USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Hanover > Historical sketch of the town of Hanover, Mass., with family genealogies, 1853 > Part 3
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 | Part 36
The records on which we have been obliged to rely, are scatter- ed and fragmentary. The elders of the town are fast disappear- ing ; and many from whom much that is valuable might have been learned, have departed to the spirit-land. Those that remain have been diligently consulted, and the gleamings of their memo- ries faithfully recorded.
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
CHAPTER II.
NATURAL HISTORY.
COSTOR
" To me be Nature's volume broad displayed, And to peruse its all-instructing page, Or, haply catching inspiration thence, Some easy passage, raptured to translate ; My sole delight, as through the falling glooms Pensive I stray, or with the rising dawn, On fancy's eagle-wing excursive soar."
THOMSON.
Geology of the Town-Forests, aneient and modern, with their products, value and uses - Herbaccous Plants - Birds, &e. - Laws for their destruetion, and argu- ment for their preservation - Wild and Domestic Fruits - Aneient Sheep Hus- bandry, and the Culture of Flax, Wheat, &c. - Materials for improving the soil -Indications of progress.
IT is an interesting fact, and one calculated to impress us with an exalted sense of the Infinite Wisdom of our Heavenly Father, that every square mile of the earth's surface has an aspect of its own, and presents to us features which, though resembling in some respects what may be elsewhere seen, are so different in others as to give to it a distinctive character, sufficient to render it worthy of a separate notice. Hence every town has its own natural his- tory. The contour of its surface, with its hills and plains ; the quantity of its arable land, with the proportion unfit for cultivation, and covered with rocks or water ; the extent of its forests, with the comparative abundance, age, and size of the trees of which they are composed ; - these, and other minuter details, which we need not specify, give to every spot on our globe a peculiar interest in the eyes of those most familiar with its scenery, and encircle it with that mysterious charm which hovers around the place of our nativity, or the home of our adoption.
Of the town of Hanover, we may briefly say that its surface is comparatively level, - undulating in some parts, - and with a
29
GEOLOGY OF THE TOWN.
few scattered hills, but none of any great elevation. There are spots of highland, here and there, from which beautiful views may be obtained of the country around, stretching away to the distance of from twelve to twenty miles, with the Blue Hills to the North, and Manomet to the South. On Walnut Hill is one of these " look outs," and on a beautiful summer's day, or even in Oc- tober, when the leaves are changing, and the forests are clothed in their rich autumnal drapery, it is worth one's while to take a seat in the top of a majestic pine, very easy of ascent, which stands near the summit, and from thence to survey the attractive pic- ture, of God's own painting, spread out before the eye ; attractive, not only for its own diversity and beauty, but for the associations connected with it, as compassing the home of the Pilgrims, - the ground pressed by their feet, and watered by their blood, and hal- lowed by their spirits which seem as if gazing, with a rapture full equal to our own, on what was to them a consecrated soil !
Of the geology of the town, traces of diluvial action are every- where visible, not only in the range and shape of our hills, but in the numerous boulders of granite and greenstone, with which its surface is covered ; some of which were evidently transported from Hingham, and correspond with the ledges of that town, es- pecially with the granite ledge, intersected by veins of trap, through which the South Shore Rail Road is cut in West Hing- ham ; - others from Cohasset, corresponding with the rocks in situ there ; - and others from Weymouth, from the vicinity of the Old Spain Meeting House, and the Depot at Back River.
The largest, however, are from the extensive granite beds · which underlie all but that part of the town bordering on the North River, and which outcrop on Walnut Street, and along the third Herring brook, and in the vicinity of Brooks's upper mill, and on Centre Street, as may be seen by the references on the map of the town, placed there by Mr. Whiting at the author's suggestion. Of these boulders, some, of great size, are still nicely poised upon the parent rock, and have been moved but a few feet at the most. An example may be seen in the pasture land of Rev. Robert L. Killam, on Walnut Street.
Along the North River, a grauwacke formation occurs, which extends North-westerly through Hanson and Abington ; and in
.
