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 5
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the wide awake children of mischievous propensity, and even the parents who sometimes went nid nodding before the hour glass, resting on the little stand by the preacher, could be turned, for Gershom Brigham, the tithingman, was a regular attendant and himself was never found napping. Gershom settled down happy and contented on the old home place, the so called Warren Brigham, and had five children by his good wife Mehitable Warren (6th child of Joseph Warren of Medfield) among whom was Joseph Brigham who married Comfort Bigelow who proved indeed a comfort to Joseph as well as to John her father after the latter's release from captivity. (See John Bigelow sketch).
Joseph Brigham and Comfort Bigelow went housekeeping in the homestead sketched above, which he built, and which is now known as the Ames house. This is one of the most interesting old homesteads anywhere to be found. In one of the rooms one finds a grand old fire- place so ample that one could climb up the immense chimney to the very roof itself. A hiding place surely for man or woman in the old historic days of thrilling events. Over the high mantel rests the gun and bayonet brought to America at the time of General Lafayette's landing, and rest- ing near by is a halberd or javelin, and old sword, andirons, bellows, shovel and tongs, candle, snuffers and tray, a hanging tin candlestick and an ancient lantern through whose many openings the light found its way as best it could. Grouped around are chairs and tables of ancient pattern, and on the tables are old books and files of old almanacs, a circular willow basket with twelve small compartments for tumblers, and one larger for decanter. Here is a spinning wheel with its reel, a flax wheel, a tape loom, a quill wheel, slaies and temples used in weaving, a warm- ing pan, a foot stove, an unique candlestand, ancestor as it were to the modern piano lamp; a spirit case or wine chest containing bottle and glasses of fine workmanship brought from over the sea ; old grandfather's clock made by the celebrated Ephraim Barber, who lived about a mile east from this place on the shore of Lake Williams. But the most inter- esting of all is the chair in which Thomas Brigham died in 1717 at the age of 76 years, for it tells story upon story of that time of the past. And as we look into the old mirror hanging near by, pictures of ye olden time come trooping before us ; and going to the open southern door, in olden time it was the front or guest entrance, we look out and imagine great trees and forests, and the lurking Indian waiting for his prey, who with gun and dog near by, ploughs the rich fields or reaps and gathers in the wheat.
Joseph and Comfort had a large family from whom are descended
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many well known families. Two of their children, Joseph aged 7 years and Comfort aged 5, died July 17, 1742, " on Satterday both of them, " as the old record pathetically reads. The names were repeated and the second Joseph or Joseph, Jr., inherited the home place.
Mrs. Comfort Brigham died in her 48th year, and about two years after her death her husband married Mrs. Ruth Ward, widow of Elisha Ward of Westborough. She was the daughter of Edmund Rice of West- borough and sister of Silas and Timothy Rice who were carried away to Canada by the Indians in 1704. Another brother, Nahor was killed at the same time. This was several years before her birth. She was a lady, we learn, of much refinement and very pious. The flowers, which in their season she carried to church, were gathered on Saturday, never on the Sabbath. She died in her 74th year and her husband Joseph died five months later aged 80 years. Joseph, Jr., as we have said remained at the old home. In 1766 he married Lydia Barnes and had two daughters. When their first little girl came, no name was half sweet enough for her to be christened but that of her mother, and so Lydia she was called. As she grew to womanhood, she was taught the accomplish- ments of the dairy and many a pat of butter could her plump little hands mould into shape, and many a rich brindle would come at her call. It was a fair summer day when Lydia with milking pail came over from the meadow. She made a fair picture to young Moses Ames who had come up from the Farm district to see her father on business, and stopping to rest near the old stone wall he listened to her milkmaid song.
" All fresh the level pasture lay And not a shadow mote be seene Save where three miles away The steeple towered from out the greene ; And lo, the great bell far and wide Was heard in all the country-side That Saturday at even-tide."
Young Moses lost his heart, and being an enterprising young man, he also lost no time in gaining entrance to pretty Lydia's home and heart ; and not long after, they two were " called " in the old church " not quite three miles away." Three children blessed this union, among whom was Nancy B., who married as she grew to womanhood Esquire Levi Bigelow, and Lewis who married first Nancy Childs, and after her death Mrs. Mehetable Forbush. Among the latter's children was Doctor Joseph Stanford Ames, a grand man in every sense of the word; of finest, tenderest sentiment, who lived to hear both high and low, rich and poor call him with one voice " our dear doctor ; " Robert Ames, the well
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known dancing master ; Stephen, and Martha, a refined, gifted and well read lady of 76 years who still remains in the above sketched Joseph Brigham homestead.
