History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 138

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 138

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Abraliam Bigelow, 1787 ; Artemas Ward, Jr., 1789; William Hobbs, 1793 ; Alpheus Bigelow, 1797; Nathan Fiske, 1800 ; Josiah Hastings, 1802; Isaac Hobbs, 1804; Thomas Bigelow, 1808 ; Nathan Uphanı, 1809 ; Isaac Childs, 1811 ; Isaac Train, 1813; Charles Stratton, 1814 ; Henry Hobbs, 1817; Luther Harrington, 1818 ; Marshall Jones, 1821 ; Sewell Fiske, 1822 ; Elmore Russell, 1828.

A detail from this light infantry company was or- dered in the War of 1812 to guard the powder-house at Cambridge,-

Sewell Fiske, Nathan Warren, Nehemiah Warren, Jesse Viles, Charles Beruis, William Bigelow, Henry Stratton, Jacob Sanderson, David Viles, - Morse.

Major Daniel S. Lamson, Charles Daggett, William Harrington, Deacon Isaac Jones and Corporal Gar- field, of the Weston company of the Third Middlesex Regiment, took part in the War of 1812. Major Lam- son was made lieutenant-colonel of the Third Regi- ment in 1818, and died as such in 1824. Corporal Garfield lived to be over one hundred years old and died in 1875, having spent the last thirty-six years of his life in the Weston poor-house.

In 1788 the town of Weston voted for the new Con- stitution adopted by the convention held in Philadel- phia on the 28th of April, the vote standing sixty- three out of seventy-four. In 1789 General Washing- ton, President of the United States, undertook a journey to the New England States, which he had not visited since the evacuation of Boston by the British troops. He traveled in his own carriage, ac- companied by Mr. Lear and Major Jackson, his see- retaries, and six servants on horseback. Washington passed the night of October 23d at Flagg's tavern, in

493

WESTON.

Weston, and his letter to Governor Hancock accept- ing an invitation to dinner is dated from Weston. On the morning of October 24th he received the in- habitants of the town, and Colonel Marshall made an address of welcome. On his way through the town he called on Mrs. Lamson, whose husband had been an officer of his army. General Washington was es- corted to Cambridge by the Watertown Cavalry Com- pany.

The eighteenth century closed in great prosperity ; the need of hard money alone prevented large commer- cial ventures. In 1790 the whole capital of the United States was only $2,000,000, and the Federal debt in 1799 was $78,408,669.77. The first Baptists in Weston began to gather together about 1776, meeting at each other's houses under the lead of Deaco nOliver Hast- ings. In 1784 a meeting-house thirty-one feet square, which building was first occupied in 1784, and fin- ished in 1788, was erected on the Nicholas Boyl- ston estate on the Framingham turnpike. In 1789 a church of sixteen members was organized and recog- nized by the ecclesiastical council. They had no set- tled minister until 1811, when they united with the church in Framingham, and the Rev. Charles Train was ordained as pastor over the united churches. They separated in 1826, Mr. Traiu remaining in Framingham. At this date the Weston church num- bered about fifty members. The new church in the centre of the town was erected in 1828, Mrs. Bryant giving $1000, and Mr. Hews giving the land. The material of the old church was used in erecting the parsonage in 1833. The first settled pastor was the Rev. Timothy P. Ropes, a graduate of Waterville Col- lege. The successors of Mr. Ropes in the ministry of this church are as follows : Rev. Joseph Hodges, Jr., in 1835; Rev. Origen Cram, in 1840; Rev. Calvin H. Topliff, in 1854; Rev. Luther G. Barrett, in 1867 ; Rev. Alonzo F. Benson, in 1870 ; Rev. Amos Harris, in 1875, who is still the presiding elder. The Meth- odists of Weston began to gather abont 1794, and a small chapel was erected in the rear of the present church. It was a very modest building, without paint or plastering, having neither pulpit or pews. This chapel was in the old Needham Circuit, which consisted of Needham, Marlboro', Framingham and Hopkinton, the whole under the charge of one preacher ; later increased to three. The original so- ciety consisted of twelve members, and the first trus- tees were Abraham Bemis, Habbakuck Stearns, Jonas Bemis, John Viles and Daniel Stratton. Of the twelve members of this church, eight were women. The present church was erected in 1828, and in 1833 it became a regular station with a regularly appointed preacher. In 1839 Waltham was detached from it, which reduced the membership from one hundred and forty-one to eighty-three, and it has not mater- ially increased since that date. Since 1794 to the present time this parish has had one hundred and seven preachers.

