USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Needham > History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911 : including West Needham, now the town of Wellesley, to its separation from Needham in 1881, with some reference to its affairs to 1911 > Part 34
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Wellesley > History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911 : including West Needham, now the town of Wellesley, to its separation from Needham in 1881, with some reference to its affairs to 1911 > Part 34
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Colonels: - William McIntosh, First Suffolk, 1776- , Warren Dewing 1825-7, Josiah N. Bird 1833, then living in Dedham, but while adjutant, 1830-I, he had been of Needham, William B. Parker 1835, Joshua Brown Lyon 1838. All but Colonel McIntosh were of the First Regi- ment, which name superseded that of First Suffolk when Norfolk County was created in 1793.
Lieutenant-Colonels: - Silas Alden 1788, Jonathan Kings- bury 1795-9, Moses Mann 1800-3, Chester Adams, 1819- .
Majors :- Moses Bullard 1782-6, Jonathan Day 1794, Ebenezer McIntosh 1803, '04, Joseph Warren Lyon 1828-31.
For many years there were two companies of militia in town, the East and the West. .
Captains, with the approximate dates when commis- sioned: - John Bacon 1780, West, Isaac Goodenow 1782, West, Ephraim Bullard 1796, or earlier, West, John Clap 1796, Daniel Ware 1796, regimental adjutant, John Tolman 1801, East, Nathan Dewing 1801, West, Michael Harris, Jr., 1803, East, Abel Stevens 1806, West, George Smith 1807, West, Jonathan Fuller 1811, West, Timothy Bullard 1813, West, Elisha Lyon 1814, East, - Lewis 1818, East, Ebenezer Fuller 1820, West, Reuben Ware 1821, Calvin Gay 1823, Hollis Mann 1824, East, Timothy Newell Smith
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
1825, East,1 Nathan White 1828, aid-de-camp, Abijah Greenwood 1829, East, William Pierce, Franklin Stevens 1831, West, Reuel Ware.
Lieutenants: - William Fuller 1777, Josiah Upham 1778, Enoch Kingsbery 1780, Timothy Kingsbery 1780, Jona- than Gay 1782, Jonathan Smith 1789, Lemuel Mills 1797, George Bird 1798, Ephraim Ware 1801, Moses Garfield 1804, Fisher Mills 1805, William Fuller 1814, Jonathan Newell 1816, Samuel Alden 1816, Lemuel Kingsbury 1823.
The swords of Lieut. Oliver Mills and Lieut. Jonathan Gay were on exhibition in 1911.
Ensigns: - Michael Harris, Sr., Asa Cheney 1818. Ap- parently all of the foregoing were officers of the First Suffolk Regiment, or First Regiment of Infantry, of the Second Brigade of the First Division.
First Lieutenant and Paymaster of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company :- The Honorable Emery Grover, joined the company in 1885, was elected first ser- geant of artillery in 1888, lieutenant in 1890, and has been the treasurer since 1893.
Charles Seaver Courtenay was the commander of the British Military and Naval Veterans of Massachusetts from 1903 to 1905, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and acted as brigadier-general on the "British Sunday", during the visit to Boston of the Honorable Artillery Com- pany of London in 1903, when various organizations were under his command. He was also prominent when the 43d Regiment, Duke of Cornwall's, came from the Dominion of Canada to Boston in 1905. There were other occasions on which Colonel Courtenay represented his command. In 1909 he was commander of the Imperial and Colonial Veterans. He became an officer of the 7th Royal Fusiliers early in 1855, and served nearly two years in the Crimea
1 Captain Smith commanded the East Company at the laying of the corner stone of Bunker Hill Monument in 1825; his handsome sword, scabbard and sash were conspicuous in the Historical Exhibit during the Bicentennial celebration.
