History of Westminster, Massachusetts (first named Narragansett no. 2) from the date of the original grant of the township to the present time, 1728-1893, with a biographic-genealogical register of its principal families, Part 4

Author: Heywood, William S. (William Sweetzer), 1824-1905
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Lowell, Mass.: Vox Populi Press : S.W. Huse & Co.
Number of Pages: 1082

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Westminster > History of Westminster, Massachusetts (first named Narragansett no. 2) from the date of the original grant of the township to the present time, 1728-1893, with a biographic-genealogical register of its principal families > Part 4

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The most common large shrubs indigenous hereabout are the alder, the elder, the sumac, the mountain laurel, the last three of which, in their season, add much to the beauty and charm of the outward world, by the delicacy and brilliancy of their foli- age and flowers. The same may be said of the sheep-laurel, the wild rose, and the different classes of spirea, or hardhack, which grow in profusion. The principal smaller flowering plants, in the order of their blossoming, are the mayflower, the blue and white violet, the anemone, the dandelion, various kinds of asters, pond and spotted field lilies, lobelia, the cardinal flower, the gentian, St. John's wort, the golden rod, etc.

Wild grapes are found along the streams and in the woods of the easterly part of the town. The pastures and newly cleared lands are fruitful of various kinds of berries, -the blueberry preponderating, though the blackberry, the raspberry, the straw- berry, and the checkerberry, exist in goodly proportion. In many instances, if not generally, these spontaneous products of the earth, deemed common property not many years since, and

HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.

free to all who might be pleased to gather them, wherever they were found, are now regarded as articles of individual owner- ship, subject to all the conditions of other items of personal estate, being oftentimes made, by sales at home or in the general market, sources of considerable income to those possessing the lands on which they grow. The same may be said of the differ- ent kinds of nuts which the native trees of the forest bear.

Orchards were set out by most of the first settlers, and their example has been followed by those coming after them to the present day. Of course the trees of which they were composed were an importation. Experience has proved that only the hardier kinds of larger fruit, like the apple and pear, find a soil and climate congenial to their growth and ripening, and even these require a sheltered location in order to insure satisfactory results. Small fruits are cultivated with some degree of success for domestic use and for the outside world.

A somewhat liberal supply of exotics, in the form of foliage and flowering shrubs and plants, has been brought into the gardens, conservatories, and dwellings of the people, whereby the realm of plant life here has been much enlarged, enriched, and beautified.

A goodly supply and variety of grasses, chiefly of foreign nativity, are grown upon the uplands of the town. For the most part, as an item of good husbandry, they are consumed upon the farms where they are produced, although there is sometimes a surplus for the general market. The usual swamp and meadow grasses are undoubtedly indigenous wherever they appear. The better kinds, foul meadow, blue joint, and other unnamed varieties, were, in the early days, very nutritious and palatable, rendering the lands producing them of great value to the proprietors. But these have greatly degenerated or died out altogether, their place having been supplied by a growth of coarse, sour grass, rushes, brakes, briars, and small bushes of no use for cattle-fodder, or for any other known purpose whatsoever. As a consequence, the present meadow and swamp lands are small in extent and of little worth to the owner or the general public. In point of fact, such lands are largely abandoned or converted into reservoirs, as heretofore stated, in aid of manu- facturing interests in this or neighboring towns.

Fauna. The territory of the present town of Westminster was, no doubt, the aboriginal abode of a considerable number of wild beasts, more or less savage, or was subject to the incur- sions of such from more rugged and mountainous regions out- side its borders. Among these, the black and brown bear, the catamount, the lynx, and the wolf were conspicuous. The American elk, or moose, and deer were probably only occasional visitants. The wolf and the bear were abundant for some years after the settlement of the place, annoying the farmers by depre- dations upon their flocks and herds, and giving parents much

WILD AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

anxiety concerning their children when away from home or from some known shelter after nightfall, though those animals rarely, if ever, attacked a human being, except when provoked or pressed by unusual hunger. The howlings of the wolf, however, often made the night hideous, especially in the neighborhood of Wachusett, which seemed to have been a place of rendezvous for great numbers of them. Stories are told of their chasing frightened persons, of their prowling about the rude dwellings of the early settlers, and of their being repeatedly shot in close proximity thereto, as will be hereafter noted, but no record has been discovered or tradition received indicating that a single human life was ever destroyed here by these denizens of the wilderness. The catamount and lynx were more ferocious and blood-thirsty than the wolf or bear, but they were rare and shy, and no serious encounters with them have been made known.