In a letter written by Miss Ames, she exclaims : " You are right in thinking Glen street valley is a beautiful place. One sees today the pond with its heavy border of maples in varying shades of green, yellow and red ; the brook winding leisurely through the close shaven meadows, the miniature cascade at the 'great gate ; ' the woods opposite the house, oaks, maples, birches, each with its own rich color, and the dark pines intermingled in just the right proportion ; the old mill hoary with its life of more than a century ; the other buildings in various stages of dilapida- tion, all combine to form a picture never to be forgotten. No wonder the old homesteads are so pleasant. Our ancestors were not obliged to take up with Hobson's choice in the matter of location. 'The world was all before them where to choose' and they wisely availed themselves of the opportunity. "
THE GREAT POND, "NAGGAWOOMCON."
"More than two hundred years have passed away" writes the author of that delightful little book, "The Hundredth Town," "since the Indian unmolested, roamed through the wilderness of Wabbequasset the land of the Nipmucks-The Whetstone Country. Nearly every trace of him has disappeared. His Okommakamesit and Whipsufferage we call Marlbo- rough ; Hassanamisco, the place of small stones, is Grafton ; Wopanage, he crossing place, is Milford ; and Magunkook, the place of great trees,
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is Hopkinton. Very few places retain their Indian names; even the great pond, Naggawoomcon, was rechristened Chauncy."
Lake Chauncy is a name so well known in Marlborough to the excur- sionist that we add the above picture to our collection, not only for its at- tractivness but from the fact that from the time when it was given the above Indian name Marlborough claimed for many years the whole of that section of hers known by the name Chauncy including the "Pond." The origin of the present name has a tradition that a man by the name Chauncy was lost in early times in one of the swamps thereabout. The records however give the fact that President Chauncy-the first of the name in the Colony-owing to the smallness of his salary as head of Harvard College had several grants of land among which was the above "farme."
The following year the Court confirming the former grant of the proprietors of Marlborough and "as it included the grant made to Mr. Chauncy it was provided that Marlborough should pay to said Chauncy all his charges for laying out his farm" giving in exchange the liberty for him to lay out the same in any lands not formerly granted by the Court.
President Chauncy accordingly "gave up his farm but left his name upon the place and so Chauncy Pond to this day marks the locality of his early grant, and the name will in all probability rest on the above lovely sheet of water as long as records of the early settlements are known."
The project of building a Soldiers' Monument to commemorate the most important event of the 18th century, and as a tribute to the heroic men who wrought out the salvation of a nation at the sacrifice of their lives, was agitated here in 1867, and at a town meeting held January 4th, 1868, a committee, with Capt. William S. Frost, Commander of Post 43, as chairman, Rufus Howe, Charles F. Morse, David L. Brown, John Rock, John S. Fay, and Edward L. Bigelow, were chosen to procure plans and select a spot for a monument to be erected to the memory of our deceased soldiers. The committee reported a design and suggested the present spot for location. Five thousand dollars was appropriated by the. town without a dissenting voice or vote. Later an additional appropriation of one thousand dollars was voted.
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THE SOLDIERS' MONUMENT.
"Just before the battle, mother, I am thinking now of you."
The dedication occurred June 2, 1869. Decoration Day was estab- lished the year previous, and that year May 29 falling on Saturday, the observance was postponed to June 2, when the exercises of decoration
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and dedication were combined, and were of the most impressive and im- posing character. Four thousand people, including various organizations and invited guests gathered near the headquarters of the G. A. R., and a procession was formed under the direction of Capt. Charles F. Morse, the Chief Marshal of the day, with Capt. Henry Parsons, E. P. Dart, John Connealy and Walter S. Goss as Assistant Marshals, and Edmund C. Whitney and Ambrose M. Page acting as Aids to the Chief Marshal. The line was composed of four divisions, as follows :
FIRST DIVISION, Under the direction of Capt. Henry Parsons, was made up as follows : Chief Marshal.
Aids. Co. I, 5th Massachusetts Regiment Volunteers ; 40 men. Disabled Soldiers and Sailors, and Invited Guests, in Carriages. Worcester Brass Band. Camp Lincoln, Post 43 of G. A. R. ; 110 men. Hudson Brass Band. Reno Encampment, Post 9, G. A. R. ; 40 men.
