USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. I > Part 70
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On the 29th of. May Deacon Amos Bradley was chosen to represent the town in the Provincial Congress, Captain Peter Coburn being engaged in drilling his company for the anticipated service. This gallant officer was present with his men at the battle of Bunker Hill on the 17th of June following. He was in Colonel Ebenezer Bridge's regiment, his lieutenant being Josiah Foster, and his ensign Ebenezer Farnum. The whole number of the company was fifty-one, and most of them were Dracut men. This company was hotly en- gaged during the action, and "Captain Coburn's clothes," says Mr. Frothingham in his History of the Siege of Boston, p. 177, " were riddled with balls." Colonel James Varnum, then a sergeant in Captain Coburn's company, " had the top of his hat shot off and two bullets through his jacket." As Captain Ebenezer Bancroft was returning from the fight, wounded and fatigued, "Colonel James Varnum," said he, " saw me and came to me. He took me by the arm and led me to the horse. While he was with me, the ball of the last cannon I heard that day passed within a foot or two of me, and struck the ground at a short distance be- fore me." Captain Coburn was in the redoubt, and it is related that just as the order to retreat was given, a British officer mounted the breast-
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works, exclaiming, "Now, boys, we have you !" when Captain Coburn, picking up a stone, hurled it at his head and knocked him down.1
The following letter was written by Captain Peter Coburn immediately after the battle of Bun- ker Hill in which he took such an active part :
"CAMP CAMBRIDGE, June 17, 1775.
" The regiments were ordered from Cambridge to Charlestown, and they arrived at Charlestown about eleven o'clock at night, and then and there begun a breastwork, and pursued it until about sunrise next morning. About sunrise the troops fired on us from the ships as they lay in the ferry-way, and killed one Pollard, that lived in Billerica, and they continued their fire at times all the forenoon ; and we finished our breastwork about twelve o'clock, at which time they began to land nigh to our breast- work, and landed about four thousand men, and in about two hours began to fire upon us at the breast- work, and continued their fire very brisk near about two hours. At length they stormned our breast- work and we were obliged to flee and they pursued us as far as Bunker Hill. But we killed and wounded fourteen or fifteen hundred, and the loss sustained by us was few ; about one hundred and fifty killed, wounded, and missing; and on the 17th day of June I arrived at Cambridge, about sunset, alive, though much tired and fatigued. Blessed be God therefor."
The population of Dracut in 1776 was 1,173; William Hildreth was the town-clerk and Major Joseph Varnum the town-treasurer. In November of this year committees from the neighboring towns met at the house of Major Varnum and petitioned the legislatures of Massachusetts and New Hamp- shire to regulate the prices of articles of trade, they having greatly advanced by reason of the war.
The committees of correspondence, inspection, and safety, chosen February 27, 1777, consisted of Isaac Fox, William Hildreth, Captain Stephen Russell, Captain Peter Coburn, Eliseus Barron, Reuben Sawyer, and Lieutenant Ephraim Coburn. The town voted £4 to Deacon Thomas Hovey for taking care of the poor of Boston who had come there during the siege the preceding year.
In 1780 Joseph B. Varnum was a member of the convention which formed the state constitution; and that year, September 4, the town cast ninety- one votes for John Hancock and fonr for James Bowdoin as governor. On the 5th of March, 1781, the town chose William Hildreth, Deacon Thomas
1 Cowley's History of Lowell, p. 23.
Hovey, Reuben Sawyer, and Benjamin French to assist the officers in raising men for the prosecu- tion of the war. On the 4th of March, 1782, it voted to raise £ 30 for the support of the schools, and also " to sell the ministree Land lying in Pel- ham." On the 1st of August of this year it voted to extend a call to Mr. Ebenezer Allen to settle as a minister. Captain Joseph Bradley Varnum was chosen May 12, 1783, to represent the town in the General Court. He ably served the town in this capacity for many years. A call was extended, January 31, 1785, to the Rev. Timothy Langdon, which he declined accepting.
