USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Ashburnham > History of Ashburnham, Massachusetts : from the grant of Dorchester Canada to the present time 1734-1886 with a genealogical register of Ashburnham families > Part 10
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FROM THE INCORPORATION TO THE REVOLUTION. 129
and encouraged by the laws of the province. The statute provided that persons, who were legally warned out of the town, could not gain at once a full legal residence and that in case of extreme poverty the town would not be charge- able for their support. It was a cold reception but modified with a fair understanding that it was a formality of law in which there was often no sincerity. If it savors of inhu- manity it was a fault of the law and not of the people. Its practice in other towns led to its adoption here in self- defence. In this connection it should be remembered, that while the sentiment of charity and brotherly love has ever existed in the heart of man, the present system of public charities which embraces all classes of unfortunate men and women of the Commonwealth is the result of more recent legislation. If the early settlers of this town were warned out, they were at once admitted to all social privileges. In some instance men who were warned out were elected to office at the following town meeting and became useful, substantial citizens contributing largely to the intelligence and wealth of a town to which they were so formally received. Not a few of those who served in the Revolution were weleomed in this manner to Ashburnham. In their turn they joined, in a more serious manner, in warning ont an army of invasion before it gained a residence on Ameri- can soil. A few extracts from the records will give a fair idea of the spirit of these proceedings.
TO JONATHAN GATES, constable of the Town of Ashburnham, Greeting :
Whereas Joseph Perry and Mary Perry his wife, Joseph Perry, Juner, and Mary Perry and Abigail Perry and Annie Perry, children of Joseph and Mary Perry, Hath lately Come to the Town of Ashburnham and came last from Midway and Came to
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
the Town of Ashburnham November 1765, whom the Selectmen of Ashburnham Refuse to admit as Inhabitants of the said Town.
THESE are therefore in his majesties name to Require you, the said Constable to warn the persons a Bove mentioned forth- with to Depart out of the town of Ashburnham.
Hercof fail not and make Due return of this warrant with your Doings therein to some one of us the subscribers.
Given under our hands and seal at Ashburnham This Twelfth day of February A D 1766 in the Sixth year of his Majesties Rain.
TRISTRAM CHENEY ) Selectmen JOHN RICH of
SAMUEL FELLOWS M Ashburnham.
WORCESTER SS. ASHBURNHAM, February 24 1766
In obedience and by virtue of the within written warrant I have warned the within named Joseph Perry and Mary Perry his wife Joseph Perry Juner Mary Perry Abigail Perry Annie Perry children of Joseph and Mary Perry, forthwith to Depart out of the town of Ashburnham.
JONATHAN GATES, Constable of said Town.
In some instances the selectmen made a memorandum of the arrival of a family into town and in such cases no warrant is found.
Olive Davis and Mercy Davis Daughters of Jonas Davis of Harvard Deceased and Elizabeth his wife came into this town October ye 14, 1767, and came last from Harvard.
Elijah Edson left Bridgewater June 17 1769 and brought with him Martha Edson his wife and three children Sarah Edson, Oliver Edson and Ziba Edson, whom the selectmen refuse to admit as Inhabitants of Ashburnham.
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CHAPTER V.
REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.
SITUATION OF THE TOWN. - THE COVENANT. - WORCESTER CONVENTION. - THE JUROR LIST. - REPRESENTED IN PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. - POWDER AND LEAD. - THE MILITIA ORGANIZED. - PROMINENT CITIZENS INTER- VIEWED. - THE SALT PROBLEM. - ALARM AT LEXINGTON. - CAPTAIN GATES' COMPANY. - CAPTAIN DAVIS' COMPANY. - THE SIEGE OF BOSTON AND BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. - CAPTAIN WILDER'S COMPANY -THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. - ENLISTMENTS IN 1776. - AN HIOUR OF GLOOM. - TOWN PROCEEDINGS. - SOLDIERS IN 1777. - ALARM AND CALL FOR TROOPS. - THE RESPONSE OF ASHIBURNHAM. - CONTI- NENTAL AND OTHER SOLDIERS. - PUBLIC AID. - ASSENT TO THE ARTI- CLES OF CONFEDERATION. - DEPRECIATION OF THE CURRENCY. - TIIE SOLDIERS IN THE FIELD. -- NEW RECRUITS. - CLOTHING FOR THE ARMY. - ALAS, ONE DESERTER. - SOLDIERS IN 1779. - REPRESENTATIVE TO GEN- ERAL COURT. - PRICE OF COMMODITIES. - CONSTITUTION PROPOSED. - THANKSGIVING, - SOLDIERS IN 1780. - TOWN MEETINGS. - OBSERV- ANCE OF THE SABBATH. - SOLDIERS IN 1781. - BOUNTY PROPOSED. -A FINE REMITTED. - REQUISITIONS FOR BEEF - HOME TRIALS.
