History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 34

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 34

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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

who undertook its continuance, but discontent and dissatisfaction arising, on the night of the 25th of July following the entire factory was burned, with nothing saved, the whole entailing a pecuniary loss of nearly one hundred thousand dollars. Thus was lost to the town one of its most prolific sources of income, which has never been regained. In 1882 the Ray Woolen Company constructed a granite mill, which has in some measure atoned for this loss, and as the census of 1875 appears the best source of in- formation, we give the condition of the town for that year, which is, in fact, substantially its present basis, excepting the boot and shoe industry, which does not exist with us in any capacity. We find in the entire town two hundred and fifty dwelling-houses occupied and seven vacant. With these we find three hundred and nineteen families, and for their use are one public school and three Sunday-school libraries, containing eleven hundred and seventy-five volumes. In addi- tion to these, at the town clerk's office are one hundred and thirty-four volumes of " Massachu- setts Reports," war records, and public documents. The amount of personal property in town is valued at $109,160; real estate, $418,808; the total val- uation, 8527,968; number of farms, 157; acres in farms, 8000; acres unimproved, 3000 ; value of farms and buildings, $361,639 ; total value of farm property, 8430,156 ; woodland in acres, 1232; cul- tivated land, 2331; number of horses, 185; cows, 300; total income from farm property, $94,017; capital invested in boot and shoe business, $25,000; product, $33,000 ; wages paid annually to laborers on boots and shoes, $175,000 ; stock used in manufac- ture, $332,940 ; capital invested in factory for manu- facturing farming tools, $2500; product, $18,000; sum invested in satinet cloth making, $150,000, pro- ducing a valuation of $330,000. In town are 11 manufacturing establishments, 5 engines, and 5 water- wheels, with an aggregate of 405 horse-power and machinery to the value of $50,000; also 29,778 domestic animals, valued at $23,000. The total amount of capital invested in town is $180,000, and this sum realizes annually $638,547. Quite a number of years ago, previous to the building of the Woonsocket Division Railroad, an iron-mine was dis- covered in that tract of land known as " Cedar Swamp," and this mine was worked for several years, the ore being carried to Taunton and worked up into locomotives. For the last twenty-five years, however, nothing has been done with it. On the road leading from North Bellingham Station to what is called " Bellingham Four Corners" is a whetstone quarry, from which in the past quantities of the material

have been put on the market, but this also has gone into disuse.

At the centre of the town, in the triangle fronting the Baptist Church (Rev. Daniel A. Wade, pastor), is a soldiers' monument measuring in height about fifteen feet, placed there by the citizens of Bellingham in commemoration of those who gave their lives in support of the national Constitution.

At the present time there are but two churches in town,-the Centre Baptist, to which previous refer- ence has been made, and the North Bellingham Bap- tist, a short sketch of which is as follows :

The North Bellingham Baptist Church1 is the outgrowth of an interest established here in 1847 as a society called the " North Bellingham Baptist So- ciety," which worshiped in a chapel built for the purpose by Bates & Arnold, at that time prominent cotton-manufacturers in this town, and formally ded- icated to the worship of God in September or October of that year, Rev. Dr. Granger, of Providence, R. I., preaching the dedication sermon.

The society had no settled pastor for many years, but depended upon supplies from week to week, though with a few brief exceptions they have had uninterrupted preaching, the late Rev. Otis Converse, of Worcester, supplying them for upwards of a year at a time on three or four different occasions. They have always maintained a Sabbath-school, which is still in existence.

On the 13th of October, 1867, a church was formed consisting of ten persons, as follows : William Hunter, of Goose River Church, Nova Scotia ; Roswell Bent, of East Dedham Church ; Ann Bent, of First Baptist Church, Lowell; Elizabeth Hunter, Mary Hunter, Jane Hunter, Barbara Hunter, of Goose River Church, Nova Scotia ; Rebecca Bemis, Matilda S. Murphy, of West Medway Church.

At the same meeting the following persons were received as candidates for baptism, and it was fur- thermore voted that they be considered as constituent members, viz., John B. Philips, Stephen F. Coombs, Hiram E. Hunter, Catherine Thomas, and Nancy S. Coombs. The first baptism occurred the following Sabbath, October 20th, when the foregoing persons were baptized, Rev. Samuel Hill officiating. Since that time some seventy-five different persons have united with the church, forty-five of whom have been received on profession and the balance by letter. Of this number the church has lost fifteen by dismis- sion to other churches, five by death, and four by ex- clusion, leaving its present membership fifty-one.

