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

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 136

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ried Grace, daughter of Sir Richard Chetwood, and had by her three sons and a daughter. He died March 9, 1659, leaving an estate of £1302, including books valued at £123.

He was succeeded by his son, Rev. Edward Bulke- ley, who, though not the equal of his father, continued to preach till the increase of the town and his in- firmities required the aid of a colleague in 1667. His only printed work is the sermon preached at a special Thanksgiving held October 26, 1675, on the return of Captain Wheeler's expedition, and pub- lished with the narrative of that striking event of Philip's War. He died January 2, 1696, after fifty- three years' service as minister at Maishifield and Concord. .

Rev. Joseph Estabrook graduated at Harvard Col- lege in 1664, and, first settled here as a colleague, re- mained the minister till his death, September 16, 1711, aud left of all his sermons only the annual election sermon of 1705 in printed form.

Rev. John Whiting succeeded to the charge. He was a graduate of Harvard in 1700, and a tutor there before bis settlement in Concord. He preached till 1737, when he was dismissed by a council, but con- tinued to reside in Concord till his death, May 4, 1752. Thus through more than a century the church and the town, one and inseparable, had prospered under the preaching of these learned, pious and useful min- isters, with as little of incident or disturbance as falls to the lot of such organizations.

With the settlement of Rev. Daniel Bliss in 1738, and the differences of opinion that grew up in New England about this time, troubles began in this church and community. A revival occurred under Mr. Bliss' preaching, and in 1741 the celebrated Whitefield preached in Concord, who greatly excited his hearers, so that a great awakening ensued and fifty persons joined the church that year, and sixty- five more in 1742. As usual, out of this excitement much controversy and division arose, and council after council failed to satisfy the discontent. A new society was formed by the seceders from the old parisli in 1745, and mct for worship in a tavern. This stond near the site of the present Library building, had a sign of a black horse over the door, which caused the society to be called in derision "The Black Horse Church."

The early settlers soon found the meadows wet and the plains unfertile, so that in 1644 quite a number of the disheartened followed Elder Jones to Connecticut. Those left in Concord were persevering, and soon ob- tained from the General Court new grants of land westerly and northwesterly of the "Six Miles Square," furnishing fields and "pastures new" to the old set- tlers and attracting new-comers to the town.

From the bargain made with the Indian owners of the place, and the kind treatment these received from the white men, no serious raid was made by the Indians upon Concord, while the towns beyond suf-

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fered greatly from their attacks. A few of the more exposed homesteads in remote parts of the town were raided, and one or two unwary farmers were killed at their work, but no great damage was done. Con- cord, however, furnished its full proportion of the soldiers and scouting-parties to defend the more remote settlements.

Captain Thomas Whecler, who led a company of troopers, chicfly from this town, to the defence of Brookfield in Philip's War, wrote an account of the expedition that was printed with the sermon of Rev. Edward Bulkeley, preached to the survivors on their return, in 1675. Only two copies of this pamphlet are known to be in existence, aud from the one pre- sented to the Concord Library by the Hon. George F. Hoar the following extracts are made. It shows, bet- ter than pages of modern writing would describe, the dangers aud hardships our ancestors incurred in the savage warfare that for a century was carried on by the Indians against the white settlers of this colony :

CAPT. THOMAS WHEELER'S NARRATIVE of an expedition with Capt. Edward Hutchinson into the Nipmuck Country and to Quaboag (now Brookfield).

" A true narrative of the Lord's providences in va- rious dispensations towards Capt. Edward Hutchin- son, of Boston, and myself, and those that went with us into the Nipmuck Country, and also to Quaboag, alias Brookfield: The said Captain Hutchinson, on having a Commission from the Honoured Council of this Colony to treat with several Sachems in those parts, iu order to the public peace, and myself being also ordered by the Said Council to accompany him with part of my troop, for security from any danger that might be from the Indians; and to assist him in the transaction of matters committed to him-

