History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 163

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 163

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"To the Honorable Senate and House of F .. presentatives of the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts in General Court Assembled : We the un dersigned legal voters of Groton, Shirley and Littleton, represent that the public exigency requires that we, with the other inhabitants of the territory hereinafter described, be incorporated into a town by the name of Groton Junction, comprising a part of each of the towns above- named, and to be bounded and described as follows, uamely : Beginning at the northwesterly corner of said territory at the mouth of James Brook, so called, in said Groton and running thence southerly by the Nashua River, until it comes to the town line of Harvard ; theuce easter- ly by said Harvard town line, until it comes to the Littleton town line ; thence northeasterly in a straight line to a stake in stones, at a point where the southerly side of the County road leading from said Groton by the Ridge Hill Tavern, so called, to Littleton Old Common, so called, intersects the northwesterly town line of said Littleton ; thence wester- ly in a straight line to the point of beginning.

"And your petitioners respectfully request that the said town of Groton Junction be incorporated by law, with the territory above described. " Groton Junction, November 10, 1870."

Harvey A. Woods had the distinction of being the first signer.

"At a meeting of the inhabitants of Groton, held January 3, 1871, to take such action as may be deem- ed expedient in relation to the proposed division of the town. It was voted : not to oppose the division of the town; also voted that a committee of three persons be selected from that part of the town not embraced in the territory which is proposed for the new town, to be joined to the selectmen for the pur- pose of considering, in connection with a committee of the petitioners for the new town, all questions that are involved in the petition, and that they be requested to report at an adjourned meeting of the town, and Henry A. Bancroft, John Gilson and Wil- lard A. Torrey were chosen said committee to be joined to the selectmen."

A meeting of the citizens of Groton Junction was held, and the following committee chosen to take the census of the proposed new town : Peter Tarbell,

Rufus R. Fletcher and Benjamin L. Howe, and at an adjourued meeting they reported the following fig- ures : from Shirly, 90; Littleton, 31; Groton, 1890 ; total, 2003. In speaking of this report the Public Spirit of January 5, 1871, says: "The new town will then have more inhabitants to start with than any town adjoining it now has, with a much better chance for growth. The valuation of the district to be sct off is about one-quarter of that of the town of Groton, and it is estimated that the new owe the old about $10,000 towards the town debt."

At an adjourned town-meeting held at Groton, January 24, 1871, the committee chosen Jauuary 3d reported as follows:

The committee chosen under Article III., January 3, 1871, offered their report, which was read upon mo- tion by Abel Prescott, and voted that the town do not oppose the petitioners : 191 yeas, 123 nays. Voted : to adjourn and meet at Union Hall, Grotou Junc- tion, three weeks from this day, February 13th, at one o'clock : 168 yeas, 138 nays.

It would be seen that the original petition prayed that the new town be named Groton Junction. This, however, did not meet with entire approval, as there were some objections on the part of the citizens of the old town to having the new town retain the name of Groton as a part of its title, and many of the citi- zens of the village believed that our material prosper- ity would be advanced by assuming a name entirely new, in order that we might be distinguished as a town from the village which was formerly known only as a part of Groton. Jannary 26th, a correspondent in the Public Spirit suggested the name of "Ayer as easy to spell aud speak ; not likely to be confounded with any other town in the state; associated in the minds of every one in the sweet strains of Robert Burns," and relieved the citizens of the old town of their objections to having the new town keeping the name of Groton Junction.

A hearing before the Legislative Committee on Towns was had January 27th, and at that time the petitioners who were represented by their committee and John Spaulding, Esq., their counsel, presented a bill which he had previously prepared. It followed, practically, the terms of the description in the peti_ tion, excepting that the easterly line did not include any part of the town of Littleton. George S. Gates, chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Groton, rep- resented that town at the hearing, but did not raise any serious objections to granting the prayer of the petitioners. The town of Shirley, at a town-meeting, consented to the division, making the middle of Nashua River the dividing line, on condition that the new town pay to the town of Shirley $500, as its share of the town debt, and to secure the payment of that sum, Abel L. Lawton and Robert P. Woods gave to the town of Shirley their personal bond. The objec- tion on the part of the town of Groton to the petitioncrs' line was due largely to a misapprehension as to its loca-

