USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Groton > Groton historical series. A collection of papers relating to the history of the town of Groton, Massachusetts, Vol IV > Part 26
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While this account of two Groton families has been made up mainly from Mr. Hudson's History, it has been supple- mented from other sources.
MISS EMILY SEAVER.
MISS EMILY SEAVER died in Rutland, Vermont, on Thurs- day, December 3, 1896. She was the only daughter of Nor- man and Anna Maria ( Lawrence) Seaver, and was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on November 5, 1835. 'She wrote the article on Samuel Lawrence, which is reprinted in this volume (pages 245-248) from " The American Monthly Magazine." Her mother was the eldest child of the Hon- orable Luther Lawrence, of Groton.
347
LIST OF DEATHIS.
LIST OF MARRIAGES.
In Boston, - Mr. Jonas Eaton, of Groton, to Miss Eliza, daughter of Jos. Adams, Esq. of Killingly, Con.
"Concord Gazette & Middlesex Yeoman," March 13, 1824.
In Groton, Mr. David Wright, of St Stephens, N. B. to Miss Charlotte Eaton, of G.
Ilid. March 27, 1824.
In Groton, 29th inst. [April] by Rev. Doct. Chaplin, Mr. Silas Burges, of this town to Miss Ann Eaton, of Groton.
Ibid. May 1, 1821.
In Groton, Mr. Dexter Blanchard, to Miss Charlotte Capel, both of Groton.
Ibid. December 11, 1824.
At Groton, Mr. Eber Wood, to Miss Dorcas Brown, both of Groton. Ibid. April 23, 1825.
In Groton, Mr. Levi Burges Jr. of this town, to Miss Lucy Lewis, of Groton.
Ibid. November 26, 1825.
LIST OF DEATHS.
Luther Gilman Osborn, a resident of Groton for more than sixty years, died in Worcester, on January 18, 1892, aged 82. He was a son of Luther and Patty (Brown | Flint) Osborn, and was born at Concord, on February 25, 1809. He was married, first, on November 26, 1829, to Katy, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Litchfield) Reed, of Littleton, who was born on December 13, 1810, and died on September 11, 1834 ; and, secondly, on April 22, 1835, to Rebecca. Haywood Reed, who was born on April 26, 1815, and a sister of his first wife.
Mrs. Susan (Barber) Wood, wife of Artemas Wood, died at Groton, on December 28, 1874, aged So years, 1 month, and 16 days. She was a daughter of William and Rachel (Cutter) Barber, of Mason, New Hampshire.
-
348
LIST OF DEATHIS.
At Milford, N. 11. Mrs. Susanna Bancroft, aged 61, formerly of Groton, Mass.
"Concord Gazette & Middlesex Yeoman," July 30, 1825.
At Groton, 3d inst. Abigail Foster, daughter of Mr. Otis Bardwell aged 2 years.
Ibid. Aug. 13, 1825.
At Groton, Henrietta, youngest child of Mr. William F. Brazer, aged 2 years.
Ibid. September 10, 1825.
At Groton, 29th ult. Miss Mary P. Child, only daughter of Mr. David Child, aged 18 years.
Ibid. September 17, 1825.
At Washington N. H. Deacon Thomas Farwell, aged 92, formerly of Groton, Mass.
Ibid. April 2, 1825.
In Charlestown on Saturday last [March 20], Miss Mary Ann ... Flint, aged 10, formerly of Groton.
Ibid. March 27, 1824.
In Groton, April 30, Albert B. Hoar, son of Mr. Joseph, and Charlotte Hoar, aged 14.
Ibid. May 8, 1824.
In Groton, Ist inst. Henry Emerson, youngest son of Joseph and Charlotte Hoar, aged 3 years.
Ibid. April 17, 1824.
At Groton, roth inst. Martha Ann Mary, only daughter of Joseph . and Charlotte Hoar, aged 20 months.
Ibid. August 20, 1825.
