USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Groton > Historical sketch of Groton, Massachusetts. 1655-1890 > Part 8
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Dr. Amos Farnsworth was a son of Major Amos and Elizabeth (Rockwood) Farnsworth, and born at Gro- ton on August 30, 1788. He studied his profession with Dr. Calvin Thomas, of Tyngsborough, and with Dr. John Collins Warren, of Boston, but before his graduation he was commissioned as surgeon's mate in the Fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, on April 14, 1812, just before war was declared by the United States with Great Britain ; and two months later, on June 15th, his regiment left South Boston for
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Burlington, Vermont, for service on the frontier. He remained with the Fourth Infantry during thirteen months, when he resigned his commission on May 14, 1813. During the following summer he graduated at the Harvard Medical School, and began the practice of his profession in Boston, where he remained until the year 1832, when he removed to his native town. On March 21, 1823, Dr. Farnsworth was married to Mrs. Mary (Bourne) Webber, widow of Captain Seth Webber, of Boston. He died in Roxbury on July 31, 1861, and his wife in Boston, on October 27, 1828, aged thirty-seven years.
Dr. Amos Bigelow Bancroft was a son of Dr. Amos and Sarah (Bass) Bancroft, and born at Groton on April 3, 1811. He graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1831, and at the Harvard Medical School in 1834. He began the practice of his profession at Groton in connection with his father ; and on June 11, 1840, was married to Marietta, daughter of Nathan and India (Emerson) Shepley, of Pepperell. Dr. Ban- croft remained in town until the spring of 1853, when he removed to Charlestown, where for more than ten years he was physician to the State Prison. Under the administration of Gen. Grant he was appointed superintendent and surgeon in charge of the Marine Hospital at Chelsea, which position he held from Au- gust 1, 1869, to June 30, 1877, when he took up his residence in Boston. While traveling abroad with his family he died in Florence, Italy, on November 8, 1879, much lamented by a wide circle of friends and patients at home,-leaving a widow and two daughters to mourn his loss.
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Dr. Abel Hervey Wilder was a native of Winchen- don, where he was born on June 16, 1801. He was a son of Levi and Grace (Wilder) Divoll; but by an Act of the Legislature on February 7, 1812, his name was changed from Hervey Divoll to Abel Hervey Wilder, keeping the surname of his mother. He graduated at the Dartmouth Medical School in the class of 1828, and began to practice his profession at Temple, New Hampshire. On February 29, 1828, he was married at New Ipswich, New Hampshire, to Mary, daughter of Ephraim and Elizabeth (Bent) Brown, a native of Lincoln.
Dr. Wilder subsequently removed to Pepperell, and in the year 1836 came to Groton, where he had the management of an institution for the treatment of nervous diseases. He continued to live here until the death of his wife, which took place on February 12, 1843, when he removed to Pittsfield. After leav- ing Groton he was married for the second time ; and after a residence in different parts of the country, he died at Bloomfield, New Jersey, on January 2, 1864.
Dr. James Merrill Cummings was a son of Jacob Abbot and Elizabeth (Merrill) Cummings, and born He graduated at Bow- in Boston on July 27, 1810.
doin College in the class of 1830, and at the Bowdoin Medical School in 1834. On November 4, 1835, he was married to Sarah Thurston Phillips, daughter of Joel and Sarah Phillips (Thurston) Hall, of Portland, Maine. In the spring of 1842 Dr. Cummings came to Groton and bought out the establishment of Dr. Wilder, which he conducted for four years; and in the spring of 1846 he removed to Salem, where he re-
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mained for four years, when he settled in Portland, where he died on July 20, 1883. His widow died on January 29, 1890, at the advanced age of eighty-five years.
Dr. Rufus Shackford, a son of Captain Samuel and Hannah (Currier) Shackford, was born at Chester, New Hampshire, on December 17, 1816; studied medicine under the tuition of Dr. Cummings, and graduated at the Harvard Medical School in the class of 1845. He practiced for a brief period at Groton in the office of his preceptor, after which he lived in Lowell for a short time, when he removed to Port- land, Maine, where he is now in practice.
