USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. II > Part 92
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BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRA
Frederick O. Prawa
Metropolitan Publishing & Engraving Co. New York
525
WINCHESTER.
pier and better, he did his part. He hath done what he could."
This history of the town would be incomplete without a brief record of one of its most honored and prominent citizens, who passed away from earth while these pages were being revised for publication.
David Nelson Skillings died March 10, 1880, at the age of sixty-two years. Mr. Skillings was born in Portland, Maine, March 7, 1818, coming to Boston at the age of twenty, with only his hands and personal skill to depend upon. He worked as a journeyman carpenter for four or five years, after which he set up for himself, having attracted the attention of the late Eben Francis, who employed him to build some houses on Beacon Street. A few years afterward he formed a partnership with the late Albert Vinal, and the firm carried on the wood and coal business in Cambridgeport and Boston, having a wharf at the foot of Poplar Street, since filled up. He subsequently formed a business connection with Mr. C. F. Jones in the same busi- ness, at Bartlett's wharf, at the North End. After some time Mr. Skillings withdrew from this firm, and devoted his attention to the lumber business, associating himself with Messrs. Lawrence Barnes of Burlington, Vermont, Charles Whitney of Bos- ton, and David Whitney, Jr., of Detroit, Michigan, under the firm name of Skillings and Whitney Brothers. Two years ago a corporation was formed, under the name of the Skillings, Whitney, and Barnes Lumber Company, which is probably the largest lumber concern in New England.
Mr. Skillings was a very prominent man among the mercantile community of Boston, where his business capacity was thoroughly appreciated. He had twice been chosen by the legislature as a state director in the Boston and Albany Railroad, and his last term of service would have expired in 1881; and he had also ably represented the town of Winchester in the lower branch of the legisla- ture. He was a director in the Eliot Bank and in
the Eliot Insurance Company of Boston, as also a director of the Lowell and Nashua Railroad.
Mr. Skillings was always an active temperance worker, having been for several years a member of the executive committee of the Massachusetts Tem- perance Alliance, to which organization he was a liberal giver, and was the Prohibition candidate for state treasurer for four years consecutively, begin- ning with 1876. He was a resident of Winchester for almost the entire period of its history, and always took a leading part in all public matters, having been largely instrumental in the introduc- tion of water into the town. He has been upon the board of selectmen, chairman of the water board for several years, and at the time of his death was president of the savings-bank. He was a promi- nent member of the First Congregational Church, in which he held the office of deacon. He was a liberal but unostentatious giver to all worthy objects, and many a poor person has been cheered and comforted through his private benefactions. No one has done as much as Mr. Skillings to beautify and adorn the town with elegant resi- dences and grounds to correspond, and make it a desirable home for persons of culture. He was one whose words and works proclaimed him a val- uable citizen and an honest man. His death, after a brief illness, called forth a universal feeling of .sorrow and regret, and on the day of his funeral the business of the town was entirely suspended, and the community gathered in the church to pay their last tribute of respect to one who had so honored them, and to look for the last time upon his familiar face.
At the annual town-meeting, March 22, 1880, resolutions were presented, from a committee pre- viously appointed for that purpose, setting forth in fitting terms the estimation in which the de- ceased was hield by his townsmen, which were unanimously adopted, and ordered to be placed upon the records.
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526
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
WOBURN.
BY GEORGE M. CHAMPNEY.