At Groton, 12th inst. suddenly, Mr. Joseph Robbins, aged 45. Ibid. July 23, 1825.
In Groton, since Aug. Ist. - Mr. Jonathan Woods, Mr. Lewis Williams, Mr. Reuben Fiske, Miss Huldah Hoit, Miss Martha Tarbell, Miss Mary P. Child, Miss Mary Munroe, Miss - Davis, Mrs. Ruth Woods, a child of Otis Bardwell, child of Joseph Hoar, , a son of Calvin Boynton, a child of Jeptha R. Hartwell, a child of Calvin Child, a child of Dr. Green [on August 28, 1825], a child of William T. Brazer, a child of Mr. Lobdell of Boston, a child of Luke Farnsworth, a child of Abraham Simonds, a child of Luther Hartwell, a child of Eli Flint.
Ibid. September 17, 1825.
GROTON HISTORICAL SERIES.
VOL. IV., No. V.
+ -
ROLL OF HONOR. - KING GEORGE'S WAR. - TWO MILITARY DIARIES. - GROTON REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS LIVING IN MAINE. - THE GROWTH OF TREES. - MRS. ANNA P. DODGE. - ABIJAH L. WRIGHT. - LEACH-TUBS. - TALLOW DIPS. - THE SHAYS REBELLION. - WIL- LIAM SWAN. - ANNAPOLIS COUNTY, NOVA SCOTIA. - DEANE WIN- THROP. - A LOCAL SCANDAL. - AN OLD CLOCK. - A WILD DEER IN GROTON. - GROTON WATER COMPANY. - THREE SILVER MEDALS. - INSCRIBED POWDER-HORNS. - CULTIVATION OF HOPS. - VIEWS OF BUILDINGS ON PORCELAIN. - REMARKS ON NONACOICUS. - CAPTAIN FITCH'S NOTE-BOOK. - THE KEMP FAMILY. - MOUNTAINS SEEN FROM GIBBET HILL. - ITEMS FROM THE HARVARD RECORDS. - HENRY TRUE. - SAMUEL BLOOD. - WIDOW MARY COCKLE. - LIST OF MARRIAGES. - LIST OF DEATHS.
GROTON, MASS.
1897.
4
GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 1897.
HISTORICAL SERIES, VOL. IV., No. V.
ROLL OF HONOR. 1
LIKE many other towns in New England, the town of Groton has erected a monument in memory of her sons who fell during the War of the Rebellion. It is in the form of a marble tablet, affixed to the southerly wall of the entry-way in the Town House, and bears the names of the men, as well as of their company and regiment, and the date and place of their death. The names of forty soldiers, arranged in four columns of ten each, are cut in the marble immediately under the legend. Unfortunately, the list was not prepared with strict historical accuracy, and, as a result, various errors, both of omission and commission, have crept into the record. Unfortunately, too, the stone-cutter has not been uniform in bis use of punctuation marks ; and even the names are not placed in exact alphabetical order.
The tablet measures 7 feet 9 inches in width, by 6 feet 9 inches in height, including a moulding five inches in width round the four sides. The appropriation for the cost was made by the town, on April 3, 1882, but, according to " Tur- ner's Public Spirit" (Ayer), May 31, 1884, the stone was not placed in position until May 28 of that year. The expense of the tablet, as given on page 24 of the Annual Report of the Town for the year ending March 20, 1885, was $293.30. The inscription is as follows: -
350
ROLL OF HONOR.
THE TOWN OF GROTON
places this tablet in memory of her sons who died in the service of their country during the Civil War.
1861 -- 1865.
JOHN C. ALLEY. Co. A. 22 Mass. Reg: Died at Annapolis, Md. Dec. 19, 1864.
JONATHAN BROOKS, Co. C. 16 Mass. Reg: Killed at Fair Oaks. Va. June 18, 1862.
AUSTIN W. BOND, Co. I. 12 Conn. Reg Died in Hospital, May 29, 1863.