" The said Captain Hutchinson and myself, with about twenty men or morc, marched from Cambridge to Sudbury July 28, 1675; and from thence into the Nipmuck Country, and finding that the Indians had deserted their towns, and we having gone until we came within two miles of New Norwich, on July 31st (only we saw two Indians having an horse with them, whom we would have spoke with, but they fled from us, and left their horse, which we took) we then thought it not expedient to march any further that way, but set our march for Brookfield, whither we came on the Lord's day about noon. From thence the same day (being August 1st), we, understanding that the Indians were about ten miles northwest from us, we sent out four men to acquaint the Indians that we were not come to harm them, but our business was only to deliver a message from our Honoured Gover- nour and Council to them, and to receive their answer, we desiring to come to a treaty of peace with them (though they had for several days fled from us), they having before professed frieudship and promised fidelity to the English. When the messengers came

to them they made an alarm, and gathered together about an hundred and fifty fighting men, as near as they could judge. The young men amongst them were stout in their speeches, and surly in their car- riage. But at length some of the chief Sachems promised to meet us on thic next morning about 8 of the clock upon a plain within three miles of Brook- field, with which answer the messengers returned to us. Whereupon, though their speeches and carriage did much discourage divers of our company, yet we conceived that we had a clear call to go to meet them at the place whither they had promised to come. Ac- cordingly we, with our men, accompanied with three of the principal inhabitants of the town, marched to the place appointed, but the treacherous heathen, intending mischief (if they could have opportu- nity) came not to the said place, and so failed our hopes of speaking with them there. Whereupon the said Captain Hutchinson and myself, with the rest of our company, considered what was best to be done ; whether we should go any further towards them or return, divers of us apprehending much danger in case we did proceed, because the Indians kept not promise there with us. But the three men who be- longed to Brookfield were so strongly persuaded of their freedom from any ill intentions towards us (as upon other bounds, so especially because the greatest part of those Indians belonged to David, one of their chief Sachems, who was taken to be a great friend to the English): that the said Captain Hutchinson, who was principally intrusted with the matter of Treaty with them, was thereby encouraged to proceed, and . marche forward towards a Swampe where the Indians then were. When we came near the said swampe the way was so very bad that we could march only in a single file, there being a very rocky hill on the right hand and a thick swampe on the left. In which there were many of those cruel, bloodthirsty heathen, who there waylaid us, waiting an opportunity to cut us off : there being also much brush on the side of the said hill, where they lay in ambush to surprise ns. "When we had marched there about sixty or seventy rods, the said perfidious Indians sent out their shot upon us as a showre of haile, they being (as was sup- posed) about two hundred men or more. We seeing ourselves so beset, and not having room to fight, en- deavored to fly for the safety of our lives. In which flight we were in no small danger to be all cut off, there being a very miry swamp before us, into which we could not enter with our horses to go forward, and there being no safety in retreating the way we came, because many of our company who lay behind the bushes and had left us pass by them quietly ; when others had shot they came out and stopt our way back so that we were forced as we could to get up the steep and rocky hill ; but the greater our danger was the greater was God's mercy in the preservation of so many of us from sudden destruction. Myself being gone up part of the hill without any hurt, and per-

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ceiving some of my men to be fallen by the enemies' shot, I wheeled about upon the Indians, not calling on my men who were left to accompany me, which they in all probability would have done, had they known of my return upon the enemy. They firing violently out of the swamp and from behind the bushes on the hillside wounded me sorely and shot my horse under me, so that he faltering and falling I was forced to leave him, divers of the Indians being then but a few rods distant from me. My son, Thomas Wheeler, flying with therest of the company, missed me amongst them, and fearing that I was either shot or much endangered, returned toward the swampe again, though he had then received a danger- ous wound in the reins, where he saw me in the dan- ger aforesaid. Whereupon he endeavored to rescue me, showing himself therein a loving and dutiful son, he adventuring himself into great peril of his life to help me in that distress, there being many of the en- emies about me. My son set me on his own horse and so escaped, awhile on foot himself, until he caught an horse whose rider was slain, on which he mounted, and so through God's great mercy we both escaped. But in this attempt for my deliverance he received another dangerous wound, by their shot, in his left arm. There were then slain, to our great grief, eight men, viz. : Zachariah Philips of Boston, Timothy Farlow of Billerica, Edward Coleborn of Chelmsford, Samuel Smedley of Concord, Sydrach Hopgood of Sudbury, Sergeant Eyres, Sergeant Prichard and Corporal Coy, the inhabitants of Brook- field, aforesaid. It being the good pleasure of God that they should all these fall by their hands, of whose good intentions they were so confident and whom they so little mistrusted. There were also then five persons wounded, viz. : Captain Hutchinson, my- self, and my son Thomas, as aforesaid, Corporal French of Billerica, who having killed an Indian was (as he was taking up his gun) shot and part of one of his thumbs taken off, and also dangerously wounded through the body, near the shoulder. The fifth was John Waldo, of Chelmsford, who was not so dangerously wounded as the rest. They also then killed five of our horses and wounded some more which soon died after they cameto Brookfield. Upon this sudden and unexpected blow given us (wherein we desire to look higher than man the instrument) we returned to the town as fast as the badness of the way and the weakness of our wounded men would permit, we being then ten miles from it. All the while we were going, we durst not stay to staunch the bleeding of our wounded men for fear the enemy should have surprised us again, which they attempted to do, and had in all probability done, but that we perceiving which way they went wheeled off to the other hand and so by God's good .providence towards us they missed us, and we all came readily upon and safely to the town, though none of us knew the way to it, those of the place being slain, as aforesaid, and

