USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Athol > History of Athol, Massachusetts > Part 8
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"5-RESOLVED that the right lately assumed by the Parlia- ment of Great Britain over this province, wherein they claim a disposal of our lives and property and to alter and disannul our charter, without our consent is a grave and high handed claim of arbitrary power.
"6-RESOLVED that as Parliament have not only adopted the aforementioned principles, but have actually put them into practice, by taxing the Americans and most cruelly blocking up the harbor of Boston in order to force this province to a submission to such power and have further proceeded to pass several acts to change our free Constitution in such manner which if effected, will render our lives and property wholly insecure; therefore
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HISTORY OF ATHOL
"7-RESOLVED that it is the indisputable duty of every American and more especially of this province, to unite in every virtuous opposition that can be devised in order to save ourselves and posterity from inevitable ruin, and in the first place we greatly approve of the agreement entered and entering into through this and the neigh- boring provinces, for the non-consumption of British goods: this we apprehend will have a tendency to con- vince our brethren in Britain that more is to be gained in the way of justice from our friendship and affection than by extortion and arbitrary power.
"We apprehend that the balance of our trade with Britain has been greatly in their favor, that we can do much better without it than they can, and that the inner case of such trade heretofore was greatly occasioned by the regard and affection borne by the Americans to their brethren in Britain, such an agreement if strictly adhered to will greatly prevent extravagance, save our money, encourage our own manufactures, and reform our manners."
An eighth resolve passed on at Worcester but omitted from our town records recommended that each town in the Province adopt measures of protest.
The Legislature having fled from Boston held its session in Salem and advised the various towns to prepare for any emer- gency. They especially suggested that a company of Minute Men should be formed in each town, armed and equipped, ready to resist any further acts of repression. Complying with this on September 29, 1774 our town voted to enlist, train, and equip thirty Minute Men. Ichabod Dexter was Captain of this Company and Thomas Lord was "Clark." The Company's muster roll has been preserved in the Lord family. From its membership the group of men were made up who marched to the seaboard on the so-called Lexington Alarm.
Known to every American is the famous ride of Paul Revere, the Boston silversmith, on the eighteenth of April in '75. In frenzied haste through that dark night he rode to our little villages north of Boston to warn that the British soldiers were bent on destroying the military stores at Concord.
We have no recorded information of just when or how the "Lexington Alarm" reached Athol. It was in Worcester and Fitchburg about noon on April 19, 1775, but Greenfield held a town meeting that afternoon and adjourned without any re- corded notice of the momentous news so it evidently had not reached that far. When the news came we do know that an alarm gun was fired and soon a motley crew of Minute Men were headed eastward, commanded by Capt. Ichabod Dexter. A local tradition is that it was not until they entered Middlesex
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AMERICAN REVOLUTION
County that they learned of the retreat of the British to Boston, but they pressed on and ere long were in that disorganized throng assembled at Cambridge. After a few days order was brought out of the chaos; some of the men returned to their farms, while others formally enlisted in a new company organ- ized by Capt. Dexter.
From that April day in 1775 until the Colonial Army was disbanded at the close of the war, men of Athol were constantly in the service, yet the ardor of New England in the prosecution of the war seems to have cooled after the evacuation of Boston on March 17, 1776 and the return of Arnold's unsuccessful army. Except for a comparatively small British occupation in Rhode Island, New England was free of the British forces, a feat accomplished largely by the valor of New England men. Now let New York, the Jerseys, and Pennsylvania do likewise and all would be well. To be sure our families were assisting in maintaining the army by furnishing beef and clothing to- gether with an occasional recruit, but their big job was done and they were comparatively secure. Thus exists a great dearth of records of enlistments through 1776 and the early months of 1777.
Around New York the Colonial Army met repeated defeats. The short enlistment terms of the soldiers expired and they returned to their New England homes leaving Washington with his dwindling army in a condition where they could not hope successfully to face the British in open conflict. Slowly they were obliged to withdraw before the on-sweeping horde of English troops and Hessian mercenaries, from Long Island to New York, to Harlem Heights, to White Plains, to North Castle, to Newark, to Princeton, and finally on December eighth with scarcely three thousand men remaining in his army, Wesh- ington withdrew his forces to the west bank of the Delaware River where he rested in comparative security. Congress failed to provide properly for even this small army and it was a dis- heartened lot of soldiers camped in the heart of "The Jerseys" that Christmas Day of 1776.