For the better accommodation of the people, it was deemed advisable, about the year 1792, to build another meeting-house. The town voted, December 30, 1793, "to build a meeting-house of the same bigness of the meeting-house in Pel- ham." The question of its locality was sharply discussed in sucessive town-meetings held for that purpose. The town was surveyed, and a central point was determined where, in 1794, what is called " the Centre Church" was erected. This did not suit the people in the westerly part of the town, and about the year 1794 they built the meeting-house still in use at Pawtucket Falls. This was furnished with a sounding-board, which was suspended over the head of the minister to reflect his voice into the ears of the people. This useless piece of church furniture was removed about the year 1829, though not without some opposition, - one man exclaiming, "They have taken away the ark of the Lord from the sanctuary, and I will go too," which he did, never to enter the house again. The Pawtucket Church was incorporated, under the name of the West Con- gregational Church in Dracut, June 22, 1797, the petitioners for it being Parker Varnum, John Varnum, Peter Coburn, Jr., James Varnum, James Abbott, Coburn Blood, Moses Clement, Jakes Coburn, Jonathan Morgan, Hezekiah Coburn, Thomas Varnum, Joseph Dane, and forty-five others. The first parish meeting was held July 6, 1797, when Colonel James Varnum was chosen modera- tor and Peter Coburn, Jr., clerk. The church was long supplied by students from Andover, who used to come on horseback and preach two sermons " for 2 dollars and found." The church became Presbyterian on the 19th of April, 1819, and so continned until 1837, when it became Congrega- tional. The first settled minister was the Rev. Reuben Sears, who was installed January 31, 1820,
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and continued in the pastorate until October 2, 1827. It was voted that his farewell sermon should be printed. His successors in this pastor- ate have been the Rev. Sylvester G. Pierce, 1829 -1832; Rev. Tobias Pinkham, 1836 - 1839 ; Rev. Joseph Merrill, 1842-1848; Rev. Brown Emerson, 1850-1834 ; Rev. Perrin B. Fiske, 1863- 1865 ; Rev. Joseph Boardman, 1870-1874; Rev. James A. Bates, 1876; Rev. Elias Nason, the present pastor, 1876. A communion service was pre- sented to the church in 1804 by Mrs. Martha and Mrs. Abiah Varuum, and a second one, in 1877, by Atkinson C. Varnum. A Sabbatlı school was organized about the year 1828, and the superintendents of it have been Robert Bartly, Jonas Varnum, Amos Pearson, Joseph Conant, Abel Coburn, Asa Clement, H. M. Wood- ward, A. M. Clement, John J. Colton, James M. Coburn, and Henry L. Newhall. On the 10th of December, 1825, the parish voted "to give those persons who have purchased a stove liberty to set it up in the meeting-house." An organ, costing $ 400, was introduced into the church in 1850, and a bell of very fine tone was suspended in the tower of the church in 1859, on which occasion the following rhyme was perpetrated : -
"They delivered the bell to Josiah Sawtelle, Who hung it in the steeple, - A wonderful sight, which gave great delight To crowds of gazing people."
A commodious parsonage was built in 1867, the land on which it was erected having been do- nated by A. C. Varnum, Esq.
The pews of the Centre Church were sold De- cember, 1, 1794, and for some of them the follow- ing prices were paid : Captain David Varnum, £17 8s .; Colonel Joseph B. Varnum, £15 6s .; Nathaniel Jones, £15 6s. ; Lieutenant Peter Has- eltine, £16 16s .; Ezekiel Cheever, £11 14s .; Richard Hall, £11 14s. ; Captain Moses Newell, £10 16s .; Peter Parker, £11, 2s .; William Hil- dreth, Jr., £8 11s .; Joel Fox, £8 17s .; Ens. Joshua Thissell and Caleb Blanchard, £8 178. This meeting-house stands on a commanding site, and the lower story is occupied as a town-house.
The present Evangelical Church was organized here in 1847, and is now under the pastoral care of the Rev. Elias Nason. It has had but one min- ister regularly settled over it; this was the Rev. George Pierce, who was installed October 14, 1863, and remained until 1867.
In 1792 Parker Varnum and others constructed
a bridge across the Merrimack River at Pawtucket Falls. This was replaced by a better one in 1805, costing over $14,000. A substantial iron one now takes the place of it. The population of Dra- cnt in 1800 was 1,274, and the town was generally in a prosperous condition. Israel Hildrethi was the town-clerk.
Colonel Lewis Ansart, who came to this country in 1776 to teach the Americans the art of casting cannon, and settled in Dracut at the close of. the war, died here in 1804, and was buried in the cemetery about a mile above Pawtucket Falls. This is his epitaph : -
" Erected In memory of COL. LEWIS ANSART, Who departed this life May 22 A. D. 1804, Æ. 62.
"Col. Ansart was a native of France ; he arrived in this Country in 1776, and by the Authorities of Massachusetts was immediately appointed Colonel of Artilery and In- spector General of the Founderies in which capacity lie served until the close of the War of the Revolution."
