USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 28
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Jonathan R. Clark, blacksmith, Dec. 31, 1863, to Sept. 28, 1865.
George V. Chick, Dec. 5, 1863, to Sept. 28, 1865. Stephen W. Dawson, Jan. 29, 1864, to his death. John Halpin, Dec. 28, 1863, to Sept. 28, 1865. Isaac R. Harmon, Feb. 15, 1864, to Sept. 28, 1865. Philip McQuinty, Jan. 5, 1864, to July 29, 1865. George A. Mower, Feb. 9, 1864, to Sept. 28, 1865. James Spear, Dec. 10, 1863, to Sept. 28, 1865. Charles S. Thayer, Feb. 15, 1864, to Aug. 19, 1865.
Company E.
James Riley, Sept. 20, 1862.
Company G.
Patrick Dunlay, Nov. 1, 1862, to May 20, 1865. Company I. Royal Belcher, Aug. 5, 1862, to May 20, 1865. James Smith, Aug. 5, 1862, to May 20, 1865.
Company K.
John T. Ayres, sergt., Aug. 6, 1862, to Oct. 19, 1864.
Timothy Curran, corp., Aug. 6, 1862 ; transferred to Vet. Res. Corps.
John G. Ingraham, corp., Aug. 6, 1862, to March 1, 1863. Jonathan S. Paine, corp., Aug. 6, 1862 ; transferred to Vet. Res. Corps. William A. Bishop, bugler, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 30, 1865.
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126
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
Edward E. Patten, saddler, Aug. 6, 1862, to Nov. 15, 1864. John F. Albee, Feb. 29, 1861, to June 22, 1864.
Edward Bannon, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. John Barry, Aug. 6, 1862, to Sept. 28, 1865. Lewis D. Bates, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865.
Leonard Belcher, Aug. 6, 1862, to March 1, 1863.
Elisha S. Bowditch, Dec. 7, 1863, to Sept. 19, 1864.
James E. Burpee, Aug. 6, 1862; transferred to Vet. Res. Corps. Patrick Cahill, Dec. 12, 1863, to July 5, 1865. Stephen Connor, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. Chandler Cox, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. Marcus F. Cram, Aug. 6, 1862, to Jan. 26, 1864.
William L. Cram, Aug. 6, 1862.
John Craddock, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. Birdsey Curtis, Aug. 6, 1862.
Charles C. Davis, Aug. 6, 1862, to Jan. 23, 1863. Joseph Desotelle, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865.
John Flood, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. Charles E. Fogg, Aug. 6, 1862, to Aug. 9, 1865.
William H. French, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865.
Thomas C. Gardner, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. Peter T. Godfrey, Aug. 6, 1862.
Oliver S. Harrington, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865.
Almon E. Ingalls, Dec. 21, 1863; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. George A. Joy, Aug. 6, 1862, to April 27, 1863.
James Kennedy, Jan. 1, 1864; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps.
William S. Leach, Aug. 6, 1862, to Aug. 7, 1863.
Frederic Marr, Aug. 6, 1862.
William P. Martin, Feb. 22, 1864; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. Frank McConerty, Aug. 6, 1862 ; absent.
Michael McMurphy, Aug. 6, 1862.
William W. Mower, Dec. 21, 1863.
Albert S. Nason, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865.
Daniel W. Niles, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865.
Samuel H. Paine, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865.
Charles E. Pratt, Aug. 6, 1862, to Nov. 15, 1863. Isaac Raymond, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. Oliver Simmons, Aug. 6, 1862, to Feb. IS, 1863. Quincy Sprague, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. George H. Stevens, Dec. 21, 1863 ; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. Ansel P. Thayer, Aug. 6, 1862, to Sept. 19, 1864. Ephraim F. Thayer, Dec. 31, 1863, to Aug. 8, 1865. Major Tirrell, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865.
Americus V. Tirrell, Aug. 6, 1862, to Jan. 18, 1864.
John F. Wild, Dec. 26, 1863, to April 8, 1864.
Thomas S. Williams, Dec. 5, 1863 ; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps.
Company M.
Garrett G. Barry, sergt., Dec. 13, 1861, to April 8, 1864.