The beaver abounded somewhat extensively in the waters of the place, and traces of his ingenious work, in the way of felling trees and building dams, have been seen by some of the older people now living. But all these long since disappeared. A single meadow perpetuates the name and memory of this inter- esting creature, whose abode was a marvel of instinctive design and skillful workmanship. The smaller and less formidable dwellers in the woods and out-of-the-way places -the fox, the raccoon, the woodchuck, the rabbit, the polecat, and various orders of squirrels, though greatly reduced in number, are yet still existent -some of them to the great vexation of the gardener and agriculturist. The chase, a common sport of half a century and more ago, is rarely indulged in at the present day, and a professional fox-hunter belongs to a virtually extinct race. The amphibious mink and muskrat still dwell in swampy places and along the borders of running brooks, but are not often seen or captured.

The common domestic animals are all of foreign extraction, not simply foreign to the locality but to the continent, though possibly some kinds of dogs may have an infusion of native American blood in their veins. The usual varieties came to the place with the early settlers, and have been duly preserved and permitted to share the fortunes of their descendants to the present day. But there have been great changes in regard to them, in some respects incident to the changed conditions of our entire New England life. The horse, noblest of all man's quadrupedal companions, maintains his aforetime prestige and rank in numbers and importance, nay, fills a larger place than formerly in the equipment of the farm and in the extent and variety of offices in which he renders service to his owner and the public weal. The ox, on the other hand, has fallen into dis- repute as a motive power in agricultural operations, and his numbers have greatly decreased in consequence thereof, very few of his kind being now owned or employed in any capacity

HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.

whatever. Sheep, so essential to the community in former times, have, for obvious reasons, almost wholly disappeared, while cows, for reasons equally obvious, more nearly hold their own. The accessibility of the great West, with its immense herds of cattle and of swine, has greatly diminished the impor- tance and value of both, as sources of supply for the food- markets in this section of country, and the attention given them as products of the farm, has declined accordingly. Those pets and guardians of the household -the dog and the cat - still fill their accustomed place in domestic economy and at the fireside of the family, and are not likely to fall into disre- spect or desuetude.

Of birds of prey, formerly quite numerous, the eagle, the fish- hawk, the hen-hawk, and different kinds of owls, but few are now to be seen. Crows and blackbirds, in plentiful numbers, still vex to a limited extent the corn and grainfields of the husbandman. Wild geese occasionally pause to rest their weary wings in the waters of the town, or are discerned in high air, pressing on their way between warmer and colder latitudes. Wild turkeys, numerous in the early days, furnishing a frequent and much cov- eted dish for the table of the first settlers as a compensation for frequently disturbing the quiet of the night with their unmusi- cal gobblings and cacklings, are not remembered by the oldest inhabitant. Flocks of pigeons, once abundant, are but rarely seen nowadays, and but few partridges remain as food for the powder of the sportsman, or for the table. The smaller wild birds - the various kinds of thrushes and bobolink, filling the air with their indescribable melody, the robin, the lark, the blue- bird, the bright-hued Baltimore oriole, the cherry bird, the spar- row and the wren, the woodpecker, the catbird, and the blue jay, the goldfinch, the snow-bird, and the half-domestic swallow, -are still extant in goodly numbers, ready for the early worm, the rippened berry, or the scattered grain. The house martin, once a common and welcome summer visitor, is now little more than a memory. The night hawk, with its shrill, piercing shriek, and the whip-poor-will, ever repeating, with its vox humana, its own name, lest the world forget it, may still be heard almost any evening from May to August, as in days of yore. Most of these winged tenants of the grove and field are migratory, coming and going with the growing and waning year, though a few of them - the crow, the blue jay, and the snowbird -defiant of winter's cold, remain the twelve-month through, under per- petual title to the realm they occupy in these more northern latitudes.

