USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Marlborough > Historical reminiscences of the early times in Marlborough, Massachusetts : and prominent events from 1860 to 1910, including brief allusions to many individuals and an account of the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35
295
MARTIN, OR ABEL RICE HOME.
sir," the boy quickly replied, "I never in my life put any hot grease on 'em." That made the old gentleman lean back for a good laugh. There have been great improvements made in the old Martin Rice place. All the former many buildings are no longer on the place, and all that is left of the first house is the low part at the north end, in which part Mr. Rice used to live. He had a number of children among whom was Abel, the late owner who remained home with his father and made most of the early improvements. Here lived for many years a sweet little lady rich with old time stories and information. She was the daughter of Esquire Levi Bigelow, to whom many prominent business men credit their suc- cess in life through his wise counsels and his care. Mary Bigelow was born in the old Levi Bigelow homestead, out in the Robin Hill district, and married from that place, Abel Rice, the son of Martin. Their chil- dren were Willis, (m. Susie Fay, ch. Frances, Lucy, Effie, m. Montrose , Evans, Hope m. Mr. Puffer ;) Henry, (m. Martha Staatts, ch. Mary, m. J. P. Steele, President of Board of Trade, ch. John Rice ;) Edwin, (m. Mary Holman ; ) Alice, (m. George Perry, ch. Lulu, m. Frank Fuller, Walter, m. Sadie Dudley, Bessie, m. Lewis Richardson, George, m. Army Richardson, Leslie, m. Kate Russell, Mary, m. Charles Kimball ;) and Viola.
Speaking of the old times, Mrs. Abel Rice would tell of the long old time ovens where the bread would be pushed in and spread on the oven
296
floor until it was done brown and ready to be taken out. "We tried the pans when they first came around, but the bread baked in them didn't seem to have the old-time flavor and relish, that it had when baked right onto the clean, nice, hot oven floor." " Ah !" she exclaimed, " In those good old days, neighbors used to visit each other without set invitations, but run in and spend the whole afternoon and help with the work and just enjoy each other," and she would talk about her brother Levi Bigelow, living in the house on Lincoln street, (next to the S. H. Howe shop, and now the residence of Mr. Uriah Searles. ) Levi Bigelow Jr. son of Levi and Nancy (Ames) Bigelow, was born at the old Esq. Levi Bigelow homestead and married Abbie Hastings of Berlin and lived here for a number of years, engaged in farming. A few years later he moved to Marlborough where he became a prominent man, one of the Select_ men, Assessor and School Committee. Levi Bigelow Jr., had no patience with those whose poverty was the result of laziness or dissipa- tion, but to the industrious poor he was an encouraging and helping friend. He was an ardent lover of nature, of birds and flowers. His sister, Mrs. Abel Rice, said he never killed a bird in his life and gave a sound flogging to some disturbers of the swallows' nests in the bank by the roadside of his old residence. He never used his whip while riding and would stop by the wayside or in the field, even when on business, to look for some particular flower. He made the statement that there was no trailing arbutus in this town, that he had looked continually for it but never found it. In his youth he was a favorite with his brothers and sisters, and his domestic character was of unfailing tenderness and affec- tion. Reticent and retiring, he did much good by stealth, and although generous, he chose his own way and subjects thereof, careless as to what construction was put upon his actions. He prized established friendship but refrained often from forming new ones lest they prove treacherous. In his last illness, as one has said: " The tenderness of soul came out significantly," as he told of a dream in which he saw his long lost wife and children, saying of the one, "I almost touched her hand. Was it a 'dream? They all looked so natural." At his death his wealth reverted to his daughter, Doctor Hannah E., whose beneficiary hand was felt by many an ambitious student, or hard pressed family, or worthy individ- ual, as also by Public Library, Hospital and Society of Natural History. As we write this, word comes to us that our expression (under Hospital article) is to be verified. The $25,000 left to Marlborough by Doctor Hannah Bigelow for educational or charitable purposes has been appro- priated for the purchase of a finely located piece of land, on which an up- to-date hospital is to be erected.
!
