USA > Massachusetts > Historical collections, being a general collection of interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c., relating to the history and antiquities of every town in Massachusetts, with geographical descriptions > Part 14
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The following facts, though remarkable, are not solitary ; seve- ral similar cases are recorded.
In 1806, a strong and beautiful bug eat out of a table made from an apple-tree, which grew on the farm of Maj. Gen. Putnam, in Brooklyn, Con., and which was brought to Williamstown when his son, Mr. P. S. Putnam, removed to that town. It was cut down in 1786, sixty-five years after it was transplanted, and if the tree was then fifteen years old, it was 80 years old when cut down, As the cortical layers of the leaf of the table are about sixty, and extend within about five of the heart, as the inner ones are quite convex, about fifteen layers have been cut off from the outside. In 1814, a third bug made his way out, the second having appeared two or three years before. The last bug came forth from nearest the heart, and 45 cortical layers distant, on the supposition of its age, from the outside. The tree had now been cut down 28 years. Of course, the egg must have been deposited in the wood seventy-three years before. This bug eat about three inches along the grain, till it emerged into the light. The eating of the insect was heard for weeks before its appearance. These facts were given by Mr. Putnam, in whose possession the table still remains, and were first pub -. lished in the Repertory at Middlebury, Vt., in 1816. One of the bugs, preserved for
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WINDSOR.
some time by the Rev. Dr. Fitch, "was about an inch and one fourth long, and one third inch in diameter ; color, dark glistening brown, with tints of yellow."-Hist. of Berkshire, p. 39.
WINDSOR.
THIS township was purchased at Boston, by Noah Nash, for £1,430, on the 2d of June, 1762, and called, among the townships purchased at that time, No. 4. When it was incorporated in 1771, it was called Gageborough, in honor of General Gage, then British governor of Massachusetts. In 1778, at the request of the inha- bitants, the general court gave to it its present name. The first inhabitants of the town were Joseph Chamberlain and Ephraim Keyes, from Ashford, Con., Edward Walker, from Hadley, John Hall, Jeremiah Cady, and Josiah Lawrence, from Plainfield, Con. Though Mr. Hall has many descendants still living here, he soon moved to Castleton, Vermont, and was killed by a party of Indians, about the time of the capture of Burgoyne. The first child born in the place was a daughter of Mr. Lawrence; born May, 1768.
For many years the people had but one place of worship, and most of the inhabitants are yet Congregationalists. The first meeting-house erected was unfortunately burnt before it was com- pleted. The present brick meeting-house was built in 1823, and dedicated the next year, on the 7th of January. The first church was formed in 1772, and on the 25th of March, 1773, the Rev. David Avery, a native of Groton, Con., and graduate of Yale College, 1769, was installed their pastor, having been previously ordained an evangelist. He was dismissed April 14, 1777, that he might accept the office of chaplain in the army of the United States, during the revolutionary war. He was much esteemed by the people here, who were extremely unwilling to part with him. A second Congregational church was formed in the autumn of 1811, in the north-east part of the town, with 20 members, taken principally from the church in Windsor. A few families in Savoy united with them, and they held their meetings, for a time, in a dwelling-house, fitted up for the purpose, on the line between the two towns. The Rev. Jephthah Poole, from Plainfield, was ordained their pastor Oct. 11, 1811. There is a Baptist society in this town, who erected their meeting-house in 1819. Elder Noah Y. Bushnel preached to them for some years.
This township is about 7 miles in length and 5 in breadth. The surface is uneven. A height of land lies a little west of the center, in a north and south direction, from which the descent is gradual, both to the east and west. On the east side rises Westfield river, and on the west the Housatonic. The origin and sources of these streams are but a few rods apart, a little south of the Congrega- tional meeting-house. On the Housatonic, in the south-west part of the town, near the line of Dalton, are falls, judged to be about
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ATTLEBOROUGH.
70 feet. Though the quantity of water is not great, yet it is pre- cipitated down the rock with such violence that it affords a pros- pect truly sublime. The soil of the township is various; in the eastern section it is sandy. In general it is well adapted to grazing and mowing. In 1837, there were in the town 7,157 sheep, pro- ducing wool to the value of $10,500. This town is situated 18 miles N. N. E. of Lenox, and 120 W. by N. of Boston. Popula- tion 887.
1
BRISTOL COUNTY.
