USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Dracut > History of Dracut, Massachusetts, called by the Indians Augumtoocooke and before incorporation, the wildernesse north of the Merrimac. First permanment settlement in 1669 and incorporated as a town in 1701 > Part 30
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In the record of marriages the residence was in several cases given, "Resident som Whather," or they were called "for- igner" or "Trancien person." Books with printed forms are now provided for these records giving name of child, date of birth, names of parents, etc., also records for marriages and deaths are for use of town clerks. The present law requires that old records shall be placed in fire proof vaults all shelves and inside doors must be metal and the records are not to be removed from the building. A Commissioner of Records is appointed to see that the letter is obeyed.
The opportunities for omission of record are rare, as a license for marriage and permit for burial must be issued and physicians and nurses must report births. A sum of money was bequeathed to the New England Historic Genealogical So-
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ciety by Robert Henry Eddy, and November 6, 1901, the society voted "That the sum of $20000 from the bequest of the late Robert Henry Eddy be set aside as a special fund to be called the Eddy Town Record Fund for the sole purpose of publish- ing the Vital Records of the towns of Massachusetts and that the Council be authorized and instructed to make such arrange- ments as may be necessary for such publication. And the treasurer is hereby instructed to honor such drafts as shall be authorized by the Council for this purpose." To aid in this good work the state has made an annual appropriation for the publication of the records. All early records are included, but none later than 1850 as all since that date are to be found at the registry at Cambridge. The act passed by the Legislature is as follows :
Chapter 470. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
In the Year One Thousand Nine Hundred and Two. AN ACT To provide for the Preservation of Town Records of Births, Marriages and Deaths Previous to the Year Eighteen Hundred and Fifty.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :
SECTION 1. Whenever the record of the births, marriages and deaths, previous to the year eighten hundred and fifty, of any town in this Commonwealth, shall be printed and verified in the manner required by the commissioner of public records and the board of free public library commissioners, acting jointly, and the work shall appear to them to have been pre- pared with accuracy, the secretary of the Commonwealth shall purebase five hundred copies of such record at a price not ex- ceeding one cent per page: provided, that the written copy of the town records shall become the property of the Common- wealth, and shall be deposited in the office of the secretary of the Commonwealth; and provided, further, that. not more than fiften thousand dollars shall be expended by authority of this act in any one year.
SECTION 2. The volumes purchased as aforesaid shall be distributed by the secretary as follows :- One copy to the office
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of the secretary of the Commonwealth; one copy to the com- missioner of public records; one copy to the free public library of each town and city of the Commonwealth; one copy to each state and territorial library in the United States; one copy to the library of Congress; one copy to each incorporated his- torical society in the Commonwealth; one copy to the library of each college in the Commonwealth; one copy to each registry of deeds, and one copy to the court of registration. The re- mainder shall be placed in the state library for purposes of exchange.
Approved June 11, 1902.
Notices were sent to the towns and cities of the fund de- scribed and they were given an opportunity to apply for the benefit of the same. It was the intention of the Society to make the publication of the records free of expense to the town, but later it was thought best for the towns to bear the expense of the manuscript copy. The trustees of the Public Library con- sidered it proper to make inquiries in relation to expense, etc., and bring the matter before the town. An appropriation was made by the town and the work completed. The instructions relating to it were, no ink or paper to be used except such as was approved and furnished by the state, no private records of any description to be used, town and Church Records and cemetery headstones only to be copied. The writer of the manu- script while preparing it in his own hand writing, must follow the exact copy as found. If the clerks of the earlier days inter- lined words, or wrote and then drew a pen through them, or gave the word a wrong spelling or improper use of capital let- ters, or made an ornamental letter these must all be reproduced. If he caused a blot to be made or touched the page with an inky finger or absentmindedly made any marks, all such must ap- pear in the manuscript which is deposited in the state archives while the printed copy corrects these errors. When ready, a verifier was sent from Boston and the work examined. It was then printed, bound and distributed without further cost to the town. Historical societies in some cases have furnished the funds in connection with the state with the provision that the print- ing, binding and general make up must all correspond with
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the other copies making their appearance uniform. The towns and cities that have prepared the records now number 145, and a copy of each may be found in the reference room at the town library building.
