History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 123

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 123

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On April 20, 1739, Governor Belcher brought the case of these captives to the attention of the Council and the House of Representatives, when he made a speech, in which he said :

" There are lately come from Canada some Persons that were taken by the Indians from Groton above thirty Years ago, who (its believed) may be induced to return into this Province, on your giving them some proper Encouragement : If this Matter might be effected, I should think it would be not only an Act of Compassion in order to reclaim them from the Errors and Delusions of the Romish faith ; but their living among us might, in Time to come, be of great Advantage to the Province."

On the same day the subject was referred to a Committee of the House, who reported a resolution which was sent to the Council for concurrence; and on several occasions within a short time the same question came up in different forms.

All these efforts, however, to reclaim the two men from savage life proved unavailing ; for it is known that they remained with the Indians and became nat- uralized, if I may use the expression. They married Indian wives, and were afterward made chiefs at Caughnawaga and St. Regis, villages in Canada. Their descendants are still living among the Indians, and the Tarbells of the present day, in this town, are their collateral kindred. Nearly forty years after

their capture, Governor Hutchinson met them in New York State, and in his " History of the Province of Massachusetts Bay" refers to them thus :-

"J saw at Albany two or three inen, In the year 1744, who came in with the Indians to trade, and who had been taken at Groton in this, that is called Queen Ann's war. One of them, - Tarbell, was said to be one of the wealthiest of the Cagnawaga tribe. Hle made a visit in his Indian dress, and with his Indian complexion (for by means of grease and paints but little difference could be discerned) to his rela- tions at Groton, but had no inclination to remain there." (II. 139.)

Some years after this time, these two young men- now occupying the position of chiefs-moved up the St. Lawrence River, accompanied by several others, all with their families, and established the village of St. Regis. This Indian settlement is pleasantly situ- ated on the right bank of the St. Lawrence, the boundary line which separates the State of New York from Canada running through it. From its peculiar position, it was agreed, during the last war with Eng- land, that the Indians should remain neutral, but the compact was often broken. In the summer of 1852 the tribe numbered about eleven hundred persons, of whom it is said that not one was of pure Indian origin.

Many interesting facts concerning the Tarbells at St. Regis are found in the "History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, New York" (Albany, 1853), by Dr. Franklin B. Hough. A part of the village comes within the limits of Franklin County; and the author has gathered up some of the stories still told about these two brothers in that neighborhood.

In former years the St. Regis Indians had certain rights in a land reservation in the State of New York ; and more than once treaties were made between the Governor of the State and the chiefs of the trihe, among whom were descendants of these Tarbell boys. A treaty was signed on February 20, 1818, in behalf of the Indians, by Loran Tarbell and Thomas Tarbell, and two other chiefs. Another treaty was signed on September 23, 1825, by eleven chiefs and trustees of the tribe, including Peter Tarbell, Thomas Tarhell, Mitchel Tarbell, Louis Tarbell, and Battice Tarbell. Some of these names, I am sure, will sound familiar to the older inhabitants of Groton. It is very likely that Battice is the same as Sabattis, an Indian name, which is said to be a corruption of Saint Baptiste.

Dr. Hough writes about one of the earlier members of the family as follows :-

" A half-breed Indian, who usually was known as PETER THE BIG SPEAK, was a son of Lesor Tarbell, one of the lads who had been stolen away from Groton by the Indians, and who subsequently be- came one of the first settlers who preceded the founding of St. Regis.

" He was a man of much address and ability as a speaker, and was selected as the mouthpiece of the tribe on the more important occasions that presented themselves." (Page 182.)

The statement is wrong, however, that Lesor was the name of one of the captured boys. It is perfectly well known that their names were John and Zecha- riah, but it is not improbable that one of their sons was named Lesor. If such was the case, it was in- tended, doubtless, for Eleazer, the name of their youngest brother, who was less than two months old

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when they were carried off. It certainly would be & touching tribute to their childish recollections if they had remembered this little babe at home and carried him in their thoughts for so many years.