THIS county was incorporated in 1685. The surface of the county is somewhat broken, but generally level and sandy. It has a maritime coast of considerable extent, and many of the inha- bitants of this county are engaged in navigation, and a large num- ber employed in manufactures. Iron ore is found in large quanti- ties in various parts. Taunton and Pawtucket rivers, both passing into Narragansett Bay, are the principal streams, and there is abun- dant water-power in many of the towns. The tonnage of the two districts in this county (New Bedford and Dighton,) is 75,188 tons. In 1837, there were 57 cotton mills, having 104,507 spindles ; 4,814,238 lbs. of cotton were consumed, and 18,382,828 yards of cotton goods were manufactured, the value of which was $1,678,- 226. Population of the county in 1837 was 58,152. The follow- ing is a list of the towns.
Attleborough,
Fairhaven, Fall River,
Norton,
Somerset,
Berkley,
Dartmouth,
Freetown,
Raynham,
Swansey, Taunton,
Dighton,
Mansfield,
Rehoboth, Westport.
Easton,
New Bedford, 1
Seekonk,
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ATTLEBOROUGH.
IN 1661, Capt. Thomas Willett, of Rehoboth, having been em- powered by the court, purchased of Wamsitta, a sachem of Poka- noket, a tract of land, which was called the Rehoboth North Pur- chase. It was bounded west by Pawtucket river, now the Black- stone ; north by the Massachusetts colony, or the Bay line ; east by the Taunton North Purchase; and south by the ancient Rehoboth. This purchase included Attleborough, Cumberland, R. I., and a tract extending east and west a mile and a half. The land was divided into seventy-nine and a half shares. The following are the names of the purchasers .*
* This list is copied from the History of Attleborough, by John Daggett, Esq. It is to this work the author is almost entirely indebted for the history of this town.
Pawtucket,
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ATTLEBOROUGH.
Capt. Thomas Willett, Mr. Stephen Paine, Mr. Noah Newman, Lieut. Peter Hunt, Mr. James Browne, Samuel Newman, John Allen, sen., John Woodcock, Thomas Estabrooke,
Thomas Cooper, sen.,
John Kingsley,
Gilbert Brookes,
Thomas Reade,
Joseph Buckland,
Thomas Grant,
Benjamin Buckland,
Jonathan Fuller,
John Reade, sen.,
James Gillson,
John Reade, jr.,
Samuel Luther,
Nicholas Pecke,
Nicholas Tanner, ..
Elizabeth Winchester,
John Allen, jr.,
Thomas Willmot,
Hannah Winchester,
Preserved Abell,
Sampson Mason, Anthoney Perry, John Butterworth, Philip Walker, John Ormsby,
Jonathan Bliss, Rice Leonard,
Nathaniel Pecke,
Richard Martin,
John Perrin, sen.,
Jonah Palmer,
Stephen Paine,
George Kendricke,
Robert Miller,
Rober Joans,
George Robenson,
Nathaniel Paine,
Obadiah Bowen,
John Doggett,
Jeremiah Wheaton,
John Pecke,
John Fitch,
Joanna Ide,
James Redeway,
Richard Bowen,
John Savage,
Samuel Carpenter, John Titus,
John Miller,
Jacob Ormsby,
Mr. John Myles,
Robert Fuller,
John Polley,
William Carpenter,
Robert Wheaten,
William Allen,
Joseph Pecke,
Ester Hall,
John Lovell,
Thomas Cooper,
John Miller, sen.,
Eldad Kingsley.
Ensign Henery Smith,
Jaret Ingraham,
Francis Stephens,
Lydia Winchester, Daniel Smith,
, Nicholas Ide, Richard Whittaker,
William Saben,
Israel Pecke,
Elizabeth Bullucke,
Thomas Ormsby,
The first settlement in the town was commenced by Mr. John Woodcock and his sons, in the neighborhood of the Baptist meeting- house, where Hatch's tavern now stands: it was soon after the division in 1669. He built a public house on the Bay road, and laid out about 300 acres of land for his farm. He took up in seve- ral parts of the town about 600 acres, some on his own shares, and the rest on rights which he purchased of Roger Amidowne, James Redeway, Andrew Willett, &c. His house was occupied for a garrison. It was licensed in 1670, according to the following record : "July 5th, 1670. John Woodcock is allowed by the court to keep an ordinary at the Ten-mile river (so called), which is in the way from Rehoboth to the Bay; and likewise enjoined to keep good order, that no unruliness or ribaldry be permitted there." Woodcock was a man of some consequence in those days. His name often appeared in town offices and on committees. In 1691, he was chosen deputy to the general court from Rehoboth, and at several other times. He was shrewd, hardy, and brave. He did not much regard the rights of the Indians. On one occasion, he took the liberty of paying himself a debt due to him from an Indian, without his consent, for which act the court passed the following sentence upon him; an example of the strict justice of the Puritans.