Blazoned across the pages of history is that successful as . sault on the British Army encamped across the river on the Trenton side of the Delaware. None but hardy New England fishermen could have guided the small boats in that driving snow storm again and again across a river running with float- ing ice, but it is recorded that the transfer was made without serious mishap. This was indeed "a glorious day for our country." Though woefully incomplete our records show that
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HISTORY OF ATHOL
at least one Athol man, Luther Seaver, was with Washington's Army at that time. The town of Templeton and we share honors in his service record.
Suddenly a great fear spread over New England. August, 1777 alarm guns were fired in Athol and all the cit- izens assembled to be told that Burgoyne who had gone to England after the triumph in Quebec Province was to return with a new army, to land perhaps at Montreal and sweep south- ward some said to descend the Connecticut Valley to tide water. Others asserted that the plan was to lead his army through the Lake Champlain area to Albany, there to be joined by Howe who would sail up the Hudson from New York. Barry St. Leger with a mixed army of English and Indians would come eastward along the Mohawk Valley thus cutting New England off from land communication with her sister states and sub- duing her.
Then came the greatest uprising America has ever known. The action of Athol is outstanding if not typical of the ex- citement of the times. With a total population, men, women, and children of less than 800 souls as best can be estimated, this town started three companies to the front. First to hasten to New York State border was Capt. Stockwell's Company, the successor of Capt. Dexter's Minute Men, soon to be followed by Capt. Oliver's Company originally planned for service in the Jerseys but diverted in the emergency, and last went Capt. Thomas Lord's Company.
Reaching Williamstown Capt. Lord learned of the Army's success at Bennington and thereupon offered his men the op- tion of joining one of the other companies or returning home. A few accepted the discharge but most of them pressed on and served through the Saratoga Campaign which proved to be the turning point of the war. Following this success some continued on to the southward while others came with Bur- goyne's defeated army as prisoners of war, conducting the main army to the Rutland Barracks and the officers to Cam- bridge.
Jonathan Kendall, one of the Chestnut Hill settlers, had joined Capt. Oliver's Company in September, 1777. Return- ing home after seeing the proud British General lay down his arms in Saratoga, he came through the woods west of his house to find his wife just finishing the harvesting. He was so bedraggled and unkempt that his daughter who espied him first fled to the house thinking him an Indian.
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AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Taken from the Reports, various actions by the town dur- ing the war show the changes taking place in our form of government, and our ecomonic life.
March 6. 1775 - Athol holds its last town meeting called "'in His Majestie's name."
June, 1775 - The old militia company was disbanded and a new company of 25 men formed. Before the war Athol's militia had been reorganized by Capt. John Haven of Chestnut Hill. Apparently his military title was acquired in Framing- ham as we have no record of any service here which would previously have entitled him to it.
July, 1776 - Tradition says that when the Declaration of Independence was received in Athol that the people assembled at the meeting house and from the steps that immortal docu- mnt was read to them paragraph by paragraph.
September 25, 1776 - Athol approved the writing of a State Constitution to be submitted to the towns for approval before it became operative.
April, 1777 - The town voted a bounty of twenty-four pounds for all enlistments for three years in the Continental Army. On June 9th six pounds were added to this offer.
Salt seems to have become scarce because of the war and a committee was chosen to ration the town's allotment which was brought from Boston at an expense of £15.6.6.
Presumably the authorities at Boston asked in 1777 for a statement of the services rendered and pay received (or agreed upon) for the men in the differnt towns for we find many of them making such a statement. Some of the towns listed the men who had served and thus provided several names not found on the State Records but Athol seems to have made simply a financial schedule of pay which I give below:
At a Town Meeting held October 9, 1777 "Chose Joseph Cummings, George Kelton, Nathaniel Babbitt, Wm. Oliver, Jr., Robert Oliver, James Goddard a committee to estimate service done by the soldiers."
ATHOL IN THE STATE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY
The men for the war years 1775, 1776, 1777
£ S.
d.