JAMES V. BARRETT, 19 Mass. Reg Died at Salisbury, N. C. Feb. 3, 1865.
WARREN BLAKE, Co. H. 53 Mass. Reg! Died at Baton Rouge, La. July 8, 1863.
[The Descriptive List and the Muster-in Roll both give his name as Warren H. Blake.]
EUSEBIUS S. CLARK, Co. B. 26 Mass. Reg! Died of wounds [at Winchester, Va. ], Oct. 17, 1864. [The Muster-out Roll gives the place of death.]
WILLIAM CROCKETT JR. Co. E. 33 Mass. Reg! Killed at Lookout Val. Tenn. Oct. 29, 1863.
351
ROLL OF HONOR.
JAMES CARLAN, Co. C. 53 Mass. Reg: Killed at Port Hudson, La. June 14, 1863.
JOHN B. CALDWELL, Co. H. 53 Mass. Reg Died at New York, Aug. 25, 1863.
JAMES M. CHAPIN, Co. H. 53 Mass. Reg Died at New Orleans. Apr. 30, 1863.
MICHAEL DONLAN, Co. D. 20 Mass. Reg! Died at Andersonville, Ga. June 26, 1864. GEO. S. EVANS, Co. C. 16 Mass. Regt Died [at Manassas, Va. ] Nov. 11, 1862.
[" Massachusetts in the Army and Navy " (11. 276) gives the place of death.]
GEO. A. FULLICK, Co. C. 26 Mass. Reg Killed at Winchester, Va. Sept. 20, 1864. GEO. A. GLEASON, Co. B. 28 Mass. Reg! Died of wounds [at Washington, D. C.], July 1 [June 26], 1864. [The Hospital Report on file at the State House gives the date and place of death.]
JAMES A. HARTWELL, Co. A. 36 Mass. Reg! Died at Camp Nelson, Ky. Jan. 29, 1864.
[The Descriptive List and the Muster-in Roll both give his name as Adam J. Hartwell.]
352
ROLL OF HONOR.
EDMUND P. HALL, Co. E. 30 Mass. Reg! Died at New Orleans, Nov. 23, 1862.
GEO D. HAYNES. Co. B. 26 Mass. Regt Died at New Orleans, Oct. 19 [Aug. 22], 1862.
[The Muster-in Roll gives his name as George II. Haynes, and the Muster-out Roll gives the date of death as August 22.]
ADRASTUS HAZZARD. Co. F. 54 Mass. Reg! Died at Beaufort. S. C. July 7, 1865.
CHARLES H. JAQUITH, Co. B. 56 Mass. Reg: Killed in Wilderness, Va. May 6, 1864.
LEANDER G. KING, Co. C. 16 Mass. Reg! Killed at Gettysburg, Penn. July 6, 1863.
LEANDER S. KENDALL, Co. B. 26 Mass. Reg! Died [at New Orleans, La.] Aug. 20 [18], 1862.
[The Muster-out Roll gives the date of death as August 18, and also the place.]
WILLIAM LAW, JR. Co. E. 33 Mass. Reg: Died
July 14, 1864.
JOEL. F. LAWRENCE, C'o. C. 16 Mass: Reg! Killed in Wilderness, Va. May 10, 1864.
353
ROLL OF HONOR.
CHARLES H. LEONARD, Co. H. 57 Mass. Regt Killed in Wilderness, Va. May 1, 1864. OLIVER B. OSBORN, Co. E. 33 Mass. Reg: Died [at Thoroughfare Gap, Va.] Nov. 5, 1862.
[A. J. Boies's " Record of the Thirty-third Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry " (page 153) gives the place of death.]
TIMOTHY O'CONNOR Co. B. 26 Mass. Regt Killed at Winchester, Va. Sept. 19, 1864.
CHARLES H. PIERCE, Co. E. 33 Mass. Reg! Died of wounds, July [1]8, 1863.
[The Muster-out Roll gives the date of death as July 18.]