30
HISTORY OF HANOVER.
the latter town, near the residence of Benjamin Hobart, Esq., ex- plorations have been made for coal, but not with sufficient success, in the estimation of Mr. Hobart, to warrant a continuance of the enterprise. Undoubtedly coal exists in the whole of this forma- tion, but at such a depth, and mixed, especially in its upper beds, with so large a per centage of the carburet of iron, that it will not for a long time, if ever, be wrought with profit. Even in the grauwacke of Rhode Island, where explorations for coal are now in progress, near the Blackstone river, and about three miles from Pawtucket, and where an article of much better quality than for- merly, is being raised, the depth of the shafts is over 300 feet, and the expense of conducting the work is so great, that it absorbs nearly if not quite all the materiel which is sold.
Specimens of crystallised quartz, though not of great beauty, are frequently found in the Westerly and Southerly parts of the town, where quartz boulders occur. The author has one lump of considerable size, in which the crystals radiate from a central nu- cleus, apparently of grey quartz, in a stellar form, - the crystals themselves being white or cream colored, and slightly tinged with the oxide of iron. Specimens of earthy chlorite, the granules of which are green, and often of a triangular form when seen through a magnifier, occur in the same localities. A peculiar kind of fer- ruginous asbestiform quartz, called by the people "petrified chips," also occurs somewhat abundantly near the North River, with bituminous shale ; and in the rock near Perry's Tack Fac- tory, is a vein of ochrey brown oxide of iron, nearly a foot wide ; and there are traces of the earthy oxide of manganese, on the bank of the river.
Micaceous oxide of iron, in small quantity, is found in the granite region, and sometimes handsome specimens of porphyry may be obtained, in which the crystals of feldspar are white, large, and quite numerous. The hydrate or bog iron, of fair quality, and yielding a considerable per centage when smelted, may be found in most of our low grounds, especially near the water cour- ses, as at Iron Mine Brook, and in alluvial tracts.2 Hydrate of Silica is also common in the low grounds, with peat.
1 Bog iron was formerly carted from near the "Cricket Hole," to the Drinkwater works.
31
FORESTS.
Clay occurs on Walnut Hill, and bricks were made there sixty years ago, by Dea. Benjamin Mann. In this clay are rarely dis- seminated crystals of selenite, and specimens of nodular argillace- ous iron ore. Some years since, and in the days when less was known of geology than now, a search for the precious metals was made in one part of the town, and quite a California fever raged for a season. A few crystals of quartz were obtained ; and when the little cubical blocks of sulphuret of iron, which have deceived so many, made their appearance, glittering in the sun, and of a golden yellow, they were seized with avidity, and the miners thought their fortune was made.
At a still earlier period, when physical science was rarely stud- ied even by the learned, divining by the hazel rod, and by the stone in the hat, which made the universe transparent, taught sapient divines, as well as astute laymen, that beneath the surface treasures vast were within their grasp, and could be easily obtain- ed ! But the only treasure that has thus far been dug from our soil, is the plentiful crop which the plough and the hoe have brought forth.
The forests of Hanover, which cover a large part of its territo- ry, are extensive and valuable ; and here are found trees of the kinds most common in our State, as the white, swamp white, grey, red, scarlet, yellow bark, and bear or "ragged plain " Oak ; the upland and swamp Elm; the crabbed Hornbeam ; the pignut and shellbark Hickory ; the white, the black, and the yellow Birch ; the fragrant Sassafras, an article of commerce two centuries ago ; the common white maple ; the tremulous Poplar ; the majestic Becch ; the white and the black Ash ; the spine-leaved Holly ; the Wych- Elm, or Iron Wood, as some term it ; the verdant Hemlock ; the tall Spruce ; the white and the red Cedar; and the white, yellow, and pitch Pine.
White Birch is a wood of rapid growth, and is fit to cut once in twelve or fifteen years. Oak, Maple, Birch, and Walnut, may be cut once in from twenty-five to thirty-five years. Pines attain to a considerable size in thirty years, and some trees, with that growth upon them, are large enough for board logs. The Cedar, the Hemlock, and the Spruce, are of a slower growth and cannot usually be cut oftener than once in about sixty years.
32
HISTORY OF HANOVER.
There are large tracts of Cedar Swamp in the Westerly part of the town, the wood from which is valuable for posts and rails, and if of good quality, for the manufacture of tubs, piggins, pails and churns.
Several hundred cords of pine, called rare-ripes, are annually carted to Hingham, for the use of the coopers, to be made into the pails, firkins, dumbetty tubs, and other articles of wooden ware for which that place is so famous. Crocker Wilder & Co., are the most extensive purchasers, and the largest manufacturers, though the business is carried on, more or less, all over that town.