The Minute Men to Cambridg
0
6
0
The 8 mos. to Cambridg -- per month
0
6
0
The 6 weeks to Roxbury-per month
0
4
0
The 2 months to Dorchester-per month
0
6
0
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HISTORY OF ATHOL
The 12 months to Dorchester-per month 0
10
The 7 months to Nantastic-per month
0
2 0
The 5 months to York-per month
0
18 0
The 4 months to Ticondergora-per month
1
6
0
The 4 months to Dorchister-per month
0
4
0
The 2 months to terreton-per month
1
0
0
The 2 months to Road island-per month
0
8
0
The 6 weeks men to Bennington-per month
1
0
0
The allarum men to Williamton-8 days 0
6
0
The 3 months men to Salletogue-per month 0
15
0
The men to fort Edward-4 weeks 0
18
0
December 2, 1777 - Raised 1128 pounds, 16 shillings to pay the extraordinary charges of the war.
January 22, 1778 - Voted to accept the articles of Confed- eration and Perpetual Union between the several states of America, as drawn up by the Congress and make reports to the General Court thereof. On the question of granting money to pay the town's proportion of a loan ordered by the General Court, voted to dismiss.
April 9, 1778 - To take into consideration a new plan or form of government for this state as agreed upon by the con- vention for said State on February 28, 1778. To accept or not to accept of the same, or otherwise to act thereon as they shall then think proper. One hundred and one voters voted not to accept the new plan of government as first presented to the town. Chose John Haven, Aaron Smith, Wr. Bigelow, Daniel Lamson, Josiah Goddard, Hiram Newhall, Ephrium Stockwell, James Oliver, James Stratton, a committee to take into consideration and point out what amendment they think proper on said form of government and report to the town. .
To consider the circumstances of the Continental soldiers that belonged to or went for this town, and are engaged in the Continental service for the term of three years, and to grant them such relief as they shall think proper for the sup- port of them and their families. Chose John Haven, Aaron Smith, Jesse Kendall, a committee to supply the Continental soldiers with the necessaries of life according to the act of Court.
March 22, 1779 - Voted to direct the assessors not to rate those men nor their estates that have gone into the Continental Army for three years.
May 17, 1779 - Voted to allow to Capt. Lord three pound eight pence for hiring men to go into the war, and the same amount to Capt. Oliver and 1 pound four pence to Caleb Smith for the same service.
96
1 0
0
The 3 months to the Jarseys-per month
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
June 24. 1779 - We find a suspicion of resistance to con- stituted authority when it was "voted that the town will bear their part of the fine that shall be laid on the officers, if any, for the neglect of not drafting the men being desired by the. town to bear for the present." "Put to vote to see whether the town will comply with the terms that these men offer to go: for - passed in the negative."
And at this same meeting although several large appropria- tions for soldiers' pay and bounty were voted down yet at the close of the meeting it was "voted that the Selectmen borrow. money if any be wanted and pay the soldiers."
July 12, 1779 - Voted to raise 4500 pounds to pay the debts of the town.
At the outbreak of the Revolution when the Colony refused: to submit longer to British domination, it continued the Legis- lature much as in former days, but it was without any basic law. The Legislature sought to supply this but when its rec- ommendations were submitted to the people, the proposed Constitution was emphatically rejected.
Early in 1779, after four years of war, the voters of the towns were asked to authorize the calling of a convention in Cambridge to propose another Constitution. This being au- thorized, the Legislature in June of that year called for the election of delegates, each town to have as many delegates as it was entitled to send as representatives.
Athol, having more than one hundred families, was entitled to two and Petersham to three. Though Athol's Town Clerk failed to make a record of our choice, the Journal of the Con- vention reveals that this town sent to that body Capt. Ephraim Stockwell and Esq. Josiah Goddard. For seven days, beginning September 1, 1779, they met with the other delegates, chose James Bowdoin (afterwards Governor) as President, appointed committees on various topics to be considered, and adjourned until October 28. In all, this Massachusetts Constitutional Convention held six sessions of about 7 days each, finally dis -- solving on Friday, June 16, 1780. Athol allowed the accounts .. of her delegates, Capt. Stockwell receiving £289 and Esq. Goddard £286.