Fourth Cavalry, Company D.
Alvin Jackson, Jan. 9, 1864, to Jan. 15, 1865.
Company F. William L. Cram, Jan. 27, 1864, to Nov. 14, 1865.
Fifth Cavalry. James M. Cutting, vet. surg., Sept. 16, 1864, to Oct. 31, 1865.
Second Infantry, Company G.
William Foley, May 25, 1861, to July 26, 1863. Dennis Moriarty, May 25, 1861, to April 1, 1862. William Welsh, May 25, 1861, to Jan. 31, 1863.
Ninth Infantry, Company B.
John Healey, June 11, 1861.
Company C. John P. Murphy, June 11, 1861, to June 21, 1864.
Company G. Cornelius Furfy, June 11, 1861, to July 1, 1862. Richard Furfy, June 11, 1861, to June 21, 1864.
Company H. John Foley, Aug. 21, 1863, to June 10, 1864.
Company K.
Anthony Columbus, Aug. 21, 1863, to June 10, 1864.
Eleventh Infantry, Company B.
John P. Maloney, sergt., June 13, 1861.
William M. Tirrell, sergt., June 13, 1861, to June 24, 1864.
James Wilkie, corp., June 13, 1861.
Eleventh Cavalry, Company D.
Owen Greelish, June 13, 1861, to Aug. 22, 1861.
Company E. Francis Marmont, Aug. 14, 1863, to July 14, 1865.
Company K.
James Barrett, June 13, 1861. Thomas H. Neal, June 13, 1861, to Oct. 22, 1862. Samuel W. Saville, June 13, 1861, to June 24, 1864. Thomas Wilson, Aug. 12, 1863, to July 14, 1865.
Twelfth Cavalry, Company C.
Francis W. Kahle, July 22, 1863, to March 6, 1864.
Michael Preston, July 5, 1861, to Dec. 31, 1862.
Ephraim F. Thayer, June 26, 1861, to Feb. 28, 1863. John Q. Whitmarsh, June 26, 1861, to Sept. 18, 1862.
Company E. Christopher P. Tower, June 26, 1861, to March 9, 1863.
Company F.
Joseph P. Davis, June 26, 1861, to July 8, 1864.
Company II.
Charles A. Pope, sergt., June 26, 1861, to Nov. 30, 1863. Warren Stetson, July 17, 1863, to June 25, 1864.
John Q. A. Thayer, June 26, 1861, to July 8, 1864.
Thirteenth Cavalry, Company G.
Hiram S. Thayer, July 16, 1861, to Aug. 1, 1864.
Sixteenth Cavalry, Company I.
William Cunningham, Aug. 30, 1861, to July 15, 1863. Company K. James Bradley, July 2, 1861, to July 27, 1864.
Seventeenth Cavalry, Company E.
Albert T. Pool, Sept. 5, 1864, to June 30, 1865. John F. Pool, Sept. 5, 1864, to June 30, 1865. Company G.
| John Navan, Aug. 29, 1864, to June 30, 1865.
Eighteenth Cavalry, Company E. Asa W. Holbrook, Aug. 24, 1861, to Oct. 26, 1864. Company K. Thomas Smith, Jr., corp., Aug. 24, 1861, to Jan. 26, 1863.
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BRAINTREE.
Nineteenth Cavalry, Company B.
Duncan Crawford, Aug. 3, 1863, to Jan. 14, 1864.
Company E.
Daniel Carrigan, Sept. 2, 1861, to June 30, 1865. James Carrigan, July 26, 1861; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps.
Company K.
Samuel D. Chase, corp., Oct. 31, 1862, to June 30, 1865. Marcus P. Arnold, Oct. 29, 1862, to June 30, 1865. N. Augustus White, Aug. 19, 1861; no record of discharge.
Twentieth Cavalry, Company F.
Duncan Crawford, Jan. 14, 1864; trans. to navy.
Company G.
John Goodman, Sept. 4, 1861, to Sept. 3, 1864.
Company I.
Charles Holbrook, Dec. 9, 1861, to Oct. 15, 1862.
Company K.