Dr. Norman Smith was a son of Jesse and Nabby (Kittredge) Smith, and born at Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, on October 13, 1811. He graduated at the Vermont Medical College, Woodstock, in the class of 1843, and began to practice medicine at Gro- ton, where he passed his whole professional life, with the exception of four years spent in Nashua, New Hampshire. In April, 1861, at the outbreak of the Rebellion, he went out as surgeon of the Sixth Massa- chusetts Militia Regiment, and was with that famous organization on its march through Baltimore and during its first campaign of three months. He was a member of the Union Congregational Church, and prominent in all matters connected with the welfare of the town. His death took place at his farm on Common Street, on May 24, 1888, and the funeral, on May 28th, was conducted under Masonic rites.
Dr. Smith was married, first, on May 3, 1838, to Harriet, daughter of John and Lydia Sleeper, of
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Francestown, New Hampshire, who died on Septem- ber 2, 1839 ; secondly, on November 6, 1843, to Mari- ett Sleeper, a sister of his first wife, who died on July 6, 1846; thirdly, on September 22, 1847, to Abigail Maria, daughter of Ephraim and Sarah (King) Brown, of Wilton, New Hampshire, who died on July 17, 1852; fourthly, on September 12, 1853, to Sarah Young, daughter of Solomon and Dorcas (Hop- kins) Frost, who died on December 4, 1856, and, fifthly and lastly, on September 11, 1866, to Mrs. Mary Jane (King) Lee, daughter of Daniel and Re- becca (Parmenter) King, of Rutland, Massachusetts.
Dr. Lemuel Fuller was a son of Dr. Lemuel and Mary (Shepherd) Fuller, and born at Marlborough, on April 2, 1811. He graduated at the Vermont Medical College, Woodstock, in the class of 1844, and came to Groton from Harvard in the year 1847. On June 6, 1844, he was married to Catherine Palli- seur, daughter of Francis and Maria Foster (Palliseur) Barrett, of Concord. Dr. Fuller left Groton in 1850, and died at Harvard during a temporary visit from home February 11, 1864. During the last ten years of his life he lived at North Weymouth.
Dr. Miles Spaulding was a son of Captain Isaac and Lucy (Emery) Spaulding, and born at Townsend, on April 4, 1819. He graduated at the Berkshire Medical Institution, Pittsfield, in the class of 1842, and he soon afterward established himself at Dunsta- ble, where he remained until the year 1851, when he removed to Groton. Dr. Spaulding was married, first, on January 12, 1848, to Sophia Louisa, daughter of Aaron and Lucinda (Munson) Miller, of New
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Haven, Connecticut, who died on September 4, 1852; and, secondly, on August 27, 1863, to Mary Mehetable, only child of Stephen and Mary (Kilborn-French) Stickney. He still lives at Groton, the senior physi- cian of the town.
Dr. Peter Pineo is a son of Peter and Sarah (Stead- man) Pineo, and was born at Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, on March 6, 1825. He graduated at the Bowdoin Medical School in the class of 1847, and was married in Boston, on May 8, 1850, to Elizabeth, daughter of Kendall and Betsey (Hill) Crosby. In the spring of 1853 he came to Groton, where he remained for two years, after which time he removed to Quechee, a village in the town of Hartford, Vermont. On June 11, 1861, he was commissioned as surgeon of the Ninth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, and soon afterward was promoted to a brigade surgeoncy, which office was abolished on July 2, 1862, by an Act of Congress, when officers of that rank became surgeons of United States Volunteers. On February 9, 1863, he was made medical inspector United States Army, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and he served with distinction until the end of the war. At the present time he is a resident of Boston.
Dr. Kendall Davis was a son of Joseph and Han- nah Davis, and born at New Ipswich, New Hamp- shire, on December 4, 1802. According to the State Register of the years 1847-50, he was then living at Groton, where he practiced for a short time. From this town he went to Athol, and died at Templeton on September 20, 1875.