The doings of this body were accepted by the voters and al- though many times amended are today the basic law of this Commonwealth.
Accustomed as we are today to election by ballot, volum- inous in size, and requiring a good amount of concentration in
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HISTORY OF ATHOL
putting the X in the right place, it is interesting to note in these early days of the Constitutional Conventions that voting procedure was by casting the vote into a hat. Hence the Mod- erator "held the hat," or "turned the hat" when voting ceased.
Meagre war records preclude listing the various calls and the names of the men who responded in each case. Although the military service of all of our 224 known soldiers in this war is readily available to the historical student without rep- etition here, yet I am recording for reference in Appendix 7 a few personal and military excerpts from the history of each Athol man.
Unfortunately, the last Revolutionary soldier returned home only to face most trying conditions here because of war debts and depreciated currency, reaching a climax in Shay's Rebel- lion.
98
CHAPTER IX SHAYS' REBELLION
THAT financial matters during the latter part of the Ameri- can Revolution and the years immediately following the war were in chaos is only too true. I fear the written page, how- ever, fails to emphasize the extreme distress of most of our citizens at that time.
Hard money has disappeared from circulation and the Con- tinental Currency issued by a weak Federation of States was so worthless it became a by-word which came down to us, anything of less than doubtful value being entitled to the rating "not worth a Continental." In this distressing condition of affairs creditors attempted to enforce payments and tax gatherers to collect "rates," in many cases finding absolutely no buyers at distress sales.
Imprisonment for debt was the law of the land and many a worthy citizen languished in the common gaol guilty of no other crime than that he could not obtain acceptable cur- rency to pay obligations he would gladly meet if able to do so. At the height of this chaotic condition of the total one hundred and four prisoners in Worcester Jail, ninety-four were charged with no other crime except owing debts they would gladly pay did economic conditions permit.
Irked beyond endurance by these conditions and harking back to a decade or more before when Minute Men were drilling on every Village Green, the good people of these towns organized themselves into companies of "Regulators." Bent on no insurgency except the necessity of self protection they asked that the administration of harsh debtor laws be suspended for a time.
In the town of Pelham at that time was residing one Daniel Shays, a native of Hopkinton and the son of an Irish emigrant. This Daniel had served as a Captain in the Revolution and now became the leader of the band of Regulators in Pelham. As resentment grew against the Courts and their attaches, the lawyers and sheriffs, he left the command of his home company to another and went abroad organizing and drilling various Regulator groups. I do not know that he came to Athol at that time, but as his son, Seth, eventually married Hannah Foster, niece of John Foster a blacksmith who lived
99
HISTORY OF ATHOL
here from 1774 to 1791 and was Town Clerk for five years, I assume he had an early acquaintance with our town.
Daniel Shays eventually became the leader of a sizeable "'army" which forcibly suspended Court procedure in Worces- ter, Northampton, and Springfield. Although we have no record of any such organization in our town yet there are numerous allusions to our displeasure with existing conditions.
When the Court of General Sessions convened at Worcester in June, 1786 the first business undertaken was the petition of the Selectmen of Athol that no debtor cases be heard until the then present emergency was passed. The stern justices, however, could not bring themselves to deviate from estab- lished procedure and continued as formerly. Perhaps the Court looked beyond the petition to the authority behind it for on September 4, 1786 the voters of Athol were assembled in town meeting under call of the Selectmen. This time our town fathers were clothed with the authority of all the people here for it was "voted to petition the Court of Common Pleas to suspend all civil actions except where the parties are agreed to have trial where it appears to the Court that the creditor is in immediate danger of losing his property."
We do not know whether this petition was ever filed for when the Courts attempted to convene as per statute in September, 1786 they were confronted with an army of several hundred Regulators and forcibly prevented from transacting any business.
For some five months Shays was in practical command of all western Massachusetts, but at length a group of Boston financiers (a sympathetic legislature having declined to grant funds) financed General Benjamin Lincoln in a campaign to suppress this uprising. After routing the Regulators at Spring- field Arsenal he pursued them by easy stages into the hills of Hampshire County at Pelham, and then in a burst of speed followed them in a blinding snow storm to Petersham where they camped in fancied security on Saturday, February 2, 1787. But hardly had these patriots prepared their breakfast in the clear biting cold of February 3, 1787 when Gen. Lincoln appeared over the western horizon at the head of his company of militia.