THE story of Ashburnham in the Revolution compre- hends neither the movements of armies nor the decisive results of sanguinary engagements. The causes of the war, the prevailing sentiment of the colonies and the campaigns and fortunes of the army are subjects of general history. It falls within the province of this chapter to record the names of the men of Ashburnham who were in the service and to present some account of the hardships endured at home. It will appear that the inhabitants of this town were in full sympathy with the patriotic sentiment of the colonies,
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNIIAM.
and in the field and at the fireside cheerfully bore a full measure of the hardships and burdens of the period. Com- pared with the older settlements the frontier towns were young and feeble ; and, if remote from the earlier discussion of public grievances and from the theatre of war, it is cer- tain they felt every pulsation of the heart of the colonies and responded to every demand.
The population of Ashburnham in 1776 was five hundred and fifty-one. Upon this little community, situated. upon the border of the province, the provisional government and the patriotic impulse of the people, during the progress of the war, made heavy drafts for men and treasure. Inured to the privations and hardships of the frontier, the settle- ments bravely assumed burdens which would have been refused by people less familiar to lives of self-denial and hardships. During the Revolution the strength of the colo- nies rested in familiarity with poverty and toil. Patriotic impulse and a firm reliance in the righteousness of their cause were important factors, but it required hardihood as well as impulse and endurance as well as principle. A sol- diery more tenderly nurtured and less inured to privation might bravely meet the enemy in the field but would have failed in the sufferings of Valley Forge.
Commencing with the beginning of open hostilities the older towns, situated near the theatre of the war, sent an increasing stream of immigration to the frontiers where a more comfortable feeling of security could be enjoyed. During the war all the towns in this vicinity increased rapidly in population. From 1776 to 1780 the population of Ashburnham was increased nearly twofold. The names of many families which are conspicuous in the annals of Ashburnham first appear at this time. All who removed hither were fraternally welcomed and the older resident and
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the new arrival, actuated by a common purpose, are found side by side in the army or joined in procuring money and means to carry on the war.
It will appear in the course of this narrative that nearly every man residing in this town and nearly every boy over sixteen years of age were in the service for a longer or a shorter period. The records of Ashburnham do not pre- serve the names of any revolutionary soldiers. The search for the material for this chapter was made elsewhere. The State archives and the files of the Pension Office at Wash- ington have been fruitful fields of research. It is believed that the following pages will contain the names of nearly all the residents of this town who served in the army during the Revolutionary War. No name has been admitted without unquestionable proof. Tradition and the records are fre- quently at variance, and in such cases the authority of the records has been accepted.
The winter preceding the repulse of the enemy at Lex- ington and Concord was a season of gloom and uncertainty. The colonists, and especially those of Massachusetts, were anxiously waiting for the clouds to break or, if inevitable, for hostilities to commence. This era of doubt and uncer- tainty east the deepest gloom over the land. The inhabi- tants of Ashburnham are early found in full sympathy with the prevailing sentiment and with remarkable unanimity are carly prepared for the decisive issue. As early as 1773 mention of the situation of public affairs finds expression in an article in the warrant for the annual March meeting, "To see if the Town will consider the general grievances that are laid upon us by acts of Parliament & disposing of our monies without our consent." At this time no action was taken, but in July, 1774, "it was moved that the Covenant sent from Boston be read and accordingly it was read.
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
Then a motion was made for au alteration and that Doctor Senter, George Dana, Elisha Coolidge, Samuel Nichols and Jonathan Samson be a committee to alter said covenant and adjourned said meeting for half an hour and then said Cove- nant was altered to the acceptance of the Town." "Voted that Elisha Coolidge Samuel Wilder and Samuel Nichols be a committee to keep the covenant after it is signed."
