History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 152

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 152

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1 By Edwin M. Stearns.

William S.Wheeler

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public services may reasonably be considered as a fair estimate of his ability to perform them.

Mr. Wheeler has served twenty-six years as select- men, twenty-eight years as town treasurer, eight years on the School Board, of which he was chair- man. These duties he performed without prejudice or partiality. For a layman, he is well informed in legal matters, which has increased his efficiency as a town officer, and the value of his advice in town- meetings, which he seldom offered until a subject had been freely debated. He has been criticised as par- simonious in municipal expenditures of which his judgment did not approve, but he should be credited with carefulness for other pockets than his own.

Politically, he was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, to which he still adheres. For forty years he has been treasurer of the Unitarian Society, as well as one of its active supporters. In his literary labors he is indefatigable. He prepared a historical sketch of Lincoln, which was incorpo- rated in Drake's "History of Middlesex County," published in 1880. The time he has devoted to and the labor he has expended upon the requisite re- searches for the work, of which this is a portion, can- not be even approximately apprehended by those who have had no experience in such obscure and in- tricate delvings.

As a useful citizen, kind friend and neighbor, as a strictly honorable, yes, righteous man, Mr. Wheeler is esteemed and respected by all who kuow him well.

CHAPTER XLIX.

AYER.

BY GEORGE. J. BURNS.

Introduction-Topography-Early Indian Tribes-Boundaries of the Town.

I AM met at the outset by a doubt as to whether, and to what extent, in an article of this character, an explanatory preface is admissible ; but beg indul- gence for just a word. If this article was to be an independent publication, I would not be doing jus- tice to the reader, or to the subject, if I did not lay hold, with a sense of proprietorship, on the history of Groton down to the time of our separation from her; but as the history of both towns is to appear in the same publication, I would not be excused, if I did more or less than to refer with pride to the history of our parent town.

I desire, therefore, to acknowledge the indulgence of Groton's historian, in not limiting me to the dates that mark our corporate existence, and in permitting me to appropriate to my exclusive use all events that occurred within the territory over which our munici- pality now exercises jurisdiction. I also desire to acknowledge the valuable aid I have received, and

the liberal use I have made, of the results of his labors, published by him in "The Groton Series." I also desire to acknowledge the aid I have received from William A. Wright in the matter of fire statis- tics.

I regret that I am obliged to omit from this article a narration of many things I would be pleased to record, particularly such history as our village and its inhabitants made during the War of the Rebel- lion ; but the accessible data is so meagre, and so blended with the history of Groton, that were I to attempt it, in the space and time allotted me, I feel that I would, by omission, be unintentionally doing injustice to many, as deserving of mention as those whom I should be able to notice. I trust that I may be able, in the near future, to do, in this respect, what I am not permitted to do at this time.

This is the second time that the history of this town has been published, the first being an article of six pages in Drake's "History of Middlesex County," published by Estes & Lauriat in 1880.

Ayer is the youngest of that group of towns in the northwestern part of Middlesex County, that might with great propriety be called the Groton family. It "is bounded on the uorth by Groton, on the east by Littleton, on the south by Harvard, and on the west by Shirley.

The general form of the town is that of a parallelo- gram, being about four miles in length from east to west and about two miles in width from north to south. About three hundred acres of its area are cov- eaed by the waters of different ponds.

The town is situated near the southern apex of that triangular outcrop, composed principally of what is known as Chelmsford granite, whose northern shoul- der turns the south-bound waters of the Merrimack almost back upon themselves. The greater part of this area, extending from near the Ridges northerly to the New Hampshire line, retains to this day the pic- turesque wildness of two centuries ago. No region in Eastern Massachusetts has been less subdued. It has been aptly suggested that it be called North Mid- dlesex Highlands. We are situated so near the sum- mit of the divide, betweeu the waters of the Merri- mack and the Nashna, that when Calvin Fletcher, while owning the mill on the site of our pumping station on Sandy Brook, raised the height of his dam, he found that it was necessary to erect another at the easterly end of Sandy Pond, to prevent the surplus water flowing off over the summit through the mead- ows into Spectacle Pond ; thence through the Stony Brook into the Merrimack River at Chelmsford.