Nearly a half million feet of boards are also sawed annually, - mostly pine, -the half-inch stuff being used chiefly for the manu- facture of shoe-boxes, and trunks ; - a business extensively car- ried on at Shepherd's Factory, in Pembroke, at the steam mill of Mr. John Jones, in South Scituate, at the workshop of Mr. John Gross, in the same town, and at several establishments in Hanover, especially on Whiting Street.
Cedar and pine shingles are sawed at Brooks's upper mill, and at the mill owned by Mr. Nahum Stetson, on Pleasant Street.
There is a ready market for from two to three hundred cords of pine wood, annually, at the brick-yard of Mr. Edward Jacobs, in South Scituate. Oak, maple, and other kinds of hard wood, find a market principally in Hingham, Abington, and Weymouth. Charcoal is manufactured to a considerable extent every year by Mr. Ethan Perry, on Main Street. Ship-timber is saleable at Scituate harbor, and at the yards on the North River, though the quantity cut is not very large. Oak and maple butts are sold to the coopers, at Hingham, and plank to the wheelwrights of Hano- ver and Scituate. Our farmers engage in the lumbering business more or less every winter ; and it not only furnishes steady em- ployment for their teams, but a fertile field for the exercise of their own industry, and a by no means unfruitful source of ad- dition to their income.
It is sometimes asserted that the quantity of wood in the town is not so great as it was fifty or seventy five years ago ; and it may be, and doubtless is true, that trees of great size, and of an old growth are diminishing, though there are still "not a few " left. But as much, if not more territory is now covered with forests, -
33
FORESTS.
many fields and pastures having been left to grow to wood, and pieces which were planted within the memory of the living, and on which the indian hills are yet visible, are covered with trees from fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter. Indeed, we think we may safely say, that there is a supply left sufficient for home consump- tion for several generations ; and at least for one century, even if the demand is as brisk as now, no apprehensions of an entire failure in this supply need be entertained.
It was probably the custom of the early settlers of New Eng- land, as it is of the emigrants of different nations who are peopling the Western States, to make clearings by cutting the trees upon those tracts designed for cultivation, and heaping the trunks and limbs into one vast pile, which was set on fire, and burned to ash- es ; and this process as at present conducted, is termed " burning the fallow."
It is quite certain that the forest trees which stood on our soil two hundred years ago, were much larger than any that are seen in our day, and doubtless approximated in size the monarchs of the Mississippi valley. The author has seen, in the State of Illi- nois, red oaks four feet in diameter, and black walnuts five feet through ; and in the low, rich bottom lands, the cotton-wood trees grow to a great height and size, their tops appearing to pierce the clouds. But farther west, on the borders of the Pacific, in Cali- fornia and Oregon, travellers, upon whose veracity we can rely, inform us that the trees are of a still larger growth, and that pines are found there three hundred feet high !1 It is not uncommon to find pine trees in Hanover, one hundred feet high, and from three and one half to four feet in diameter. These are old trees ; - but our old men tell me that in their boyhood, the trees were still larger, and Cedars and Oaks were found from three to four feet through !
We are not to infer, however, that the fertility of the soil, or its capacity for the production of such trees is exhausted ; for were the forests now standing left undisturbed for two centuries to come, and could we then look upon the scene which they would present to our view, we should have a picture of New England as it was
1 I have heard of one Pine thirty feet in diameter, and one hundred feet from the ground to the first limb.
34
HISTORY OF HANOVER.
seen by the Pilgrims, and the primeval aspect of our hills and plains would be restored, and the deer and the wolf be once more seen in the land.
The Indians disturbed not often the vegetation of the country they inhabited. Their axes of stone, were not so well fitted as our keen-edged tools of steel for felling trees. Hence the forests continued to grow, from age to age, furnishing lairs for the wild beasts, and favorite resorts for herds of deer, and countless multi- tudes of wild fowls which lodged in their branches.
Of the herbaceous plants described by Bigelow, in his Plants of Boston, the author has found over three hundred species in the town of Hanover, and probably more might be discovered were the whole of its territory explored. Of the flowerless plants, as the mosses, the lichens, the ferns, and the fungi, we have also a large number of species, some of which are not only rare, but exceeding- ly beautiful. Indeed, our little municipality is by no means an uninteresting field for botanical researches, and several plants are common here, and in Scituate, which are less frequently met with in other towns in the State ; as the Kalmia latifolia, or Mountain Laurel, which in June is covered with a multitude of rich and fra- grant blossoms ; - the Epigca repens, or Mayflower, a sweet- scented, and modest little plant, blossoming early in April, and which was probably the first plant seen in bloom by the pilgrims the spring after they landed, - whence its name ; - and the Py- rola maculata, or spotted pyrola, with its zebra-striped leaves, peeping out from the dry and mouldering vegetation scattered every fall around in the forest.