SECOND DIVISION, Under the direction of E. P. Dart. . Hall & Quimby's Drum Corps. Torrent Engine Company, No. 1 ; 55 men. Brown's Brigade Band. Okommakamesit Engine Company, No. 2 ; 48 men. Union Hook and Ladder Company, No, I ; 44 men. Feltonville Division, S. of T., of Hudson ; 25 members. Wakefield Division, S. of T., of Hudson ; 25 members.
THIRD DIVISION, Under the direction of John Connealy. Westborough Brass Band. Father Matthew T. A. B. Society ; 80 members. Marlborough Library and Literary Association ; 45 members.
FOURTH DIVISION, Under the direction of W. S. Goss. Gilmore's Band. Eureka Lodge of K. O. S. C. ; 225 men.
The dedicatory exercises were held on the High School Common. Charles F. Morse was president of the day, and at the close of his open- ing address a Funeral March was played in concert by Gilmore's, Brown's and the Worcester Brass Band, followed by excellent singing, " Vive
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l'America," by a large choir of children under the careful training of Edmund C. Whitney, Esq. Prayer was offered by Rev. S. T. Aldrich, chaplain of the day, followed by singing, "America," by the large audi- ence. William S. Frost, Esq., chairman of the building committee, then made a formal delivery of the monument, in the following eloquent address :
" Doubtless you all remember the excitement that was created throughout the country by the announcement that Fort Sumter had been attacked by the rebel forces and its garrison forced to surrender. We were excited, not because it was entirely unexpected, for we had long watched the gathering clouds and listened to the muttering of the distant thunder, but with the hope and belief that something would occur to avert the storm and save us from the horrors of a civil war. We had so long looked upon that flag, the symbol of this government, as something so sacred that no one born beneath its folds and reared under its protec- tion would dare raise his hand to tear it from its place and dishonor it. And when it became a settled fact that a regularly organized force, backed by the power of certain states, had fired on that flag and forced its surrender, a spirit of indignation was aroused throughout the loyal North, and a determination to support the government at all hazards, avenge the insult, and punish the offenders.
" Marlborough, in common with her sister towns, shared in this feeling. I have no time, had I the disposition, to go into a lengthy review of the scenes of those days ; they are still fresh in the minds of all. But I propose to give a brief account of the manner in which this town fulfilled her obligations to the government, and we certainly have no reason to be ashamed of the record. The statistics which I shall give are taken from the town records, and embrace that portion of Hudson which, at that time formed a part of Marlborough, and include only those who enlisted on the quota of this town, exclusive of the large number that went from this and enlisted on the quota of other towns, of whom we have no means of obtaining reliable information. We find this town has credited to her 831 men furnished for the armies of the United States. Six full companies were organized and enlisted here, although partly composed of men from the neighboring towns.
" The first men mustered into the United States service from this town, of whom we have any record, are Charles Morse and Theodore Brigham. They enlisted in the 6th Massachusetts Infantry and served in that regiment during the first three months campaign. The first company was Company G, commanded by Captain John Carey, than whom no
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nobler or braver died for his adopted country. This company formed a part of the 9th Massachusetts Infantry and was mustered into the United States service for three years June 11, 1861. The next were Companies F and I of the 13th Infantry. They had long waited impatiently for orders to report for duty, but were disappointed from day to day until many of their number, tired of delay, enlisted in other regiments having better prospects of active duty and their places had to be filled with new men.
" At length they too received the long looked for orders and departed for Fort Independence where they were mustered into the United States service for three years July 16, 1861. The other three companies enlisted for shorter terms, one for nine months and the other two for 100 days each, all of them serving in the 5th Massachusetts Infantry. I find by the town records this town was represented in seventy different organiza- tions of the army-regiments, batteries, cavalry, engineer corps, etc. Aside from the 9th and 13th Regiments, already mentioned, the 9th Battery and 57th and 59th Infantry had perhaps the largest number.
" Of the 831 men, who in the pride and strength of their manhood marched to the defence of that flag, 91 sealed their devotion to country with their lives, some suddenly in the shock of battle, others by disease ; but all nobly, bravely.
" The first to fall was John L. Spencer while on duty near Harper's Ferry. The Company to which he belonged had his remains tenderly cared for and forwarded to this place, and well do I remember the solemnity of the funeral rites, for although he had no near relatives here, each one who had a friend in the army felt that the next blow might fall on him. This was the first lesson teaching us the realities of war. Before this we had seen but its show and glitter which now was turned to dust and ashes in our sight. A lesson, alas, too often repeated during the four years that followed, and one burned deeply into the memory of many of us.
