History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 101

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 101

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In theology his views were more practical than theoretical in character. He never made any public profession of religion, but held decided opinions upon such matters. Prior to 1819-20 he, with his brother Harford, owned and occupied a pew in the church of the First Parish (afterwards Dr. Putnam's) at Rox- bury. When the building of the Universalist Church at Roxbury was projected, Mr. Morse at once took shares in the stock, and, later, bought two pews, and from the time of the completion and occupation of that building until his removal from Roxbury, he was a regular attendant at the services.

During his long life he was singularly free from the oft-recurring terms of sickness which so gener- ally afflict men, but, when a little past fifty years of age, he was stricken with paralysis, which, however, affected his limbs chiefly. He was soon able to walk again, but was ever after liable to fall over even a slight obstacle in his path. In the summer of 1846 another stroke of paralysis came upon him, after which he rarely attempted to walk, but he could read and converse, and enjoyed the calls of his friends until the end of the summer of 1848. On the first of Decem- ber of that year he passed away, at the age of seventy- eight years, seven months, and twenty-eight days, and his remains were deposited in the family tomb in what was called the " New Burial Ground," just off War-

While he was living at Roxbury, a movement was started at Sharon to establish a fund, the income of which was to be applied to extending the school ad- | ren Street, above Dudley Street, Roxbury.

I. H. Evert., Engraver, Philadelphia,

WELLESLEY TOWN HALL AND LIBRARY, WELLESLEY, MASS.

Hunnewell & Shaw, Architects.

477

WELLESLEY.

As before stated, Mr. Morse was twice married. The second wife survived him about five years.

His children were : Mary Holmes, Luther, Jr., and his twin, David Lewis, Ezra Dwight, Harvey, Leprelette, and Elizabeth Holmes, of whom Luther, Jr., and the last three survived their father.

Mary Holmes died Sept. 6, 1847 ; married Amos Cheney, of Cambridgeport, and had Mary Elizabeth (died early), Caroline Mason (now Mrs. A. S. Bunker, of Lawrence, Mass.), Artemas Fuller (Boston High- lands), and Amos Parker (South Natick, Mass.).

Luther, Jr., married Julia Stacy, of Belchertown, Mass., where he died, Oct. 28, 1850, without issue. His twin died at birth.

David Lewis married Meria1 Jordan, of Dorches- ter, and had Luther David, who died at six months ; Ammon Rodgers, now at Elmira, N. Y. Died at Sharon, Oct. 29, 1842.

Ezra Dwight died at Roxbury, Sept. 25, 1817, less than ten years of age.

Harvey died unmarried, at Sharon, Aug. 10, 1883.

Leprelette married Mrs. Eunice (Lowe) Nason ; and, second, Mrs. Matilda (Colburn) Clark ; and died without issue, July 7, 1882.

Elizabeth Holmes resides at Sharon, unmarried.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

WELLESLEY.

BY J. E. FISKE.

THE history of the town of Wellesley is necessarily brief, as the town was incorporated so late as April 6, 1881. It was until that time, from 1711, a part of the town of Needham, and previous to that time its territory was included within the limits of the town of Dedham.

From 1711 to 1774 there was but one parish in the town of Needham, but upon the continued growth of the westerly part of the town, and after a contest about the relocation of the meeting-house, which had been burned in 1773, it was finally voted to allow the people in the westerly part of the town to be free from further support of the church, " pro- vided they do proceed in building a meeting-house and maintain preaching among them."

Two hundred pounds were at once raised by sub-

scription, and a meeting-house was " builded," though not finished for several years, and preaching was " maintained," though a settled ministry was not established for more than twenty years. In 1778 the West Precinct was incorporated by act of General Court.

Freedom in religious matters did not, however, entirely satisfy the inhabitants of the westerly part of the town, as very early efforts were made to obtain separate political rights. A strenuous effort was made in 1801, another in 1820, and other later and well-remembered attempts have been made at short intervals. In 1880 an appeal was made, with almost absolute unanimity, by the inhabitants of the west side, now grown to be a large and wealthy com- munity, to the Legislature, and with so great force of reason and argument that the petition was granted, and the town was incorporated and named Wellesley.