The author has taken great pleasure in rambling through woods and swamps, and over pastures and meadows, at all seasons of the year, in quest of flowers ; and seldom has he made an excursion without learning something new ; either discovering fresh locali- ties, or returning laden with more beautiful specimens, or with plants of a different species from any that had been previously met with in his walks. But wo to the luckless wight who, in such strolls, comes in contact, all unconsciously perhaps, with the poi- sonous ivy, in scaling stone walls, or the malignant dogwood, in threading his way through the swamps ; for swollen features, and days of pain will be the portion of those who imbibe the venom of
35
DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS, ETC.
these plants through the pores of the skin, or inhale it through the lungs ! And blessed are they who can handle with impunity these usually annoying " subjects of the vegetable kingdom."
In the earlier days of our Country's history, deer and wild cats, and even bears and wolves were found in all our forests, and ducks, and geese, and crows, and blue jays, and other birds, were far more numerous than now ; - so much so that laws were passed, and bounties offered, to aid in extirpating those which were most destructive, or from which danger was apprehended. Deer were protected, however ; and December 13, 1739, in Hanover, Dea. James Hatch and William Curtis were chosen " to look after the Deer that none are killed and destroyed contrary to law." But wild-cats, and many birds were doomed. Thus, March 1, 1732- 3, there was paid to Joseph Bates, Solomon Bates, Stephen Tor- rey, John Woodworth, Benjamin Curtis, Ebenezer Curtis, and others, each 20s. for "killing wild cats ;" and in 1738, 40s. a head were voted for killing them, and in 1744, £3 each was voted to be paid for every one killed in Hanover or Abington.
In 1736-7, £6, 18s. were voted to different persons for killing " birds and squirals ; " and in 1740, 3d. a head was voted for " killing black birds, squirals, jay birds, chuits, read thrashers and wood-peckers."
In 1773, a bounty of 1s. a head was granted for killing crows, and 2d. a head for crow blackbirds, and ground or red squirrels, the head to be shown as proof of the killing. The bounty on crows continued to be paid so late as 1837.
In 1836, the Legislature of the State offered a bounty on kill- ing foxes, and throughout the State a destructive warfare was waged against them. In Hanover, 13 were killed, for which a bounty was received. 1
Of the policy of such regulations, every one must judge for himself. For our own part, whilst we admit the propriety of de- stroying wolves, wild cats, racoons, skunks, and beasts of the like nature, we are free to own that in our opinion, the jay, and the wood-pecker, and the red thrasher, and the blackbird, and even the crow, though they do much mischief, and are less melodious
1 Sen. Doc. No. 32, 1837, and No. 45, 1838.
36
HISTORY OF HANOVER.
singers than some others, pay their way, and deserve to be pro- tected, for preserving our trees and vegetables, from the ravages of insects and field mice, which increase just in the ratio that birds diminish.
The crow is by no means an uninteresting bird. True he is a rogue, and wants watching, - but he will devour scores of grubs in a day, and save more corn for the harvest, than he steals in the seed. Let all the birds live, to enliven our forests! Let the rob- in come to our door-yards, and pick up the crumbs ; and if he does steal a few cherries, we take more from the trees !
To rise at break of day, and hear these sweet warblers breath- ing forth their morning hymn ; - the prelude by the robin, and the chorus swelled by the trill of the oriole, the scream of the jay, the hawk, and the wood-pecker, and the distant cawing of the crow, with the solo of the bobolink, and the symphony of the peewit, or chickadee ; and at mid-day, to hear in the stillness of noon, the chant of the cuckoo, or the plaintive call of the cat-bird, and the chattering of the striped, red, grey, and flying squirrels, as they skip from tree to tree ; and at night, to hear the whippoorwills com- plaint : - all these to me, are sweet and pleasant sounds ; - and even the flight of the butterfly, the note of the bee, and the hum of the locust, with at eventide the chirp of the cricket, the radiance of the glow-worm, or that mimic lightning, flashing out with inces- sant scintillations from the multitude of fire flies hovering over field and meadow ; - all have charms for my spirit, and lead me to adore the wisdom and goodness of Him who has made everything beautiful in its time, and who is good unto all, and whose tender mercies are over all his works.
