History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 182

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 182

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

He became a member of Wm. Parkner Lodge, F. & A. M., July 11, 1865. He fully exemplified in his life his Masonic obligations, and his presence was always welcomed among the brethren.

As a physician Dr. Winsor was well and widely known, and commanded the respect and confidence of his brethren, who thought highly of his opinions, and relied upon his clear medical statements. His medical practice of late years, during which he had only rare opportunities for rest or recreation, had weakened and sown the seeds of disease in his system, and he was stricken down with a severe attack of sickness. He recovered somewhat from the attack, and it was thought that a sojourn of a few months in the balmy air of the Bermudas would restore him to comparative health. But these expectations were not realized. After his arrival there he was again attack- ed by the disease, and a slight chill on going out brought on pneumonia, from which he died on Feb- ruary 25, 1889. He was buried in the cemetery at Bermuda ; the funeral services were conducted by Rev. Howard N. Brown, of Brookline.

Dr. Winsor married a daughter of Rev. Henry Ware, Jr., a minister of the Second Church in Boston and a professor at Harvard, who survives him with her seven children.

Memorial services were held at the Unitarian Church here, March 10, 1889, and were conducted by Rev. E. H. Hall, of Cambridge, assisted by Rev. C. F. Russell, of Weston, Rev. J. H. Allen, D.D., of Cambridge, and Rev. J. L. Marsh, of Biddeford, Maine, a former pastor of the society. A letter was read from Rev. T. C. Williams, of New York, also a former pastor of the society. The church was densely

766

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS

crowded with the friends of the deceased from this and other towns, and the services were deeply interesting.

The Ladies' Friendly Society will soon place on the walls of the church a memorial tablet to the memory of the late Dr. Winsor.

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.1 -The first pub- lic meeting of the Methodists was held Thursday evening, April 20, 1871, in Union Hall.

Rev. C. L. Eastman, of the Woburn Methodist Episcopal Church, preached to an audience of sixty, and after the sermon conducted a general service of prayer. At this time there were only four known families of this denomination in the town, but be- lieving that there was opportunity for their particular work, and desiring to propagate the Kingdom of God by the establishment of their own society, they arranged for other services, and with the exception of a few summer months in the first year of their history, they continued in regular worship.

From the first the movement was successful, other families soon joining, and the nucleus of a new church appeared in the formation of a class, January 12, 1872.

So rapidly did the interest develop, that on Febru- ary 21, 1872, a preliminary meeting was held at the house of Mr. John C. Mason, at which officers of the society were informally nominated, and other steps taken for perfecting the organization.

The first Quarterly Conference was held at the house of Mr. Ferdinand Scudder, April 25, 1872, by Rev. David Sherman, D.D., the presiding elder, and the following-named persons were formally elected stewards, viz .: Messrs. John C. Mason, George E. Cobb, Ferdinand Scudder, Robert M. Armstrong, James S. Owen and Lewis Erskine ; Ferdinand Scud- der was appointed class leader, and Robert Arm- strong was confirmed superintendent of the Sabbath- School, which had already been instituted, beginning with forty members.

Rev. Charles W. Drees, who had been sent to the field March 3, 1872, was now made preacher in charge of the Winchester Methodist Episcopal Church.

The society worshipped at times in the several halls .of the town, and a few Sabbaths in the Unitarian Church, the use of which was kindly offered. But after four years it was apparent that the continued growth of the society demanded a house of worship. The necessity was urgent, but the way did not at once open for the erection of a church edifice. Some steps were taken, however, with this object in view, aud Mr. John C. Mason purchased a lot of land on Pleas- ant Street (where the church now stands), which he designed for this purpose. In the summer of 1875 Miss Butman, a member of the Bromfield Street Meth- odist Episcopal Church, Boston, made the first dona- tion to the building enterprise. To this other funds

were added, and the work commenced early in the autumn of 1875. The house was completed in the following spring, and dedicated June 1, 1876. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. R. R. Mere- dith, of Boston.

The building committee were John C. Mason, James S. Owen and George Gurnsey. In this work the society was aided substantially by friends of other local denominations, among whom was the late D. N. Skillings, now held by this people in most respectful memory for his large generosity.

The growth of the church has not been large in the recent years, but hopeful and healthful. It has a membership of 120, a Sunday-School of 123.