Dr. Richard Upton Piper is a son of Samuel and
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Mary (Folsom) Piper, and was born at Stratham, New Hampshire. He graduated at the Dartmouth Medical School in the class of 1840, and began the practice of his profession at Portland, Maine, where he was married, on November 8, 1841, to Elizabeth Frances Folsom, a native of Portsmouth, New Hamp- shire. In the year 1864 he came to Groton and re- mained five years, though without engaging in the active practice of medicine. He afterward lived in Chicago, but is now a resident of Washington. He is an author of some note, having written a work en- titled "Operative Surgery Illustrated," and another on " The Trees of America."
. Dr. Joseph Franklin Coolidge was a son of Charles and Nancy (Spaulding) Coolidge, and born at West- minster on Sept. 11, 1837. He graduated at the Har- vard Medical School in the class of 1862, and in the year 1864 came to Groton, where he remained until his death, which took place on June 1, 1865. Dr. Coolidge was one of a family of ten children, and was never married.
Dr. William Ambrose Webster was the only son of William Gordon and Susan (Ambrose) Webster, and born at Rochester, New Hampshire, June 13, 1830. He graduated at the Medical School of the Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, N. Y., in the spring of 1862. Soon after graduation, on July 1, 1862, he was commissioned as surgeon of the Ninth New Hamp- shire Volunteers, which left for the seat of war on August 25, 1862, and he continued in that capacity until January 5, 1865, when he was honorably dis- charged. In September of that year he came to Gro-
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ton, where he remained during three years, when he removed to Westford. He died in Manchester, N. H., on February 8, 1887. Dr. Webster was twice married,-first, in August, 1851, to Mary Anne Kaime, of Pittsfield, N. H., and secondly, on August 9, 1858, to Marion M. Ladd, of Middlesex, Vt. By the first marriage two daughters were born, who both are now living, and by the second marriage one daughter, Susan Marion Webster, was born at Groton on June 25, 1866, but she died before her father.
. Dr. David Roscoe Steere is a son of Scott and Mary (Mathewson) Steere, and was born at Lisbon, Connec- ticut, April 27, 1847. He graduated at the Dartmouth Medical School in the class of 1871, and, after gradu- ation, practiced for a few months at Savoy. In July, 1872, he came to Groton, where he has since re- mained ; and in the year 1878 he built the house, at the corner of Main and Church Streets, which he now occupies. On June 18, 1873, Dr. Steere was mar- ried to Adelia, daughter of Jephtha and Betsey (Boyn- ton) Hartwell.
Dr. Edward Hubbard Winslow was a son of the Reverend Hubbard and Susan Ward (Cutler) Wins- low, and born in Boston on Dec. 26, 1835. He was married, on Sept. 1, 1859, to Helen H. Ayer, of Mont- vale, Me., and in the early spring of 1875 came to Groton, where he remained about two years. Dr. Winslow died in New York on Oct. 16, 1873.
Dr. George Washington Stearns is a son of Paul and Lucy (Kneeland) Stearns, and was born at Reading, Vermont, on Dec. 25, 1814. His mother was a sister of Abner Kneeland, the preacher and author. He
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took his medical degree first in March, 1857, at Penn Medical University, Philadelphia, and secondly, in 1858, at the Hahnemann Medical College, in the same city. In the spring of 1878 Dr. Stearns came to Gro- ton from Marblehead, and in November, 1882, re- moved to Holliston, where he remained a few years, when he went to Holyoke, of which city he is now a resident. He was married, first, on May 8, 1838, at South Yarmouth, to Sylvia Crowell, and secondly, on July 19, 1877, at New Bedford, to Julia Amanda, daughter of Cyrus and Eliza Eastman (Cottrell) Ware.