FTER Governor Winthrop and a majority of his colony left Charlestown for the new ven- ture in Boston, the remaining part of the company, although much weakened for the time, grew to very considerable num- bers in the course of a few years, and new territory was called for. On the application of sev- eral persons the court granted an extension of four miles in a north and westerly direction, the main purpose of which was, undoubtedly, to secure in- creased land for cultivation. This grant was called Charlestown Village. The settlers who pushed out in the quarter indicated soon found themselves in need of, or their ambitions craved, a precinct or government of their own. Accord- ingly, on the 5th of November, 1640, seven men were chosen from the church at Charlestown : namely, Edward Converse, Edward Johnson, Eze- kiel Richardson, John Mousall, Thomas Graves, Samuel Richardson, and Thomas Richardson, to proceed with the formation of a church and town- ship. The numbers, however, who seemed desir- ous of following the new lead were so great, that the parent church began to consider whether it would not be seriously weakened by this spirit of emigration. At the end of a long discussion it was decided to be a prudent measure to let the enterprise go on. As in like attempts to colonize or open new settlements in a country that had known no civili- zation, whose forests were unbroken, meadows un- drained, and rivers unbridged, these commissioners found many serious obstacles to overcome, and many hardships to encounter. But the spirit that led them across the Atlantic to find that religious frecdom denied them at home, supported them in these trials, and nerved them to the accomplish- ment of their work. Although so late in the season, the survey of the new territory was begun at once. On the fourth day after their appoint-
ment, November 9, while exploring near the Shaw- shine River, a heavy snow-storm overtook them, in which they lost their way, and were obliged to pass the night under the shelter of some friendly rocks. During the winter the explorations were from time to time carried on. The 22d of Decem- ber was observed as a day of special fasting and prayer for the blessing of God upon their arduous work. About this time a series of meetings was held at the dwellings of the several commissioners at Charlestown, to adopt such measures with re- gard to the new settlement as their united judg- ments might approve. Arrangements were made during the winter (1640-41) for the immediate occupation of the new territory. In February, 1641, a bridge was built over the Aberjona 1 River, within the present limits of Winchester, and the first dwelling-house was erected " over against it " by Edward Converse, and occupied by himself and family successors for many years. The location of the township by the commissioners took place at the same time. The site selected was on the bank of the Aberjona, on the " east side " of the present town. The Boston and Lowell Railroad runs through nearly the centre of the proposed village. Considerable opposition was at once developed to the site chosen, and upon consultation with promi- nent men of Charlestown who were not of the emigrating party, the location was abandoned, and one fixed upon something over a mile to the west- ward. This became the centre of the town, and embraced, then as now, the site of the present Common and its immediate surroundings. In the course of the following spring house-lots were laid out, and several dwellings were built during the season. Having carried out their plans thus far, the colonists, in conformity with their religious convictions, began immediately to cast about for a suitable minister. Two persons were applied to, -Rev. Jonathan Burr and Rev. J. Miller, - both of whom, after much negotiation, declined to
1 This word has no settled orthography.
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WOBURN.
accept the call. Mr. Thomas Carter was then urgently requested to become their pastor, amid much discouragement caused by the previous un- successful calls, and the faint-heartedness of several who felt that the new enterprise would have to be abandoned ; all of which difficulties are sct down in the quaint manner of Edward Johnson in the town record, and in his notable book entitled Wonder- Working Providence of Zion's Saviour in New England. To the great joy of the colonists, Mr. Carter at length fell in with their desires, and was ordained as the first minister of Woburn, De- cember 2, 1642. In anticipation of this event those persons who were connected with the church at Charlestown had asked for a dismission from that body, with authority to found a new one. With some reluctance this was acceded to, and the new church was organized in the previous August.