The domestic fowls are the same as may be found in any village or hamlet, in any town or borough of the state, perhaps of the country. Of those brought here with the pioneer set- tlers, only the hen seems to have come to stay. There are but few flocks of geese now, where once they cackled and chased

FISH AND REPTILES.

the small boy at almost every homestead, and few turkeys are raised either for the home or outside world, though fifty years ago many of the farmers made them an important part of their yearly production and a source of considerable income.

Numerous kinds of fish seem to have been indigenous to the waters of Westminster, and formed an important part of the food supply of the first comers to the place. The shy, beauti- ful, palatable trout frequented most of its smaller streams, while the black sucker, good for the table at given seasons of the year, was found in the larger ones. The ponds were well stocked with the highly prized pickerel, the perch, eel, and horned-pout, the last of which, scarcely deemed catable by many people in by-gone days, has recently risen so much in popular favor that "pout dinners" are offered as a special attraction at lake shore resorts, being deemed a great delicacy by connoisseurs in matters of that sort. A few years ago, the experiment of introducing foreign varieties of fish into home waters, greatly vaunted by a certain class of amateur piscicul- turists, was tried, by vote of the citizens, at an expense of several hundred dollars. The black bass was strongly recom- mended as a gamely creature and as excellent for the table, and it was put into Meeting-house Pond. The result is that the new comer has proved to be so gamely as either to destroy the natives, especially the pickerel and perch, or run the flesh off their bones by constantly harassing and chasing them through the waters, while they, themselves, are a poor substitute for what have been thus displaced or impoverished, being, except for a brief portion of the year, not simply unpalatable, as an article of food, but offensive to both smell and taste; so that the citizens would be quite willing to expend a much larger sum to rid the waters of the present imported occupants, than they did to introduce them there. It is wise, sometimes, to " let well enough alone," and not be in too great haste to adopt the theories of half-fledged novices and blatherskites.

Of the reptilian class, or order, of animated creation, but a few specimens have ever existed of any particular importance or note-worthiness. Certain kinds of water-snakes, and the spotted adder occasionally found here, have had a reputation for poisonous qualities probably beyond what the facts in the case would warrant, and have, therefore, been objects of special dread. The most formidable of the reptile tribes in town has been, no doubt, the black snake, once quite common, but now existing only in greatly diminished proportions, both as to num- bers and size. They are reported as having sometimes chased children and timorsome adults, much to their fright, but not, it is believed, to their harm. Striped and green snakes occa- sionally are seen, but excite little attention. Turtles are still, at times, discovered making their way through the waters, or sunning themselves upon a rock or log, or traveling across the

HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.

fields quite away from their native element. Lizards are not wholly extinct. The frog seems to hold his own with wonder- ful tenacity, as respects both numbers and power of vocalization, while the toad flourishes yet amid the haunts of civilized men, and though not agreeable to look upon is, nevertheless, a most interesting and useful creature, not estimated according to his deserts.

An indefinite number and variety of small, mischievous or noxious animals, like the mole, bat, mouse, and rat, infest all localities here as elsewhere, to the great annoyance and disgust of those coming in contact with them or with their doings, while the insect world is abundantly represented by different kinds of beetles and moths, wasps and bees, butterflies and glow-worms, the locust, grasshopper, and cricket, the whole vast fly tribe, and the singing, stinging mosquito, with other forms and types not needful to mention. These, with an in- numerable company of bugs, worms, etc., known only to the entomologist, make up the list of insectivora found in these borders, and conclude what seems necessary to be said in regard to those denizens of the kingdom of animated nature which are represented in this general locality.

THE ABORIGINAL OCCUPANTS.

Having given an outline of what may be termed the physical geography of Westminster, it seems desirable, before entering upon the distinctively historical survey that now invites atten- tion, to present a few considerations upon the relation of the aborigines of the country to the particular section of it involved in this work; the nature and extent of their ownership and occu- pancy of the land; the liquidation of their claims; and matters generally pertaining thereto. There is no probability that the Indians ever had any settlement or permanent abiding place on the territory of this town. No tokens of their existence have ever been found here, save an occasional peculiarly-shaped stone which might have been a rude axe or arrow-head, and which, if really such, was possibly lost or purposely left in casually cross- ing the place, or during some hunting excursion. Under these circumstances it is reasonable to conclude that the red men had nothing like what might be termed a residence within these borders. It is known, however, that different bands or tribes were located at several places in the general vicinity :- the Nashuas, at Washacum Pond, Sterling; the Hassanamiscos, at Grafton ; the Quaboags, at Brookfield; the Squakeags, at North- field, etc. These, like others in New England, had their respec- tive seats or centers where they collectively dwelt during the greater part of the year, and around which they respectively claimed a certain extent of country as fishing and hunting grounds; their seat or center being always at localities near

