History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 136

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 136

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used to aid in the payment of his salary, failing of which it shall revert to my heirs. at-law."

Following the attestations of the witnesses is this added clause :

" In regard to article second, I would add, that in case Rev'd Seth Chandler should not outlive me, I wish the sum therein named to go direct to the town of Shirley for the purpose and on the conditions thereiu stated.

MARY D. WHITNEY."

Since the termination of Mr. Chandler's active ser- vice as pastor, in June, 1879, the society has had a resident pastor but one and half years, from April, 1886, to October, 1887, when Rev. L. B. Macdonald was with it in that capacity. The remainder of the time when services have been held, clergymen from out-of-town have supplied the pulpit.

Orthodox Society .- On February 3, 1828, a meeting in the interests of Trinitarian Congregationalism was held at the house of Miss Jennie Little. When the First Congregational Parish was organized, as the successor of the town parisb in 1822, a minority did not fully sympathize with the doctrinal opinions of the majority, yet for six years they continued to wor- ship together. But the agitation of these doctrinal differences, which was then widely prevailing through- out New England, had its effect here as elsewhere, and led to the feeling that they could not conscien- tiously continue together, but must have a separate organization and worship. At the meeting called to . consider this matter, Rev. J. Todd, pastor of " Union Church of Christ," in Groton, was present to assist and advise. At this meeting it was voted " That it be ex- pedient to form a church in this place, of evangelical principles." Also " that a committee of three be ap- pointed to make the necessary arrangements."

Samuel S. Walker, Imlay Wright and Deacon Jo- seph Brown were constituted this committee, and Thursday, February 14th, was appointed to be observed as a day of fasting and prayer. An ecclesiastical * council composed of pastors and lay delegates from churches in the vicinity was invited and held at the house of Samuel S. Walker, March 12tb, in the fore- noon. Articles of faith and form of covenant were considered and adopted, and sixteen candidates pre- sented themselves for examination. These candidates were Joseph Brown, Esther Brown, Rhoda Brown, Harriet Walker, Samuel S. Walker, Esther R. Jefts, Jenny Little, Nancy Holden, Imlay Wright, Sarah Meriam, Amelia Shipley, Lucy Porter, Jacob Har- rington, Sarah B. Harrington, Elizabeth Harlow, A. Livermore. The candidates were examined and ac- cepted, and it was " voted to proceed to organize said persons into a church of Christ, to be denominated

The Orthodox Congregational Church in Shirley."- The public services of the occasion were held in the afternoon, in the Universalist meeting-house, at the South Village. There was no society organized as a legal body until 1846, when it was incorporated under the name of the "Orthodox Congregational Society in Shirley." The summer following the organization

of the church, land was given by Miss Jenny Little for the building of a church edifice. This was built during the next year, 1829, and dedicated in Decem- ber. It was constructed of brick, was of humble pre- tensions and pleasantly located. It served its purpose as a house of worship for about twenty years, when the matter of removal to the South Village began to be agitated. It was thought by those who favored this change of location, it would be placing it in a flourishing village, where the manufacturing interest was increasing, and all the conditions were such as to insure greater prosperity and growth, while very few accessions to the church could be expected if it re- mained where it was, and its support would become a matter of great difficulty. The movement was finally carried, though not without earnest and vigorous pro- test from those who lived in the northerly section of the town, and a serious defection and division. Ser- vices were held in a school-house until the new church edifice was built. This was completed and dedicated in the spring of 1851. It was located on the table- land north of the Catacunemaug Valley, and was a plain, neat structure, surmounted by a tower and sup- plied with a bell. Its cost was $3300.

After twenty years of use, repairs were needed, and in 1872 a thorough renovation of the interior was made at an expense of $2500.

The first pastor was Rev. Hope Brown, who was or- dained to the office June 22, 1830. He continued with the church nearly fourteen years, devoting himself to its interests with great fidelity. After the retirement of Mr. Brown, Mr. John P. Humphrey, a licentiate from Andover, was the pulpit supply till July, 1847, when Mr. Joseph M. R. Eaton, having accepted an invitation to settle with the church, was ordained to the pastorship, His term of service was a little less than three years. He was followed by Rev. G. W. Adams, who supplied the pulpit between two and three years, but did not settle. In May, 1853, Rev. B. B. Beardsley became the pastor and performed the dutes of the office until 1858. A period of transient supply then followed till April, 1860. Rev. Daniel H. Babcock was then engaged to supply for an indef- inite period, and continued for nearly three years. An invitation was given to Mr. A. J. Dutton, Novem- ber 1, 1863, by the society, and endorsed by the church on the 9th, and on the 10th he was ordained and in- stalled. His ministry continued six years. He was succeeded by Rev. A. H. Lounsbury, who was installed April 20, 1870, and was with the society five years. Rev. Mr. Shurtleff was next engaged, and began his labors the 1st of July, 1875, but early in the second year of his work a growing disaffection induced him to withdraw. Rev. E. J. Moore then came, but remained only a few months over one year. In June, 1881, Mr. Albert F. Norcross, a graduate of Andover, was given an invitation, and accepting it, was ordained August 31st. His pastorate closed December 29, 1884. From this date to January, 1890, there was no settled pas-