Under the act of incorporation, Solomon Flagg, town clerk of Needham for thirty years, and a warm advocate of incorporation, called a meeting for the organization of the town, and the following officers were chosen (April 18, 1881) : Moderator, George K. Daniell; Town Clerk, Solomon Flagg; Town Treasurer, Albert Jennings; Selectmen and Over- seers of the Poor, Lyman K. Putney, Walter Hun- newell, John W. Shaw ; Assessors, George K. Daniell, Joseph H. Dewing, Dexter Kingsbury ; School Com- mittee, Joseph E. Fiske (for three years), Benjamin H. Sanborn (for two years), Marshall L. Perrin (for one year).

At a subsequent meeting (April 30th) appropria- tions were made for expenses, among others, eight thousand dollars for schools, three thousand five hun- dred dollars for highways and sidewalks, and it voted that no licenses to sell intoxicating liquors should be granted.

These town officers have been retained in the elec- tions which have followed, showing a very desirable harmony.

Under the act of incorporation, certain matters were left for adjustment and settlement between the parent town and Wellesley, which have all been satis- factorily arranged, except the provision with regard to the support of schools, which is now in the hands of a commission.

In the autumn of 1882 it was voted by the town to petition the Legislature to pass an act to allow the town to introduce water for domestic and other pur- poses, and a committee was chosen to examine into the matter of water-supply, and report to the town.

The Legislature passed the act asked for, and the committee, of which Judge George White was chair-

1 She always wrote her name thus spelled .- A. P. C.

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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

man, reported a plan to the town, advising pumping was a pioneer in the importation of blooded stock from England, giving attention especially to Durham stock in cattle, being in this and other kindred ways water from the borders of Charles River, near the northeasterly limit of the town, on or near land of Charles Rice, into a reservoir upon Maugus Hill, and | of great value to his neighbors. He is remembered thence distributing it substantially over the whole | by the older natives of Wellesley and Natick as a very town. This report was accepted and full effect given kindly neighbor, loaning them money in their needs, never pressing for payment nor charging them ex- orbitant interest, and encouraging them in the pur- chase of property, aiding them by his experience and means, having great resources in both. to it at a subsequent meeting (Dec. 22, 1883), at which meeting Albion R. Clapp was chosen water commissioner for three years, William S. Ware, for two years, and Walter Hunnewell, for one year. This brings the political history of the town to the present writing at the close of the year 1883.

He was a graduate of Harvard College of the class of 1782, and a clear writer in the field in which he was The name " Wellesley," pleasant from its euphony and agreeable from its association, is derived from the Welles family. most interested,-agriculture. He died at the advanced age of ninety-one, Sept. 21, 1855, surviving his wife and cousin eleven years. His son-in-law H. H. Hun- Samuel Welles, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. H. H. Hunnewell, bought the place at the corner of Washington Street and Pond road, then within the limits of Natick, possibly as soon as 1750. This place was occupied by him for many years as a farm and summer home. He owned much real-estate in the neighboring towns, and at one time the present town-farm of Wellesley. newell, now owning the Welles' place, the son of Dr. Walter Hunnewell, a good and respectable doctor of Watertown, a graduate of Harvard University, 1787, was born in 1810, and very early went to Paris to engage in business in the firm of Welles & Company, of which firm he became a member, remaining in Paris till 1839, when he returned to Massachusetts, making his summer residence at Wellesley, in the He was succeeded in ownership by his nephew John Welles, who married his eldest daughter Abi- gail, whose maternal grandfather was Chief Justice Pratt, of New York, a native of Norfolk County. John Welles was the lineal descendant of Thomas Welles (of royal English descent), who came over with Lord Say and Sele, as private secretary, in 1636, and was afterwards chosen one of the magistrates of the Colony of Connecticut, its treasurer, Deputy Governor, and finally Governor. " Morrill House," till 1852, when he erected his pres- ent house. His estate is so well known, and has been a prominent object of attraction in the town for so many years, especially with those who take an interest in horticultural matters, that any extended descrip- tion of it would seem unnecessary. It consists of over four hundred acres of land, of which some thirty acres about the Mansion House, with as many more connected with the cottages, are under a high state of cultivation, and have been laid out and Samuel Welles, a graduate of Yale College (1707), a descendant of Governor Welles, married Hannah Arnold, and removed to Boston, where his wife in- herited large property, in the vicinity of Boylston Market, and where the State-House stands. The two sons of Samuel (Samuel and Arnold) graduated from Harvard College in 1745 and 1744, and appear first in the Triennial Catalogue of the college, indi- cating their very high social position. planted by the proprietor with such success as to at- tract the notice and receive the commendation of visi- tors from every part of the country. There will be found in the plantations all the choice new trees and shrubs that have been introduced of late years, both native and foreign, which have been found on trial to stand the rigor of our New England climate, and the sinctum on the easterly side of the place contains a large and valuable collection of coniferæ from Cal- ifornia and Europe, some of which are of large size now and whose future growth will be watched with much interest by those interested in the introduction of ornamental trees into this part of the country for the improvement of private or public gardens. Much attention has been given to the cultivation of azaleas purely business pursuits he was interested in scientific | and rhododendrons, which have been grown most suc-