The nature and character of our soil and surface are varied. A range extends from the southwesterly corner of the town northeasterly to the Groton line, there uniting with what are known as the Indian Hills. In the deed from John Solendine to James Park in 1730 the most southerly of these elevations is called " Coiacus Hill." Snake Hill is the most north-

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

erly of this range, and upon it, within the memory. of men now living, rattlesnakes have been killed. Its altitude is 497 feet, and it is the highest elevation in our town. About fifty years ago there lived on the easterly side of Snake Hill a woman named Prudence Shedd, who became celebrated as a rattlesnake killer, and pelts of these reptiles, killed by her, adorned the side of her barn in large numbers. In 1830, when the wood-choppers were clearing the hill near Levi S. Brigham's, many rattlesnakes were killed. Dr. Edwin Y. White, of Cambridge, tells me that his mother was present when a rattlesnake having thirteen rattles was killed a short distance easterly of Brigham's house.

I am not aware of there being any name for the two hills lying between Snake Hill and Coiacus Hill. The prominent elevation just southeast of Sandy Pond, near Pingry Village, is Brown Hill, sometimes erroneously called Brown Loaf Hill, the latter being an elevation about one mile east of Groton Centre. Just east of Brown Hill is Round Hill. The hill just north of George Pierce's is Flat Hill.

Around and between these hills are meadows bear- ing names almost as old as Groton herself. Just north of Flannigan's Pond and easterly of the old road to" Groton is Pine Meadow. Through this meadow flows Pine Brook. Rock Meadow is north of Pine Meadow on both sides of Snake Hill road. South Meadow and South Meadow Brook, sometimes called Bennett's Brook, is in the southeasterly part of the town, near the Littleton line. Sandy Pond Meadow is just east of Sandy Pond, and Long Pond Meadow is north and east of Long Pond.

Sandy Brook Meadow is on both sides of Sandy Brook. It is now flowed by the dam at the pumping- station. Noniacoiacus Meadow is on both sides of Noniacoiacus Brook, which begins at the junction of the Mill Brook and Sandy Pond Brook, just westerly of the Harvard road and empties into the Nashua River, just north of Fitchburg Railroad. The east- erly half of this meadow is flowed by the dam at Phelps' Mill. Davis Meadow is in the valley north. of the poor farm, and on both sides of the Boston & Maine Railroad, so named from its first owner, John Davis, one of the original proprietors of Groton.

The region north of the Catholic cemetery was at one time known as the Nashua High Plains. The elevation of land on both sides of Sandy Brook Mead- ow was, in early days, called Sandy Brook Plain. Tobacco Pipe Plain is in the vicinity of Levi S. Brig- ham's. "The Plains " are the level land in the south- erly part of the town on both sides of the Boston & Maine Railroad. These latter are nearly all pine plains, and the soil, being very light, produces most commonly the shrub oak and hard pine, and, where they are in the vicinity of the railroads, are periodi- cally damaged (?) by fire, furnishing the proprietors a claim against the railroad companies more substantial than the natural income of the soil itself. There is

a deep deposit of peat bog in nearly all of our mead- ows, and the gathering and preparing of this prom- ised, at one time, to be a considerable industry. The general character of our soil varies from too light to too hard, and as a rule is poorly adapted for agricul- ture.

There are two natural ponds in town : Sandy Pond, with an area of eighty acres, and Long Pond, with an area of forty-five acres. Both of these names were given shortly after the settlement of Groton. The other large ponds were formed by flowing the mead- ows to obtain water-power for the different mill-sites.

Nonaicoiacus Brook, sometimes called Major Brook, from Major Simon Willard, through whose farm it flowed, and Sandy Brook, from Sandy Pond to Major's Brook, have already been mentioned. The old Mill Brook enters Ayer from Harvard and, joining with Sandy Brook, forms Major's or Nonaicoiacus Brook. James Brook flows, for the last third of its course, within the limits of our town, and the junction of its thread with that of the Nashua River forms the northwesterly monument of our town's lines. From Beer's County Map, it would appear that the dividing line between Ayer and Groton passes through the centre of Long Pond. This is incorrect, as nearly, .

if not quite all of that pond is in our town.

The range of hills in Groton and Ayer was one of the last strongholds of the wolves in Eastern Massachusetts. These animals were killed there as late as 1746. Until within a few years there were abundant flocks of wild pigeons in this region and they were taken in large numbers by pigeon stands. Salmon and shad were formerly caught in the Nashua River.