TRANSPORTATION AND VEHICLES
When the first settlers in the region now known as New England, explored the country, reports of such explorations do not include any reference to the use of horses and none were imported on the ships which followed the Mayflower. The In- dians had no highways, a few beaten paths were sufficient for their use as all journeys by land were made on foot and for their use on the rivers and ponds they were skilful in fashion- ing light, strong canoes of birch bark which covered a wooden frame. For them time was of no value and consequently speed was not a factor to be considered, so that long journeys, when necessary, held no element of care or dread for them. With no fixed habitation they were at home wherever a camping ground was found near a fishing place and where a hostile tribe could not surprise them. These early settlers needed no means of transportation as there were no settlements nearer than those of the Dutch in New York and the French in Canada. When Roger Williams was banished from the colony he walked through the woods to Rhode Island, sleeping at night in the forest without covering except what was afforded by the trees and rocks.
When the towns between this part of the Merrimack river and the sea were incorporated and horses introduced the means of communication were improved, but somewhat restricted. As horses could not be provided for every member of the family, a device called a pillion was attached to the saddle, which en- abled the man and wife to be carried by one horse, and prob- ably a small child could be held by the mother. To reach a seat on the pillion, a horse block was provided, from the top of this block it was easy to reach the seat. These blocks, when their use was discontinued, disappeared, but occasionally one may be found. Such a one may be seen at the present time, it being a solid rock forming a part of a ledge having on the side
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a step, cut with a chisel midway between the top and the ground. This is near the site of the Edward Coburn house, which stood on the stage road from Boston to Concord just over the state line in Pelham. The farm was later the Capt. Gilbert Coburn farm.
As the need for transportation of farm produce, lumber, etc., increased wheel vehicles came into general use, taking the place of saddle bags, which, as the name implies, were bags attached to the saddle, in which small articles could be con- veyed and, as may be seen in the article relating to colored people, little children were sometimes carried. The first wagons were heavy lumbering affairs, destitute of springs and with wheels revolving on a wooden axletree. The first improvement was the use of the thorough brace, used only on two-wheeled vehicles. Two frames consisting of a stout piece of wood bolted to the shafts and connected by a cross piece in each formed the frame of a cradle, the end of the frame on the shaft forming an acute angle with the shaft. From the cross piece of the frame in front to the one at the back stout leather straps ex- tended on which the body of the vehicle rested, the seat being directly over the axletree. Thus the body was slung as in a hammock, and to some extent the rider protected from the rough- ness of the road. These which had no top were road sulkys, called gigs, and used largely by physicians in their daily jour- neys, while those which had covers were the chaises of our an- cestors and were retained in use by doctors until the days of automobiles.
Occasionally a four-wheeled wagon could be seen with the body resting on thoroughbraces which were attached to a low frame instead of swinging in the air as was the case of the chaise. When wagon bodies were placed on steel springs, these springs could be adapted to the wagon body but not to the chaise, and so the thoroughbrace survived. Although many im- provements have been made and different styles of carriages produced, the principle of the steel spring still exists, not being superceded by anything better. The present century marks the decline of horse-drawn vehicles, those drawn by oxen have dis- appeared, and the automobiles and aeroplanes are fast sup- planting the methods of locomotion of our ancestors.
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THE JAY TREATY
The citizens of Dracut had taken an active part in the establishment of a republic as has been shown in previous chap- ters and, as was their right, they claimed and exercised this right by watching the acts of those in authority and were not afraid to remonstrate whenever anything was done which they considered prejudicial to the interests of good government. In 1793, the French Republic declared war against England and endeavored to persuade the United States to become an ally. As steps were taken by France to compel this new republic to engage in this war, the sympathy of France was forfeited and this government remained neutral. The course taken by Eng- land at this time was such as to involve us in a war on our own account. Besides violating treaties, her greatest offence was the impressment of seamen on American ships and obliging them to serve in the English navy, claiming that they were sub- jects of Great Britain. Wishing to avoid further war, Wash- ington sent John Jay as Envoy Extraordinary to England, to conclude a treaty by which a settlement of the difficulties might be made. This treaty was ratified by the Senate, but while sat- isfactory terms were made on some of the points in dispute, the article relating to the impressment of sailors remained un- changed. It was very unsatisfactory to Washington, but real- izing that it was impossible at the time to conclude a treaty on better terms he, after much hesitation, signed it.