In the summer of 1877 I visited St. Regis, where I met a grandson of one of the Tarbell captives. He was more than eighty years old, and could speak only Indian ; and I had to talk with him through an inter- preter. I learned that he was aware that his grand- father had been taken when a boy, from a town near Boston, and that he had kinsfolk still living there. What interested me exceedingly was the physical re- semblance betweeu him and some of his collateral relations, who lived and died at Squannacook within my recollection. He was a man of ordinary size, with a sunburnt face and gray hair, tuough somewhat bald. There was but little appearance of Indian blood in his veins, and he would have passed anywhere for a good- looking old man. He lived with one of his sons in a small house that was clapboarded and painted,-and one of the best in the village,-where, surrounded by his grandchildren, he was passing the declining years of his life in comfortable ease.

During the summer of 1723 " the Indian enemy "- as the early settlers were wont to call them-still threatened the western frontier towns. On August 16, 1723, according to the printed Journal of the House of Representatives, Lieutenant-Governor Dum- mer, at that time the acting Governor of the Prov- ince, was desired immediately to order detachments of men, varying from three to six, from the inhabit- ants of the several towns along the line of outer set- tlements, to be constantly employed iu scouting and ranging the woods in their respective towns ; and un- der this order Groton was to have six. On August 24th it was ordered by the House of Representatives that these scouts should be placed under the directiou of the chief military officer of the several towns, and such officer should receive five shillings a week for his services. Owing to informalities in the matter, a dispute arose between the House and the Lieutenant- Governor, who within two days sent two messages to that body, and some slight modifications were made in the original draft.

Penhallow, in " The History of the Wars of New- England," speaking of the Indians at this period, says :

" The next damage they did was at Groton, but were so closely pur- sued, that they left several of their Packs behind." (Page 102.)

It was on Thursday, July 9, 1724, that John Ames was shot by an Indian, one of a small party that attacked his garrison in the northwesterly part of the town. Ames lived on the north side of the Nashua River, a short distance below the Hollingsworth paper-mills. He is said to be the last person killed by an Indian within the township. The Indian him- self was immediately afterward shot by Jacob Ames, one of John's sons. The Boston Gazette, July 13, 1724, thus refers to the event :

" A man was kill'd last Week at Groton, by the Indians, and 't is sup- pos'd one Indian was kill'd by one of our Men in the Garrison ; the In- dians left their Packs, 5 in number, which were taken and secur'd by the English."

In the Gazette of July 27th it is said that "An Indian Scalp was brought to Town last Week from Groton."

The New England Courant, July 13, 1724, reports that " Last Week the Indians kill'd a Man at Groton, and had one of their own Meu very much wounded." The same newspaper, in its issue of July 27th, says that " The Scalp of an Indian lately kill'd at Gro- ton is brought to Town."

Jacob Amnes' petition for an "Allowance" or boun- ty, for killing the savage, is found in the printed Journal of the House of Representatives, November 20, 1724.

In the summer of 1722 the Provincial governments of Massachusetts and New Hampshire offered a bounty of a hundred pounds for every Indian's scalp that should be taken and shown to the proper authorities. This legislation incited volunteers to scour the wilder - ness for the purpose of hunting the savages, and with this motive Captain John Lovewell, of Dunstable, organized a company which soon became famous.

The story of Lovewell's Fight was for a long time repeatedly told in this neighborhood, and there is scarcely a person who has not from early infancy heard the particulars of that eventful conflict. It was in the spring of 1725 that Captain Lovewell, with thirty-four men, fought a famous Indian chief, named Paugus, at the head of about eighty savages, near the shores of a pond in Pequawket, now within the limits of Fryeburg, Maine, and known as Lovewell's Pond. Of this little Spartan band, seven belonged in this town; and one of them, John Chamberlain by namc, distinguished himself by killing the Indian leader.

The fullest account of the Fight is found in a pamphlet entitled, " Lovewell Lamented, or, A SERMON occasion'd by the Fall of the Brave Capt. John Lovewell and Several of his Valiant COM- PANY, in the late Heroic Action at Piggwacket Pro- nounc'd at Bradford, May 16, 1725 By Thomas Symmes, V.D.M." (Boston, 1725.) The sermon con- tains an historical preface, duly attested by three of the company, which gives many particulars of this ill-fated expedition. It includes a list of the men who took part in the fight, with the names of the killed and wounded. According to this list, the following Groton men were members of Lovewell's company and present during the action : John Jefts, Daniel Woods, Thomas Woods, John Chamberlain, Elias Barron, John Gilson [Isaac Lakin ?], Joseph Gil- son ; of whom Thomas Woods, Daniel Woods and John Jefts were killed in the fight, and Elias Bar- ron, John Chamberlain and John Gilson [Isaac Lakin?], wounded. It is stated by Mr. Symmes, in his preface, that Barron subsequently " strayed from the rest, and got over Ossipy River, by the side of which his Gun Case was found, & he has ner been

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heard of since." (Page viii.) Joseph Gilson was the only one of this quota who escaped injury.