we avoiding any thick woods and riding in open places to prevent danger by them. Being got to the town we speedily betook ourselves to one of the largest and strongest houses therein, where we fortified our- selves in the best manner we could in such straits of time, and there resolved to keep garrison, though we were but few and meanly fitted to make resistance against such furious enemies. The news of the In- dians' treacherous dealing with us, and the loss of so many of our company thereby, did so amaze the in- habitants of the town that they being informed by us, presently left their houses, divers of them carrying very little away with them, they being afraid of the Indians suddenly coming upon them, and so came to the house we were entered into, very meanly provided of clothing or furnished with provisions.

" I perceiving myself to be disenabled for the dis- charge the duties of my place by reason of the wound I had received, and apprehending that the enemy would soon come to spoyle our town and as- sault us in the house, I appointed Simon Davis, of Concord, James Richardson and John Fiskc, of Chelmsford, to manage affairs for our safety with those few men whom God hath left us, and were fit for any service, and the inhabitants of the said town ; who did well and commendably perform the duties of the trust committed to them with much courage and resolution, through the assistance of our gracious God who did not leave us in our low and distressed State but did mercifully appear for us in our greatest need, as in the sequel will clearly be manifestad.

" Within two hours after our coming to the said house or less, the said Captain Hutchinson and my self posted away Ephraim Curtis, of Sudbury, and Henry Young, of Concord, to go to the Honoured Council at Boston, to give them an account of the Lord's dealing with us in our present condition .. When they came to the further end of the town they saw the enemy rifling of houses which the inhabit- ants had forsaken. The post fired upon them and immediately returned to us again, they discerning no safety in going forward, and being desirous to inform us of the enemies' actings that we might more pre- pare for a sudden assault by them, which indeed. presently followed, for as soon as the said post was come back to us, the barbarous heathen pressed upon us in the house with great violence, sending in their shot amongst us like haile through the walls and shouting as if they would have swallowed us up alive, but our good God wrought wonderfully for us so that there was but one man wounded within the house, viz-the said Henry Young who looking out of the garret-window that evening was mortally wounded by a shot, of which wound he died within two days after. There was the same day another man slain, but not in the house, a son of Serjeant Prichard's, adventur- ing out of the house wherein we were to his Father's house not far from it, to fetch more goods out of it, was caught by those cruel enemies as they were com-

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

ing towards us, who cut off his head, kicking it about like a foot ball, and then putting it upon a pole they set it up before the door of his Father's house in our sight.

" The night following the said blow they did roar against us like so many wild bulls, sending in their shot amongst us till towards the moon rising which was about three of the clock, at which time they at- tempted to fire our house by hay and other combusti- ble matter which they brought to one corner of the house and set it on firc. Whereupon some of our company were necessitated to expose themselves to very great danger to put it out. Simon Davis, one of the three appointed by my self as Captain to supply my place by reason of my wounds as aforesaid, lie being of a lively spirit encouraged the soldiers within the house to fire upon the Indians; and also those that adventured out to put out the fire (which began to rage and kindle upon the house side) with these and the like words, that God is with us, and fights for us, and will deliver us out of the hands of these heathen, which expressions of his the Indians hearing they shouted aud scoffed, saying, now see how your God de- livers you or will deliver you, sending in many shots whilst our men were putting out the fire. But the Lord of Hosts wrought very graciously for us in pre- serving our bodies bothı within and without the house from their shots and our house from being consumed by fire, we had but two men wouuded in that attempt of theirs, but wc apprehended that we killed divers of our enemies.