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
with this regiment. After six months at Aldershot they were ordered to India, and were there for three years, 1857-9. Soon after the completion of his service in India, Mr. Courtenay resigned his commission, after six years in the same regiment, and landed in Canada on the day that Fort Sumter was first fired upon. Needham is indebted to him for the circle, or little park, near the railroad station. He con- structed it under adverse conditions, and for many years the citizens have annually raised money to adorn it with beautiful flowers. Colonel Courtenay died in Needham August 19, 1909, in his seventy-fourth year, and had one of the few mili- tary funerals that the town has witnessed in modern times.
Cavalry: -
Captains: - Josiah Newell 1788, Josiah Newell 1810, Artemas Newell 1811, '12, Jonathan Gay 1817, Curtis MeIntosh 1825 '26, David Franklin Henderson March 2, 1887-February 21, 1891.
For a portrait and sketch of Captain Henderson see "Regiments and Armories of Massachusetts", published in 1899 or in 1900.
Cornet :- Joseph Mudge, Jr., 1792.
With the exception of Captain Henderson, who com- manded the Roxbury Horse Guards, all of the cavalry officers from Needham were of the uniformed company, which included residents of Dedham, Needham, Dover and Medfield. Until the Norfolk Rifle Rangers were organized this company of cavalry was the only uniformed company that had been connected with Needham. Cornet Timothy Kingsbery appears to have been the solitary cavalry officer resident in Needham in the days of the Province.
MILITIA ITEMS FROM THE SELECTMEN'S ORDERS
In 1801 $16 were granted "to pay Eight Soldiers of the Company of Cavelry belonging to Needham that did Military duty at Walpole" on September 30 and October I, 1800. Capt. Ephraim Bullard, of the West company,
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
had had thirty-four officers and soldiers at the muster, and Captain MeIntosh, of the East company, fifty-three. All of the men were paid $2 each by the town. The next year the East company went to Walpole with fifty-six men and the cavalry included eleven from Needham.
In 1800 Captains MeIntosh and Dewing required nearly thirty pounds of powder for the parade at Dover, and for years the militia companies used from two to four quarter casks of powder annually. In addition to the powder, which cost fully fifty cents per pound, sometimes sixty cents, the town from time to time purchased a hundred weight of balls and five hundred flints. Beginning about 1810 the town paid, on the average, $5 per year to individuals who made cartridges for the two companies, and the East com- pany alone disposed of eight hundred cartridges one fall, at which season there was the brigade muster. Paper for these cartridges was another item, and such expenses con- tinued as long as the old militia law was in force. The powder was often bought of French and Everett, knapsacks in 1822 of William H. Brown, and the "equipments", "Camp Kittles", which latter cost considerable, were ob- tained from different Boston firms. In 1814 a "Chest for the powder house" was purchased, and in 1824 forty belts for Capt. Hollis Mann's company cost $20.
In 1820 the town voted to furnish each officer and soldier with twenty-four cartridges which were to be kept at the powder-house. In 1831 the town dismissed article seven, which was "to see if the town will vote to abate the poll taxes of those persons who uniformed themfelves and did mili- tary duty in the Company Commanded by Cap Franklin Stevens of said town, agreeable to the law of this Common- wealth, passed on the 12th day of March 1830", but the next year voted "that Soldiers who have Complyed with the law to intitle them to a remittance of a poll tax, should be benefit by it, whether the return from their Commanding officers was legal or not".
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
The Norfolk Rifle Rangers were provided with ammu- nition, and paid $2 each for services at the annual brigade muster.
THE NORFOLK RIFLE RANGERS
As this is the only uniformed military organization that Needham has ever had,1 and as it was one of the "crack" militia companies of the State, it seems proper to give a somewhat detailed account of it. Fortunately its records are complete, and one of its officers, Lieut. Enos H. Tucker, an ideal assistant in investigating local history, lived to the close of 1907.
