USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. I > Part 49
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Burlington was originally a part of Woburn. That ancient town, incorporated in 1642, included The public library of Burlington, free to all inhabitants of the town over the age of twelve years, was established in 1858. It now contains 1,100 volumes. Previous to the establishment of this library, a social library had been formed in the town. It was incorporated under an act of the commonwealth made and passed in 1798. The proprietors met, for the purpose of choosing offi- cers, etc., September 9, 1816. The number of proprietors whose names appear signed to the con- stitution and by-laws is twenty-two. Shares were sold for two dollars each, the holders being subject Burlington and a large portion of Wilmington. A church was gathered in 1642, and for eighty years afterward all the inhabitants of the town were har- moniously united in one religious society, and met for public worship in the meeting-house at Woburn. But during these years many buildings had been erected in the northwesterly part of the town, then called Shawshine, and now known as Burlington, and many people of substance and reputation had made their homes in this region, at a distance of several miles from the meeting-house of Woburn. Tradition states that some of the people were | to an annual assessment of twenty-five cents apiece,
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with fines, as usual, for neglect in returning books. With these small means, aided by private gifts of books, the library was supported. It was com- menced with less than ninety volumes, but had increased to about two hundred and fifty in 1842, when, from lack of interest and perhaps other causes, it was given up, and the books divided among the shareholders.
As there has been but one church in Burling- ton, the parish history forms a most important part of the history of the town. Soon after their separation from the church in Woburn, in 1730, the people of the precinct began to avail them- selves of the privileges which the legislature had granted them. Among other proceedings, at two general meetings of the parislı, in November, 1730, it was resolved that a meeting-house should be built in the centre of the precinct. And until this meeting-house was erected, public worship was held in the house of Mr. Simon Thompson, situated in the centre of the precinct. This house was standing a few years ago, and was occupied by the late Solomon Trull. Here Mr. John Warren, a graduate of Harvard, class of 1725, and afterward a settled minister, preached during the winter of 1730- 31, and a part of the following year. Here the Rev. John Hancock of Lexington, grandfather of Governor Hancock, and well known among the clergy of that day as Bishop Hancock, came, April 25, 1731, and, after the usual Sabbath ser- vices, administered the rite of baptism, probably for the first time in the parish.
In the establishment of a church and the build- ing of a meeting-house, the founders of the parish experienced much trouble and were obliged to sur- mount many obstacles to gain the fulfilment of their desires. One source of difficulty was a party in their own limits who, from the proximity of their homes to the old parish, or the connection of their interests with it, had been strongly op- posed to the separation from the church of their fathers. Another obstacle was the difficulty of fix- ing upon a suitable and central situation for the new meeting-house. But after much discussion, and even after an appeal to the General Court to choose a site for the building, - which site, how- ever, was not acceptable to the people, -the op- position was overcome, a spot as near the centre of the precinct as was practicable was selected, and a committee chosen to oversee and to prosecute the work of building. It was voted to raise £400 at the beginning, provided the court would allow them
to build on the spot they had finally selected. This liberty was granted the June following, and Mr. Benjamin Johnson generously gave them half an acre of land, which they had chosen. The work of building was now begun with much energy and spirit, and on July 23d, 1732, according to our present way of reckoning, the meeting-house was raised and finished. It does not appear that this meeting-house was ever dedicated. When it was finished, the Rev. John Hancock of Lexington came on the appointed Sabbath, at the invitation of the precinct committee, and performed divine service in the pulpit for the first time. One of his sermons was probably appropriate to this occasion, and the services closed with the baptism of two infants.
The whole expense incurred by the parish in building this meeting-house was £637, New Eng- land currency, or, making allowance for the depre- ciation of bills of the province for that year, £237 2 s., lawful money, or $943.17. It should be re- membered, however, that the cost of building was sustained by the owners of land in the precinct, each being taxed in proportion to his estate, and that the inside of the house was not wholly com- pleted for several years. Agreeably to a vote of the precinct, determining its dimensions, it was built fifty feet long, forty wide, and twenty-three high, from the top of the sills to the top of the plates, and was " decently finished as a House for the publick worship of God requiors, having one tear of galleries, with sutable and nesacary seats, and two tear of lights."