Thomas J. Crowell, corp., Aug. 21, 1861, to Dec. 13, 1862.
Twenty-second Cavalry, Company E. Jeremiah Dalton, 2d corp., Oct. 1, 1861, to June 27, 1862.
Company F.
Charles L. Holbrook, July 28, 1863, to Oct. 26, 1864. Edward Huff, July 17, 1863, to Oct. 26, 1864.
Company I.
Charles H. Crickmay, corp., Sept. 6, 1861, to June 30, 1862. Alexander R. Fogg, Sept. 6, 1861, to June 27, 1862.
Twenty-third Cavalry, Company H.
George B. Jones, Sept. 28, 1861, to Sept. 8, 1862.
Twenty-fourth Cavalry, Company B.
George White, Sept. 18, 1861, to Dec. 18, 1863.
Company C. Daniel Austin Thayer, July 29, 1862, to Jan. 4, 1864.
Company G.
Loring N. Hayden, Nov. 15, 1861, to Jan. 20, 1866. Edward M. French, Nov. 13, 1861, to Aug. 4, 1863. W. Martin Harmon, Nov. 13, 1861, to April 30, 1863. Abraham W. Hobart, July 26, 1862. Seth Taunt, Dec. 5, 1861, to July 15, 1865. George N. Thayer, Sept. 16, 1861, to Jan. 20, 1866.
Company HI.
James L. Curtis, July 29, 1862, to Jan. 20, 1866.
Twenty-seventh Cavalry, Company D. Maxon G. Healy, July 23, 1862, to Sept. 27, 1864.
Twenty-eighth Cavalry, Company B.
John Connors, Aug. 10, 1863, to July 6, 1864. Amos A. Loring, Jan. 5, 1864, to his death.
Company C.
Henry Barton, Dec. 13, 1861, to Dec. 19, 1864.
Company D. John Connor, sergt., Jan. 2, 1864, to Aug. 19, 1864. Adams H. Cogswell, Jan. 2, 1862.
Charles Gray, Aug. 10, 1863, to Sept. 15, 1864. William Reevers, Aug. 12, 1863, to June 20, 1865.
Company F.
Thomas Smith, Jan. 8, 1862, to Sept. 30, 1862. Company G. Charles Miller, Aug. 12, 1863. Francis Winn, Dec. 19, 1861.
Company I. Frederic Smith, Aug. 11, 1863.
Unassigned.
Peter Higgins, Aug. 14, 1863.
Twenty-ninth Cavalry, Company A. John W. Sweeney, May 21, 1861, to Aug. 28, 1862.
Company B. Ira D. Bryant, May 14, 1861. James Freel, May 14, 1861.
George S. Whiting, no record ; now draws a pension. Company D. John Conley, Aug. 20, 1864, to July 29, 1865. James Flynn, Aug. 19, 1864.
Thirtieth Caralry, Company F.
Samuel F. Harrington, Nov. 18, 1861, to July 5, 1866.
Thirty-first Cavalry, Company K.
Ebenezer C. Thayer, Jr., corp., Jan. 29, 1862, to Sept. 30, 1864.
John W. Dargan, Jan. 23, 1862, to Nov. 27, 1864.
William Kayhoo, Jan. 17, 1862, to Feb. 14, 1864. John Rennie, Feb. 6, 1862, to Nov. 1, 1862.
Thirty-second Cavalry, Company E.
Loring W. Thayer, sergt., Dec. 2, 1861, to Sept. 30, 1864.
Norman F. Steele, sergt., Dec. 2, 1861; 2d lieut. James B. Leonard, corp., Dec. 2, 1861; 2d lieut. Leonard F. Huff, Dec. 2, 1861, to Aug. 23, 1862. Henry T. Wade, Dec. 2, 1861, to July 2, 1863.
Company F. Asa W. Holbrook, Jan. 21, 1864, to June 29, 1865.
Company H.
John Foley, Aug. 21, 1863, to June 29, 1865. Company I. William Daley, musician, Aug. 11, 1862, to June 29, 1865. Anthony Columbus, Aug. 22, 1863, to his death. Company L. Charles L. Holbrook, July 28, 1863, to June 29, 1865. Edward Huff, July 17, 1863, to June 29, 1865.