The town voted, June 2, 1812, "to those Sol- diers that have Volunteered themselves, or have been detached to be marched in defence of their country, if called for, the sum of $ 12 per month, including what sum of money the government gives them per month, for so long a time as they shall be in actual service." In the year following Dracut gave one hundred and forty-eight votes for Joseph B. Varnum and sixty-one for Caleb Strong, as governor. Captain Peter Coburn, who fought so bravely at Bunker Hill, died suddenly in May of this year (1813), aged seventy-four years, and was buried in the Coburn burial-place on his own land. The town voted in 1814 to choose one committee man for each school district, and the Rev. Mr. Aiken was sent as representative to the General Court.
March 1, 1819, General Joseph B. Varnum, Cap- tain Life Hamblet, and Phineas Coburn were chosen selectmen, and General Varnum and Nathaniel Fox, tything-men. The sum of $500 was appro- priated for the support of the public schools. In the year following General Varnum was sent as a delegate for the revision of the state constitution. His death occurred September 11, 1821. De- scended from Joseph Varnum, an early settler of Dracut, he was born here in 1750, and, with such an education as the public schools could impart, became an eminent legislator and statesman. He
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
was a captain during the Revolution, and, at the time of his decease, the oldest major-general in the state. He served the state with signal ability as representative, senator, and councillor, and was a representative in Congress from 1795 to 1811. He was four years Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and a zealous supporter of Mr. Jefferson. In 1811 he succeeded Mr. Pickering as United States Senator. He was among the few Northern men who, in 1798, op- posed the admission of slavery into the Mississippi Territory. In reply to Mr. Harper on that ques- tion he made this memorable remark : " Where there is a disposition to retain a part of our species in slavery, there cannot be a proper respect for the rights of mankind." His estate is on the road from Lowell to Methuen, and there he lies buried. His mental powers were of the highest order, and he has been called " the most distinguished man of his age in the Merrimack Valley." His son, Benjamin F. Varnum, born in 1795, was appointed sheriff of Middlesex in 1831, and died January 11, 1841, greatly respected by all who knew him.
James Mitchell Varnum, an older brother of General Joseph B. Varnum, who graduated at Brown University in 1769, became a brigadier- general in the army of the Revolution, and was an eloquent and influential member of Congress, 1780-1782 and 1786-1787. He subsequently became judge of the Supreme Court in the North- west Territory, and died at Marietta, Ohio, in June, 1788.
The travel between Dracut and Lowell increas- ing, the Central Bridge, taking the place of " Brad- ley's Ferry," was constructed in 1826, and rebuilt in 1844. In 1850 the number of inhabitants, by reason of the prosperity of Lowell on the opposite side of the river, had increased to 3,503. J. V. B. Coburn, Timothy Coburn, and Archibald O. Var- num were the selectmen, and George Hovey was the town-clerk. By the annexation of a part of Dracut (Centralville) to Lowell, February 28, 1851, the population had declined in 1860 to 1,881.
During the War of the Rebellion Dracut was true to her ancient record, and liberally furnished men and money for the support of the government. The whole number of men furnished by the town for the army and navy was one hundred and thirty- five.
In the year ending May 1, 1865, the town em- ployed two hundred and fifty persons in the manu- facture of cassimere and twelve in the manufacture of paper. The mills are situated on the falls on Beaver Brook. It had then one hundred and ninety- three farms, and sold milk to the value of $31,848. The population had increased in 1870 to 2,078; but another surrender of a portion of its territory (Pawtucketville) to Lowell, August 1, 1874, had so reduced the number that in 1875 it was only 1,116. The selectmen for 1878 were Gayton M. Hall, Edward E. Stevens, and Robert Mills ; the town-clerk and treasurer was Charles H. Stickney. The total valuation was $931,261, and the rate of taxation, $8.70 on $1,000.
DUNSTABLE.
BY REV. ELIAS NASON.
HE town of Dunstable, in the northerly part of Middlesex County, contains four hundred and fifty-two inhabitants, one hundred and eight dwelling- houses, and has New Hamp- shire on the north, Tyngsbor- ough on the east, Groton on the south, and Pepperell, from which it is separated by the Nashua River, on the west. The land is uneven, rising into several beautiful eminences, as Forest Hill, Spectacle Hill, and Nutting Hill; and it is
drained by the Nashua River, Salmon Brook, and Unquetynasset Brook.
The people are mostly engaged in agricultural pursuits, for which the soil is well adapted. The town is accommodated by the Worcester and Nashua Railroad, running through the westerly section, and by the Nashua and Acton Railroad, following the line of Salmon Brook and nearly bisecting the ter- ritory of the town.
Originally the town embraced a large extent of land running far away into New Hampshire; but section after section was taken to form other towns, so that now it stands among the smaller towns of
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DUNSTABLE.
Middlesex County, and has an area of only 10,500 acres.