The meeting-house thus erected was a plain, substantial building, unadorned by art. Its "two tear of lights" were casement windows, opening with hinges, and furnished with glass of diamond- shape, in sashes of lead. There was no steeple or spire, neither any bell to arouse the people on Sab- bath morn. Nor did its inward appearance differ from the outward, in adornment. At first there were no pews, such as we find in all churches built a few years later, but the floor was mainly occupied with long seats on each side of the broad aisle, on the east side for the women, on the west side for the men. Agreeably to a vote of the inhabitants, September 1, 1735, the ground which had been reserved for pews on the lower floor was divided into twenty-one pew lots, and granted to those persons, with their heirs forever, who had been rated the highest for estate, in the several assess- ments for building the meeting-house, provided
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they would erect on them, in six months, under the direction of a building committee, chosen for this purpose, decently finished pews, and occupy them as their seats in the meeting-house. The twenty-one pews built on these lots were the only pews in the house for almost forty years. In 1771 other pews on the floor and in the galleries were erected at the expense of the proprietors, and the proceeds of the sale of the sixteen lots, on which they stood, amounting to £78 108., lawful money, were applied to repairing the house. In the year 1793 several more pews were built; the proceeds of the sale of the lots, amounting to £ 10, were spent in repairs. At this time a vote was passed to paint the meeting-house. In the following year four new windows were added in front, and at the same time, probably, the diamond panes in all the windows were exchanged for square ones. In 1814 the only remaining seats, in front of the pulpit, were exchanged for pews, and thus the last ves- tige of the aneient appearance and original aceom- modations for the worshipping assembly on the floor of the house was done away. In the diary of Rev. John Marrett, then pastor of the church, we find the following account of the injury done to the meeting-house by a high wind in the year 1777 :
" August 15, 1777. - Fair and hot. P. M. ex- ceeding hot. At four o'clock came up a thunder shower from N. W., attended with a very high wind, and a hurricane in some veins, which tore up many trees and blew off the West End of the Roof of the Meeting House, and carried the mate- rials to a great distanee. The wind lasted about 3 or 4 minutes ! Near half of the Roof taken through near the middle, and the Gable End of the West taken off. Some barns damaged, and abundance of trees torn up. The damage, about £200 L. M. [lawful money]."
These injuries were carefully repaired with money contributed by inhabitants of the parish. In 1824 the ancient building again suffered from the ravages of the elements. But so strongly and firmly was it constructed, so carefully was it re- paired by the parish, that in 1846 it was still a comfortable, well-preserved building, of decent, if not elegant, appearance. In that year more ex- tensive repairs and alterations were made, so as to improve its inner and outward appearance. At this time, while the original frame remained, ten feet were added to the length of the building, a porch was constructed in front, and a steeple was built, furnished with a bell. The inside of the
house was altered to conform with the style of modern times, and on the completion of the altera- tions, June 10, 1847, it was dedieated anew to the worship of God, with suitable and appropriate ex- ercises.
Since that time the meeting-house has been kept in good condition by the care of the parish. This ancient house of worship still stands, an object of interest to the stranger as one of the few remain- ing buildings of its age, and a monument of the pious zeal of the fathers of the town.
