USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. II > Part 67
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self-denial"; and that his preaching was accompanied " with earnestness and pathos of address." There was a large assembly at his funeral, in which were many ministers, some coming a long distance to express their deep sympathy with his family, the church, and the town. During his ministry he baptized in Townsend six hundred and sixty-seven persons ; and one hundred and seventy-three joined the church.
During the next three years there was no settled pastor. On the 2d of December, 1799, David Palmer received a call to become the town's minis- ter, which he accepted. He was ordained on the first day of January, 1800, and the occasion was made a holiday. The weather and travelling were excellent. The pastor elect, his personal friends, and the learned council marched to the meeting- house on the snow-crust to the music of fife and drum. Everybody " kept open house," and the multitude that came from the neighboring towns gave special attention to the " ordination puddings," and other good things, both liquid and solid, that were provided for their gastronomie enjoyment on this festal day. The exereises at the meeting-house were very impressive. Rev. Andrew Lee of Lis- bon, Connecticut, preached the sermon.
Mr. Palmer proved to be a very acceptable preacher and a successful educator. Several young men of this town fitted for college under his tuition. He was a man of genial manners and social disposition ; particularly useful to the schools, where his visits were always welcome, on account of the instruction imparted in his pecul- iarly agreeable manner. His ministry continued more than thirty-one years, during which time he performed three hundred and fifty-four marriages, baptized two hundred and eighty-three persons, and witnessed the admission of two hundred and fifty into the church.
Rev. David Palmer was born at Windham, Con- neeticut, in 1768; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1797, was preceptor of New Ipswich Academy in 1798, ordained in Townsend in 1800, married Chloe Kinsley, of his native town, in 1794, and died at Townsend in 1849, aged eighty-one years.
For the first ninety-eight years of the municipal existence of the town it had only three settled ministers, each of whom was animated by the same sublime faith and hope; whereas, sinee that time the " laborers " have been many, and. of widely different theological views. At the beginning of the present eentury there were two or three Baptist
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families in this town. In 1827 the number of persons of that faith had increased so much under the labors of Rev. Benjamin Dean, that a church consisting of twelve members was organized at West Townsend. In 1834 a tasteful and com- modious meeting-house was built at that village. From this commencement to the present time the denomination has received aid from the Domestic Baptist Missionary Society. The names of the ministers who followed Mr. Dean in succession are Rev. Caleb Brown, Rev. James Barnaby, Rev. Oren Tracy, Rev. Charles W. Reding, Rev. W. C. Rich- ards, Rev. Caleb Blood, Rev. F. G. Brown, Rev. Lester Williams, Rev. E. A. Battell, Rev. George W. Ryan, Rev. Willard P. Upham, Rev. Oren K. Hunt, and Rev. William R. Thompson, who is the present pastor. The church has never been large, but there has been much unanimity among its members.
The Unitarians, holding possession of the meet- ing-house in 1830, had considerable numerical strength, but none of them made profession of religion or belonged to any church. The desidera- tum with them was " liberal preaching." In 1831 they took the name of the First Parish in Towns- end, and employed Rev. Warren Burton for their preacher, who remained about a year. He was an eloquent speaker, and a man of good ability. Mr. Burton was followed by Rev. Jesse Chickering till about 1836, when Rev. Ezekiel L. Bascom com- menced preaching, and during that year he gathered a church consisting of rather more than twenty mem- bers. He was a plausible writer and speaker. He graduated at Dartmouth in 1798, and died in 1841.
In the autumn of 1836 Linus H. Shaw (Har- vard Divinity School, 1833) received a call for a settlement with the First Parish, which he ac- cepted, and he was installed on the 21st of De- cember following. The mantle of the founder of this church did not fall on this young pastor ; for although he was a gentleman of unsullied moral character, a good thinker, and a writer of respect- able talents, he was never popular either with his church or congregation. Unless making thorough preparation and committing his thoughts to writ- ing, his efforts in public were always failures. After a pastorate of about two years his connection with this parish was dissolved. From that time until 1852 the Unitarians had no ·settled minister, and but little preaching. In 1769, by the legacy of Amos Whitney, a valuable farm, located near the meeting-house, was given to the town for a parsonage. This farm legally came into the pos-
session of the Unitarians, and was sold by them. They also sold the old meeting-house, except the bell, to the Methodists in 1852. In 1854 they built a meeting-house at the Harbor, and employed Rev. Stillman Barber for their minister. This gentleman remained with them about two years, at the end of which time no funds were raised for his support. From 1856 to the present time "the First Parish in Townsend " has existed only in name.