The covenant adopted in the foregoing vote was a solemn engagement, signed by the inhabitants of the town, that they would refrain from the purchase and use of certain articles of British merchandise, and that risking their lives and fortunes in the defence of their charter rights and privileges, they would resist all officers holding commissions under the late acts of Parliament. On the third day of September, the town was assembled to hear the report of Jonathan Taylor who had been chosen to attend a convention at Worcester, which met in August at the house of Mary Stearns, widow of Captain Thomas Stearns. The records do not afford any information of the character of the report, yet from other sources it is known that this convention recommended the several towns to appoint military officers, to provide arms and ammunition, and to make ample provision for any emer- gency that may arise. At the same meeting the progress of public sentiment is revealed in a vote to indemnify the officers of the town for not returning a list of jurors as required by an act of Parliament. This was a bold measure and in open resistance of royal authority. The colonists were extremely sensitive in regard to the influences surrounding the halls of justice. The man of lowest degree justly demanded a hear- ing on equal terms with the favorites of royalty. The exist- ing discontent arose in the fact that the judges were appointed by the crown and provision was made in England for their support for the purpose of rendering them wholly independent
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REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.
of colonial influence. This system of appointment and salary of the judges received early discussion and firm resistance. The vote of Ashburnham refusing to recognize the courts thus constituted in returning a list of jurors, was a part of the general action of the colony.
Two other important votes were passed at this meeting. First, the town choose Jonathan Taylor, a representative to the famous provincial congress which assembled at Concord, October 11, and by adjourment to Cambridge continued their deliberations until December 10, 1774. Evidently, not yet content with these expressions of opinion, and with these provisions for the future, at the same meeting, nearly a year before Washington assumed command of the army, the town voted "to buy half a hundred of powder and one hundred of lead and ten dozen of flints as a town stock." At this meet- ing, as stated, the town heard from their delegate the recom- mendations of the Worcester convention, and ten days later were again assembled to carry them into effect. The action of this meeting was brief yet decisive. A committee of safety and correspondence was chosen and the militia was organized. The record of the meeting preserves the roll of honor.
Chose Samuel Nichols, Jonathan Samson, Deliverance Davis, Abijah Joslin and Jonathan Taylor a committee of correspond- ence.
Voted that the following persons be the officers of the militia of said town :
Abijah Joslin, captain. Deliverance Davis, lieutenant. Ebenezer Conant, Jr., ensign. Amos Dickerson, first sergeant. Jacob Harris, second sergeant. Oliver Stone, third sergeant.
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
Enos Jones, fourth sergeant.
Phinehas Wetherbee, first corporal.
Salmon Dutton, second corporal.
George Dana, third corporal.
Ezra Atherton, fourth corporal. Jolm Conn, clerk.
This meeting completes the official action of the town for the year and introduces the names of men who will be fre- quently and honorably mentioned in the following pages. Early in 1775, we find two companies of organized militia, of which Captains Jonathan Gates and Deliverance Davis were commanders, but no record is found of their election or of the resignation of Captain Joslin.
1775. At the annual March meeting this year, five select- men, consisting of John Kiblinger, Samuel Nichols, Captain Jonathan Gates, Oliver Stone and Amos Kendall, were chosen. Through the extended record of proceedings con- cerning the ordinary town affairs; the gleam of the Revolu- tion is revealed in a vote that Captain Jonathan Gates be instructed to procure thirty-six cartridge boxes for the use of the minute-men at the expense of the town. A former town meeting had been convened early in the month at which town officers were chosen and the usual routine busi- ness was transacted. At the second meeting all the proceed- ings of the first meeting were declared mill and void and new officers were chosen who continued in office through the year. The first meeting chose Samuel Wilder town clerk, but at the second meeting Jacob Willard was chosen to transcribe the public records. There is tradition that for a short time in the early stages of the Revolution, Rev. John Cushing, Samuel Wilder, Deacon John Willard, and possibly one or two others, were regarded with some measure of suspicion by the more ardent patriots. It is certain that about this
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REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.
time a company of men, mainly from other towns, waited upon these gentlemen for an expression of their views on public affairs. Whatever may have been the character or influence of this interview, there was no further question in regard to the political opinions of these men. Mr. Wilder was elected town clerk the following year, an office he held with no other interruption from 1769 to 1792, and all of these inen gave a cheerful support to every measure for the prosecution of the war. The population of the town was increased during the year 1775 by the arrival of the follow- ing men, most of whom had families: John Putnam, Nathaniel Adams, Peter Willard. Captain Joseph Wilder, Simeon Nutting, Timothy, David and Levi Chaplin, Asa Brocklebank and Jacob Wilker, the first of the name in town.
