USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. I > Part 72
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in this town be supported with ye provisions of this town so long as it could be procured in sª town therefor." On the 31st of May, 1776, Oliver Cummings was commissioned captain of the Dun- stable company in Colonel Simeon Spaulding's regiment. Every soldier was provided with a fire- arm, cutting-sword, or hatchet, cartridge-box, from fifteen to one hundred pounds of buckshot, jack-knife, powder, from fifteen to one hundred pounds of balls, six flints, a knapsack (often of strong tow cloth), blanket, and canteen. Under such equipment the Dunstable soldiers performed effective service on almost all the great battle-fields of the Revolution.
The town chose, February 17, 1777, Ebenezer Bancroft and Abraham Kendall selectmen and as- sessors in place of " Captain Reuben Butterfield and Lieutenant Joel Parkhurst, absent in ye army," and Ebenezer Bancroft was sent to the General Court. In March of this year Lieutenant Richard Welch hired eight foreigners to serve in Captain Oliver Cummings' company during the war. The following Dunstable men were also drafted : " 1st time. Jonathan Fletcher, Samuel Taylor, Benjamin Jaquith, James Perhamn, Joseph Park- hurst, Jonathan Proctor, Samuel Butterfield, Ed- ward Kendall. 2d time. D. Fletcher, Oliver Cummings. 3d time. Jacob Kendall, Temple Kendall, Abraham Kendall, Leonard Butter- field."
As there were several tories in town, Lieutenant Nathaniel Holden was chosen, September 11, 1777, "to procure and lay before ye court evidence yt might be had of ye Enimical disposition of any of this town that may be complained of."
The following men were hired and paid by the second parish for a term of service in 1777-78: Amos Taylor, William Davis, John Proctor, Oliver Cummings, Jr., and Jonathan French of Dun- stable ; Jonas Whiting, Simeon Stevens, Isaac Stearne, and Josiah Wright of Billerica ; Samuel Parker of Pepperell; and Jonathan Dickinson of Charlestown. These men served in various com- panies.
The women of Dunstable were not less patriotic than the men ; and while their husbands and brothers were absent in the army, attended to the work on the farms, and prepared clothing, not only for their families, but also for the soldiers. The second parish voted, February 15, 1779, £ 100 " for the support of the Persons this Parish have hired to Engag into Continental Army."
425
DUNSTABLE.
At the first gubernatorial election under the new state constitution, held September 4, 1780, Dun- stable cast sixteen votes for John Hancock and three for James Bowdoin, as governor. Many voters were absent in the army. The town fur- nished this year 7,500 pounds of beef for the soldiers. In March, 1781, Lieutenant Samuel Perham, Josiah Blodgett, Jr., and Abel Colburn, were chosen a committee of correspondence, and in April following the town voted 4,460 pounds of beef and £120 in silver for the army.
The news of peace in 1783 was received with demonstrations of joy. The soldiers returned to their homes, and the town gradually assumed its wonted prosperity. Though heavily burdened by the demands of the war, the town did not fail to support its public schools and religious institution. It had no settled minister, but the pulpit was sup- plied by the Rev. John Strickland, the Rev. Phin- eas Wright (H. C. 1772), and other clergymen. In 1785 the town raised £40 for schools, and " voted and chose Mr. John Chaney, Jr., to Lead in Singing in Publick worship." The school-teachers in the year following were John Blodgett, Joseph Butterfield, Jr., and wife, Susannah Bancroft, Eliza- beth Swallow, Joseph Dix, Rachel Fletcher, and Elizabeth Powers. Overseers of the poor were for the first time elected, and Solomon Pollard was chosen " Deer reeve."
In the beginning of the year 1787 Captain Na- thaniel Fletcher, Leonard Parkhurst, Isaac Ken- dall, and Nathaniel Cummings left town for the suppression of Shays' Rebellion, and after a long and wearisome journey returned home at the end of March.
An effort was made this year towards the union of the two parishes ; but a donation made January 7, 1789, by Mrs. Sarah [Tyng] Winslow for the support of a minister and a grammar school, with the proviso that " ye town repair ye east meeting- house," and also that "a convenient house for a grammar school be built within a year, as near the said meeting-house as the grounds will admit," prevented the completion of the scheme, and on the 22d of June following, what is now Tyngs- borough was incorporated as a district. It was voted then by the town, August 10, that a school- house should be built " on the great road and in the centre of the town according to pay and travel "; and also that " the meeting-house should be removed to within 30 rods of the school-house." " Brother Zebedee Kendall " was appointed by the
church, October 22, to "Read the Psalm - a vars at a time."