WM. H. PRIEST, Co. B. 26 Mass. Reg! Killed at Winchester, Va. Sept. 19, 1864.
JEROME S. PARKER, Co. C. 16 Mass. Reg! Died of wounds [at Gettysburg, Penn. ], July 12, 1863.
[The Monthly Report on file at the State House gives the place of death.]
ALFRED A. RICHARDSON, Co. B. 6 Mass. Reg! Died at Suffolk. Va. Dec. 8, 1862.
JACOB S. RAYNOR Jr. Co. H. 53 Mass. Reg! Died at Port Hudson, June 28, 1863.
354
ROLL OF HONOR.
WM. G. RAND, Co. E. 33 Mass. Reg Died of wounds, Nov. 1863.
PATRICK READY, Co. B. 56 Mass. Reg! Killed at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864.
EDWARD D. SAWTELL, Co. B. 6 Mass. Reg! Killed at Deserted House. Va. Jan. 30, 1863.
['The Muster-out Roll says at " Deserted House, near Suffolk, Va."]
ANDREW J. STEVENS, Co. B. 26 Mass. Reg! Died at New Orleans. July 9, 1862.
LUTHER E. TENNY, Co. B. 26 Mass. Reg! Died at New Orleans. March [3]1, 1863.
[The Muster-out Roll gives the date of death as March 31.]
HENRY E. TOSIER [Co. I.] 8 Maine Reg: Killed [near Spring Hill, Va.] Dec. [10], 1864.
[The " Official Army Register," Part I. (page 26), gives the date and place of his death, as well as the Letter of his company.]
JOHN WAIGAND, Co. A. 22 Mass. Reg! Died in Rebel Prison [Andersonville, Ga.], May 15, 1864.
[A letter from the War Department to the Adjutant General of the Com- monwealth, dated October 24, 1896, gives the place of death.]
355
KING GEORGE'S WAR.
-
GEO. H. WILLIAMS, Co. E. 33 Mass. Reg: Killed near Dallas, Ga. May 25, 1864. ANDREW L. WOODWARD, Co. E. 33 Mass. Reg: Died Nov. 8, 1864.
KING GEORGE'S WAR.
THE following papers refer probably to some service ren- dered during the early autumn of 1746, when an attack on Boston was threatened by the Duc d'Anville's fleet. The alarm was of short duration, and the term of enlistment on the part of the men correspondingly brief. The original papers are now in the possession of Mr. James Lawrence Bass, of Boston, to whose courtesy I am indebted for the use of them. See " Groton during the Indian Wars " (pages 150- 153), for other facts relating to the same affair.
Groton Sept 8th 1746
then we the subscribers Recd of William Lawrance Esqr the full of what he Recd for Each of us of the Comte of warr Either for our- selfs or such as as [sic] we are Consarned for the sums sett to Each of our names as witness our hands
Obadiah Parker
4-11 - 2
moses Bennet 11-19- 1 James Blood 13= 1 = 10 Jonathan Sawtell 22 = 1 - 9 Elisebath X Holdin 2 - 16 - 1 her mark
Sam" Tarbell Garden [guardian] to william farnsworth
his Phinihes O Barron Inark
15=14 - 4 2 = 19 - 8
Benjamin willson 25 = 2 = 5
Abel Parker 17 = 1 = 7
356
KING GEORGE'S WAR.
I the subscriber do acknowlige that I haue Recd the money due to Danid Nutting which William Lawrance tooke of the Comte of warr & promis to acoumpt for y" same being the sum of
16 : 1 - 7 new tennor
october 8 1 746. Jon" Hubbard Jr. for W" Watson
William Nutting
Hanah Green X her mark
£1I =4- I 0 18 - 6
her
Elisebath X holdin
11 - 14 = 0
mark
Obadiah Parker hi-
I - 4- 0
Jonas X Fletcher mark 10 = 6 = 0
. December 15=1746. then Recª of William Lawrance Eight Pounds Eleven shillings & three Pence old tennor in Parte of my Plunder money P Phinehas his º Barron
Groton January 19th 1746
then we the subscribers Recd of William Lawrance the full of the money which the sd Lawrance Rect for our Guns and Clowing as witness our hands.