" 1654. John Woodcock, of Rehoboth, for going into an Indian house, and taking away an Indian child and some goods, in lieu of a debt the Indian owed him, was sentenced to sit in the stocks at Rehoboth on a training-day, and to pay a fine of forty shillings." Woodcock died in 1701, at an advanced age. After his death the
Samuel Pecke, William Buckland,
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ATTLEBOROUGH.
scars of seven bullet-holes were counted on his body. He was a strong and implacable enemy to the Indians. His garrison was well known as a place of rendezvous in the great Indian war. It was part of a chain of fortifications extending from Boston to Rhode Island. There was one in Boston, one in Dedham, one in Rehoboth, and one at Newport, on the island. This stand, now owned and occupied by Col. Hatch, is the oldest in the county off Bristol : a public house has been kept on the spot without intermis- sion nearly one hundred and seventy years. It is located on the Boston and Providence turnpike.
In 1806, the old garrison was torn down, having stood one hun- dred and thirty-six years. The greater part of the timber was said to be perfectly sound, though pierced by many a bullet in king Philip's time. A large and elegant building has been erected on the spot. There was another early settlement at the Falls, now the Falls Factories. The advantage of a fine fall of water attracted many to the spot. John Daggett, of Rehoboth, was the
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1
West view of Attleborough.
first person who laid out lands at the Falls. In 1677, he sold 50 acres of it to his brother, Thomas Daggett, of Martha's Vineyard. Edmund Hall also owned 50 acres here, which he gave to his son John, who sold it to John Stevenson and Samuel Penfield, in 1686. Penfield sold it to Thomas Daggett, of Edgartown, and Joseph and Nathaniel Daggett, of Rehoboth.
The first mill built at the Falls was a corn-mill, owned and occupied by Joseph Daggett. The south-east part of the town was early settled by people from Rehoboth. The borders of the Bay road that passed through the neighborhood of Newell's and the City, were occupied by some of the first 'settlers. This was the first road in town.
The above is a view taken in the principal village in Attlebo- rough. 'The Boston and Providence railroad passes through it,
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ATTLEBOROUGH.
and is but a few rods eastward of the Congregational church seen in the engraving. The " Attleborough Bank," in this village, is the first building westward of the church. This place is 11 miles from Taunton, 11 from Providence, and 21 from Boston. Popula- tion of the town, 3,396. The following is from the statistical tables, published by the state in 1837 .. Cotton mills, 8; cotton spindles, 13,078 ; cotton consumed, 510,680 lbs .; cotton goods manufac- tured, 2,500,811 yards ; value of the same, $229,571; males em- ployed, 157; females, 220; capital invested, $259,000; manufac- tory of metal buttons, 1; metal buttons manufactured, 37,560 gross; value of the same, $90,000; males employed, 42 ; females, 21; capital invested, $90,000; value of jewelry manufactured, $92,000; hands employed, 112; capital invested, $50,000; value of planing machines manufactured, $40,000; hands employed, 15 ; capital invested, $18,000; value of boots and shoes manufactured, $10,000.
The Rev. Matthew Short was the first settled minister in this town; he was ordained in 1712. Difficulties between him and his people soon commenced, which resulted in his dismission in 1715. According to the agreement made with Mr. Short, he was to be paid £50 a year, for the first six years, one third in money, and the other two thirds in grain, beef, pork, butter or cheese, at the cur- rent price .* "At the 7th year, his salary was to be raised to £60, payable as above, and then to continue until there should be 100 families in town capable of paying public taxes, in the judgment of the selectmen, and then it was to be £70 per annum." The second minister was Rev. Ebenezer White; he was the pastor for 11 years, and died in 1726. He was succeeded by the Rev. Habijah Weld. He was distinguished for his usefulness in the ministry, and highly respected as a man, both at home and abroad. He united, to an uncommon degree, the affections of his people, for a period of 55 years, during which he was their pastor. He was a man of talents and respectable acquire- ments, and was extensively known. He was ordained in 1727, and died 1782, in the 80th year of his age.
" Mr. Weld was below the middle stature, and, in the latter part of his life, corpu- lent. His constitution was vigorous, and his mind almost singularly energetic. The stipend he received from his parishioners consisted of an annual salary of two hun- dred and twenty dollars, and the use of a parsonage-lot, which furnished him with wood and a little pasture. With his patrimony, he purchased a farm of about 70 acres, of moderately good land, and a decent house. He had fifteen children, ten of whom were married during his life, and one after his death. The remaining four died while young. This numerous family he educated, with the means which have been mentioned, in a manner superior to what is usually found in similar cir- cumstances ; entertained much company in a style of genuine hospitality; and was always prepared to contribute to the necessities of others. For the regulation of his domestic concerns, he prescribed to himself and his family a fixed system of rules, which were invariably observed, and contributed not a little to the pleasantness and prosperity of his life. His children, laborers, and servants, submitted to them with
* These articles were then valued as follows. Corn, 2s. 6d. per bushel; rye, 3s. 6d. per bushel ; pork, 3d. per lb .; beef, 2d. per lb .; butter, 6d .; and good new milk cheese, 1d. per lb. .