The meeting-honse was removed to the centre of Dunstable in 1791, and dedicated October 2, 1793, the Rev. Mr. Bullard of Pepperell preaching thie sermon. This year about twenty families of Gro- ton living at Unquetynasset were set off to Dun- stable, rendering the boundary line between these towns very circuitous.
The Rev. Joshua Heywood was ordained as the second pastor of the church June 5, 1799, the Rev. John Bruce preaching the sermon. Mr. Heywood's salary was fixed at $266.66 per annum, and his "settlement" was $333. The population of the town in 1800 was four hundred and eighty-five, and health, hard work, and competence prevailed. In 1803 the town voted $40 for purchasing a set of weights and measures, and also $30 for a sing- ing-school. About this time the hass-viol, under strong opposition, was introduced into the church. In 1810 the population of the town was four hun- dred and seventy-five. Captain Jonas Kendall was the commander of the militia company.
As by the state law of 1811 any person was allowed to pay his church rate to whatever religious denomination he should prefer, Mr. Heywood gen- erously proposed to relinquish as much of his salary as any persons leaving his society might have previously paid. This offer served to endear him to his people, and probably but few left his ministrations.
The following soldiers from this town served in the War of 1812, Jesse Blood, Oliver Gilson, Abel Johnson, Benjamin Wetherbee, John Pratt, Nathan Proctor, Henry Woods, Peter Kendall, Nehemiah Gilson, Noah Woods, Isaac Gilson, Jonathan Wood- ward, Jr., Jonathan Swallow, Jr., Samuel Kendall, Jonathan Emerson, and Benjamin Parker. The two last named died at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y. Or- derly Sergeant John Woodward, Jr., also died at the same place, September 4, 1813, and a sermon commemorating his virtues was preached at Dun- stable, October 24 of the same year, by the Rev. Mr. Heywood. It was subsequently published. A cenotaph in the Central Cemetery, Dunstable, bears this inscription : -
" In memory of MR. JOHN WOODWARD, JR., who died Sept. 4, 1813, aged 23 years.
"Sackett's Harbor is the place Where my body lies at rest ; There at rest it must remain, Till the dead are raised again."
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
The spotted fever was very prevalent and fatal in town this year. About twenty persons died of it.
The Rev. Joshua Heywood died, greatly la- mented, November 11, 1814. He graduated at Harvard College, 1795, married Lydia French of Boston, January 27, 1800, and labored success- fully amongst his people. He was tall and digni- fied in person, courteous in manner, and faithful in his duties both as a pastor and a citizen.
A Universalist society was formed in 1818, of which Edmund Page, Esq., was annually chosen clerk until 1828. Among the clergymen who officiated here were the Rev. Hosea Ballou, Rev. Paul Dean, Rev. Sebastian and Rev. Russell Streeter, Rev. Thomas Whittemore, D. D., and Rev. Thomas B. Thayer, D. D. In 1820 the number of inhabitants was 584.
On the 12th of June, 1822, the Rev. Samuel Howe Tolman, who had been preaching in Dunsta- ble a part of the time for three years previons, was installed over the Orthodox church, which then consisted of about one hundred and five members, and December 24 of that year it was voted to sub- stitute Dr. Samuel Worcester's Watts' and Select ILymns for the Psalms and Hymns of Dr. Watts. Several musical instruments, as the bass-viol, vio- lin, and clarinet, were now used to assist the choir in singing.
In 1826 the sum of $300 was appropriated for the support of the public schools.
After a faithful ministry the Rev. Mr. Tolman was, for want of adequate support, dismissed Jan- uary 28, 1829. On the 13th of February of this year a post-office was established here, and Josialı Cummings, Jr., appointed postmaster. The popu- lation in 1830 was 593.
In the year following the Evangelical Church erected the present meeting-house, which was dedi- cated December 21, and on the same day the Rev. Eldad W. Goodman was installed as pastor. De- cember 29 the First Parish was legally reorganized, and Temple Kendall was annually chosen clerk until 1843, when the records terminate. Venus Pitman, a colored woman, said to have been the last representative of those persons once held as slaves in Dunstable, died here March 16, 1833.
On the morning of January 4, 1835, the mer- cury fell to 40° below zero ; this is the lowest point it is known to have reached in this vicinity.