1 By S. F. Coombs.

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BELLINGHAM.

It has had five deacons, viz., William Hunter, Justin E. Pond, George H. Greenwood, Charles O. Drake, and Roswell Bent, which latter is the present incumbent. Stephen F. Coombs has been its clerk since its organization, with the exception of ten months, and was also superintendent of the Sabbath- school eleven years. About the middle of March, 1882, the church extended a unanimous call to Rev. Edwin D. Bowers, of Rockport, Mass., to become its pastor, which action was concurred in by the society a few days afterward, he accepting, and entered upon that relationship the 1st of April following, and so continues at the present time. Worship is still held in the chapel, which is large enough for all purposes, having been improved and beautified at different times as necessity demanded.

the county, as in 1882 the towns of Dedham and Randolph alone excelled her. Medway, our next- door neighbor, ranks number sixteen. In the county, the towns of Dover, Medfield, Norfolk, and Sharon have a less number of pupils than our own town.

The superintendent's (Rev. D. A. Wade) report for 1883 shows a marked improvement over 1882, and subsequent years will no doubt excel each other, consecutively, in this work, so highly essential to com- mon advancement and well-being. The annual meet- ing of 1884 has entered upon the duty of reducing the number of school committees from nine to three, and no doubt in a very few years the number of schools will be reduced, and consequently those re- maining be made larger, and this under the advice of the State Board of Education. In whatever else our town may have failed, she cannot be charged with having been asleep to the mental and moral worth of her children.

Educational,-Readily appreciating the advan- tages derived from a thorough education, our town has always gone to a deal of trouble and expense in pro- viding proper schools, and the result is most gratifying. In addition to schools, our people are susceptible to the moulding influences of the press. For daily news we depend on Boston and also on the Woonsocket evening Reporter, an Associated Press sheet. For weekly news of other towns, as well as our own locals, we depend on the Milford Journal, Woonsocket Patriot, Franklin Sentinel, and Dedham Transcript, the last named having the court and county news. These papers constitute a constant source of reliable information, and meet with an increasing circulation among our citizens. Bellingham has two titles, which may or may not serve to cause a smile on the coun- [ tenances of those who have been accustomed to hear them repeated for many years. The first is " Bel- lingham Navy-Yard," and the second " Blue Jay Town." As to the first named, we cannot give its ori- | gin, but, sure enough it is, whoever coined it never lived to see it die, and from present indications I pre- sume we never shall. As to the latter title, we must admit its force, for in truth the town is as full of blue | jays as the annual town-meeting is full of independent ideas. As will be noticed by the reader of this arti- As a matter of fact, she entered upon this duty of intellectual culture soon after her incorporation, in 1719. On May 7, 1792, the town was divided into six districts, and in 1798 into seven, continuing later on into a division of nine. She began by appro- priating fifty dollars to sessions held only in the win- ter at private houses, and, of course, early observing the inconvenience of this method, in 1795 six hundred | dollars was set off to the construction of a school- house in each district, but this amount being decidedly inadequate to the desired end, eleven hundred dollars more followed the same channel in two years there- after. In 1793 fifty pounds was expended in school- ing, and in 1796 the appropriation increased to three hundred dollars. Since that time the amount has been annually increased by small additions, until in the year 1882 the sum of two thousand one hundred and sixty-nine dollars and twenty-five cents was ex- pended in educational work. The sum appropriated for each child between five and fifteen years of age amounts to nine dollars and thirty-five cents. The largest amount per pupil is expended by the town of | cle, our town offers very low taxes and excellent busi- Milton, which is twenty-six dollars and eighty-eight ness facilities to new-comers. Situated, figuratively speaking, approximate to Boston and Providenice, an excellent market is always open for the disposal of any production. Railroad-stations for passenger and freight traffic are located in each section of the town, and the larger towns beyond give us a much better railroad accommodation than is usually found in towns having ten times our own population. Excel- cents. The percentage of valuation expended for this work reduced to decimals is .0039, and sixteen out of the twenty-four towns in the county spend a less per- centage of their valuation than does Bellingham, the town of Milton standing at the foot of the list. Our town has two hundred and thirty-two pupils, and the average attendance for 1882 was one hundred and ninety-one, or, in per cent., .8233. In 1883 | lent water privileges exist, but, of course, in the the average attendance jumped from .8233 to .92, | present age of steam their value is much less than which, we believe, places the town number one in . formerly. First-class roads and enough of them, pure

