History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 96

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 96

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the centre of the town, the remaining houses were numbered in their regular order, closing with the new house ncar the residence of Jobn Coughlin, which was numbered six. The town opened a new school at South Sudbury, and March 1, 1875, " voted to allow the proprietors of Wadsworth Hall $100 for rent of said hall for school purposes."

In 1881, a school-house was built in the Wadsworth District by C. O. Parmenter, at a cost of $2560.61. It was placed on a lot containing a half acre of land, which was purchased of Walter Rogers, and situated on the south side of the Sudbury and Marlboro' road, about inidway between the Massachusetts Central and Old Colony Railroads.

THE GOODNOW LIBRARY .- In 1862, the town re- ceived the means of establishing a public library through the generosity of John Goodnow, of Boston. The gift came in the form of a bequest, which was set forth in his will as follows :

"First : I give, devise, and bequeath unto my native Town of Sudbury, in the County of Middlesex, the sum of Twenty Thousand Dollars, to be appropriated for the purpose of purchasing and keeping in order a Public Library, for the benefit of the inhabitants of that town."

"Second: I also give, devise and bequeath to the said Town of Sudbury, three acres of land on the northerly part of the Sudbury Tavern Estate, adjoin- ing the land of Howe Brown, beginning at the Meet- ing-house road, and running with equal width with Brown's line to the brook, for the purpose of erecting thereon a suitable building for a Library ; and the further sum of Twenty-five Hundred Dollars for the erection of such building; and whatever portion of said land shall not be needed for the purposes of said Library building, the said Town of Sudbury shall have full power and authority to apply to any other Town purposes, but without any power of alienation."

"At a legal meeting held at Sudbury, on the seventh day of April, 1862, the Town voted to accept the bequest contained in the first and second clauses of the last Will and Testament of John Goodnow, late of Boston ; and Messrs. James Moore, John H. Da- kin, and George Parmenter, Selectmen of the Town, were appointed and authorized to receive and receipt for the said bequest." At the same meeting it was voted to adopt the following resolution : " Resolved by the inhabitants of Sudbury, in Town meeting as- sembled, that we accept with thankfulness the noble bequests given to the town by the late John Goodnow of Boston ; and that, as an evidence of our gratitude, we pledge ourselves to endeavor to the utmost of our ability, honestly and honorably to carry out the be- nevolent intentions of the donor."

July 14th, the town instructed the committee to erect a building for the library given by John Good- now, according to plan reported to them, the sum not to exceed $2500. April 4, 1864, the committee re- ported the cost of the building, including $32.43 for

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setting out shade trees, to be $2691.35. The building was enlarged several years ago by an addition on the west; and at present there is little, if auy, unoccu- pied space. Four catalogues have been issued ; the first, at the opening of the Library, when it contained less than 2300 volumes ; the second in 1867 ; the third in 1874, when it contained nearly 5000 volumes ; and the fourth in 1887, when it contained over 9700. The grounds about the library are ample, and taste- fully laid out, consisting of a level lawn adorned wirh shade trees. The building is reached by a circular driveway extending from the county highway. In the rear the land extends to Hop Brook.

John Goodnow, the donor of this library fund, was a son of John and Persis Goodnow, who lived at Lan- ham. He was born at Sudbury, Sept. 6, 1791, and died in Boston, Dec. 24, 1861. His remains were placed in his tomb at Sudbury Centre.

RAILROADS .- No railroad passed through the pres- ent limits of the town until about the beginning of the last period of the present century. About 1870 the Framingham & Lowell Railroad was begun, and in the fall of 1871 the cars began passing through the town. A station was built at North and South Sud- bury and at the centre. The one at South Sudbury was built a little northerly of the junction of the Sudbury and Marlboro' and Framingham highways, and has since heen moved.

July 22, 1870, it was voted "That the Town Treas- urer he authorized and instructed to subscribe for, take and hold Capital Stock in the Framingham and Lowell Railroad Company to the amount of Thirty thousand dollars. . . . Provided said Railroad shall not be located in any place more than half a mile from the last survey in the Town of Sudbury."

The road has recently been leased to the " Old Col- ony " Company, and is now known as the "Northern Branch of the Old Colony Road." In 1887 every station of this road within the limits of Sudbury was burned. Recently new and more commodious ones have been built on or near the sites of the former ones.