In 1850, and for about two years after, the Methodists were listening to the stirring appeals of two earnest clergymen, - Rev. Horace Moulton and Rev. Samuel Tupper, who laid the foundation for a Methodist church in this town. As before mentioned, the Methodists bought the old meeting- house of the Unitarians in 1852. This denomina- tion has supported preaching and weekly religious meetings since its inauguration. Much interest from time to time has been manifested by the peo- ple of this sect. In 1876 the church received sixty-eight new members, - the result of a revival conducted by I. T. Johnson, the evangelist. The names and order of succession of the pastors of this church are as follows : Rev. Horace Moulton, Rev. Samuel Tupper, Rev. Pliny Wood, Rev. Windsor Ward, Rev. J. A. Ames, Rev. T. B. Treadwell, Rev. A. F. Bailey, Rev. W. P. Webster, Rev. C. H. Hanaford, Rev. S. K. Bailey, Rev. Burtis Judd, Rev. E. A. Howard, Rev. A. K. Howard, Rev. T. R. Tisdale, Rev. Erastus Bur- lingham, Rev. A. W. Baird, Rev. W. E. Dwight, and Rev. Daniel Atkins, the present pastor.
The Universalist Restorationists formed a Soci- ety in 1839, at West Townsend, and Rev. Jolin Pierce, a young man of good abilities, was em- ployed as their minister. In 1848 the society built the brick meeting-house at West Townsend, which was dedicated January 25, 1849. The Restorationists never formed a church in Towns- end, nor have they sustained preaching here more than one third of the time since their church edifice was built. The names of the ministers of this society are John Pierce, Stillman Clark, Varnum Lincoln, R. J. Chapman, and C. C. Clark.
For the last fifty years the Congregationalists have been the most numerous, wealthy, and influ- ential religious sect in town. In 1830 they built the brick church edifice at the east of the Park, in the centre of the town, and selected a young man of first-class education and talents for their pastor.
Rev. William M. Rogers, a native of England,
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
was the first pastor of the Orthodox Congrega- tional Church of Christ in Townsend ; Harvard, 1827; Andover Theological Seminary, 1830; or- dained February 16,-1831; dismissed at his own request, July, 1835.
Rev. Columbus Shumway, the second pastor, graduated at Union College; received his theo- logical education at Auburn ; was installed, June, 1836 ; and dismissed, April, 1837.
Rev. David Stowell, third pastor ; Dartmouth, 1829; was installed, June, 1837; dismissed, August, 1843. Rev. Luther H. Sheldon, fourth pastor ; Middlebury College, 1839 ; Andover Theo- logical Seminary, 1842 ; ordained, 1844 ; dismissed at his own request, 1856. Rev. Elias W. Cook, fifth pastor; Yale, 1837; installed, 1858; dis- missed, 1859. Rev. Moses Patten, sixth pastor ; Dartmouth, 1850; Andover Theological Seminary, 1855 ; ordained, 1860; dismissed, 1863. Rev. John C. Hutchinson, acting pastor from 1863 to 1866. Rev. George Williams, seventh pastor; in- stalled, 1867; dismissed, 1869. Rev. George H. Morss ; Andover Theological Seminary, 1857 ; acting pastor from 1869 to 1873. Rev. Henry C. Fay, Amherst College, 1851; Bangor Theological Seminary, 1857 ; acting pastor from 1873 to 1876. Rev. Albert F. Newton, eighth pastor ; Dartmouth, 1874; Andover Theological Seminary, 1877; or- dained, September 5, 1877 ; the present incumbent.
There is nothing particularly worthy of record concerning the educational history of this town, except, perhaps, a notice of the Female Seminary and Townsend Academy, both of which were in active operation here thirty years ago. In 1839, on petition of Levi Warren of this town, and certain other gentlemen of Boston and Newton, of the Baptist faith, a charter of incorporation was granted by the General Court to the Townsend West Village Female Seminary. The grantees erected a large and commodious building at West Townsend, and furnished it with appara- tus for illustrating the sciences, together with a library of several hundred volumes. The trustees were fortunate in their choice of a principal at the opening of the institution. A competent corps of assistant teachers was employed, and it became a first-class seminary, and was extensively pat- ronized, particularly by people of the Baptist denomination. This large school was a great benefit to West Townsend. It had uninterrupted prosperity till about 1854, when, from several causes, but especially from a difference among
the trustees themselves, it lost its popularity and influence, and was discontinued.