Early in 1832 William B. Parker, who was much inter- ested in military matters, and forty-eight other young men petitioned the Governor and Council for authority to form "an independent corps of Rifle-men by the name of the Norfolk Rifle Rangers to be attached to the first Regiment second Brigade first Division". They stated that there was then but one military company in Needham, the other having been disbanded. The petition went through the usual course and was granted, and they were ordered to meet at Estes Kimball's tavern in West Needham on April 26, on which occasion they chose William B. Parker captain, Paul Dewing first lieutenant, John Welles Lyon ensign; there were also five sergeants and seven corporals. Ben- jamin W. Parker was clerk, Otis Jennings treasurer, Henry Starr surgeon; of the various committees was that on "Musick," which consisted of Samuel McIntosh and Eben Flagg.
On the first Tuesday in May the Company met at My- rick's Hotel. Captain Parker and four others were requested to purchase "Rifles and Uniforms": "each member should have a priveledge of owning and keeping his Rifle". It
1 It is true that the cavalry company that flourished in the years following the Revolution had a uniform, but it included men from Dedham and Dover, and perhaps other towns, although Needham had a large representation.
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
was also voted that "Belts be of black patent leather", "barrells of the Rifles stamped", "black plume sixteen inches high", "brafs in centre of the caps, and the cord to be all gilt, the same braid on the top as on the coat", "cuffs of the coat be the same as the City Gaurds", "pantaloons be the same as the pattern only fuller in front", "stocks be black bombazeen ", "that the buttons of the company have N R R and, 'On Hand' inserted on them, likewise that the pantaloons have a leaf on the front", "drills shall be with guns or rifles until further orders", "music shall have red coats white pantaloons and leather caps". A committee of three was chosen to "inspect and prove the Rifles".
It was their intention to make their first public appearance on the 4th of July, but the uniforms were not ready, and it had to be deferred to September 13th. There were several meetings during the summer, subscriptions were asked for, fines were imposed for absence from drill, or coming late, and one man was discharged for slandering the corps. On August II they had accepted the "knapsacks according to the pattern", "the thirteen inch black plume", and voted that the "pantaloons shall be plain". On the 25th they voted "that Capt. Parker be authorized to provide as good a dinner as the season can afford when we shall first appear in uniform". On September 13, 1832, the Rangers met at 8 A.M. with "Knapsacks canteens and all other military equipments complete", and marched to the Lower Falls, where they "partook of a colation served up by Peter Lyon, and then March'd to the Uper Falls and partook of another served up by Owen Colburn, then Marched to Estes Kimballs and partook of a dinner served up by E Kimball and Furnised by some of our Townsmen". On Wednesday, October 3, they went to muster for the first time. The company met at Myrick's Tavern at 8 o'clock in the morning, paraded about town, and then marched to Dedham where they arrived at noon, and had dinner at Alden's Hotel. After the dinner they proceeded to Walpole,
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
a usual place for brigade musters, and "at the edge of the Town was met by the Walpole Light Infantry and escorted by them to our encamping ground where we piched our Tents for the night".1
In April, 1833, the Rangers voted "To send the rifles, to Mr Pratt of Roxbury to be stained". During the early years of this company there were many drills, and parades with collations. They took especial pride in their music, to obtain which they assessed themselves a dollar, or more, per member on every important occasion. Their refresh- ments, which usually cost from seventy-five cents to one dollar per man for a day, were supplied for the muster in September, 1833, by Artemas Newell, but often by the tav- ern-keepers. They met impartially at Myrick's and Hoogs's Taverns and at Slack's Hotel.2 At the muster in 1833 they reported at Harvey Clapp's Hotel in Walpole at 5.30 A.M. On September 15, 1833, they had celebrated their second anniversary with a parade, and banquet at Myrick's Tavern; salutes were fired, presumably with some of the powder that the town occasionally granted them. Ordinarily their music consisted of a drum, fife and two bugles, but at muster they had a small band. At the muster on October 7, 1835, when the Rangers rendezvoused at Henderson's in Medway at 6 o'clock A.M., the music committee, Samuel MeIntosh and Artemas Newell, provided a band of eight pieces, and it cost the members $5.44 each for music, etc. At this muster "the Company volunteered with the remainder of the Battalion to Skirmish with the Indians" under the command of Colonel Holbrook.