Massachusetts Central Railroad-In October, 1880, the first rails were laid at South Sudbury on the track of the Massachusetts Central Railroad, beginning at its junction with the Framingham & Lowell road. During the following winter the road was continued towards Hudson on the west and Boston on the east; and July 22, 1881, nine car-loads of rails passed over the Central road, entering upon it at Waverly and going to Hudson. April 20, 1881, a train of cars passed over the road from Boston to Hudson; and October 1st, the same year, regular trains began to run. May 16, 1883, the cars stopped running, and commenced again Sept. 28, 1885, under the manage- ment of the Boston & Lowell Railroad. Recently the road was leased to the Boston & Maine Railroad corporation. The Junction Station is a fine one, and the town is now provided with excellent railroad facilities.

THE CIVIL WAR .- In the Civil War Sudbury was fully abreast of the average New England town in its promptness and zeal. The first war-meeting was a citizens' mass-meeting held in the Town Hall. The people did not wait for the slow call of a warrant. They assembled spontaneously to consult as to what was required of them, with fuil confidence that in a town-meeting to be subsequently called their acts would be ratified aud made legal. This meeting was characterized by unanimity and enthusiasm. The spirit of the heroes of '75, when they were assembled on Sudbury Common, with arms in their hands as militia and minute-men, to start on their march to Concord, was evinced on this April evening nearly a century Jater, when the citizens of Sudbury were again met to defend their homes and native land.

The principal business of this meeting related to the fitting out of the "Wadsworth Rifle Guards." This was a company of State Militia which belonged to Sudbury, and was attached to the Second Battal- lion of Rifles, which was commanded by Major Eph- raim Moore, of Sudbury, until his death, which oc- curred some years previous. The following record of a legal town-meeting, held April 29, 1861, sets forth the business that was transacted at the mass-meeting, and its ratification by the town :

"The town voted to furnish new uniforms for the members of the Wadsworth Rifle Guards, Company B, Second Battallion of Rifles, M. V. M., forthwith ; also to furnish each member of said company with a revolver, in case said company is called into the ser- vice of the country, the revolvers to be returned to the selectmen of the town when the holders of them shall return home and be discharged from the service ; also the uniforms to be returned to the town if the members of the company are not held in service more than three months. Voted also to pay to each mem- ber of said company, in case they are called into ser- vice, a sum of money in addition to their pay re- ceived from the government, which shall make the whole amount of their pay twenty dollars per month while they are in such service, and that ten dollars of the above sum be paid to each member whenever he shall enter such service. Voted also that the families of those who may leave shall be furnished with all necessary assistance at the expense of the town, and the business of those who may leave it shall be prop- erly cared for by the town, and not allowed to suffer by their absence." "Voted, also, that each commis- sioned officer of the company belonging in town be presented with a suitable sword at the expense of the town, and that the other commissioned officers not belonging in town be furnished with the same, if they are not otherwise provided for." "Voted to grant the sum of one thousand dollars," for the purposes above mentioned.

The amount of money actually expended in fitting out this company was $987. About the time of the holding of the first war-meeting there were enlist-

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

ments into the Sudbury company, with the expecta- tion of soon being called into the service for three months, and the company for a time continued to drill. No call, however, came for this term of ser- vice. The emergency had been met, Washington for the time was safe, and it was at length discovered that the company as such would not be received into any existing regiment for the term of three months. The next demand was for soldiers to serve for three years or the war, and the " Wadsworth Rific Guards " were soon ordered to Fort Independence that they might enlist in the Thirteenthi Regiment for this length of time. Twenty-five of them enlisted, and July 30th the regiment left the State. This was the largest number of Sudbury men who enlisted at any one time, and they have the honor of being the first Sudbury soldiers who enlisted from the town.1

From the time of the first enlistments there were repeated calls for troops. "Three hundred thousand more " became a familiar term, and at each new call the town took measures to fill its quota. July 4, 1862, the President issued a call for volunteers for three years, and July 28th the town " voted to pay a bounty of one hundred and twenty-five dollars to each volunteer who has enlisted or may enlist into the ser- vice of the U. S. .. . to the number of fourteen." Also, "Voted to instruct the selectmen to look after and provide for any sick or wounded volunteer be- longing to the Town of Sudbury." In August of the same year a call came for soldiers for nine months' service ; and Aug. 19, 1862, the town "voted to pay the sum of one hundred dollars to each person who voluntarily enlists into the service of the United States for the term of nine months, on or before the first day of September next, to a number not exceed- ing the quota of their town."