The people at the centre of the town, in 1840, under the lead of Rev. David Stowell, feeling that West Townsend was becoming a rival of their own village, assembled, and agreed to build an academy by subscription. Through contributions of lumber, money, and labor, a building of suita- ble dimensions was erected at the centre of the town, and opened for academical purposes in 1841. For five or six years afterwards a good number of scholars of both sexes were in attend- ance at this academy. After that time the income from tuition fees was found to be inadequate to support a principal, and the doors of the build- ing were closed. Both of these buildings were afterwards purchased by the town and used for school-houses.
Townsend has produced its full share of profes- sional men who liave gone out from its borders and made themselves homes elsewhere. Seventeen Townsend men have graduated at New England colleges. Their names are as follows : John Hubbard, D. C., 1785 ; Abraham Butterfield, D. C., 1796; Daniel Adams, D. C., 1797 ; Jos- eph Walker, B. C., 1818 ; William Farmer, H. U., 1819 ; John Stevens, Middlebury, 1821 ; Joel Giles, H. U., 1829; John Graham, Amherst, 1829; John Giles, H. U., 1831; Charles Brooks, Y. C., 1853; Warren Brooks, H. U., 1855; Mark Davis, D. C., 1856 ; Charles Thaddeus Haynes, Amherst, 1862; John Milton Proctor, D. C., 1863; Randall Spaulding, Y. C., 1870; Eliel Shumway Ball, D. C., 1874; Wayland Spaulding, Y. C., 1874.
Daniel Adams, the most noted man born in Townsend, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1797 ; took his medical degree at the same insti- tutiou in 1799; was associate editor of a news- paper at Leominster in 1801; published The Scholar's Arithmetic in 1808, and The Under- standing Reader in 1810; was a member of the New Hampshire Historical Society in 1822, and president of the New Hampshire Medical Society in 1823; published Adams' New Arithmetic in 1828, and The Monitorial Reader iu 1841. He was for some time a practical physician and surgeon at Mount Vernon, New Hampshire. He afterward moved to Keene, where he resided more than half a century, and where he published most of his works. His books had an extensive circulation through the common schools and acad-
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emies of New England, and they were a de- cided improvement on the text-books previously used. He was a leading man in his profession, as well as a prominent author. He was a dili- gent student during his life, investigating the cause of things, and laying open their hidden relations and affinities. A mind like his may be compared to the head-light of a locomotive, that darts its rays far along the track. He married Nancy Mulliken, August 17, 1800. They had two sons and three daughters. Both of his sons received a collegiate education. He died at Keene in 1864, aged 91 years.
Henry Price.
For about twenty years this town contained the residence of Henry Price, the man who laid the corner-stone of speculative Masonry in America. He was born in London about 1697, and came to New England about 1723. From the record of the proceedings in a suit commenced by him against a debtor in 1732 it is proved that he was a shop- keeper and tailor in Boston as early as 1731. On petition of several masonic brethren of Boston, addressed to Viscount Montague, grand master of Masons of England, he was appointed " a provin- cial grand master of free and accepted masons in New England," April 30, 1733. Within a short time after this appointment he was commissioned cornet in governor Belcher's troop of guards, with the rank of major. He was then thirty-six years old. For some time his place of business was on Cornhill, very near where No. 96 Washington Street
now stands. In 1737 he married Mary Townsend, who was superior to most of her sex both in mental and personal endowments, and in 1738 a daughter, Mary, was born to them. He carried on business, sometimes with a partner, till 1751, when he retired to take care of his real estate, of which he possessed a large amount in different towns. His wife (Mary Townsend) died about 1750, and in 1752 he mar- ried Mary Tilden, of Boston, at Trinity Church, as he was an Episcopalian. About 1760, while looking forward to a bright future, his wife and daughter died at nearly the same time, leaving his home desolate and forsaken. It was probably his sorrow at these losses that induced him to make himself a home elsewhere. In 1761 he came to Townsend, and settled on land which he had owned about twenty years. A prospect of scenic beauty meets the eye from the hillside where he lived. He was soon appreciated by the Townsend people, for in 1764 and 1765 he represented them in the provincial legislature, in which body he served on several committees.
