets, it is therefore impossible, that this cause should obscure the lustre of the sun. - A writer has ap- peared under the signature of Viator, in the Independent Chron- icle, May 25th, who asserts that upon examining the rain water in tubs "I found a light scum over it which rubbing between my " thumb and finger, I found to be nothing but the black ashes of " burnt leaves. - The water gave the same strong smell, which we "had observed in the air, and confirmed my opinion, that the smell " mentioned above, was occasioned by the smoke or very small "particles of burnt leaves, which had obscured the hemisphere for " several days past, and were now brought down by the rain. - I believe it is the first time that it ever came within the compass of a human imagination to suppose, that the haziness of the sky in warm weather was occasioned by ashes being lodged in it, which needed the assistance of rain to bring it down - Just as probable is the theory which accounted for the darkness, from this circumstance, that the sun and Jupiter were then in the quartile aspect. More plausible, but not more just, was the opinion of a gentleman of learning, who supposed that the nucleus of a comet
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THE DARK DAY OF 1780.
intervened between the earth and the sun, and occasioned a solar eclipse. - There are various phenomena which by no means cor- respond with this opinion. The clouds were seen continually rising to obscure the hills which is sufficient to account for the darkness ; and the tides did not rise to an unusual height, as they would have done, had a compact body of such magnitude as a comet, been so near the earth, in such a situation, as to give us darkness instead of day. - It is in vain to assign the rapid motion of a comet, as a reason why the tides should not rise any higher than usual ; for though it was but a short time in conjunction with the sun, yet it's motion being nearly rectilinear, it must have con- tinued for several hours near the earth, and the universal law of gravity holds equally good, whether bodies are in motion or at rest.
A PERIPATETICK.
It will be noticed that Mr. Winthrop refers to a previous article on the Dark Day, signed " Viator," which also appeared in the Chronicle; and in connection with this reference an extract from a letter on the same subject, written by the Reverend John Eliot, of Boston, to the Reverend Jeremy Belknap, of Dover, New Hampshire, under date of June 3, 1780, has some interest. The letter is found in the fourth volume, sixth series, of the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society (pages 191-194).
Our philosophers this way differ greatly. M' Lathrop 1 printed an account of the appearance of things, & signed Viator. He was at [Dr. Manasseh ] Cutler's, Ipswich Hamlet [Hamilton ], with Pro- fessor Sewal & others, who agreed that smoke was the primary cause, &c. He is attacked by a Peripatetick, J. W-p., who, thinking M' Williams 2 was the author, malitiously meant to lessen his reputation. This gentleman gives without doubt the true cause. The detached appearance of the clouds in the forenoon will account for the darkness, as may be illustrated by taking panes of glass & placing them at a small distance from each other.
Caleb Butler, Esq., in his History of Groton, refers to the same subject, and makes the following explanation of the occurrence : -
.1 Reverend John Lathrop, Minister of the Second Church, Boston.
Sammel Williams, Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy.
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WILD DEER IN MASSACHUSETTS.
The darkness of this day and of the night following, which was proportionally great, was satisfactorily accounted for, by attentive observers of the phenomenon. There had been, a few days pre- vious, very extensive fires between the settlements in Canada and New England. The state of the atmosphere and currents of the wind had favored the collection and preservation of the smoke over the territory involved in the darkness. The formation of the clouds, too, which prevailed at the time, probably had an agency in producing the result, by being in several layers and holding the smoke between them, and especially between them and the earth. As evidence, in part, of the correctness of this explanation of the phenomenon, the ashes of burnt leaves were precipitated from the rain water, a little of which fell during the day, when suffered to stand a few hours (pages 260, 261).
See " The New-England Magazine" (IV. 379-383) for May, 1833, published in Boston, for a description and explanation of the Dark Day.
A WILD DEER IN GROTON.
WITHIN the past week a wild deer has been seen several times in Groton and some of the neighboring towns. He has evidently got astray from his own kindred, and it is hoped that he will not be killed by some ambitious sportsman.
" Boston Evening Journal," August 20, 1892.
WILD DEER IN MASSACHUSETTS.