Through the more than two centuries which have followed it has had vital and permanent in- fluence in the town and vicinity, and is still known as the First Congregational Church of Woburn. In the interim between the founding of the church and the settlement of the pastor, a petition had been presented to the General Court for the incor- poration of the town. The court received the petition favorably, and an act was passed at the September session, 1642, couched in the following brief words, which gave to Woburn its corporate existence : " Charlestown village is called Woo- burne." Neither Edward Jolinson, who is es- pecially the early chronicler of the town, nor any other person, has given a reason for the adoption of the name. The suggestion of it is probably due to Richard Russell, of Charlestown, who, it is believed, was a relative of the distinguished Russell family in England, to whom had been given the abbey and park at Woburn, in Bedfordshire, as a place of residence. The desire on the part of Mr. Russell to perpetuate the name of a town so honorably associated with his noble kinsman was a very natural one, and the disposition of the people to accept it from so prominent and popular a person is an equally plausible one. The town thus authorized was situated seven miles north and west from Charlestown, and ten miles from Boston. Although the grant specifies a plot " four miles square," without definite bounds, it must have been practically much larger than that. Con- taining within its limits the present towns of Wilmington, Burlington, and Winchester (or the greater portion of them), the area of the town must
1
liave been nearer ten miles square than four. Its surface was pleasantly varied ; the greatest eleva- tions were Horn Pond Mountain, Rag Rock, and Locke Hill. Its principal streams, or rivers, were the Aberjona and the Shawshine; and its water basins were Horn Pond, Wedge Pond, Sandy Pond, etc. In the curtailment of the town by setting off' portions to other municipalities, Locke Hill and part of Horn Pond Mountain, Wedge and Sandy ponds, and the Shawshine River were taken from Woburn. The remaining sheet of water, Horn Pond, while supplying facilities for boating, furnishies many thousand tons of ice for shipping and local use, and is a charming feature in its present landscape. It was something more than a year after the town received its title to corporate existence before a meeting of the inhabitants was held. This occurred in November, 1643. Com- mittees were chosen for various purposes, but the first town officers were not elected until the follow- ing April. April. 13, 1644, seven persons were chosen as selectmen, and as they were the leaders in the town, their names are given : namely, Ed- ward Johnson, Edward Converse, John Mousall, William Learned, Ezekiel Richardson, Samuel Richardson, and James Thompson. It was not requisite to choose a town-clerk annually, hence Edward Johnson, who had been originally chosen as clerk of the commissioners, was retained in that office until his death in 1672, without re-election. The town treasury was managed by the selectmen, with the exception of one year (1695), until 1719. The duties of assessors and school committee were also discharged by the selectmen. The town having now an organization, there were many things to be done to make the situation of the people as comfortable as possible. House-lots were to be laid out and streets opened, and the " common lands " (of which there were four hun- dred acres) were to be divided among the inhabi- tants. A house for the minister was also to be provided, as well as a meeting-house for public worship.
Another matter of much interest required early attention, namely, the settlement of the boundary between Charlestown and Woburn. This had never been defined. Negotiations were opened from time to time, the initiative always being taken by Woburn until 1650, when the lines were finally established and entered upon the records of Charlestown. Nearly coeval with the settlement of Rev. T. Carter as minister, the first meeting-house was built. Of
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
this structure little or nothing is known. John- son, in his history, alludes to it as standing in a " small plain where four streets meet." The loca- tion is with good reason believed to have been at the easterly end of the Common, near where the soldiers' monument now stands. The house could not have been, otherwise than a very plain affair, without tower or steeple. Humble as it was, it served the purpose of a place of public worship for about thirty years. A new one was voted by the town in 1671 and completed in 1672. It stood on the sharp spur east of the Common which is still known as Meeting-house Hill. It was never dedicated, as the Puritan methods were in opposi- tion to all rites and ceremonies in religious matters. This meeting-house was not divided into pews, as became the fashion in after years, - only the min- ister's and the deacons' wives having the privilege of pews allowed them. Thirty or forty years sub- sequently special permission was given to a new- comer from Boston to build a pew at his own cost. This led to requests of the same sort from other per- sons aristocratieally inelined, which being granted, caused such an outbreak of feeling as to induce the town authorities to revoke the order. A committee was appointed to " seat the people," and each per- son was assigned a regular place. In doing this, reference was to be had to " estate, office, and age." Privilege was, therefore, recognized in the matter of position, if not in the form of pews. This meeting- house, with one or two enlargements, served the religious uses of the town for eighty years, or until 1752. Rev. Thomas Carter occupied its pul- pit for a few years, though for the larger part of his ministry he had preached in the one built about the time of his ordination. In 1678 his growing age and infirmities led the town to consider the matter of providing him a colleague. An invita- tion was given to the Rev. Jabez Fox to become his associate. This was accepted, and the two clergymen labored together harmoniously and satis- factorily to their people for six years, when Rev. Mr. Carter died, in the seventy-fourth year of his age and the forty-second of his ministry. Mr. Carter was born in England, and received his degree at St. John's College, Cambridge. He was eminently a good pastor, sound in doctrine, and ready with tender consolation and sympathizing words to meet the spiritual needs of his people. In illustration of one of the customs of the town, now happily re- mitted to the darkest corners of society, the follow- ing bill, found on the town records, relating to the
funeral ceremonies of Mr. Carter, may be properly introduced : -
" Charges at Mr. Thomas Carter's funeral in 1684.
