USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Hardwick > History of Hardwick, Massachusetts, with a genealogical register > Part 17
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1 Mass. Special Laws, ii. 327-331.
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HISTORY OF HARDWICK.
ascertained that this is the most direct route from Boston to Albany, and will embrace the travelling from the western country and the most flourishing settlements on Connecticut River, within the States of Massachusetts and Vermont. From the best information, the proprietors of the turnpike from North- ampton, with which this is to be immediately connected, have already realized from seven to nine per cent for their capital, and their income is rapidly increasing. From the difference in the face of the country, the proposed turnpike will be made with much less expense than the other, and the income of course proportionably greater. The expense has been estimated by a committee appointed for that purpose at twenty-five thousand five hundred and thirty dollars,1 which sum is divided into ten hundred and twenty-one shares, at twenty-five dollars each. The first assessment is five dollars, which sum is to be paid on the delivery of the Certificate, and the future assessments made known by advertisements in the public papers. It is contem- plated by the proprietors to engage in the business early in the ensuing spring, and if sufficient encouragement can be obtained to have the road completed in the course of the next season. Many wealthy and respectable inhabitants of the country are now earnestly engaged in the object, and solicit the co-operation of the commercial citizens of Boston, whose interest is so pe- culiarly concerned, and upon whose assistance the accomplish- ment of the work will perhaps ultimately depend. The shares are now offered for sale, and any person inclining to become interested in an enterprise which affords a fair prospect of private advantage and of great public utility may receive more particular information, and have an opportunity of purchasing until the 10th day of February next (at which time the sales will be closed), by applying to the following persons, viz .: Mr. John Marston, N. Patch, Boston ; Nathaniel Paine, Esq., Worcester ; Ebenezer Hunt, Esq., Northampton ; John Dodds, Esq., or Mr. Lemuel Davis, Holden ; Moses White, Esq., or Francis Blake, Esq., Rutland; Doctor Spencer Field, Oakham; Jonathan Warner, Esq., Hardwick ; Thomas Powers, Esq., Greenwich ; Major John Conkey, Pelham. Signed by order of the Corpora- tion. JONATHAN WARNER, President." 2
1 As generally happens in similar cases, in one summer ; and cost about thirty- the expense far exceeded the estimate. three thousand dollars." Reed's Hist. of Rutland, p. 44. The " Road was forty-three miles and one hundred and twelve rods long ; was made 2 Mass. Spy, January 1, 1800.
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CIVIL HISTORY.
The corporators and stockholders were disappointed in their hope of individual profit. The construction of the road involved an expense of about eight thousand dollars beyond the estimate, the payment of which absorbed all or nearly all the net income. By a statement signed "Jonas Reed, late Proprietors' Clerk," it appears that " the road being made and accepted, the Corporation for a little time took considerable toll ; but it was appropriated to the payment of outstanding debts. The proprietors were under the necessity of taking their own money to pay themselves. New roads were made, toll evaded, and the shares had the same destiny as the old Continental money. The Corporation relin- quished its Franchise, and on August 11, 1828, held its last meet- ing. The turnpike became a County road or common High- way."1 But though the proprietors thus suffered loss, the towns through which the turnpike passed were doubtless benefited by its construction. It became a more direct and practicable thoroughfare, and the tide of travel was attracted to it, with the usual profitable results. In Hardwick, the turnpike followed substantially the county road from the Old Furnace to Green- wich village, except between the Common and the house of Mr. John W. Paige (marked "J. Gorham " on the R. map). The old road from the southwesterly corner of the Common ran westerly up the steep hill 2 until it intersected the present road to Ware, and then more northerly to its junction with the turn- pike. Both ends of this old road, which was discontinued in 1808, remain visible to the present day, and its whole course may be traced with little difficulty.3 By the construction of the turnpike, the distance was shortened and the ascent of the hill rendered more easy.
About half a century later, May 24, 1851, a charter was granted to Charles A. Stevens, Jason Gorham, William Mixter, and their associates, to construct the Ware River Railroad from
1 Reed's Hist. of Rutland, pp. 44, 45.
2 From a point near the middle of this steep ascent, a road diverged at right angles, and passed southerly towards Gilbertville to its junction with the pres- ent road (which was laid out in 1808 as a county road), about a hundred rods north of the house of Mr. Forester B. Aiken.
3 The northerly section of this old road was probably the westerly boundary of the " ten acres " which was granted by
the proprietors, February 21, 1732-3, " to set a meeting house on, and for a burial place, and a training field." For this lot another was afterwards substituted, and half an acre in the northwest corner of the original " ten acres" was granted, March 10, 1761, to " those people called the Separate Society in Hardwick," who erected a meeting house thereon and oc- cupied it a few years.
