History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. II, Part 69

Author: Drake, Samuel Adams, 1833-1905
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Boston : Estes and Lauriat
Number of Pages: 650

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. II > Part 69

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The house of Eleazer Tyng, built in 1700, standing near the cemetery is now occupied by Mr. Jacob Drake, and is supposed to be the oldest

| house in town. The so-called " haunted house " stood near it.

It was deemed advisable in 1787 to consolidate the two parishes of Dunstable into one, and erect a meeting-house on land of Mr. Ezra Thompson, about a mile west of the Merrimack River, and several meetings were held to carry this proposition into effect ; but on the 7th of January, 1789, Mrs. Sarah (Tyng) Winslow proposed, on certain con- ditions, to make a donation to the town, and this prevented the union of the parishes.

Her communication to the town is this : -

"To promote learning and piety in this town of Dunstable, and to unite the town in peace, I will give the income or interest of £ 1,333 68. 8d. law- ful money to ye said town, one half for the support of a minister, and the other half for the support of a Grammar School forever on ye following eondi- tions, viz .: Provided the town will settle a minister within one year, who shall be approved by the Congregational ministers in the five neighboring towns. That ye town repair ye East meeting- house, and that a meeting-house be forever upheld on the spot on which the said meeting-house now stands. Also, that a convenient house for a gram- mar-school be built within one year, as near the said meeting-house as the grounds will admit a house for said purpose, and on ye said ground, to be upheld forever, and such a learned and vertuous schoolmaster be provided, as the President of ye University in Cambridge shall recommend. Pro- vided likewise that I am not held to pay parish taxes, nor any more expenses for the support of a. school in said town. If the town accept of ye foregoing proposals and conditions, I agree to give them security for the performance thereof on my part. SARAH WINSLOW.

" DUNSTABLE, Jan' 7, 1789."

To the conditions of this proposed benefaction the people in the westerly part of the town, living as far as they did from the village of 'Tyngsbor- ough, very naturally objected ; and therefore on the 28th of April following she mnade the proposal to give the sum above mentioned " to the people that lately formed the First Parish, and to such others as will cheerfully accept of it."

In order to secure the donation the people origi- nally forming the First Parish were, on the 22d of June, 1789, incorporated into a district under the name of Tyngsborough, and then accepted and appropriated the liberal gift of Mrs. Winslow.

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

The population of the district in 1790 was 382, | of whom seventeen were colored persons. On the 6th of January of this year a church was formed, and the Rev. Nathaniel Lawrence (II. C. 1787) was ordained as pastor. He continued in the pastorate until his death, the record of which is thus made on his headstone in the cemetery near the Thompson place : -

" In memory of Rev. Nathaniel Lawrence who died on Lord's day, Feb. 5, 1843 æt. 72}. Mr Lawrence was a native of Woburn, Mass. He graduated at Harvard Col- lege in 1787, and on Jan3 6, 1790, was ordained pastor of the Congregational Society in Tyngsborough which rela- tion continued 49 years. On the morning of Feb. 5 lie attended church as usual in apparent good health, but on returning to his dwelling very suddenly expired. His death was that of the righteous aud his last end like his."

His wife, Hannah, died September 20, 1835, in her seventy-second year, and is buried near him. The church of Mr. Lawrence became Unitarian in sentiment, and so continues.

In 1802 it was " voted that the small scholars shall not be admitted into the Grammar School until they obtain such a pitch of learning as the selectmen shall think proper."

The population in 1800 had arisen to 696, and in the year following John Pitts, Esq., who had married Mary, daughter of Judge John Tyng, was chosen to represent Dunstable in the General Court. His daughter Elizabeth married Robert Brinley, of Tyngsborough, September 10, 1803.

The district of Tyngsborough was taken from Dunstable, and incorporated as a town Febru- ary 23, 1809, and by the census of the year fol- lowing it contained. 704 inhabitants.

In the great gale, September, 1815, the tall steeple of the meeting-house was blown down and other damage done. The present Unitarian Church was subsequently erected on or near the site of the original meeting-house.

Captain Nathaniel Holden, who had served in the Revolution and in many town offices, died, greatly lamented, January 21, 1817, aged seventy- six years. He was called the Peacemaker, and Holden's Brook perpetuates his memory. In 1820 the population of the town had arisen to 808, and peace and prosperity prevailed.