During the first years the pulpit was supplied by pastors of neighboring Methodist Churches and stu- dents from the School of Theology of Boston Univer- sity. Since April, 1874, the following members of the Annual Conference have served as pastors : Rev. D. S. Coles, during whose ministry the church edifice was built ; Rev. Geo. H. Cheney, Rev. W. H. Mere- dith, Rev. J. M. Leonard, Rev. J. H. Mansfield and Rev. George H. Perkins.

The first thirteen names recorded were Cyrus Houghton, Leonora Houghton, James S. Owen, Rob- ert M. Armstrong, Samuel Armstrong, Elizabeth L. Mason, Ferdinand Scudder, Jennie Scudder, Mary A. Locke, Maud Sanborn, Jennie M. Brown, Nancy Rob- inson and Elizabeth A. Oliver. They were earnest and devoted people, believing in the possibility of actual and present salvation of all mankind through faith in Jesus Christ.

They knew the power of the Gospel by personal ex- perience, and told the story of repentance and the new birth so positively that they commanded atten- tion, and persuaded many to join them in their dis- tinctive faith.

While the society owes much to all these original members, and to many others who united with them, yet there are some whom we should remember with more than passing mention.

Cyrus Houghton was the oldest member when the church was organized, and with his noble wife took a deep interest in the new enterprise. His death, April, 1884, was a great loss to the people. Mrs. Houghton still remains (July, 1889), strong in the faith, and with the golden sunset of a ripe old age crowning her life, she looks forward confidently to a glorious immortal- ity. Robert M. Armstrong, the first superintendent, Ferdinand Scudder, the first class ·leader, and his de- voted companion, were untiring workers, and with great zeal helped on the cause.

Among those who will long be remembered as hold- ing a prominent place iu the early history of the church, is William F. Fitch, for eleven years filling, with rare talents for the office, the superintendency of the Sunday-School, and resigning, to the regret of all, only when necessary absence from home com- pelled it.

1 By Rov. George II. Perkins.

767

WINCHESTER.

Mr. Isaac N. Pierce, the present superintendent, has won the highest confidence and respect of all by his faithful and efficient service. He may be recorded as one providentially sent to the school when a wise leader and helper was greatly needed.

The names of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Mason are in- separably connected with the history of this society. Beginning, they continued with it in unceasing activ- ity for more than fifteen years. Planning its most liberal prosperity, bearing the heaviest burdens, and caring for it as guardians of a sacred trust, they have made themselves honor which all delight to recog- nize.

Although Mr. Mason's failing health now incapac- itates him for further service, and Mrs. Mason's in- creasing care prevents to a degree her former promi- nence in the life of the church, yet their work remains, and coming generations will walk in their light and share the results of their labors, thanking God for all the faithful men and women who laid the foundations of the Winchester Methodist Episcopal Church.

ORGANIZATION MAY 1, 1889.

Pastor .- Rev. George Henry Perkins.

Trustees .- Hiram Newton Turner, president; William Spooner Wal- bridge, treasurer; Warren Lord Knox, clerk ; William Augustus Ste- vens, John Clark Mason, William Farrington Fitch, John North Mason, Frank Lyman Ripley.

Stewards .- Frank Lyman Ripley, chairman; William Augustus Ste vens, treasurer ; William Farrington Fitch, secretary ; Warren Lord Knox, district; Isaac Newton Pierce, Robert Mitchell Armstrong, Frederick Orrin Snow, William Spooner Walbridge, George Bartol Tur- ner, John North Mason.

Superintendent of Sunday-School .- Isaac Newton Pierce.

ST. MARY'S CHURCH (Roman Catholic) .- This church, organized in 1873, is on Washington Street. Rev. William M. O'Brien, pastor ; Rev. Dennis Lee, assistant. Services every Sunday, first Mass at 8 A. M., second High Mass at 10.30 A.M., Sunday-school at 2.30 P.M., vespers, 3.30 P.M.

CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY.1-Early in the year 1882, through the interest and zealous labors of sev- eral ladies, the services of the Protestant Episcopal Church were started in Winchester.

The first service was held in Harmony Hall, on the last Sunday in February (February 26, 1882), the Rev. Charles P. Parker, of Cambridge, officiating. Mr. Parker, although residing in Cambridge, and un- able to do any pastoral work, continued in charge of the mission services until October, 1882, during that time having the assistance of several other clergy- men.

The work having been accepted by the Diocesan Board of Missions, the Rev. Charles Morris Addison, rector of Saint John's Church, Arlington, was ap- pointed missionary in charge, officiating for the first time October 1, 1882. The attendance having in- creased by November, the services were held in the Methodist Church, which was hired for Sunday afternoons.

