History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 135

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 135

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Most.justly has it been said : " The broad compre- hension, unwavering faith and large capacity of Ab- bott Lawrence should never be forgotten by dwellers in the city that bears his name."

In 1846 Mr. Lawrence addressed to the Hon. Wm. C. Rives, of Virginia, his celebrated letters on the tariff. Mr. Webster wrote to Mr. Lawrence from Washington : "Your letters to Mr. Rives have a very great circulation, as you are aware, and are highly praised by intelligent men. The second of them will form the substratum of what I propose to say (if I say anything) on the tariff subject." "These letters attracted much attention in all parts of the country and especially in Virginia, where they were re-printed and commented upon at length in the leading news- papers. So deep was the impression made in that State by them, and such a spirit of enterprise did they enkindle, that some of the leading citizens invited him to come and establish a manufacturing town at the Great Falls of the Potomac. This appeal on the part of a sister State for co-operation and leadership in the development of its industry and capital was a remarkable recognition and tribute to the ability and character of Mr. Lawrence. . .. But vast interests were at stake nearer home, and he could not allow himself to be diverted from this work by the projected enterprise on the shores of the Potomac, no matter how alluring the promise of results both to himself and to others."

Mr. Hill in his Memoir thus spoke of Mr. Law- rence : " His character, in all respects that of the pure New England type, was peculiarly so in the love and zeal which he always manifested in the cause of

THE LAWRENCE HOMESTEAD, GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS. PROPERTY OF JAMES LAWRENCE.

Moses Palmer

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GROTON.

popular educatiou. . . . We have an illustration of this in the letters written by him when he established the Lawrence prizes in the High and Latin Schools of Boston, (1844-45) giving to each the sum of $2000 -using his own language-the interest to be expended in medals, books, and other prizes among those pupils who may excel in the various branches of learning which are taught in those schools." In a like spirit he aided in the eudowment of the Franklin Library at Lawrence which also received a bequest of $5000 at his death.

For several years he had felt (to use his own words) " the pressing want in our community (and in the whole conntry) of an increased number of men educated in the practical sciences." "He was satisfied," says Mr. Prescott, "that, however liberal the endow ments of that institution " (Harvard University) " for objects of lib- eral culture, no adequate provision had been made for instruction in science." When, therefore, the Corpo- ration of the University announced its purpose of or- ganizing a school of theoretical and practical science, he responded by a gift in 1847 of fifty thousand dollars. In recognition of his munificence the institution was named the Lawrence Scientific School. Soon after its establishment, Professor Agassiz was appointed to the chair of Zoology and Geology. Mr. Lawrence en- dowed the school with a further like sum by his will.

Mr. Lawrence was a leader in the movement to supply the city of Boston with an abundance of pure water. He attended several public meetings held to promote that object, and made speeches in support of it. One of them may be found in full in " Hill's Me- moir" of him. The project met with the strongest opposition. The first act of the Legislature (passed March, 1845) authorizing the city to take water from either Long Pond or Charles River was rejected at the polls by a large majority, but a second act, such had been the change in public opinion only eleven months later, was accepted by a still larger majority. Water was brought into the city from Long Pond in October, 1848, and Mr. Lawrence lived to see all his prediction? more than verified.

In the Presidential canvass of 1848 the name of Mr. Lawrence was prominently associated for the office of Vice-President with that of General Taylor for Presi- dent, and at the convention in Philadelphia he wanted but six votes of being nominated for that office. This result was owing to the peculiar and unexpected course of some of the delegates from his own State. He, however, heartily sustained the nomination of Taylor and Fillmore. Immediately after the inaugu- ration of General Taylor, Mr. Lawrence was offered a seat in his Cabinet, but declined it ; soon after he was nominated to the mission to England, which he accepted. After serving three years his private affairs obliged him to return, and in October, 1852, he resigned. No minister from the United States was ever more respected or left behind him a more envia- ble reputation. The Rev. John Cumming, in dedicat-

ing the Americau edition of his " Apocalyptic Sketches " to Mr. Lawrence, says: "I regard this as an opportunity of expressing a conviction shared and felt by the good aud great of this country how much they appreciated your presence in London, as the representative of your magnificent nation, and how deeply,-I may add universally,-they regretted your departure. We never had so popular a minister from America or one who has done so much to leave last- ing and elevated impressions of his countrymen."

After his return from Eugland, Mr. Lawrence held no public position, though he still maintained a warm interest in public affairs. He vigorously opposed the new State Constitution of 1853 and made numerous speeches against it ; but with this exception and his efforts in the " canvass for General Scott as President, he took no active part in politics. He showed the same zeal as ever in the cause of education, and watched with the deepest interest over the rising for- tunes of the Scientific School which he had founded at Cambridge."

