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 54
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The house as originally constructed had two front entrances opening into two passageways or entries with a small Selectmen's room between them. The main hall was supplied with per- manent seats facing the entrances, between which was a narrow platform and a desk, for the presiding officers or speakers. The floor had a gradual rise from front to rear. The building remained in this condition, the lower portion only being utilized, for two years, when by vote of the town, Nov. 14, 1842, the upper hall was finished and made ready for use, entrance there- to being gained by a stairway from the entry at the south- westerly corner of the structure.
An ineffectual attempt at some desirable modification of the internal arrangement of the lower hall was made in 1850. But at a meeting held April 2, 1855, upon an article in the warrant, "To see if the town will alter and repair the Town Hall, etc.," it was voted "to refer the subject matter of this Article to the Selectmen, and instruet them to drop the floor of the Town Hall, remove the Desk to the other end of it, obtain
W. P. ALLEN, GARDNER MAS-
TOWN HALL BUILDING,
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RECONSTRUCTION OF TOWN HALL BUILDING.
seats, and paint and shingle the house." This was done, and the building as thus improved was used, with but few modifi- cations or changes, for nearly thirty years.
But the time at length came when the growing needs of the town, especially with reference to the public library, which had been established and had increased to such proportions as to require better accommodations than it had thus far enjoyed, demanded important improvements in the chief public building of the place. On the 4th of November, 1884, a committee was chosen in regular town meeting to take into consideration the matter of remodeling the Town House, and report thereon. The committee, of which Augustine Whitney was chairman, presented the result of their deliberations March 2, 1885, re- commending the raising of the building and putting a new story underneath, with library room, kitchen, pantry, small hall, etc., at an estimated cost of $2,800.00. The report was accepted and adopted, and the same committee, consisting of Augustine Whitney, S. D. Simonds, Charles Nichols, Theodore S. Wood, and E. L. Burnham, was chosen to have charge of the proposed work, and carry it forward to completion. Their commission was executed during the summer following, to the general acceptance and satisfaction of their constituency, giving to the public a building conveniently arranged within for the various uses for which it was designed, and presenting exter- nally, in a simple style of architecture, a very respectable and commanding appearance. In its present improved condition it will serve all reasonable and probable needs and exigencies for many years to come, and is an ornament and an honor to the village and town.
A somewhat generous and comprehensive policy in regard to opening the Town Hall building for other than strictly town uses has prevailed from almost the beginning. The matter was at the outset put into the hands of the Selectmen, who were inclined to a more restrictive course than was deemed advisable by the general public, the result being that it became a frequent subject for the voters' consideration. At the annual meeting in March, 1842, it was voted "to have the Town House opened for all meetings of a Moral, Scientific, and Literary nature, when any of the citizens of Westminster may request the same," and the Selectmen were instructed to furnish suitable means of lighting the main hall for evening gatherings. In their con- struction of the above vote, the Selectmen felt themselves bound to refuse the hall to the Second Adventists at the time of the great "Miller excitement " of 1843. Whereupon certain interested parties endeavored to get a vote of censure passed against these officers, but the town refused to gratify them. At a later meeting it was voted "that William Wiswall have the privilege of occupying the Town House for meetings not no- toriously immoral, or any other inhabitant of the town by mak-
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
ing application of the agent who has charge of the house." April 7, 1845, "Voted to give the citizens liberty to hold Sing- ing Schools and Caucusses in the Town Hall by their finding their own lights and fuel." Dec. 1, 1845, "Voted to grant the use of the Town Hall to the Lyceum for its meetings this fall and ensuing winter without charge therefor." The same vote was passed many times afterward. April 7, 1856, voted "to charge $3.00 for the use of the Town Hall, including lights and warming when necessary, to all who do not belong to town." Oct. 4, 1884, voted " $80.00 towards the purchase of a piano for the Town Hall," a sufficient sum additional having been raised by private subscription to secure an instrument satisfactory to those interested and concerned.