Colonel Ebenezer Bancroft, after a life long and well spent, died here September 22, 1827, in the ninetieth year of his age. He was buried under arms, and on the march to the grave near what is now Little's Station the band played the tune of " Blue Eyed Mary," this being the only one which

all the musicians could perform. Ebenezer Ban- croft, grandson of Colonel Ebenezer Bancroft, and born December 21, 1807, now occupies " the old Bancroft homestead."

By the opening of the Lowell and Nashua Rail- road, October 8, 1838, the town was largely bene- fited, a ready means of communication with Bos- ton being thus afforded, and the expense of trans- porting produce to market much diminished. The number of inhabitants in 1840 was 870, and for the year ending April 1, 1845, 14,831 bushels of fruit were raised and 1,550 tons of hay were cut. A large quantity of lumber, especially from the Tyng Woods, was prepared for market, and some brushes were manufactured. The schools were in a good condition.

On the 27th of November, 1848, James Butter- field, son of James, and born September 30, 1788, was instantly killed by the cars while walking on the railroad track. Two trains were passing at the time. The accident occurred about half a mile below the Tyngsborough station.

In 1860 the population had declined to 626; in the war which followed the town patriotically fur- nished its full quota of men who did effective ser- vice in the Union army. In 1865 the number of farms was ninety-eight, and a box manufactory had been established, employing six persons. Robert Brinley, into whose hands the extensive Tyng estate liad come through his marriage with a grand-daugh- ter of Judge John Tyng, died here March 25, 1867, aged ninety-two years. The property came into the possession of his son, Nathaniel Brinley, who now occupies the old homestead. The Tyng family is now extinct, and perhaps it had been better for the town that the large territory belonging to the Tyng estate should have been in the outset divided into sections of moderate size and held by the farmers in fee-simple. It certainly would have been brought thereby into a better state of cultiva- tion.

An evangelical church was organized here April 1, 1868, and a meeting-house erected about the same time. The present pastor is the Rev. Arthur H. Tebbets.

In 1870 the population was 629, and the num- ber of public schools seven. They were well in- structed.

A strong iron bridge was built across the river, uniting the east and west sections of the town, in 1874. The cost, about $92,000, was met in part by the towns in the vicinity. While in the

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process of construction a freshet occurred in the | river by which the trestle-work and a part of one span of the bridge were carried away. Fifteen or twenty men were precipitated into the river, yet all were saved. This bridge is not only of great convenience, but also adds much to the scenic beauty of the village.

The Centennial Record, pp. 24, containing many particulars in respect to the town, was published by the Young People's League in 1876. The town officers for this year were Luther Butter-

field, Cyrus Butterfield, and Oliver Felker, select- men ; Howard Coburn, town-clerk ; and John G. Upton, town-treasurer.

Tyngsborough is the birthplace of Jolm S. Sleeper, Esq., editor of the Boston Journal from 1834 to 1854. He was born here September 21, 1794. He was mayor of Roxbury from 1856 to 1858, and author of Tales of the Ocean, 1842 ; Salt Water Bubbles, 1854 ; Jack in the Fore- castle, 1860 ; and Mark Rowland, 1867. He was a graceful and effective writer.

WAKEFIELD.

BY CHESTER W. EATON.

HIS town is old, though its name is new. Its history, as the abode of white men, runs back to 1639, when, under a special grant of land from the General Court to the town of Lynn of " four miles square," it was settled by families com- ing mostly from Lynn, and took the name of Lynn Vil- lage: This grant included the territory substantially within the limits of the pres- ent towns of Wakefield and Reading. The first settlement was made in what is now Wakefield, and in 1644, seven houses having been erected, seven families located, and a humble church edifice built, the village was made a town corporate, with the name of Reading. In 1651 a second grant of territory was made to the township of two miles square, including substantially what is now North Reading. In 1713 the inhabitants of the last-named territory, " having become of suffi- cient and competent numbers to call, settle, and maintain a Godly, learned, orthodox minister," were incorporated as a distinct parish by the name of the North Precinct of Reading, the remaining portion of the town being known as the First Par- ish. In 1769 the northwesterly part of the First Parish, the part then called Woodend, was incor- porated by the name of the West Parish of Read- ing, forming the nucleus of the present town of

Reading. In 1812 the old town was divided, and the First or South Parish, then commonly known as the Old Parish, including the present territory of Wakefield, was incorporated as a new town under the name of South Reading.