C. C. Edquestion

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tor, and the pulpit was supplied by transient preach- ers. In January of this year Rev. Albert G. Todd ac- cepted the invitation of the society, and entered upon the duties of pastor.

By the will of Mrs. Sarah P. Longley, who died September 8, 1889, the society received a bequest of $2000, the income of which is to be appropriated to the salary of the pastor.

Baptist Church .- The movement for a Baptist or- ganization and worship began in April, 1852, and a sermon was preached by Rev. Mr. Seaver, of Salem. Services were held occasionally during the year, and in February, 1853, a church was formed, and publicly recognized the 6th of the following April. Its chapel was built the same year and dedicated the last day of the year. Rev. G. W. Butler served as pastor one year. After him, Rev. Ezekiel Robbins, a resi- dent of the town, was the preacher for a few months. Then Rev. George Carlton preached two years, but did not reside in town. In 1859 a call was extended to John Randolph, a young licentiate from the State of Illinois. He was ordained March 24th, but re- mained only one year. Public services were then suspended for several years and the chapel given to various secular uses, the income from which was ap- propriated to the removal of the church debt. In 1866, through the efforts of Rev. Mr. Skinner, then temporarily supplying the Baptist pulpit at South Groton, means were procured for extinguishing the debt and repairing the chapel, and it was reopened for public worship.

Rev. Sumner Latham became the pastor at this time, and remaincd not quite two years. A period of transient supply now followed until November, 1870, when Rev. Thomas Atwood was engaged, and was pastor fourteen months. From October, 1872, till March, 1874, Rev. E. H. Watrous performed the dn- ties of the office. From this date to the present, May, 1890, it was without a pastor, but has continued its services, its pulpit being supplied chiefly by un- dergraduates from the Newton Theological Seminary. At this date Mr. Walter V. Gray entered upon the duties of the office. A renovation and renewal of the interior of the chapel was made in 1873, at a cost of $800, of which $500 was contributed by Mrs. Munson, inother of the late N. C. Munson, and a new organ, supplied mainly at the expense of Mr. Munson. About $400 was expended in a similar work in the autumn of 1889. A bequest of real estate valued at $1000 was made to the church by the will of Miss Maria Hartwell, who died Dec. 9, 1876.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

CHARLES AUSTIN EDGARTON.

The Edgarton family has, for many years, filled an important place in the history of Shirley. The first of the name appearing on the records of the town

was John Edgarton, who came from East Bridgewater about 1771. He was a prosperous farmer, proprietor of the farm now owned by William P. Wilbur, and erected the house now the residence of Mr. Wilbur- a large, brick dwelling, "the first building of brick set up within the limits of thetown." He entered actively into public affairs, was one of the "minute- men" at the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, and a volunteer to Cambridge on the 19th of April, 1775. For twenty-one years he was one of the select- men of the town, served as justice of the peace sev- eral years, represented the town two terms in the State Legislature, and was often sought for duty on committees and in other places of trust. His second son, John, Jr., in company with Jonas and Thomas Parker, built and operated the first paper-mill in town, near the close of the last century, and, in com- pany with Benjamin Edgarton, built and carried on a forge for the manufacture of scythes. The name of Joseph Edgarton comes next into prominence. He was the third son of John, and inherited the energy, enterprise and public spirit of his father, but without the taste or inclination for office, except in military affairs, in which he took a great interest, being familiarly known as Major Edgarton. He engaged largely in manufacturing industries, and was a lead- ing proprietor in the first and second cotton factories, in two of the paper-mills, and the batting-mill, and in an extensive trade in general merchandise. Chan- dler, in his history, styles him "the veteran manufac- turer of Shirley, whose name is more largely con- nected than any other with the manufacturing enterprise of the town." Among these varied indus- tries and activities his sons received that early training which gave them a practical knowledge of machinery and developed more or less of mechanical ability. William W. succeeded his father in the manufacture of paper, and afterwards engaged in the manufacture of nails. Charles Austin, whose por- trait accompanies this sketch, had his first experience as a workman in the paper-mill of his father. He had charge of a machine at the age of sixteen. On leaving the paper-mill, he, in connection with his brothers William and Henry, ran a saw and planing- mill, turning out a large amount of lumber annually. He was then, for a few years, with his brother Wil- liam in the nail factory. From 1865 to 1873 he was, in company with N. C. Munson, in the Munson Cot- ton-Mill. At the latter date he entered upon the manufacture of tape; adding to this, in time, the . manufacture of suspender webbing and elastic goods. From this he passed to the manufacture of suspend- ers exclusively, in which business, in connection with his son Charles Frederick, whom he associated with him in 1881, he has built up a large and growing trade. Always giving close attention to his business, of good judgment and large, practical experience, he ranks well among the business men of the day. He will be sixty-four years of age October 13, 1890. He