The son of Arnold, Hon. John Welles, of the house of J. and B. Welles, of Boston, and Welles & Company, of Paris, bankers, was well known on both continents as a successful and honest business man, holding in Boston many responsible positions in bank- ; ing, trust, and insurance organizations. Aside from his farming and stock-raising, and in general agriculture.

He was a member of the Massachusetts House of · Representatives and the Senate, and was one of the first presidents of the City Council of Boston. He

cessfully in great numbers for many years, and are a marked feature in the place, attracting the attention of visitors, especially in early summer, by their gor- geous flowers.

A.J. SeverINSc

L. H. Everts, Engraver, Philadelphia.

RESIDENCE OF H. H. HUNNEWELL, WELLESLEY, MASS.

L. H. Evert-, Engraver, Philadelphia.

TERRACE ON THE GROUNDS OF H. H. HUNNEWELL, WELLESLEY, MASS.

479

WELLESLEY.

One of the most novel and interesting features of the place is probably the Italian garden, a very fine view of which is obtained from the upper terrace as seen in the illustration we give. The mode of treat- ment here adopted in growing trees is rarely seen to any extent in this country, though often met with in Europe, and can only be successfully used when circumstances are favorable and appropriate for its in- troduction in the decoration of gardens or public parks. Trees formally trained and clipped do not harmonize with those growing naturally, and when they are mingled together on a lawn they most de- cidedly mar any attempt to enhance the beauty of the landscape, but when seen as planted in the Italian garden at Wellesley, in connection with the grand water view, some most striking and interesting effects are produced by this style of gardening. Standing on the upper terrace, seventy feet above the lake, the spectator looks down on a sharp sloping piece of ground, of over two acres, thrown into six terraces four hundred feet long, each reaching down to the water's edge and planted with a large number of evergreen trees pruned into a great variety of forms and deco- rated with vases, balustrade and parapet walls.

The garden was prepared in 1854, and the planting has been going on ever since, as trees of the required character cannot be procured at the nurseries, and their growth is necessarily very slow, being cut back once or twice every season to give them a compact and dense appearance ; but many of them have already attained a height of twenty to thirty feet, and are so high as to excite the interest and admiration of every visitor. The trees which have been used in this gar- den consist of white pines, Norway spruces, junipers, retinosporas, larches, hemlocks, and arbor-vitæs, and hedges of the two latter, one hundred and fifty feet long and ten to fifteen feet high, have not suffered in our coldest winters, though they have a northern exposure and the full force of our northwest winds over the lake. The labor in pruning is very great, stagings having to be constructed to reach the tops of the highest trees, and it must necessarily be largely increased when the next generation sees them double their present height.

The kindly generosity which has thrown open for so many years to an admiring and grateful people these beautiful gardens has shown itself in a more marked manner even in the gift to the town of a.beau- tiful park, library building stocked with books, and a town hall by an indenture, of which the striking points may be briefly given, in which Mr. Hunnewell expresses his desire to " promote the prosperity of the town of Wellesley and the welfare and happiness of |

its inhabitants, and at the same time to advance the cause of sound learning, education, and letters," and therefore conveys to the inhabitants of the town of Wellesley a parcel of land of ten acres for a park, with buildings erected or to be erected thereon, to be used as a town hall and a public library, with the conditions that the grounds may be entered upon and improved by Mr. Hunnewell and the Wellesley Free Library Corpo- ration, that the town shall keep in repair the buildings and the park in order, and that no additions or alter- ations shall be made without the consent of Mr. Hunnewell or the Wellesley Free Library after his death. There is a further provision that the inhabit- ants of the neighboring town of Needham may have access to the library under certain restrictions.