Town Safes. Upon an article in the warrant calling the annual meeting in 1852, "to see if the town will provide for the safe keeping of the public records," it was voted to authorize the Selectmen to purchase a safe for the purpose indicated, and one was bought accordingly. This served the end proposed for more than twenty years, or until an increased amount of im- portant books, papers, etc., rendered larger accommodations of this sort desirable; when, in the year 1874, a second one was obtained by the same authority. These two, still extant, with a smaller one purchased ten years later for the special use of the clerk, are likely to supply all public needs in this behalf for many years to come.
Post Offices. The postal system of this country, though projected in 1692, was not organized and put into operation by the parent government till 1710, the chief depository for receiv- ing and distributing letters being located at New York, with subordinate ones at several other important places in the colo- nies, - Boston being one of them. The name of the first post- master-general has not been ascertained, but Benjamin Franklin was appointed in 1753, and continued in office till he became involved in the troubles which precipitated the American Revo- lution, when he was summmarily discharged.
Soon after the establishment of the United States govern- ment in 1789, this department of the public service was recon- structed and set in motion under the direction of S. Osgood of Massachusetts, Postmaster-general. In 1790 there were 75 post offices in the country ; in 1800, 903. Postage for 40 miles and under, 8 cents ; between 40 and 90 miles, 10 cents ; between 90 and 150 miles, 12} cents; between 150 and 300 miles, 17 cents; between 300 and 500 miles, 20 cents ; over 500 miles, 25 cents.
For many years subsequent to the settlement of this town there was no post office nearer than Boston, and whatever busi- ness was done through the mail, which was very little indeed, had to be done there. On the 8th of June, 1773, a letter was advertised in the Massachusetts Spy, then published in that town, for "Solomon Whitney, Westminster."
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W. P. ALLEN, GARDNER, MASS.
RESIDENCE OF DANIEL C. MILES,
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POST OFFICES -NATIONAL BANK.
In 1775 an office was started at Worcester under the auspices of the Provincial Congress, with Isaiah Thomas, Postmaster. This was afterwards adopted by the United States government, and for more than twenty-five years the postal business of Westminster was transacted at that point. Aug. 14, 1776, a postrider, name not given, advertised in the Spy, previously transferred to Worcester, to set out thence "for Fitchburg, arriving every Wednesday night. Towns in vicinity accommo- dated. Letters carried with safety and dispatch." In the same paper lists of letters awaiting delivery from time to time ap- peared, among which were the following Westminster names at the respective dates designated : Sept. 24, 1789, Nathan Whitney; Nov. 11, 1790, Mrs. Sarah Sever; Jan. 21, 1795, Ebenezer Jones; April 10, 1799, Oliver Jackson; April 16, 1800, Asa Miles.
Such were the postal facilities here up to the time of the establishment of a local office in 1804. The first Postmaster in town was Daniel Bartlett, appointed May 10, 1804. He con- tinued in office till his death, on Christmas day, 1819. His suc- cessors, with the date of their commissions, were Timothy Doty, Jan. 22, 1820; Asa Farnsworth, March 31, 1835; Joseph Whitman, May 1, 1837; Joseph M. Whitman, June 21, 1860; Samuel G. Kendall, March 26, 1861; Wallace Cheney, March 2, 1875 ; Jerome Whitman, Sept. 2, 1885; Edward S. Kendall, the present incumbent, June 1, 1889.
Four subordinate offices have existed in town during its later history, as indicated below :
I. "Wachusett Village," established Dec. 15, 1851. Post- master, Benjamin Wyman, appointed Dec. 15, 1851; Charles A. Lucas, Dec. 14, 1874. Discontinued Dec. 26, 1877.
2. "Westminster Depot," established Jan. 29, 1869. Post- master, George K. Walcott, appointed Jan. 29, 1869; Walter E. Lord, Nov. 10, 1881 ; Levi Warner, March 11, 1886; Mel- ville H. Warner, acting Postmaster, 1891.
3. "South Westminster," established June 22, 1874. Post- master, Artemas Merriam, appointed the same date. Still in office.
4. "Wachusett," established Oct. 5, 1880, with Ann M. Sprague, Postmistress. Discontinued Oct. 12, 1887.