Mr. Lawrence married, on the 28th of June, 1819, Katharine, the eldest daughter of the Hon. Timothy Bigelow, the distinguished lawyer. He died in Bos- ton on the 18th of August, 1855, and was buried with civil and military honors.

Recognizing Mr. Lawrence's hearty and generous interest in the cause of education, as well as his valu- able public services, Williams College in 1852 and Harvard College in 1854 conferred on him the hon- orary degree of Doctor of Laws.

HON. MOSES P. PALMER.1

Moses Poor Palmer is a son of Moses Harriman and Mary Harriman (Hale) Palmer, and was born at Derry, N. H., on May 1, 1830. His parents were cousins, and in the year 1832 the family removed to East Bradford (now Groveland), where the son received his early education, attending school at Merrimack Academy, in that village. During the summer months he worked upon his father's farm, aud in the winter on the shoemaker's bench, as was the custom of young men at that time in his neighborhood. He learned the trade of shoe-cutting at Marlborough ; and in the year 1854 he came to Groton in order to superintend a shoe factory that had just been started. It was or- ganized by Messrs. Bigelow and Randall, in a build- ing that had then only recently been given up as a tavern, and situated near the Congregational meeting- house. On December 19, 1855, the establishment was burned, and then the business was transferred to the building previously used as a bakery and situated at the corner of Main and West Streets. Here young Palmer remained until 1858, when, in partnership with his brother, he began the manufacture of shoes at Marlborough, where he continued until the break-

1 By Hon. Samuel Abbott Green.

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

ing out of the Rebellion in the spring of 1861. He then recruited a company of riflemen at Marlborough, and, on May 6th of that year, was commissioned as captain. In the mean time the quota of men asked for by President Lincoln was filled, and for that reason the company was not at once accepted, but was assigned afterward to the Fourth Battalion of Rifles, which became the nucleus of the Thirteenth Massachusetts Volunteers. On June 25th this or- ganization was ordered to garrison Fort Indepen- deuce, Boston Harbor, where it was soon recruited to ten companies; and on July 16th Palmer was com- missioned as first licutenant. On July 30thi the regi- ment left for the seat of war, and, on August 16, 1862, Lieutenant Palmer was promoted to a captaincy, although he had been in command of the company during most of the time since the regiment left Boston. In the campaign of 1862 he was in command through all the principal battles of the Army of the Potomac, - notably the second battle of Bull Run, where he was wounded three times,-one of which wounds was a very severe one, a bullet passing through his neck and lower jaw,-and also slightly wounded at Fred- ericksburg. He took part in Bolivar Heights, Front Royal, Thoroughfare Gap, Chancellorsville, and various other battles and skirmishes.

During the fight at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, while in the First Corps (Reynolds'), he was severely shot in the right knee and crippled for life, and on March 9, 1864, was honorably discharged from the military service. Owing to this wound he has lost the entire use of his knee, and is compelled to walk on crutches. On May 10, 1866, for gallant and meri- torious services in the field, he was breveted major of volunteers.

After his discharge from the army Captain Palmer returned to Groton, the home of his wife, and bought a farm, situated on the Great Road to Boston, about a mile from the village, where he now lives, much re- spected in the community. For twelve years (1877- 89) he served the town as selectman, assessor and overseer of the poor, and for four years was the chairman of the board. He has been commander of E. S. Clark Post, No. 115, Grand Army of the Re- public; master of Grange No. 7, Patrons of Hus- bandry; an officer of the Groton Farmers' and Mechanics' Club, and a member of the Middlesex North Agricultural Society at Lowell, having been for many years one of its vice-presidents and trustees. He has been a justice of the peace since March 30, 1881, and is now treasurer of the New England Milk Producers' Union. His success as a farmer shows what can be accomplished by skill and application, and furnishes a good example for young men to follow.

Major Palmer was a member of the House duriug the session of 1884, and a member of the Senate dur- ing the sessions of 1888-90, a period of three years, a longer term of service than has ever been accorded to any other Senator from his district.

On July 7, 1861, he was married to Martha Green, daughter of Joshua and Matilda (Prescott) Eaton, of Groton ; and they have one son and two daughters.

CHARLES HARRISON WATERS. 1

For a period of twenty-eight years, from 1855 to 1883, Charles Harrison Waters was one of Groton's most capable, cflicient and respected citizens. He pos- sessed in a marked degree the qualitics which make a strong character ; and his usefulness was equal to his encrgy.