The schools of Weston have from the earliest period of the settlement received the care and money grants consistent with the means of the inhabitants. The earliest mention of the pay of a schoolmaster was on Jannary, 1650, when £30 was voted to Mr. Richard Norcross, and this continued to be the salary for about seventy-five years. In 1683 it was agreed that those inhabitants who dwell on the west side of Stony Brook be freed from the school tax, that they may be the better able to teach among themselves. Mr. Norcross was employed in 1685-86. Those who sent children to school were to pay three pence a week for each, and all short of £20 the town would make up to Mr. Norcross. In 1690 the town allowed £15 for the schoolmaster's maintenance or board. The rate established for tuition was three pence a week for English, four pence for writing and six pence for Latin. The rates were established upon the follow- ing basis: Rye, five shillings; Indian corn, three shillings ; oat, two shillings. Two shillings in money to be taken as three shillings in grain. In 1697 oak wood was seven shillings, walnut, eight shillings. In 1693 Richard Norcross was chosen schoolmaster again ; he was also to catechize the children and all others sent to him. In 1696 the town was fined at General Sessions for not having a school. In 1700 Mr. Norcross was again the schoolmaster at £10 and the usual rates from owners of children, they agree- ing to provide one-quarter cord of wood in winter. At this time Mr. Norcross had been a teacher forty- nine years and he was seventy years old. In 1706 Mr. Mors, having ceased to be the minister in Weston, was invited to keep school, and be helpful to the minister, for £40 and four pence a week from parents. In 1714 the town was presented at General Sessions for not having a writing school, and Mr. Joseph Woolson was appointed. In 1737 the town was again presented from not having a grammar school. The records of the town being lost, it is im- possible to give any account of the schools down to 1754. In 1760 the town votes £100 for schools, but from 1761 the school appropriations and the incidental charges of the town are under one grant, rendering it impossible to state what was paid for schooling. This custom continued down to a very late date. During the Revolution the school-houses seem to have been little in use, and at the close of that period were in a bad state of decay. Whatever schools there were at that time were in private houses and were conducted by women. Rev. Mr. Woodward and Dr. Kendall both kept school and were paid by the town. Dr. Kendall received at his honse the boys from Harvard College who were "rusticated" by the faculty for offences against discipline, and he kept them up in their recitations and classes. Several men, who in after-life became distinguished, passed periods of rustication in Weston. In 1803 $600 is appropriated for schools, and $25 for each woman's school. In 1805 this had increased to $900. In 1807 a

494

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

census was taken of school children, and the whole number was 374. In 1810 a music-teacher was en- gaged. In 1813 the town had six school districts, each provided with a good school-house.

In 1817 $650 was appropriated for schools and wood, and $200 for women's schools, and this grant con- tinues each year down to 1837, with slight variations. In 1834 the census taken by order of the Common- wealth gave a population of 1051 souls. The wages of female teachers in 1836 was $2.75 per week. The master $26 per month if he board himself, or $18 if he be boarded by the town. In 1840 the school grants were $1200, and in 1846 $1450. In 1854 a grant of $150 was made for a High School. In 1860 the school appropriation was $1600, and in 1870 $2900, and in 1889 $4000. The above town appro- priations for schools do not include the funds received for State aid for schools. In 1878 a large and im- posing High School building was erected at a cost of about $15,000, a very liberal sum for a town of the limited population of Weston.

