USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Spencer > Historical sketches relating to Spencer, Mass., Volume I > Part 4
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JOEL HOWE,
A Spencer farmer, born Jan. 31, 1819, and now living, a great grandson of Samuel Bemis, Senior. He is a son of Joel Howe, a sol- dier of the Revolution. His mother was Esther Bemis, daughter of Joshua Bemis, Senior. (From a photograph taken in 1900 by Parssiello Emerson.)
remains, and since there is hardly a farm in town on which at some period in its history Indian implements have not been found, the conclusion is irresistible that the Red men occupied this section to a greater extent than has generally been supposed and although reduced in numbers by the Indian Wars, were pursuing their gen- eral course of life on the advent of Samuel Bemis into their an- cient territory.
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SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY.
Samuel Bemis Purchases Land on Which to Settle.
We left Samuel Bemis in Boston getting a deed to three hun- dred acres of land in Leicester from a committee specially author- ized by the Great and General Assembly to sell the same and which they were willing to do in consideration of " ye just sum of eleven pounds ten shillings well and truly paid," or a price nine hundred per cent in advance of the sum paid the Indians thirty-four years before. The farm was bounded " southerly on land of ye town of Oxford, and westerly on Benjamin Thompson's land." Besides, the farm he was deeded "all ye wood, timber, well water, and water courses on ye same." The property became his in the mid- summer of 1721. James Draper says he commenced felling the ancient forest in 1720. This may be true but if the date was set forward a year it would appear more consistent with the records. as we to-day find them. It would seem probable that in the spring of 1721 he took a trip to the westward to spy out the land. He reached the Seven Mile river. Here he found one of the first requisites to the pioneer, plenty of clear running water. The next essential was meadow land, and but a short distance up the stream he found the great meadows one-fourth of a mile wide and a mile long. Surely here was a plentiful supply for his horses, sheep and cattle. He discovered but a short distance to the west a lovel spot of ground suitable for his buildings, and high above any 1.os- sible damage by the spring freshets. Timber also he saw in abund- ance ready for immediate use. He found a settler but a short dis- tance towards Brookfield. He noticed that the place was on the main line of travel from Boston to Springfield. He is pleased with the general advantages of the situation, and finding out who the owners of this property were, returned to Watertown, talked it over with his wife and friends and proceeded to purchase it.
On the Trail for Leicester.
Then with his horses and dog, his rifle and axe, and such other articles as he needs, he returns to build a log cabin, make a small clearing, all in readiness for the coming seed time and returned late in the fall to his home. The winter being past, with his wife, his two boys, his horses, cattle, dogs and such arti- cles for domestic and farm use as were indispensible, he starts for his home in the wilderness and is all ready to take up the spring work. Now this may not have been what happened, but it is the most natural and consistent course he could have taken, and judging from all the facts we have at hand, this plan in its general features is most probable.
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SAMUEL BEMIS.
Copy of Original Deed to Samuel Bemis.
To all Christian people unto whom these presents shall come, Greeting: William Dudley of Roxbury, in ye County of Suffolk and Province of ye Massachusetts Bay in New England, Esquire; Thomas Tileton of Dorchester and County aforesaid, Gentlemen; Thomas How of Molbrough and Connty of Middlesex and province aforesaid, Esquire; a committee fully authorized and improved by the Great and General Assembly of ye province aforesaid in their session held the 11th of Nov., 1719, to sell and dispose of a certain tract or parcell of land lying and being in ye said Province between the towns of Oxford in ye County of Suffolk, Leicester in ye County of Middlesex, Brookfield in ye County of Hampshire, which said tract or parcell of land is since by ye Great and General Court added unto and determined to be part of said Connty of Suffolk; viz : In ye session held at Cambridge in June, 1721, as by both votes and orders. Reference thereto had may and doth more fully appear. Know ye that ye said William Dudley, Thomas Tileton and Thomas How, for and in Consideration of ye full and just sum of Eleven pounds, ten shillings, well and truly paid by Samuel Bemis of Wa- tertown, in ye County of Middlesex aforesaid, Yeoman, ye Receipt whereof Dudley, Tileton, How, do hereby acknowledge, and ye said Samuel Bemis, his heirs, Executors and Administrators thereof and of every part and parcel thereof have acquitted, exonerated and discharged, have given, granted, sold, aliened and by virtue of ye power and authority aforesaid do give, grant, sell, alien, make over and confirm unto ye said Samuel