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 44
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I. PROVISION FOR THE POOR.
The inhabitants of Westminster have never been unmindful of their duty to those of their number who from any cause have been brought into a condition of penury and dependent need, nor have they been indisposed to devise measures and adopt plans of relief. What is even better than this, they at an early day sought to prevent pauperism and the many evils engendered by it by passing a resolve quoted in full on page 140, condemn- ing idleness, wasteful expenditure, extravagant habits, etc., on the one hand, and, on the other, commending industry, frugality, and other economic virtues as of primary importance and value. Moreover, in order to escape from burdens liable to be imposed upon them by an influx of thriftless, indigent persons and families from other localities, they took advantage of certain
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
Provincial laws for such cases made and provided, which per- mitted "Cautions" or "Warnings," as they were termed, to be issued by the public authorities against such new-comers as in their judgment might become a burden to the community. In this way the town was relieved of all responsibility for the future support of those involved, their last place of legal resi- dence being held for all claims in that regard. This action was sometimes of a very sweeping character, including in its decrees not only the improvident and worthless, but those every way respectable and thriftful, with no likelihood of ever becoming a public charge. There was "no respect of persons" in the matter, as indicated in the fact that at one period, about a hundred years ago, half the population - more than 600 persons, representing 211 families-came under the ban of exclusion from the privileges of "settlement" here. Among them were many who, in after years, took rank as first citizens of the town, and highly honored members of the community at large. The custom fell into disuse about the time of the close of the last century.
If there were any instances of actual want in the township before incorporation took place, they were not a matter of record, having been relieved probably by private charity or from a church "poor fund," as is thought to have been some- times the case. The first person to become a public charge was Hannah Mead, daughter of Israel Mead of Lexington and sister of Sarah (Mead), wife of Nathan Pierce. She became dependent evidently by reason of sickness, the first money appropriated in her behalf, Feb. 14, 1764, being 7s. 6d. in pay- ment of Dr. Everett's bill for professional services. She soon after deceased.
At the same date the first general grant, £20, was made by the town for the poor, and an additional sum of £13 6s. 8d. on the 19th of July following. May 4, 1768, it was voted "to allow Nathaniel Wheeler £1 13s. 4d. in full for his keeping Reuben Ball before he was bound to Mr. Woodward." Of what was done in aid of the families of soldiers who were absent in the Revolutionary service, sufficient mention has been made in Chapter X.
So far as can be learned from the records it was the custom in those days for the Selectmen to have charge of the common claimants for public aid, and provide for their care, clothing, etc., in the best manner possible by private contract with parties willing to receive them into their homes and attend to their necessities. The number of such was small, not exceeding, except at some special times, three or four persons. On the 5th of March, 1789, a different course was adopted by the town's voting "to lett out the poor at Vandue to the Cheapest bidder" and the only one apparently then to be provided for was dis- posed of to Captain Hager. For exactly how long a period this
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PROVISION FOR THE POOR AND UNFORTUNATE.
method was pursued it is impossible to determine, although it still prevailed as late as 1821, when at the March meeting a committee appointed to take into consideration the best mode of supporting the poor reported that it is best "to let the poor out as usual with this reserve, that if any person bids off the poor that in the opinion of the Selectmen will not be likely to do well by them they shall not be under obligation to put them there ; we also think it advisable for the Selectmen often to make inquiry respecting the usage of the poor generally." This report was accepted and without doubt controlled the action of the authorities in the matter for several years after- ward.
As early as 1803, however, a movement was started contem- plating the purchase of a farm for the purpose of establishing a home for those dependent upon the town for care and sustenance. The subject came up in a legal meeting held Oct. 24th and was referred to a committee of which Lieut. Timothy Heywood was chairman, who reported the proposed action "inexpedient." A few years later the question was again agitated with a similar result. And there the matter rested until 1823, when it received fresh consideration, but to no practical purpose.