The library has been in operation through the year 1883; has now over seven thousand books on its shelves, and a list of eight hundred takers.

Mr. Hunnewell has also provided by his indenture a fund of twenty thousand dollars for the care of the grounds and library.

The town of Wellesley is rectangular in shape, though somewhat irregular, being about four and one- half miles in length and about two and one-quarter in width.

Its neighbors on the south are Needham and Dover, on the east the " Garden City," Newton, on the north Weston, and on the west Natick.

Charles River flows along its entire eastern boun- dary and for a short distance along its southwesterly limit.

The Boston and Albany Railroad runs through the town from east to west, with stations at Rice's Cross- ing, Wellesley Hills, Wellesley, and Lake Crossing, and at the terminus of the Newton Branch at the Lower Falls. The excellent service of this road, the cheap fares and quick transit, with promised improve- ments, combined with many natural attractions and advantages, make this a popular residential town for Boston business men and persons of literary tastes and refined leisure.

The town, and more particularly the village of Wellesley Hills, has a wide reputation for healthful- ness, owing in great measure to its elevation, combined with the dryness of its soil and freedom from all mala- rial and other unhealthful tendencies, and has been the resort for many years, by the advice of the best physicians, for persons afflicted with pulmonary com- plaints. The charm of the town of Wellesley consists in its refined rural atmosphere, its pleasant homes, its delightful drives and its beautiful landscape scenery, and no enlarged description of its enchanting outlooks, its elegant residences, its public buildings, its hills and

480

HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

vales, its calm waters and rugged ledges can be other- wise than futile and unsatisfactory. The main street, named for our first President, and noticed with favor by Washington when he made his tour, in 1789, as a " good road," affords a notable drive, much of the way arched with trees, passing through our three villages, rising first to a view of the valley of the Charles, which all admire and artists love, by churches of va- rious architecture and varied beliefs, with hills near and remote, crowned with villas of the wealthy, and woods stretching interminably apparently to the west and north, with Nonantum behind and Maugus by our side, to suggest to us romances of Indian life, and excite our sympathy for the sufferings of the red men, by the former home of W. G. T. Morton, the discoverer of that greatest of boons to human sufferers, sulphuric ether, by the colleges the monument more enduring than brass, of Henry F. Durant, by the beautiful Lake Waban, Lake of the Wind, named for Eliot's first convert, by the elegant villas of the Hun- newells to the limits of the busy town of Natick.

Two conduits of the Boston Water-Works mar the landscape in general, but in a few places, as the long viaduct across Waban Brook, the gate-houses at either end of the siphon on the new works, and the bridge across the Charles on the old, add beauties of archi- tecture to the natural scenery.

Local historic associations are not numerous, and are mainly connected with Indian names and history.

Maugus Hill, named for an Indian called Magos, of whom but little is known, save that he deeded land about Maugus Hill to the town of Dedham in 1681. Nehoiden, the name of the post-office at Wellesley Hills for a short time, was also the name of an Indian who transferred his claim to the tract of land of which Wellesley was a part to the inhabitants of the town of Dedham, and many other names pre- served in names of organizations and in names of farms and country-seats.

The " Hundreds," already become the fashionable location for residences, was named from the amount of land in the divisions of the country, including the present village of Wellesley Hills, the tract of wood- land now known as the Hundreds, the school-farm of Dedham, and Needham Leg, about three thousand five hundred acres in all. What is now the village of Wellesley Hills was included almost wholly in the tract of land assigned to Capt. Daniel Fisher, of Ded- ham, who took Sir Edmund Andros by the collar and drew him from his place of refuge back to Fort Hill in the Rebellion of 1689. This division of land was made in 1699.

There are many local associations which in a town

history would be in place as of interest which cannot find room here.

The historical associations with the names of the residents of Wellesley are numerous and interesting, and should they be freely chronicled would embrace in their narration the most important events in American history.