15
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ATTLEBOROUGH.
cheerfulness; and his house became the seat of absolute industry, peace, and good order. Breakfast was on the table precisely at six o'clock, dinner at twelve, and sup- per at six in the evening. After supper he neither made visits himself, nor permitted any of his family to make them." From the death of Mr. Weld to the settlement of Mr. Wilder, in 1790, nearly 8 years, the first parish was destitute of a settled minis- ter. Rev. John Wilder was dismissed Nov. 28, 1822, having been settled upwards of 32 years.
The first meeting of the East Parish was on the 6th June, 1743. On the 20th a meeting was called "to consider and see what the parish will do in order to placing a meeting-house for the public worship of God." This is the first record of an attempt to build a meeting-house in this part of the town. The Rev. Peter Thatcher, their first minister, was ordained in 1748. The second meeting-house was built in 1825.
The North Baptist Church was constituted in 1769. Its existence may be traced back as early as 1747. It was a small and feeble church, and of the Congregational order, though differing from that denomination in some respects. In 1769, they, by a vote, changed their constitution from a Congregational to a Baptist church, in what is called open communion. Previous to this, in 1767, the church moved Mr. Abraham Bloss from Sturbridge to Attleborough ; he preached to them till his death in 1769. He was succeeded by Elder Job Seamans, of Sackville, Cumberland county, then in Nova Scotia ; he requested a dismission in 1788, which was granted. His successor was Elder Abner Lewis, who was settled 1789, and continued until 1795, when he was dismissed. After this, Mr. Laben Thurber preached two years, and then gave up the office of the ministry. He was followed by Elder James Reed, who commenced preaching here in 1800. He gave so much satisfaction, that in December of the same year the church invited him to settle, which invitation he accepted. He was installed in 1801. He died in 1814, universally respected as a man. His successor was the Rev. Stephen S. Nelson, who settled in 1815, and was dismissed in 1820. The first meeting-house was not finished till 1784. The present house was built in 1817.
South Baptist. The records of this church cannot be found. In 1789, the first and second churches in Attleborough met and agreed upon fellowship as sister churches. Elder Elihu Daggett was the first preacher. The next in succession was Elder Eli- sha Carpenter, who settled in 1780, and continued till 1798, when he removed to Pro- vidence. This church is now extinct.
First Universalist Society was incorporated in 1818. . The first minister was the Rev. Richard Carrique, who was ordained 1818, and dismissed in 1822. His successor was the Rev. Robert Kilham, who commenced preaching in 1822, and was dismissed in 1828.
Hebronville Church was gathered by Rev. Thomas Williams, after his dismission from the west parish in 1827. A small but neat house was built on the line between Attle- borough and Seekonk, half in one town and half in the other, to which and the neigh- borhood was given the name of Hebronville by the founder. Mr. Williams' connec- tion with the church was dissolved in 1832.
Rev. Naphtali Daggett, D. D., president of Yale College, a native of this town, was born 1727. His ancestor, John Daggett, ancestor of all the Daggetts here and in Connecticut, came to Attleborough from Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard, in 1709.
Rev. Naphtali Daggett entered Yale College in 1744, and graduated in 1748. He was settled as minister of Smithtown, on Long Island, in 1751. In 1755 he was elected Professor of divinity in Yale College, which he accepted, and removed to New Haven. After the resignation of Mr. Clap in 1766, he officiated as president till 1777. During the barbarous attack on New Haven in July, 1779, he distinguished himself for the part he took in the defence of the country. He had made himself obnoxious by his bold opposition to the British cause. In the pulpit and in the lecture-room, he inculcated upon the students the duty of resisting British oppression; consequently he incurred the marked displeasure of the invaders. What he preached, that he practised. When the enemy landed, he shouldered his musket to repel them. He was taken pri- soner, and treated with all possible indignity. His clerical character did not exempt him from their most outrageous abuse. When asked by them who he was, he imme- diately replied, " My name is Naphtali Daggett; I am one of the officers of Yale Col- lege. I require you to release me." "But we understand that you have been pray- ing against our cause." " Yes, and I never made more sincere prayers in my life."" He
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BERKLEY.
was saved by the courage of the lady into whose house he had been conveyed. The enemy having retired, they sent back an officer and file of soldiers to convey him as prisoner on board their fleet. They came to the house, and were refused admittance by the lady, who pleaded the excuse that he was so badly wounded that it would be impossible to convey him on board alive. "My orders," said the officer, " are positive to take him with me." But she pleaded that he was in the agonies of death. After continual demands and refusals, the officer left to report the case, but never returned. He died in 1780, in consequence of the wounds he had received in his engagement with the British. He held the office of professor of divinity twenty-five years, and presided over the University about eleven years.