Nevertheless, there was a growing feeling in the community that the plan of caring for the poor, so long in vogue in town and elsewhere, was not only attended with many annoyances and difficulties and needlessly expensive, but was liable to many abuses, and that the dictates of kindness and humanity, added to other considerations, urged a change of administration in this department of public service. At length, at the March meeting in 1829, Simeon Sanderson, Esq., Dea. James White, and Ezra Wood were chosen a committee to examine the sub- ject of a poor establishment, and present the result of such examination at an adjourned meeting. They attended to the duty assigned them, and on the 6th of April brought forward an elaborate report which closed with a recommendation that the town provide at an early day such an establishment as was contemplated. The report was accepted and steps were taken to carry its recommendation into effect.
The year passed by, however, but nothing further was done than to examine farms, obtain prices, estimate expenses, etc., until March 1, 1830, when, as a result of information obtained, Simeon Sanderson, Esq., Timothy Doty, and Merari Spalding, Esq., were chosen agents "to take a deed for the town of Mr. John Jackson's farm and to make payment or give security in behalf of the town to the amount of twenty-five hundred dollars." On the 5th of April following, the Overseers of the Poor, who were the agents just named, were instructed " to pur- chase all kinds of stock, so called, and furniture necessary for the poor establishment," and "to do or transact anything that
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
shall be necessary to carry into effect the spirit of such an establishment." From the report of a committee chosen to settle with the overseers a year later, it appears that the whole cost of the farm, buildings, furniture, stock, tools, etc., to that date was $3,258.38, which was increased by needful expenditures made shortly afterward to $3,490.06, the amount permanently invested in the institution.
From all that can be learned, it seems that the care and management of the poor for seventy years after the incorpora- tion of the town, devolved upon the Selectmen, the cost of the same, including all moneys paid out for the indigent and needy, being reckoned in the general expense account. A separate board of officers to have charge of all such matters, entitled "Overseers of the Poor," was first chosen in 1830, and the practice of annually electing such a board continued till 1861, when the duty involved was assigned to the Selectmen, in whose hands it has since remained, the formal vote, however, being taken at each annual meeting, that "the Selectmen act as Over- seers of the Poor for the current year."
For more than thirty-five years the establishment on Beech Hill, purchased in 1830, was used for the housing and support of the poor, with no very great expenditure for repairs, improve- ments, etc., above and beyond what would naturally be required. But time and use had told somewhat severely upon the build- ings at the expiration of that period, and it became evident that considerable extra outlay would be necessary at an early day to put them in proper condition for much further service. This consideration, taken in connection with the fact that experience had brought to light certain serious objections to the farm itself, which could not be readily obviated, gave rise to the question of disposing of the estate and of seeking a more satisfactory location, which resulted in the chosing of a com- mittee, consisting of Joseph Hagar, Augustine Whitney, and Aretas Raymond, March 4, 1869, to consider the matter and report at a future meeting, which they accordingly did. The whole subject was then referred to the Selectmen with instruc- tions to sell and buy again, repair the old buildings or erect new ones, as they might deem best.
Pursuant to this vote sundry repairs were made, in order to serve the present needs, as there were from time to time during several succeeding years. The prevailing feeling, however, seemed to be in favor of a new location, which at length mate- rialized in the purchase of the former Jonas W. Whitney place near the North Common (recently vacated), and the corres- ponding sale of the old farm to Albert Sanderson of Gardner, the bargain being ratified by the town in regular meeting held Nov. 3, 1874. The new purchase was renovated, put in order, and made suitable for the proper housing and care of the town's dependents, whither they were transferred at an early date.
367
PHILANTHROPY AND REFORM.
There they and their successors were detained and provided for until 1891, when, under the provision of a newly enacted law, Westminster entered into an arrangement with several neighboring towns for the more economical and satisfactory care of the poor within their respective limits, founding a union establishment at Holden, to which all persons subject to public charge were removed and in which they still remain.