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was married, June 17, 1852, to Miss Jane A. Longley. A son and two daughters-Charles Frederick, Hittie Whitcomb and Sarah Miranda-complete the family, whose home life is one of rare parental and filial de- votion.

Mrs. Sarah C. Edgarton Mayo, of whom mention is made in this history, a gifted poet and literary writer, widely and favorably known, was an older sister.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

WESTON.

BY COL. D. S. LAMSON.

AT the second Court of Assistants held at Charles- town, September 7, 1630, it was ordered "That Tre- mont be called Boston, Matapan should be called Dor- chester and the town upon Charles River, Watertown."

The exact period when what is now called Weston began to be settled is not known; it was probably at an early period of the Watertown settlement, for there are still standing houses or parts of houses and foun- dations which go back to a very early period, of which we now have no reliable dates. The territory of Watertown was very extensive, and its several parts were known by distinct and peculiar names. The lands next west of Beaver Brook were called " the lots of the Further Plain," or the (treat Plain, now Waltham. The remote or West Pine Meadows were in the southerly part of what is now Weston. The township lots, or lots beyond the Further Plain, were west of Stony Brook. The Farms or Farm Lands com- prised what is now Weston, and were bounded by Sudbury and Dedham. In town-meeting, held Octo- ber, 1638, "it was ordered that Daniel Pattrick, Abram Browne, John Stowers, Edward Lewis and Simon Eire shall lay out the Farms as they are or- dered." A list of these allotments in 1642 gives the names of those persons to whom ninety-two farms,con- taining 7674 acres were allotted. It would appear by the Watertown Records that the committee to whom the matter of allotments was given in charge, allotted to themselves the first choice, and they, with Jeremiah Norcross, Thomas Mayhew and John Whitney, were the first land-owners in Weston.

These allotments of the meadow-lands gave great dissatisfaction, and they are referred to in old deeds as the "Land of Contention." In 1663 these lands were re-surveyed and laid out for a new allotment by John Sherman. This survey contained 1102 acres, and was bounded on the south by Dedham, on the west by Sudbury, and on all other sides by the Farm Lands. These farms were styled the Farmers' Precinct, and also the Third Military Precinct. In 1692 these parts of Watertown, which subsequently became the towns of Watertown, Waltham and Wes-