Dec. 17, 1862, the town voted to fill up their quota by paying one hundred and forty dollars bounty. December 22d the committee reported at a town- meeting held in the evening, "that they had pro- cured sixteen men to fill up the town's quota for the military service of the United States, that said men had been accepted and sworn into the said service, and had been properly accredited to the town of Sudbury, and that said committee paid the sum of one hundred and thirty dollars for each man."

Oct. 17, 1863, the President issued another call for three hundred thousand men, and December 7th the town "voted to authorize the selectmen to use all proper and legal measures to fili up the town's quota of volunteers, agreeable to the call of the President of the United States for three hundred thousand volun- teers, dated Oct. 17, 1863."

March 14, 1864, the President issued a call for two hundred thousand men, and March 22d the town ap- pointed a committee "to take all proper and legal

measures to fill the quota of the town" under this call. June 9th the town voted to " raise money suffi- cient to pay one hundred and twenty-five dollars to each volunteer who shall cnlist into the service of the United States and be duly accredited as a part of the quota of the Town of Sudbury in anticipation of a call from the President to recruit the armics now in the field, and that the selectmen be required to use all proper measures to procure said volunteers." It was voted also "that the selectmen be authorized to pro- cure not less than seventeen men." At the same meeting "the committee appointed by the town at a meeting held March 22, 1864, to take all proper and legal measures to fill the quota of the town under the call of the President of the United States for two hundred thousand men, dated March 14, 1864, re- ported that the town's quota was ten men ; that there had been seven men accredited to the town by volun- teer enlistment at an expense of nine hundred and ten dollars, and that the remaining three were . drafted and accepted."

Nov. 8, 1864, it was "voted to grant the free use of the Town Hall for the Soldiers' Aid Society." This was an organization formed in the war period for the purpose of assisting the soldiers. May 29, 1865, it was "voted to refund all money contributed by individuals to fill the quotas of the town of Sud- bury in the year 1864."

LIST OF CASUALTIES .- The fatal casualties that oc- curred to persons who were accredited to or natives of Sudbury, as we have found them recorded in the town-book or the adjutant-general's printed report, are as follows :

Killed or mortally wounded in battle .- Horace Sanderson, John For- syth, Edwin S. Parmenter.

Died in service of disease or hardship incident to army life .- John P. Hud- son, Curtis Smith, George T. Dickey, Abel H. Dakin, Thomas Corcoran, Hartson D. Sinclair, Thomas Smith, Cyrus E. Barker.

SUMMARY OF SERVICE .- According to Schouler, in his " History of Massachusetts in the Civil War," Sudbury furnished 168 men, which was eleven over and above all demands. He states that " four were commissioned officers. The whole amount of money appropriated and expended by the town on account of the war, exclusive of State aid, was $17,575. The amount of money raised and expended by the town during the war for State aid to soldiers' families, and repaid by the Commonwealth, was $6,199.18."

"The population of Sudbury in 1860 was 1691; the valuation, $1,043,091. The population in 1865 was 1703; the valuation, $1,052,778. The selectmen in 1861 and 1862 were James Moore, John H. Dakin, George Parmenter; in 1863, A. B. Jones, George Goodnow, H. H. Goodnough; in 1864 and 1865, Thomas P. Hurlbut, Charles Hunt, Walter Rogers. The town clerk during all the years of the war was J. S. Hunt. The town treasurer during the years 1861, 1862 and 1863 was Edwin Harringtou; iu 1864 and 1865, S. A. Jones.

1A sketch of Sudbury soldiers, and of tho regiments in which they enlisted is given in Hudson's " History of Sudbury."

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SUDBURY.

Shortly after the war Sudbury's rank among the towns of the county in population was the thirty- ninth. In 1776 it was the only town in Middlesex County having a population of 2000.

BI-CENTENNIAL .- April 18, 1876, the town cele- brated what was supposed to be the two hundredth anniversary of Wadsworth's Fight at Green Hill. At early dawn a salute was fired, and a procession of " Antiques and Horribles " paraded, making a trip to South Sudbury. Later in the day a procession of the citizens, including the school children, was formed and marched to Wadsworth Monument, which was deco- rated with the national colors. Services were held at the Unitarian Church. The oration was delivered by Professor Edward A. Young, of Harvard College.