Esq Lawrence Sir Plees To Deliuer to cap: John Bulkley the money that I Desierd your honnor to Draw for me and you will much oblidge your hombbel Saruant Januarey ye 20 : 1746 Ebenezer Patt
his
Wm & Durren mark John Courtney oLiuer Blood Samuel Blodget his Charles X Stevens mark his
Mickel os Coffin
mark his
Jonathan O Shead mark James 0 Lasley hi- maik John Bulkley for Ebenezer Patt Zachrah Withe his Sam" x Phillops mark
.
·
357
TWO MILITARY DIARIES.
TWO MILITARY DIARIES.
Two diaries kept by Groton soldiers near the middle of the last century have been published in the Proceedings (second series, IV. 384-406, and XI. 417-446) of the Massa- chusetts Historical Society, and they have also been printed as separate pamphlets.
One is the diary of Lieutenant Dudley Bradstreet, which was kept during the first siege of Louisburg, and gives many interesting episodes of that eventful period. It begins on April 22, 1745, and ends on January 17, 1746. Unfortunately the writer's name does not appear anywhere in its pages, but the authorship is learned both from family tradition and in- ternal evidence. For several generations the diary has been in the keeping of the Kemp family, of Gorham, Maine; and among the various members it has been believed gener- ally that the author was Dudley Bradstreet, whose daughter Mary married an ancestor, Ebenezer Kemp, and through this channel it is supposed that the diary came into their posses- sion. On page 6 is written in an old hand " Mary Kemp her book," which seems to bear out this supposition ; and the same name appears also in another place.
The little book in which the journal was kept now contains eighty-eight pages, and was made probably by folding sheets of folio writing-paper twice, and then stitching them together through the back ; and this supposition is borne out by the water-mark, which is not the same on each half-sheet. It is interesting to note the fact that similar paper with the same water-marks is found scattered through the manuscripts among the Pepperrell Papers and Belknap Papers relating to the siege of Louisburg now in the possession of the Histor- ical Society. The outer fold (4 pages), which made a leaf at the beginning and end of the book, is gone; and pre- sumably the name of the diarist was written on the first page. Another fold near the middle is also gone, and the gap is found between the entry of Wednesday, June 5, and that of June 20. The first leaf of this missing fold contained the record of June 5 (in part), 6, 7, and 8 (in part) ; and the
358
TWO MILITARY DIARIES.
corresponding leaf contained that of June 18 and 19. Ac- cording to this statement the book had originally 96 pages, and was made from six full sheets of blank paper.
Of Dudley Bradstreet, the diarist, but little is known. He was the second son of the Reverend Dudley and Mary (Wainwright) Bradstreet, of Groton, where he was born on March 12, 1707-8. Ilis father was the settled minister of the town from the year 1706 to 1712, when he was dis- missed from his pastoral charge, presumably for his Episco- pal tendencies ; and soon afterward he went to England to apply for orders in the Anglican church. On April 28, 1727, Dudley Bradstreet, the son, was married to Abigail Lakin; and they had six children, namely: Abigail, born on June 27, 1728, and died probably in December, 1745, while her father was at Louisburg ; Mary, born on August 7, 1730, and married Ebenezer Kemp; Ann, born on May 18, 1735, married Samuel Hobart, on March 26, 1755, and died at Hollis, New Hampshire, on May 20, 1773; Lucy, born on April 8, 1738, and married Jonathan Pratt, on February 26, 1756; Sarah, born on September 26, 1740; and Hannah, born on August 13, 1743. From the fact that all these children were girls, it is easy to see why the name of Brad- street disappeared from the annals of Groton, as at that pe- riod the father was the only male representative of the family in town.