Bemis, his heirs and assigns for- ever, one Certain Lott or tract of Land laid out in ye said 10,000 acres, being ye 36th Lott in number and ributted and bounded north- erly on Land of John Flagg, Easterly on Samuel Dumer's Land, Southerly on land of ye town of Oxford, and Westerly on Benj. Thompson Land or however ye same is butted and bounded, con- taining three hundred acres more or less To Have and to Hold ye said Lott of Land unto him ye said Samuel Bemis with all ye Rights, members priviledges and appurtenances to ye sanie in any manner belonging, and all ye wood, timber, well water and water courses in and on ye same, free and Clear from all manner of Incumbrances and Inconveniences whatever and the said Willian Dudley, Thomas Tileton and Thomas How as a Committee and Impowered as afore- said, and on behalf of the Province aforesaid, do avouch themselves to be the true and lawful owners of ye above granted premises and have in theniselves sufficient power and author- ity to dispose and sell ye same and by virtue and force of ye afore. mentioned acts of ye Great and General Court ye premises and every part thereof will to ye said Samuel Bemis, his heirs and assigns, uphold, maintain, warrant and defend front all Challenge, Claim, Molestation or Trouble whatever. In Testimony whereof they, ye said Dudley, Tileton and How have sett to their hands and seals this 20th Day of July, 1721, and in ye seventh year of King George's Reign.
WILLIAM DUDLEY and a seal, THOMAS TILETON and a seal, THOMAS HOW and a seal.
Signed, Sealed and Delivered in presence of ISAAC NEWHALL NATHANIEL HOLBROOK, Suffolk, ss.
Ve within mentioned William Dudley, Thomas Tileton and Thomas How now appearing before me, ye subscriber, and did
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SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY.
acknowledge this instrument as their act and deed. Roxbury, 19 March, 1732.
ELIJAH DANFORTH, Justice of Peace.
Ye aforegoing is a true Copy of ye original Deed recorded Dec.
I732. Examined by
JOHN CHANDLER, JR., Register.
The price paid for the land was less than twenty cents per acre.
Samuel Bemis in His Own Home.
Samuel Bemis at the age of 33 is now located on his own land and in his own cabin, with his wife aged twenty-seven, Samuel aged three and Edmond aged one year. His daily life is made up of one ceaseless round of thinking, planning and working out the problems that confront him. His intercourse with the world is stall. The Wood family doubtless come to his cabin after a day's work is finished in order to relieve the monotony of pioneer life, to hold communion with kindred minds and to continue practice in the art of conversation. Occasionally travelers stop to get a midday meal or else supper, lodging and breakfast. From them he gathers information from the coast or from the more remote settlements in the interior. When the traveler proves to be an interesting talker it is a treat for the household to sit and listen as he narrates his experiences or tells the news he has gathered on his journey and ofttimes it is past midnight, perhaps, before thought of retiring becomes definitely fixed. The Indians also call as they follow their trail up and down the Seven Mile river that flows past his door, and claim the white man a brother whose duty it is to give them food and shelter.
The Indians Make Themselves at Home in His Cabin.
The duty is not acknowledged by Samuel Bemis, at least not without mental reservation, but they are fed just the same and when night comes roll themselves up in blankets, should the weather be cold, and stretching at full length on the kitchen floor with their feet toward the fire, soon fall asleep. This arrange- ment was not agreeable to the host, but being a man of prudence and tact as well, he outwardly submits to conditions he is power- less to avert, and continues to entertain the red men in his home, to which they have not been invited. With such conditions as these prevailing, an unusual event in the family life of Samuel Bemis occurred the year following his settlement at Leicester. We will let Draper's History tell the story: " In 1722, when his wife was about to give birth to her third son, William, fearing the Indians, she made a journey to Sudbury for safety during that
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SAMUEL BEMIS.
'critical period, and when her little son was only two weeks old, she rode home on horseback, a distance of nearly fifty miles, in one day and carried the infant in her arms, although for a greater part of the distance the road, such as it was, passed through an entire wilderness." It is no wonder then, that a woman having so great powers of endurance as she evidently possessed should have given birth to a race of stalwart men and women such as we find to have been the case. There is one expression in the above narrative
FOSTER BEMIS,
Great grandson of Samuel Bemis, Sr., and the last Bemis to till the old farm which had descended from Samuel Sr., Joshua Sr., and Amasa to Foster. In 1855 he sold the farm and went West. Born in Spencer, Jan'y 16, 1808; died at Beloit, Wis., Dec. 6, 1881, "respected by all who knew him."
that will not likely be sufficiently clear to the general reader, and that is "fearing the Indians."