While this town voted throughout the year not to send a. representative to the provincial congress, it is apparent that there was no want of interest in the progress of public affairs outside of the township, since a committee of inspection was promptly chosen " to see that the resolves of the Continental Congress respecting trade be strictly adhered to." To this duty William Whitcomb. Jonathan Taylor, Jonathan Sam- son, George Dana and Samuel Cutting were assigned. Similar to the action of other towns in this vicinity, Ashburn- ham adopted early measures to secure and distribute among the families of the town a supply of salt before the channels of trade were closed and many commodities beyond their grasp. A few votes on this subject are transcribed from the records :
Voted to Purchis 300 Bushels of salt for a town stock and chose Messrs. Jonathan Taylor, Amos Kindall and Samuel Foster to bee a committee to percure the same. Allso said committee is to give security in behalf of said town for said salt. Said town
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
to alow Mr. Amos Kindall, 18 shillings for going down to pereure said salt.
Voted that the committee apply to the town Treasurer for money to Bair the charges of teems.
At a subsequent meeting :
Voted that the committee Imployed to git the Salt take the same under their Cair and sell to each man as they think his portion is for the space of six months from the first of July 1775, and no longer. N. B. After the time heir prefixed said com- mittee may sell the salt to any person or persons in town or out.
Having given some account of the proceedings at home, the principal events in the history of Ashburnham for the year 1775 remain as yet untold. The town, if remote from the early scenes of hostilities, bore an honorable part in the alarm at Lexington, the battle of Bunker Hill and the sub- sequent siege of Boston.
Thus far we have discovered some of the steps which mark the progress of public opinion. The evidence of a fimmer faith and a more resolute purpose, leading to the sterner scenes of the Revolutionary struggle is at ready command. And yet the alacrity with which the inhabitants of Ashburnham responded to the alarm of war at the first call of their country was the simple and natural outgrowth of the resolute preparation which had been made during the past two years.
The spring of 1775 was unusually forward ; the warm, sunny days of mid April had invited the husbandman to the labors of the field. But in the midst of a peaceful avocation, and attending this external appearance of security and com- posure, there was a strong undercurrent of suspense and anxiety. Neither the vernal sun nor the balmy air of spring could dissolve the portentous clouds which overhung the
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political horizon. And now at a season of the year most suggestive of tranquillity and gladness, all remaining doubt was suddenly removed and all anticipations of an honorable peace were dispelled. The harsh notes of war and carnage resounded over the dying hope of a peaceful settlement of the public grievances. With unfinished furrows and fields half sown, the patriot farmer reversing the prophecy lay down the pruning-hooks for spears and quickly beat the plough- shares into swords. The ominous intelligence that the British were marching from Boston towards Lexington swiftly borne on the wings of alarm was proclaimed in Ash- burnham in the afternoon of that historie day. To the signal guns came answering echoes from the surrounding hills, and before the reverberations quivering with alarm had faded in the distance, there came responsive shots from many homes. The town was quickly aroused. The patriots, arms in hand, were hurrying forward from every quarter of the town.
No intelligence of hostilities at this hour had been received. It was only known that the enemy were marching inward. The story of the slaughter of their brethren at Lexington and at Concord was then unknown, nor was it needed to call these men to arms. Under command of Captain Jonathan Gates, a company of thirty-eight men promptly responded to the call and marched that afternoon. Nor was this all. Through the following night the men from the remoter portions of the town responded to the alarm, and busy notes of preparation were constantly renewed. A second company of thirty-three men, under command of Captain Deliverance Davis, was organized. Early in the gray of the following morning they were on the march. The rolls preserve the names of those men, seventy-one in number, who responded thus to the alarm. Leaving homes and family with hasty
.
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
farewells, they hastened to the relief of their brethren, and some of them to the familiar scenes of their childhood and to the defence of the homes of their kindred.
The rapidity with which the alarm was spread over the country on the nineteenth of April, has excited surprise. It was not accidental, nor one of those hazard enterprises that sometimes apparently happen in a fortuitous manner. For weeks the committees of safety and correspondence had been preparing for just such an emergency; in many instances it had been arranged who should ride. and to whom deliver the message. At twilight many a vigilant patriot had carefully stabled and fed his fleetest horse, half in expectation that a summons to ride might come before the rising of another sun.