In 1857 the town voted to establish a public library to be called the " Weston Town Library," and chose Isaac Fiske, Doctor Otis E. Hunt and the Rev. C. H. Topliff a committee to prepare rules and regulations for the government of the library ; $570 was raised in the several school districts for the purposes of the library. In 1859 Mr. Charles Merriam, of Boston, donated $1000 as a perpetual fund, the interest of which was to be used for the purchase of books. This library is now in a very flourishing condition, and but few towns in the Commonwealth will surpass the Weston Library, either as regards the choice of books or the liberal support it receives from the town and private individuals. It is now the purpose of the town to secure an elegable site for a library building.

In 1865 Mr. Charles Merriam, who had passed his early days in Weston, sent to the selectmen of the town a United States treasury note for one thousand dollars, and his letter to the selectmen is worthy of insertion here, both as regards the noble object for which the donation was to be employed, but more particularly as an incentive to others, both here and elsewhere, to follow his charitable purpose :

"March 28, 1865.

"GENTLEMEN : Enclosed I hand United States seven and three-tenths Treasury note for one Thousand dollars, My object is to commence the establishment of a fund for the benefit of what I sball call the 'Silent Poor of the Town " And I desire that the interest and income shall be paid over, not to town panpers, but to that class of honest, temperate men and women who work hard or are prudent and economical, and yet find it difficult to make betb ends meet. Te such, a load ef wood, occasion- ally a few groceries or a little flour or meal, will always be of service. The judicious distribution, from year te year, of this income 1 leave entirely to the tewn, suggesting only that three or more persons, se- lected from the different parts of the town, would be able to represent his or her location, and thus in conference all cases would be made known. I um very respectfully,

" (Sd.) CHARLES MERRIAM."

The trustees first elected under this donation were

six in number, but in 1867 they were reduced to three, and they were chosen for three years. The distribu- tion of the income of this fund is entirely private.

The early business and industries of Weston were extensive for so limited a population ; almost every trade was to be found here, dating back from 1740 to the date of the opening of railroads. Weston, being the great thoroughfare leading to Boston from Ver- mont, New Hampshire and Connecticut, gave to the place an importance it otherwise would not have en- joyed. All of the activity of those early days seems strange to-day, when, to within a few years, the town was reduced down to a grocery store, a blacksmith shop and a grist-mill. Most every house was a tav- ern at some period; the many lines of stage-coaches, the enormous amount of teaming from back sections, all together made a business harvest little understood by the present generation. Many of the storekeepers, after the Revolution, became prominent and wealthy merchants in Boston. The earliest store of which there is any record is that of Lieutenant Jones; the account-books still preserved are dated from 1745, but there should be books of an earlier date. Weston in those early days was a central and important place, and these books of the Jones family embrace ac- counts of all the neighboring towns, and include Ver- mont and New Hampshire. He was also a banker, judging from his loans to the neighbors and the notes of hand detailed in the ledger. It was at this store Colonel Ephraim Williams purchased his outfit for the campaign on Lake George in 1755, in which expedi- tion he was killed. Mr. Jones also contracted for supplies of beef and clothing for Washington's army on the Hudson, and provided lumber for the first bridges erected over Charles River in Watertown and Charlestown. The present house, erected in 1751, was the famous Golden Ball tavern before and after the Revolution. Here General Gage and the British officers came frequently to supper-parties. Mr. Jones was a great Tory, and in constant correspondence with the British authorities in Boston down to the battle of Concord. Mr. Jones and his tavern figures in the story of How, the British spy.

In 1782 Isaac' Lamson kept a store in the centre of the town. He died in 1806, and was followed by Daniel S. Lamson, who, for many years, kept one of the most noted dry-goods stores in Middlesex County. Mr. Lamson died in 1824, and was followed in the business by Charles Merriam, who entered Mr. Lam- son's employ in 1821. In 1836 Mr. Merriam formed a partnership with Mr. Henry Sales, of Boston, which latter house is well known as that of Sales, Merriam & Brewer. Mr. Merriam was followed in the Weston business by Henry W. Wellington, now of Chauncy Street, Boston. With the departure of Mr. Welling- ton, iu 1838, came the end of this store and all im- portant business-the days of railroads had commenced.