297
In the old Common burial ground was buried the " Man who from a tender and benevolent regard to the Industrious Poor of the Town, gave all the substance of his House to feed them." This is the inscrip- tion on the stone erected by the people to the memory of Mr. Zachariah Maynard, " whose money was a blessing to many families." It was the correspondent " Uncle David " who wrote : " A short way across the road (from the Abel Rice house) where now resides Mr. Loren Arnold, stood the house of bachelor Zachariah Maynard at whose death in 1775, was left to the 'industrious poor' of our town his generous donation, the income of $1,700. The fund was named the Zachary Fund and the house was called on this account, the old Zachary House." In the great blow of New England, September 23, 1815, when fences, fruit trees, forests, chimneys and whole buildings were suddenly prostrated and the earth strewed with fragments of all kinds in promiscuous con- fusion, the house of Zachary Maynard as well as the old Tayntor house, were each unroofed. Twenty years after Mr. Maynard's death there was born near the same location, one to whose memory our city owes lasting tribute for his "History of Marlborough, Massachusetts" published in 1862, lacking which we should all possess comparatively few records. Charles Hudson worked many years for his father's nearest neighbor and we might say he was brought up in Stephen Rice's family. When a young man he also worked for Capt. William . Gates near lake Williams. In his school days he was one of the foremost scholars in town and it was thought he was as great a grammarian as Rev. Asa Packard. In 1814 when he was eighteen years of age he was enrolled in the West Military Company in town, then commanded by Captain William Holyoke. As the years went on Mr. Hudson became a Universalist minister and we are told, occasionally preached in Marlborough. He was one of the few soldiers from this town that went down to Fort Warren in 1814, during the war of 1812 to 1815. Several years ago the living soldiers of that war formed an association, and Mr. Hudson was one of the mem- bers, and they held their meetings until about 1879. The association dis- banded on account of the advanced ages of the few then living; Mr. Hudson delivered an address at the time. He was, after preaching in Norwich, Connecticut, and Shirley, Massachusetts, settled at Westminster, Massachusetts, where he was pastor of a society for twenty years. Soon after he was settled in that town, he was chosen as Representative to the General Court, afterwards as Senator and served three years in the Executive Council. He was a member of Congress from 1841 to 1849. He was an author of several religious works, some years an editor of a
298
newspaper, an historian, being author of several valuable histories, includ- ing that of our own town. His father, Stephen Hudson, was three years in the Continental army, and some years after the war, in 1794, married Louisa Williams, a grandaughter of Colonel Abraham Williams, near Williams pond. Stephen Hudson died in 1827, aged sixty-six years. Many well remember the thirteenth of June, 1860, when occurred the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of Marl- borough. Charles Hudson was the orator of the day.
Across the street we see the home of Mr. Loren Arnold, son of Jackson and Fanny (Richards ) Arnold. This house, they tell us, stands near the Zachary Maynard place.
THE JOSEPH HOWE FARM.
This farm was located at the end of the now Mechanic street. Here in former days stood two large barns, carriage house, wood house and cider mill. It was one of the largest farms in town. Joseph Howe, Jr., had inherited his father's homestead and property and was a very wealthy man. He used to go to Vermont and New Hampshire to buy cattle and to bring down a drove of young stock to sell to the farmers. He was very shrewd in trade, but was called an honest man. He had a large family of children and one of his daughters (Charlotte) married
299
Samuel Howe, Jr. Joseph Howe, Jr., always enjoyed a joke. One day he went to an auction in the east part of the town and bought a pair of oxen. Upon asking the conditions of the sale, he was told "note pay- able in sixty days with a good endorser." He gave his note and got a man who hadn't a dollar to his name, and whose reputation was extremely shakey, to endorse it for him. He told Mr. Howe, " seeing as how he was a neighbor, he would endorse it for him." Mr. Howe treated him for his kindness, but before he went home he paid the note. The towns- men had much sport about his endorser.
In 1777, before Rev. Mr. Smith was dismissed, he sold a negro servant or slave, Dill Oxford, to Joseph Howe Sr., for 66 pounds. The Constitution of 1780 made all such persons free. Dill, from choice, remained in the family of father and son till the day of her death. She was highly esteemed in the family and neighborhood. She always attended the trainings and musters and was very popular with both boys and girls, being always very generous in the handing around of pepper- mints and gingerbread. Wearing a gown and petticoat, with a man's hat, coat and boots she made a queer appearance stalking up the streets. An exceedingly interesting document, carrying us back, as it does, to the days of slavery in Massachusetts, is the following bill of sale of a negro girl in this town :
"Know all men by these Presents That I-Zorobabel Rice of Marlborough in the County of Middlesex Yeoman; For and in Consideration of the Sum of One Penny lawful money Paid by Jonathan Wilder of Marlborough aforesaid; Yeoman and Mary Wilder his wife the Receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge : I have Bargained Sold and do by these Presents, freely, fully and absolutely Give, Grant Sell convey & Confirm unto the said Jonathan Wilder and Mary Wilder and to their heirs & Assigns Forever-a Negro Girl named Dill which Negro Girl is my own Proper Slave during her Natural life and was Born of the Body of my Negro Slave named Dinah on or about the Day of March A D 1760-And I the said Zorobabel Rice for my Self my heirs, Executors and Administrators Do Cove- nant to & with the Said Jonathan Wilder and Mary Wilder and their Heirs and Assigns That before the Ensealing hereof I am the True, Sole, and Lawful Owner of the above named Negro Girl Dill. And that during her Natural Life I will War- rant Secure and Defend against the lawful Claims & Demands of all person or persons whatsoever forever hereafter by these Presents. In Witness whereof I the Said Zorobabel Rice have hereunto Set my hand & Seal this 29th Day of March in the First Year of his Majesty's Reign A D 1760-