Fears the Indians.
Why should she fear the Indians ? Let us find out if we can the real cause. Years before this time a majority of the males of the different tribes of Indians in New England had either been slain or else had been so completely subdued that they
4
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SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY.
feared to again make war on the white men, knowing full well from the past that swift retribution would follow, with their lives as a forfeit. But there were a few Indians, sup- posed to have been mostly old men, who remembering with humiliation the victories of the white men, and, defying their power, still thirsted for revenge. These, owning allegiance to no tribe, in small bands roved at will about the country protected by the forests which everywhere abounded, and which under cover
LEWIS BEMIS,
Great grandson of Samuel Pemis, Sr. He was a farmer, merchant and powder manufacturer. Built in 1843 the house where Abraham Capen now lives. Served the town as representative, town clerk and treasurer. Born in Spencer, Nov. 5, 1797; died in Spencer, Nov. 8, 1856.
of their branches permitted them to approach their intended vic- tims unawares. It was doubtless in this way that Widow Mary McIntosh was fired upon and killed at Brookfield while milking her cows, August 2, 1706, and also one Judah Trumble, killed there about the same date. "Oct. 13, 1708, in the same town, John Wolcott, a lad of about thirteen years, was riding early in the morn- ing in search of the cows when Indians fired at him, killing his horse and taking him prisoner. Six men from Jennings' garri-
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SAMUEL BEMIS.
son, hearing the firing and thinking it proceeded from Banister's garrison, hastened to the latter place, but were waylaid by the Indians, when Abijah Bartlett was killed and three others wounded."
Indians Kill White Men at Brookfield
"In 1709, Robert Granger and John Clary were passing along a road, in Brookfield, and being fired upon by the In- dians, Granger was killed on the spot. Clary attempted to escape but was soon shot down." July 22, 1710, six men were making
WILLIAM BEMIS, SR. HOUSE.
The original house built by William Bemis, Senior, son of Samuel Beinis, Senior, on the east end of lot 15, in 1746. The outside has been recovered, kept in good repair and looks like a modern house. Now owned by Jeremiah Kane.
hay in the meadows at Brookfield, when the Indians sprang sud- denly upon them and all were slain. Such facts as these, happening so short a distance away from the Bemis homestead and relatively in so recent a period of time, would naturally arouse the fears of a wise and prudent woman and cause her to plan in every way to make life as secure from danger as possible. But there were other factors in the case. Strange Indians had been seen prowling about the frontier settlements, and although no man knew their purpose, it was readily divined that their mission was not one of peace, and while no overt act against the whites oc- curred until eight months after Mrs. Bemis returned from Sud-
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SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY.
bury, yet what then happened showed that the settlers had accur- ately prejudged the intent of their enemy, as will be seen by the following :
Gray Lock the Famous Indian Chieftain.
In an account by Francis E. Blake, in the History of Rutland, he says : "On the 13th of August, 1723, Gray Lock, an old chief of the Waranokes, whose hiding place during the early sum- mer had been unknown, with four other Indians approached the town of Northfield, and there waylaying two of its prominent men, killed them on the spot, and long before the inhabitants could
THE JONAS BEMIS, SR., PLACE,
in the south part of Spencer, and where he settled about 1758 after his return from the war with France. This is not the original house, but superseded that structure, and is known to have been erected prior to 1798. Lieut. Bemis is supposed to have been the heaviest man that ever lived in Spencer, weighing, it is said, over 400 pounds. This is also where Jonas Bemis, Jr. lived, familiarly known in his later years as "Old Squire Jonas" from his having a commission as Justice of the Peace. He died in 1846, aged 85. This was also the residence of Alpha, son of Jonas, Jr. In 1873, in Spencer, there was what was called "a smallpox epidemic," and this house was taken by the authorities and made into a hospital for patients having that disease. Dr. C. A. Bemis was placed in charge as superintendent with a salary at the rate of $1000 per year, he agreeing to supply inedi- cities and pay small incidental expenses. Before the spring of 1874, the patients had all been discharged and the dwelling ever since has been distinguished as the "Pock House.''