Shays and his men rushed northward, made a last feeble stand near the Davenport place at Athol line, and then fled in utter rout through Athol, West Royalston, and North Orange to comparative security in the Ashuelot Valley.
100
SHAYSREBELLION
In the various counties such of the insurgents as were cap- tured were dealt with in different ways, but by common con- sent all had put themselves outside the law and were accord- ingly disfranchised. Eventually their citizenship was restored to such as took a new oath of allegiance. These oaths are on file in the State Archives, or at least some are, and from these we get the names of many of the active insurgents. On this list I find eleven from Royalston, fourteen from Phillipston, thirteen from Orange, thirty from Petersham, and some seventy-five from New Salem. Curiously only one is listed from Athol, while there are twenty names of our citizens who went out under General Lincoln to suppress the disturbance. My explanation of the lack of more Athol names is that prob- ably the list was lost in transit or some other manner, for | cannot believe that our people differed in sentiments, or courage, as markedly as this would indicate.
I have told of four Athol men who were Captains in the Revolution: Captains Ichabod Dexter, Thomas Lord, John Oliver, and Ephraim Stockwell. Of these I find that Capt. Dexter, then a resident of Hardwick, was an active Regulator; that Capt. Oliver was the only Athol man to be recorded as taking the new oath of allegiance; that Capt. Stockwell, then a resident of Phillipston, appears to have no connection with the unfortunate affair; while Capt. Lord was one of the twenty Athol men who served under General Lincoln in putting down the rebellion.
Men of Athol appear to have served in two different com- panies during this tour of duty. Those serving in Capt. Park Holland's (Petersham) Company were Thomas Lord, Asa Smith, Joshua Morton, Abner Graves, Caleb Smith, William Bigelow, Lieut. Aaron Smith, and Sgt. Benjamin Fairbanks. Those who served in Captain Joseph Wilder's (Winchendon) Company were Sgt. Abner Baker, Daniel Warren, Silas Kendall, Joseph Wood, Joel Smith, Dexter Thompson, Jonas Woodward, George Talbot, Solomon Goodell, Moses Walker, and William Goss.
After these soldiers, pursued and pursuers, returned to their homes there appears to have been more than two decades of peace within and without our borders.
101
CHAPTER X STRIFE IN THE CHURCH The Church of Christ in Athol
ITT would seem that with a great war raging, peace in the church would be assured, but on the contrary, during the most trying days of the Revolution an agitation arose for the dismissal of Athol's once beloved minister, Rev. Mr. James Humphrey, the first pastor of Pequoig. This was no placid affair. For when Rev. Humphrey was ultimately dismissed after five years of controversy on February 13, 1782, it all but tore the township assunder.
Failure of the town to pay him his salary long years overdue had offended many, and a distressing financial panic added to the unrest. Again and again it was proposed to dismember the community. Finally, Mr. Humphrey with singleness of purpose and an earnest desire for peace in the church gave his terms: that his estate in the town be exempt from all tax- ation, that the pew in which his family always sat be granted to him, his heirs, and assigns for permanent use, and thirdly, that "what of my salary for years past that is still due, be paid me in good merchantable rye at four shillings per bushel, flax at eight pence per pound, etc., etc., or in silver money equal thereto at the time of payment Laid before the town, these proposals were accepted.
Morality or orthodoxy had not been distrubing factors. It was Rev. Humphrey's ability as a preacher which suffered severe arraignment. Yet he was not without friends and a considerable group of them helped organize a church in South Warwick, now North Orange, and the next year seceded from Athol to join the new District of Orange. It is well authenti- cated historical fact that the animosities growing out of the dismissal of Rev. Humphrey were responsible not only for organizing this church but also for the establishing of the District of Orange as a separate municipality, described more fully in a following chapter.
With Rev. Humphrey went Ephraim Smith and wife, John Ford and wife, Jonathan Ward and wife, Nehemiah Ward and wife, the wife of David Goddard, the wife of Ephraim Cady, and Hepzibah, wife of Jonathan Woodward.
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STRIFE IN THE CHURCH
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