ZOROBABEL RICE
Signed Sealed and Delivered in the Presence of us-
EBENEZER PHELPS
ABRAHAM BRIGHAM
N. B. The words (First, 26th March) in the date of the above was done before Executing.
300
Joseph Howe lived to a ripe old age, and although he was feeble toward the latter part of his life, he continued to have good care of his money. One of his nephews, who had failed a while before, met him one day with "How do you do, Uncle?" " Well enough to eat my allowance, pay my debts, and my farm isn't mortgaged " was the old gentleman's quick reply.
The writer has been told that in 1806 there were but three chaises in Marlborough. One of these was owned by Rev. Asa Packard, another by Mr. Joseph Howe and the third by Deacon Thomas Stowe. In regard to the go-carts in ye olden times, Mr. Cyrus Felton has col- lected the following statistics of the conveyances in use in this and the neighboring towns one hundred years ago :
There was 1 chaise in Marlborough in 1753-4, and 3 in 1755-6 and 7.
Tax upon a chaise 3 shillings a year.
Riding chairs* 1754 there were in Marlborough 4, 1755, 8 ; 1756, 7; 1757, 5.
Tax upon a chair 2 shillings.
There was 1 chariot in Hopkinton in 1753.
Tax upon a chariot 5 shillings.
Framingham had 4 chaises in 1753 and 11 riding chairs.
Sudbury had 2 chaises in 1757 and 8 chairs.
Lancaster had 3 chaises in 1757 and 10 chairs.
Westboro had in 1757, 3 riding chairs.
Stow had 2 riding chairs in 1757.
Worcester had 6 chairs in 1753.
* These riding chairs looked quite like a large office chair, placed between two wheels, similar in size, etc. to the later chaise wheels.
Years ago in the summer of 1638, the good ship Confidence reached the shores of New England with 110 passengers on board. Among these passengers was Nicholas and Jane Guy, their daughter Mary, and Joseph Tayntor with Robert Bayley. Most of the passengers went to Newbury and Sudbury, but the above chose Watertown for their home. No doubt Joseph Tayntor and pretty Mary Guy had engaged to join fortunes in the new world long before they left the old shores of England, for it was not long before the bans were called and these two were united in marriage and set up housekeeping in the quaint and pretty homestead, built by Dr. Simon Eire, the first physician of Watertown, who removed to Boston
30I
H
THE TAYNTOR HOMESTEAD.
about the time that Joseph Tayntor married. The greater part of the lands that belonged to Joseph we find at his death had been purchased from Dr. Eire and his heirs. The windows in their house were of the old fashioned diamond-shaped panes of glass brought from England, with sash of lead, which was quite common about Boston up to the time of the Revolution when they were substituted by wood and the lead moulded into bullets. Joseph Tayntor bought the above homestead in Marl- borough which was occupied by successive generations of the family for 150 years.
The pedigree of Tayntor is so very interesting and the various stories of this name so many that the writer wishes much she were not limited for space. Will say, however, that the national origin and derivation of the name was Norman French, Teinturiere (tinter). It reminds one of a pleasant fact that the grand old master among Italian painters, Tintoretto, or Teynturetto, received his name from the occupation of his father, who was a "tinter" or painter.
Joseph Tayntor of Watertown was an educated man of high stand- ing in his church and possessed the good will and respect of all his fellow townsmen. He filled many positions of trust and died at the age of 77 years, a well-to-do farmer. In the inventory of his vast estate, one
302
notices "sutes of arms," pewter galore and two pair of " banolers " which we find were ancient cartridge boxes, being a belt of rawhide filled with wooden bottles each containing a charge of powder. Here in an inter- esting old homestead was born Jonathan Tayntor who married Eliza- beth, daughter of Daniel Warin of Watertown. By her he had four children and at her death he married Mary Randall who later on, after Jonathan's death, went to Boston and became wife of John Tucker. We find the latter out in King Phillip's War and at the great Swamp fight in 1675.