organize a force for pursuit, they were far beyond reach on their way to the exposed settlement of Rutland. Hovering about the town, easily concealed by the woods with which they were doubt- less familiar, they awaited an opportunity to wreak their ven- geance upon some of the innocent people there. The succeeding day, the 14th of August, Deacon Joseph Stevens, was at work
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alone in a meadow a half mile northeast of the meeting house. Four of his sons, leaving their home upon the hill, went down into the meadow to join their father, when they were suddenly surrounded by the five Indians who quickly with their blows kill- ing two, Samuel and Joseph, seized the others, Phineas and Isaac, and held them captives. The father heard their cries and saw the fearful deed but knowing he was utterly powerless to cope with the savages, escaped to the neighboring bushes and subsequently
DAVID BEMIS,
son of William Bemis Jr., and great grandson of Samuel Bemis Sr., born in Spencer. Aug. 3, 1812; died in Spencer, Jan. 24, 1899; thirty-six years an assessor for the town of Spencer, a longer service in one office than has been attained by any other citizen in the town's history.
to his home. Three of the Indians guarded the two boys while two passing on laid in wait for Simeon Davis and his son who were at work in a meadow near by, unconscious of the impending danger. Mr. Davis, however, prevented the accomplishment of the plan by fortunately returning home by another path and the Indians, thwarted in their designs, moved onward to join their companions and while in sight of them, came upon Rev. Mr. Willard, the minister of the town, who with his gun had been hunting game."
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SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY.
Rev. Mr. Willard's Fight for Life.
"Both of the Indians fired upon him but did no harm while he returned the fire, severely wounding one of them. The other sprang upon him and the two closed together, fought for the mas- tery, and when the valor and strength of the minister seemed about to overcome the savage, the three other Indians, running to the spot, quickly overpowered him and took his life. The only witness to tell of this deed in after years, Phineas Stevens, testified
SUN DIAL.
This sun dial bears the marks of age, but how old it is no one knows. It was donated to the public museum by George Bemis of South Spencer, now living, over eighty years of age, who says it came from his grandfather Nathaniel's estate, and he thinks it originally belonged to Samuel Bemis, Senior.
to the brave resistance and the manliness of Mr. Willard in his struggle for life."
Brave Woman at Oxford.
"In Oxford on the 6th of August, 1724, four Indians came upon a small house built under a hill. They made a breach in the roof and as one of them was attempting to enter he received a shot in the abdomen from a courageous woman, the only person in the house, who had two muskets and two pistols, and was prepar- ing for all four but they thought fit to retreat, carrying off the dead or wounded man."-Rutland History.
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SAMUEL BEMIS.
Scouts Posted at Leicester.
It was, indeed, a time of peril. In 1722 the town of Leices- ter applied to the Governor of the Massachusetts Colony to have scouts posted there through fear of the Indians and the petition was granted, and in 1724, twenty-nine soldiers were assigned to duty there scouting on the outskirts of the settled portion of the town and guarding the farmer as he tilled his fields, or toiled in
THE BEMIS ELM,
Now standing across the highway, south of Bemis Memorial Park. Before the Bemis family abandoned the home farm it was customary to raise for market about a hundred turkeys a year, and this tree was their roosting place.
his meadows. The uncertainty of life, continually exposed to Indian assaults, still agitating the people of Leicester, in 1726 they caused a garrison to be built around the house of their min- ister, Rev. David Parsons, near the present Congregational church
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SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY.
at a cost of rifbs. IOS. 5d., but Leicester was fortunate in never having to use the garrison for its intended purpose, and in never having, so far as known, a white man slain within her borders by the Indians.
Scouts at Brookfield
In 1725 scouts were posted at Brookfield, and the following is a partial report of service performed :
March 18-19, guarded the people fencing their meadows.
April 1, guarded the people at the corn mill.
April 26, guarded the people to plow.
May 4-13, guarded the people to plant.
May 10, scouted, discovered Indian tracks by Ware river.
May 29, scouted the swamps in pursuit of the Indians.
July 10, guarded 23 men at work in the meadow making hay.
It was not, however, for other reasons always agreeable for the settlers to live in the wilderness apart from their fel-
Y
A PAIR OF ANDIRONS.