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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

well-water and plenty of it, no license, together with home, was also a farmer, was married before 1750, had four sons, who were all soldiers in the Revolution. After the war some of them settled in Virginia. Ama- other facilities and a desire on the part of the citizens to aid and assist, render to business men a rare oppor- tunity for the establishment of mechanical industries, , riah was born June 6, 1756. He went as a soldier such as very few towns offer, and such as we believe

will produce successful competition. If this article | returned home and married Molly Wright, of Wren- shall serve as a fortunate inducement, the writer will have been amply repaid for the time and labor spent in its compilation.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

AMOS HARRISON HOLBROOK.

Amos Harrison Hoibrook, son of Amos and Lucretia (Burr) Holbrook, was born Nov. 23, 1818, in the house where he now resides in the town of Bellingham (and which was also the birthplace of his father). Joseph Holbrook, the first settler on this place, came from Braintree before 1700, and the Bellingham branch has never changed its home. The line to ' born April 27, 1783, lived at home until he was four- Amos H. is Joseph (1), Jesse (2), Amariah (3), Amos (4), Amos H. (5). Joseph had sons,-Joseph, Jesse, Elijah, and David. The three lots he owned as proprietary lots were divided into four shares, the eldest's being a double portion, following the English manner of preference for the elder. Of these shares, Amos H. now owns three, all but that of the elder, and thus the land has been in the possession of the Holbrook family since its original occupation by the Indians.

in the Revolutionary war. During his service he tham, now Franklin, born March 28, 1759, died Aug. 24, 1845. They had nine children,-Tryphena, Na- hum, Amos, Amariah, Joel, Abigail, Nathan, Asa, Lyman,-all of whom lived to advanced age, except Nathan, who died when about forty-five. Amariah (2) died Sept. 7, 1797. He served during the war in Rhode Island, Roxbury, Mass., and New Jersey, under Gen. Washington. He was paid off at expiration of ser- vice in New Jersey with Continental money, and was unable to purchase a dinner with all of it. Had it not been for some silver he had in his possession pre- viously, he would have fared badly before reaching his home in Bellingham. He engaged in farming on the homestead after the Revolution, held some town offices, was a man of sterling integrity, and held in great esteem by his fellow-citizens. Amos was teen years old, then went to West Medway to learn the blacksmith's trade, where he remained six years. He worked as journeyman about two years, then es- tablished himself at Bellingham Four Corners for a few years. He married, Dec. 1, 1808, Lucretia, daughter of Elisha and Lucretia Burr, of Bellingham (an old New England family). She was born Oct. 12, 1787, died May 10, 1860. Their children were Whitman, born Jan. 29, 1811; Lucretia, born Aug. 20, 1815; Amos H .; Almira, died young; Olive (Mrs. C. F. Cushman), born April 26, 1827. About the time of his marriage he moved to the old home- stead, buying out the interests of his father's heirs, and passed his life there. He worked at his trade in connection with farming, and was many times chosen selectman, was a captain of the militia, highly esteemed for his sound sense and good judgment. He was a Democrat in politics. His death occured May 16, 1867.

Joseph was a deacon of the church, and was one of the petitioners for the organization of the town of Bel- lingham. He was a man of great energy and perse- verance. When over sixty years old he rode horse- back to New Jersey to engage a professor for Provi- dence College on its establishment, and was on the road six weeks. Jesse was captain of the Belling- ham company, and was ordered to Ticonderoga in 1755, and did good service. He helped his son Amariah build the house now occupied by A. H. in Amos H., the present occupant of the Holbrook farm, has been twice married, first to Nancy, daugh- ter of David and Sally Adams, of Bellingham, Dec. 15, 1853. By this marriage he had two children,-Ida M. (deceased) and Nannie A. Mrs. Nancy Holbrook died Nov. 19, 1862, and he married, June 9, 1864, Mary J., daughter of Andrew and Margaret Burnham, of Medway. They had one child, M. Florence. Mrs. Mary J. Holbrook died when Florence was but four years old, March 3, 1869. She had enjoyed vigorous 1780, and also in his old age was probably engaged with the patriot, or Continental, army in Rhode Island | during the Revolution. He was prominent in town affairs and public business, was selectman in 1780, al- ways a farmer, and served his day and generation well. He married a Thayer, and had two children,-Amariah and Jesse (2). He lived to a good old age, and, with his father and descendants, is buried in the cemetery at North Bellingham. Elijah lived on his portion, his house being about one hundred rods east of the old | health, and on the day of her death she was cheerful