" I being desirous to lasten intelligence to the Hon- ourable Council, of our present great distress, we being so remote from any suceour (it being between sixty and seventy miles from us to Boston, where the Council useth to sit), and fearing our ammunition would not last long to withstand them if they continued to assault us, I spake to Ephraim Curtis to adventure forth again on that service, and to attempt it on foot, as the way wherein there was most hope of getting away undiscovered ; he readily assented and aceord- ingly went out, but there were so many Indians everywhere thereabouts, that he could not pass with- .out apparent hazard of life, so he came back again ; but towards morning, the said Ephraim adveutured forth the third time and was fain to creep on his hands and knces for some spacc of ground, that he might not be discerned by the enemy, who waited to pre- vent our sending, if they could have hindered it. But through God's mercy, he eseaped their hands and got safely to Marlborough, though very much spent and ready to faint by want of sleep before he went from us, and his sore travel night and day in that hot season till he got thither, from whenee he went to Boston ; yet before the said Ephraim got to Marl- borough, there was intelligence brought thither of the burning of some houses aud killing some eattel at Quaboag by some who were going to Connectieut, but they, seeing what was done at the end of the

town, and hearing several guns shot off further with- in the town, they durst proceed no further, but imme- diately returned to Marlborough, though they knew not what had befallen Captain Hutchinson and my- self and company, nor of our being there, but that timely intelligence they gave before Ephraim Curtis his coming to Marlborough occasioned the Honoured Major Willard's turning his march towards Quaboag for their relief, who were in no small danger every hour of being destroyed, the said Major being, when he had' that intelligence, upon his march another way as he was ordered by the Honoured Council, as is afterwards more fully expressed.

"The next day being August 3d, they continued shooting and shouting and proceeded in their former wickedness blaspheming the name of the Lord and reproaching us his afflicted servants, scoffing at our prayers as they were sending in their shot upon all quarters of the house, and many of them went to the town's meeting-house (which was within twenty rods of the house in which we were), who mocked, saying come and pray and sing psalms, and in contempt made an hideous noise somewhat resembling sing- ing. But we to our power did endeavour our own defence, sending our shot amongst them, the Lord giving us courage to resist them and preserving us from the destruction they sought to bring upon us. On the evening following we saw our enemies carrying several of their dead or wounded men on their backs, who proceeded that night to send in their shot as they had done the night before, and also still shouted as if the day had been certainly theirs, and they should without fail have prevailed against us which they might have the more hopes of in regard that we discerned the coming of new companies to them to assist and strengthen them, and the unlikeli- hood of any coming to our help.

"They also used several stratagems to fire us, namely, by wild fire in eotton and linen rags with brimstone in them, which rags they tied to the piles of their arrows sharp for the purpose and shot them to the roof of our house after they had set them on fire, which would have much endangered the burning thereof, had we not used means by cutting holes through the roof and otherwise to beat the said ar- rows down, and God being pleased to prosper our en- deavours therein. They carried more combustible matter as flax and hay to the sides of the house and set it on fire and then floeked apaee towards the door of the house either to prevent our going forth to quench the fire as we had done before or to kill our inen on their attempt to go forth or else to break into the house by the door, whereupon we were foreed to break down the wall of the house against the fire to put it out. They also shot a ball of wild-fire into the garret of the house which fell amongst a great heap of flax or tow therein, which one of our soldiers, through God's good Providenee soon espyed, and having water ready presently quenched it, and so we

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were preserved by the keeper of Israel both our bodies from their shot which they sent thick against us and the house from being consumed to ashes, although we were but weak to defend ourselves, we being not above twenty and six men with those of that small town who were able for any service, and our enemies as I judged them about (if not above) three hundred. I speak of the least, for many there present did guess them to be four or five hundred. It is the more to be observed that so little hurt should be done by the ene- mies' shot it commonly piercing the walls of the house and flying amongst the people, and there being in the house fifty women and children besides the men before mentioned. But abroad in the yard one Thomas Wilson, of that town, being sent to fetch water for our help in further need (that which we had being spent in putting out the fire) was shot by the enemy iu the upper jaw and in the neck, the anguish of which wound was at the first that he cried out with a great noise by reason whereof the Indians hearing him rejoyced and triumphed at it, but his wound was healed in a short time praised be God.