These old Andirons were dug up by Mr. Charles A. Boyden in 1880 from the cellar of the first frame house erected in Spencer by Samuel Bemis in 1726. Their design is one of the earliest, and as they were made by hand it appears probable they were used in the old house. They are now in the possession of Dr. A. A. Bemis.
low-men, isolated from the home of their childhood, the asso- ciations of their youth, the presence of their kindred and sur- rounded by all the dangers of frontier life, and we get now and then glimpses as to how some of these early pioneers. felt along these lines when they gave utterance to their feel-
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ings. It is fair to assume that the following experience of Ephraim Curtis, the first settler in Worcester, and great-great- grandfather of Judge Albert W. Curtis of this town, was but the record of a feeling common among the early pioneers. The his- tory says he "left Sudbury with a pack on his back, a light, long Spanish gun on his shoulder, and an axe in his hand, and set his face toward Worcester.
Early Settler Sheds Tears.
"This was in the fall of 1673. He settled near Lincoln street at a place called by the Indians Quinsigamug. Here he was all alone in the wilderness for a year or more, and in subsequent times used to tell how, after working all day, he would sit down and look toward Sudbury and shed tears in spite of himself."
Another writer of those times, evidently one who at a previous date had enjoyed the social life of some hamlet, now relates a wil- derness experience in the language of one who is heartbroken and homesick. The person says:
A Howling Wilderness.
" A howling wilderness it was, exposed day and night, whether in hut or field, to the wily and cruel Indian, the lurking and ravenous bear or wolf. A howling wilderness it was, where no man dwelt-the hideous yells of wolves, the shrieks of owls, the gobbling of turkeys, and barking of foxes, was all the musick we enjoyed-no friends to visit, no soul in the surrounding towns; all a dreary waste and exposed to a thousand difficulties; no roads, no mills, no schools or sanctuary."
Isolation, however, and disquieting noises in the night were not all the trials of the settler. The wolf was a constant men- ace. It is recorded that in 1723, at Ipswich, the birthplace of Nathaniel Wood, "wolves were so abundant and so near the meeting house that parents would not suffer their chil- dren to go and come from worship without some grown per- son. It was a common thing to hear them commence their howl soon after sunset, when it was very dangerous to go near the woods." It was also said that "all the young settlements were harassed by the incursions of troops of wolves."
The Troublesome Wolf.
At Worcester in 1733, it is recorded that "so great was the injury done by these marauders that the price of heads was raised to eight pounds. The precipitous cliff still called Rattlesnake Rocks was the favorite resort of wolves, bears, wild cats and ser-
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pents, rendering the steep dangerous to man." In 1734 the record says that " notwithstanding the law of the province giv- ing encouragement for the destruction of wolves, they still con- tinue very troublesome and mischievous, especially among young cattle and sheep whereby people are discouraged from keeping sheep so necessary for clothing." It is presumable that Samuel Bemis from his remote location was particularly well situated to invite the depredations of these wild animals. It may be well liere to note other conditions prevailing at that time.
The Highways Intolerable.
Draper's history says that as late as 1788, "the highways were intolerable, the Great Post road by far the best in the country, and which has since received so many straightenings and level- ings, was then so rough and hilly that it was only competent for a
POWDER HORN.
Powder Horn carried by Capt. Edmond Bemis throughout his service in the Colonial Wars. It was inherited by his son, Joseph, and by Joseph's sons, Sylvanus and John, by whom it was presented to the Spencer Museum, through Win. M. Wakefield, who cared for them in their old age.
team of four horses to transport the weight of one ton to Boston and return with the same weight in one week. The chief instru- ments in repairing the roads were the cart and the iron bar. The plough was then never used for that purpose, and what rocks could not be removed with iron bars alone, stood their ground in whatever part of the road they happened to be located, bidding defiance to the horses' hoofs or the wheels of the carriages, for the use of gunpowder in removing rocks was then unpracticed and hardly known."
Brookfield Petitions for Good Roads.
At an earlier date the citizens of Brookfield had sent to " His Excellency Richard Earl of Belmont," for a sum of money wherewith to repair that part of the Bay Path road between Brookfield and Worcester, and which went by way of Charlton and
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Oxford. While this road did not go through any part of Leices- ter this document represents the general state of the highways at that time. This is the petition :
Wee the subscribers being verry senceable of the inconvenien- cys that may happen in as much as the stated Road to Conitticot especially Betwixt Wooster & Brookfield is verry much incumbered with Trees fallen & many Rocky Swamps & other impassable Ob- structions to Travellers, Drovers, and others, & hazzarding life or limb of both men and Horses & other Creatures to great Losses & Damages, Hunibly propose that there bee a Suteable allowance Granted to repairs & amend said Road, at least to the sum of - pounds, Out of the Publique Treasurie of this Province, which we Humbly leave to consideration, & Subscribe
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