INDIAN CLAIMS CANCELED.

which they could easily raise corn, peas, lentils, and such other vegetables as they were in the way of cultivating. Just where the boundaries of the several landed districts were in any case, or what was the division between the grounds of two contiguous tribes, does not appear, and probably never was absolutely fixed. Very likely these grounds shaded into each other, and were limited by a general understanding rather than by any estab- lished landmarks, and when any case of assumed trespass oc- curred, -one tribe taking fish or game on territory claimed by a neighbor, -it was settled, if not by mutual consultation and agreement, by the old arbitrament of savage warfare, very much as nominally civilized and Christian people have settled similar differences in this country and elsewhere from time immemorial.

It is futhermore known that the Nashuas, at Sterling, which was then a part of Lancaster, originally claimed Wachusett as within their jurisdiction, and that they were in the habit of flying to it and of taking advantage of its rocks and ravines, in escaping from, or repelling, the advances of their adversaries, when, pressed too hard, they were driven from their central dwelling-place. No doubt they also claimed the lands lying contiguous to Wachusett, and very likely those beyond, as far away as the headwaters of the river whose name they them- selves bore, which would include the territory of the present

town of Westminster. It is understood that when Sholan, chief of the Nashuas, went before Governor Winthrop and the representatives of the Massachusetts Colony, in 1633-4, and for- mally submitted to the authority of the English, according to the terms of a treaty or agreement still preserved at the State House, he granted to his acknowledged superiors the right to all the lands over which he had previously held sway, so far as ownership and settlement were concerned, reserving to himself and his people the privilege of remaining in their already es- tablished abodes, and of hunting and fishing at will upon those lands as formerly. The compensation or equivalent named for the interest thus conveyed was the pledged friendship of the recipients towards the tribe immediately concerned in the transaction, and protection against the invasion and slaughter of hostile tribes. In this legitimate and honorable way, the landed property of this town became, it would seem, at an early date, a part of the territorial possessions of the colony named, the Indians themselves recognizing the same. No other formal treaty, bargain, or transfer touching this particular section of country, between the red and white men, is known to have ever been made. Nor, indeed, was there ever any call or opportunity for any other. For what is known as King Philip's or the Nar- ragansett War, inaugurated by the Indians themselves for the evident purpose of exterminating the white population, soon after broke out, resulting, contrary to the expectation of its insti-

HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.

gators, in the practical extinction of the whole red race from this section of the country. So that, subsequently to that tragic affair, there were no real or nominal aboriginal owners or claim- ants of the territory under notice. With the rest of southern New England, it remained virtually uninhabited and tenantless, so far as the natives were concerned, and consequently open and free to new occupants. The Massachusetts Colony, then permanently established at Boston and vicinity, having received certain general guaranties by the charter of Charles I, "to all lands extending from three miles north of Merrimac River to three miles south of Charles River, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans" (the king assuming jurisdiction by right of discovery), had taken possession, as far as practicable, of the en- tire region lying within those definitely stated limits; the section covered by the compact with Sholan, mentioned above, which was deemed supplementary or subordinate to the royal commis- sion, included. Acting under authority thus obtained, and with- out any rival or contesting claimant, the government of that colony, or province, as it was subsequently called, in the exercise of its judicial and administrative functions, disposed of such portions of the country over which it had assumed control as was deemed wise and proper, either by sale to actual settlers or others having the desire and ability to purchase, or by grant to persons claiming consideration for services rendered or other- wise. Under this policy and by this latter method, the West- minster territory came into the possession of the original proprie- tors of the township. The circumstances and conditions of the transfer, with the preliminary and other action relating thereto, will be fully set forth in subsequent chapters of this work.

CHAPTER III.

EARLY NEW ENGLAND.

THE COLONISTS - ABORIGINAL TRIBES -RELATIONS OF THE TWO- KING PHILIP'S OR THE NARRAGANSETT WAR.