Thirty-third Cavalry, Company E. Edgar L. Bumpus, sergt., Aug. 5, 1862, to May 15, 1864.
Company K. Martin Branley, Aug. 8, 1862, to Nov. 24, 1862. T. Horace Cain, Aug. 8, 1862, to July 7, 1865. William Mulligan, Aug. 8, 1862, to June 11, 1865. John W. W. Rowell, Aug. 8, 1862, to Dec. 28, 1863. James N. Tower, Aug. 8, 1862, to June 11, 1865. Nathaniel A. White, Aug. 8, 1862; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. Thirty-fifth Cavalry, Company E. William D. Lyons, Aug. 19, 1862, to April 20, 1863.
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
Company H1.
John Davis, Aug. 19, 1862, to Aug. 23, 1863.
Thirty-sixth Cavalry, Company K.
Albert G. Wilder, corp., Aug. 11, 1862 ; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. Daniel W. Dean, Aug. S, 1862, to his death.
Seth Dean, Aug. 8, 1862, to Jan. 27, 1863.
Thirty-eighth Cavalry, Company I.
Edward Freel, Aug. 21, 1862, to Feb. 14, 1863.
John V. Hunt, Aug. 21, 1862, to June 30, 1865. James W. Thayer, Aug. 21, 1862; trans to Vet. Res. Corps. Stephen Thayer, Aug. 21, 1862, to June 30, 1865.
Company K.
Hiram P. Abbott, corp., Aug. 20, 1862, to June 30, 1865. Henry H. Shedd, Aug. 20, 1862, to Oct. 24, 1862.
George H. Bryant, Aug. 20, 1862, to March 24, 1863.
Warren R. Dalton, Aug. 20, 1862, to June 30, 1865.
Charles David, Aug. 20, 1862, to Feb. 13, 1863. Edward David, Aug. 20, 1862, to June 14, 1863. Solon David, Aug. 20, 1862, to June 30, 1865.
Thirty-ninth Cavalry, Company G.
James Bannon, Sept. 2, 1862, to April 12, 1865. Warren Stetson, July 17, 1863, to May 18, 1865. Company H.
John Preston, Sept. 2, 1862, to Jan. 29, 1863.
Fortieth Cavalry, Company F.
Michael McMurphy, Sept. 3, 1862, to March 24, 1863.
Company H.
Daniel F. Leonard, Sept. 1, 1862 ; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps.
Fifty-sixth Cavalry, Company E.
Michael P. Foley, Jan. 12, 1864, to July 12, 1865.
Fifty-eighth Cavalry, Company E. Joseph Jenkins, March 1, 1864, to July 14, 1865.
First Company Sharpshooters.
Josiah H. Hunt, Oct. 31, 1862; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. N. Warren Penniman, Oct. 13, 1862, to July 25, 1864.
Veteran Reserve Corps.
William Butler, Sept. 3, 1864.
Patrick Callahan, May 16, 1864.
Barney Feeney, May 16, 1864.
Peter Hutchneck, May 17, 1864.
Edward Kellogg, May 17, 1864.
Jethro Lynch, May 16, 1864.
Jesse B. Nourse, May 11, 1864.
United States Regulars.
Albert F. Wood, April 11, 1861, to April 11, 1864.
Musicians.
Abijah Allen, Dec. 22, 1863, to May 31, 1865. Hiram A. French, Dec. 22, 1863, to May 31, 1865. Eugene D. Daniels, Dec. 22, 1863, to May 31, 1865. Luther Hayden, Oct. 26, 1864, to June 13, 1865. Francis W. Holbrook, Jan. 4, 1864, to May 31, 1865. Jacob S. Lord, Oct. 26, 1864, to June 13, 1865. Jonathan Thayer, Jr., Oct. 26, 1864, to June 13, 1865.
Seventieth Infantry (Colored).
John Bell, Jan. 31, 1865.
Seventieth New York Infantry.
Levi Bunker, June 20, 1861, to June 16, 1863. Edward S. Bunker, July 13, 1861, to Sept. 11, 1862. Alfred E. Parker, July 15, 1861, to May 5, 1862.