The first edition of the sermon was pub- lished on July 1st, and exhausted in a very few days. A second edition was issued about the middle of July, with a title-page somewhat changed from the original one, as follows : " Historical Memoirs Of the Late Fight at Piggwaeket, with a SERMON Ocea- sion'd by the Fall of the Brave Capt John Lovewell And Several of his Valiant Company ; in the late Heroic Action there. Pronoune'd at Bradford, May 16, 1725 By THOMAS SYMMES, V.D.M. The Sec- ond Edition Corrected." (Boston, 1725.) In this edition the running title of "An Historical PREFACE" is changed to " Memoirs of the Fight at Piggwaeket." A few corrections are made; in the list both of the soldiers and of the wounded, the name of Isaae Lakin is given in the place of John Gilson's.

Captain Lovewell, the commander of the company, was a brave officer and a noted man. He was at this time in the prime of life, and ambitious to distinguish himself. He had previously led two successful expe- ditions against the Indians, and his very name in- spired confidence. Only a few weeks before, his see- ond expedition had returned to Dover, New Hamp- shire, where he made a triumphal entry at the head of his company. They bore ten Indian sealps stretched on hoops, and were received with great joy and excitement; thence they proceeded to Boston, where they were paid a large bounty by the govern- ment. The following Groton men were members of the company which went on this second expedition : Jacob Ames, Ephraim Farnsworth, Reuben Farns- worth, Benjamin Parker, Samuel Shattuck, Samuel Tarbell and Henry Willard. Throughout New Eng- land, Lovewell's daring was made the subject of talk, and the publie looked to him as a natural leader in border warfare.

With the small force now at his command, the heroic captain pressed forward to meet the enemy, and in a few days reached the borders of Saco Pond, since known as Lovewell's Pond, southeast of the present village of Fryeburg, Maine. On the morn- ing of Saturday, May 8th, while engaged at prayers they heard a gun, and shortly afterward discovered an Indian on a point of land which ran into the pond. They were distrustful of an ambush, and a consultation was held in order to see whether they should advance or retreat. Their decision was to pro- ceed at all hazards. They said: "We came out to meet the Enemy ; we have all along prayed GOD we might find 'em ; and we had rather trust Providence with our Lives, yea Dy for our Country, than try to Return without seeing them, if we may, and be called Cowards for our Pains." After this answer, Lovewell ordered his men to move forward cautiously ; and they soon reached a place where they halted and took off their packs, and piled them up together. Leaving

these behind without a guard, and advaneing a short distance, they came upon the Indian whom they had previously descried. He was returning to his com- panions with some game that he had killed. Several guns were instantly discharged at him, when he in turn fired and wounded Captain Lovewell and another man; after which he was killed and scalped. The company then turned back, and with their wounded leader repaired to the place where they had left their paeks. In the meanwhile Paugus, the far-famed chief of the Pequawkets, at the head of eighty war- riors on their way home from a marauding expedi- tion, had discovered the pile of paeks, and, counting them, had learned the number of the English. Find- ing that the force was much less than his own, Paugus placed his men in ambush and awaited the return of Lovewell. When the company came up for their paeks, the Indians with hideous yells rushed forth suddenly from their hiding-places and began to fire. The brave captain ordered his men to return it, which was done with terrible effect. Lovewell himself fell at the first shot, and eight of his men soon shared the same fate. Ensign Wyman, of Woburn, then as- sumed the command, and, perceiving that the Indians were trying to surround them, ordered a retreat to the pond, where he took his stand. A ledge of rocks pro- jeeting into the water on one side of him, and a deep brook on the other, made a position favorable for de- fence. The fighting continued, and during the day the savages vainly endeavored to compel the valiant band to surrender; but they would not listen to the proposition. Paugus was slain in the action by John Chamberlain, of Groton. After the death of their chief the Indians became somewhat disheartened, and for a time withdrew from the skirmish. Later in the day the combat was resumed, when, it is supposed, the enemy received reinforcements, but with no deci- sive result. As night approached they again with- drew, and left this little forlorn band masters of the field.