The Rev. Mr. Goodman was dismissed from his pastorate on the 25th of August, and his departure was greatly regretted by his people. He was suc-
cceded in the pastorate, March 15, 1837, by the Rev. Levi Brigham.
The population in 1840 was 603, and the town valuation $191,314. On the 24th of December of this year Mr. Jonathan Woodward died, at the re- markable age of 101 years, 7 months, and 13 days. He was a worthy citizen, and a sermon was preached at his funeral in commemoration of his virtues. In 1842 the town was entirely free from debt, and nothing at this period occurred to interrupt the " even tenor of its way." The schools were mostly taught by young ladies, and a picnic or boating ex- cursion in the summer, a sleighride, singing-school, or ball in the winter, were the chief amusements of the people.
The Worcester and Nashua Railroad was opened through the westerly part of the town December 18, 1848; but it has never been of much service to the place. In 1850 the town contained 590 inhabitants, and the number of men then liable to do military duty was sixty-one. After a faithful and efficient ministry, the Rev. Mr. Brigham was, at his own request, dismissed March 21 of this year ; and on the 5th of September was followed by the Rev. Darwin Adams (Dartmouth College, 1824), son of the celebrated Daniel Adams, M. D., who wrote so many text-books for the public schools. In 1856 the two storekeepers were William Dunn and Liberty C. Raymond, and a hotel, owned by Peter Kendall, was doing a very good business at a min- eral spring now covered by the waters of Massa- poag Pond. The Rev. Darwin Adams, an excel- lant minister, was dismissed September 22, 1857, and now resides in Groton. He was followed in the pastorate by the Rev. William C. Jackson (Dartmouth College, 1831), who was installed November 2, 1859. In 1860 the population was 487, of whom eighty were farmers, four were merchants, and five were school-teachers.
The old church was reduced to ashes on the 8th of October, 1863. The only ministers who preached in it permanently after the division of the society were the Rev. Russell Streeter, Rev. Hiram Beckwith, Rev. Josiah Gilman, and Rev. William Hooper, who were all liberal and popular preachers.
The town of Dunstable furnished sixty-four men for the late war, of whom nine were killed or died in the service. It paid $3,100 for bounties. It had no commissioned officers in the war. Five of its men enlisted in other towns.
In 1865 the town had 90 farms, 1,540 apple-
427
DUNSTABLE.
trees, 157 sheep, 113 horses, 392 milch cows, and the value of milk sold annually was $8,998.
The Rev. Mr. Jackson was dismissed from his pastorate, at his own request, November 13, 1867, and is now settled at Brentwood, N. H.
The Rev. Edward P. Kingsbury was ordained as pastor of the church November 28, 1869. The town appropriated this year for its public schools the sum of $800. The population in 1870 was 471, and of these, 128 were legal voters. The health of the Rev. Mr. Kingsbury declining, he retired from his pastorate March 12, 1871, and died two weeks later, much lamented by all who knew him. The Rev. Charles Rockwell, though not installed, was the pastor from May 4, 1871, till May 1, 1873. The valuation of the town in 1872 was $326,152.22. The Rev. Franklin D. Austin was employed to supply the pulpit, July 1, 1873, and still continues in that office. The lib- eral sum of $900 was appropriated this year for the support of the public schools, which are now taught altogether by young ladies.
The Nashua, Acton, and Boston Railroad, follow- ing the line of the Salmon Brook, was opened through the town in June, 1873, and on the 17th of September of this year the town observed the bicentennial anniversary of its incorporation. The oration was delivered by the Hon. George B. Lor- ing, and has been published. The day was fair, the concourse of people large, the collation fine, and nothing occurred to mar the pleasure of the occa- sion.
The Hon. Isaac Fletcher, son of Joseph and Molly (Cummings) Fletcher, and grandson of Dea-
con Joseph Fletcher, was born in the northwest part of Dunstable, November 22, 1784, graduated at Dartmouth College in the class of 1808, studied law, and, in 1811, engaged in his profession at Lyndon, Vt. He held various state offices, and was a Representative in Congress from 1837 to 1841. He was a good lawyer and an able states- man. He married Miss Abigail Stone in 1812, and died, greatly respected, October 19, 1842. A brief memoir of him was published in 1843 by Isaac F. Redfield.