" Of the ninety-one whose names we have placed on this monument more than one-half belonged to the 9th, 13th and 57th Regiments. In the 57th we lost seven ; in the 9th we lost nineteen, and in the 13th we lost 21. While few families escaped the loss of some friend by the casualties of war, some were more deeply afflicted and called to mourn the loss of two or three in one family. Of these Mrs. Otis Russell lost two sons, Mr. James Clark two sons, Mrs. Ruth Goodnow three sons and Mr. Aaron Rice three sons. Mr. Rice and his four sons, the entire male portion of the family, enlisted and served in the army. The father
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and one son only returned in safety ; the other three now sleep in honor- able martyrs' graves. Why some are called to drink deep of the cup of affliction, while others scarce taste the bitterness of its contents, is no doubt wisely kept from the knowledge of men. As the citizens of Marl- borough were patriotic during the war, so in peace are they grateful. To show their gratitude for the sacrifices made by these men, and to keep in remembrance their names, this monument has been erected, not to honor men whose names are inscribed thereon-that we cannot do ; they have honored us-but in memory of their deeds that can never die. Let us not think for a moment that we have now paid the debt we owe them, for that we can never do ; this is simply an acknowledgment of that debt, and as they have passed beyond the reach of human aid, and have gone, we hope and trust to receive the reward of the faithful, let us not forget those they have left behind who looked up to them for protection and support, and on whom they depended as the staff on which to lean in years to come. And as we strew flowers on the graves of our departed brave, let us not forget to smooth the pathway of the living who were near and dear to them and see to it that want looks not in at their doors. Let this town stand to them in the relation of husband and father, brother and son, and so long as there is a worthy representative of these men among you in need of assistance, let it be promptly rendered, not as charity, but as their just due. Do this and we do but our duty ; neglect this and we may pile granite to heaven and it will be but vain and empty show.
" We have met this day to dedicate this monument to the memory of our heroic dead. We have laid the foundation deep, we have built it of the most durable material. It is the best we can do. It may decay, the granite may crumble, time may destroy it, but the men whose names are there inscribed have helped to erect a monument of noble deeds which time can never destroy, but as age rolls on age and generations come and go, it shall stand firm with no sign of decay, but ever grow brighter and brighter, higher and higher. They have laid its foundation deep and lasting as the foundation of this government. Its area embraces a whole united country ; its capstone reaches beyond the ken of human vision. And as the sunlight of liberty plays about its summit and flashes from its sides, it shall serve as a beacon light guiding the down-trodden and oppressed of all nations to this land now made truly free by the noble deeds of these and such as these. Such is the monument they have erected to their own memory. How dwarfed is this in comparison, but if it will serve to keep the nobler one in view, its best object will be accomplished." [To the Committee and to the Selectmen. ]
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" As I look down the vista of coming years and see the long line of those that shall come after you and stand in your places, some wise and some not so wise, let me say to you and through you to them, guard well your trust. Let no word or act of yours bring dishonor on these names or the cause for which they died. Guard well the spot made sacred to their memory. Let no unclean foot pollute its sod, nor vandal hand mar its beauty with impunity, but make this a place to which the fathers of generations yet to come shall love to take their boys, and while they shall read these names, recount to them the noble deeds, the self-denials, the sacrifices made by these men to preserve the blessings they enjoy, and instill into their young hearts the same love of country which fired the hearts of the noble dead. Let this be the place from which in after years (should occasion require, which God grant it never may, ) these youth, grown to man's estate, shall march to the defense of that flag and in support of those great principles of justice and equal rights to all for which these men laid down their lives, and baptized with their hearts' best blood. And as we have decked this monument with the cross, anchor, and evergreen, emblems of faith, hope, and immortality, so let us have faith in God, who has brought us in safety through the conflict, and preserved us as a nation, hoping that the same watchful care which has been over us in the past may be ever about us, until, having finished our work here, fought our fight, we may be gathered with our noble dead in that better life of immortality."
Samuel N. Aldrich, Esq., Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, accepted this trust in behalf of the town in an able and eloquent address. He was followed by Hon. Henry Wilson and Hon. George B. Loring.
On the four sides of the monument are engraved the names of those who fell in the war.