IN The Journal of the 20th the presence of a wild deer in the town of Groton was noted as a remarkable occurrence. It has since been learned that Mr. John H. Whitcomb of Ayer saw in that town on the 28th of August a red deer of about 150 pounds in weight. Its antlers were in velvet, having one prong each, and they were about a yard long. Mr. Whitcomb was some 40 yards off when he first saw the deer, but a few minutes later when the animal, approaching a building, became so frightened as to turn and pass the other way, it came within five or six yards of the . observer. It is said that a deer was recently seen swimming a lake in Ashburnham. Whether this is the same deer or whether there
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THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON.
are several in the woods around the vicinity of Groton is not known. Perhaps some hunter can give information on that point.
" Boston Morning Journal," September 10, 1892.
According to the testimony of some of the oldest inhab- itants of Groton, this is, probably, the only wild deer seen within the limits of the town during the present century. The local newspapers report that deer have been seen at several places in New Hampshire, where they have not been found for a long period.
In connection with this subject, see the second volume (pages 443-445) of the Historical Series, for an article enti- tled " Wild Animals."
THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON.
IN the "Transactions of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture " (New Series, Volume I., Part II.), published in the year 1859, there appears an " Agricultural Survey of Middlesex County," which contains a few items of sufficient local interest to be reprinted in this Historical Series. The paper, written by Dr. Joseph Reynolds, a son- in-law of Dr. Oliver Prescott, Jr., of Groton, supplements an article entitled "The Geography of Groton," which is given in Number XV. of the first volume of the Series. After speaking of the general direction of the rivers and streams in the County, the writer goes on to say : -
As we go west from the Merrimac, along the northerly line of the county, we enter the valley of the Nashua. This is a consid- erable river, and flows through a beautiful section of country. One branch of it rises in New Hampshire, and another in Worcester County. It enters Middlesex from Lancaster, in Worcester. It divides the easterly part of Shirley from Groton ; then crossing the western part of Groton, it becomes, for a space, the dividing line between Groton and Pepperell ; then entering Pepperell, for a mile or two, it divides that town from Dunstable. It empties into the Merrimac at Nashua, N. H. Its course, after it enters Middlesex, is north by east. It is a rapid stream, and furnishes abundant water-power throughout its whole course, which is im-
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THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON.
proved in Fitchburg, Lancaster, Shirley, Groton, Pepperell, and especially in Nashua, where it furnishes the principal motive power for the large manufacturing establishments of that flourishing city. The soil in the valley of the Nashua is, in general, good. The hills which form this valley, especially on the western side, are many of them broken and abrupt. They yield excellent pasturage. The lower levels, bordering on the river, furnish fertile mowing lands. There is but little intervale land on the Nashua after it enters the county, and no wet meadows. The first affluent of the Nashua from the west, is the Nissitisset, a short stream, which rises in Poponipos Pond, in Brookline, N. H. This stream enters Pepperell on its northern line, and passing through the town in a southeasterly direction, reaches the Nashua just above the point where it becomes the boundary between Pepperell and Dunstable. This river is about 10 miles in length, and affords good water- power at several points in its course. A few miles to the south- west we find the Squannacook, which is the most important affluent of the Nashua. This river rises in the hills in Ashby, and crossing Townsend in an easterly direction, it turns more to the southeast, and pursues a winding course between the northerly part of Shirley and Groton, and enters the Nashua nearly at right angles, about two miles northwest of Groton Junction [now Ayer]. East of the Nashua is Salmon Brook, which rises in Whitney's Pond, in Groton, and passing through Massapoag Pond, runs a northerly course through the town of Dunstable, and reaches the Nashua before its entrance into the Merrimac. The valley of the Nashua includes, in the county, the towns of Dunstable, Groton, Shirley, Pepperell, Townsend, and Ashby; and contains some of the best lands in the county. Some of the farms on the slaty soils of Groton, l'epperell, and Townsend are under high cultivation, and yield abundant crops (pages 162, 163).
Under the heading of " Geology of the County " Dr. Rey- nolds writes : -
A range of mica-slate extends across the county, through the towns of Shirley, Groton, Pepperell, and Townsend. It is also found in Dracut and Lowell (page 171).
Steatite, or soapstone, is found in Groton. It has been worked to some extent. But it is said not to be as easy to work as in some localities, owing to the presence of silex (page 172).
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