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HISTORY OF HARDWICK.
Palmer to the line of New Hampshire, to be constructed within two years.1 Additional time for its construction was repeatedly granted by the General Court, but in vain. At length a new charter was granted, March 16, 1867, to George H. Gilbert, Wil- liam Mixter, Orrin Sage, Charles A. Stevens, George S. Hill, and their associates, authorizing them, for the purpose of construction, to divide the road into four sections, viz .: 1. From Palmer to Gilbertville ; 2. From Gilbertville to Barre; 3. From Barre to Templeton ; and 4. From Templeton to the New Hampshire line ; and also to " receive subscriptions for the building of each of said sections separately." 2 The time limited for its construc- tion having expired, the charter was revived by the General Court, April 1, 1869, and the corporators were authorized, May 22, 1869, to mortgage the road to secure the payment of bonds to be issued to defray the expense of construction.3 By an act passed March 15, 1870, the several towns through which this road was to pass were authorized to subscribe for stock, not ex- ceeding in amount five per cent. of the assessed valuation of each town, by a majority of two thirds of the voters voting thereon by ballot.4 Accordingly, at a town-meeting, June 27, 1870, it was voted, " That the town of Hardwick subscribe for thirty thousand dollars of the capital stock of the Ware River Railroad Com- pany, under and pursuant to the authority given by an Act of the Legislature of Massachusetts, at the late session thereof ; such amount to be applied to the construction of the second section of the said Ware River Railroad, from Gilbertville to Barre." On this question, the votes were, Yeas, 113; Nays, 43. The road was soon afterwards constructed and put in operation.5 It proved unprofitable, however, to the proprietors, and the bondholders foreclosed the mortgage, and sold the property for a sum not ex- ceeding the amount of the bonds. The General Court had al- ready, April 21, 1873, authorized the purchasers at this sale to organize a new company under the old name, and to issue new bonds secured by mortgage.6 The new company was duly or- ganized, and it is understood that the property yields a satisfac- tory income to the present stockholders. To the original sub- scribers, towns as well as individuals, the amount invested was entirely lost ; nevertheless, to the towns and to many individuals
1 Mass. Special Laws, ix. 408.
2 Ibid., xii. 202.
3 Ibid., xii. 763.
4 Ibid., xii. 907.
5 Cars commenced running to Gilbert- ville in 1870 ; to Barre about 1872.
6 Mass. Special Laws, xiii. 582.
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CIVIL HISTORY.
the loss was fully balanced by the incidental benefit derived from the construction of the road. Both the agricultural and manu- facturing interests of the town were promoted by the increased facilities of transportation ; and the town was enriched rather than impoverished by the expenditure.
In the year 1870 the railroad fever raged violently in Hard- wick. Not content with one road, involving an expense of thirty thousand dollars, the town pledged its credit for almost as large a sum, to aid in the construction of another, which promised even greater advantages, and which, if it shall ever be completed, will probably redeem this promise, substantially, in spite of its failure to perform the stipulated conditions. On the 10th day of May, 1870, the General Court incorporated Edward Denny and others (among whom was Constant Southworth of Hardwick), as the " Massachusetts Central Railroad Company," and authorized them to "locate, construct, maintain, and operate a railroad, with one or more tracks, commencing at some convenient point in the town of Williamsburg, thence running by the most convenient route through the towns of Northampton, Easthampton, West- hampton, Hatfield, Hadley, South Hadley, Amherst, Granby, Ludlow, Belchertown, Enfield, Greenwich, Ware, Palmer, West Brookfield, New Braintree, Hardwick, Dana, Petersham, Barre, Phillipston, Oakham, Hubbardston, Rutland, Princeton, Holden, Sterling, Boylston, West Boylston, Clinton, Lancaster, Northbor- ough, Berlin, Bolton, Hudson, Stow, and Marlborough, or any of them, to Mill Village, thence over the line of the Wayland and Sudbury Branch Railroad Company, incorporated in the year 1868, to its terminus near the Stony Brook Station on the Fitch- burg Railroad," with authority to become consolidated with the said Wayland and Sudbury Railroad and the Williamsburg and North Adams Railroad, and to use the tracks of intersecting rail- roads." 1 An inspection of the map will show that as far as to the easterly line of the county of Worcester, this roving commis- sion embraced almost the entire territory between the Fitchburg and the Boston and Albany railroads ; and, at one time or an- other, a large portion of it has been surveyed, and selected as " the most convenient route." Hardwick had its full share of these surveys, selections, and changes. After many ineffectual attempts had been made to find a feasible route across or near the Common, it was determined to follow the valley of Ware River,
1 Mass. Special Laws, xii. 736.
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HISTORY OF HARDWICK.