The causes that induced the First Parish, the oldest and largest settlement, thus to separate from her younger sisters, to forego in part the prestige and charm of its time-honored name, and to sur- render its ancient and valued archives and records, and other manuscript property, were principally political ones. The town of Reading, in 1812, consisted of three well-defined parishes, namely, the Old Parish, now Wakefield; the North Par- ish, called the Precinct, now North Reading; and the West Parish, or Woodend, now Reading. The Old Parish was then almost unanimously of the Democratic-Republican party, supporters of Presi- dent Madison and his administration, then in power, and in favor of fighting old England for her insults to our seamen and our flag; while the other two parishes, with a similar unanimity, were of the Federal party, unfavorable to Madison's ad- ministration, and violently opposed to a war with England. The South Parish was the largest of the three in population and voters, but not equal to the two others. Political feeling rose to a high pitch, and parties were very bitter towards each other. As a consequence, the citizens of the South Parish were excluded from town offices, and were without influence in municipal affairs. Such a

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

state of things had not the elements of permanence, and, taking advantage of an opportunity when the Republicans were in power in the General Court, the Old Parish obtained a charter for a distinct town, and South Reading was born. The new town began with 125 dwelling-houses, a popula- tion of 800, and a valuation of $100,000. With an ardent spirit of patriotism it contributed liber- ally in men and property to sustain the ensuing war with Great Britain, and greatly rejoiced at its triumphant conclusion.

The town entered at once upon a career of pros- perous development, though not rapid growth, un- til in 1844 it had nearly doubled the number of its inhabitants and the value of its property. Dr. John Hart, a skilful physician and wealthy citizen, was a leading man of the town during all the last- named period.

At this time occurred a notable episode. On the 29th of May, 1844, the people of the three villages included within the limits of ancient Read- ing, forgetting all rivalries and animosities, united in a glad and grand celebration of the bi-centennial anniversary of the incorporation of the old town. The exercises were held in the village of the West Parish, and included a brilliant military and civic display, with an excellent and powerful address by Rev. Dr. James Flint, a gifted son of the North Parish ; an appropriate poem by Hon. Lilley Eaton, of the South Parish, replete with sparkling humor, felicitous allusion, and historical reminiscence; and concluding with a bountiful banquet in a spacious pavilion erected for the purpose. It was a day long to be remembered for its cloudless beauty, the glowing and universal enthusiasm of the peo- ple, and the complete success of the celebration.

In this same year took place an important event in its results on the future material prosperity of the town, - the chartering and construction of the Boston and Maine Railroad extension from Wilming- ton to Boston, and through the pleasant domain of South Reading. The railroad brought a large addition of business, wealth, and good citizens to the town, which at this point took a new departure in growth, enterprise, and business development. The boot and shoe industry, for which the town had long been noted, received a new impetus and expansion, the old and reputable establishment of Thomas Emerson and Sons taking the lead in the business, a position it still easily maintains. Its senior member, Hon. Thomas Emerson, closed his long and honorable life in 1873.

The Boston and Maine Foundry, built in 1854, soon achieved a high reputation for the excellence of its stoves and ranges, and has given to the town a large body of substantial and intelligent citizens. The Rattan Works, established in 1856 by the late Cyrus Wakefield, in a few years became, and still continue; the leading industry of the town.

In 1861 the cloud of rebellion burst in war and blood upon a happy land, and South Reading was not cold or backward in proving her patriotism in the trying crisis, but pressed to the front of the loyal North, as her regiments and battalions rallied to the defence of country and our insulted flag.

The Richardson Light Guard, the town's own gallant corps, under Captain John W. Locke, with full ranks and high enthusiasm, amid " tumult of acclaim," left town for the seat of war, April 19, 1861, and were enlisted into the United States ser- vice for three months as Company B, 5th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, and performed valuable service in guarding and protecting the national capital. This corps fought bravely in the first battle of Bull Run, in which some of their number were wounded and three taken prisoners.

As the larger scope of the terrible conflict became rapidly foreshadowed, another company, recruited in South Reading, under Captain John Wiley, 2d, was enlisted for three years as Company E, 16th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, and left for the seat of war, August 17, 1861. This company served in the army of the Potomac, and sustained a high character for courage and heroic endurance, and is entitled to lasting gratitude and honor. As, during the progress of the struggle, call after call issued from the President for more men, the town nobly and promptly responded, and well sustained her part in the time of the nation's exigency, and it points with glowing pride to the record of five hundred and five men sent into the military and naval service of the Republic, of whom more than sixty have given up their lives in the sacred cause. The Horace M. Warren Post No. 12, Grand Army of the Republic, and the Memorial Hall, in the beautiful town-house, com- memorate the heroic sacrifices of the living and the dead.