Fourteen gallons of wine at 3s. 6d. per gallon £2 98. 0d. For tarr 0 2 0
For gloves 1 16 0
For his coffin money
0 6 0
For his grave 0 50
For Manchester, 6 yds, and a jarr
016
£4 19 6"
Rev. Jabez Fox, associate pastor, now became the sole minister of the church. He continued in his position for twenty-four years, laboring success- fully to promote the general interests of the parish. During the ministry of Rev. Mr. Carter, or from 1642 to 1675, Woburn had steadily increased in population, the land had been partially subdued, good crops were gathered, a better class of houses than those built at first had been erected, and some of those industries started which have since made the town so well known. The number of inhabi- tants cannot be given with accuracy, as no recorded census was taken till nearly a century later; but from the rates levied by the county, and the laws respecting the establishment of grammar schools, it is probable that the population was not far from 500. But this general prosperity was soon to re- ceive a serious check on account of the outbreak of the Indian wars. King Philip, who had heretofore been in accord with the colonists, and had agreed by solemn treaty to live with them on amicable terms, now became restive under the restraints im- posed by the compact, as well as moved by an ambi- tion to rid the land of an alien race which seemed likely soon to become its sole possessors. He brought into combination his own and two or three other powerful tribes, and began a murderous as- sault upon all the exposed frontiers. Woburn was too near the central towns of the colony to receive mnch harın by the direct invasion of the wily enemy. Small raiding parties appeared in two or three in- stanees in the town or its immediate vicinity, and although little loss was incurred by the burning of dwellings or destrnetion of crops, four persons were killed. This, however, was but a small portion of the suffering and hardship that befell Woburn in common with all the towns of New England. To carry on a vigorons and .successful war, the taxes of the people were enormously increased.
The year before the war broke out Woburn's share of the colonial tax was but £50; before its elose it had grown to the large amount of £ 633. These heavy drains npon the people caused much
529
WOBURN.
uneasiness and suffering, and the spirits of many sunk under the trial.
The first order from the court for serviee re- quired thirteen men and five horses to be provided for the forces being raised. Fifteen horses and three men were shortly after added to the require- ment. These, however, were no more than a third of the men who became soldiers in the war. From various sources it has been ascertained that forty- five others were subsequently engaged in the ser- vice. The number of men from Woburn who took part in the fight at Narragansett, in December, 1675, is not certainly known, but it may be safely estimated at from forty to fifty. The whole num- ber from Massachusetts was five hundred and twenty-seven. Of the Woburn soldiers engaged in the action, eight were either killed or wounded. On the death of Philip, in the August following, the war, so far as active hostilities were concerned, was closed ; but the depredations of the Indians in small parties and against isolated settlements were continued with much loss and cruelty to the peo- ple exposed.
But another adversity followed in the wake of the Indian war. Small-pox was introduced into the town from Boston, which caused very general alarm. Great efforts were made to prevent the spread of the disease, but the eases were numerous and many of them fatal. Stringent orders were issued by the selectmen forbidding persons who had been sick to appear in the meeting-house for several weeks, or, if there, to be seated in a place apart from the others, and to return home without speaking - to or mingling with the people. The distress and alarm from this source continued for more than a year, when the scourge abated.