Amos A. Holbrook

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and happy, and visited friends half a mile distant ; while on the way she complained of severe pain in her head, and became unconscious ; in ten hours after she breathed her last. She possessed talents of a high order, and had a good academic education. Kind, con- siderate, and dignified in all her social relations, she won the love and confidence of her associates. She | was the light and joy of the domestic circle,-a de- voted wife and faithful, loving mother. Her loss was deeply felt by all who had her acquaintance ; " None knew her but to love her." She was a member of the Baptist Church, and distinguished for Christian work.

Mr. Holbrook had the advantage only of common school education, supplemented by attendance at high school in Bellingham and Franklin for a short time. He has always resided on the old ancestral acres, has held various official positions,-town clerk for ten years, assessor, selectman for many years,-and in every po- sition has ever been worthy of the universal respect and esteem with which the people, among whom he has always been resident, now hold him. He has never given a promissory note but once in his life, and that | Methodist Church. He has held various town offices was to his brother in settlement of his father's estate, during his life, and stands well in the regards of those who know him. He is of positive character, of whom they were the heirs. His politics have been Free-Soil, Whig, and Republican. He was chosen | strict, stern, and straightforward. His " yea is yea, special county commissioner two terms, from 1865 to 1872, has frequently been sent to State and county conventions by his town.

He is one of Bellingham's most substantial citizens, and one of the truly prosperous farmers, having in possession one hundred and eighty acres in Belling- ham and Franklin.

NATHAN A. COOK.

Nathan A. Cook was born in Uxbridge, Mass., | Academy. Sept. 14, 1823. He comes of good Puritanic stock, reaching back through the early settlement of New | account of failing health, Mr. Cook was compelled to England to an English family of good repute. Walter Cook, the first American ancestor, was a resi- dent of Weymouth, Mass., in 1643. The line of descent to Nahum runs thus : Walter (1), Walter (2), Nicholas (1), Nicholas (2), Ezekiel, Ziba, Nahum, Nathan A., which shows Nathan to be in the eighth generation. We can tell but little of the two Walters, but Nicholas (1) was one of the signers of the pe- tition for the organization of Bellingham, which pre- viously belonged to Dedham and Mendon. He was a very prominent man in town affairs. His will was made Oct. 10, 1778, and disposes of real estate at " Candlewood Hill." From Nicholas to Nathan all | 1849 (he married Ellen R. Farrington, and is now a

this family have been connected with affairs of note in town and with public office.

Ziba was a farmer all his life, born and reared in Bellingham, and passed most of his days on Scott Hill. He married Joanna, daughter of Seth and Amy (Cook) Aldrich, and had six children,-Duty, Nahum, Ziba, Eunice, Joanna, Amy,-who all attained ma- turity. He was a member of the Christian Church. He was born May 6, 1764, and died at Blackstone, July 15, 1840, aged seventy-six. His son Nahum was born in Bellingham March 28, 1796, married Sibil, daughter of Bazaliel and Jemima (Morse) Balcom, of Douglas, Mass., and settled in Uxbridge as a farmer. After a residence there of four years he returned to Bellingham, purchased the place where, with his son Nathan, he now resides. At one time he owned real estate in six towns. His children were Nathan A. and Amy A. Amy married Alvah Aldrich, of Belling- ham ; had five children,-Albert A., George E., Hattie A., Charles W., and Weston. She died Feb. 9, 1879. Mrs. Sibil Cook died June 26, 1858. Nahum and wife were for many years members of the Reformed

and his nay is nay," and dissimulation is unknown to him ; he came of good Democratic stock, and has al- ways adhered tenaciously to their principles. At one election for member of Congress there was but one Democratic vote cast in town, and that was his. The printed ballots for some reason did not arrive, and Mr. Cook cut the printed ticket from his newspaper and deposited it. Although eighty-seven years old, he still attends town-meetings and elections.