Amos Kendall, son of Deacon Zebedee and Molly (Dakin) Kendall, was born in the northerly part of Dunstable, near Salmon Brook, August 16,. 1787. He was early made acquainted with hard work on his father's farm; but, employing many of his leisure hours in study, he made such prog- ress in learning that it was decided that he should have a collegiate education, and he was therefore sent to Dartmouth College, whence he graduated with the highest honors of his class in 1811. He studied law, removed to Kentucky, where he be- came the editor of The Argus at Frankfort, ad- vocating the election of Andrew Jackson to the presidency. By him he was appointed, in 1829, fourth auditor of the United States Treasury, and from 1835 to 1840 he held the office of post- master-general, introducing many reforms into the department. He was a man of great executive ability, of sterling integrity, and of active benevo- lence. He died November 12, 1869, leaving an interesting autobiography which has since been published by his son-in-law.
428
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
EVERETT.
BY DUDLEY P. BAILEY.
T HE town of Everett, named in honor of Edward Everett, was formerly a part of Malden, known as South Malden, and was incorporated March 9, 1870. On the south it is separated from Somerville and the Charlestown District of Boston by the Mystic River, except at the bridge, where a section of Boston territory embracing the Charlestown poor-house and grounds extends a short distance north of the river. On the west is the town of Medford, separated by Malden River, on the north the town of Malden, and on the east the town of Revere and the city of Chelsea. Everett contained at the time of its incorporation an area of 2,473 acres, which was in 1875 diminished by the annexation to Medford of the territory west of Malden River, embracing about 200 acres, leaving the present area of Everett abont 2,273 acres. The distance of Everett post-office from the city hall, Boston, is about three miles. Everett is situated on the Eastern Railroad, having ready communication with Boston both by the main line and the Saugus Branch. The Middlesex Street Railway also passes through the westerly, central, and southwesterly parts of the town, land- ing passengers in Boston within forty-five minutes from the time of leaving Everett Square. There are, besides the centre, three villages, or clusters of residences, known as Mystic Village in the south- west, Glendale in the northeast, and Monnt Wash- ington in the east, the latter communicating with Boston more naturally by way of Chelsea.
The first settlement of this section dates from about the year 1630, when Malden was a part of Charlestown called Mystic Side. Among the ear- liest settlers, if not the earliest, were the Bucknam family, who formerly occupied what in more recent times was known as the old Swan House on Buck- nam (erroneously called Buckman) Street. An- other early settler was Thomas Whittemore, who
settled in the southeast part of the town near Chelsea as early as 1645. Several descendants of both families still live in Everett. There are a few residences still remaining which belong to a period little if any later than these settlements.
The main part of Malden was separated from Charlestown in 1649, but the southerly portion was not annexed to Malden until 1721. Long before its separation from the parent town in 1870, South Malden formed in many respects a distinct com- munity. The great swamp which extends from Chelsea line westerly just beyond the present north- erly boundary of Everett broke the continuity of the habitable territory, except along a strip of land about a mile wide, extending from the swamp on the east to the marsh on the west. This territo- rial isolation of Sonth Malden early induced efforts to obtain a distinct corporate existence. Being dissatisfied with the location of a new meeting- house erected in the northern part of the town in 1730, the people of South Malden proceeded to make arrangements for a separation, and, on the 13th of September in that year, held their first meeting for worship. Jonathan Sargeant, some of whose descendants still live in Everett, gave a lot of land for a meeting-house on Belmont, formerly called Nelson's Hill, on the east corner of Broad- way and High Street as now laid out, his deed bearing date August 6, 1731. There was no road leading to the spot at that time. A house of wor- ship appears to have been erected on this lot in 1731. In 1733 an effort was made to have Soutlı Malden incorporated as a distinct township or pre- cinct, and after several years the effort proved successful, the South Precinct in Malden being in- corporated in 1737. On the 18th of April, 1734, a council of three churches had embodied the South Church with sixteen male members. For some years the Sonth Parish appears to have gained in numbers and strength, and, in 1752, declined a reunion with the North Parish, which in its turn, in 1758, declined similar overtures from the South Parish for a partial union of interests.
429
EFERETT.