THE territory just referred to, whose characteristic features had previously been portrayed, in common with that of several other New England townships, was originally granted by the government of the province mentioned to the soldiers, or heirs and representitives of soldiers, who had rendered valuable ser- vice in what is known as King Philip's or the Narragansett War. And in order to a full presentation and clear under- standing of all the factors entering into the problem of the ultimate possession and settlement of that territory, it is desir- able, if not necessary, not only to give a condensed sketch of that brief but most sanguinary conflict, but also to go back to the very beginning of the colonization of these shores by civil- ized man ; note the auspices under which the event took place ; the relation of the new-comers to the aboriginal inhabitants ; and the circumstances which led to the final outbreak between the two, in the early summer of 1675. To that complex task the opening paragraphs of the present chapter will be devoted.

The Founding of New England. Among the truly great achievements of the world's history, the founding of New England may be regarded as one of the most eventful and worthy of commemoration. Like a mighty monument erected upon the headlands of time, it stands out in bold relief against the back- ground of past ages, to mark in its day the height gained by the rising tide of human progress and the opening of a new era in the life of the race. Whether considered with reference to the personality of the men and women by whose instru- mentality it was brought to pass, or in its relation to the ex- istence and happier fortunes of the American Republic, its importance and grandeur can not be over-estimated or too highly extolled. They, who, taking their lives in their hands and brav- ing a multitude of perils, came across the sea, that they might set up in the wilds of the new world the ark of a loftier civiliza- tion than had ever been seen before, and plant in its virgin soil the tree of a larger liberty and of a broader faith than had pre- viously existed anywhere upon the earth, were of no ordinary make, and they wrought no ordinary work. Whatever their faults, their follies, or their sins, -they no doubt had all of these, -they were persons of rare endowment, of wonderful

HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.

power, of pre-eminent nobility of soul. They belonged to that class of people in English society whom the brilliant and dis- tinguished Lord Macaulay characterized as "the most remarka- ble, perhaps, the world ever produced." Raised by a sublime self-consecration above low and trifling aims and ends in life, above sordid, mercenary, selfish motives and ambitions, they illustrated a personal integrity, a loyalty to conscience, a devo- tion to principle, a faith in the eternal realities, and a moral heroism, which challenge the admiration, the homage, and the gratitude of mankind. Leaving home and friends and native land behind them, and all the blessings those terms imply in modern life, they dared the dangers of three thousand miles of tempestuous billows and all the privations and perils of an un- known wilderness peopled by wild beasts and savage men, not to gain wealth or power or any earthly good, but that they might secure for themselves and their posterity the inestimable blessings of civil and religious liberty, worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and build up here a commonwealth or hierarchy fashioned after the hierarchy of the skies, - a kingdom of heaven on the earth. Great souls were they,

"bound to o'erleap the vulgar lot, And mold the world into the scheme of God."

What these founders were, showed itself in what they did. Like the image and superscription of Cæsar on the old Roman coin, their likeness was stamped on every product of their form- ing hand, - on New England life and history. Their character gave character to their work; in a large view, it shaped the fortunes of a mighty nation yet to be, - nay, of a continent. Their ideas of civil and religious liberty, crude and imperfect though they were in many respects, were yet the seed-grain and promise of those free institutions which make the American Republic the menace of despotic power in all lands, the hope of the oppressed the world over, and the joy of lovers of justice and humanity beneath every sky. All that is noblest and best in our American life, to-day, is the natural outcome of the principles and aims of those royal adventurers who settled Plv- mouth, Salem, and Boston, two hundred and sixty or seventy years ago. The Puritan element, personified in them more than any other, has shaped the best features and promoted the true greatness and glory of this, the latest born and foremost of the nations of the earth.

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History of Westminster, Massachusetts (first named Narragansett no. 2) from the date of the original grant of the township to the present time, 1728-1893, with a biographic-genealogical register of its principal families, Part 4

Author: Heywood, William S. (William Sweetzer), 1824-1905 Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Lowell, Mass.: Vox Populi Press : S.W. Huse & Co. Number of Pages: 1082

Author: Heywood, William S. (William Sweetzer), 1824-1905
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Lowell, Mass.: Vox Populi Press : S.W. Huse & Co.
Number of Pages: 1082