The town was incorporated October 16, 1673 (O. S.), and received its name in honor of Mrs. Mary Tyng, wife of the Hon. Edward Tyng, who had emigrated from Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England, and was among the earliest settlers of that part of Dunstable, now called Tyngsborough. In May, 1674, Captain Jonathan Danforth completed a sur- vey of the territory and thus describes its bonn- daries : -
" It lieth upon both sides of the Merrimack River on the Nashaway River. It is bounded on the south by Chelmsford, by Groton line, partly by country land. The westerly line runs due north until you come to Souhegan River, to a hill, called Dram Cup Hill, to a great pine near to ye said river at ye northwest corner of Charlestown school farm ; bounded by Souhegan River on the north, and on the east side Merrimack it begins at a great stone which was supposed to be near the northeast corner of Mr. Brenton's land, and from thence it runs south-sontheast six miles to a pine marked F, standing within sight of Beaver Brook; thence it runs two degrees west of south four miles and a quarter which reached to the south side of Henry Kimbles farm at Jeremies Hill; thence from ye southeast angell of said farm, it runs two degrees and a quarter westward of the south, near to the head of Long Pond, which lieth at ye head of Ed- ward Colburns farm, and thus it is bounded by ye said pond and ye head of said Colburns farm, taking in Capt. Scarletts farm, so as to close again all which is sufficiently bounded and described. Dunstable 3d mo. [May] 1674."
This tract included something like two hundred square miles ; and some twelve years subsequent to the act of incorporation the title to it was pur- chased of the Wamesit and Naticook Indians for the sum of £20 sterling. It was then a vast wil- derness, heavily wooded with pine, oak, walnut, maple, and birch timber, and infested by wild beasts and savages.
The English began to settle on the banks of the Merrimack River, and especially at the mouthi and along the margin of Salmon Brook several years prior to the act of incorporation, erected a garrison-house and commenced clearing up the wil- derness. Among the early settlers were John Acres, John, William, and Samuel Beale, John Blan- chard, John Cromwell, Edward Colburn, Andrew Cook, Isaac, John, and Thomas Cummings, Henry
Farwell, Samuel French, John and Samuel Gould, Joseph Hassell, John, John Jr., and Joseph Love- well, Thomas Lund, Robert Parris, Obadiah Perry, Robert Proctor, Christopher Reed, John Sollendine, Christopher Temple, Edward Tyng, his son Jona- than Tyng, Robert Usher, Daniel and John Waldo, Samuel Warner, Thomas Weld, Joseph Wheeler, and Samuel Whiting.
Although Dunstable was an outlying frontier, it does not appear to have been, except in the case of John Cromwell, spoken of under the head of Tyngsborough, molested by the Indians prior to King Philip's War in 1675. This was doubtless owing to the friendly disposition of Passacona- way, chief of the Pawtucket tribe, and a convert of the celebrated John Eliot.
On the outbreak of the war the settlers, fear- ing an attack, abandoned their plantations and sought refuge in the towns of Chelmsford, Billerica, Concord, and Boston. Jonathan Tyng, however, whose house stood near Wicasuck Island in the Merrimack River, bravely faced the danger, and remained the sole white inhabitant of the place during the continuance of the war. On the ap- proach of the enemy he petitioned the General Court for three or four men to help him garrison his house, which he had been at great charge to fortify, and they were sent to him.1
Soon after the death of Philip the settlers returned to their habitations, and employed John Sollendine to complete their unfinished meet- ing-house, which was of logs, and stood " be- tween Salmon Brook and the house of Lt. Joseph Wheeler."
The earliest town-meeting of which any record remains was held at Woburn, November 28, 1677, when Captain Thomas Brattle of Boston, one of the largest landholders, Captain Elisha Hutchin- son of Woburn, Captain James Parker and Abra- liam Parker of Groton, and Jonathan Tyng were chosen selectmen. They selected the Rev. Thomas Weld (H. C. 1671) for their minister, at a salary of £50 per annum. He began to preach here as early as May, 1679, and November 9, 1681, married Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. John Wilson of Medfield.
The first recorded birth in town was that of William, son of Jonathan and Mary (Usher) Tyng, April 22, 1679. It is mentioned under the cap- tion of "Lambs born in Dunstable"; the first
1 He says in bis petition : "There being never an inhabitant left in the town but myself."
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recorded marriage is that of John Sollendine, under date of August 2, 1680. In the year fol- lowing the infant colony was called to mourn the death of the IIon. Edward Tyng, a prominent citizen who had removed thither from Boston as early as 1679. Ile was buried in the old cemetery about a mile south of Tyngsborough Centre, and this inscription may be read upou the granite headstone of his grave :-
" Here Lyeth the Body of MR. EDWARD TYNG, EsQ., aged 71 years. Died December 27 Day, 1681."