The several superintendents of the "town farm" from the beginning, so far as ascertained, are herewith submitted in sup- posed chronological order : John Jackson, Joseph Rugg, Albert Crane, John Mosman, Isaac Seaver, Benjamin Miller, Cum- mings Hale, Amos P. Spalding, S. F. Towne, Josiah C. Jackson, D. S. Elkins, Stephen Wood, John V. Platts, M. N. Lyon, Luke Divoll, Spalding, - - Chadwick, William P. Rabb, I. W. Heywood, - - Halstat, the last in office. Most of the later ones were from abroad, and only remained in town as resi- dents during their term of service.
SPECIFIC MORAL REFORMS.
While the people of this town have given the attention indi- cated to the needs of their own community and provided for the care and sustenance of those in their midst whom misfor- tune, thriftlessness, or vicious indulgence had brought to poverty and made objects of public charity, they have not been indiffer- ent to those broader humanitarian claims which have been rep- resented in the great reform movements of the present century ; movements inaugurated for the purpose either of resisting and overthrowing some of the prevailing evils of society at large, or in a more general way ameliorating the condition and dimin- ishing the sorrow of their misguided and suffering fellow-men. The cry of the wronged and the perishing, of the degraded and forsaken, has not been refused a hearing on their part, nor when heard disregarded. It has rather awakened interest, sympathy, fellow-feeling, which have prompted to active efforts of a distinctively. philanthropic nature, worthy of favorable recognition. The more important of these will be noticed under headings designating the causes which they respectively represent.
Temperance. In common with other towns and commu- nities, Westminster on the part of considerable numbers of her population has suffered seriously from the use, as a beverage, of intoxicating liquors. Here, as elsewhere, have the evils of in- temperance been experienced, as witnessed in squandered in- comes, wasted estates, wrecked homes, ruined characters, and premature deaths -in private and public discord, demoralization, and misery. And here, as elsewhere, have there been those ready to do what was possible on their part to stay the progress of the mighty curse and bring it to a perpetual end, not only in their own vicinity but throughout our land and world.
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
The people of this town for two or three generations shared no doubt the common belief of their day, that alcoholic bever- ages were not simply harmless but conducive to health, strength, and efficiency of both body and mind. The use of them was well-nigh universal and traffic in them was deemed as legitimate and honorable as it was in any other article of common utility, no one suffering in reputation, social standing, or otherwise, by reason of being engaged in such traffic. The traders in the place supplied New England rum and other intoxicants to their customers as freely and as conscientiously, no doubt, as they did molasses, flour, and other common articles of merchandise. The popular sentiment in regard to the whole matter may be learned from a few passages found in the records of the olden time, contrasting in a marked degree with those of later days. For instance, on the 16th of August, 1792, after the citizens had voted to clear and improve the grounds about the meeting- house, they also
"Voted, that there be drink provided by the Town for those persons that come to work on the common as shall be Necessary, then chose Mr. Jones, Col. Dike, and Capt Bigelow, to provide liquor and powder sufficient for the hands while Labouring on the Common."
On the 18th of October, the same year, a committee having been chosen to remove certain horse stables which were deemed out of place to a more satisfactory location, it was further- more
"Voted that there be liquor provided sufficient to remove said Stables at the Cost of the Town."
In the midst of a long town meeting held June 15, 1797, for the purpose of allotting and letting out materials for several new schoolhouses about to be built, it was
"Voted to have three quarts of Spirits Properly mixt for Refreshment on the Town's Cost.
"Voted that Mr. Ruben Sawin and Capt. Willm. Edggel Procure the same."
In the report of a committee appointed to let the building of a bridge near Ephraim Robbins' house, dated Oct. 9, 1798, appears the following among the items of cost : "the Liquor that was Expended at the Vendue amounted to one Dollar."
A few extracts from the Selectmen's book are of the same general nature, as illustrations of the feeling and habits of those times :
" Dec. 4 1796. To Lt Nathan Howard for a barrel of Cyder for Mrs. Taylor- 0.66.
"Jan. 3, 1797. To Levi Holden for a barrel of Cyder for the poor - 1.33.
"Nov. 27 1801. To Capt. Hoar for Liquor had at the Vandue of the Buring Ground Wall- 0.60.