He was the oldest son of Horace Waters and Ruth Hovey, of Millbury, Mass., where he was born July 31, 1828. His school days were not protracted, end- ing with a term or two at an academy. At the age of fifteen he was a factory boy ; at eighteen, an overseer in a mill, already with an aim in life, and to the end of his busy career he pursued, in the main, the way of his father before him, that of a successful manu- facturer.

Dec. 21, 1854 he married Mary J. Farnsworth, daughter of James Farnsworth, of Groton, where, in the following year, he took up his residence, at first, on the Farnsworth estate in the west part of the vil- lage, and, subsequently, purchasing and remodeling for his occupancy the house owned by Mr. John Pea- body on Main Street (North). There were born to him three children, two of whom remain.

Mr. Waters was a man of action ; his was an alert mind, his a ready hand. He could not be of the number of those "who merely exist in a state of benumbed tor- por, not finding it needful to be more than half awake." He must be up and doing. And so he worked and over-worked until he broke down. Warning came to him some five years before, and lie gave it heed just long enough to make a flying trip to Europe, but only to gird on the harness again as soon as he got back.

Mr. Waters had the genius of an inventor. Prob- lems of natural philosophy, physics, books of science lad to him far more attraction than other subjects.

He was still a young man only twenty-three when he went to Jewett City, Connecticut, and engaged in the manufacture of rope and twine, introducing origi- nal methods. Much of the machinery now in use in the extensive works of the Clinton Wire-cloth Com- pany (of which he was first the agent, then the general manager, then vice-president, and finally president, which office he held at the time of his decease) was of his invention.

In prosecuting the new enterprise known as the Avery Lactate Company, and while personally super- intending the construction of the building at Little- ton, from the walls of which he was descending when attacked by paralysis, he either made himself, or caused to be made, some important and original iu- vestigations in chemistry. Had his life been spared

1 By Rev. Joshua Young, D.D.

Engraved he wes A Baby & Sons. Pl.

Luther Blood

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GROTON.

it is not impossible that this business venture would have been successful.

Undoubtedly the quality of efficiency would be mentioned as his chief mental characteristic. By vir- tue of his natural executive ability it was his right to lead-not simply to have his own way, but to have things done and well done. He used his power for good. And underneath that large, forceful brain there was also an equally large and benevolent heart. The charity that emanated from his house was widely recognized, his own kindness of heart being secouded by that of his estimable wife. As a citizen, he was public-spirited in an eminent degree. He was in favor of improvements, whether it was to have better schools or better roads. In the beautiful village of his residence, whatever gives attractiveness to the place, or character and dignity to the people, is due as much to his personal effort as to that of any other man of his generation. His relig- ious affiliation was with the Unitarians. His atten- dance on the ministrations of the house of God was as regular and constant as the return of the Sabbath. His mind recognized a Supreme Intelligence, and bowed with reverence and adoration to an authority

"Enthroned above the reach of sight."

For several years he was the president of the North Middlesex Conference of Unitarian and other Chris- tian churches. He died March 13, 1883, aged fifty- four years.

A unique monument of his own design marks his resting-place in the village cemetery.

LUTHER BLOOD.

Luther Blood was born at Groton, October 21, 1810, and is a son of Luther and Sally (Cook) Blood. His grandfather, Caleb, married Hannah Holden, November 1, 1753, and Elizabeth Farns- worth, March 3, 1774. He had twenty-seven chil- dren, of whom Luther was the twenty-fifth. Eliza- beth, the grandmother, was a member of the old Farnsworth family, whose name was among the first settlers of the town. Caleb was born November 23, 1734, and was the son of John and Joanna (Nutting) Blood, who were married July 13, 1712. The first ancestor in Groton of Luther Blood was probably James, who was one of four by the name of Blood who early went to the township and became original proprietors, and are mentioned as petitioners for a plantation at that place. The family name is a fa- miliar one; and while some who bear it have become widely scattered in the land, there have yet been those who have continued it in Groton and the adjacent places, which were formerly a part of the ancient town. The old homestead, where the subject of this sketch was born, is situated in West Groton, near Fitch's Bridge. It is on the west side of the Nashua River, and is now owned and occupied by Augustus Blood, a brother of Luther. This estate has for many

years been in the possession of the Blood family. The grandfather of Luther came into possession of it when it was wilderness land, and by his industry and thrift it became a smiling homestead, where succes- sive generations of the family have been reared. On this farm the subject of this sketch spent his early years, where his life was in accord with the customs aud ways of the rural and sparsely-peopled places of our old New England towns. There was plenty of hard, rough work on the farm, and that substantial and wholesome fare, which may have been a condi- tion of the robust health which he, at his advanced age, now enjoys. The education he received was at the humble school-house in what is still known as District No. 4, and consisted iu what could be ob- tained in a course of six or eight weeks each year.