Westminster Bank. This institution was chartered in the year 1875, chiefly through the influence and active efforts of Daniel C. Miles, who, in connection with the various indus- trial enterprises which have engaged his thought and energy through life, has given much attention for a few years past to the study of questions of finance and collateral subjects. By personal solicitation he enlisted the interest and co-operation of capitalists and others in the undertaking, and thereby secured contributions to its capital,-a hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Miles was chosen President of the corporation at the outset,
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
and has been annually re-elected to the position since. Wm. Mayo was the first cashier, serving till 1887, when he resigned, and was succeeded by the present incumbent, Frank W. Fenno. The officers of the institution at this writing (1892) are Daniel C. Miles, President; Charles Nichols, Vice-President; Frank W. Fenno, Cashier; David W. Hill, Charles Upton, E. L. Burnham, S. H. Sprague, Preston P. Ellis, Charles A. Forbush, Lyman Allen, F. J. Pierce, Gardner ; George Jones, Lunenburg ; I. N. Bartlett, Royalston; Fred N. Cheney, Boston, Directors.
CEMETERIES.
It was undoubtedly the purpose of the original proprietors of the township called Narragansett No. 2, to have the resting place of the dead located in close proximity to the meeting- house, as was the general custom with new settlements in the early days of New England. This purpose was embodied in the plan for the first division of lands, the committee to whom that work was assigned being instructed to fix upon a site for a meetinghouse and then "lay out a sufficiency of land for said Meeting-house a Training Field and a Burying-place, not exceeding Ten acres." For reasons not stated, but probably on account of the unsuitableness of the location for such uses, no part of this land was ever devoted to burial purposes, and no action seems to have been taken in regard to the matter for several years after a settlement was made. So far as is known, no deaths occurred during that period.
In the advertisement calling a meeting of the proprietors Sept. 1, 1742, was an article "to know what the proprietors will Do in Fixing a Place for a Burying-place in Said Township." Upon this article it was "Voted and accepted of the acre of the Land Given by Mr. Dunster for a burying place," and a com- mittee was chosen to lay it out and take a deed of the same. No record can be found showing where this land was or whether it was actually conveyed to the "Propriety" as proposed. On the contrary, circumstances seem to indicate that the vote of the town was never carried into effect. Mr. Dunster then owned, and was probably living upon, lot No. 10, lying southwest of the meetinghouse site and quite separate from it, and there is no evidence to prove that any burials ever took place on the territory then in his possession.
Moreover, eleven years afterward, July 25, 1753, the proprie- tors "Voted and chose lt. Stearns Mr. graves and andrew Darby a Committee to a take a deed of Joseph Holden Junior of ye burying place." Joseph Holden, Jr., was then owner of lot No. 19, on which the original part of the old town cemetery was located, and the record undoubtedly relates to the legal transfer of that to the proprietors of the township for the special uses designated. Some years later the grounds were
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CENTRAL PUBLIC BURIAL-PLACE.
substantially fenced, pursuant to a vote passed March 18, 1765. The first person interred therein was a son of Fairbanks Moor, who died in 1742 as elsewhere narrated, Mr. Moor being then in possession of the property. It is not unlikely that others were buried there previous to the time when Mr. Holden con- veyed it to the Propriety.
This particular lot of land was used as the sole burial place of the town until 1795, and within its borders was deposited what was mortal of the fathers and mothers of Westminster and of their descendants of the first and second generations. Having become pretty fully occupied, measures were taken in the year named to obtain additional lands, and on the 28th of September a committee, who had been given charge of the matter, reported that they had bargained for an adjoining lot with Michael Gill, at an expense of £33, the same being a part of original house lot No. 20. This second purchase constitut- ed the central portion of the present cemetery and supplied the needs of the town and community for about fifty years. At length, on the 29th of August, 1846, the necessity of increased burial accommodations being apparent, Dea. Benj. F. Wood, Maj. Edward Bacon, and Horace Whitney were chosen a com- mittee to clear up the old grounds and to examine adjoining lands with the view of purchasing them, if deemed advisable. Sept. 20, 1847, they reported certain work done by them, and recommended buying a few acres adjoining the existing grounds on the east, which were owned by Martha Hager and Sarah (Ha- ger) Upton, daughters of the late Elijah Hager. The report was accepted, and they were instructed to effect the contemplated purchase, and to lay out the new grounds into lots, drive-ways, avenues, walks, etc., which was accordingly done.