About midnight the survivors, with the excep- tion of three men mortally wounded and unable to travel, fell back and directed their course to the fort, where they expected to find their former companions; but in this hope they were sadly disappointed. It seems that, at the beginning of the fight, a member of the company, escaping, made his way to the fort, and reported that Lovewell and his men were all cut to pieces, which he may have believed. Disappointed at finding the fort abandoned, the survivors of this memorable command made their way back to the set- tlements as best they could, coming in at different places along the frontier line.

The name of Lovewell at once became famous, and the story of the expedition was told in every house- hold, and even in the pulpit. It was made the subject of ballads, which were sung at family firesides, and excited the popular heart with the memory of the brave and adventurous leader. Peace soon followed

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the action at Pequawket, aud deep and sincere was the public feeling at its restoration.

John Chamberlain, the surviving hero of Lovewell's Fight, was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Cham- berlain, of Chelmsford, where he was born March 29, 1692. The father was a carpenter and miller, who afterwards removed to Groton, and lived about a quarter of a mile northerly of Wattle's Pond, on the left-hand side of the road to Hollis. He is supposed to have died about the year 1709. After the fight the son was known as "Paugus Johu," and bore that name through life. He owned a mill, situated near Brown Loaf, on a small stream formed by the con- fluence of Martin's Pond Brook and another, now called Paugus Brook.

His death took place about the year 1756, though no record of it is found. The appraisal of his estate . was made on March 31, 1756, according to papers on file in the Middlesex Probate Office at East Cam- bridge.

If ever young Paugus came to Groton in order to avenge his father's death, and it seems probable from tradition that he did, it was undoubtedly at this place, Furthermore, there is a deep hole in Paugus Brook. known since the last century as Paugus Hole, where- in it is said that Chamberlain sunk the body of the Indian, after he had killed him. A small elm stands on the south bank of the brook, very near the place.

Many other tales about the Indians have come down by tradition, and some of them are probably true. The following story, told me by the late Charles Woolley, refers to Isaac Lakin, one of Lovewell's men :

Lakin lived in a Jog-house near the Nashua River, in the north part of the town. The house had no glass windows, but had shutters instead, and a door that swung on wooden hinges. One day an Indian was seen lurking about the house, and hiding behind the stumps, apparently bent on mischief. Lakin seized his gun, and, standing at a crack in the shutters, told his wife to swing the door so that it would creak on its hinges. Hearing the noise, and seeing the door open, the Indian sprang from behind a stump, and started for the house, when Lakin fired and shot him dead. Seeing no sign of other Indians, after dark he dug a hole and buried him.

In the year 1744 war was again declared between England and France, called by the English colonists King George's War. Civilization had now pushed the belt of frontier towns far into the wilderness ; and Groton was no longer exposed to the assaults of the Indians, though at times threatened with danger. Her sons and soldiers, however, were still found during this period, on the outer rim of settlements, whenever and wherever their services were needed, either to extend the borders or to defend them. A military organization was kept up in the town, ready for emergencies here or elsewhere in the neighbor- hood.

The first settlement of Charlestown, N. H .- then known as No. 4,-was made in the year 1740, by three brothers, Samuel, David, and Stephen Farnsworth, natives of Groton ; and they were soon followed by Isaac Parker and his sons, aud Obadiah Sawtell, also of this town. The Farnsworths were leading men at Charlestown, and they distinguished themselves on several occasions in fights with the Indians. Samuel Farnsworth, the eldest brother, was killed in a skirmish, May 2, 1746. David was taken prisoner by a party of French Indians, April 20, 1757, and carried to Canada. He managed to escape, and reached home not a long time probably after his cap- ture. Stephen, the youngest brother, had also his bitter experience with the enemy. He was captured April 19, 1746, and taken to Montreal, where he re- mained seventeen long months before he was ex- changed. His health was so broken down by the hardships of his captivity that he never fully regained it. He died September 6, 1771, leaving behind the reputation of a brave man and a good citizen.

Ebenezer Farnsworth, a native of Groton and a kinsman of the three brothers just mentioned, was captured August 30, 1754, by the St. Francis Indians, at Charlestown. He was carried to Montreal and held a prisoner during three years. His ransom was paid in the summer of 1755, but he was not then set at liberty. Mrs. Susanna Johnson and her sister, Miriam Willard, were taken at the same time. They were both daughters of Moses Willard, who had formerly lived in the south part of this town. A full account of the affair is given in " A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson," published at Walpole, New Hamp- shire, in 1796. Two years later, on June 18, 1756, Moses Willard, the father, was killed by the Indians, at Charlestown; and in the same attack his son, Moses, Jr., had a narrow escape from death by the hands of the savages, being severely wounded at the time.