The years succeeding the close of the War of the Rebellion was a period of unexampled prosperity, and the growth of the town was very rapid. All its industries grew and flourished, people flocked to the town, real estate greatly advanced in price, graceful dwellings and business structures rose on

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every hand. The population, in 1865, was 3,245 ; in 1875, 5,349. The valuation in 1865 was $1,778,786; in 1875, $4,706,056.

In 1868 occurred a notable change. The in- habitants had long felt the desire for a name more simple and euphonious, an identity more clear and distinctive. At this time the late Cyrus Wakefield, a liberal citizen of the town, descended from one of its older families, came forward and uncondi- tionally offered the town the princely gift of a new and costly town-hall. The qualified voters, in town-meeting assembled, in accepting this generous and opportune donation, resolved that the time had come to change the name of the town, and voted, with unanimity and acclamation, in so doing to honor the name of their friend and benefactor. The authority of the General Court was invoked, and by its aid the town exchanged its long-endeared name of South Reading, on the 1st of July, 1868, for the new and significant name of Wakefield. The inaugural exercises appropriate to the assump- tion of its new name were held on the 4th of July, 1868. The day was an occasion of double celebration. Bells rang in the day ; cannon awoke patriotic echoes ; fluttering flags, wreathed mottoes, and decorated arches appealed to the eye and mem- ory ; band concerts tempered and refined enthusiasm with the rhythm and inelody of music; a long procession gave nearly every one active participa- tion in the celebration ; an historical address elo- quently blended the stirring memories of the past and present ; a sparkling poem added the blossoms and fragrance of wit and fancy to the occasion : -

" With joyful voices join, to greet This birthday of the free ; Each glad return, more dear and sweet, - The Nation's Jubilee.

"On all the winds her banner plays, Star-gemmed, with folds of light ; . A nation's hopes are in its rays, - The red, the blue, the white.

" Thrice blest this day, whose breath of balm Refreshing blows, and free : No slave-step 'neath the Southern palm, No slave-ship on the sea ; ---

" Whose peaceful breatlı, o'er fragrant groves, Where battling columns met, Only the orange blossom moves, And lifts the violet.

"Here, on the bright, rejoieing day Sneh hopeful omens crown,

We come, a pleasant word to say For our dear native town.

" No soft Italian seenes we boast, Our summer skies less clear ;

But prized the grandeur of our coast, Our roeky hillsides dear.

" No notes of foreign praise we swell, Not, 'Naples view, and rest !' Our invitation is, 'Come, dwell In Wakefield, and be blest !'"

The grand celebration dinner, in the mammoth tent upon the Common, made brilliant by the flash of wit and sentiment, was a notable feature of the occasion. The excessive heat which prevailed was the only drawback to the full enjoyment of the fes- tivities of the day. Races upon the lake afforded much pleasure, and the day was closed amid the roar of artillery and the explosion of fireworks.

This town has always been conspicuous for its patriotism and military spirit, as its record in the French and Indian wars, in the struggles with mother England, and in the recent civil war amply attest. Its first military corps, the Reading Infantry Company, was organized in 1644, under Captain Richard Walker, and was cherished and sustained until 1840. The Washington Rifle Greens was or- ganized in 1812, became the renowned company of the vicinity, and was disbanded about 1850. The Richardson Light Guard, so named in honor of the late Dr. Solon O. Richardson, a generous friend of the company, and a public-spirited and liberal citi- zen, was organized in 1851. This company was thrice called into the service of the United States during the recent Rebellion, and acquitted itself with honor. It is still flourishing as Co. A, 6th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.

The town has always had regard for spiritual privileges and the worship of God. It now con- tains five handsome church edifices, with active and flourishing memberships and societies.

The Congregational Church was organized in 1644, and was the twenty-fourth founded in the Massachusetts colony, and for many years the only church within a circuit of six miles. As the wil- derness and solitary places became slowly settled by the sturdy pioneers of the Anglo-Saxon race, this central church became the mother of vigorous daughters. In 1720 she sent forth colonies at Lynnfield and North Reading, in 1729 she helped form the church at Stoneham, in 1733 the church in Wilmington, and in 1770 she parted with some of her best blood in the establishment of what is

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Meeting-House, 1688.

now the Old South Church in Reading. This old church of Wakefield has always been a strong tower for the right, and is still large and influ- ential.

Following is a list of her ministers : Rev. Henry Green, Rev. Samuel Haugh, Rev. John Brock, Rev. Jonathan Pierpont, Rev. Richard Brown, Rev. William Hobby, Rev. Caleb Prentice, Rev. Reuben Emerson, Rev. Alfred Emerson, Rev. Joseph D. Hull, Rev. Joseph B. Johnson, Rev. Charles R. Bliss, Rev. David N. Beach.