ton, were designated as the Precinct of Captain Bond's Company of Horse, and of Captain Garfield's Com- pany and Lieutenant Jones' Company. In the allot- ment of these farms it was stipulated that they shall be for a Common for cattle, to the use of the farmers of the town and their heirs forever, and not to be alienated without the consent of every freeman and their heirs forever. This is the first instance upen record where the term "Farm Lands" is applied to Wes- ton. The earliest proprietors in 1642 are Bryan Pen- dleton, Daniel Pattrick, Simon Eire, John Stowers, Abraham Browne, John Whitney, Edward How, Jeremiah Norcross and Thomas Mayhew. In ecclesi- astical affairs, what is now Weston was connected with Watertown about sixty-eight years, and in civil affairs about eighty-three years. The inhabitants of the Farm District, and those in the remote westerly part of Watertown, went to worship at the easterly part of Watertown, at a house situated in the vicinity of the old burying-ground. The Watertown church is the sixth in organization in Massachusetts, the first being at Salem, the second at Charlestown (including Boston), the third at Dorchester, the fourth at Rox- bury, and the fifth at Lynn. In July, 1630, at Water - town, forty of the inhabitants subscribed to a church covenant, and the church of this place dates from that period. It would seem from Governor Winthrop's journal that the Watertown church has a prior exist- ence to the one at Charlestown, and was second only to that at Salem. In 1692 commenced the contention in this church growing out of the location of the new meeting-house. There was great opposition to a change in the place of worship, and it became so serious that the selectmen agreed to refer the matter to the Governor, Sir William Phipps, and his Council. This mode of bringing the disputes of a town to an issue by referring them to the chief magistrate, would be deemed singular at the present day, but at this early period was not uncommon. The Governor appointed a committee of five members to report, and they made their report in May, 1693. Judge Samuel Sewell was president of this committee. The report was unsatis- factory to the people, and the contention continued down to 1695, when a protest was placed on record, signed by 100 inhabitants, of which thirty-three were inhabitants of the Farmers' District. The contention growing out of this matter of the location of the new church led up to the final separation of the in- habitants of the Plain, or Waltham, they being al- lowed to have a meeting-house at "Beaver Brook, upon the road leading to Sudbury, to the end that there may be peace and settlement amongst us." As early as 1694 the Farmer's District-now Weston- would seem to have had separate interests from the church in Watertown. In 1694 the inhabitants of the Farms, to the number of 118, petitioned to be set off into a separate precinct, alleging the great distance to the place of public worship, and protesting against being obliged to go so far from home. The prayer of

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the petitioners was not acceded to at once, and the contention growing out of the proposed separation ex- · tended over a period of five years. Judge Sewell pre- sided over the conferences, and in his diary alludes to the contention between the parties, and adds, "that he had to pray hard to keep them from coming to blows ; " but in January, 1697, the farmers were ex- empt from ministerial rates in Watertown, though not in legal form until a year later. It would seem that the farmers were determined to be separated from Watertown, and feared that the delay in grant- ing their petition to this end would end in refusal. Money was contributed by sundry persons for the purpose of preferring a petition for their separation to the Great and General Court. The farmers again displayed their determination for a separation from Watertown, and did not wait patiently for a decision on their petition, for, in January, 1695, they agreed to · build a meeting-honse thirty feet square on land of Nathaniel Coolidge, Sr. This little church was never completed, but services were held in it in 1700. It was styled the Farmers' Meeting-House. It was begnn by subscriptions, and afterwards carried on at the expense of the precinct. A history of Weston from the date of its separation from Watertown, in 1608, as a distinct precinct, must necessarily com- mence with a history of its church. There are no records extant of the precinct other than those of the church ; all town and precinct records have been lost most unaccountably, the former for a period of fifty- two years, and the latter for a period of forty-two years. There is extant a precinct record beginning at the time of the separation of Lincoln from Weston, ia 1746, and extending down to the year 1754, when they cease, and are merged in the town records, no explanation of any reason, therefore, being given on the books of that period. In the early settlements of New England towns the church was the nucleus of organization-the bond which held together the scattered population of rural districts-around which the people gathered and formed that essentially New England form of government which we call the town-meeting.

In 1699 the bounds of the Farmers' Precinct, by order of the General Court, was declared to be as fol- lows, viz .: " The bonnds of said Precinct shall extend from Charles River to Stony Brook bridge, and from said bridge up the brook Northerly to Robert Har- rington's farm, the brook to be the boundary, inclu- ding the said farm, and comprehending all the farms and farm lands to the line of Cambridge and Con- cord, and from thence all Watertown lands to their utmost Southward and Westward bounds." The same bounds, in the same words, are defined in the Act of Incorporation of the town in 1712. In 1700 money was granted to support preaching, which grants for that purpose continned from time to time by the inhabitants in town-meeting.