1 Lieutenant Tucker related that on the occasion of one of the musters at Wal- pole, Robert Smith arrived at Dedham very lame in consequence of wearing new boots, and when the time came to resume the march to Walpole, Mr. Smith was advised to pour a pint of rum into his boots. He had just begun to do this when the captain commanded the men to "fall in", and in his haste Smith poured the entire pint into one boot; as the result he reached muster with one foot in good condition, but with the other in a state that rendered him unfit for service.
2 In 1835 Moses Crafts succeeded John W. Slack as the proprietor of the hotel lately known as the Elmwood Park Hotel, and for a time called it "Crafts Inn ". Mr. Blanchard kept this hotel in 1838, and Colonel Shepard in 1840.
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
The annual muster occurred early in October, and the Rangers usually left Needham the day before. On Sep- tember 19, 1843, with eight pieces of music, they marched to the railroad station, Grantville, "and rode to Boston in the cars." "From the Boston Depot, marched to the Common, were inspected and reviewed and performed the regular duties of the day. Partook of dinner at the Western Rail- road House at 75 cents per man". They returned to Need- ham in the cars, and marched to the armory, which the town allowed them in the town building, and broke ranks after "A vote of thanks, was passed to the Musicians for the hon- ourable and Satisfactory manner with which they performed their duty". On May 29, 1844, they voted "To have the company training two days in succefsion and go on an excur- sion", which resulted in a target shooting match on Sep- tember 17, which was won by Samuel Pratt. The target was presented by Lieut. Charles E. Alden, who also gave a pencil as a prize for the "best three shots". On the 18th they were refreshed at the Upper Falls by Lieutenant Randall and A. H. Small, and then marched to West Newton, and dined in the "Newton Railroad House" for fifty cents each. They went back to Needham in the cars. They had five pieces of music from Newton Upper Falls, and Messrs. Bartlett and Cutting of the Brigade Band. On the 24th they started from their armory at 5 A.M., and took the cars for Boston, where they "Formed in Brigade line and performed the usual duties Partook of dinner at Pantheon Hall at 75 cents per man". On this occasion they had five pieces of music from the Upper Falls and two from Fitchburg.
On October 19, 1843, a "celebration of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis" was held near the junction of Washington Street and Oakland Street in West Needham. Brig .- Gen. Charles Rice personated Lord Cornwallis and Col. Warren Dewing was General Washington. The armies were great numbers of men and boys from Needham and the neighbor- ing towns, with a few militia companies, including one
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
from Waltham. Capt. Timothy Newell Smith of the Rangers declined to participate, and First Lieut. Charles E. Alden was on the staff of one of the commanders as quarter- master, consequently the command of the Rangers devolved upon Second Lieut. Enos H. Tucker. Col. Richard M. Johnson, Vice-President of the United States, 1837-41, was a spectator, as were Henry Wilson and Nathaniel P. Banks.