There appears to have been some disaffection growing out of the refusal of the South Parish to unite with the North, and the interests of the former soon after this began to languish. In 1766 they were so far reduced in circumstances as to be obliged to dispose of their parsonage house and land (more recently known as the Sar- geant-Popkin estate) to the Rev. Eliakim Willis in return for pastoral services to be rendered by him. After the expiration of the term for which he was to serve in exchange for the parsonage, the parish being still unable to pay a regular salary, Mr. Willis, in 1770, consented to carry on the work of the ministry for a free contribution from Sabbath to Sabbath .. During the Revolution the parish appears to have become nearly extinct, no record of any proceedings being made from 1775 to 1787, when the addition of some fourteen or more influen- tial members who had left the North Parish on account of disaffection with Rev. Adoniram Judson, theu settled there, revived for the time the declin- ing fortunes of the South Parish. The old church on the hill was repaired, and began to wear a less desolate aspect. On the dismission of Mr. Judson from the North Parish, in 1791, the way was opened for the reunion of the two parishes, which was effected by act of the legislature passed Feb- ruary 23, 1792, after a separation of about fifty- five years. The successive pastors of the South Church were Rev. Joseph Stimpson, from Septem- ber 24, 1735, to 1744; Rev. Aaron Cleaveland, May 23, 1747, to November 23, 1750; and Rev. Eliakim Willis, from February 20, 1752, to Feb- ruary 23, 1792; after which Mr. Willis became the pastor of the reunited parish, and so remained until his death, which occurred March 14, 1801, at the age of eighty-seven years. He was a man of excellent character, exalted piety, and unself- ishly devoted to the work of the ministry. After the reunion of the two parishes the old meeting- house continued to be used for occasional religious services until near 1800, when it was sold, and the funds given to the South School District, then just established.
The educational advantages of South Malden in early times were quite limited. The first men- tion made of any school kept in this section is found in a vote of the town of Malden in 1710, that the school be kept " one quarter in ye south- wardly end " of the town. In 1737 the term of schooling was increased to six months. The first mention of a school-house in South Malden is
under date of March 3, 1739, when, at a meeting of the South Precinct, in the words of the old record, "a vote was called for to see if ye Prect would finish ye school house, and ye vote pased in ye negitive," indicating the need as well as the recent erection of the school-house. For a cen- tury or more schools were maintained in only three sections of the town, one in the northern (Melrose), one in the central, and one in the southern part (Everett). The increase of population was very gradual. In 1737, when the South Precinct was incorporated, the entire town contained about 210 polls, indicating a population of from 900 to 1,000. In 1790 it had reached only 1,033, and in 1800, only 1,059. Judging by the proportions obtaining in recent years, Soutlı Malden had between one fourth and one fifth of these numbers. Previous to the erection of the Charles River and Malden bridges, in 1786 and 1788, the latter at the place formerly known as Penny Ferry, the growth of population was retarded by the want of convenient means of reaching Boston. A new era appears to have commenced with the present century.
At a town-meeting held May 6, 1799, the town was divided into school districts, the South Dis- trict corresponding very nearly with the present town of Everett. The old school-house was pur- chased of the proprietors by the town, and sold for $ 35, it having previously been private property. In the year 1800 a lot of land was purchased for $ 20 on Belmont Hill, at the north corner of Broad- way and Hancock Street as now laid out, and a new school-house erected by the town on the same, the building and land costing about $ 300. The whole sum raised in the year 1801 for the school expenses of the entire town, then including Malden, Melrose, and Everett, was $420, of which the proportion of the South District was probably less than $ 100. In 1812 the appropriation for schools had risen to $ 800, and in 1842 to $ 2,000. The sum allotted to the South District in 1839 was $ 641.37. The number of houses in the district in 1842 had increased to 88 against 52 in 1828, while the number of families in 1842 was 105, indicating a population of 525. It was, therefore, deemed advisable to divide the district, the terri- tory occupying the slope towards the Mystic River being set off as the Southwest School District. The remaining portion retained the old district name and property, and removed the old building to the present site of the Glendale school-house, bought in the same year. In 1854 the old build-
430
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ing was removed from its new site, and the pres- ent Glendale School-house erected. The South- west District purchased, in 1842, the present site of the Centre School-house in Everett, and erected a school building which was burned on the morn- ing of Friday, February, 27, 1846. In the same year the district erected a new and larger edifice, which was remodelled and enlarged in 1871. This building was in turn partially destroyed by fire on the morning of November 7, 1875, but was re- stored and is still standing. In 1853 the town of Malden abolished the school-district system, and the schools of the South and Southwest districts were withdrawn from local control. The school appropriation in 1852 was $ 4,000, of which the South and Southwest districts had $ 1,186.56. In 1866 the Ferry Street and Thorndike school- houses were erected, and a primary school was opened in each in the spring of 1867. The Hancock Street School-house (sold in 1874) was erected in 1868, and a primary school was opened in it in the spring of 1869.
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