The first settled minister of the church in Wo- burn Precinct was Mr. Supply Clap, a lineal de- scendant of Captain Roger Clap, one of the first settlers of Dorehester, and son of Samuel and Mary [Paul] Clap, born at Dorchester, January 1, 1711, graduated at Harvard in 1731. He com- menced preaching in 1733 ; came to Woburn Pre- cinct as a candidate about the close of the year 1734, and was there ordained November 8, 1735. He married, August 11, 1737, Martha Fowle, daughter of the wife of Samuel Walker, one of the deacons of the church. He had three children, Martha, Supply, and Samuel. He was a very plain and practical preacher, and a pastor mueh beloved by his people. He died January 8, 1748, in the thirty-seventh year of his age, and thirteenth of his ministry. He was buried in the old burying- ground of Woburn Precinet, where his grave may still be seen. He was succeeded by Mr. Thomas Jones, also a native of Dorchester. He was the son of Ebenezer and Waitstill Jones, born April 20, 1721, graduated at Harvard in 1741. He was ordained as second pastor of the church in Wo- burn Precinct, January 2, 1751. He married September 5, 1751, Abigail Wiswall, and had three children, Lucy, wife of Rev. Joseph Lee of Royalston ; Martha, wife of his successor, Rev. John Marrett ; and Mary, who married Mr. Ed- ward Walker of Burlington. Rev. Mr. Jones was not distinguished as a preacher of popular address, but he was a faithful pastor, mueh revered and beloved by his people for his many virtues and the excellence of his life. Having ministered to the church and society for twenty-three years, he was suddenly removed from them by death. He was seized with an apopleetic fit in the pulpit, on the Sabbath, March 13, 1774, just as he was finishing the first prayer, and, being taken home, died at the close of the day. Madam Jones sur- vived for many years after her husband's death, much esteemed and beloved by the people of the
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town. She died May 14, 1814, aged ninety-two years, having lived a widow forty years.
Rev. Thomas Jones and his wife were buried in the old burying-ground of Burlington, where their graves may still be found ; and near by, marked with a plain slate-stone, is the grave of Cuff, the faithful black servant of Madam Jones, a person of almost as great celebrity in his day as his mistress.
The place left vacant by the death of Mr. Jones was soon filled. In August, 1774, at a meeting of the parish, Mr. Jolin Marrett was chosen to the office of minister, and was accordingly ordained, December 21, 1774. John Marrett, the son of Amos and Mary (Dunster) Marrett, was born at Cambridge, September 21, 1741. On the mater- nal side he was a direct descendant of the fifth generation of Rev. Henry Dunster, the first presi- dent of Harvard College. He entered Harvard in 1759, and graduated in 1763. He married, De- cember 16, 1779, Martha Jones, danghter of Rev. Thomas Jones. She died September 11, 1803. He had one daughter, Martha Marrett, who married Rev Samuel Sewall. Mr. Marrett lived in the house occupied by his predecessor and father-in- law, Rev. Mr. Jones, and shared his home with Madam Jones. He was a faithful and efficient pastor, much beloved by his people during the many years of his ministry. Mr. Marrett kept a diary, to which we have previously referred, from 1767 to his death. During his ministry the town of Burlington was incorporated, and March 11, 1799, we find that he " attended the first town-meeting in Burlington to chuse town officers." Rev. John Marrett died February 18, 1813, and, like his predecessors, was buried in the old burying-ground, where his wife was interred many years before.
The fourth minister of the church in Burlington was Mr. Samuel Sewall, who was ordained April 13, 1514, about a year after the death of his prede- cessor. He was the son of Chief-Justice Sam- uel Sewall and Abigail (Devereux) Sewall, and was born at Marblehead, June 1, 1785. He
traced his lineage to Henry Sewall of Newbury, the first of the name in this country, and son of Henry Sewall, mayor of Coventry, England. Mr. Sewall was a direct descendant of the famous Judge Samuel Sewall, Chief Justice of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1718 to 1728, and cele- brated as one of the presiding judges at the noted witchcraft trials at Salem. in 1692. Another of Mr. Sewall's ancestors, whose character he always
contemplated with marked interest, was Rev. Jo- seph Sewall, one of the most famous ministers of the Old Sonth Church in Boston.
Samnel Sewall, after a preparatory course at the academy in his native town of Marblehead, entered Harvard in 1800, and gradnated with honor in 1804. He at once commenced the study of the- ology at Cambridge, occupying, at the same time, a minor position in the college government. Being by nature and education eminently fitted for the ministry, after the usual period of study he took orders in the Episcopal Church, of which his parents were members.
Having officiated in this church in Cambridge and elsewhere, he became dissatisfied with its creed, and embraced the principles and service of the Congregational Church. He came to Burling- ton as a candidate after the death of Mr. Marrett. He married, January 1, 1818, Martha Marrett, daughter of Rev. John Marrett, and took up his abode in the house formerly occupied by the father of his wife.