Twenty-fifth New York Infantry.
Thomas Smith, May 13, 1861, to June, 1862.
Third Maryland Infantry.
John Finegan, February, 1862, to March 12, 1863. Alonzo A. Tower, February, 1862.
Twelfth Vermont Infantry.
Benjamin F. Arnold, Oct. 4, 1862, to Dec. 29, 1864. Nelson Arnold, Oct. 18, 1862, to June 19, 1864.
The following enlisted in unknown organizations, viz. :
William S. Adams. Lewis U. Hubbard.
William C. Bright. John W. Langley.
Symmes G. Buker.
Bernard McGovern.
James Dooley. George E. Nelson.
Michael Doran.
John O'Neil.
Edward Doyle.
John Smith.
Daniel H. Ellis.
Charles E. Smith.
John Freel.
William Taylor.
James Flynn.
Edward Tilden.
Patrick Glancy.
William Townsend.
James T. Godfrey.
Peter Whitmarsh.
John Hanlon.
William O. Wright.
Albert Howard, Jr.
The following enlisted in the navy, viz. :
Michael Tenney. George A. Raymond.
Duncan Crawford. William H. Spear.
Royal J. Freeman. Charles Smith.
George Howe. Paul Nadell.
Thomas J. Martin. William H. Matthews.
Besides these there were thirty-four who were strangers, some of whom were assigned by the State as the quota of the town.
Names of those who fell on the field or from wounds received in battle :
Elisha Paine Goodnow. Alexander R. Fogg.
George Frederic Thayer.
Jeremiah Dalton (2d).
Owen Fox.
Lawrence MeLaughlin.
John T. Ayres.
Loring Winthrop Thayer.
Edward Everett Patten.
Henry T. Wade.
Ansel Penniman Thayer.
Edgar Lewis Bumpus.
John Francis Wild.
Edward David.
Garrett George Barry.
Ebenezer Coddington Thayer,
Alvin Jackson. Jr.
Cornelius Furfy.
Thomas Smith.
Thomas John Crowell. Alfred Emmons Parker.
Charles Henry Crickmay.
Nelson Arnold.
Those who died in prison or from the effects of prison life were :
William Higgins. Charles Gray. Benjamin Franklin Arnold.
From disease :
James Bannon ..
Silas Binney Crane.
John Ferdinand Albee.
Elisha Strong Bowditch. William Sanford Leach.
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BRAINTREE.
Francis W. Kahle.
Daniel Austin Thayer. William Martin Harmon.
Amos Atkins Loring.
Edward S. Bunker.
Leonard F. Huff.
Anthony Columbus .
T. Horace Cain.
Daniel W. Dean. Seth Dean.
Paul Nadell. Stephen W. Dawson. Dennis Moriarty. John Connors.
The women of the town deserve honorable men- tion. They contributed to the needs of the soldiers such articles as bedding, clothing, lint, bandages, and delicacies of diet as far as was within their means. An illustration of the spirit of some of the women in raising funds for these purposes of mercy is worth preserving. One summer, when money was hard to get, a townsman jocosely offered, without thinking his proposal would be accepted, to give the ladies a load of hay, lying in the wet meadows, if they would carry it away. They promptly accepted the gift, and several of the younger women went into the fields, loaded the hay, had it properly weighed, and duly deposited in the barn of a purchaser, and converted the proceeds into stockings, drawers, and shirts for the men at the front.
For the most of the above statistics I am indebted to the labored researches of the Rev. George A. . Thayer, a native of Braintree, an officer in the army, and who now resides at Cincinnati, Ohio.