In common with other towns throughout the country, Dra- cut held an indignation meeting, at which 160 of the citizens voted unanimously to protest against the treaty and a remon- strance was duly signed, setting forth their reasons for such action in forcible but respectful language. The concluding paragraph is: "We are unanimously of the opinion, 160 voters being present in the said meeting, that the said treaty ought never to become a law of the United States." Time has proved the wisdom of Washington's action, although at the time he was severely censured by those who preferred war. The towns- people did not carry their right to remonstrate to excess, but doubtless in common with others realized later the wisdom of the ratification of the treaty.
CHAPTER XX BIOGRAPHY AND GENEALOGY
T HE limits of a town history forbid an extended account of the families, but a brief sketch of those who were prominent in the early history of the town will be given. Of these a few descendants remain who bear the name of their ancestors, while in many cases the original name is extinct, but there are representatives of nearly all of the early families, although through marriage the names are changed. In the earlier centuries of the Christian era, surnames were unknown. Individuals were known by their occupation, their local sur- roundings, their personal appearance, and by their titles. Thus James the cooper became James Cooper, George by the lake was George Lake, Adam the short was Adam Short, and Edward the clerk was Edward Clark, as the name was then pronounced. In Arthur's "Dictionary of Names" we find that: "It is impossible to decide at what precise period names became stationary or began to descend hereditary. According to Camden, surnames began to be taken up in France about the time of the Conquest (1066), or a very little before, under King Edward the Confessor." Among the Scandinavians, and par- ticularly in the Swedish country, the son received the father's name, with "son" for a final syllable, as, John's son which became Johnson. Other pecularities will be noticed in the sketches of the families.
ABBOTT
The name is derived from the Syriac word abba, meaning father, and an abbot was the superior or head of a monastery. The first of this name to emigrate was George Abbott, who came to this country from Yorkshire about 1640, settling in Andover, where his descendants are prominent in business circles. The line of Solomon, who was the first in Dracut, is George1, Benjamin2, David3, Solomon4. He came from Andover in 1758, and purchased from John White 110 acres of land with build-
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ings, and a ferry and fishing rights formerly belonging to Robert Hildreth. The farm extended from the river to Tenth Street and from what is now Bridge Street to Beacon Street. He sold, in 1761, 57 acres with the ferry to Amos Bradley of Haverhill. His wife's name was Hannah Colby. One of his sons, David5, owned a farm on the river, including a group of islands below Hunt's Falls, called Abbotts Islands, but sold his property in 1804 and removed from town. Solomon, Jr.5, purchased a farm on the Mammoth Road, extending to Beaver Brook. Another son, Daniel Colby5, was a carpenter and purchased a farm on what is now Hildreth Street, which was formerly the stage road from Boston to Concord, N. H. It was purchased of the heirs of John Bowers and is north of Hovey Square. This was the well-known Abbot farm, and the original house consisted of only two rooms, to which Mr. Abbott made additions, the roof in the rear being longer than the one in front, leaving but one story on the back, but later it was changed to its present appearance. Land was purchased adjoining, also outlying pastures and woodland, and at his death his son, Daniel6 , came into possession of valuable property. Daniel C.5 held the office of town treasurer for twenty-one years and was Representative to the General Court. His son, Daniel6, born in 1804, was a farmer and held minor offices in the town. Others of the name were in town at an early date. One Daniel Abbott lived on a farm at the Navy Yard village which had formerly been owned by the minister, Rev. Nathan Davis, but sold the property in 1765. Dr. James Abbott lived at Collins- ville, opposite the tenements of the American Woolen Co. on the Mammoth Road. Five men of the name served in the Revolutionary army, from Dracut.
ANSART.