Of the agricultural interests of Hanover, we think we may truly say that the farmers of this section are beginning to manifest a commendable spirit of progress and improvement, and fine crops of corn, rye, potatoes and hay, are raised in favorable seasons. Of wild fruits, we have the usual variety. Grapes are abundant in the woods, and cranberries in the meadows. Whortleberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries, too, are abundant ; and in the summer months, when a vacation is given to our school children, they may be seen daily in groups wending their way to
37
DOMESTIC FRUITS.
the pastures and woods, with baskets, or tin kettles, or barks on their arms, their merry voices striking like sweet music on the pa- rent's ear, and returning with their luscious offerings to the domes- tic shrine, which, served with baked apples and milk, furnish a dish so luxurious that we doubt whether Queen Victoria, or the Emperor Nicholas, or any other monarch or prince, of ancient or modern times, ever tasted a better, or ate one more palatable, nourishing, and innocent.
Considerable attention is beginning to be paid to the raising of domestic fruits, and plantations of the apple, and peach are be- coming quite common ; and even the pear, the quince, and the cherry, with the smaller fruits, including the currant and goose- berry, are not wholly neglected ; though much remains to be done before public attention will be thoroughly awakened to these mat- ters, and every farm will be supplied with fruit of all kinds, in rich abundance, both for summer and winter use.
The famous high-top-sweeting, an apple which is a native of Plymouth County, ripe in September, of a medium size, golden yellow, and meHow and juicy, is not so common as it was when our fathers were young. Orchards of these trees were then quite numerous. But the crabbed, sour apples with which they were accompanied, and which caused the cider press to shriek in agony as the teeth of the cog-wheels met and crunched them, and whose juice was vinegar almost as soon as expressed, have given place to the Baldwin, the Greening, the Roxbury Russet, the Spitzenberg, the Early Harvest, the Yellow Bough, and the many other varie- ties of far more palatable fruits, which characterise the present age. Nurseries, too, are being established here, and in adjoining towns, which are doing an increasing business, in the sale of trees to our own citizens and others.
The Pratt Rare Ripe, is an excellent seedling peach, a native of this town, raised by Mr. B. C. Pratt, who resides about one half a mile from the Four Corners ; and it is not only hardy and prolific, but seems to be almost entirely exempt from that common scourge,-the yellows,-which destroys so many of our finest trees.
There was a time in the history of the town, when all our far- mers kept their flocks of sheep, and raised, and spun their own
38
HISTORY OF HANOVER.
wool, and made their own cloth ; and the hum of the wheel, and the clatter of the loom, tended by the goodwife, were heard in about every dwelling. Indeed, such was the esteem in which this branch of industry was held, that in 1732, the town " made choyce of Caleb Barker and Thomas Josselyun as agents to draw up a Town act for the Regulation of Rames," to prevent them from running at large, to the injury of the flocks.
It is to be borne in mind, that farms of from two to four hun- dred acres, and even more, were owned by many of our townsmen then, and hence the range of pasturage was such that sheep could be kept to good advantage. But it is now rare to find farms con- taining even one hundred acres. Hence sheep are kept by but few ; and the loom and the spinning wheel, with but rare excep- tions are mouldering in the garret, or have long since been cut up into fire wood to heat the oven on baking days ; - and the daugh- ters of our farmers, and even the mothers, for the most part, spend their time either in fitting shoes, or in the manufacture of coarse garments for the ready made clothing establishments of Boston .- The flocks have gone to the hills of New Hampshire and Vermont, or to the prairies of the West, and the wool is sent to our exten- sive factories, at Lowell and elsewhere, to be converted into car- pets and rugs for our floors, or shawls and de-laines for the ladies wear, or broad cloths and cassimeres for the men.
Flax was also an article to whose cultivation considerable atten- tion was once paid; and the smaller wheels, upon which linen thread was spun, of which the snow white table cloths, and sheetings and shirtings were made, which constituted, so important a part of the outfit of the new housekeeper, have not been laid aside over thirty years. The hatchel, and swingling-knife, alas ! are numbered, forever, we fear, with the things that were but are not !
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.