The three purchases named cover the entire territory of the cemetery under notice, excepting the northwest corner, which was not included in the original one made of Joseph Holden, lying as it then did on the opposite side of the old road to Lunenburg; but which, after the building of the turnpike and the discontinuance of the Lunenburg road, was bought of Edmund Bemis. At the time of the second purchase a house and other buildings were standing on the premises, but they were soon afterwards sold and removed. The tomb at the south- west corner of the grounds was constructed by Dea. Joseph Miller, and no doubt encloses his remains and those of his im- mediate family.
Little was done by the town in the way of caring for the cemetery grounds previous to the year 1867, when they were put in charge of a committee, as they have been year by year since to the present day. In general, they are in fairly good condition, while many of the private lots are well kept by those specially interested in them. A goodly number of elaborate and costly monuments, chaste and elegant in design, and varied
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
to suit the taste of those erecting them, gives dignity, grandeur, and attractiveness to this ever-increasing city of the dead.
The first hearse was ordered March 12, 1792, when the town voted "to provide a carriage to attend funerals" and chose Ebenezer Jones, Colonel Dike, and Asa Farnsworth a commit- tee to purchase the same. It would seem that the vote was not carried into immediate effect, inasmuch as the selectmen did not draw an order for paying the expense incurred, $33.34, till 1795. An appropriate harness for the same was made by Wil- liam Whiting and Peletiah Everett for $9. 11. A new hearse was built in 1826 by Luke Minott at a cost of $51.50. In 1840 another was purchased of George W. Lane, manufacturer, in order to have one for the North cemetery, the selectmen to decide which should be assigned to that locality. Twenty-five years later a fourth was procured by vote of the town, and the present one in 1890, the change in the form of burial caskets necessitating a carriage of more ample proportions than were previously required.
A house for the hearse was voted Dec. 22, 1795, to " be Set at the Pound if room, if not to Sett it on the common by the meeting house." It was built fifteen feet long, ten wide, with seven feet posts, by Abner Whitney, at a cost of $24.00, its site being the one last named. In January, 1803, it was voted "to move it down the hill to the burying ground," which was accordingly done. It stood, as many remember, near the north- west corner and served its purpose till 1856, when the present one near the tomb was ordered by the town and located where the selectmen "saw fit."
North Burying Ground. In the warrant for a town meeting held Nov. 6, 1826, was an article "To see if the town will purchase land in the north section of the town for a bury- ing-ground, etc." The subject was referred to a committee who reported favorably at the following March meeting. As a result, about two acres of land were purchased of James Puffer, which, in due time, were properly fenced, laid out, and equipped with appurtenances and appliances suited to the uses for which it was designed. It is a pleasantly located lot, every way appropriate as a resting-place for the bodies of the de- parted, is neatly kept and adorned with suitable tomb-stones and other memorials of those "not lost but gone before" of that neighborhood. As already indicated, there is a hearse connected with this burial-ground, also a house for the shelter and preservation of the same.
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. On the 27th of October, 1852, an application was made to William S. Bradbury, justice of the peace, for a meeting of persons interested to consider and decide upon the matter of organizing a cemetery association under an act of the Legislature passed in 1841. It was signed by Milton Joslin, William Mayo, Charles Coolidge, Stillman
449
ORGANIZED SOCIAL ENTERPRISES.
Brooks, Joseph W. Forbush, William Eaton, Marshall White, J. Russell Coolidge, George Kendall, Joseph Whitman, and George Adams. The meeting was held Nov. 4th, at which the "Westminster Mt. Pleasant Cemetery Co." was organized, with John Minott, President; Joseph M. Whitman, Secretary; and George Adams, Treasurer. A constitution of fourteen articles was adopted for the government of the body, and steps were at once taken by the passage of votes and the appointment of committees for carrying into effect the purposes of those inter- ested in the movement. Thirty-seven persons constituted the original membership.