At the age of eighteeu he left home and learned the carpenter's trade. Two school buildings still stand which were erected under his supervision, and which, by their contrast, suggest the rapid improve- ment in our educational means. One of these is a small, unoccupied, brick school-house, iu District No. 4, built in 1835; the other the beautiful Law- rence Academy, erected in 1870.

May 2, 1844, Mr. Blood married Sarah Park Stone, of South Groton, now the town of Ayer. Miss Stone's birthplace was about a mile from Ayer Junction ; but her later home was the "Stone Place," on the old road from Ayer to Groton. Mr. and Mrs. Blood have no children. Their resideuce is pleasantly situated on High Street, near the Lawrence Academy and the Unitarian Church. Mr. Blood was an old-time Whig, till the breaking up of that party, since which time he has been a Republican. His habits have been simple and regular. He has been temperate and in- dustrious, and bears the marks of well-developed old age.

SAMUEL A. GREEN.I

Samuel Abbott Green was born in Groton, Mass., March 16, 1830. He graduated at Harvard in 1851. After receiving his medical degree, iu 1854, he spent several years in Europe. On his return he began the practice of his profession in Boston. May 19, 1858, he was appointed by Governor Banks surgeon of the Second Massachusetts Militia Regiment, and at the breaking out of the Rebellion he entered the service as assistant surgeon of the First Massachusetts Regi- ment, and was the first medical officer in the Com- monwealth mustered in for three years' service. Sep- tember 2, 1861, Dr. Green was promoted to surgeon of the Twenty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment, a posi- tion which he occupied until November 2, 1864. During this time he was on the staffs of various cavalry officers. On the Burnside expedition to Roanoke he had charge of the hospital-ship " Recruit," and later,

1 By the Editor.

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

of the hospital-ship "Cosmopolitan," on the South Carolina coast. He was also chief incdical officer at Morris Island during the siege of Fort Wagner. He was appointed post-surgeon at Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Fla., in October, 1863, and from this point went to Virginia, and was with the army when Bermuda Hundred was taken. After the surrender of Richmond Dr. Green was appointed acting staff-sur- geon in that city, where he remained three months.

In 1862 he was successful in organizing Roanoke Cemetery, one of the first regular burial-places for Union soldiers, which was dedicated, with appropri- ate ceremonies on February 23, 1862. Dr. Green was faithful to his trust, and those characteristics which have marked his later life shone resplendent in the service, and in 1864, for gallant and distinguished services in the field, he was breveted lieutenant-col- onel of volunteers.

At the close of the war he returned to Boston, where he has filled various positions of trust and responsi- bility. From - 1865 to 1872 he was superintendent of the Boston Dispensary. He was a member of the Boston School Board in 1860, '62, '66 and '72; trustee of the Boston Public Library from 1868 to '78, and acting librarian from October, 1877, to October, 1878. In 1870 he was appointed by Governor Claflin on the commission to care for disabled soldiers. He was city physician from 1871 to 1880, and also, in 1878, he was chosen a member of the board of experts, authorized by Congress to investigate the yellow fever. He is now serving his fourth term as an Overseer of Harvard College, and is also one of the trustees of the Peabody Education Fund, which was established by the late George Peabody for educational purposes at the South.

In 1882 Dr. Green was elccted mayor of Boston.

While Dr. Green has been active and prominent in the affairs of Boston generally, the distinguishing feature of his career, perhaps, is the time and research he has given to historical studies, and the various works which he has prepared and printed-many of them privately-form an invaluable addition to the historic literature of the Commonwealth.

Appalachian (Mountain) Club (1886); "Groton His. torical Serics," thirty-seven numbers, 1883-1890, and the " History of Groton," in this work.

CHAPTER XLI.

CONCORD.

BY HON. JOHN S. KEYES.

- Settlement-Eurly History-Indian Troubles-Capt. Wheeler's Narrative.

WHATEVER other distinction Concord has obtained, it has surely that of being the oldest inland Anglo- Saxon town in America. The first English settle- ment made above tide-water was here.