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TTISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

tion. At a meeting of the citizens of Groton, held Jannary 16th, the expression of those present would seem to indicate that they believed that the new line would embrace the farm of Nathan C. Culver within the new town. February 1st, a meeting of the peti- tioners was held in the Washington Street School- house, and they unanimously voted that the name of our new town be Ayer. The action of this meeting was communicated to the Committee on Towns, and the name of Groton Junction, wherever it occurred in the bill, was struck out and the name of Ayer in- serted. There being some objections raised to the new name, February 8th another meeting of the pe- titioners was held in the Washington Street School- house and was largely attended, the purpose being to come to a clear understanding about the name that the new town should assume, and the following reso- lution to put a quietus upon all opposition to the name of Ayer was unanimously adopted :

« RESOLVED: That we learn with regret that some of our citizens are making efforts to still re'ain the name of Groton Junction for our new town ; that we look upon all such efforts as injurious and directly op- posed to the best interests of our proposed new town, and to the interest of a large majority of our petitioners."

The name of Ayer thus adopted by the new town, however dear it may be on account of its association with the " sweet strains of Robert Burns," was not, however, intended to honor the Scottish river, but was in compliment to Doctor James Cook Ayer, a prominent and esteemed citizen of the city of Lowell. The action of the meeting of the petitioners held February 1st was duly communicated to him and ac- knowledged by him, as appears by the following letter :

" LOWELL, 6th February, 1871.

"ABEL PRESCOTT, EsQ., for the committee of petitioners, etc., Groton Junction, Massachusetts :

" Dear Sir :- I have the honor to receive your favor of the 2d inst., informing me of the actions of your fellow-citizens in the adoption of my name, ' Ayer,' as the name of your new town, with Mr. Felch's cer- tificate as clerk of the meeting.

"I pray you, Sir, to convey to your fellow-citizens my appreciation and acknowledgment of the high honor they seek to confer upon me and my sincere hope that the future will present no occasion to regret the choice which they have made.

" I should be insensible to the influences that govern meu, if the par- tiality of your citizens did not awaken in me an interest in the well. being of ' Ayer,' and I assure you, Sir, that I shall wait with readiness to aid therein as opportunity or occasion may arise.

"With sentiments of personal esteem, I have the honor to remain, " Your obedient servant, " JAMES C. AYER."

Doctor Ayer had stated, when the subject of the town's adopting his name was first proposed to him, that he knew what was due from him in case such an honor should be conferred upon him while living. Subsequently he stated to some gentlemen of the petitioners' committee, that he thought it best, in view of the fact that they had reason to expect some contribution from him, when the matter in which they are engaged should be accomplished, and in consequence of what lie had previously said, he wished to define the sum early, lest some rumors

of widely different amounts circulating in the com- munity might, in the future, leave him in a false po- sition. He believed that public rumor, if left to it- self, would be liable to give very large, as well as very small sums, and he would, therefore, in order to be subjected to no importunities, name his views to the committee, which he did. He stated further that, in view of the uncertainty of life and thought, and wish- ing to make what he said secure, he submitted to them a document to that end, but protested against either favor being as a consideration or trade.

On the 14th of February, an Act of Incorporation was passed by the Legislature, and received the sig- nature of Governor Claflin the succeeding day.

In accordance with the provisions of the Act of Incorporation of February 21st, John Spaulding E-q., issued to Peter Tarbell his warrant, calling a meeting of the inhabitants of the new town to be held at Union Hall, Monday, the sixth day of March, at teu o'clock in the forenoon : "To choose all such town officers for the year ensuing, as towns are by the law authorized and required to choose to their annual meeting." This first town-meeting was well-attended, and great interest was manifested in the town's orga- nization. Edmund Dana Bancroft had the distinction of being chosen our first moderator. Divine blessing was invoked by Rev. J. S. Haradon, pastor of the Baptist Church. Andrew W. Felch was elected town clerk ; Ebenezer C. Willard, first selectman. The meeting then adjourned to Tuesday morning, at which time the balance of the town offiers were elected as follows : selectmen, Lewis Blood, Oliver K. Pieree ; assessors, Gibson Smith, Joel E. Fletcher, Alfred Page; town treasurer, George W. Stuart; road agent, Nathaniel Holden, with Emerson Hazzard and' Thomas H. Page, assistants ; constables, Peter Tar- bell, Emerson Hazzard, Calvin D. Reed ; school com- mittee, Charles Brown for three years; Edwin H. Hayward, two years; Benjamin H. Hartwell, one year.