"Nov. 7 1803. Received of the Selectmen of Westminster three Dollars and 5 Cents for Rum and other sundries for Mr. Phinehas Gates.
"ISAAC MILES.
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EARLY TEMPERANCE ACTIVITIES.
"Apr. 1, 1805. To Capt. Hoar for Liquor for leting out the poor - 1.20.
"Sept. 1809. To Dodd and Sawyer for Rum and Sugar on the new County road - 5.31.
"Nov. 27, 1812. To Wm. Penniman for tody when vandueing the poor in 1810, 1811 and 1812-3.30.
"Nov. 27 1813. To Zadoc Sawyer for Rum and paper to make Cat- tridges - 2.38.
"April 3, 1815. Wm. Penniman for tody to let out the poor with, -2.00."
As a further illustration of the prevalence of the drinking habits of bygone days, and of the extent of the traffic in spirit- uous liquors, it may be stated that for many years before and after the opening of the present century there were six or seven public houses in town licensed by the county court for the sale of such liquors, while several of the common stores had the same privilege. About the year 1825, however, the number of places for the sale of intoxicants began to fall off, and the diminution went on until less than a generation later only three or four remained. And these, through the agency of the ever active and vigilant friends of temperance in the community, supplemented by state legislation calculated to restrict or prohibit the unholy traffic, gradually decreased till not a single one was left to do its work of mischief and death in these borders,- till no alcoholic spirits whatever were sold here, as has been the case for many years, except clandestinely and in defiance of the statutes of the Commonwealth.
The precise date at which the subject of temperance began to be agitated in this community can not be ascertained. As early as 1813 the selectmen received an order from the grand jury of the county of Worcester "to caution all the Retailers in town not to mix any Liquor in their stores," which appears to have been the first movement of any sort designed to limit or control in any way the traffic whose calamitous effects were already causing anxiety and alarm on the part of the friends of virtue and the public welfare. It would seem that the Rev. Cyrus Mann, if not the first avowed exponent of the cause of temperance here, was its first open advocate and the first ex- pounder of the principles which it represented. It is more than probable that Doctor Beecher's "Six Sermons on Intem- perance," delivered at Litchfield, Conn., in 1826, and printed for general distribution, were instrumental in calling his atten- tion to, and awakening his interest in, the subject. As early as 1828 the reform had numerous adherents in town, largely as a result of his reading those sermons to such of his congregation as were willing to hear them during intermission. About the same time he took strong ground against the use of liquor at funerals, and members of his church were disciplined for undue indulgence in the use of the intoxicating cup. His active efforts in this behalf in the pulpit and elsewhere, at home and abroad, aroused considerable opposition even among his
24
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
own people, though he was supported and encouraged by Deacons Murdock and Peckham, the Woods, Jonas Miller, and other leading men of his church and society. One of these, William S. Bradbury, who had recently opened a store for general country merchandise, including spirituous liquors, at the stand so long occupied by him, became an early convert to temperance princi- ples, and, as an evidence of his sincerity, rolled the barrels of West India rum, etc., which he had on hand, out of his basement and began to stave in the heads of them with an axe. A fel- low-townsman passing by asked what he was doing. "Letting this hell-fire out upon the ground," was the reply. The in- quirer responded, "Why, if you go on like this, you will bring up at the poorhouse." "To the poorhouse let it be then, but I will sell no more liquor," said Mr. Bradbury, and there the col- loquy ended. Nor were the other churches and societies in town wholly indifferent to the claims of the cause under notice. The Universalists, presumably under the lead of their pastor, Rev. Charles Hudson, passed a vote in 1830 designed to check the drinking habits of the times, and Mr. Hudson himself at a later day was active in promoting the cause, taking a promi- nent part in public meetings held to advance its interests, and becoming, after his election to Congress in 1840, president of the Congressional Temperance Society in Washington. The Baptists also came early into the work, Dea. Joel Merriam, per- haps, being their most earnest and devoted representative, though bravely supported by a goodly number of his brethren.