A Sunday-school was organized in December, and early in 1883 the Ladies' Guild was formed. About this time the congregation was organized into a mis- sion with the following committee :

The Rev. Charles Morris Addison, missionary ; Mr. Irving S. Palmer, warden ; Mr. Samuel W. McCall, vestryman ; Mr. Frank J. Wills, clerk ; Mr. Charles Gratiot Thompson, treasurer. Previous to this Mr. George B. Shepley was treasurer.

It was soon decided by the congregation that the proper conduct of the services and the future growth of the Episcopal Church in the town, called for a church building.

By the beginning of the year 1884, subscriptions were received for a small Episcopal Church ; the land on which to place it having been generously offered by Mr. D. Nelson Skillings. Plans were kindly made by Mr. George D. Rand, and the prospect was so en- couraging that work was begun in August, 1884.

The church was completed in January, 1885, and the first service was held in it on January 25th.

The church having been fully paid for, it was con- secrated by the Right Reverend Benjamin H. Paddock, Bishop of the diocese, assisted by a large number of the clergy, on Friday, May 29, 1885.

In the spring of 1885 the Rev. C. M. Addison re- signed, and the Rev. John Wallace Suter, who was ordained in June of the same year, was appointed minister of the mission, taking charge the 1st of July. At Easter, 1887, the aid heretofore given by the Board of Missions was relinquished, and, April 10, 1888, an independent parish was organized and incorporated, with the Rev. J. W. Suter as rector ; Messrs. C. Gratiot Thompson and Samuel Walker McCall were chosen wardens ; Mr. F. J. Wills, clerk ; Mr. C. G. Thompson, treasurer; and Messrs. C. W. Bradstreet, F. W. Jenkins, J. Lynam, J. E. Lyon and G. H. Richards, Jr., vestrymen.

An organ was procured for the church in the fall of 1886, and was dedicated at a special service on December 1st of that year.

At the time of writing, the church numbers 125 communicants and eighty children in the Sunday- school. The receipts for parish expenses for the year past were $1951.92, and the offerings for charitable, missionary and other purposes $749.93. The ladies of the church are organized in a Guild which is full of good works, and the girls of the congregation also have their working Guild.

During the few years of its existence, the church has grown rapidly with the growth of the town, and thankfully welcome the prospect of being obliged, in the near future, to enlarge its accommodations for work and worship.

HIGHLAND BETHANY SOCIETY.2 -- The Highiland Bethany Society, of Winchester, was organized June 6, 1886, with twenty-nine members. Its object was

1 By the Rev. Mestre. Charles M. Addison and John W. Suter.

2 By an officer of the Bethany Society.

768

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

to provide a Union Chapel for the purpose of main- taining evangelical preaching, prayer meetings, Sun- day-school and such other meetings as should sub- serve the religious interests of the community.

Through the earnest cfforts and generous co-oper- ation of. the Highland people, the chapel was com- pleted and dedicated, free of debt, Sept. 5, 1887. The total expenditures were $2700. Of this sum, the largest subscription, $500, or nearly twenty per cent., was from Mrs. M. E. Bodge, whose money laid the foundation of the enterprise; sixteen per cent. from the Ladies' Society ; fifteen per cent. from friends in Boston ; ten per cent. from Woburn, and the balance from Winchester. A week after the dedication a Sunday-school of one hundred members was organ- ized.

The running expenses of the chapel are met by the weekly pledge system ; and all the children's collec- tions in the Sunday-school go to benevolence.

The present officers (1889) of the Highland Bethany Society are: J. Winslow Richardson, clerk ; Henry Smalley, treasurer. Standing Committee: E. Law- rence Barnard, Luther Richardson and wife, J. E. Rice and wife, Miss Grace Lawrence, A. C. Bell.

The officers of the Sunday-school are : E. Law- rence Barnard, superintendent; Walter Rice, sec- retary ; George W. Richardson, treasurer.