Dr. William Barnard Warren is a son of Noailles Lafayette and Mary (Barnard) Warren, and was born at Leominster on Nov. 16, 1853. He graduated at the Medical Department of the University of the City of New York in the class of 1881, having pre- viously attended a course of lectures in 1879 at the Dartmouth Medical School. In December, 1882, he came to Groton and established himself in practice, where he now remains. Dr. Warren was married at Groton on Oct. 31, 1883, to Ardelia Temple, daughter of Thomas Haines and Relief (Cummings) Smith, of Boston.
Dr. Marion Zachariah Putnam is a son of John and Sophia (Weaver) Putnam, and was born at Mount Sterling, Illinois, on August 14, 1844. In the year 1870 he graduated at the Medical Department of the Northwestern University, Chicago, and began to practice in his native town. On September 9, 1880, Dr. Putnam was married to Harriet Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Thomas Spencer and Harriet Heyward (Law-
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ton) Farnsworth, of Groton. About the year 1883 he came to this town from Lowell, where he had resided for a short period. He lives on Pleasant Street, but has retired from the active practice of his profession.
The Fitchburg Railroad was first opened to public travel, through the southerly part of Groton, on De- cember 30, 1844; and the Peterborough and Shirley Railroad, under the management of the Fitchburg company, was opened during the year 1847. The Worcester and Nashua Railroad was operated for reg- ular business, through its entire length, on December 18, 1848, though the section from Groton Junction to Clinton had been previously opened on July 3, 1848, and from Clinton to Worcester on November 22d; and the Stony Brook began its operations on July 1, 1848. Soon after these interconnections were made, a village sprang up in the neighborhood, which became popu- larly known as the "Junction," though by the Post- Office Department at Washington it was officially called " South Groton." On March 1, 1861, the name of the post-office was changed by the Department from South Groton to Groton Junction. This settlement, growing in numbers, after a while was set off from the parent town, and, by an act of the Legislature on February 14, 1871, incorporated as a distinct town- ship, under the name of Ayer. After this date, there- fore, the list of physicians, so far as they relate to the Junction, and their biographical sketches, will cease.
Dr. Ebenezer Willis was a son of John and Nancy (Spriggens) Willis, and born at Newmarket, New Hampshire, on January 26, 1815. He was married at Exeter, on July 23, 1836, to Mary Frances, daughter
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of Benjamin and Mary Seavey (Neal) Batchelder. Dr. Willis came to Groton Junction in March, 1849, and was the pioneer physician of the place. He died at Ayer on May 10, 1890.
Dr. John Quincy Adams McCollester is a son of Silas and Achsah (Holman) McCollester, and was born at Marlborough, New Hampshire, on May 3, 1831. He took his degree of M.D. from the Jefferson Medical School in March, 1856. Dr. McCollester was married, first, on May 6, 1856, to Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Anna (Longley) Hazen, of Shirley, who died on May 5, 1858; and, secondly, on August 9, 1859, to Georgianna Lydia, daughter of Daniel and Lydia (Fisk) Hunt, of Groton. During the War of the Rebellion he was the surgeon of the Fifty-third Regiment Massachusetts Militia, having been commissioned on December 1, 1862, and mus- tered out of the service on September 2, 1863. He is now a resident of Waltham.
Dr. Edson Champion Chamberlin, a native of Thet- ford, Vermont, came to Groton Junction in the sum- mer of 1859 and remained one year. He graduated at the Worcester Medical Institution on June 20, 1854. He was married to Mary A. Pierce, of South- bury, Connecticut, where he died on January 26, 1877, aged fifty-six years.
Dr. Gibson Smith came to Groton Junction from the State of Maine about the year 1866. He was an "eclectic " physician and a spiritualist, and died at Ayer on September 26, 1885, aged seventy years.
Dr. John Eleazer Parsons is a son of John and Rosalinda Davis (Robbins) Parsons, and was born at
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Harrison, Maine, on November 20, 1835. He gradu- ated at the Harvard Medical School in the class of 1863, and on March 18th of the same year was com- missioned as assistant surgeon of the Twenty-eighth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, but for disability was discharged on July 30, 1863. Dr. Parsons next served as acting assistant surgeon, United States Navy from October 10, 1863, to December 10, 1866, when he resigned. During the last week of Decem- ber, 1866, he came to the village of Groton Junction (Ayer), where he is still living.