In 1635 a small company of twelve or fifteen fami- lies broke their way along the Indian trails into the forest, away from the sea-shore. Starting from New- town (now Watertown), at the head of tide-water in the Charles River, they made their toilsomc way along either the route still known as the "Trapelo" road, or that called the " Virginia," over hills and across swamps, to the "Musketaquid." Their objeet was the wide, grassy meadows of that stream, free from the forest growth, and the level plains on its banks where the Indians had raised their corn. These meadows and plains Simon Willard had known, if not seen, in his trading for furs with the natives. He was the leader of the small company, made up of Peter Bulke- ley, the minister, John Jones, the teaching elder, William Buttrick, James Hosmer, Robert Fletcher, John Ball, George Hayward, Richard Rice, William Hartwell, John Heald, William Judson, Luke Potter, John Scotchford, Merriams and Wheelers, with their families,-sturdy Englishmen from Kent, Surrey, Yorkshire and Bedfordshire, who had come to this country in the "great emigration" of that time. They had secured from the General Court an act of incorporation, dated September 2, 1635, granting them "six myles of land squarc," and the name of "Concord."

Among his works may be mentioned the following : For shelter the first winter they made rude hovels of earth and brushwood on the southerly slope of the mile-long ridge east of the Common. The next year they built their first frame house for the minister and elder, on the little knoll at the northwest cnd of the ridge nearest the river, and their first meeting-house on the summit of the ridge. In this dwelling-house they made their bargain with the Indians for the land, three miles north, south, east and west, and obtained a deed signed by Squaw Sachem, Tahattawan, Nim- rod, and others. For this they paid in wampum, beads, blankets, hoes, knives and cloth, to the satis- faction of the native owners, and were " made wel- come." This land was laid ont, and the corners of exactness, considering the difficulties of the task. It "My Campaigns in America," a journal kept by Comte William de Deux Ponts, 1780-81; translated from the French manuscript, with an introduction and notes (Boston, 1868) ; "An Account of Percival and Ellen Green and Some of their Descendants," (printed privately, Groton, Mass., 1876); "Epitaphs from the Old Burying-Ground in Groton, Mass." (1879); "The Early Records of Groton, Mass, 1662- 1677" (1880); " History of Medicine in Massachu- sctts," a centennial address delivered before the Mas- sachusetts Medical Society, June 7, 1881 (Boston, 1881); "Groton during the Indian Wars " (Groton, 1883); " Groton during the Witchcraft Times " (1883); "The Boundary Lines of Old Groton " (1885); "The [ the tract marked by stone bounds, with surprising Geography of Groton," preserved for the use of the

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included a part of the present Carlisle on the north, of Bedford ou the east, and Lincoln on the south, and agrees with the line of Sudbury aud Actou on the other sides. These lines took in Fairhaven Bay, White. Bateman's, Flint's, Walden and Beaver Ponds, and Nashawtuck, Annursnack aud Punkatasset Hills.

The first road was laid out along the foot of the ridge, and the earliest houses were built in the place of the hovels of the first winter. New-comers to the growing settlement soon extended the liamlet across the brook that flowed near the first road. A dam across this brook at the side of the Common gave the power to the first mill erected as soon as practicable. The farms taken up by the settlers, as their choice or fancy inclined, were very early extended out in a northwesterly direction across the river. "Cauows " were for a time used for access to and from these, but a bridge was soon needed. The first, built over the south branch to the foot of Nashawtuck Hill, was carried away up stream by a freshet coming from the Assabet or North River as it was then called. The second bridge was built over the great river below the junction of the two branches at the spot destined to become historical. The South bridge took the place of the one first mentioned at a point higher up the stream. These, with the roads leading over them, were the public works of the first generation, and they were great undertakings for the time and the men. In such a community as this, after food and shelter were found, religious concerns were most prominent. A Puritan church was organized for Concord by a council that. met at Cambridge July 5, 1636. Rev. Peter Bulkeley was ordained pastor, and Rev. John Jones, elder. The latter, after a few years' service, left Concord with a part of the settlers and moved to Connecticut. The former remained, and spent his life and fortune in the service of the small company he had joined for the settlement of this town. Peter Bulkeley, B.D., was of noble birth, scholarly attain- ments and ample resources, probably the foremost of all the earlier ministers of New England. He was born at Wodell, in Bedfordshire County, January 31, 1583, educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, settled in his native town, and preached there twenty years. Persecuted by Archbishop Laud, he left his parish and emigrated to this country. He was an eloquent preacher, a useful pastor and a great help to the infant settlement. He published a volume of sermons which reached a second edition, and was dedicated "to the church and congregation in Con- cord," and to his nephew " Oliver St. John, Lord Em- bassador Extraordinary from the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England to the High and Mighty Lords, the States General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands and Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas," (afterwards Lord Bolingbroke), London, 1651. Mr. Bulkeley married for his first wife Jane, daughter of Sir Thomas Allen, by whom he had nine sons and two daughters. For his second wife he mar-

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 135

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