At a caucus of the citizens of the town; held some time prior, the following committee of arrangements having in charge the exercises commemorating the incorporation of the new town was elected : Abel Prescott, Harvey A. Woods, Abel L. Lawton, Pem- broke S. Rich, Leonard J. Spaulding, Jesse J. Angell, Benjamin F. Felch, E. Dana Bancroft, Thomas H. Page, Levi W. Phelps, Ebeneezer Willis, Henry A. Brown, Andrew W. Felch.

The exercises celebrating the birth and organiza- tion of the new town were held in Union Hall, Mon- day afternoou and evening, March 6th. The invited guests were met at the station by the committee of ar- rangements and escorted to the Needham (now Union) House, where dinner was had. They then proceeded to Union Hall. The hall was elaborately decorated with laurel and evergreen, hung with pictures and draped with flags, and mottoes were displayed-ou one side of the entrance being the words, " United in All That is Right," and on the other, "Opposition

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AYER.

to Any License of Wrong." On the left of the hall, in large letters of evergreen was the word " AYER," and the words, "Organized March 6, 1871." The Aver Band furnished excellent music, and a choir of home talent gave some fine singing during the exer- cises. Abel Prescott presided. The address was given by Dr. Ayer, and speeches were made by Col. Daniel Needham, of Groton, Col. Charles H. Taylor, private secretary to his excellency, Governor Claflin. Rev. Crawford Nightingale, of Groton, Adjutant- General Cunningham, Charles Cowley, Esq., Hon. Tappan Wentworth and Rev. B. F. Clark, of Chelms- ford. A poem was read by Hon. George A. Marden, of Lowell. The celebration extended into the night. In the evening there was a grand banquet, in which addresses were made by Abel Prescott, Nathan W. Frye, Ambrose Lawrence and D. D. Gove. A ball closed the festivities of the day in a most enjoyable manner.

As an extended sketch of the life of Dr. Ayer and his son Frederick Fanning Ayer, are giveu in another part of this publication, I can do no more than refer the reader to them, for life of the man whose name we bear, except to say that it is interesting to uote that Dr. Ayer was born in the town of Ledyard, Conn., that was set off from Groton in that state, the year (1836), that Dr. Ayer first came to Lowell, which was to be the scene of his business life, and where he was to accumulate his fortune.

September 26, 1871, in accordance with a wish of the citizens, Dr. Ayer forwarded to the selectmen a letter, in which he expressed his desire that the town should choose three trustees to receive and invest the sum of $10,500, the interest to be expended in pro· moting the education of youth in the town. This pro- position not being entirely acceptable, on October 21. 1871, he addressed another letter to E. Dana Bancroft, in which he submitted his readiness " to pay over the amount to the selectmen of the town, or any person authorized by them, upon call, for the benefit of the town, its schools or whatever its people shall direct." October 25th, the town voted to accept the money and authorized the selectmen to instruct the treasurer to receive it. There was a feeling on the part of the citizens that a town-house was needed, and that the money invested in such a building would be a more satisfactory investment. To this Dr. Ayer acceded, and offered to join with the town in building one, making use of the amount already given to the town.

In accordance with Dr. Ayer's modified proposal the town building was erected. 'It was completed in the autumn of 1876, and dedicated on the 1st day of November of that year. Dr. Ayer having deceased in the mean time, the keys of the edifice werc deliv- ered by his son, Frederick F. Ayer, accompanied by an eloquent address. The oration of the day was de- livered by Colonel Daniel Needham,

The new town started upon its municipal career, accompanied by the well wishes of all, and congratu-

lations upon the bright future which all signs seemed to indicate that it had before it.