either upon or parallel with the Ware River Railroad, from the northeast corner of the town to a point near Gilbertville, and thence to sweep around westerly and northerly almost or quite to Southworth's Mills in the northwest part of the town, near Green- wich. Upon the westerly portion of this route large sums of money were expended, in deep excavations of rocky hills, high embankments across valleys, and abutments for bridges, which may hereafter be a study for antiquaries ; but the work was at length abandoned, to the grievous disappointment of Mr. South- worth and others who had actively labored in behalf of the road, and a new route was adopted, extending down the River Valley to Ware Village, thus entirely avoiding the highlands in Hard- wick. Whether this will be the permanent location of the road, and how soon the proposed work may be completed, are problems yet unsolved.
By the act of incorporation, the several towns on the line of the railroad were authorized to subscribe for its stock, to an amount not exceeding five per cent. of their respective taxable valuation. Encouraged by the hope that the several portions of the town would be benefited by accessible stations, at a town-meeting held November 8, 1870, it was " voted by one hundred and thirty-four (134) yes, to ninety (90) no, by ballot, that the Treasurer of the town of Hardwick be and he is hereby authorized and directed to subscribe immediately, in the name of the town of Hardwick for two hundred and eighty-one shares of one hundred dollars each, of the capital stock of the Massachusetts Central Railroad Company, agreeably to the terms of their charter, being 260 of the Acts of 1869. Provided, that this subscription be made upon the follow- ing conditions, to wit : that the said Road shall be located, and a contract be made with responsible parties to construct the Railroad of said Company from Northampton, through and by the way of Greenwich and Hardwick, north of the Dugal 1 Hill, so as to make a continuous line to Stony Brook Station on the Fitchburg Railroad ; and further provided, that the town shall not be liable to any amount till not less than three millions of dollars, including this subscription, shall have been made to the capital stock of said company. And provided further, that a depot for freight and pas- sengers be established in the vicinity of the Old Furnace, Hard- wick, and another in the most convenient locality between Gil- bertville and the centre of Hardwick. And provided further, that this subscription shall not be valid, unless the whole capital stock
1 Or " McDougal," or " Bugle."
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CIVIL HISTORY.
of three million dollars be subscribed by responsible parties within six months from the first day of January next." It is questionable whether any of these conditions have ever been ful- filled by the Railroad Company. It is certain that some of them have not been fulfilled, and have become impossible of perform- ance, unless the strange doctrine be held, that a location of the road north of Bugle Hill, and the stating of a place for a depot between Gilbertville and the centre of the town, was a substan- tial fulfilment of the conditions, notwithstanding the road was never constructed, and the location was utterly abandoned. Nev- ertheless, on the presumption that the Company would comply with the conditions in good faith, the town paid forty per cent. of its subscription, amounting to $11,240 ; but on the 5th of No- vember, 1872, it was " voted, that the money on the subscription of the town of Hardwick to the capital stock of the Massachusetts Central Railroad be withheld until the definite location of the de- pots of said Railroad in the vicinity of the Old Furnace Village, Hardwick, and between the Common in said Hardwick and Gil- bertville, and until the depot in the vicinity of the Old Furnace Village be located within the limits of the town of Hardwick." 1 During the controversy which ensued, the Railroad Company proposed to sell the stock belonging to the town ; whereupon at a town-meeting, August 3, 1878, " voted and chose Hon. William Mixter an agent of the town of Hardwick to agree with the Di- rectors of the Massachusetts Central Railroad Company, that if the said Company will consent not to sell the shares of the town in the stock of said Company, as heretofore notified, the town will waive all benefit of the Statute of Limitations for six months from this date," without prejudice to the legal rights of either party. A similar vote was passed, February 6, 1879, extending the time two years. Whether the town will hereafter be compelled to pay the remaining sixty per cent. of its subscription, not- withstanding the non-performance of the conditions, or whether, in consequence of such non-performance the company will be re- quired to refund the amount already paid, remains to be judi- cially determined. Meantime there is now an encouraging pros- pect that at least so much of the road as will shorten the distance between Hardwick and Boston twenty miles will be completed at no remote day, and that the town will thus obtain a great advan- tage, though less than it bargained for.