THE GEORGE GOODNOW BEQUEST .- In November, 1884, it was voted to "accept of a donation of Ten Thousand Dollars offered the Town of Sudbury, by George Goodnow, of Boston, for the purpose of es- tablishing a fund, the income of which he desires to be used by the selectmen of said Town for the time being, to assist such citizens of the Town who are not, at the time of receiving the assistance, paupers, but who may for any cause be in need of temporary or private assistance. By motion of Rev. George A. Oviatt, the town voted that, " we do now as a town by vote express our hearty thanks to the donor of this generons Fund, assuring him of our apprecia- tion of his love of his native town, and equally of his noble desire to render aid to the needy therein. And may his sunset of life be bright to the last, and ter- minate in the day of endless light and blessedness."

March, 1885, a committee consisting of Capt. James Moore, Jonas S. Hunt, Esq., and Horatio Hunt was appointed "to confer with Rev. A. S. Hudson in re- gard to a publication of the History of Sudbury." April 6th, of the same year, the committee reported to the town the result of their interview. This was in part that the work be devoted to the annals of the town, but not any part of it to genealogy as it is usu- ally inserted in books of this kind.

April 2, 1888, the town "voted to publish not less than 750 copies of the History as written and com- piled by Rev. A. S. Hudson, and to pay him $1500 for his services in writing and superintending the publication of the work ; and that the Trustees of the Goodnow Library be a committee associated with him to have charge of the publication of the work." The town also voted at the same meeting $1500 for the publication.

ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION .- At a meeting held November, 1888, the town voted to petition the Legislature for permis- sion to grant money to be expended in the observ- ance of the 250th Anniversary of the Incorporation of Sudbury. Permission having been obtained, at a subsequent meeting the sum of $300 was appropriated, and a committee was appointed to make and carry out such arrangements as would be appropriate to

the proposed celebration. The committee consisted of Jonas S. Hunt, Rufus H. Hurlbut and Edwin A. Powers, who were to co-operate with a committee from Wayland, and the joint committee were to act for the two towns.

The joint committee met at Sudbury and organ- ized with J. S. Hunt for chairman, and R. T. Lom- bard, Esq., of Wayland for secretary. The following outline of a plau was proposed, and left open, subject to change if deemed expedient before the day arrived.

1. A gathering of the children of the two towns at Wayland on the morning of September 4th, when entertainment and a collation would be furnished.

2. A returu by railroad at noon to South Sudbury, when a procession will form and march to Sudbury. Centre.

3. Dinner in the Town Hall.

4. Speaking from a platforn on the Common, if the day is fair, and if not, iu the Unitarian Church.

5. Fireworks and music in both towns, with ring- ing of bells morning and night.

It was voted to extend an invitation to Hon. Homer Rogers, of Boston, to act as president of the day; to Richard T. Lombard, Esq., of Wayland, to serve as chief marshal, and to Rev. Alfred S. Hudson, of Ayer, to deliver the oration.

Ample opportunity was to be provided for addresses by speakers from abroad, who are expected to be present and assist at the celebration.

The programme as thus outlined was carried out. A large company gathered in the morning at Wayland, where the school children listened to addresses in the Town Hall by Rev. Robert Gordon and Williamlı Baldwin, Esq. A collation was then served to the children, after which a part of the large company went to South Sudbury, at which place a procession was formed which moved about one o'clock to Sud- bury Centre. The following is a description of the exercises at Sudbury as given in a report by a Boston daily newspaper dated September 5, 1889 :

The procession from South Sudbury to Sudbury Centre was quite an imposing one ; in fact, the occa- sion quite outgrew the expectation of its originators. The houses all along the way and through the town generally were profusely decorated.

" R. T. Lomhard, chief marshal ; E. H. Atwood and A. D. Rogers, aids. Drum Major, Cyrus Roak.

Fitchburg brass band, 23 pieces J. A. Patz leader Detachment of the Grand Army Post, under E. A. Carter.

Boody Ilook and Ladder Company of Cochituate, L. Dumphy com- manding.

J. M. Bent Hose Company of Cochitnate, D. W. Mitchell commanding. Capt. D. W. Ricker, with 45 mounted men.

Mounted Pequot Indians from Wayland, "Spotted Thunder" command- .

ing.

Carriages containing invited guests, Hon. G. A. Marden, State Treas- urer ; Hon. Homer Rogers, President Boston Board of Aldermen and president of the day.

Ex-Gov. George S. Boutwell.