On September 14, 1840, the company had voted to accept "of Muskets untill we can obtain Rifles from the State and to wear white Pants while we use the muskets", and also to get gray fatigue caps. The next July the Rangers voted to "have the State arms on the caps instead of the eagles". There were fines for defective equipment, such as "priming Wires and Brushes", as well as for coming late to drills, which were usually in the daytime. At times some members furnished substitutes. Charles A. Hines, a member of the company, had charge of the armory. On May 25, 1841, a committee of three, including Enos H. Tucker, Jr., who had joined on May 17, 1840, was appointed "to see if the Select Men will provide 20 Balls and a quarter of a pound powder for each member to be kept at the Armory"; they reported success on September 6th. At the May meeting the Rangers had also voted "to have the Plumes shortened to ten inches before next meeting". At the meeting on July 2, 1841, their new "pants" were to cost $3.50 per pair, and a committee was to get "pompoons for Company". Lieutenant Randall had presented them with a sign for their armory. In 1843 they wisely took measures to secure the uniforms of those who left the company. Dippers were a part of the equipment. After flourishing for more than ten years the interest in the company declined, and on May 6, 1845, the clerk was directed "to return Rifles and Equip- ments which belong to the State to the Arsenal: for which service he shall receive the balance of funds now in his hands". The volume of records of the Rangers, in the custody of the town clerk of Needham, contains the lengthy
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
constitution with a preamble and twenty-six articles. There were amendments in 1842, and the pages bear the signatures of seventy members of the company, including many famil- iar names :- Matthias Mills, Galen Orr, George E. Eaton, Elisha Hiram Lyon, Augustus Fuller, George L. Kingsbury.
At the election of officers of the Rangers it was the custom for a major to preside, and sometimes Maj. Paul Dewing, their former captain, was the officer selected.
The successors of the original officers were:
Captains :- Paul Dewing August 17, 1833, vice Capt. Parker become lieutenant-colonel, John J. Gorham April 12, 1836, vice Capt. Dewing elected major, (Capt. Gorham was chosen orderly sergeant when the company was organized), Russell Smith May 3, 1839, he had then commanded for some months, and it is probable that Capt. Gorham, who is described as a "tall, dark man", had removed from town, Thomas Orr September 20, 1841, who had then commanded for some months, Timothy Newell Smith May 31, 1843.
First Lieutenants : - John W. Lyon August 17, 1833, Russell Smith September 21, 1836, William Gay May 3, 1839, Thomas Orr May 26, 1840, Timothy Newell Smith September 20, 1841, Charles E. Alden May 31, 1843.
Ensigns: - John J. Gorham August 17, 1833, William Gay April 12, 1836, Thomas Orr May 3, 1839.
At the election on May 26, 1840, no ensign was chosen, but both a second and a third lieutenant.
Second Lieutenants: - Timothy Newell Smith May 26, 1840, who joined the company the same day, Charles E. Alden September 20, 1841, Enos H. Tucker, Jr., May 31, 1843.
Third Lieutenants: - Charles E. Alden May 26, 1840, Enos H. Tucker, Jr., September 20, 1841, Benjamin F. Randall May 31, 1843.
Clerks :- John J. Gorham April 6, 1833, Lauren Kings- bury August 17, 1833, Enos H. Tucker, Jr., September 3, 1840, Enoch Brown Winch September 20, 1841, Charles T. Tucker May 31, 1843.
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The Talar of the American Revolution
Prior to the Convention at Dedham in September, 1774, there is nothing in our records to indicate the approaching storm, except a vote of the town on December 22, 1773, not "to join with the Committee of Correfpondence of the Town of Bofton; Relating to the Importation of Tea". On March 23, 1775, however, the town voted that the collec- tors of the Province taxes should thereafter pay them to Henry Gardner, Esq., who had been appointed by the Pro- vincial Congress, and not to the Honorable Harrison Gray, the agent of the Crown.
The names of the delegates from Needham to the Pro- vincial Congresses, and to the various Conventions, are given elsewhere in this history.
On May 29, 1775, Capt. Robert Smith was chosen a Com- mittee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety. The names of his successors, with the dates when they were chosen, are: - John Slack, Michael Metcalf and William Smith, on March II, 1776, William Smith, Lieut. Ebenezer Fuller and Joseph Daniell, Jr., on March 10, 1777, Josiah Eaton, Henry Dewing and Ebenezer Newell on March 9, 1778, and re-elected on March II, 1779, Moses Man, Aaron Smith, Jr., and Eleazer Fuller on March 13, 1780, Crowner Nathaniel Fisher, Capt. Robert Smith and Capt. William Smith on April 5, 1781, who perhaps held over, as there is no record of the choice of such a committee in 1782, and John Slack, Robert Fuller, Jr., and Aaron Smith, Jr., on May 12, 1783. There is but little on record of the doings of these committees, although the opposition to the British rule largely centred in them.