The nearest Indian tribe was the Nashobas, who lived in what is now Littleton. This tribe was small in numbers and they were early Christianized. The next nearest tribes were the Nashuas, in Lancaster and Sterling, and the Pawtuckets, in the vicinity of Paw- tucket Falls on the Merrimack River, at Lowell. These were once powerful tribes, and as between them our territory was debatable ground.

The find of Indian relics has been small in this vicinity. Stone implements and weapons have been found in considerable numbers upon the Holden farm upon the Nashua River. Quite a quantity have also been dug up on the farm now owned by George Little, between the main road from Sandy Pond to Forge Village and the Stony Brook Railroad. A few imple- ments have come to light on what was formerly the Calvin Fletcher farm, while some have been dis- covered on Round Hill.

Of all Groton's offspring, Ayer is the only one not reaching, in any part, the limits of the Danforth Sur- vey of 1667 ; and in this respect she is, as to Groton, an inland town. Except in her westerly boundary, the Nashua River, there scems to the casual observer to be no sense or reason in her particular limits. The origi- nal grant of the township of Groton was made by the

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General Court May 25, 1655, and it gave the proprie- tors a tract of land eight miles square, but some modifi- cations to the grant were subsequently made. It was stipulated in the grant that it should be laid out with all convenient speed, but it was twelve years before the survey was made. It appears that two copies of the plan of the survey were made, one for the pro- prietors and the other for the Colony, both of which have since disappeared, the latest trace of either being in June, 1826, when one was in the possession of Honorable James Prescott, of Groton, and from it a copy was transcribed by Caleb Butler, Esq., into one of the town record-books. From this copy, that sur- vey seems to be exceedingly cru de an l indefinite, but by dint of perseverauce and persistant investigation, Honorable Samuel Abbott Green has established what, without doubt, are the original bounds of the survey. For some reason, or possibly through neglect, the copy of the survey intended for the General Court was not returned, and the survey con - firmed, until Feb. 10, 1717, sixty-two years after the original grant. In the mean time Nashoba (afterwards Littleton), embracing a portion of the territory in- cluded in the survey of the Groton plantation, had been incorporated. The southerly line of the Groton plantation crossed the Nashua River not far south of the mouth of the Cattacoomaug River, now in Shir- ley, and extended easterly to the present Boxborough line, a short distance south of the northwest corner of that town ; thence it ran northerly to a point not far from the present Littleton Station, on the Fitch- burg Railroad; and thence it ran northeasterly to about the centre of Forge Pond. The original grant of the Nashoba Farms was made by the General Court to the Nashoba Indians in 1654, and, as in the case of the Groton grant, was to be defined as to its limits and location by survey, which was completed and returned in 1683. The plan of this survey shows the tract to be nearly rectangular, four miles square, and to include a portion embraced within the Gro- ton survey. The controversy over this disputed territory remained unsettled until 1714, when it was decided by the Legislature in favor of Nashoba. This decree established the northwest corner of the Nashoba tract to be on the south side of Brown, or as it is now more generally known, Bruce's Hill. A reference to the map of Ayer plainly shows the right angle indenture at the southeast corner of our town, marking the northwest corner of the town of Little- ton. From the north line of the original Nashoba survey to Spectacle Poad, the boundary between Ayer and Littleton follows the thread of Bennett's Brook. This change was made in the winter of 1838 -39, by the General Court setting off from Gro- ton to Littleton the farms of certain persons own- ing on the southeasterly side of said brook. The original petition on which this transfer was made 41-ii

cannot be found, and consequently the names of the petitioners and purposes of the transfer can only be surmised. It is probable that the reason was one of personal convenience to the petitioners. In those days the Legislature, as the map of the State abund- antly testifies, had no regard for the certainty, syinme- try or permanency of town boundaries, and any person could get his lands transferred from one town to another, almost as readily as he can now transfer his national allegiance or move his furniture.

Shirley, as originally incorporated, January 5, 1753, is identical with the present limits of that town. By an act of the Legislature, passed February 6, 1798, the farms of Simon Daby, Moody Chase and Samuel Chase, lying on the easterly side of the Nashua River and between Nonaicoicus Brook and the Harvard line, were transferred from Groton to Shirley. This latter territory was made a part of the new town of Ayer in 1871.