As an outgrowth of the war, soon after its close the soldiers of the United States army formed an organization which they called " The Grand Army of the Republic." A branch was formed June 4, 1869, and named Gen. Sylvanus Thayer Post, No. 87, De- partment of Massachusetts. It was organized by Gen. James L. Bates, assisted by Capt. Charles W. Hastings. The charter members were Capt. James - T. Stevens, George D. Willis, Francis W. Holbrook, Joseph E. Holbrook, Robert P. Bestick, Lucian M. Thayer, Marcus A. Perkins, John R. Carmichael, William A. Dagget, and Edward S. Dean. They now number sixty-three comrades. They have strewed with flowers the graves of their departed comrades on Memorial Day each year since their organization. Nine of their comrades they have borne to the silent tomb and performed over their graves the usual ser- vice. They have expended for the relief of their members the sum of one thousand three hundred and two dollars and thirty-five cents. They held their meetings for some time in Holbrook Block, until its
occupy at present. It has been beautifully decorated, mainly through the labor and taste of Comrade Thomas B. Stoddard, who deserves this notice. The Past Commanders are James T. Stevens, James T. Bestick, George D. Willis, Abijah Allen, Henry A. Monk, Edwin L. Curtis, William L. Gage, Thomas Fallon. Marcus A. Perkins has served as Quartermaster nearly fifteen years.
Early in the year 1865 a meeting of the citizens of the town was held in the town hall to devise measures to secure the erection of a suitable memorial to the soldiers from the town who died or were killed in service. They decided to hold a fair, and were joined by the ladies to further the object. From the fair and a musical entertainment about fourteen hundred dollars were realized. By the will of Mr. Harvey White a legacy was given towards the accomplishment of the same purpose. The town in its corporate capa- city contributed the remainder of the necessary sum ' for its completion. The town selected, in 1867, a committee, consisting of Messrs. F. A. Hobart, Asa French, Horace Abercrombie, Levi W. Hobart, E. W. Arnold, Jason G. Howard, Edward Avery, Alva Morrison, and Edward Potter, to procure plans and estimates for some memorial. June 27, 1873, the town voted " that the soldiers' monument committee be instructed to erect upon some portion of the town- land, near the town house, a statue cut in granite, after a model submitted by Messrs. Batterson & Can- field, of Hartford, Conn., with a pedestal designed by H. & J. E. Billings, architects of Boston, at a cost not exceeding five thousand dollars above the foun- dation."
Jason G. Howard and Edward Potter having re- moved from the town, James T. Stevens and William M. Richards were chosen to fill the vacancies. Al- verdo Mason, Marcus A. Perkins, Charles W. Procter, and Abijah Allen were also added to the committee. Under the above vote the monument was erected.
The statue is a full-sized model of a soldier, stand- ing with his musket in position at rest, and is cut from Westerly granite. The inscriptions placed upon the pedestal are, upon the front, "The town of Braintree builds this monument in grateful remem- brance of the brave men whose names it bears ;" also, " 1874." Upon the reverse this simple inscription, " Dying they triumphed." Upon the north and south sides are the names of those of the quota of Brain- tree who died or were killed in the service ; also
destruction by fire in June, 1882, when they lost : " 1861" at the top and " 1865" beneath, denoting the nearly all their property. But though small in num- | duration of the war.
bers, they, by the aid of their townsmen, have fur- The funds placed at the disposal of the committee nished a fine hall in Rosenfeld's block, which they were: citizens' fund and interest, $2338.19; town
9
Henry Winslow Dean. John Finegan. Levi Bunker.
130
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
appropriations, $3628.07 ; Harvey White's legacy, $500.00: total, $6466.26. On the 17th of June, 1874, this monument was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies. There let it stand till time shall be no more, as a record that shall tell future generations of the bravery and heroism of our citizen soldiers in defense of the union of the States which was founded by our fathers, maintained by our brothers, and which, we trust, will be transmitted to the latest generation.
Miscellaneous .- Besides the bequests to the town before mentioned, Josiah French, a native of the town, and one who had been honored by the town in electing him to some of the most important offices, left, as de- scribed in his will, the following property, viz. : " I give and devise to the town of Braintree, in the county of Norfolk, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a certain piece of mowing and tillage land lying and situate in said Braintree, containing five acres, more or less, and bounded as follows : easterly on Washing- ton Street, northerly on land of Capt. Ralph Arnold, southerly on town land, and westerly on land of Peter Dyer. To have and to hold the same to the said town of Braintree forever, to be used and occupied by the said town as a common or common field for companies and buildings for town or public business, but no pri- vate dwelling-houses or buildings whatever to be placed on said premises, but to be forever French's common, except the wood I give my wife." This will was dated March 19, 1845, and probated Feb. 11, 1851. After a vexatious law-suit, the town obtained possession of the property. It is situated in the geo- graphical centre of the town, and upon it, in 1858, was built a large and commodious house, which is used for town hall, high-school room, and for various town purposes. It has cost the town for building improvements upwards of twenty thousand dollars, and is a credit to the town. The remaining portion of the land is used as a play-ground for the youth, there being on the west side a fine grove. Josiah French, the donor, died Jan. 1, 1851, aged about seventy-four years. Long may his memory be cher- ished and his gift appreciated.