Marie Louis Amand Ansart de Marisquelle was a native of France, born in 1742. As a citizen of France his name was as given above, but voluntarily relinquishing a title and citizen- ship of that country he became simply Louis Ansart. His father was a marquis and the son was given an education at a military school. He gave his attention to the study of en-
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gineering instead of the duties of the field and camp. His special work was the casting of cannon, and in this department he was proficient. Soon after the American Colonies declared their independence, he, with many others, came to this country. Recognizing the need of the American Army for efficient artillery, he at once saw his opportunity, and offering his services to the State of Massachusetts, they were accepted. The offer of his services has been preserved and are interesting and explanatory.
"Prosposal of Monsieur De Marisquelle
Marie Louis Amand Ansant De Marisquelle an old Captain of Infantry having been brought up in the forges of France (his father and the Marquis of Montalembert, his relative, having furnished for many years all the Iron cannon in the service of the French King) proposes to the Honorable Council and House of Representatives to establish furnaces in the State of Massa- chusetts Bay upon account of government for the purpose of furnishing the state with all such Iron cannon as they may need. He has some particular methods of softening the Iron by a mixture of ores and minerals and also of casting the cannon solid and boring the same by which means they are rendered less massy and yet stronger than others cast with a cylinder which always occasioned many little holes or cavities in the pieces and which frequently occasioned the bursting. His father having observed how prejudicial those cavities were to the service of artillery, he in the year 1750 cast many solid cannon and find them superior to those cast with a cylinder, and at present no other but solid cannon are cast in the forges of France.
His father is the inventor of the machine which is used for boring said cannon and with it a 24 pounder can be bored, polished and the spruce cut off in twenty-four hours. If the state will furnish the lands, buildings, machines and every necessary material for the apparatus he will construct the furnaces and superintend and erect the buildings and every thing relating to the said foundry, which being ready and the mills prepared for boring, he will then furnish one cannon ready for service every twenty-four hours out of the common iron ore within this
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state, it being understood that he should have cast a few be- forehand to give them time to cool. The calibre or bore of the cannon will depend on the largeness of the furnaces. He will prove his cannon before commissioners appointed by the state. He will disclose at any time all his knowledge in the premises to any such persons as the state may order and to no others. And if he does not fulfil the whole promised on his part in these proposals (unavoidable casualities excepted) he agrees not only to forfeit all claims to anything by virtue of these presents but also to forfeit the sum of 1000 pounds to satisfy the damages the state may sustain through his failure in ful- fiilling his proposals as aforesaid. He expects from the state to receive $300 in hand to compensate the expenses he has been at removing from Europe to this state and also $1000 yearly from and after the date hereof to the end of the present war between Great Britain and the United States of America and after that time the sum of $666 & 2/3 dollars yearly during his life he doing and performing his part in all respects as aforesaid. He also expects the honor of a Colonels Commission to give him rank but without any command or pay in virtue of said commission. Dated Dec. 6, 1776."
These terms were accepted by the authorities of the State and he was appointed Inspector-General of foundries and Colonel of Artillery in the American army. His headquarters were at Boston, where he became acquainted with his future wife, Miss Elizabeth Wimble, daughter of William Wimble. Their mar- riage took place in 1778, but her death occurred soon after, and in 1781 he married her sister, Catherine, a miss of fifteen years of age, who became the mother of ten children. Although he had anticipated no active service, he applied for an opportunity to experience some active duty, and when the Rhode Island campaign was opened in 1778, he was sent by the Board of war to Gen. Sullivan with a letter in which he was recom- mended as one capable and efficient. He is described by the Board as one "Glowing with Ardor to signalize himself in the intended Expedition who comes to offer himself with Cheerful- ness to any service for which you may think him qualified." And they further stated, "that from long personal knowledge
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and acquaintance we have had with him we can recommend him as a brave and worthy man and flatter ourselves he will so acqnit himself as to deserve that Approbation from his General for which he is so eagerly panting." He served as an aid to Gen. Sullivan and was later sent to assist D'Estaing, who had command of the French fleet. In 1784, he selected Dracut as his home and removed here residing on what is now Varnum Avenue, near the Old Meadow Road. In 1793 he became a citizen of the United States as this country was later called. The people of France had followed the example of America and overthrown monarchy and established a republic, but the change had caused many of the wealthy citizens to become impovirished. On account of this the property owned by Colonel Ansart was of little value to him and as his pension was barely sufficient to support his large family, he was able to leave only a small amount for their support at his death which took place May 22, 1804, at the age of 62 years.