In 1765 Abraham Hews established a pottery, probably the first industry of its kind in New Eng-

495

WESTON.

land. The business was continued in Weston, from father to son, down to 1871, covering a period of one hundred and six years. In 1871 it was found necessary to remove, in consequence of the rapid increase in the business, and a large factory was erected in North Cambridge, at which time the name of the firm was changed to that of A. H. Hews & Co. The pay-roll of 1871 contained 15 names; that of 1889, from 85 to 100. In 1871, 800,000 pieces were required by the trade; in 1889, 7,000,000 were in demand.

It has been found difficult to fix the exact date of the establishment of the noted tannery in Weston by the Hobbs family. Josiah Hobbs came to Weston from Boston in 1730. This tannery was known throughout the county, and it was a custom in early days to locate houses and people in Weston by the distance from the tannery. As late as 1795 vessels from Maine loaded with bark for these works came up to Watertown to unload. One of the most impor- tant industries of Weston was that of Stony Brook Mills. This water-power was rendered effective by one Richard Child, in 1679; he erected a grist-mill and later a saw-mill. The grist-mill was standing down to 1840. Coolidge & Sibley bought the prop- erty in 1831, and erected a machine-shop, and also a mill for the manufacture of cotton yarns. The spe- cialty for many years was the manufacture of cotton machinery, looms, etc. They supplied the factories of Lowell, Lawrence, Lancaster and Clinton, besides which they built extensively for New York. Here was made the first machinery for the cotton-mills of Alabama and Tennessee. They also made door locks, extension bits and other articles of steel and iron hardware. In 1859 was begun the mannfacture of wood-planing machines, the Sibley dove-tails, the Sibley pencil sharpeners, for schools, now in use from Maine to Alaska. All the available portion of this valuable plant has been completely destroyed by the Cambridge water works, who have seized the plant and rendered its future nsefulness as a factory impos- sible, besides destroying a large taxable property within the town of Weston, which privilege never should have been granted by the Legislature to a pri- vate corporation having no natural claim to the run of the springs and water-flow of the town. The organ factory in the north part of Weston, now called Ken- dall Green, on the line of the Fitchburg Railroad, was established by Mr. F. H. Hastings, in 1888, moving from the old Roxbury factory, on Tremont Street, which had been occupied for forty years. In the year 1827 Mr. Elias Hook began the building of or- gans in Salem, with his brother George. They re- moved to Boston as E. & G. G. Hook. In 1855, when nineteen years old, Mr. Hastings became engaged with them, and in 1865 was admitted a partner. Later the name of the firm was changed to E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings, and, in 1880, after the death of Mr. G. G. Hook, it was again changed to Hook & Hastings. In 1881 Mr. Elias Hook died, since which

time the business has been conducted by Mr. Has- tings, the business dating back over sixty years. Mr. Hastings has devoted himself to the building of church organs for thirty-five years. His relations with eminent Enropeau builders, the employment of experts trained in foreign factories, the ingenuity and skill of onr American workmen have enabled him to obtain and hold the highest place in his art. The work of this house is found in every part of the country, and has a world-wide reputation. Its supe- riority is universally recognized. The large factory at Kendall Green, Weston, is claimed to be the largest and hest equipped of its kind in America, if not in the world. It has a special side-track leading from the Fitchburg Railroad ; organs are loaded directly into cars in the yard, and are sent to all parts of the country without re-handling or change. Trains stop at the factory for the accommodation of workmen and visitors. The large finishing hall is eighty by forty, and thirty-five feet high. Mr. Hastings has built his factory on land which formed a part of the old Hastings homestead, and which has been in the family for f ..... generations. He has built cottages for his workmen, and a large hall and club-house with reading-rooms all attached, for public use. The Ralph Kenney chair factory is situated near the cen- tre of the town, where large quantities of furniture for the furnishing of schools throughout the country are made, desks of the most approved styles, and seats and chairs for school purposes. The industries of the town to-day, with the above exceptions, are confined to the needs of the inhabitants. The most prominent commercial house at the present time, in the centre of the town, is the grocery of George W. Cutting & Son, which is located upon the Lamson estate. This spot has been occupied as a place of business for one hundred and fifty years. In 1852 Mr. John Lamson, who was born in Weston in 1791, inherited this property at the death of his mother, who died at the age of ninety-five years. "Mr. Lam- son took down the old store and house adjoining, which had become useless from age, and erected on the site a large modern building, which was leased to Mr. Charles Johnson, the postmaster of Weston, who, with his son, B. B. Johnson, the first mayor of the city of Waltham, also kept a store. Upon the expi- ration of his lease the store was taken by George W. Cutting & Son, and in 1875 the widow of Mr. Lam- son sold the store and land upon which it stands to the Cuttings. Since the death of Mr. Cutting, Sr., the business has been conducted by his son.