From the incorporation of the town to 1730 the town-meetings were held in the meeting-house of the North Precinct ; from 1730 till 1750, in the same place and the meeting-house of the Middle Precinct alternately ; from 1750 to 1830, in Middle Precinct meeting-house. The town hall erected on the corner of Washington and Union Streets was first occupied 'as a place for the meetings of the town on March 1, 1830. It was occupied until 1858, when it was sold to private parties, who removed it to Taylor Street, and remodeled it into two dwelling-houses.
Thayer Public Library .- At a special town- meeting held May 16, 1870, the following communi- cation from Gen. Sylvanus Thayer was received and read by Asa French, Esq .:
" TO THE CITIZENS OF THE TOWN OF BRAINTREE :
" Gentlemen,-To establish a free public library in this town, I propose to erect a fire-proof building, suitable for the purpose, towards the cost of which the town shall contribute the sum of ten thousand dollars, the amount needed to complete the build- ing to be paid by me. And I will loan to the town the said sum of ten thousand dollars, for such time as it shall require it, to comply with this offer, at six per cent. interest. Upon the ac- ceptance of this proposition by the town, I will give the further sum of ten thousand dollars, as a permanent fund, the income of which shall annually be devoted to the maintenance of said library. Should the town take favorable action upon this mat- ter, I shall be happy to confer with a committee with reference to the immediate consummation of the project.
" Respectfully, his
" BRAINTREE, May 16, 1870."
S. + THAYER. mark
At the same meeting this proposition was almost unanimously accepted, the town appropriating the sum named, and a committee appointed to confer with Gen. Thayer, with full authority to act for the town in locating said library building and in carrying out the plan covered by this proposition. Asa French, Edward Avery, Francis A. Hobart, Alva Morrison, and Charles H. Dow were chosen said committee.
Oct. 27, 1870, a meeting of the town was called to see if the town would rescind the above vote, but after a thorough discussion it was decided not to rescind, by a vote of two hundred and nineteen for rescinding and three hundred and twenty-eight opposed. At the same meeting Warren Mansfield, Joseph A. Arnold, and Jacob S. Dyer were added to the library com- mittee. This action was taken in consequence of a disagreement of the citizens where the library building should be located.
April 7, 1873, the committee reported to the town that the plans for the building had been carefully pre- pared under the personal supervision of the donor, although the building had not been commenced at his decease. The executors of his will recognized the validity of the contract, and set apart the sum of twenty thousand dollars to be applied for the erection of said building. They also reported that a lot of land had been purchased by subscription and pre- sented to the town as a site for the building. This land joined the land given the town by Josiah French. They further reported that the contract for the erection of the building had been executed, and that it would be completed the coming season. Asa French, Francis A. Hobart, and Henry A. Johnson were appointed trustees on the part of Gen. Thayer's
Patel Atelson
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BRAINTREE.
estate, and Nathaniel H. Hunt and N. F. T. Hayden were chosen by the town.
The library was opened to the public Sept. 1, 1874, and is kept open a portion of each day in the week, except on the Sabbath. It contains at the present time (1884) six thousand five hundred and thirty vol- umes, and has upon its books as borrowers the names of two thousand five hundred and seventy-four persons. Besides the gifts mentioned, it has been the recipient of about five hundred dollars' worth of books from E. Anderson Hollingsworth, and also a large number of valuable and beautiful reference books from Jonathan | French, of Boston, whose father was a native of the town. Miss Abbie M. Arnold is the librarian. She | has held the situation since the opening, and gives general satisfaction.
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