Probably Andrew Dewing was the first settler with- in the town limits of Wellesley, and erected a garrison- house about 1660. This name we find preserved in local and military history, the name is found in the list of Revolutionary soldiers, and one of the family was in the war of the Rebellion, the present assessor of that name.

The Fullers, always one of the most influential families of the place, derive their origin from Thomas Fuller (a member of whose family very early built a house near the town line), a representative to the General Court as early as 1686, whose son was wounded in the Narraganset war, and whose descend- ants were conspicuous in the earlier and later wars and in civil life as well,-William, Henry A., Warren, and Andrew serving in the war of the Rebellion.

The Wares, another well-known family, have always had their representatives in church, town, and military matters, one of whom has left a very valuable journal of his journey to Quebec under Arnold, in 1776.

The Kingsburys, descendants probably of Joseph Kingsbury, of Dedham, furnished one of their num- ber as captain of a company which fought at the battle of Lexington, and a noble child of the house, Wil- liam H., died in the last war, while Dexter has held town offices for many years.

The Mills, one of whom was killed (and the only one living within the limits of Wellesley who was killed) in the Lexington fight, and the Smiths freely represented in the Revolutionary and Rebellion con- tests ; Daniel, the first deacon of the West Needham Church, represented in all places of honor and works, with a female ancestor captured and scalped by the Indians and the last with us well known as legislator, moderator, and assessor; the Flaggs, synonym for town officer; Fiskes, old residents of the Leg, and builders of our best old homes, now represented by the present chairman of the school committee, and a captain of artillery in the late war; the Stevens, faithful and true, one of whom died in the wretched Libby prison, at Richmond ; the Jennings, ancestors of our present town treasurer, whose first American ancestor was killed in a Pequot fight, 1633; the Slacks, later but influential through the influence of Squire Benjamin Slack, the last generation repre- sented by Capt. C. B. Slack in the war of the Re-

L. H. Everts, Engraver, Philadelphia.

ITALIAN GARDEN ON THE GROUNDS OF H. H. HUNNEWELL, WELLESLEY, MASS.

481

WELLESLEY.

bellion ; the Lyons, eminent as manufacturers and farmers, with two of the family on the muster-roll of the Forty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment ; the Hunt- ings, descendants of John Hunting, the first elder of the Dedham Church, with three of the last generation in the late war,-Willard dying in prison, all have done their share in honest faithful work to enhance the reputation of their town and make the world better for their living in it.

Though the town is not a manufacturing town, there are several factories of consequence from their antiquity as well as from the amount of business which they do. As long ago as 1704 Benjamin Mills located a saw-mill about where the Dudley Hosiery Mill now stands and below a natural dam which was enlarged by rude additions. His sons joined him, and other mills followed. Below, at the site of the shoddy mill of Richard Sullivan, Ephraim Jackson first es- tablished his business, followed by William Hoogs.

The present larger manufactories are the hosiery mills, the paper mills of Mr. Rice, the shoddy mill of Mr. Sullivan, and the chemical factory of Billings & Clapp at the Lower Falls, the shoe-factory of Tucker & Son at Wellesley, and the paint-factory of Mr. Woods, whose production of colors have increased from six pounds to six tons per day.

The Educational Institutions .- The earliest schools for many years were probably taught in pri- vate homes whenever it was most convenient, but the first house built for that purpose was probably erected in 1728 by William Chubb, by subscription, costing thirty-one pounds ten shillings, and stood about where Mrs. G. W. Shaw's house now stands, Wellesley Hills. The first school-house in Wellesley Village stood near where Mr. Solomon Flagg's barn now is, and several school-houses in succession have been built on the same site in the North District. At pres- ent there is one high school with forty-eight scholars and three teachers ; three grammar schools, three in- termediate, three primary, and one ungraded school at Unionville, all containing about three hundred and seventy-five scholars.

Churches and Parishes .- After the incorporation of the " West Precinct," already alluded to, the pov- erty engendered by the war proved a serious impedi- ment in the way of church advancement ; and it was not till after 1797 when eighteen families were added to the parish by the annexation of a part of Natick by act of the Legislature, that the inhabitants felt strong enough to institute a church organization.

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History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 101

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534