Nathan A. Cook was reared a farmer, and received his education at Franklin Academy and Holliston This last school was a noted institution, under the celebrated instructor " Master Rice." On return to country life. He taught winter terms of school seventeen consecutive winters, and was called, when member of school committee, several terms when teachers had failed. His home has been with his father during his whole life, with the exception of two years, and he has succeeded to the management of the ancestral acres, of which, in the towns of Bellingham and Blackstone, they have about one hundred and twenty-five acres. He married, March 28, 1845, Sena A., daughter of Stephen and Miranda (Cook) Cook. Their children were George E., who died at twelve years of age ; Nahum H., born Jan. 12,

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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

merchant and deputy postmaster at Bellingham Centre) ; Irwin F., born Jan. 31, 1855, was educated at the academy at Woonsocket, R. I., and Business College, Providence, in which school he became a successful instructor. He afterwards taught in the public schools of Attleborough, and won high en- comiums as a teacher. He sought the most difficult schools, and spared no exertions nor labor to bring them into perfect discipline. He was soon principal of the graded school of North Attleborough, and filled that position with marked success. His delicate physical nature, however, could not stand the labor which his indomitable will placed upon him, and he died of con- sumption Sept. 22, 1880, keeping at work until within a very few days of his death. An Attleborough paper in noting his funeral says, " Mr. Cook was universally respected and beloved, and gained the love of his friends and pupils to an unusual degree. He was devoted heart and soul to his profession, having, as his highest aim, his greatest ambition, to be a good teacher. Long it will be ere his memory is forgotten." Nathan A. Cook has been much in public business. He has often been called upon to fill positions of honor, responsibility, and trust. He was appointed justice of the peace about thirty years ago, and has held that commission ever since. He is in his second term as trial justice. He has been selectman three terms, town treasurer, assessor, overseer of the poor, member of the school committee, superintendent of schools, collector of taxes, and, with Samuel Warner, of Wrentham, represents the Eighth District of Norfolk County in the State Legislature. To this office he was elected in 1882, receiving in his own town all of the votes cast but five. He is Republican in politics. He has done much probate business, settled many estates, is exact, methodical, and accurate, and is justly popular. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, an exhorter of that communion, and is clerk of the Quarterly Conference of the East Black- stone Society. He is a member, also, of Montgomery Lodge, F. and A. M., Milford, Mass., joining it in 1862.

CHAPTER XVI.

FRANKLIN.1

Early History as Precinct-First Cession of Dedham-Pur- chase of Wrentham-The New Precinct-Church Organized- First Minister-Meeting-House-Church Music-Discords- Precinct Ministers-Revs. Haven, Barnum, Emmons-Civil History-Move for a Town-Town History-Incorporation- Why named Franklin-Town Library-Topography-Maps -Indian Traditions-Revolutionary War-Sentiments in Town-Meeting-Soldiers' Second Meeting-House-Its Site, Cost, Bell-Moved and Modernized-Interior Glimpse of Home Life-Military Affairs-Trainings and Musters-The Poor -- Burial-Grounds -Post-Offices - Temperance - Early Industries.

MORE than two hundred and forty years ago, when the forest-trees had withdrawn their shadows hardly the distance of an Indian's arrow-flight from Boston Common, the Puritan immigrants began to feel an | impulse to " go West."

Following rather than leading this impulse, the Governor and his court, in session at Newtowne, Sept. 2, 1635, ordered " that there shall be a plantation settled about two miles above the falls of Charles River, on the northeast side thereof, to have ground lying to it on both sides the river, both upland and meadow, to be laid out hereafter as the court shall direct."

September 8th of the next year, 1636, this order was followed by another, naming the new settlement " Deddham," and this grant of territory was so large as to include what now forms thirteen towns and parts of four others.

Twenty-four years passed away, and the new settlers so spread that in 1660 thirty-four of them bought of the Wampanoags six hundred acres of land still farther west for one hundred and sixty pounds. They adopted the Indian name of Wollomonopoag. Among their still familiar names were Anthony Fisher, Sargent Ellis, Robert Ware, James Thorp, Isaac Bullard, Samuel Fisher, Samuel Parker, John Farrington, Ralph Freeman, and Sargent Stevens.

Oct. 16, 1673, a petition for the incorporation of Wollomonopoag as a town was presented to the Gen- eral Court, and with, to us, astonishing promptness, was granted "the next day,"-so say the colonial records. Thus Wrentham, the namesake of the English home of some of the settlers, took her place and name in history.

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History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 34

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