History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 89

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 89

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).

and it constitutes a part of the free public library, which is controlled by trustees. It now contains 3319 volumes. The librarian is Mrs. Lizzie T. Curtis. In 1880 Hon. Geo. F. Richardson, of Lowell, donated to this library 100 volumes.

THE BRINLEY MANSION .- As the traveler passes up the right bank of the Merrimack the most impos- ing object which meets his eye is the Brinley Man- sion. It is a stately structure of three stories, tower- ing aloft upon the summit of a high swell of land admirably adapted to such an edifice. On either side of the mansion are spacious verandahs two stories in height, and in the rear the various out-buildings are tastefully arranged. The mansion is about fifty rods from the street, having iu front, covering the lawn, a grove of lofty elms, while across the river the banks are clothed with a forest of evergreen trees. The whole scene produces a fine effect, both for its grand- eur and its æsthetic beauty. One thing only breaks the charm. On one of the elms near the gate-way is a placard on which, in large letters, is the very un- poetic legend : "FOR SALE."

So much interest attaches to this mansion, and the vast Tyng estate on which it stands, that a very brief history will be given. Edward Tyng, a merchant in London and afterwards in Boston, was, as has already been told, the founder of this estate. An account of Edward Tyng and of his son, Col. Jonathan Tyng, has already been given. William Tyng, the second son of Col. Jonathan Tyng, was the father of Judge John Tyng, chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas after the Revolution. Judge Tyng, being an only son, received the estate from his grandfather, Col. Jonathan Tyng. Mary; the only daughter of Judge Tyng, became the wife of John Pitts, of Bos- ton, who graduated at Harvard in 1757, and, at one time, was Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. It was Mr. Pitts who erected the Brinley Mansion, just described, on the site of the old and rambling house in which his father-in-law, Judge Tyng, had lived.

Mrs. Pitts having become the inheritor of her father's large estate, she and her husband resided a part of the time in Tyngsborough, Mr. Pitts being the clerk of the district in 1789.

Having thus far traced the family of William Tyng, we return to trace that of his younger brother, Colo- nel Eleazer Tyng.

Colonel Eleazer Tyng was the third son of Colonel Jonathan Tyng. He graduated at Harvard in 1712, and was, in both civil and military affairs, one of the most important men of the town. Sarah, the only daughter of Colonel Eleazer Tyng, became the wife of John Winslow, of Boston. Having outlived her husband, and having no children, she persuaded Dudley Atkins, of Newbury, a distant relative, to as- sume the name of Tyng, and made him the heir of most of her large estate. The estate was sold by him to Nathaniel Brinley in 1779. Robert Brinley, son of

376

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

the purchaser, not only inherited from his father the Winslow estate, but, having married Elizabeth Pitts, a granddaughter of Judge Jolin Tyng, he became the proprietor of most of the property left by Colonel Jonathan Tyng to his two sons, William and Eleazer, He was familiarly called Sir Robert Brinley, and was a highly honored gentleman of the old school. He took an active interest in the affairs of the town. His son Robert was never married. His son Nathaniel lived in Tyngsborough, occupying the Brinley man- sion. Of the children of Nathaniel Brinley, William Brinley is a resident of Meredith, N. H .; Mary E. Kennedy, whose husband, the Rev. Angus R. Ken- nedy, was pastor of the Unitarian Church in Tyngs- borough, resides in Lowell, and Nathaniel Brinley, Jr., died in prison at Andersonville in 1864.

Too often in recent years has the community been startled at the sudden downfail of men who have long held the highest positions of trust and honor in the religious and commercial world, a downfall which brings with it disaster and ruin to confiding bond- men and creditors. A conspicuous example of this class of men was Abraham Jackson, of Boston, by whose astounding defalcations the time-honored Brin- ley estate suffered irrevocable loss. The question is yet to be decided by the courts of law how much can be saved to the rightful owners from the general wreck.

THE TYNGSBOROUGH IRON BRIDGE .- In 1871, when the only public means of crossing the Merri- mack River, between Lowell and Nashua, was a chain- ferry at Tyngsborough, a petition, very numerously signed by citizens of Tyngsborough and Lowell and adjacent towns, was presented to the Legislature, praying for the construction of a bridge across the Merrimack at Tyngsborough. The population of Tyngsborough being only 631, and its total property valuation being only $321,000, this town was incapa- · ble of building the bridge or of even bearing a very large portion of the expense of its construction.