Dr. Benjamin Hall Hartwell is a son of Benjamin Franklin and Emma (Whitman) Hartwell, and was born at Acton February 27, 1845. He received his early education at Lawrence Academy, Groton, of which institution he is now one of the trustees, and graduated at the Jefferson Medical College, Philadel- phia, on March 7, 1868. In the early spring of 1869 Dr. Hartwell came to Groton Junction (Ayer), where he still resides, having filled many prominent posi- tions of trust and usefulness. He was married, on September 10, 1879, to Helen Emily, daughter of Major Eusebius Silsby and Mary Jane (Shattuck) Clark.
Dr. James Moody Moore was a son of Dr. Ebenezer Giles and Eliza Sarah (Hidden) Moore, and born at Wells, Maine, on June 20, 1832. He graduated at the Dartmouth Medical School in the class of 1860, and in May of that year came to Groton Junction, where he remained until April, 1861. Dr. Moore then removed to Concord, New Hampshire, his father's home, where he died on February 3, 1870.
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A LIST OF REPRESENTATIVES to the General Court, from the colonial period to the present time, with the dates of their election and terms of service ; including also the names of certain other officers- 1672-1887.
The Assistants of Massachusetts, sometimes called Magistrates, were the forerunners of the Provincial Council and the State Senate. They were few in number, and, in point of dignity and honor, next to the Governor and the Deputy-Governor. Major Simon Willard, the only citizen of the town who ever held the office, became a resident in the year 1672, remov- ing here from Lancaster at that time. He was first chosen to the position in 1654, when living at Con- cord.
COURT OF ASSISTANTS.
Date of first Election.
Term of Service.
May 3, 1654 . . . . . Major Simon Willard .
. 1672-1676
(Died in office on April 24, 1676 )
SENATE.
October 26, 1780 . Honorable James Prescott . . . 1780-1784, 1786
June 1, 1797 Honorable Timothy Bigelow . 1797-1800
May 6, 1805 . . Honorable Samuel Dana . 1805-1812, 1817 (Mr. Dana was president of the body during the years 1807, 1811 and 1812.) November 13, 1837 . Honorable Stuart James Park . . 1838, 1839
January 9, 1851 . . . Honorable John Boynton . 1851
November 13, 1854 . Honorable Abijah Edwin Hildreth . 1855
November 5, 1867 . . Honorable Daniel Needham . . 1868, 1869 November 8, 1887 . . Honorable Moses Poor Palmer 1888-1890
(Of these Senators the last two are the sole survivors.)
There is no reference in the Groton records to the election of any representatives to the General Court before the year 1693; and even then the names are not given, and only by the receipts for their pay, and by some allusions to the subject, is it known that any
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were chosen previously to that date. According to the Colonial records, Captain James Parker served as a deputy, or representative, during the session be- ginning November 7, 1683, and it is probable that he was the only one from the town under the first char- ter.
The following entries comprise every allusion to the subject found in the earliest volume of town records, which is known as the " Indian Roll" :
" Fabruary the 6 1693 the inhabitanc being met togather for to Con- sider of sum waye for to prevent futar unnessesary charges did by uott declare that they would petishone unto the genaraill Court that ther representetiue might be relesed from atending the Seshone any more
" the same daye the town did by uott declare that they would haue dacon Lawranc for to manidge the portistione for them which the Comithy hath draw up" (Page 107.)
"Groton Aprill 12 1693 Know all peple by thes presenc that Na- thanaeill Lawranc senor hath Reseiued full satisfactione by the select men and Constables for sarueing the town as a Representiue at the two first sestione
" I saye reseiued by me NATHANNIL LAURANCE "
" Groton April 12 1693 Know all peple by thes presenc that John Page senor doth fully and [sic] Clearely acquite the town select men and constables for sarfing the town as a representetiue at the first [session] held at boston in ye year 1692
"as witness my hand JOH PAGE seneyer "
"Payed to Nathanail Lawranc se[nior] aight pounds in mony
"Payed to John Page se[nior] two pounds sixteen shillins and nine penc in mony " (Page 109.)