Mr. Sewall continued his duties as minister of the church in Burlington for a period of twenty- eight years. During this time he labored most faithfully and earnestly for the welfare of the people of his charge. After relinquishing his connection with the church he did not give up his interest in the people of the town. Mr. Sewall was a faith- ful and efficient worker in the profession he had chosen. He spared himself no labor which would benefit his pastoral charge. Besides his duties to the church, he was very active in the affairs of the town. He was town-clerk for many years, and also served acceptably in other offices. Possessing powers of intellect and education which might have gained him a high place, he was chiefly desirous of doing good to his fellow-men, and ambitious only of the reputation of an upright Christian gentle- man. After his official connection with the church in Burlington was dissolved, he still continued his efforts for the welfare of his former charge, and the name of Father Sewall is still revered and be- loved in the town where he lived. He did not give up his profession with the charge of the church, but continued preaching from time to time during the remainder of his life. He preached for several years at North Woburn, where a church was formed during his ministry. His last sermon was preached at Carlisle, Massachusetts, August 11, 1867; and his last public exercise was at the ordination of Mr. Alfred S. Hudson as pastor of
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the chureli in Burlington, December 19, 1867, | in many ways, but always without injury to its where he made the ordaining prayer.
Mr. Sewall was also distinguished as an anti- quarian. In the intervals of his busy life. he was aeenstomed to pursne his historieal and genealogi- eal researches with much zeal and earefulness. He made several contributions to the literature of that kind, and furnished mueh aid to others in tracing lineage and history, for which due eredit ean never be given him. Among his writings were several contributions to the American Quarterly Register, the most important of which were " A Brief Survey of the Congregational Churches and Min- isters of Middlesex County, and Chelsea in the County of Suffolk," in the Quarterly Register of 1838 - 39, and a "Memoir of Hon. Samnel Sewall, Esq.," in the Register of 1841. His last and greatest work, the History of Woburn, the result of many years of study and research, was in press at the time of his death. Mr. Sewall died February 18, 1868. He was buried in the new cemetery at Burlington.
Thus for one hundred and seven years the pul- pit of the church in Burlington was filled by four ministers, three of whom were connected by mar- riage and lived in the same house. Since the death of Mr. Sewall the church has been supplied by different elergymen. Rev. Mr. Sewall was sueeecded by Rev. Harrison G. Park, installed November 15, 1849, dismissed May 15, 1852. The next settled minister was Mr. Alfred S. Hud- son, ordained at Burlington, December 19, 1867, dismissed June 9, 1873. After the dismissal of Mr. Hudson it was deemed best to unite the churches of Burlington and North Woburn under one pastor, Mr. Charles Anderson, who was or- dained minister of Burlington and North Woburn September 2, 1874, and still continues in that offiee.
The house which we have before mentioned as the home of Rev. Samuel Sewall is worthy of a place in the objects of interest in the town. The exact age of this house is unknown. It was bought of Benjamin Johnson, by Rev. Thomas Jones, in 1751. It was, as we have said, for more than a hundred years the home of the ministers of Bur- lington. On the day of the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775, this house, then the home of the widow of Rev. Thomas Jones, was the refuge of John Hancock and Samuel Adams in their flight from the scene of danger. In the course of years this aneient dwelling has been altered and improved
original framing, and with due respect to the beauty of its old age. The " best room," in which Han- eoek and Adams were entertained by Madam Jones, is still untouched by modern art. The lawn in front of the house is adorned by a number of stately trees, - graceful elins, angular buttonwoods, and one magnificent chestnut, four feet in diameter. Sev- eral of these trees were planted by a negro servant of Rev. Thomas Jones, named Cuff. This faithful servant seems to have had the care of the estate after the death of Rev. Mr. Jones. He died April, 1813, and was borne to his grave by the seleetmen of Burlington, personally, as a mark of respeet to him and the ministerial families who had received his life-long serviee. The family Bible contains this record of his death : "Cuff, the faithful negro servant of the above Thomas and Abigail [Jones], died April, 1813, having lived in the family about sixty years."