Lieutenaut Isaac Parker was taken by the In- dians at the same time with Stephen Farnsworth, and remained in captivity until the following winter, when he was returned to Boston under a flag of truce.

The Sawtell family is also largely represented in Charlestown, where the name is now spelled Sartwell. It is a numerous family in that town, and they sprang from the early settler, Obadiah, who went from Groton. He, too, had a sad experience in savage warfare, and once was captured by the Indians. He was taken by them on May 24, 1746, and remained a prisoner until August 20, 1747. He finally met his death at their hands on June 17, 1749, being attacked while ploughing in his corn-field, unsuspicious of any danger.

Charles Holden, Isaac Holden and Seth Walker, natives of Groton, were early settlers and proprietors of Charlestown. Moses Wheeler was another pioneer and a distinguished soldier, taking part in some of

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the fiercest encounters of the French and Indian War. He was a large man and noted for his strength. He was called by the Indians "the strong man." Moses Willard, Isaac Farwell and Micha Fuller, other settlers, were also from this town. Eleazer Pricst, son of Joseph Priest, of Groton, and a soldier, was captured by the Indians, on March 15, 1748, at Charlestown, and died at Louisburg, Nova Scotia, in September of that year, while on his way home.

The earliest minister of Groton was the Reverend John Miller, who graduated at Gonvil and Caius Col- lege, Cambridge, England, in the year 1627, and came to this country in 1637. For a short time he lived in Roxbury, where he was one of the elders in Eliot's church. From the year 1639 to 1641, and perhaps later, he was settled in the ministry at Rowley as as- sistant to the Reverend Ezekiel Rogers ; and during this period he filled the office of town clerk. He was made a freeman of Massachusetts on May 22, 1639. In the autumn of 1641 he was waited on by messengers fromn Woburn, who desired his services for their church ; but they found "Mr. Roggers loth to part with him."

Johnson, in his "Wonder-Working Providence of Sion's Saviour, in New England," refers to him both in prose and verse. The following is a specimen of the poetry :-

" With courage bold Miller through Seas doth venter, To Toyl it out in the great Western wast, Thy stature low one object high doth center ; Higher than Heaven thy faith on Christ is plac't:" -Chap. XI., p. 131.

From Rowley Mr. Miller removed to Yarmouth, where he was settled as a preacher, though the date of his removal to that town is not recorded. Nor is it known exactly when he came to Groton, but probably at some time during 1662, as in that year the town voted to build a house for the minister. On March 18, 1663, a vote was passed asking him " to continue still with vs for our further edificat[ion]," which shows that he was preaching at that date; but in three short months his labors ceased and he went to take his reward. In the first return of deaths, made by the town clerk of Groton to the recorder of the county, it says :-

" Mr. Jnº. Miller, minister of Gods holy word died. June 12th 1663."

The second minister of Groton was the Reverend Samuel Willard, a son of Major Simon and Mary (Sharpe) Willard, and born at Concord, on January 31, 1639-40. He graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1659, and was the only member who took his second degree. He began to preach at Gro- ton probably late in the year 1662, or early in 1663. In the latter year, on the 21st of June, it was voted " that Mr. Willard if he accept of it shall be their minester as long as he liues wº Mr. Willard ac- cepts Except a manifest providenc of God apears to take him off."

Mr. Willard was a scholar and writer of consider-

able note in his day, and even now would be con- sidered such. But little is known of his early history ; and no church-record during his ministry at Groton is extant. Coming here in the vigor of young man- hood, at the age of twenty-three,-if we may judge him from the high position he afterward attained,-it is fair to assume that he exerted a strong influence in this neighborhood. It is probable that his early ex- periences on the outer rim of civilization fitted him for the places of honor and dignity that he was subse- quently called upon to fill. A few weeks after his settlement he married Abigail, a daughter of John Sherman, minister of Watertown; and, after her death, he married, as his second wife, Eunice, daughter of Edward Tyng. He had a large family of children, of whom five were born in this town. One of his great- grandsons, Robert Treat Paine, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 123

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1226

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226