1 The company had commenced grad- not "within the limits of the town of ing the road on the east side of the river, Hardwick." passing the Furnace Village at a point
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HISTORY OF HARDWICK.
POUNDS. One of the earliest safeguards against the destruc- tion of property in the infant settlement was the establishment of a pound for the confinement of cattle unlawfully running at large. At the third meeting, after partial town privileges had been obtained, holden June 30, 1737, it was " voted, that George Abbott provide a Pound and be the pound-keeper for this year ; " the next year, August 8, 1738, it was " voted, that Benjamin Smith's yard be a Pound for the town this year ; " and at the first meeting after the town was fully incorporated, holden April 3, 1739, it was " voted, that the town will build a Pound, thirty feet square, and that it shall be set near the meeting house,1 and that Samuel Robinson be the man to build said Pound according to law." This inclosure served its purpose more than half a cen- tury ; but on the 3d of March, 1794, it was " voted, that Jonathan Danforth finish the Pound before the first day of June next." This vote is supposed to refer to the pound on the westerly side of Great Meadow Brook, where it is crossed by the old turnpike, near the spot where Mr. Danforth then resided, now owned and occupied by Captain Orin Trow. The substantial stone walls remain standing, and fragments of the fence, composed of sawed chestnut posts and rails, are still visible, after so long exposure.2
PAUPERS. The first reference to that unfortunate class, de- pendent on public charity and support, which appears on record, is under date of March 7, 1747-8, when upon an article in the warrant, " to see if the town will raise money to maintain Han- nah Maccoye, sent to this town for that intent," it was " voted to raise fifty pounds, old tenor, to maintain Hannah Maccoye; " she remained chargeable until 1765. Doubtless other persons had received public assistance at an earlier date; indeed, it is alleged by General Ruggles, in a petition dated in 1754 and heretofore quoted, that " the inhabitants of said town are obliged to be at a great expense for the support of several poor and in- digent persons ; " but the aid was probably rendered from the general fund raised for town expenses. From the annual ac- counts of the town treasurer, and from other sources, the fol- lowing names are gathered of persons who received public aid up to the end of the last century ; the figures denote the date when
1 It was on the westerly side of the my childish wonder three quarters of a Common, near the late residence of Mr. Moses Smith.
2 I am very confident that these are fragments of the same fence which excited
century ago, and whose gradual decay I have since observed at short intervals of time.
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CIVIL HISTORY.
such aid was first rendered : Edmund Jordan's wife and children, 1757;1 Isaiah Glazier's children, 1761; Temperance Pratt, 1764 ; 2 Sarah Cummings, 1764; Widow Zerviah Pratt, 1765, died April 18, 1798, aged 89; Ephraim Rice's wife, 1765; Samuel Abbott, " a poor child," 1766 ; Charles Thomas, " a poor child," in care of Asa Hatch, 1768 ; James Harwood's wife, 1777 ; Mary Stratton, " a poor girl," 1783; Widow Mary Brad- shaw, 1786; John Hedge, 1786; Thomas Shaw, 1786; Paul Morgan,3 1789; Widow Jemima Blackington, 1792, died May 18, 1796, aged 70; Isaac Pratt, 1793, died November 27, 1808, aged 83; Hannah Aiken, 1798, died December 9, 1814, aged 64; Anna Farr, 1799; Abraham Chamberlin and wife, 1799; John Hunt, and wife, and child, 1799; Edward Curtis, 1800, died October 17, 1800, aged 66 ; Roxa Elwell, 1800, temporarily.
What method was originally adopted for furnishing the neces- sary assistance to paupers, does not appear; but at the com- mencement of this century, and for many years afterwards, their maintenance was allotted to the lowest bidder, from year to year,4 with this qualification, however, that a preference was given to relatives who were willing to assume the task.5 But in 1837 a more humane plan was adopted ; and at a town meeting, April 3, 1837, after appropriating the sum of $2,000 (a portion of the "Surplus Revenue " received by the town) to defray the expense of building a Town Hall, it was "voted, to apply the residue of said surplus to the purchase of a Farm, on which to support the paupers ; voted, that the present Board of Selectmen be a committee to purchase a Farm for the purpose of making it a home for our paupers ; " and on the 13th of the following No- vember it was " voted, to instruct the selectmen to complete the purchase of the Farm of Mr. John Wheeler, on the terms they 1 Edmund Jordan died in the army, 1819, to wit : - Daniel Thomas and wife 1756.