On the 27th of April, 1829, a temperance society was formed, auxiliary to the American Temperance Society which had been organized at Boston three years before on the principle of total abstinence from all that can intoxicate, with Marcus Morton, afterwards Governor of the state, for president. The secretary of the local society was Abraham Wood, but the names of its other officers have not been ascertained. It had a con- siderable membership, held regular and earnest meetings, and, no doubt, did much to call public attention to the cause for which it stood, gain for it steadfast and influential adher- ents, and prepare the way for larger activities and the grander work afterwards accomplished.
So thoroughly interested in this reform were many of the members of the First Church that under the leadership of Edward, afterwards Deacon Kendall, the following resolution was adopted by that body, at a meeting held Feb. 2, 1837, to wit :
" Resolved, that in the opinion of this church the use of all intoxicating liquors as a drink is immoral and sinful and that such use by church mem- bers is calculated to bring reproach upon the cause of religion."
It was during the decade now in review, 1830-1840, that county temperance associations began to be formed in the state of Massachusetts, or associations covering a territory which
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THE WASHINGTON MOVEMENT.
included several towns conveniently located with respect to each other, but not necessarily bounded by county limitations. Under this general system of co-operative action, the body known as the "Worcester Northeast District Temperance Union" was organized at Leominster, May 1, 1839, with Dea. Benjamin F. Wood of this town as its first president. For many years it was a large, active, and influential body, composed of the most earnest and devoted friends of the cause in the several towns entitled to a representation in it, but in these later years other organizations seem to have taken possession of the field, and absorbed largely the interest which formerly gave it peculiar efficiency, though it still keeps its colors flying, and helps to carry on the warfare against the giant curse of the age.
In the year 1840 the so-called Washingtonian movement was inaugurated in the city of Baltimore by six inebriates, which wrought mightily throughout the land for the furtherance of the cause. Its influence was felt for good in Westminster where many public meetings were held, at which addresses were made by such men as John H. W. Hawkins, Dr. Charles Jewett, John B. Gough, Rev. Edwin H. Chapin, General Riley, and other distinguished champions of the principles of total ab- stinence. The result was a great awakening on the part of the people at large, the rescue of considerable numbers of persons who had been slaves of the drink habit, the conversion of many who had been indifferent to the claims of temperance or were addicted to a moderate use of liquor, and the creation of a pub- lic sentiment, which, at an early day, expressed itself in muni- cipal affairs-in the election of well-known temperance men to public office, and the passage of votes calculated to restrict the traffic in alcoholics, and hold it to a rigid account before the laws of the Commonwealth. That a sleepless vigilance in this latter respect characterized those charged with the duty of caring for the interests of the town, causing the apprehension and con- viction of persons guilty of the illegal sale of ardent spirits, is abundantly attested by the court records of the time.
In the midst of the great awakening, to which allusion was just now made, a complete reorganization of the temperance forces in town took place. The " Pledge," which had proved a most effective agency elsewhere, not only in reforming the ine- briate but in securing the co-operation of many not previously engaged in the work, was freely circulated, receiving a large number of signatures, and resulting in a great accession to the membership of the society. Under the new dispensation, Dr. John White was chosen president, with an efficient corps of subordinate officers, who led off in a vigorous and successful campaign in behalf of temperance, virtue, good order, and the public welfare, which was carried on for years, and which, in a large degree, changed the moral aspect of the town and lifted the whole community to a higher level.
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
Among other instrumentalities for helping on the good work, and making the future secure for the cause, was a detachment of the "Cold Water Army," in which were enlisted great num- bers of the children of the town, who, by appropriate speech and song, with banner and badge and many an ingenious device, were won to and established in the principles of temperance for all the years to come.
Nor were the women mere spectators of what was going on about them, helping simply to swell the numbers at temperance gatherings, or to grace festive occasions set apart for the prose- cution of the great reform. They were rather active laborers in it, recognizing the responsibility resting upon them, and render- ing important service both by personal effort and by associated action also. A most efficient agency of those stirring times was the society of women, organized under a constitution, of which the preamble, pledge, and most important articles are given, as follows :
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