After considerable hesitation and delay the com- missioners decided to construct the bridge. The work begun was twice swept away by the force of the cur- rent, but at length the graceful and beautiful iron bridge which now spans the river was completed. It is 600 feet long and twenty feet wide, and its cost was $94,000. Of this sum $14,000 was assessed upon Tyngsborough, together with the expense of main- taining the bridge.

After bearing the heavy burden of maintaining the bridge for ten years, through the persistent and earnest efforts of a committee of the town, consisting of Dr. Charles Dutton, J. H. D. Littlehale, Esq., and S. S. Sherman, Esq., this burden was transferred to Middlesex County. In this work of relieving the town of this unfair division of expense, the commit- tee were aided by Hon. George F. Richardson, of Lowell, a member of the Massachusetts Senate.

TRADITIONS .- There are interesting traditions re-

specting various localities in the town of Tyngsbor- ough. It is said that the Indians were wont to keep the higher lands about Tyng's Pond clear from trees and bushes by frequently burning over the surface of the ground, while the woods were allowed to grow in the marshes around the pond. By this device they were able to kill the deer when they cmerged from the woods and crossed the cleared lands. Elisha's Brook is said to derive its name from the fact that a friendly Indian, whose name was Elisha, aroused the hate and jealousy of other Indians by entering the service of Col. Tyng. On one occasion, when bring- ing hay from Tyng's meadow, he was waylaid and killed. A brook and an apple-tree near the scene of the murder received, respectively, from this event, the names of " Elisha's Brook " and " Elisha's Sweet- ing." The apple, "Elisha's Sweeting," was long per- petuated in the vicinity by grafting. On the occa- sion of the murder of Elisha, the " alarmı drum," kept at Co !. Tyng's, was beaten and three guns were fired to warn the people of the presence of hostile Indians.

The "Haunted House," in Tyngsborough, so often referred to in the history of the town, was the old residence of the celebrated Col. Jonathan Tyng, who, when all the other inhabitants fled from the neigh- borhood in King Philip's War, fortified his home and remained alone at the post of danger. What gave to it the name of the "Haunted House " is matter of obscure tradition. It is said that Col. Tyng con- structed underground a gallery which, in case of an attack by Indians, might afford the means of strategy or escape. The story is told of two girls who crossed the river from the eastern side. As they approached Col. Tyng's house, to visit at which they had come, one of them suddenly disappeared from human sight. The story is vaguely told, but there was something mysterious about that vanishing girl. What other girl would afterwards dare to pass the house in the dark ? Col. Tyng's house stood upon a bold swell of land and the site was admirably selected for defence, having in plain view the shores of the Merrimack, both up and down the river, and overlooking Wica- suck Island. The cellar is still to be seen and the fine view from the spot well rewards the traveler for pausing on his way and climbing the hill.

IMPROVEMENTS .- Although the small agricultural towns are wont to fall far behind their more populous neighbors in the race of modern improvement and in- vention, yet in one respect Tyngsborough is far in advance of many of the cities of Massachusetts. It has an electric railroad. This road, four miles in length, which connects the town with the city of Lowell, was constructed by the Lowell and Dracut Strect Railway Company. This company has erected on the borders of Tyng's Pond, on grounds lying partly in Tyngsborough and partly in Dracut, a dance-hall, a pavilion and various buildings, and have cquipped them for a popular and elegant resort for parties of pleasure from the city and elsewhere. The

377

SUDBURY.

woods on the borders of the pleasant lake, where 200 years ago the Indian hunted the wild deer, will often now resound with the voice of merriment.

The town of Tyngsborough, with its excellent rail- road facilities, affording easy access to the great cities of Lowell and Boston, with its beautiful river running through its centre and spanned at the village with a graceful bridge, with its charming scenery and rich historic memories, has before it a hopeful future and will ever be to its inhabitants a pleasing and attrac- tive home.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

SUDBURY.

BY REV. ALFRED SERENO HUDSON.

THE town of Sudbury was settled in 1638, and re- ceived its name in 1639. It was the nineteenth town in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, aud the second situated beyond the flow of the tide. Originally it was bounded on the east by that part of Watertown which is now Weston, on the north by Concord, and southerly and westerly by the wilderness, or the un- claimed lands of the Colony.