2 Temperance Pratt was an idiotic daughter of Widow Zerviah Pratt, and re- mained a pauper for fifty years, until she died December 17, 1814, aged 64.
3 Paul Morgan had the care of a grist- mill which formerly stood near the pres- ent residence of Captain Orin Trow ; he died in 1789; his widow Hannah, also a pauper near the close of her life, died January 17, 1824, at the supposed age of 95 years.
4 On a loose paper among the archives in the town clerk's office is a memoran- dum of the disposition of the paupers in
to Ephraim Ruggles ; Molly Reed (who died January 22, 1822, aged 83) to Jede- diah Dexter ; Mrs. Hammon to Bassett Fay; Anna Farr to David Bond ; Mrs. Hedge to Sally Hedge; Hannah Morgan (State pauper) to Deacon Joseph Allen ; Dudley F. Lawrence to Ephraim Rug- gles; Widow Freeman to Jedediah Dex- ter ; Lucius Doolittle to Franklin Rug- gles ; Widow Newton and two children to Samuel Freeman.
5 In 1811, and for several years earlier and later, Sally Hedge was paid for sup- porting her grandmother, Deliverance Hedge, who died June 4, 1819, aged 93.
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HISTORY OF HARDWICK.
have reported." On this farm suitable buildings were erected for the convenience and comfort of the poor, who were thenceforth protected against an annual flitting from one family to another, and from the constant peril of being committed to the charge of such persons as would have less regard for their welfare than for their own personal profit. Under the judicious and tender care of a warden and matron, the inmates are made more comfortable in their old age and helplessness, without material increase of the expenses of the town.
Before dismissing this subject, it may be mentioned that a speculation in the maintenance of State Paupers was once seri- ously proposed in town meeting. Who suggested the idea, or advocated the measure, does not appear ; but the following vote was passed, May 9, 1791, and duly recorded : " Voted, that the town will receive one third part of the poor persons sup- ported by the Commonwealth, and they hereby offer and agree, on their part, to support said poor persons, with suitable lodging and boarding, for the term of ten years from and after the time of contracting, provided the Commonwealth will pay them five shillings per week for adults, and two shillings and sixpence per week for children, and their proportion of one hundred pounds per annum for doctoring said poor, the money to be paid quar- terly ; and will remove said poor from Boston at their own ex- pense." I find no evidence that their offer was accepted, or that any further action was had by the town in reference to this magnificent project.
SLAVERY. There are very faint traces of human bondage in Hardwick. Among the marriages solemnized by Rev. Mr. White was that of " Tack and Rose, Kenelm Winslow's man and maid servant, April ye 3ª, 1755." Mr. Winslow not long after- wards removed to Petersham, and in his will, dated April 5, 1775, gave to his wife, during her widowhood, his three negroes, Sarah, Rose, and Phillis, probably the offspring from this mar- riage. Rev. Mr. White also baptized, July 27, 1755, " Zebulon, the son of Philip and Bathsheba, man and maid servant to Capt. Joseph Warner," and a second Zebulon, son of the same parents, April 10, 1757. One more slave appears where we might least expect to find him, namely, in possession of a man who had served in the French war, on behalf of his country ; who had already accepted office as captain of a company of minute-men, ready to march, at a moment's notice in defence of
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CIVIL HISTORY.
human rights against foreign domination, and did thus march, soon afterwards ; and who, a dozen years later, again took up arms and put his life in peril, when he imagined the execution of law would be hurtful to the poorer class of the community. Moreover, he had never lived in luxury, but evidently suffered financial embarrassment, and seemed in no respect exposed to the temptation of holding a fellow-man in bondage. But the following advertisement shows that his practice was inconsistent with his avowed principles, and unsuited to his condition : " FIFTEEN DOLLARS REWARD. Ran away from me, the sub- scriber, on Thursday, the twentieth of October instant, a Negro Man, named Cæsar, about 26 years old, five feet four inches high ; had on, when he went away, a green ratteen coat, red everlasting jacket, white linen breeches, blue yarn stockings; he has a mark or scar over one of his eyes, the little finger of his left hand is a little crooked by the cut of a sickle; it is suspected that some one assisted him, by changing cloaths, or gave him a pass ; Who- ever will take up said Negro and return him to me, or confine him to any of his Majesty's Goals, so that he may be returned to me, shall have the above reward and all necessary charges paid by SIMEON HAZELTINE. Hardwick, October 21, 1774." 1 Cap- tain Hazeltine himself became a fugitive in 1787, to escape the consequences of his active participation in the " Shays Rebellion."
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