The following inscriptions are from monuments in this town.
Bezaleel Mann, mort. die Octo. tert. 1796, an. ætat. 74. Early imbued with the prin- ciples of moral rectitude, he sustained through the diversified concerns of a long and active life, the character of an honest man. As a physician, he commanded, during the period of near 50 years, that unlimited confidence and respect which talents alone can inspire. The features of his mind were sketched by the glowing pencil of nature, filled up with qualities that adorn humanity, and shaded with few infirmities, the fre- quent attendants on mental excellence.
" Bebe Mann, his wife, mort. die Octo. tert. 1793, ætat. 61. She was a person of bright genius, of few words and much reserved in mind. From early youth, she marked all her paths with virtue, and timely took the advice Christ gave to his disci- ples, and made to herself a friend of the mammon of unrighteousness, and, when she failed, could with christian confidence say, that her witness was in heaven and her reward on high." This stone is erected by the grateful hand of filial piety to protect the awful dust of revered parents.
In memory of Dr. Herbert Mann, who with 119 sailors, with Capt. James Magee, mas- ter, went on board the Brig General Arnold in Boston Harbor 25th Dec. 1778, hoisted sail, made for sea, and were immediately overtaken by the most tremendous snow storm with cold, that was ever known in the memory of man, and unhappily parted their cable in Plymouth harbor, in a place called the Cow-yards, and he with about 100 others was frozen to death; sixty-six of whom were buried in one grave. He was in the 21st year of his age. And now Lord God Almighty, just and true are all thy ways, but who can stand before thy cold ?
The following is an epitaph on the negro slave Caesar, who was given to Lieut. Josiah Maxcy by his mother when he was a child. He was a member of the Baptist church, honest and faithful. He survived his first master, and after his own death was buried in the same grave-yard. A decent stone was erected to his memory by his younger master, Levi Maxcy, with this inscription, which may be seen in the north-east corner of the burying-ground, near Hatch's tavern.
Here lies the best of slaves Now turning into dust; Cæsar the Ethiopian craves A place among the just.
His faithful soul has fled To realms of heavenly light,
And by the blood that Jesus shed Is changed from Black to White.
January 15, he quitted the stage, In the 77th year of his age. 1780.
BERKLEY.
THIS town, situated on the east side of Taunton river, was for- merly a part of Dighton. It was incorporated in 1735. It is 5 miles S. of Taunton, 18 E. of Providence, and 37 S. of Boston. Population, 878. In five years previous to 1837, there were 13
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DARTMOUTH.
vessels built ; tonnage of the same, 1,267 ; valued at $38,010. This place has about ten sail of coasting vessels, and some iron ore. The celebrated "Dighton" or "Writing Rock" is in the limits of this town, being situated on the eastern shore of Taunton river, which divides this town from Dighton. For a description of this rock, see Dighton.
DARTMOUTH.
THIS town was incorporated in 1664, and formerly included within its limits the present towns of Westport, New Bedford and Fairhaven. During Philip's war a great part of this town was laid desolate and many of the inhabitants killed. The most of the Plymouth forces were ordered thither. In coming to Russell's garrison at Ponaganset or Aponaganset, in this town, they met with a number of the enemy that had surrendered themselves prisoners on terms promised by Captain Eels of the garrison, and Ralph Earl, who persuaded them to come in, by a friendly Indian whom he employed. It is to be regretted, however, that, notwith- standing the promises made by the above persons to the Indians, they were by the superior authorities carried away to Plymouth, " then sold and transported out of the country, being about eight score persons." That part of Dartmouth which was destroyed is about 5 miles S. W. of New Bedford. The cellars of Russell's garrison are still to be seen. They are on the north bank of the Aponaganset, about a mile from its mouth. It is stated that the Indians had a fort on the opposite side of the river, and used to show themselves, and act all manner of mockery to aggravate the English, they being at more than a common gunshot off. It is related, however, that an Indian came out at one time, and, hav- ing turned his back sides, as usual, in a contemptuous manner towards the English, some one, having an uncommonly long gun, fired, and put an end to his mockery.
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