The Indian name of the river and country adja- cent on the north was Musketaquid, or Musketah- quid, and it is presumable that the same name was applied to this region. Musketahquid is supposed to be made up of two Indian words-muskeht, meaning " grass," and ahkeit, which signifies " ground ;" and if applied to the river, "grassy brook," or "meadow brook." The name formed by these words, it is stated, as nearly resembles Musketahquid as the In- dian dialect will allow. (Shattuck.) As the same streama runs through Concord and Sudbury, and the meadows in these places are equally green and broad, it is not by any means unlikely that the same term was applied to each place and the river, as it runs through them both. This is rendered still more probable by the fact that Karte, the Indian owner of the land first granted at Sudbury, was also an owner, with others, of the territory at Concord; as the Col- ony records inform us that Karte, with Tahattawan, the sachem of that place, with some others, consented to the sale of territory to the English in 1637. As Karte lived in the territory that is now Sudbury, and his wigwam was not far from the river, it is presuma- ble that he would call the stream, as it flowed near his home, by the same name that it was known by as it flowed through his domains a few miles farther north.

INDIANS .- The discovery of numerous relics indi- cates that the land was once considerably occupied by Indians, but at the time of the town's settlement probably but few lived there. The names of Karto,

Nataous, Peter Jethro, Old Jethro or Tantamons be- longed to prominent natives, and' of these some few facts are preserved. Karto was the Indian owner of that part of Sudbury which was first granted to the English. His home was at a hill a little south- east of Sudbury Centre, called Goodman's Hill. The name Goodman was given him by the English. It is said he was an attendant on the preaching of Rev. Edmund Brown, the first minister of Sudbury, and that by lis preaching he was converted to Christi- anity. Natxous, also called Netus, and sometimes William of Sudbury, was prominently connected with the events of King Philip's War. In the destruction of the Eames homestead at Framingham, and the capture of the inmates, he took a conspicuous part by acting as leader. He was also present at the mid- night encounter between the English and Indians near Sudbury, on the night of March 27, 1676, on which occasion he was slain. He was associated with the Nipnet Indians, who inhabited the interior of Massachusetts, and was sometimes called the Nip- muck Captain.

Tantamous, who was also called Jethro, and more commonly Old Jethro, to distinguish him from his son, Peter Jethro, or Jethro the Younger, lived at Nobscot during a portion of liis later life. In his earlier years it is supposed he lived at Isabaeth, the country about the Assabet River, now Maynard. He was a prominent personage among the Indians, and known as a powwow, or medicine-man. Gookin says of him : "This man and his relations were not praying Indians ;" that "they lived at a place near Sudbury, Nobscot Hill, and never submitted to the Christian profession (except his son, Peter), but sep- arated from them."

Peter Jethro was also called Animatohu and Han- tomush. In 1650 he lived at Natiek, and was one of Rev. Mr. Eliot's converts. He had a good education for an Indian, and was held in high esteem. Gookin speaks of him as a "grave and pious Indian." He was sent to Washakin (Stirling) as teacher and preacher to the Indians. The indications are that the Indians had homes and favorite hunting-grounds, not only about Nobscot and Goodman's Hill, but also along the river course and about Cochituate Pond. Tradition says they had a burying-ground at what is now Wayland; and on West Brook, a little southerly of Sand Hill, was the Indian bridge. Prob- ably the country was largely depopulated by the re- peated plagues which devastated the region of Mas- sachusetts Bay, about the time of its occupation by the English. As a general thing the whites and In- dians lived on friendly terms in Sudbury prior to King Philip's War. And when that war began and the town was attacked, it was mostly by invaders, and not by parties who ever had a rightful claim to the soil.

The town was settled by Englishmen. The plan of settlement originated at Watertown, which was set-

378

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

tled a few years previous by Sir Richard Saltonstall and company, who came to America in the ship " Arbella."

To a large extent, the settlers came dircet from England. Bond, the historian of that town, says : " Only a small proportion of the names of the early grantees of Sudbury are on the Watertown records ; and some who went there returned. Some, whose names are on the records of both places, were either residents of Sudbury but a very short time, or, it may be, never lived there at all," The explanation of this may be, first, that the plantation was not pro- posed because all the petitioners designed to make it their permanent home, but that it might be an outlet to an over-populous place. Watertown, it was con- sidered, had too many inhabitants. The emigrants of ship after ship, as they arrived at these shores, went to the older places; and this led to what was called "straitness of accommodation." New land would present greater allurements to the new comers, and the earlier settlers would thus be left un- disturbed in their original estates. Secondly, specu- lative purposes may have led some to engage in the scheme for the Sudbury settlement. More or less, doubtless, enlisted in the enterprise designing to transfer their titles to others, as fresh cmigrants came to the country. Sharing with the residents of the settlement the expense of the undertaking, they had a right to convey the lands that were allotted them, and receive such compensation therefor as their in- creased value might bring. Thus, while the plan of the settlement of Sudbury originated at Watertown, and some of the settlers came from there, yet largely, as we have said, it was settied by emigration direct from England. Most or all of the names of the ear- lier settlers have been preserved, and are repeatedly given in connection with land divisions prior to the close of 1640.