Among Jonathan Tayntor's children was Deacon Joseph Tayntor, born in Watertown and who came when a lad to Marlborough with Joseph Morse who had bought one of the Marlborough farms then a new plantation. In 1715 Joseph Tayntor married Thankful Barrett of Marl- borough. He built on this place and here he lived to be 77 years old as the inscription upon his gravestone in Marlborough tells us. He had served 22 years in the church and was a good and faithful citizen. In his will we find him a man of much property and among things of interest, mention is made of the noted 24 silver buttons which after being worn and enjoyed by generations, were made into spoons. In the Tayntor history we find the following unique lines :
"Our ancestors lived on bread and broth And wooed their healthy wives in homespun cloth ; Our grandma's nurtured to the nodding reel Gave our good mothers lessons on the wheel. Though spinning did not much reduce-the waist, It made the food much sweeter to the taste. They never once complained, as some do now, Our Irish girl can't cook or milk the cow. Each mother taught her red-cheeked, buxom daughter To bake and milk and draw a pail of water. No damsel shunned the wash tub, broom or pail To keep unharmed a long grown finger nail; They sought no gaudy dress, no hooped-out form, But ate to live, and worked to keep them warm. "
Among Deacon Tayntor's children was Jonathan, a farmer, and member of the church and one of the selectmen of the town. He mar- ried Sarah Woods and died aged 84 in 1808. His son was Joseph, who married Nancy Gould, both members of the Congregational church. Among Joseph's children was Hollis W. Tayntor, farmer and mill owner, who married Olive W. Wiley of Medway. Mr. Hollis Tayntor was a member of the Congregational church and a highly respected
303
citizen. The Tayntors have always been students down to the present day. Each Tayntor went to classics for his recreation as another would go to a piano after a day's work. Hollis Tayntor taught at the time there was a " Centre school " where the monument now stands. He also taught the Warren school. Milton, Dryden and Thompson were to him what Horace was to his son.
In earlier days our ancestors seemed to have a fine sentiment which is often lacking in the present generation of holding in reverential memory the names of father and grandfather, often successively repeated generation after generation. In the Tayntor history this fact is noted- the names Joseph and Jonathan following each other alternately until Joseph and Nancy's son, Jonathan, remained unmarried. Happily the latter's brother, Hollis W., took up the thread and named his son Joseph who married Nellie Howe, daughter of George Windsor Howe, and a direct descendant of John Howe, the first settler of Marlborough, and they reside in the new home built by the father, Hollis Tayntor, on Prospect street. They have one child, Hollis.
There is a story handed down of Eaires Tayntor, one of the Minute men of Watertown, who once had his house burned. As was the custom in those days on the occasion of such a calamity, the neighbors turned out, bringing with them boards, shingles, nails, etc., each with something, intent upon bearing a part of their neighbor's misfortune. They then had one of those events of bygone days-"a raising"-and ere long the house was rebuilt. One man, Thomas Hale, who was quite eccentric, came up to the house with a quarter of veal concealed inside of his frock. After a few remarks, he said seriously in an undertone, siding up against Mr. Tayntor who was a very tender-hearted and conscientious man :
" Grandfer Tayntor, I've got a little something agin you. "
" Against me, " replied Mr. Tayntor, seriously.
" Yes, " returned Hale.
"I am very sorry, sir. I did not know that I had wronged you. "
" Well, I have got something agin you, " again said Hale.
" I am very sorry, Mr. Hale, if I have done you any injury. Can I make you any satisfaction ? " and a tear glistened in his eye.
" Oh, 'tis nothing buta quarter of veal which I had agin you, Grand- fer Tayntor, " said Hale, as he drew it forth.
When one wished to be considered a true prophet on weather wisdom they have been heard to exclaim : " Well, I guess you can put me on record with Jonathan Tayntor's ancestor " who was considered infallible in weather wisdom, never having been known to prophesy
304
wrong, and was often consulted by his neighbers when any business depended upon the weather. He was a man, too, who seldom said more than " Yes " and " No," though he looked more when occasion required. A neighbor came to him one day and asked if the weather would hold fair until tomorrow while he harvested his field of wheat. "Yes, " was the reply. But noon came and with it a torrent of rain, and the wheat lay on the ground destroyed. As Mr. Tayntor had never been known thus to err in his judgment, the neighbor attributed it to malice, and he was duly arraigned before a jury for " maliciously deceiving, with intent to injure his neighbor, " etc. History says, whether with the dignity attributed to the early New England fathers, or whether through the love of fun suggested by the charge, no one knows, but the jury pronounced him guilty, fining him 4 shillings and 6 pence, and it was thus recorded.