The town of Harvard was incorporated June 29, 1732, from parts of the towns of Lancaster, Groton and Stow, and the northerly boundary thereof, which forms our southerly line, is described in the act of incorporation as follows: "running on said Littleton line, near the northwest corner thereof, viz .: as that a West-North West Line shall leave the dwelling-house of James Stone [now Charles Stone] in Groton, six perch to the Northward, and continu- ing the same course to Lancaster [Nashua] River aforesaid, excepting Coyacus ffarm or so much thereof as shall fall within the bounds above said." The Coyacus or Nonaicoicus Farm, of which more will be said hereafter, was the 500-acre grant made by the Legislature to Maj. Willard. It is the approxi- mate, but not the correct boundaries of this farm that forms the projection on the westerly half of our southerly boundary line. Our northern boundary line, which is the line of separation between Ayerand her parent town, was agreed upon by the committee repre- senting the petitioners, and the committee appointed by the town of Groton. It runs in a straight line from the mouth of James Brook to a point where the southerly line of the County road, leading from Gro- ton by Ridge Hill Tavern to Littleton Old Common, intersects the town line between Groton and Listle- ton. This line was surveyed by Horace C. Hovey shortly after the incorporation of the new town.

The boundary line between Groton and Shirley, prior to the incorporation of Ayer, began at Nonai- coicus Brook, between the house formerly owned by Dennis Coughlan and the house now owned by Mi- chael D. McGrail, on the northerly side of West Main Street, and ran southerly to the Harvard line in a somewhat irregular course, crossing the Fitchburg Railroad between the house of Daniel Scully and the house of Michael Shea. Most of the monuments marking this line are still standing.

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

CHAPTER L. AYER-(Continued.)

Early Settlers,

THE first settlement of the Groton plantation was where the centre village now is. The ever-threaten- ing depredations of the Indians made it necessary to centralize, so far as possible, for mutual protection, and in most cases the original proprietors of Groton simply did us the honor to own, as part of the out- lying farms, the territory now embraced within the limits of the town of Ayer. The descriptions of these farms are so indefinite that it is difficult, if not im- possible, to locate most of them, more than approxi- mately.

The earliest settler, whom I am able to locate as liv- ing within our limits, was Daniel Peirce, the name being at that time spelled upon the records " Pearse." His farm was situated between Sandy Pond and what is now known as Ridge Hill, embracing nearly all of the territory lately owned by Oliver Peirce, deceased ; and the original house-lot must have been in the im- mediate vicinity of the homestead buildings now standing a short distance westerly from those of Levi S. Brigham. It is remarkable as well as interesting that this farm should continue in the same family un- til a few years ago. Daniel Peirce was the son of John Peirce, who settled in Watertown about 1636, and was one of the . proprietors of Groton, being the owner of a ten-acre right, and was living here about 1662. His lands are recorded with the proprie- tor's records May 6, 1666. (Early Records of Groton, page 167.) He appears as a member of Lieutenant Jonas Prescott's garrison, in 1691-92.

Among the early settlers of this country was John Page, who emigrated here with his family from Ded- ham, England, and settled in Watertown. He was the first constable of that town, being appointed in 1630 by the Court. He died December 18, 1676, and his widow, Phebe, died September 25, 1677. His children settled in various parts of the country, John, Jr., coming to Groton, and from him has descended nearly all of that name in this vicinity. The original settler was one of the original proprietors of Groton and the owner of an extensive grant. It is, however, probable that he never resided in Groton. His estate is settled as of Watertown, and the grants to his son John, of nearly all of the Groton land, described him as of Watertown.

John Page, Jr., was born in 1630. He removed to Groton about 1662. He married Faith Dunster, who is supposed to have been a niece of the president of Harvard College of that name. She died April 3, 1699. He returned to Watertown at the time of the destruction of the town by the Indians, and died there about 1711. Francis M. Boutwell, Esq., states the location of his dwelling. house to be on the west

side of Farmers' Row, where the buildings of the Groton School now stand. He owned an extensive tract of land in the southerly part of the town, and, next to Simon Willard, was the largest land-owner in this vicinity. His, land comprised what was sub- sequently Calvin Fletcher's farm, and a very large tract to the east of it. The description of the land shows that it bordered on the Nonaicoicus Farm. The pumping station is upon what was originally his land, and under his proprietorship the first mill-dam at that place was built.