From the town records we have compiled the fol- lowing list of the early grantees or settlers, who went to the Sudbury Plantation about 1638 or 1639 :

Mr. Wilham Pelham, Mr. Edmund Browne, Mr. Peter Noyse, Bryan Pendloton, Walter Haine, John Haine, John Blandford, Hugh Griffyn, . Edmond Goodnowe, Robort Boast, Thomas Noyse, Thomas Browne, Robert Darnill, William Browne, Thomas Goodnow, John Freeman, Solomon Jolinson, William Ward, Richard Newton, John Ilowe, George Mnnnings, Anthony Whyte, Andrew Belcher, John Goodnowe, John Reddock, Thomas Whyte, John Knight, William Parker, John Par- menter, Sr., Edmond Rico, Henry Rice, Wyddow Buffumthyte, Henry Curtis, John Stone, John Parmenter, Jr , John Rutter, John Toll, Henry Loker, John Wood, John Loker, Widow Wright, Jolin Bent, Nathaniel Treadaway, Robert Hunt, Widow Hunt, John Maynard, Jo- seph Taintor, Robert Fordum, or Fordham, Thomas Joslyn, or Jslen, Richard Sangor, Richard Bildcome, Robert Davis, Henry Prentiss, Wil- liam Kerley, Thomas Iloyte, Thomas Flyu.

The following are names of persons who were at the settlement soon after it began :

Thomas Axdell, Thomas Read, John Moore, Thomas Bisbig, Thomas Plympton, Ilngh Drury, Philemon Whalo, William How, John Smith, Thomas Buckmaster, John Grout, Thomas Cakebread, John Redit, John Waterman, Goodman Witherell, John George, Thomas King, Peter King, Jonas or James l'endletou, John Woodward, Shadrach Hapgood, Edward Wright.

Of the Sudbury settlers who once lived in Water- town, we have the following names : Robert Betts (Beast), Thomas Cakebread, Henry Curtis, Robert Daniel (Darnell), John Grout, Solomon Johnson, John Knight, George Munnings, William Parker, Bryan Pendleton, Richard Sanger, Joseph Tainter, Anthony White, Goodman (John) Wetherell, Na- thanicl Treadaway, John Stone.

Some of these men were prominent and valuable citizens of Watertown. Bryan Pendleton was one of its early selectmen. Nathaniel Treadaway and John Stone were sons-in-law of Elder Edward How. Robert Betts had a share in the Great Dividend Al- lotment, and the Beaver Brook "plow lands." Of those who came direct from England, we have on a single ship's list of passengers the names of some of the most prominent persons in the Sudbury Planta- tion, namely :

"The list of the names of the Passengts Intended for New England In the good shipp the Confidence, of London, of C C. tonnes, John Jobson Mr and thus by vertne of the Lord Treasrs warrt of the xjth of April, 1638. Southampton, 24° Aprill 1638.

" Walter Hayne of Sutton Mandifield in the County of Wilts Leunen Weaver 55

Eliz: llayne his wife

Thomas Hayne , their sonnes

Jolin Ilayne under 16

. Josias Hayne yeares of age

Sufferance Hayne l their

Mary llayne S daughters

John Blanford their 27

John Riddett 26

Rich Bildcombe servants 16

Peter Noyce of Penton in the

County of Southn (Southampton) yeoman 47

Thomas Noyce his sonne 15

Eliz: Noyce his daughter

Robert Davis his 30

John Rutter 22

Margarett Davis ) servants 26

Nicholas Gny 2 Southampton

§ Upton Gray, Co. of } carpenter 50

Jane his wife Mary Gny his danghter

Joseph Taynter { servants Robert Bayley

John Bent of Penton in the

County of South" Husband-

man 35

Martha Bent his wife

Robert Bent

William Bent their children

Peter Bent

all under ye age

John Bent

of 12 years

Ann Bent Jolin Goodenowe of Semley

of Welsheir Husbandman 42

Jane Goodenowe his wife

Lydia Goodenowe } their

Jane Goodenowe ) daneliters

Edmund Goodenowe of Duu- head in Wilsheire Husbandman 27

Ann Goodenowe his wife

John Goodenowe their sonnes

Thomas Goodenowe 4 years and

under

Richard Sanger his servant

Thomas Goodenowo of Shasbury ¿ 30

Jane Goodenowe his wife

379

SUDBURY.