The officers of the Ladies' Bethany Society are : Mrs. J. S. Richardson, president ; Mrs. Henry Smalley, treasurer.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

HENRY CUTTER.1

Henry Cutter was a descendant of Richard Cutter, who emigrated from England, and settled in Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, about 1640. The ancestors of Henry Cutter resided principally in Cambridge and Medford. From Richard Cutter the line was through Gershom2, Gershom3, Gershom4, John5, John6, to Henry7. He was born at Medford, May 27, 1805, where his par- ents then resided. His father, John6 Cutter (1770- 1825), removed to Woburn in 1810, having purchased the mill property at Cutters Village (Winchester) after-

wards occupied by his sons; the latter occupicd a tide-mill in North Chelsea, built by their father in 1817, till 1830, when they sold the cstate and removed to Winchester. Here, in 1830, the brothers, Stephen and Henry, and uncles Samuel and 'Amos Cutter, commenced the mahogany business under the firm of S. Cutter & Co. Their mill was destroyed by fire, March 20, 1840, and a new establishment was erected on its site. The brother Stephen Cutter, born at Med- ford, October 22, 1797, is yet living, greatly respected, in his old home at Winchester, at the age of ninety- two. Henry Cutter was engaged in the mahogany business with his brother Stephen until about the year 1848, when he sold out and started anew under the firm of H. Cutter & Co. He retired in 1864. Afterwards he was treasurer of the old Middleboro' Marble Company. He had been also a director of the Blackstone National Bank in Boston since its founding.

At a special meeting of the directors of the Black- stone National Bank of Boston the following resolu- tions were passed :

"WHEREAS, An all-wise Providence has removed from us one of our number, who has, since the organization of the bank, occupied a seat at this hoard-

"Resolved, That we realize that by the death of Henry Cutter we are separated from one whose genial presence was ever a delight to us, and whose faithful and conscientious service was always at our command.

"Resolved, That the example of his life, marked as it was with kind- ness, honesty and integrity in all its relations, will ever he worthy of imitation, and a precious legacy to those who are left behind him."

Mr. Cutter was a man of sound business principles, and after retiring from active participation in the mahogany concern, interested himself in banking and in the care of his own estate. He died suddenly of heart-disease, in Winchester, August 4, 1879, aged seventy-four.1 Mr. Cutter married, in 1827, Mrs. Nancy (Wyman) Cutter, the widow of his brother William. She was the daughter of Jesse and Susan- na (Richardson) Wyman, of Woburn. She is still living. The children of Henry Cutter were two daughters : (1) Nancy W., the wife of Rev. Stephen A. Holt, now a resident of Winchester ; and (2) Ellen, the wife of Thomas S. Holton, died 1858, aged nine- teen.2

1 Cf. Woburn Journal, August 9, 1879 ; Woburn Advertiser, August 7, 1879 ; Winchester Record, i. 67.

2 For fuller genealogical particulars regarding Mr. Cutter and family, see Cutter's " Cutter Family of New England," p. 239, etc.

1 By W. R. Cutter.

I butter

769

BOXBOROUGH.

CHAPTER LXII.

BOXBOROUGH.

BY LUCIE C. HAGER.

SOME one has said, "Time, like distance, lends enchantment to the view, and the pictures of the past, seen through the mellow light of centuries, becomne soft and beautiful to the sight, like the shadowy out- lines of far-off mountain peaks, whose purple heads half hide themselves behind a screen of clouds." The men and women who lived, aud loved, and labored, and reared their homes among these hills and in these valleys, a hundred years ago and more, had they been interrogated, would doubtless have replied, as did one of the present citizens when questioned with regard to his ancestry, " Oh, no, we never did any- thing remarkable, nothing worthy of notice." And yet to us of the present day, as we gaze down the vista of the departed years, their words and acts are of very great interest and importance, and the labors and toils which to them may have seemed to bear such meagre fruitage are to us, after the lapse of more than a century, invested, as it were, with a halo of glory.

We look back still farther into the past, through another century or more, and lo! the red man is lord of all these sunny slopes and vales ; and here, wild and free as his own native hills, he made the forest his hunting-ground. We are informed by early historians that the Rev. John Eliot, of Roxbury, visited this region some time in the seventeenth century. He was a philanthropic man and an earnest Christian. With him came General Daniel Gookin, the historian, who had in charge at that time, as an agent of the Govern- ment, all the Indian tribes in Massachusetts. Here they found the chief of the Nashoba Indians, John Tokatawan, and the venerable Eliot preached and prayed in the open air, and James Speen and his Indian choir sang & psalm. But early in the eigh- teenth century the white men sought a place in this region where they might build their log huts, found their homes, and rear their families. We of to-day can scarcely realize through what difficulties and dangers the first permanent settlements were made.