"maye 15 1693 the Town being met together ther unto orderlie warned then the town did by uote declare that they would not send nor Choose any parson nor parsons for to Represent them at the great and genaraill Corte or asembley
"John page senor Jeams Kemp John Stone and William Longley se[nior] desent from this uote John farnworth and Steuen holden
"The Town Resons is they do not iudg themself layable nether acordind to Law nor Charter
"as atest WILLIAM LONGLEY Town Clarck"
(Page 109.)
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"October 30 1693 at town meeting Legally warned Capt Jeams. Parker was chousen to Represent the town at ye great and genaraeell assembly held at boston the eaight day of nouember insuing the date here of" (Page 110.)
It does not appear from the records of the General Court that Captain Parker was present at any meet- ing of this session.
"Jenuary 1 16934 the town this daye did ingage to sequer the seleck men from any harm or dameidg that they shall meett with all in Re- spect of Decon nathanaell Lawranc in that he doth demand thirty 6 shillins in money for to be his dew for sarfing the said town as a repre- sentiue and the town doo Refuse to paye the said money the seleck men being estemed as the rest of the inhabitanc in the mater also the town did by the maier uote chouse Liftenant Jonah Prescot & Jeams parker Ju for to answer in the case if the said Lawranc should truble ye seleck men or town and they did exsept of the choiss and they are to haue their paye for their pains when the said town is able to paye them "as wittness WILLIAM LONGLEY town clark "
"John page se[nior] desents from the aboue mentioned propersis- tione " (Pages 111, 112.)
"at a town meting legelly warned May 9th 1699 : Capt : Prescot was chosen for to atende the genrell Cort : for to sarue as a represintiue "JAMES BLANCHARD Clark " (Page 118.)
" May 17 1703 at a town metting legelly warned the town did by uot declare that thay would pay deacon larrance the mony that the deacon demande for saruing the : town as ane represintiue In the year 1693
" the town did uote and declare that thay would borrow the mony of thomas Williams for four month and pay for the use of it one shilling
" JAMES BLANCHARD Clark " (Page 124.)
"Groton May ye 8 1705 then capt prascot was chosen to sarue as a representetife for the yer Insuing
" THOMAS TARBELL Clarck" (Page 126.)
"Groton May the aight 1706 At a town meting legally worned to chuse a repreasantiue the fre hooldars and other inhabitants qualafied acording to law did by the maior uote couse [choose] Simin Stone for this year 1706 a represantetiue
(Page 129.)
" JOSEPH LAKIN town clark "
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The paging, as given after these several extracts, refers to the printed edition of "The Early Records of Groton, Massachusetts, 1662-1707," from which they are taken. Since the year 1707, and even before that date, in the town records, there are occasional omissions of the names of representatives, and these gaps I have filled from the Colonial and Provincial records at the State-House. In such cases the names are printed within brackets, and the dates given with them refer to the beginning of each session; and in all other instances in the list, where dates of the ses- sions have been obtained or inferences drawn from these records, brackets are used.
In early times the representative to the General Court was paid by the town that sent him; and this fact furnishes the reason why the town of Groton, on May 15, 1693, voted not to send one. It was then poor, and staggering under a heavy load in the shape of debts and current expenses. Notwithstanding the receipt of Deacon Lawrence given on April 12, 1693, the town was threatened by him with a suit for thir- ty-six shillings, for his services as a representative, perhaps during a short period after the petition of February 6, 1693, when it was voted that he should be released from attendance. It is not now known whether a suit was ever begun, but, ten years later, as appears by the vote of May 17, 1703, the town agreed to settle the matter by paying the demand, though it was obliged to borrow the money for that purpose,-an indication of its extreme poverty. Dur- ing some of these ten years Deacon Lawrence was a resident of that quarter of Cambridge which is now
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