In the fall of 1860, when the clouds were thicken- ing over the country and its Constitution, and before any overt act had been committed by the Slave States, a home guard was organized by Captain D. S. Lam- son, for the purpose of drill and general preparations for future contingencies. Ahout fifty young men re- sponded and were regularly drilled in the mannal of arms and street marching. They purchased their own

496

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

arms, which were deposited in the Town Hall. The greatest interest was taken in this organization by the inhabitants as well as by those who became members of the company. This company did not enter a regi- ment as a whole, but all its members enlisted in regi- ments as they were formed from time to time, the greater number going into the Thirty-fifth Regiment, Colonel Edward A. Wild. At a town-meeting, July 19, 1862, it was voted to pay a bounty of one hundred dollars to every man who shall enlist in the United States service for the purpose of crushing the Rebellion, till the quota of seventeen required of the town shall be furnished. In August this bounty was increased to two hundred dollars to all who enlist within ten days, and to give each accepted volunteer, now or hereafter to enlist, ten dollars for each man who may be induced to join the military service as a part of the town quota of eighteen men. Twenty-six young men enlisted, and the town voted to pay the bounty above mentioned, although the quota of the town had been exceeded by nine in excess of the number required.

Captain D. S. Lamson, of Weston, was the first of that town to tender his services to the Governor. In March, 1861, when Governor Andrew was preparing the militia of the State for active duty, and was much hampered for clerk and other duties for which there was no appropriation of funds at that time, several gentlemen of Boston, among them Colonel Henry Lee, John H. Read, Franklin H. Story, Mr. Higginson and Mr. Lamson, tendered their services gratuitously to the Governor, which services he gladly accepted. Mr: Lamson was sent by the Governor on missions to Washington, Fortress Monroe and New York, all of which service was gladly executed at his own ex- pense and to the acceptance of the Governor.

Men who enlisted from Weston for three years' service:

D. S. Lamson, major 16th Regt. M. V .; John E. Powers, Co. Il, 16th Regt. M. V .; Warren Stickney, Co. H, 16th Regt. M. V .; William G. Clark, Co. H, 16th Regt. M. V .; Henry II. Richardson, Co. H, 16th Regt. M. V .; Thomas Palmer, Co. H, ?6th Regt. M. V .; Caleb W. Lincoln, Co. H, 6th Regt. M. V .; John Robinson, Co. H, 24th Regt. M. V .; Thomas Fahey, Co. 11, 9th Regt. M. V .; Frauk W. Bigelow, Co. II, 13th Regt. M. V .; Edward Banyan, Co. H, 5th Regt. M. V .; Andoniram J. Smith, Co. H; 22d Regt. M. V .; Charles L. Field, lieutenant 99th New York Regt .; Wm. Henry Carter, Co. II, 26th Regt. M. V .; Philip J. Mnyer, Jr., Co. H, Nim's Battery ; Lewis Jones, Co H, Ist Regt. Cavalry M. V .; Eben Tucker, Cu. Il, Ist Regt. Cavalry M. V .; John W. Drew, Co. H, 35th Regt. Cavalry, M. V .; John L. Ayer, Co. 1, 35th Regt. Cavalry M. V .; Lemuel Smith, Co. I, 35th Regt. Cavalry M. V .; Charles Roberts, Co. I, 35th Regt. Cav. M. V .; Samuel Patch, Jr., Co. I, 35th Regt., promoted lieut. Sept. 6, 1864; Henry A. Tucker, Co. I, 35th Regt .; George T. Tucker Co. I, 35th Regt., killed July 4, 1864 ; Andrew Floyd, Co. I, 35th Regt .; William C. Stimpson, Jr., Co. I, 35th Regt., killed Sept. 20, 1864 ; Fred- erick A. Hews, Co. I, 35th Regt., died Jan. 5, 1863 ; Joseph Smithi, Co. I, 35th Regt .; George G. Cheney, Co I, 35th Regt .; Willinin Henzy, Co. I, 35th Regt., killed Nov. 20, 1863 ; Charles G. Fisher, Co. I, 35th Regt .; Ralph A. Jones, Co. I, 35th Regt. killed Sept. 17, 1862; Andrew C. Badger, Co. I, 35th Regt .; Jabez R. Smith, Co. I, 35th Regt .; Daniel H. Adams, Co. I, 35th Regt .; D. E. Cook, Co. I, 35thi Regt., company sappers and miners; James M. Fairfield, Co. I, 38th Regt., killed June 1, 1863 ; Sefroy Britton, Co. I, 3d Rhode Island Battery ; Daniel Keyes, Co. I, 41st Regt.