" September ye 17, 1771, were lawfully married Henry Price Esq., with Lydia Randall, both of Townsend, by Reverend Samuel Dix of Townsend." By this third marriage two children were born to him, Mary and Rebecca. He lived quietly in this town and enjoyed his increasing years. Tradition says that on nearly every Sabbath morning he and his family were driven to church by his negro slave Scipio, and that they invariably returned home at noon, when a good dinner awaited their arrival. He died on the 20th of May, 1780, from the effect of a wound in his abdomen caused by a glancing axe held in his own hands. He performed many journeys to Boston in connection with his masonic duties, where in his old age he was regarded with reverence by the order. At the age of seventy-one years, and while installing Grand Master Rowe, he used these impressive words : -
" It is God's decree that every one shall die. Death is his messenger to enforce his law ; nor will he let any of us carry from hence any mark of hu- man pride, treasures or honors, or any proof of our earthly consequence but a good conscience obtained from a well-spent life; from which reflects the most brilliant legacy we can leave our friends in this world, - a good name."
Through the moss on the slate head-stone at his grave the passer-by may trace these words, which have remained there for a century : "An Honest Man. The Noblest Work of God."
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
The industries of Townsend, aside from agri- culture, have been numerous. John Wallace and his brother, men of Scotch-Irish origin, came here soon after the settlement of the town, and located on Nissequassick Hill. They were coopers in Bos- ton, but chose this town for a permanent residence on account of the large quantity of white-oak tim- ber found here. Coopering has been the leading mechanical pursuit in Townsend since it was in- troduced by these men. Until within the last half- century no machinery was used in making barrels ; but, since the disappearance of the original growth of the white-oak, barrels have been made from white-pine, and machinery has been extensively utilized in preparing coopering stock. This busi- ness has brought a large amount of money into the town. In 1874, according to the decennial census of the state, the capital invested in this branch of industry was $202,700; amount of goods manufactured, $344,254. The lumber-mills of the town are, at present; almost exclusively used in the interest of the coopering business. There are two leather-board mills, which turn out many tons of product annually ; and two grist- mills sent out, in 1874, $20,000 worth of corn, rye, and wheat, ground into meal and flour.' The town has had clothiers, saddlers, morocco-dressers, wool-carders, and hatters, besides those engaged in the manufacture of spinning-wheels, potash, and cast-iron ware, all of which trades and occupations are now extinct.
Townsend has had its full share of ingenious mechanics, the Richardsons, Whitneys, and Ste- venses ranking in this class. Long ago Levi Rich- ardson, through the influence of General Varnum, M. C., became the patentee of a spinning-wheel, and of a self-setting machine for sawing boards.
Samuel Whitney, a blacksmith, was the inven- tor of the machine known as the Woodworth Planer. He had the castings made, to which he applied the knives and " feeding " part, made by himself ; and he put the machine successfully at work in presence of men who are still among the living. Neglecting to apply with sufficient
promptness for letters-patent, the place where his model was stored was broken into, and drawings taken, from which another model was made.
William Stevens, an excellent machinist, was the inventor of a self-setting gear for the stave- saw, which is in constant use in the coopering business, and is a great labor-saving contrivance.
Asa Whitney was a prominent mechanic, from the same blacksmith-shop of his brother Samuel, to whom reference has just been made. As a railroad engineer he was at the head of the profession. When the Erie Railway was being built, he was consulted by the directors on the question of its gauge, to which he gave an elaborate opinion in favor of the 4-feet 83-inch gauge, which, had it been then adopted (as it recently has been), would have saved the railway millions of dollars. At the close of his life, in 1874, he was engaged in Philadelphia, at the head of the firm of A. Whit- ney & Sons, in the manufacture of car-wheels. By his will he left $50,000 to found a chair of dynamical engineering in the University of Penn- sylvania. He left a large fortune, and was the only Townsend man known to the writer who was ever a millionnaire.
Let this synopsis of the history of an old town- ship be closed by a single quotation, which should awaken everywhere a greater respect for the mem- ory of those great minds which, during all the past, have been continually adding to the aggre- gate of human knowledge and happiness, from the time of Tubal Cain, the first known cunning artificer, to that of our own Middlesex County Morse, whose first message over the wires was, " What hath God wrought !"
" The people of the present owe everything to the past ; and without the accomplishments of those who have preceded us, man would be simply a barbarian in the wilderness, crouching in a cave, shivering in the cold, afraid of the thunder, trem- bling before the lightning, shuddering at the mys- terions voices of the winds, without even a knife or a hatchet to defend himself against the wild beasts."
391
TYNGSBOROUGH.
TYNGSBOROUGH.
BY REV. ELIAS NASON.