These famous trees have suffered mueh, in the course of years, from the violence of the elements. The following account of the fall of one of them in a severe gale was written for the Woburn Journal of March 24, 1877 :-
" In the gale on Friday morning, March 9, at half past nine o'clock, one of the large elins, standing in front of the house of Samuel Sewall, was broken and blown down by the high wind. Another clm, nearer to the house, lost two large limbs. It is now impossible to ascertain the exact age of these trees, but they were placed in their present position before 1774, and hence must have been growing there on the memorable morning of the Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775. Perhaps John Hancock or Samuel Adams or the fair Dorothy Quincy observed the young elms budding in the early spring, or remarked upon their beauty, when they found a refuge at the house of Madam Jones, on the eveutful morning of the battle. And years after they had slept in their graves, and not one wit- ness of the Battle of Lexington survived, these trees, beau- tiful in their old age, looked upon the citizens of the town as they rode in procession to celebrate the anniversary at Lexington, in 1875.
These trees were planted and tended by a negro, named Cuff, a faithful servant of Madam Jones, the widow of Rev. Thomas Jones, the second minister of Woburn Precinct, now Burlington. His grave may yet be found in the ancient burial-ground at Burlington, but the trees he planted for the adornment of the home of his mistress and her descend- ants have been for years a more fitting memorial of his faithful service than the gray slate-stone fast sinking into the earth .. These trees were both struck by lightning in June, about fifty-two years ago, and in the same month of last year were again visited in like manner. The marks of the first stroke were plainly to be seen on the trunks of both trees. In both instances, being much higher than the house, they probably saved it from much damage, and
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possibly from destruction. These trees have always been highly prized by the inhabitants and owners of the house they have sheltered, and they will long be remembered and regretted by the occupants of the dwelling which they have ornamented and protected for more than a hundred years."
The ancient burying-ground of Burlington is situated on slightly elevated land, in the centre of the town, near the meeting-lionse, and seems in a manner to share in the history of that vener- able building. Into it have been gathered, from vear to year, the ministers of the church, the wor- thies of the town, with their families, and strangers from afar who have laid their weary bones among us. This piece of land was probably selected for the burial of the dead in 1733, although the rec- ords regarding it are very imperfect. We find, in the recorded proceedings of a town-meeting, No- vember 9, 1733, that a committee was chosen to select a " sntabel pece of land " for a burying- ground in the precinct. In 1810 this ground was enlarged and enclosed with a wall, according to a vote of the town. In IS51 it was deemed neces- sary to procure land for a new place of burial, and a cemetery was laid out on the Bedford road, abont half a mile from the meeting-house. Since that time few interments have been made in the old burying-ground, except of aged persons, who wished to be laid with their families or friends. This an- cient burial-place, however, shows none of the neg- lect and want of eare too often visible in similar places. The good condition of the burying-ground is owing not only to the care of the inhabitants of the town, but also to the generosity of a native of Burlington, Miss Ruth Wilson, who, a short time before her death, gave in trust for the bury- ing-ground the sum of six hundred dollars, one hundred of which were to be used immediately for needed repairs, and the remainder as a fund for necessary care and improvements in the future. With the part of this money to be expended, in addition to an appropriation of the town for the same purpose, a neat and substantial wall was erected in front of the ground, and with the accu- mulated interest of the fund, in 1879, a new wall was built on one side, needful repairs being made from time to time, according to the wishes of the donor. In this connection we may say that Miss Wilson gave to the church in Burlington a fund of four thousand dollars for the support of preach- ing. This worthy lady was born in Burlington, and spent most of her long life in her native place.
The property she so generously gave for the bene- fit of the town was entirely accumulated from her own earnings in youth. She died December 2, 1871, aged eighty-nine years, and was buried in the old burying-ground. Her grave is marked by a stone, with a suitable inscription, commending her industry and benevolence.
The territory of Woburn Precinct, before its settlement, was the home of many Indians, who left numerous marks of their habitation behind them. Various relics, as arrow-heads and hatchets of stone, have been found on the Sewall estate and in other places. In the time of King Philip's War this part of Woburn was not attacked by a large force of the enemy at one time, neither were its dwellings pillaged and burnt, nor its inhabitants murdered in great numbers. But one incident occurred at this period, which is mentioned by Hubbard in the preface to his narrative of the Indian wars, and which we quote from Sewall's History of Woburn : -
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