THOMAS H. AND ALFRED PAGE .- The business and social lives of Thomas H. and Alfred Page, whose portraits appear herewith, are so inseparably associated that it is practically impossible to write the life of one without dealing extensively with the acts of the other. As has hereinbefore been stated, one of the principal original proprietors of land in the southerly part of Groton was John Page, of Wat- ertown, from whom has descended nearly all who bear that name in this vicinity. Hc seems to have disposed of the principal part of his Groton property to his children, by deeds, a few years prior to his death. The principal part of his lands in this vicinity were conveyed to his son, Jonathan, who married Mary Farnsworth, of Lunenburg, on November 8, 1728, and died on October 10, 1751, at the age of seventy-four years. Among Jonathan's sons was John, who married Mary Parker, of Groton, on Sep- tember 12, 1733. They had eight children, of whom Phineas, born March 24, 1745, was the fifth. He married Hannah Stone, daughter of Simon Stone, of Groton, on February 2, 1769, and resided in the westerly part of Shirley, on the farm now owned by John Holden. When the British troops marched on Concord and Lexington, April 19, 1775, he was one of the volunteers, who, as minute-men, were called out for the defence of the Colonies.

Eli, the seventh of his eight children, was born at Shirley, September 19, 1784, and married Clarissa Harkness, of Lunenburg, June 19, 1810. A short time after his marriage Eli moved to Lunenburg, on to a farm that formerly belonged to his wife's father, where he resided for eight years; and it was here that his two sons, Thomas H. and Alfred, were born, -the former September 8, 1811, and the latter on December 28, 1817. In 1818 Mr. Page moved with his family to what was then known as the Brook's farm, situated about a mile north of Lunenburg Cen- tre. Here he remained seventeen years. From 1835 to 1839 he resided at Lunenburg Centre, and from March, 1839, to January 8, 1840, he resided on the Holden farm in Shirley. November 19, 1839, he purchased of the assignees of Edgarton, Priest & Company the water-power and mill-privilege on the Nashua River, at what has since become known as Mitchellville. This purchase also included a farm of about 215 acres. The paper-mill formerly standing here had burned June 15, 1837, and was in ruins when Mr. Page purchased the property. With an energy that has always characterized him and his two sons, he immediately set about to reconstruct the mills, putting in a four-engine plant and a Fordnier machine. He rented the paper-mills to Carlton aud Wilder for the term of twenty years, at an annual rental of $400, but continued to own and operate the saw and grist-mil! until he sold them to his two sons.

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Mrs. Page died at Shirley on October 6, 1858, and Mr. Page on December 19, 1862.

Thomas H. and Alfred formed a co-partnership for the transaction of general business as early as 1843, -- a relation that was continued until Thomas's de- cease.

Their first venture was the purchase of a wood-lot of fourteen acres near Charles Dodge's. During the construction of the Fitchburg Railroad he furnished that corporation with large amounts of lumber and material that entered into the original construction of the road and its station buildings. About 1861 the original lease of the paper-mill having expired, and the mill gone considerably to decay, they rebuilt it, and leased it to Stephen Roberts, furnishing him with the capital with which to equip and run it. Shortly after this, Mr. Roberts died, and the plant was purchased by John N. Roberts, of Waltham.

There is scarcely a branch of business that has been conducted in this vicinity in the last half cen- tury with which Page Brothers were not identified. They were large contractors and builders, having erected in this town, alone, over twenty-five buildings, many of them being large manufacturing plants. Their credit and financial means have always been large, and the success that they have attained has been due to libcral and shrewd business sagacity.

Thomas H. was married to Emily Longley, daugh- ter of Asa and Sarah (Hazen) Longley, on December 29, 1842. Mrs. Page was born January 10, 1819, and died on September 19, 1850, leaving one child, Mary Emily, who married Messena Morris Heath, Decem- ber 5, 1876, and is now living. Mr. Page married for a second wife Mary Amelia Jacobs, daughter of Sylvester Jacobs of Groton, November 1, 1853. Thc second Mrs. Page died March 1, 1871.

In 1856 Page Brothers purchased of David Cham- bers the lot of land now owned by Alfred Page, on the northerly side of Main Street, between Pleasant Street and Washington Street, with the exceptions of a small lot in the southeasterly corner, since known as the Stuart lot. In 1868 Thomas moved from the Mitchellville farm to this village, where he continued to reside until the time of his deccase, August 23, 1873. He was influential in the incorporation of the new town, and always had a strong belief in its future prosperity. He was a man of public spirit, keen business insight, and of liberal though very very positive opinions. His affection for the new town is manifested by the following clanse in his will :