In 1701 MIr. Joseph Mors or Morse, who was a

graduate of Harvard College in 1695, was invited to preach, with a view to a settlement, and in 1702 they gave him a call by a vote of thirty to twelve, agreeing to build him a house forty by twenty feet. In Janu- ary, 1703, he accepted the call, and it was voted in town-meeting to begin the promised house. The house and land were conveyed to him by deed. In 1704 difficulties arose respecting Mr. Mors' settle- ment ; but there is no record extant of what was the nature of these difficulties. There appears, however, to have been considerable irritation, whatever may have been the grounds. Justice Sewell, in his " Memories," Vol. II., pp. 156, under date of 1706, speaks of a council held at the house of Mr. Willard, and they advise that after a month Mr. Mors should cease to preach in Watertown Farms. Mr. Mors was afterwards settled in Stoughton (now Canton). After some difficulty the precinct purchased his house and land for the use of the ministry ; but it was not until 1707 that he conveyed the premises. (Lib. 14, fol. 646.) The Committee of the Precinct at this time consisted of Thomas Wilson, Captain Josiah Jones, Captain Francis Fullam and Lieutenant John Brewer. In 1706 the precinct was presented at the Court of Sessions for not having a settled minister, and a committee was appointed to make answer to the pre- sentment. The precinct was again presented for the same reason in 1707 at Concord Court, and the an- swer made by the precinct was to "pray that the Court would not place Mr. Mors over the precinct, and not by their own election." In July they called Mr. Thomas Tufts; but he declined in September, and in January, 1708, the precinct appointed a day of fasting and prayer. In February, 1708, they gave Mr. William Williams a call, and he accepted in Angnst, 1709, or eleven years after the Farmers' district had hecome a distinct precinct. It would appear by the parish records that the church in Weston had no: regular organization until the settlement of Mr. Wil- liams in 1710, when the covenant was signed; two deacons were chosen, the membership numbering eighteen males, nine from other churches, and nine who were not communicants. - The following are the names of those who gathered with the church at this time : Nathaniel Coolidge, Thomas Flagg, Joseph Lorvell, John Parkhurst, John Livermore, Francis Fullam, Abel Allen, Ebenezer Allen, Francis Peirce; the others were Joseph Jones, Thomas Wright, Jo- seph Allen, Josiah Jones, Jr., Joseph Woolson, Jo- seph Livermore, Joseph Allen, Jr., Josiah Livermore, Samuel Seaverns and George Robinson.

In March, 1710, money was granted to finish the meeting-house, by which we learn that the small meeting-house, thirty feet square, begun in 1695, was not completed in fifteen years. In 1718 a motion was brought forward to build a new meeting-house, but the matter was deferred. In 1721 the town voted to build, and to appropriate their proportion of the bills of credit issued by the General Court to this purpose.

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

The new location of this second church is north of the old location given by Nathaniel Coolidge, upon what is now called the Common. At a town-meeting November 5, 1721, it was voted that Benjamin Brown, Benoni Garfield, Ebenezer Allen, Joseph Allen and James Jones be a committee to manage the covering and closing of the new meeting-house. It was also voted "to grant the Reverend William Williams the sum of seventy-and-four pounds for his salary for his labor in the Gospel Ministry the present year, begin- ning the 10th of September, 1722, and six pounds for cutting and carting his fire-wood for the year." In what year this church was completed is not recorded. In 1800 it underwent thorough repairs-a steeple and two porches were added, and a new bell purchased of Paul Revere, for which the sum of $443.12 was paid by public subscription. Mr. Williams continued in the ministry until October, 1750, covering a period of forty-one years, and was dismissed by a mutual coun- cil. The reasons for this action are not recorded. He remained in the town and, for a time, acted as schoolmaster, and otherwise assisted the successor choseu in his place. He died in Weston, and is buried in the town burying-ground. The Rev. Sam- uel Woodward succeeded Mr. Williams in 1751. He died October 5, 1782, at the age of fifty-six years, and the thirty-first of his ministry. Mr. Woodward was greatly beloved by his people and brethren of the clergy. He was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Ken- dall, who was ordained November 5, 1783. He died iu 1814, after thirty-one years of faithful service in the ministry. The Rev. Joseph Field succeeded Mr. Kendall in 1815, having graduated from Cambridge College in 1814. He died November 5, 1869, having been pastor of the Weston parish for fifty years. In the War of 1812 he served as chaplain to the Third Middlesex Regiment, and was a pensioner of the Gov- ernment. The Rev. Dr. Edmund H. Sears succeeded Mr. Field. He died in 1876. He was followed by two or three ministers, whose stay was of short dura- tion, until the ministry of Mr. C. F. Russell, in 1882, who is still pastor of the church. From the settle- ment of Mr. Williams, in 1709, to the death of Mr. Sears, a period of one hundred and sixty-seven years, there have been only five ministers settled over this ancient church, all of whom died here, and are buried in our graveyards, within a stone's-throw of each other. To the centennial sermon of the Rev. Dr. Kendall, delivered on the completion of the century of the in- corporation of the town, in 1812, we are indebted for much of the ancient history of the town, that oth- erwise, in consequence of the loss of all town records covering the early period, we should to-day be ignor- ant of that interesting period of the town's history. Mr. Kendall states that at this time the population of the town was a little more than a thousand. In 1888 it was 1430. He gives the mortality for thirty years, from 1783 to 1813; before that date there was no means of computing snch valuable data. During

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 136

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034