Two weeks later, Nov. 18th, land was bought of George Adams, lying near the summit of the hill, half a mile southwest of the village, which in due time was properly surveyed and laid out into family burial lots, about 150 in number, a goodly proportion of which have been sold and utilized. In 1887 a small addition was made to the grounds on the southwesterly end, by a gift from Preston P. Ellis, whereby desirable conveniences were secured. In 1890 a fine piece of curbing at the northeasterly extremity was put in by Mr. and Mrs. William Mayo, adding much to the attractiveness of that portion of the territory. The site is an eligible and commanding one, the lots are neatly kept, and numerous monumental tokens of respect, veneration, and love for the departed, of various design, greet alike the first rays of the rising sun and the eye of the observer. The present officers of the association are William Mayo, President ; C. F. Giles, Clerk; Henry Partridge, Frank Eaton, Charles Nichols, Prudential Committec.
Special Organizations. That man is a social being, endowed by his Creator with faculties and powers that not only fit him for sympathy, fellowship, and co-operation with his kind, but impel him to seek such reciprocity of feeling and action, is one of the most obvious facts, as it is one of the most fundamental truths of human existence. It finds illustration beneath all skies, in every department of life, among all classes of people. Evidences are abundant on all hands and conclu- sive, that "it is not good for man to be alone."
In this town, as elsewhere, especially in later days, have the capacity for and tendency to associative action been clearly manifest. Almost every human interest, not strictly personal and private, has been represented here in some organized form -in some society, company, or corporation. Many of these have already received attention under appropriate headings and in connection with topics to which they were closely related. A few remain, however, worthy of consideration, and to the proper notice of these a brief space will now be devoted.
Farmers' and Mechanics' Club. Some forty years ago, or about 1850, a few of the more intelligent and enterpris- ing farmers of the community, desirous of helping each other
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
in the various departments of their chosen calling, and of avail- ing themselves of every possible opportunity to gain useful in- formation upon the general study of agriculture as related to practical results, united in the formation of an association designed to facilitate and secure these important ends. This association they denominated "The Farmers' Club." Regular meetings of the members were established for mutual consulta- tion upon matters pertaining to their distinctive craft, the dis- cussion of important questions of productive husbandry, the reading of papers or essays, original and selected, relating to successful tillage, and for other exercises and activities pro- motive of the objects sought to be attained. Not scornful of what some deride as "book-farming," they founded an agricul- tural library, which, in a few years, grew to the size of some hundreds of volumes, representing the best thought of the best writers upon scientific agriculture, as it did the most approved means and methods of cultivating the soil and securing abund- ant harvests,- means and methods tested and recommended by practical farmers and carefully trained experts.
For a series of years the "Club" flourished and wrought a good work for its members and for the general public, its influ- ence extending far and wide beyond its own boundaries and indirectly benefiting the entire farming population of the town. Interest in it subsiding, producing corresponding inactivity and neglect of proffered advantages, its operations after a time ceased altogether. At the expiration of a few years more, however, it was determined to start a new enterprise in the same general be- half, enlarging the original field of activity to such an extent and in such a way that the mechanical as well as agricultural inter- ests of the town should be included and enhanced. To this end an organization was effected some fifteen years ago under the name of "The Farmers' and Mechanics' Club," which at once entered upon a career of general prosperity that has con- tinued unto this day. With occasional meetings for consultation and mutual improvement, for devising plans promotive of the important ends to be subserved and methods for carrying those plans into effect, the chief interest of the members of the organization during the year, at present, centers in the " Annual Fair," held in the early autumn time, as through that agency their chief power for good is exerted, reflexively upon them- selves and objectively upon the public at large. As now organ- ized, equipped, and administered, this club is recognized, at home and abroad, as a most efficient and successful institution, salutary and helpful in its influence, industrially, socially, and morally considered, upon all classes of the town's population. Its exhibits from year to year are of superior excellence, reflect- ing much credit upon those represented in them and adding not a little to the good name of the town in neighboring locali- ties and wherever its attainments in this regard are known.
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SOCIETIES FOR MUTUAL HELPFULNESS.
The present president of the club is Israel Dickinson, and its secretary, Edward C. Damon,
Co-operative Union. An association bearing this title was formed about the middle of the present century, for the purpose of securing some measure of relief from the burdens and disabilities incident to the established commercial methods of society, so far as they related to the so-called necessaries of life -the common staple articles of personal and domestic con- sumption.
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