From internal evidence it is clear that the writer was a Groton soldier, and a member of Captain John Warner's company in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment (Colonel Samuel Willard); and from contemporary records it is known that Dudley Bradstreet was an officer in this company. From time to time he mentions various Groton men who were then serving in the army, and, under date of December 6, he alludes to Samuel Shead, a recent arrival at Louisburg, who within a short time had seen his wife at Groton; and through him he heard from his whole family. Captain Warner was a resident of Lancaster, and presumably his company was made up of soldiers belonging there and in Groton and neighborhood.
359
TWO MILITARY DIARIES.
The other diary is that of Sergeant David Holden, which was kept during the latter part of the French and Indian War. It begins on February 20, 1760, and ends on Novem- ber 29. The writer was the youngest child of John and Sarah (Davis) Holden, and was born at Groton, on Decem- ber 10, 1738. In Mr. Butler's History (page 407) his Chris- tian name is given erroneously as "Daniel." Both branches of his family had suffered much from Indian warfare. His grandfather, Stephen Holden, with his " two biggest sons," - one of them David's father, - was taken by the savages dur- ing the summer of 1697, and held in captivity for nearly two years ; and his mother was a niece of John Davis, who was killed by the Indians, in his own dooryard at Groton, on October 25, 1704.
David Holden was the First Sergeant in Captain Leonard Whiting's company ; and there is a tradition in the family that the first time he ever saw his wife was while drilling a squad of men at Groton for the campaign of 1760. He was married, on July 13, 1761, to Sarah, daughter of the Reverend Phinehas and Sarah (Stevens) Hemenway, of Townsend, who was born on October 25, 1739. After his return from the army he lived for some years at Townsend, where most of his children were born. At the outbreak of the Revolution his sympathies were with the Crown ; and so strong was the feeling in his neighborhood then against the Tories, that he was obliged to leave his home, when he took up his abode at Hollis, New Hampshire, a town lying just over the State line. His military service had laid the foundation of a loyalty to the King, which did not swerve even at the cost of his personal popularity.
Captain Whiting, his company commander, was a native of Billerica, where he was born on March 27, 1734; but at the time of this campaign he was living in Westford. The com- pany was recruited from Middlesex County, and the muster roll is still preserved among the Massachusetts Archives (XCVIII.) at the State House, in the volume marked " Muster Rolls, 1760-1761" (VIII. 313-315). During the Revolution Captain Whiting was a resident of Hollis, and he, too, was
360
GROTON REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS IN MAINE.
a Tory. An account of his adventures with some patriotic women of the neighborhood is given in Butler's History of Groton (pages 336, 337).
The diary consists of 64 pages of a small blank book ; and 104 remaining pages are filled with the ordinary memo- randa usually found in such a book, and extending over a period of twelve years. From these entries it appears that Sergeant Holden was a farmer and a cooper ; and occa- sionally he let his horse or his cart and oxen to some of his neighbors to do work. In July, 1765, he has a charge of one pound for a " Pigg " against Archibald McIntosh, who ten years later was taken prisoner at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and died in Boston jail. On September 2, 1765, he carts a " Load of Cole from the Battrey to Tarbells mills," which were situated in Squannacook Village, now West Groton. In January, 1772, he opens an account with Henry Price, the first Provincial Grand Master of Masons in New England and North America, and he sells him some turnips and does some " hooping " for him.
GROTON REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS LIVING IN MAINE.
THE following Groton soldiers are mentioned in a list of "Names of Soldiers of the American Revolution who applied for State Bounty under Resolves of March 17, 1835, March 24, 1836, and March 20, 1838, as appears of record in Land Office," compiled by Charles J. House ( Augusta, 1893).
The abbreviations may be explained thus: "e" for place of residence at time of enlistment, "d" for died, "w" for widow, and " m " for married. The name of a town following that of a soldier or widow shows the place of residence at the time when the application was made.
Amos Dole, e Groton, Mass., d Orrington July 20, 1832, W Matilda, Orrington. (Page 23.)