The Baptist Society was formed in 1797, and in 1804 the church was organized, with sixty-five members. It has been a great and growing power for good in this community, and a large congre- gation now worship in their new and beautiful sanctuary.

The succession of pastors has been as follows : Rev. Ebeuezer Nelson, Rev. Gustavus F. Davis, Rev. Joseph A. Warne, Rev. James Huckins, Rev. Isaac Sawyer, Rev. Charles Miller, Rev. Larkin B. Cole, Rev. Charles Evans, Rev. Paul S. Adams, Rev. Daniel W. Phillips, Rev. George Bullen, Rev. James W. Willmarth, Rev. Richard M. Nott, Rev. Charles Keyser, D. D., Rev. Rudolph R. Riddell.

The Universalist Society was organized in 1813, and has become a strong and influential church.

Its pastors have been as follows : Rev. John C. Newell, Rev. H. W. Morse, Rev. Henry Jewell, Rev. Henry Lyon, Rev. Stillman Barden, Rev. John H. Willis, Rev. Alexander Hichborn, Rev. Jolin H. Moore, Rev. Benton Smith, Rev. Edwin A. Eaton, Rev. William W. Hayward, Rev. Wil- liam F. Potter, Rev. Quincy Whitney.

The Roman Catholic Church (St. Joseph's) was organized in 1856, and is the largest in the town. Its first house of worship proving too small to accommodate the large and increasing congrega- tion, a new church of ample dimensions was erected in 1871. Its clergymen have not until recent years resided within the town. The present offi- ciating priest is Rev. Michael F. Flatley.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was gathered in 1865, and by its zealous communion is doing a good work in the town. Its present tasteful and convenient church edifice was erected in 1874.

Its pastors have been as follows : Rev. Thomas C. Potter, Rev. Andrew Gray, Rev. Daniel Atkins, Rev. Melville B. Chapman, Rev. Convers L. Mc- Curdy, Rev. John Peterson, Rev. Emory A. How- ard, Rev. Gilbert C. Osgood.

The Second Advent Society was formed in 1844, and built a modest tabernacle on Lafayette Street. It has at present no house of worship or settled

BOSTON

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BAPTIST CHURCH, WAKEFIELD.

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pastorate, but holds regular services at Perkins' Hall, on Mechanic Street.

The Emmanuel (Episcopal) Church was organ- ized in 1871. Services according to the usages of the Protestant Episcopal Church had been' occa- sionally held in the town during a period of about twenty-five years. Rev. Samnel R. Slack officiated as the first rector ; since his resignation in 1873 services have been conducted principally by Rev. George Walker, of Peabody. This society wor- ship in a convenient hall in Wakefield's Block.

A Union Society, in the village of Greenwood, was formed in 1873, and is gradually accumulating a fund towards building a chapel. Its pastor is Rev. Austin S. Garver, a Congregational clergy- man, and its place of worship is in Lyceum Hall.

The nucleus of another religious society was formed in 1873, in the village of Montrose, by the organization of a mission Sabbath-school under the auspices of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation of Wakefield. Its sessions are held in the Montrose School-house.

The cause of education has not been neglected in Wakefield. In its early years the school-house was planted beside the meeting-house, and from these two sources of New England civilization have continued to flow rich and pure streams, re- freshing many generations.

Common schools have furnished about the only means of education in this town. The South Reading Academy was incorporated in 1829, and exercised an important and useful influence on the youth of the town, and prepared the way for the public high school, which was established in 1845, when the town contained only about three hundred families. It has now become one of the chiefest glories of the town. It has for many years had a complete and well-defined course of study. The first diplomas were issued to graduates in 1863, the late Cyrus Wakefield having, with his accustomed munificence, presented to the town the elegant and costly engravings. At a later period of his life he contemplated the gift of a new and improved diploma. Prevented by his sudden death from realizing this design, his widow, Mrs. Eliza A. Wakefield, sought to execute the purpose. Her greatly lamented decease in 1877 left the kindly intent still unfulfilled, but it was, in 1878, carried into full effect by the heirs of Mr. Wakefield.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. II, Part 69

Author: Drake, Samuel Adams, 1833-1905 Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Boston : Estes and Lauriat Number of Pages: 650

Author: Drake, Samuel Adams, 1833-1905
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Boston : Estes and Lauriat
Number of Pages: 650