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
LEXINGTON ALARM
On the morning of April 19, 1775, the news that the British were on their way to Concord was brought to Bul- lard's Tavern, and the alarm was given by Ephraim Bullard, the tavern-keeper, or by his son of the same name, who fired a gun on Bullard's Hill. The West Company of militia rendezvoused at this tavern, great fires were made in the house, and bullets were moulded, the women assist- ing. The West Company was the first from Needham to arrive at the scene of the conflict. In "The Leg" the alarm was sounded by the trumpet of Abel, or Nero, Benson, a negro. The news was received in East Needham about nine o'clock in the morning, from a messenger who rode through the town on his way to Dedham, and the militia company was drawn up in their minister's east driveway, as the ammunition was then kept in his house. The Rev. Mr. West addressed them earnestly, and gave his bless- ing. In the cellar of Mr. West's house, now the home of the writer, is a large brick chimney closet, which may have been the place where the military "Stores" were deposited. At Watertown the East Company stopped for refreshments, but reached West Cambridge in time to join in harassing the King's troops on their retreat.1
Seven Needham men were killed or wounded at West Cambridge: - Sergeant Elisha Mills, forty years of age, blacksmith, lived on what is now South Street, near Webster Street. The tradition is that he stepped out of a barn to fire at the enemy, and fell riddled with bullets. By the kindness of his neighbor, "Hawk" Aaron Smith, who
1 In my childhood I was often taken to call upon a very ancient blind lady, Miss Agnes Austin, who was born in Charlestown, and lived there for many years, and who delighted to tell her visitors that she saw the British troops under Earl Percy and Lieut .- Col. Smith on their return at the close of the memorable nineteenth of April, 1775. A considerable number of the soldiers had thrown away their red coats and much of their equipment. The first legacy that I ever received was under the will of this venerable lady, who was a distant connection of my family. - G. K. C.
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afterward married his widow, his body was brought to Needham in a cart, on the 20th, and buried in the old graveyard. The others who died that day were interred at West Cambridge.
Jonathan Parker, also of the East Company, was twenty- eight years old, and lived a short distance south of the present Pierce house on Charles River Street, but on the other side of the road, a wooden tablet marking the site. He literally left his plough in the field, west of his house, to answer the call of duty, was surprised at West Cam- bridge by a flank guard at a barn, and shot while attempt- ing to reach the woods. The Parker School, near his home, is named for him.
John Tolman of the East Company, while lying behind a wall with several others, was discovered by a flank guard. Those not disabled stood up, and Tolman twice tried to fire at the main column, but the powder flashed in the pan, although after his first failure he had cleared the vent with a pin from his shirt collar. He then found himself in a cross fire, and was struck between the shoulders by a bullet, which later was extracted from his breast, and is still preserved. After long suffering he recovered, and died in Fairhaven, Vt., in 1835, aged eighty-two years. He lived on the "Gay Farm" on Central Avenue. In 1906, or 1907, his remains and those of his wife were brought to Needham, and in- terred in the Tolman lot. A large white gravestone and a footstone came with the bones, and there is now an S. A. R. marker on his grave. His great-granddaughter, Mrs. Anna M. Tolman Pickford, bore the expense of the removal.
None of the West Company were seriously hurt, but of the Minute Men First Lieut. John Bacon, aged fifty-four years, was killed on a ledge of rock in Menotomy. He was with "Old Hawes," a former comrade in the French and Indian War, and Bacon had been lying behind a wall with his powder in his hat. Suddenly Hawes said, "Run or you are dead, here's the guard ", and as they attempted to get
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