The public records of the town afford no information of the number or the names of these men who promptly responded to the alarm. If tradition was the only remain- ing source of information, the lists would remain uncertain and incomplete. The traditional statement that this town sent out one company which, on the receipt of intelligence that the affray was ended, returned home the same or the following day, has been quite generally accepted. Ashburn- ham soldiers in the Revolution did not acquit themselves in that manner. For once tradition shot beneath the mark, but has made ample amends in other fields of information. For- tunately, the muster rolls of these two companies are preserved in the State archives. If additional evidence is required it is not withheld. Among the papers of the late Deacon John C. Davis, a grandson of one of the com-' manders, is preserved a list of the men under the command of Captain Deliverance Davis. This list and the roll at the State House without exception are the same, and the per- sonal statements of a few of the men will appear in another
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connection. Both of the companies marched to Cambridge and there remained with the gathering army several days.
As previously stated, Captain Gates' company left Ash- burnham on the afternoon of the alarm. Upon the muster roll, under the head of " Time when marched," there appears opposite every name "April 19." This company continued an organization until May 1, when it was disbanded. A few had previously returned home ; a few came home when the company was disbanded and sixteen of them enlisted in Colonel Whitcomb's regiment and remained in the service until the close of the year. Captain Davis' company is credited with marching April 20. It was disbanded at Cambridge, April 30. Three from this company remained in the service. With the exception of three in Captain Davis' company and a few in Captain Gates' company, these men are credited with fifty-five miles' travel.
Cupt Jonathan Gates' Muster Roll in Col John Whitcomb's Regi- ment of Militia Men who marched from Ashburnham on ye Alarm April 19th 1775.
Jonathan Gates, Captain Amos Dickerson, Lieutenant Ezra Atherton, Lieutenant
George Dana, Sergeant Henry Gates
William Wilder, do
Samuel Joslin
Joseph Metcalf, do
Jonathan Warren Smith
Ebenezer Burgess, do
David Robinson
Daniel Hobart, Corp'l
Jacob Kiblinger
Peter Joslin, dc
Henry Hall
Francis Lane, do
Amos Kindall
Joseph Stone, Drummer
Henry Winchester
Amos Lawrence
Samuel Willard
Phinehas Weatherbee
Philip Lock
Moses Russell
Aaron Samson
Nathaniel Parker
Samuel Salter
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNIIAM.
John Gates
John Whitney
Jonathan Winchester
Joshua Holt
Daniel Edson
Ebenezer Wood
Joseph Wilder
Philip Winter
Nathaniel Harris
David Clark, Jr.
Peter Osgood
Capt. Deliverance Davis' Muster Roll in Col Asa Whitcomb's Regiment of Militia men who marched from Ashburnham on ye Alarm April 19th 1775.
Deliverance Davis, Captain Ebenezer Conant, Jr., Lieutenant Jolin Conn, 2ª Lieutenant
Oliver Stone, Sergeant
Nathan Melvin
John Adams, do
Nathaniel Hastings
Samuel Cutting, do
Samuel Mason
Shubuel Hobart, Corp"
Ephraim Wetherbee
Timothy Wood, do
David Clark
Oliver Whitcomb, do
Isaac Blodgett
Elijah Edson, Drummer
Joshua Hemenway
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Isaac Merriam
John Hall
Oliver Willard
John Kiblinger
Uriah IIolt
John Putnam
William Whiteomb
Jacob Willard
William Benjamin
Joshua Holden
Jacob Constantine
Jonathan Taylor
Caleb Ward
Enos Jones
Jonathan Taylor, Jr. Joseph Perry
Immediately following the affair at Lexington the Massa- chusetts committee of safety called out the militia. In an address to the several towns dated April 20, the committee urged them "to hasten and encourage by all possible means the enlistment of men for an army." "Our all," says the address, "is at stake. Death and devastation are the certain consequences of delay. Every moment is infi- nitely precious. An hour lost may deluge your country in
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REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.
blood and entail perpetual slavery upon the few who may survive the carnage." An answering spirit animated the inhabitants of this town and as will appear a considerable number joined the army gathered around Boston.
In response to this appeal and in full sympathy with the sentiment of the colony the enlistments from this town were neither tardy nor few in number. It is probable that some enlisted at this time of whom no record has been found. The rolls are imperfect and there is no reason to presume that the following lists contain the names of all from this town who were in the service either at this time or at subse- quent periods. The muster roll of the company of Captain David Wilder of Leominster in Colonel Whitcomb's regi- ment bears the names of sixty-eight men including officers. On one of the rolls of this company the residence of each man is stated. The following abstract contains only the Ashburnham men :
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