HIS pleasant rural town, lying in the northerly part of the county, and intersected by the Merrimack River, is thirty- two miles from Boston, and has for its boundaries New Hampshire on the north, Dracut on the east, Chelmsford and Westford on the south, and Groton and Dunstable on the west. It contains 665 inhabitants, who are mostly engaged in the cultivation of the soil. The town is accommodated by the Lowell and Nashua Rail- road, and an iron bridge has recently been con- structed over the Merrimack River, by which the easterly and westerly sections of the town are brought into direct communication. The view of the bridge and of the well-shaded village on the bend of the river is remarkably fine. Two or three affluents of the Merrimack River furnish some motive-power, and Tyng's Pond in the east- ern, and Massapoag Pond in the western section of the town serve to diversify the scenery and to attract pleasure-parties in the summer season. Granite is quarried to some extent near the line of Westford, and iron ore is found on the margin of Lawrence Brook. Scribner's Hill, Pine Hill, and Abraham's Hill are the principal eminences.
Wicasuck Island, in the Merrimack River, con- taining about sixty-five acres, is somewhat noted in history, and upon it many Indian implements, such as arrow-heads, gouges, and tomahawks, have been found. The town originally formed part of Dunstable, and the people, for a long period, at- tended public worship in that town ; but disagree- ing as to the location of the meeting-house, a parish, called the First in Dunstable, was organized in 1755.
A small meeting-house was erected, and public worship to some extent maintained. The place was incorporated as a district, June 23, 1789, and as a town, February 23, 1809, receiving its name from Mrs. Sarah Tyng Winslow, who had made
a liberal donation for the support of the church and of an academy.
So far as known, the first white settler in what is now the town of Tyngsborough was John Crom- well, a fur-trader, who, some time prior to 1661, purchased of Captain Edward Johnson of Woburn three hundred acres of land on the right bank of the Merrimack River, built a house, and made some improvements on his farm. He died in 1661, leaving a widow, Seaborne Cromwell, and an estate valued at £608 2s. Sd. His servants were Thomas Williams and Walter Shepherd, who in 1702 testified in respect to the estate. The land subsequently came into the possession of Henry Farwell, and then into that of the Bancroft family.
It is said, though with but little appearance of truth, that Cromwell was accustomed to use his foot in weighing the peltries which he bought of the Indians, and that they at lengthi became so much incensed at him for unfair dealing with them, that they made an assault upon his house, - , he and his family having only time to escape into the wilderness, -and then reduced it to ashes. The cellar of the house is still visible, and a sum of money was found buried in an iron pot near by it. In his account of Tyngsborough (October, 1815) the Rev. Mr. Prentice says : " Some time after, pewter was found in the well, and an iron pot and trammel in the sand; the latter are preserved. The present owner of the place was ploughing near the spot, and found his plough moving over a flat stone which gave a hollow sound. On re- moving the earth and stone, he discovered a hole stoned, about six inches in diameter, from which he took a sum of money." Such discoveries were no doubt made, but there is no evidence, except tradition, that Cromwell buried the money, or that his house was destroyed by the savages. The in- ventory of his estate, as given by his widow, seems to disprove the whole story.
The town of Dunstable, including what is now Tyngsborough, was incorporated October 16, 1673, and among the petitioners for the act was Jonathan
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Tyng, son of the Hon. Edward Tyng, born in Boston, December 15, 1642. He early came to Dunstable, and erected a house on the right bank of the Merri- mack River, nearly. opposite Wicasuck Island, where he continued to reside until about the year 1713. He died on the 19th of January, 1724. His father, Edward Tyng, removed from Boston to Dunstable about the year 1677, and died there December 27, 1681. He was buried in the old Tyng Cemetery, and the inscription on his head-stone is :-
" Here lyeth the body of Mr. EDWARD TING Esqr. aged 71 yeares. Died December 27 Day 1681."
At the time of Jonathan Tyng's arrival in Dunstable it was a frontier settlement. A dreary wilderness, occupied by savages and beasts of prey, extended on the north as far as Canada ; the Pawtucket Indians, under Wannalancet, held the lands upon the river below; the hostile Pennacooks above. But few white mnen had then ventured to fix their habitations in this region. Tyng fortified his house, laid out his farm, and resolved to stand firmly at his post. His bravery was soon put to the test. Ou the breaking out of Philip's War in 1675, as the en- emy was found to be approaching, the English settlers left their homes and fled; but Jonathan Tyng, strengthening his garrison as best he could, remained as the sole inhabitant of the place. For this he may well be called the first permanent settler of Dunstable. The following petition clearly gives the situation : -
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