Ahearn, Michael Brigham, W. Francis
Doyle, Daniel'
Andrews, Charles W.
Buckley, John
Eaton, John, Jr.
Atkinson, George A.
Brigham, William Fife
Exley, Edwin W.
Allis, Lucius
Crowell, Isaac B.
Francis, John
Barnes, Joseph P.
Coolidge, Silas A.
Finnerty, Battholomew
Bridgewater. Lt. Geo. N.
Clark, Patrick
Frye, John
Brigham, Aaron A.
Connors, John
Fay, Elisha W.
Boylan, Patrick
Collins, John H.
Flynn, Peter
Brown, Henry H.
Clark, Michael
Graves, Francis G.
Brigham, Capt. Wm. F.
Chase, Otis
Greenache, Claude
Balcom, Myron L. .
Carey, Capt. John
Gleason, J. Josiah
Goodnow, Charles E.
Burns, Eugene Bond, Edwin E.
Crowley, John Dailey, Robert
Goodnow, Theodore H.
Barnes, David
Drummey, Matthew
Goodnow, Andrew J.
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Goodwin, Edwin Hows, Alfred W. Hows, Elijah, 2d. Howe, Alfred G. Huntington, George D. Jenks, John B. Joel, Joseph
McCarty, James
Mundell, George H. Murray, Thomas
Russell, Benjamin F. Roberts, Thomas Russell, John M.
Newcomb, George B. Nolan, Thomas
Rice, Reuben B. Rice, Edwin G. Sheehan, James M.
Nutting, Albion
Newton, Oseola V.
Spencer, John L.
Nourse, George A.
Smith, Granville H.
Knight, William L.
Keegan. Hugh
Long, Cornelius
Perkins, Charles E. Pettes, Thomas Pebbles, John P. Perry, Henry H.
Tobin, Cornelius
McDermot, Patrick
Phelps, Stephen H.
Welch, Edwin N.
Mosher, Charles W.
Quinn, Patrick
Wall, Bernard
Murphy, Timothy
Rice, Sylvester H.
Whitcomb, Lt. Charles W
Murnane, William
Reagan, Daniel J.
Rice, Rufus C.
Wood, Frank J.
Keating, William Keyes, Marshall
Oddy, Thomas I.
Sheehan, James
Stowe, George H. Stone, Charles
Lothrop, Washington I.
Vose, Josiah H.
THE GRAND ARMY BUILDING.
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"Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys."
Quoting President Roosevelt : "No other citizen deserves so well of the republic as the veterans, the survivors of those who saved the Union. They did the one deed which if left undone would have meant that all else in our history went for nothing. But for their steadfast prowess in the greatest crisis of our history all our annals would be meaningless and our great experiment in popular freedom, and self government a gloomy failure. Moreover they not only left us a united nation but they left us also a heritage, the memory of the mighty deeds by which the nation was kept united."
As wrote Walter S. Goss in "History of the Seventh Mass. Vol. Infantry." "To-day there is no tie so strong as the fraternal feeling which binds soldiers to one another even though they may be strangers. It is a heartfelt sympathy, a mystic bond that recognizes a comrade who has been tried in the fiery furnace of a war for universal liberty and a com- mon country. For this we fought, for this we suffered in foul prison pens, in hospitals, and on the fields of battle ; for this our comrades fell where shot and shell sung their last requiem."
It was January 15, 1868 when Post 43. G. A. R. was chartered. The original members were Charles F. Morse, Henry Parsons, J. H. Howe, S. A. Howe, 2nd, A. M. Page, C. F. Witherbee, J. A. Belser, E. L. Pratt, H. Exley and E. C. Alden. The Post was organized January 25. The first commander was Charles F. Morse. The membership in- creased in ten days to fifty. The meetings were held in the attic of Forest Hall Block which was erected by Horace H. Bigelow now of Worcester and which came into possession of Henry O. Russell in 1863 and the firm Russell & Alley occupied it as a shoe manufactory. The hall in the upper story was at that time a popular resort for dances, concerts, lectures, etc. and in political times, Forest Hall was the scene of earnest discussions in which many noted statesmen of former years have taken part. Post 43 later leased the upper hall in Berry's Block until the removal to Town Hall where they occupied rooms until the G. A. R. Building was erected in 1892. At first the name of "Lincoln Post" was adopted but finding the name had been chosen by the Charlestown Post, and the lamented Gen. Rawlins having just died, the name "John A. Rawlins" was then substituted.
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