Thomas Goodenowe his sonne Ursula Goodenowe his sister

Edmond Kerley ) of Ashmore 22 William Kerley ) Husbandmen "

It is not certain that the young men mentioned in this ship's list as " servants," or "hired men," ever came in that capacity. John Rutter was by trade a carpenter ; Richard Sanger was a blacksmith; one had a family when he came; two others were after- ward sons-in-law of the persons in whose employ they ostensibly came; and all of them took their place among the substantial men of the settlement.

It was a tradition among the descendants of John Rutter, without their having a knowledge that this ship's list was in existence, that their ancestor came to this country disguised as a servant.

The state of the times and the strictness of Eng- lish laws at that period, with regard to ships and em- igrants coming to America, might be a reason why some might come in disguise. If this was so in the case of one, it might have been so with regard to the rest.

In connection with the names of the settlers, it is appropriate to state something of their character. In attempting this, perhaps we can do no better than to say that they fitly represented the noble element that came to the New England shores at that period. They were Puritans both in theory and practice; and afar from the conveniences and luxuries of their na- tive land, sought in a new country a home remote from ecclesiastical and political strife. They em- barked for America at a time when England was in an unsettled condition, and when ship after ship was bringing to these shores some of her purest and stanchest citizens. The whole trend of their conduct is indicative of self-reliance, though they recognized all proper authority. What the common weal re- quired they took hold of with zest ; and in their adher- ence to what they thought suitable, they showed a perseverance truly commendable. Their proceedings in town-meeting, and the manner in which the records were kept, indicate that the education of a part of them at least was good for the times; and the meas- ures enacted for the common convenience and wel- fare show common sense and sagacity.

As a religious people, they in no way lacked what we ascribe to the historic Puritan. Although com- pelled by circumstances to economize all their re- sources, and to make the most of time, talents and strength to meet the demands of every-day life, yet they found time to serve their Creator, and praise and adore Him in their forest home. Their Christianity manifested itself in their steadfast adherence to the Christian faith, in their reliance on God, and their love for His holy law.

Industry was a prominent characteristic. From the minister down to the humblest citizen, each had a share in the manual work of the settlement. Though the minister's salary was in part paid in produce,

yet he was assigned lands and attended to husbandry. Another characteristic trait of the settlers seems to have been their desire for territorial enlargement and possession, and for the pioneering of new places. To such an extent did this spirit prevail in Sudbury and its neighboring town, Concord, that the following law was passed by the Court in 1645 :

" In regard of the great danger that Concord, Sudbury and Dedham will be exposed unto, being inland Townes aud but thinly pcopled, it is ordered that no man now inhabiting and settled in any of the s'd Townes (whether married or single) shall remove to any other Town without the allowance of the magistrates or the selectmen of the towns, until they shall obtain leave to settle again."

The settlers of Sudbury were young men, or in the prime of stirring manhood ; they were not patriarchs near the close of their pilgrimage. Even those with whom, because of their prominence, we mnost associ- ate dignity and gravity, were comparatively young men when the settlement began. By the passenger- list of the "Confidence " it will be noticed that only Walter Hainc had reached the age of fifty-five, and John Rutter was only twenty-two; Robert Davis, thirty ; John Blandford, twenty-seven ; John Reddet, twenty-six ; Peter Noyes, forty-seven ; John Bent thirty-five; John Goodenowe, forty-two; Edmond Goodenowe, twenty-seven ; Thomas Goodenowe, thirty. These ages are doubtless correct, as we have in 1666 a deposition made by one of them, Edmund Goodenowe, in which hc alleges that he is about fifty-five years old. Rev. Edmund Browne was in about the prime of life when he came to the planta- tion ; and Edmund Rice was about thirty-four. In fact, we find in an old petition presented at the close of Philip's War, in 1676, from a dozen to a score or more of names that may have belonged to the early grantees. Probably from a quarter to a half century passed before there was a generation of old men in Sudbury.

LAND GRANTS .- The territory of Sudbury was in part granted to the people collectively who formed the plantation and established the town, and in part to individuals. The grants to the former were allowed at three different times, and were preceded by three different petitions. The first petition met with a re- sponse November 20, 1637, of which the following is а сору :

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 89

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