The nine months' men from Weston are as follows :

Edmund L. Cutter, Co. I, 41th Regt., died April 31, 1863 ; C. E. Cntter, Co. I, 44th Regt .; H. B. Richardson, Co. I, 44th Regt .; Albert Wash- burn, Co. I, 44th Regt .; George E. Rand, Co. I, 41th Regt .; Marshall L. Ilews, Co. I, 44th Regt .; Elwin P. Upham, Co I, 44th Regt .; James A. Cooper, Co. I, 41th Regt .; Francis H. Poole, Co. I, 44th Regt .; Sammel II. Corliss, Co. I, 44th Regt .; George W. Rand, Co. I, 44th Regt .; George E. Floyd, Co. 1, 44th Regt .; Isaac II. Cary, Co. I, 44th Regt .; William C. Roberts, Co. I, 44thi Regt .; John Coughlin, Co. I, 44th Regt .; Benjamin A. Denke, Co. I, 44th Regt .; James M. Palmer, Co. I, 44th Regt .; George E Hobbs, Co. I, 44th Regt .; Henry L Brown, Co. I, 44th Regt .; George J. Morse, Co. C, 44th Regt .; Henry W. Doy, Co. H, 44th Regt .; Ahner J. Teele, Co. H, 43d Regt .; Samuel W. Johnson, Co. H, 43d Regt .; Fuller Morton, Co. E, 43d Regt., died Jan. 6, 1863; IIenry A. Wbittemore, Co. E, 43d Regt .; Heury Illingsworth, Co. E, 43d Regt .; W. W. Roberts, Co. A, 43d Regt.

At a town-meeting September 27, 1862, voted to pass the following resolve : "That whereas, we have learned that Ralph A. Jones, one of the Volunteers, has fallen in battle, and that others are known to have been wounded, therefore, Resolved, That the Rev. C. N. Topliff proceed to Maryland, and recover, if possible, the body of said Jones, or any others who have since died, and attend to the wants of the wounded men suffering in any of the hospitals. Also voted, that in case of the death of any Volunteers of the Town, whose families are entitled to State aid, the same shall be continued to them by town." In Octo- ber Mr. Topliff made a report of the incidents of his journey and the arrangements he had made for bring- ing home the body of Ralph A. Jones. A committee of three was chosen, consisting of Mr. Topliff, Dr. E. O. Hunt and A. S. Fiske, to make arrangements for the funeral of said Jones. In the November town- meeting Rev. C. H. Topliff was chosen a committee of one to bring home the bodies of our soldiers who have or may fall in battle, and render assistance to onr sick and wounded soldiers. Of the thirty-three men from Weston, drafted at Concord in July, 1863, twenty-eight were exempted, one was commuted, two found substitutes and two entered the service ; one of whom, Lucius A. Hill, was killed May 10, 1864.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 138

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