THE FRANCIS GLEASON HOMESTEAD.
A quarter of a mile north of the High School stands the above home. John Barrett of England, was one of the original purchasers from the Indians of what is now Marlborough. His daughter Mary married James Gleason and they settled in Sudbury. The cellar of the house occupied by Mr. John Barrett, is still to be seen opposite the Gleason home. This house was inside of a fort built of chestnut logs hewn on three sides, the outside being smooth, so as to prevent the Indians from
305
climbing up. The present house was built in 1809, by Francis Gleason, great grandson of John Barrett. Francis Gleason married Persis Howe in 1807. They had ten children, nine of whom were born in the old homestead. He died in 1840, and she died in 1864, and the old home: came into possession of the oldest son, William Francis Gleason, who married in 1837, Mary Augusta Russell, of Weston, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Abner Russell and sister of Bradford Russell, Esq., a noted lawyer of his time. They had six children, Faustina, Sylvester, Orissa, Fannie, Malvina, who m. Charles M. Hapgood, son of Lewis Hapgood, (their children are Herbert, Ethel, who m. Willard Houghton of Hudson, and has twin sons, Kenneth and Kermit ; and Roy m. Bessie Crowell and has one son Charles ; ) and ex-Alderman Oscar W. Gleason, who m. Annie S. McIntire ; they have one son, Frank Russell, drug- gist in Haverhill, who m. Mildrede Hussey.
Two of the daughters of Francis Gleason married Captain Francis Brigham of Hudson, son of Ivory and Sally Wilkins. The oldest daugh- ter Sophia, was the mother of six children among whom were Rufus H., who married Basha Mossman. Rufus was senior member of F. Brigham & Co. He was a conservative and honorable business man. Their son, General and Hon. William H., married Cora, daughter of Benjamin Dearborn in Stow. General Brigham is President of the F. Brigham & Gregory Co. of Hudson and Boston, the oldest shoe manufactory in the United States, Director in various banks and of the N. E. Shoe and Leather Association, Member of Massachusetts House of Representatives, Member of Massachusetts Senate in the Sixth Middlesex District and served on committees for rules and town education, Selectman of Hudson 1890 to 1896 inclusive, connected with the Massachusetts Militia for many years with Governor Crane and Governor Bates; was Brigadier General and Inspector on general staff of Governor Bates, 1903 and 1904, staff of Governor Guild, 1906. Children, Mildred and William Mossman. Laura S., married Charles Wood of Hudson. Wilbur F., who served one hundred days in the Civil War and was prevented from further service by poor eyesight. He became Vice President of the F. Brigham & Gregory Shoe Co., was an active worker in the temperance cause and supporter of the Baptist church. After the death of his mother he lived at the old homestead above and attended the Marlborough High School. He became greatly attached to the old place where he spent such a happy boyhood, and during the last years of his life he was a frequent visitor at the home of his ancestors. It was his Uncle Charles Brigham, (son of Ivory and Sally (Wilkins) Brigham,) one of the last
306
survivors of the sixth generation of Brighams, a farmer, contractor, Assessor and Overseer of the poor, a great temperance laborer and anti- slavery man, very public spirited and one of the founders and leading men of the Unitarian church, who, in his story of the past, cried just before his death in Hudson in 1899, aged 84 years : " When I think of my boyhood days, of farmers gone, and farms deserted, when I ride through Wilkins village and pass the Nourses and call for one of them, none answer. Only this echo comes back : 'Where are they ?" I hear a voice saying, ' the fathers are dead, the children have gone and the old home is for- gotten.' The fathers have gone ahead and we must follow them soon. The distance is short - mind the Guide Boards on the way !" After the death of Wilbur's step-mother, ( she was Elizabeth Gleason, sister of his mother, ) which occurred in 1886, he became a regular visitor to the old home above, on Thanksgiving day. Here for fifteen successive years he sat at the head of the table on this day of fast and feast, and with his wit and wisdom was the life of the party which had gathered to cele- brate the national holiday. Among the relics of olden times to be found at the old homestead is a cane bearing the initials J. B. on a silver fer- rule. This cane was brought from England over two hundred years ago by John Barrett, the father of Mary Barrett, wife of James Gleason. Tra- dition says that he came from England on one of the vessels immediately following the Mayflower. This cane has been handed down through the generations to the oldest son of the oldest son. It is now owned by Sylvester H. Gleason.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.