Rev. Alfred F. S. Hudson, historian of the town.

Hon. C. F. Gerry, Edward B. McIntyre, Hon. Levi Wallace, Judge

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

North, Middlesex District Court, Hon. E. Dana Bancroft, Hon James T. Joslin of lludson, Rev. Brooke Herford.

Wadsworth Guards. Thirty carriages containing citizens and guests."

Arriving at Sudbury, a half an hour was given for rest, the Unitarian Church being decorated very handsomely and turned over to the people as a rest- ing and fraternizing spot.

The dinner was gotten up by Elgin R. James, of Waltham, who expected to feed about 500 people, but found 600 hungry ones demanding admission. The dinner was first-class in every respect, and after doing justice to it the party repaired to the green in front of the Town Hall, upon which seats had been ar- ranged and a very tasty stage erected, covered with bunting and surmounted by banners and glory flags and bearing the inscription " 1639 Quarter Millennial 1889."

On the desk was the original Bible presented to the First Church and printed at Edinburgh by James Watson, printer to the King's most excellent majesty, in the year MDCCXXII.

After inusic by the band, Rev. D. W. Richardson, ot Sudbury, invoked divine blessing.

. Jonas S. Hunt, chairman of the Executive Com- mittee, welcomed fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, not forgetting " cousins and aunts," and took great pleasure in introducing a Sudbury boy as president of the day-Hon. Homer Rogers, of Boston.

After some very appropriate remarks, Mr. Rogers introduced the orator of the day, Rev. A. S. Hudson. Following the oration a poem was read by a young lady, which was written for the occasion by James Sumner Draper, of Wayland. Short addresses fol- lowed by George A Marden, of Lowell, the State Treasurer, who spoke for the United States and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Hon. William N. Davenport, of Marlboro'; James T. Joslin, of Hud- son ; Ex-Governor George S. Boutwell ; Rev. Edward J. Young, formerly a professor at Harvard College, who spoke for the clergy of 1639; Rev. Brooke Her- ford, of Boston, who spoke for "Old England," and W. H. Baldwin, who spoke for Wayland. The day closed with a concert on the Common by the Maynard Brass Band, and fireworks in the evening.

BURYING-GROUNDS .- Sudbury has at present five cemeteries within its limits-one at South Sudbury, one at North Sudbury, and three at the centre. The oldest one is at the centre. It is situated in the north- easterly part of the village, along the Concord Road, 'east of the Methodist Church. In this old graveyard for more than a century and a half what was mortal

of many of the west side inhabitants was laid. Here are the names of Haynes, Hunt, Parmenter, Goode- now, Browne, Moore, Howe, Bent, Rice, Richardson, Willis, Wheeler, Jones, Puffer, Hayden, Walker and a host of others long familiar in Sudbury. Unlike some other old graveyards, the stones here are numer- ous ; but though many, they do not mark all the

graves, which nearly cover the entire space of that " thickly-peopled ground." The enclosure is encom- passed by a substantial stone wall, which within a few years has been well repaired. The place has but little shrubbery and few trecs. Just beyond the road was the pound, near by or on the site of which the licarse-house now stands. Within the past few years this yard has been but little used. Now and then the ground has been broken as the fragment of some ancient family has found its resting-place among a group of old graves ; but these instances are fewer and farther between as time passes by, and it will probably soon cease to be used for new burials, but remain with unbroken turf until the morning of the resurrection. It is a place of sacred association, and as such has been regarded by the town's people; es- pecially was it much visited by them during the inter- mission between the Sabbath services, when two ser- mons were preached in one day. Then they visited this quiet spot, read epitaphs, talked of the past, and derived, it may be, such lessons from the suggestive scenes as were a moral and spiritual help. Along the northerly side of the yard is the Sudbury and Con- cord highway ; and ranged beside this are family tombs. One of these is that of Mr. John Goodnow, the donor of the Goodnow Library. Upon others are names of old Sudbury families. Within the yard is only one tomb and that is underground and about westerly of the Plympton monument, and surmounted with a small brick-work upon which lies a slate stone, with these words :

HOPESTILL BROWN, ESQ., TOMBE, 1731.

This tomb contains the remains of descendants of Dea. William Brown, an early grantee, who once re- sided near Nobscot. The tomb was years ago nearly full, the last burial being about 1852. This burying- ground contains several marble monuments of some considerable size. The first one was erected in 1835, and is commemorative of the Plympton famity.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 96

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