" Third :- I give, devise and bequeath unto my brother, Alfred Page, the sinn of fifteen thousand dollars in trust, for the following uses and purposes, namely : I order and direct the said Alfred to safely invest the

said sum of fifteen thousand dollars in safe and productive securities or stocks, tocollect and pay annually the interests and income thereof fo my daughter, Mary E. Page, during her natural life ; and in case my said daughter shall leave no child or children living at her deccase, then I order the said Alfred or his successor in snid frust, to pay the said principal sum of fifteen thousand dollars to said child or children of said Mary, living at her death, and issue of any deceased children of sajd Mary by right of representation. But in case my said daughter shall die without leaving any child or issne of any de ceased children living at her death, then 1 order and direct the said Alfred or his successor in said trust, to pay over the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, at the decease of said Mary to the town of Ayer in the County of Middlesex, to be held forever by said town of Ayer and interest and income thereof to be expended annually by said town, for the use and benefit of the common schools in said town forever.

Alfred was married to Sally Maria Felt, daughter of John and Huldah Hobart (Conant) Felt, Dec. 29, 1862. Mrs. Page was born at Stow, September 7, 1828. Their son, John Eli, was born May 8, 1864, and died August 5, 1864. They have one daughter, Clara, born November 24, 1866, who married Edward A. Richardson, November 24, 1888. Alfred contin- ued to reside on the home-farm until it was sold to William Mitchell, in 1871. He then moved to Shir- l'ey village, where he resided until he came to this village, in 1874.

He is entitled to the honor of being, of all citizens in the towns in which he has resided, the one most trusted in the public offices at their command. From 1858 to 1870 he served almost continuously in town offices in Shirley, being a member of the board of selectmen during the war. He was a member of the first board of assessors in this town, and for the past fifteen years has served almost continuously upon the board of selectmen. Besides these he has held vari- ous important offices. He has been identified with nearly all of our business industries, always willing to lend his money, credit and active interested assist- ance to any commendable undertaking in the town and whose assistence can always be counted upon in any worthy object. Many of our citizens remember with gratitude the assistance that Mr. Page gave them when they began a business life.

A few years since he presented to this town the extensive farm lying at the summit of the hill on which our village is built, and a few years later erected upon it, and presented to the town, the ex- tensive buildings whose location is one of the most pleasant and sightly in the country, the only condi- tion annexed to the gift being that the town main- tain thereupon a town-farm, which would forever be a home for the needy and poor in our midst.

When we consider the various branches of business with which Mr. Page has been identified, we can but wonder at the great ability which has enabled him to make them all successful.

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WESTFORD.

CHAPTER LVIII.

. WESTFORD.

BY REV. C. H. ROWLEY, PH.D., F.R.M.S., ASSISTED BY HIS WIFE.

To write history, as well as to thoroughly under- stand it in the reading, one needs to conceive the events of the past as actually transpiring before his very eyes-the actors of the olden time as living in the present. If it is easier for the writer or reader, let him, in imagination, transport himself backward to the time when the events occurred, and consider himself one of the very people of whom he writes or reads. Thus the scenes shall become real, and the people living actors in life's moving drama.

As far as possible, let the reader do this, as scan- ning these pages, he shall read of the past. Those who lived, breathed and made history were of mold like ourselves who write and read to-day. They were rot mere mental and spiritual essences floating through the air, but actualities, bone, flesh and blood, like ourselves, and, like onrselves, too, were making history. There is in people an innate desire to trace descent from some noble ancestry-we love to be of a stock that age stamps with dignity ; heraldic devices are something, but power and character more. In order to understand Westford people aright, it must be borne in mind that, in common with the early settlers of New England, they had a fortunate birth. Ages had wrought to build the character of our Puri- tan fathers; they were men of heroic mold, moved by thoughts that live and burn in the bosom of the Infinite. The "Mayflower " was manned by men of " defiant courage, shaped by the keen edge of disci- pline, steel-hardened, who faced alike storms, starva- tion and the savage."

There was the iron of age in their blood ; they were men of battles, and grasped this continent for freedom and for God ; they came here to hold this land and make it the rallying-place for the noble souls escap- ing from the tyranny of the Old World. Their sharp- cut virtues cut their way westward even across the continent to the milder shores of the Pacific coast,- everywhere planting the church and the school-house by its side. Faults they had, it is true, but the prin- ciple that guided them, allegiance to God as the law of life, was sublime. They stamped their children with their own courage and progressive spirit till, so soon after the day of small beginnings, we see a nation ranking among the first in the world.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 163

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