Oliver Hartwell, Stetson, e Groton, Mass. (Page 28.)
361
THE GROWTH OF TREES.
Asa Longley, St.Albans, e Groton, Mass. (Page 34.)
Zachariah Longley, e Groton, Mass., d Dover June 28, 1825, W Betsey, Dover. (Page 34.)
Abel Nutting, e Groton, Mass., d Lisbon January 18, 1827, W Rhoda, Lisbon, m Green. (Page 38.)
Calvin Russell, Moscow, e Groton, Mass. (Page 41.)
Amos Shed, e Groton, Mass., d Norridgewock July 11, 1800, W Lucy, Norridgewock, m Crosby. (Page 42.)
Thomas Stevens, Brooksville, e Groton, Mass. [See the first volume of this Historical Series, No. XVIII., page 23, for a notice of his death on May 7, 1853.] (Page 44.)
THE GROWTH OF TREES.
MANY years ago I set out some small trees in my father's yard, and at the time I jotted down the date in a current copy of the Old Farmer's Almanac. They consisted of a few elms, maples, and ash-trees; and not one of them then had more than two years' growth. According to the record in the almanac, they were transplanted on May 3, 1852 ; and now, after a period of forty-five years, it is interesting to note the size of the trunks of the largest. The measurements of these trees were taken by me on July 6, 1897 ; and at a height of four feet from the ground they give a circumference as follows : -
An elm, six feet two inches; another elm, five feet six inches; an ash, five feet six inches ; a maple, five feet three inches; and another ash, four feet six inches. The first elm noted in this paragraph was struck by lightning on Sunday, June 13, 1897, but fortunately was not damaged.
Every tree in my front yard, - and there is a large variety of kinds, - was set out by my father during the last seventy years. The elm which stands in the southwest corner of the yard, and is mentioned on page 299 of this volume, at a height of four feet from the ground, has a circumference of ten feet and three inches; and another elm at the same height has a circumference of eleven feet and six inches.
4
362
MRS. ANNA P. DODGE.
A third tree of a different variety (ulmus fulva), standing in the same line as the other two, near Mrs. Shumway's fence, has a circumference of seven feet eight inches. This seed- ling was given to me about fifty-five years ago by the late Honorable John Boynton, when it was not more than two inches in height, though it was at first set out elsewhere.
MRS. ANNA P. DODGE.
MANY years ago Mrs. Anna (Parker) Dodge told me that the ash (fraxinus) standing on the westerly side of the road, perhaps twenty rods beyond the stone which marks the site of the first Meeting-house in Groton, was set out by her father when she was a very small girl. The tree is still sound, and at the butt, four feet from the ground, has a circumference of exactly eight feet. In comparison with many other trees the ash is of slow growth.
Mrs. Dodge was a daughter of Silas and Maria (Farns- worth) Parker, and was born at Groton on October 28, 1801. She was married on April 9, 1825, to George, a son of Samuel and Polly ( Farnsworth) Dodge, and grandson of Andrew and Mary (Rindge) Dodge. She and her husband were cousins, as their mothers were sisters, both daughters of Oliver and Sarah (Tarbell) Farnsworth. Her grandparents were Peter and Prudence (Lawrence) Parker, though the name of her father Silas does not appear in the list of children belonging to the family, as printed in Mr. Butler's Ilistory (page 424) ; and presumably it is not given in the town-records. Accord- ing to his epitaph he was fifty-one years old at the time of his death in 1812, which would make him born in 1761. He had a sister Rebecca, - probably older than himself, - whose name also does not appear in Mr. Butler's list, who was married to Peter Lawrence, of Pepperell. Another sister, Sibyl, whose name is given in the list, was married on November 21, 1769, to Benjamin Lawrence of the same town.
363
LEACH-TUBS.
Mrs. Dodge died of old age at her residence in Common Street, Boston, on November 4, 1888. In her death passed away a lady of the old school, in whom were united all the graces of innate refinement as well as strength of character and cheerfulness of disposition.
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