Among his children was Samuel Page, who was born at Groton June 4, 1772. He removed to Lunen- burg and was the first settler of that town, and for a time his was the only family within its limits. He re- ceived the title of "Governor " since he was presumed to control the whole of the town.

Peleg Lawrence, one of the early proprietors of Groton, at one time lived near the outlet to Spectacle Pond. In the Indian wars of 1691-92 he was a mem- ber of the garrison of John Davis.

Cornelius Church owned and probably lived where George Little now does, on the northerly side of the Stony Brook Railroad, between Sandy Pond and North Littleton station. His name is given among those who occupied the garrison-house with John Davis in 1691-92. It is said that one of the garrison-houses of Groton stood upon this farm.

Farwell was formerly a very common name in the southern part of Groton. William Farwell and John Solendine purchased of Jonathan Tyng in 1713 the Nonaicoicus farm. Henry Farwell, a son of William, was born July 21, 1724. He married Lydia Tarbell, daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Farnsworth) Tarbell, on December 6, 1749, and subsequently Sarah Taylor, of Westford, June 3, 1761. He was a soldier in the French Wars and was captain of one of the companies of minute- men of Groton at the commencement of the Revolutionary War. He marched with his company on the 19th of April, 1775, to Cambridge; was at the battle of Bunker Hill and was severely wounded. A mus- ket-ball passed through his body, lodging in the spine, from whence it was extracted. He engraved upon the ball the figures 1775 and kept it as a precious relic. He was a man of small stature, but very strong and athletic and of undaunted courage. He died in 1803. He was at one time the owner of a larger part of the land on which our village stands, and re- sided in the vicinity of Phelps' mill, where he owned and operated a saw and grist-mill. His dwelling- house was quite commodious, and after he sold to George Peirce in 1758, the place was used as a tavern. It is said that he lived upon the George Little place at the time he marched to the battle of Bunker Hill.

Joseph Farwell at one time owned the Levi S. Brigham place. He was a deacon in the church and served in the French Wars. A note-book kept by him, and now in the possession of one of his descend- ants, Dcacon Joseph Farwell, of Hyde Park, Mass.,

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contains many interesting memoranda of his obser- vations, and was published in the "New England His . torical and Geuealogical Register " (xxxv. 275, 276), for July, 1881, and also in the "Groton Series," Vol- ume i. No. 14.

The Stone family settled in the southerly part of Groton at a very early day. Simon Stone, one of the original proprietors, owned extensive tracts of land in this vicinity, and the families of that name living here are his direct lineal descendants. Several mem- bers of that family have been prominent citizens of the town of Groton. Simon was a soldier in King Philip's War; was garrisoned at Exeter, New Hamp- shire, in King William's War, and during an assault upon that place July 4, 1690, was severely wounded. March 17, 1691-92, he was in the Farnsworth garri- son-house at Groton. He was one of the selectmen of Groton in 1697.

Joseph Stone for years owned the Calvin Fletcher farm and is supposed to have built the mill at the pumping station and the red farm-house opposite, which was burned in 1880. He was a prominent citi- zen of Groton and was one of the bayonet-men in Captain James Prescott's company in the French and Indian War. He married Mary Prescott, a cousin of Colonel William Prescott, on May 9, 1728. His daughter Thankful married Joseph Harwood, of Littleton, grandfather of Hon. Joseph A. Harwood, of that town, on October 21, 1773.

The first physician of whom we have any knowl- edge as residing within Ayer territory was Doctor Benjamin Morse, who was a son of Doctor Benjamin and Abigail (Dudley) Morse, and born at Sutton March 20, 1740. He was married, on November 27, 1760, to Mary, daughter of Isaac and Sarah Barnard, who was also born at Sutton Sept. 13, 1741; and they had a family of six children born in that town. Dr. Morse came to Groton, probably, during the Revolu- tionary period, and was a representative of the town to the General Court during the session of 1784 and in several succeeding years; he was also a delegate to the Convention for adopting the Constitution of the United States in the year 1788, where he opposed the adoption. He lived on the westerly side of Park Street, where the small cottage house, for a long time occu- pied by Joseph St. Catrina, now stands. He owned an extensive tract of land in this vicinity, including the present mill-site of Levi W. Phelps. He died on May 31, 1833, aged ninety-three years; and his widow, on December 16, 1835, aged ninety-four years.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 152

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