His love of display led him to purchase the first chaise ever seen in Dracut, and as he made his first entry into town after purchasing it, the neighbors ran to the windows to see the curiosity. He, while doubtless secretly pleased, cursed them for fools. The food to which the townspeople were accustomed was not acceptable to him, and he procured a French cook from Boston to supervise the cooking. When Lafayette visited this country in 1825, he came to Dracnt to see Col. Ansart, a fellow countryman and fellow soldier of the Revolution.
He is buried in the Woodbine Cemetery near Varnum Ave- nue, and on his tombstone it is recorded that "He arrived in this country in 1776 and by the Authorities of Massachusetts was immediately appointed a Colonel of Artillery and Inspector General of the Foundries in which capacity he served until the close of the war of the Revolution." His portrait has been placed in the Dracut Public Library.
His genealogical line is:
1. Michael Ansart.
2. Robert Ansart, who married Antoinette Perrin.
3. Jacques Francois Ansart, born June 24, 1684; died July 6, 1756 ; married Feb. 29, 1713, Petronille Gery de Marisquelle.
CYRUS RICHARDSON. D D.
(See Page 417)
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4. Robert Xavier Ansart, born Nov. 14, 1713; died Feb. 10, 1790, married Catherine Guillelmine, who was born Sept 18, 1713.
5. Marie Louis Amand Ansart de Marisquelle, born 1742; died May 22, 1804, married Elizabeth Wimble, and at her death he married her sister, Catherine, who was born in 1763, and died Jan 27, 1849. From a record in possession of the Lowell Historical Society, said to be in the handwriting of Dr. Amos Bradley, the names of Robert, born Sept. 23, 1782, and Lewis born Oct. 5, 1783 are found. The Dracut "Vital Records" record the names of those born in Dracut.
Julia, born June 19, 1785; died Oct. 12, 1869; married December 30, 1806, Bradley Varnum.
Elizabeth Wimble, born June 22, 1787; M. Nov. 15, 1804, Jonathan Hildreth.
Sophia, born July 23, 1784; married 1st, Peter Haseltine Jr. 2d, Dr. Nathan B. Spalding.
Hariot, born March 12, 1791; died Jan. 2, 1814; married, May 7, 1809, Samuel Wood.
Felix, born Jan 26, 1793.
Catherine, born Nov. 29, 1794; died Aug. 27, 1829; married, March 12, 1826; William Leighton.
Athis, born Dec. 21, 1796; Married Joanna
Abel, born Oct. 2, 1798; married Martha Brown.
BOWERS
The name is derived from bower a dwelling or shady recess. The first of the name in this country was George, who, in 1636, lived at Scituate and in 1656 was at Cambridge. Jerathmeel2 came to Chelmsford now Lowell, and located near Pawtucket Falls, where he is recorded as having a "still for strong water."
Johnathan3, born 1674; John4, born 1707, married Anna Crosby. John5, born 1737, married Rachel Varnum. His farm was on the east side of Hildreth Street, reaching from Pleasant Street to Tan House Brook, including the Abbott farm and other land near Hovey Square. John6, born Dec. 23, 1757; married in 1777 Abiah Goodhue, and lived at New Boston Vil- lage on the farm lately owned by Wm. Kendall. John4 and
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his father John5, were minute men and marched to Lexington on the memorable 19th of April, 1775. The death of John6 occurred while returning to his home at night after working for a neighbor. His path crossed a shallow brook west of the cemetery, over which a plank was laid, and his body was found lying in the water. It is thought that he was attacked with giddiness and, being unable to rise from the water, was drowned. Peter7 and Thomas7 lived on Hampson Street, opposite Kinsella Street, and their brother, James7 lived at the corner of Lake- view Avenue and New Boston road, the farm now owned by H. Jesse Coburn. Five of this name are on the Roll of Honor of Revolutionary soldiers.
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