The people of Woburn, as well as those of the colony in general, had enjoyed from the beginning all the freedom under their original charter which they desired. They managed their affairs in their own way, elected their own officers, from the gov- ernor downward to the most unimportant posi- tions in each town. They held a firm allegianee to the king, and considered themselves bound to further the interests of the crown as against all other nations. They had that strong feeling of loyalty which has ever been characteristic of Englishmen, and which took many years of indignities and oppressions to cancel in the colonies. After the Restoration in England, and when Charles II. had become firmly seated on the throne, there was a growing disposition on the part of the defenders of
the king's prerogatives to withdraw the charters under which the New England colonies were planted, and substitute others shorn of many privileges they enjoyed. These attempts to inter- fere with the people of New England were met with a bold and resolute spirit, and it was not till the accession of James II. that the charter of Massa- chusetts was declared vacated. Then Sir Edmund Andros appeared in Boston as governor appointed by the king. This act caused great commotion throughout New England. There was not for some time any open resistance to the power of the new magistrate, but many obstructions were made to the arbitrary laws passed by. the conneil, and a general spirit of insubordination everywhere prevailed. Woburn felt the indignity east upon the people as keenly as Boston. The order passed forbidding town-meetings to be held but once in a year, and then to be called by justices of the county rather than the selectmen, was treated with rude con- tempt.
In 1687 the people assembled in town-meeting, as was customary, and chose the usual offieers. This election was declared void by the governor, and a new meeting was ordered. The order was obeyed, but the inhabitants displayed their inde- pendent spirit by electing the same men to office who had been previously chosen. In 1688 the same proceedings were repeated. The town, in de- fiance of the king's creatures, met and elected its officers ; again its acts were annulled. Andros was growing desperate, and fines or imprisonment were expected soon to follow these contumacious doings. It appears that Woburn at length yielded some- what to the threatening attitude of the authorities. Mr. Johnson, who had been first selectman for several years, now declined to serve, and another person was chosen in his place. This is supposed to have been to this extent a reversal of the bold position the town had taken. The following year (1689) there is no record of a town-meeting being held, and it is probable that the old officers held over.
But the tyrannous proceedings of Sir Edmund Andros were suddenly closed. News came that James II. was dethroned, whereupon the people of Boston and neighboring towns rose in arms, cap- tured and imprisoned Andros and some of his most obnoxious adherents, and replaced the old magis- trates in office. There is no known account or rec- ord of the part Woburn played in this revolution, but its near vicinity to Boston, and its spirited en-
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
counters with the odious tool of despotism, war- rants the belief that some of the people were ac- tively engaged in it.
Soon after this a new charter was granted by William and Mary to Massachusetts, which com- bined the two colonies of Plymouth and Massachu- setts, and was generally acceptable.
One of the matters that excited much interest in the early days of the town was the support of Mystic Bridge, on Mystic River, in Medford. This bridge, which was an important one in connection with the main avenue from Charlestown, was main- tained for a long time by the towns of Medford, Charlestown, Woburn, Malden, and Reading. Wo- burn was restive under the cost of her portion of the repairs, and inclined if possible to throw it off. In 1691 the town voted "to withstand allow- ing anything more to the repairing of Mystic Bridge," and paid nothing for more than two years. But the court interfered, and indicted the town for neglect of duty. Great excitement fol- lowed. The town appeared in defence, and denied its liability ; but the court ordered the towns named, including Woburn, to continue to support the bridge upon " paine and penalty of five pounds fine." Woburn reluctantly complied with the de- cision of the court, but always with a protest, until 1761, when the town was released from further tax- ation on account of the bridge, for the present pay- ment of $200 Old Tenor ; and the controversy was thus permanently settled.
As the end of the century approached, Woburn, in common with other towns of the colonies, was growing poorer rather than richer. Much difficulty was found in collecting and paying the salary of the Rev. Jabez Fox, which was £80 per year. The most severe measures were adopted for the pur- pose, even to "collecting it by distress." During the ministry of Rev. Mr. Carter, and the earlier years of that of Mr. Fox, the ministerial salary had been easily and promptly raised, and many gratuities in addition to the legal amount were annually bestowed. But now there was an ab- solute want, on the part of a great many, of the means to pay. The depressing effects of the troubles and disasters of the last twenty-five years were now more fully realized than ever. Before the renewal of prosperous times Rev. Mr. Fox died suddenly, in Boston, of small-pox. Like his predecessor, he was not widely known as a preacher, but he seems to have been a faithful and acceptable minister, who received from his
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