In 1684 a new meeting-house was erected, and on the 16th of December of the year following a church was organized, consisting of six male mem- bers ; namely, John Blanchard, John Cummings, Sr., Samuel French, Obadiah Perry, Jonathan Tyng, and Cornelius Waldo. The Rev. Thomas Weld was on the same day ordained as pastor.
The progress of the settlement was now peaceful and rapid until the opening of King William's War, when the Indians again made assaults upon the inhabitants along the eastern frontier. On the 23d of July, 1689, the town applied to the gov- ernor and council for "twenty footmen for the space of a month, to scout about the towne while we get our hay."
On the evening of September 2, 1691, the In- dians suddenly assaulted the town and massacred four of its inhabitants. This is the record : -
" Anno Domini 1691. Joseph Hassell, Senior, Anna Hassell, his wife, Benjamin Hassell, their son, were slain by our Indian enemies on Sept. 2d in the evening. Mary Marks, the daughter of Peter Marks, was slain by the Indians, also, on Sept. 2d day in the evening."
It is further stated that "Obadiah Perry and Christopher Temple dyed by the hand of our In- dian enemies on September, the twenty-eighth day, in the morning."
Such were the depredations committed by the Indians, that by the year 1696 nearly two thirds of the white settlers had left the town, and the colony afforded aid for the maintenance of the min- istry and the garrisons, now under the care of the brave Jonathan Tyng. The friendly Indian, Joe English, was of great service in giving intelligence of the movements of the enemy.
The first grist-mill in town was erceted by Sam- uel Adams at the "Gulf" at Massapoag Pond, prior to 1689; and in July of that year John Blanchard, John Lovewell, Christopher Read,
Samuel Whiting, and Robert Parris petitioned the General Court for soldiers to defend it from the enemy. This pond originally covered an area of some six hundred acres, and the outlet was on the eastern side. A natural dam about thirty feet in height restrained the waters on the north. Through this dam Mr. Adams cut a channel for his mill. His negro servant, whom he kept on cold bean- porridge, was one day left in charge of it. He had a grudge against his master, and seeing the water working its way through the sand he said that, though he might have stopped the current with his hat, he thought of the small bits of meat in his bean-porridge, and resolved to let it run. There had been a freshet, and the current, gaining strength by action, soon broke in full force through the embankment, swept the mill away, and forined another pond, called " Little Massapoag," below. This Gulf, thus formed, is now the outlet of the greater pond, and so far have the waters sunk that a little stream now falls into the pond at the origi- nal outlet by a descent of about twenty feet. The level of the water prior to the formation of the Gulf may be distinctly traced by the layers of sand in the adjacent hills. The scenery at the Gulf is quite romantic, and attracts the attention of the scenic painter and the geologist.
The Rev. Thomas Weld died June 9, 1702, and was buried in the old cemetery near his church. He was noted for his piety, and highly respected. There is no proof that he was slain (as Mr. John Farmer has asserted) by the Indians. His second wife, Hannah (Tyng) Savage Weld, died at the house of her son, the Rev. Habijah Savage Weld of Attleborough, in 1731.
During Queen Anne's War, which commenced in 1702 and continued ten years, Dunstable was kept in a state of constant alarm by the insidious machinations of the red meu. Another garrison was established December 25, 1702, and defended by William Tyng, John Bowers, Joseph Butterfield, John Spaulding, John Cummings, Joseph Hassell, Ebenezer Spaulding, Daniel Galusha, Paul Fletcher, Samuel French, Thomas Lund, and Jonathan Tyng. About this time Robert Parris, his wife, and oldest daughter were killed by the Indians. His other two daughters escaped by hiding in a hogshead till the savages had left the house.
The soldiers of Dunstable often left their homes on distant expeditions against the common foe, and then their wives and daughters bravely took their places in the garrisons. In the winter of 1703
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Captain William Tyng, with a small company, made his way through the deep snows to Winnepiseogee Lake, where he took six scalps, for which the colony paid him £200. Captain John Tyng made another expedition as far as Pequawkett in the winter of 1704, and killed five of the enemy. When the attack was made on Lancaster in the following summer, Captain Jonathan Tyng assisted in repulsing the enemy, when his " horse was by the Indians taken out of the said pasture and driven into the woods where they killed and ate the sd horse "; also " one John Spaulding, who was a sol- dier under his command, was killed in that action, and his gun taken by the Indians." In the winter following he went to Norridgewock, where he lost several soldiers, among whom was Eleazer Parker.
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