"On Wednesday, August 4th, the Indians fortifyed themselves and the barns belonging to our house, which they fortified, both at the great doors and at both ends, with posts, rails, boards and hay, to save themselves from our shot. They also devised other stratagems to fire our house on the night following, namely, they took a cart and filled it with flax, hay and candlewood and other combustible matter, and set up planks fastened to the cart to save themselves from the danger of our shot. Another invention they had to make the more sure work in burning the house : they got many poles of a considerable length and bigness, and spliced them together at the ends one of another, and made a carriage of them about fourteen rods long, setting the poles in two rows, with peils laid cross over them at the front end, and dividing these said poles about three feet asunder, and in the said front end of this, their carriage, they set a barrel, having made a hole through both heads, and put an axle-tree through them, to which they fastened the said poles, and under every joynt of the poles where they were spliced, they set up a pair of truckle wheeles to bear up the said carriages, and they loaded the front or fore end thereof with matter fit for firing, as hay and flax and chips, &c.

"Two of these instruments they prepared that they might convey fire to the house with the more safety to themselves, they standing at such a distance from our shot whilst they wheeled them to the house. Great store of arrows they had also prepared to shoot fire upon the house that night, which we found after they were gone, they having left them there. But the Lord, who is a present help in times of trouble, and is pleased to make his people's extremity his opportunity, did graciously prevent them of effecting what they hoped they would have done by the afore- said devices, partly by sending a shower of rain in

season, whereby the matter prepared, being wett, would not so easily take fire as it otherwise would have done, and partly by aide coming to our help. For our danger would have been very great that night had not the only-wise God (blessed for ever !) been pleased to send to us about an hour within night the worshipful Major Willard,, with Captain Parker, of Groaton, and forty-six men more, with five Indians, to relieve us in the low estate into which we were brought.

" Our eyes were unto him, the holy one of Israel ; in him we desired to place our trust, hoping that he would, in the time of our great need, appcar for our deliverance, and confound all their plots, by which they thought themselves most sure to prevail against us; and God who comforteth the afflicted as he com- forted the holy apostle Paul by the coming of Titus to him, so he greatly comforted us, his distressed ser- vants, both souldiers and town inhabitants, by the coming of the said honoured Major and those with him. In whose so soon coming to us the good Prov- idence of God did marvellously appear ; for the help that came to us by the honoured Council's order (after the tydings they receive by our post sent to them) came not to us till Saturday, August 7, in the afternoon, nor sooner could it well come, in regard of their distance from us, i. e., if we had not had help before that time, we see not how we could have held out, the number of the Indians so increasing, and they making so many assaults upon us that our am- munition before that time would have been spent, and ourselves disenabled for any resistance, we being but few and alwaies fain to stand upon our defence; that we had little time for refreshment of our selves, -either food or sleep. The said honoured Major's coming to us so soon was thus occasioncd: he had a commission from the honoured council (of which himself was one) to look after some Indians to the westward of Lancaster & Groaton (where he himself lived), and to secure them, and was upon his march towards them on the foresaid Wednesday in the morning, August 4th, when tydings coming to Marl- borough by those that returned thither as they were going to Connecticut, concerning what they saw at Brookfield, as aforesaid, some of Marlborough know- ing of the said Major's march from Lancaster, that morning, presently sent a post to acquaint him with the information they had received. The Major was gone before the post came to Lancaster; but there was one speedily sent after him who overtook him about five or six miles from the said town, he being acquainted that it was feared that Brookfield (a small town of about fifteen or sixteen families) was either destroyed or in great danger thereof, and conceiving it to require more speed to succour them (if they were not past help) than to proceed at present as he before intended; and being also very desirous (if it were possible) to afford relief to them (he being then not above thirty miles from them), he immediately

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

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