Boxborough was formed by taking a portion from three adjoining towns -- the largest part from Stow, a smaller portion from Littleton, and a piece of Har- vard making up the town, whose outline is nearly a square. Previous to 1750 the boundary line between Stow and Littleton was near where the present town- house stands, running in a southeasterly direction past the house now owned and occupied by Mr. E. B. Cobleigh, which was then in Stow, and onward to a heap of stones in a field in front of Mr. Furbush's dwelling, thence in the direction of Mr. Herbert Blanchard's residence.

Boxborough, though the smallest town in Middle- 49-ii

sex County, is yet " beautiful for situation." From her lofty hill-tops the true lover of nature is never weary of gazing on the panorama of beauty which is everywhere spread out before him. Whichever way he turns-north, east, south or west-pictures of rare rural loveliness greet his eye and delight his soul. No wonder that her sons and daughters love and are proud of their birth-place. Said one of her former residents, as he came up to an annual gathering "in the old meeting-house on the hill " (now the town hall) : "I always feel as if I was nearer heaven when I come up to this hill,"-words lightly spoken, doubt- less, and yet they should be true, for surely when one long since gone forth from his early home to active, earnest life among men, returns again and feels his feet pressing once more the soil of his own native hills, hallowed by so many happy and sacred associa- tions ; when his eyes behold again, as in his youthful days, the delightful scenery, so familiar grown ; when his hand clasps the hand of neighbor and friend as in early youth and his ears hear as of old the loved voices of his childhood-he may feel more nearly akin to the early days of free-hearted innocence and happiness, and therefore "nearer Heaven."

The residents on the outskirts of the towns men- tioned,-Stow, Littleton and Harvard,-drawn there probably by the fertility of the soil, tilled their farms and raised their crops, but found themselves subjected to much inconvenience through their remoteness from any place of public worship. So they formed a society among themselves, purchased the old meet- iug-house in Harvard in 1775, and then petitioned the General Court to be set off as a separate town.

The town is situated in the west central part of Middlesex County, and is bounded north by Harvard and Littleton, east by Littleton and Acton, south by Stow and west by Harvard. From the assessors' re- port of the present year (1889) we have the follow- ing : 6428 acres of land; total valuation of assessed estate, $246,705; polls, 108; number of scholars in the public schools, 63. According to the census of 1885 the population was 348; in 1850 it numbered 395 ; and in 1837 the number was 433. The number of voters in 1889 was 76; in 1834 the number was 99. In 1847 the whole valuation was $268,913. The amount of taxes for 1889 was $2840.71; in 1847 the amount was $1299.08. In the town safe, in very good condition, there is an outline map on parch- ment by Silas Holman-scale, two hundred rods to an inch. His survey was made in 1794, and the area given is 7036 acres and one hundred rods. By a com- parison of some of the foregoing figures, it would seem that the town had been slowly losing ground for at least a half-century. There seems to be good reasons for this. It has been a farming community from the first, but although smallest in population of any town in Middlesex County, it yet ranks second only in agriculture. The value of its agricultural products in 1885 was $92,349. But it is situated at a

770

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

distance from market towns and main thoroughfares ; though two busy streams, Stony Brook and the Assa- bet River, have their source here, it has no water- power of its own by which the many industries of the present age are carried forward to so great extent in other places; it has not the advantage of being a railroad centre. The Fitchburg Railroad skirts its eastern border, with stations at both Littleton and Acton-none in Boxborough-and that is all; it was of later incorporation than any of the other towns about us. As a farming town it began its ex- istence over a century ago, and as such it is destined to remain. There is no employment other than farming to call in those from without, and her own sons and daughters are drawn away to other towns and cities in the hope of enjoying their 'greater ad- vantages. A good town for one's birth-place; a good place to begin the culture of those sterling qual- ities which shall grow and increase and actuate in all the affairs of after-life.

As I look at the materials before me for the mak- ing of this history of Boxborough, gathered in many different ways and brought together under various heads and dates, I feel as though it would be, at least, a saving of thought and labor, could one do, what the "projector " in Gulliver's Travels was trying to accomplish, viz., the writing of books in philosophy, poetry, politics, laws, mathematics, theology and his- tory (?) without any assistance whatever from study or genius, by simply throwing upon a frame all the words in his vocabulary,-in the "ordinary pro- portion of verbs, participles, nouns," etc., and then setting his pupils at the work of grinding out the various tomes. But upon second thought it would be better, doubtless, to classify and bring under the cor- rect dates and headings these facts and incidents of early times.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 182

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