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 9
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"Voted that a proprietors meeting be called and appointed on the Second Tuesday of July next and that Notifications be sent out accordingly."
Pursuant to this vote, the clerk issued the following
" ADVERTISEMENT.
"These are to notifie all the proprietors of the Narraganset Township North of Wetchutset hill number Two, to assemble att the House of Mrs. Mary Larnard in Watertown on tusday the ninth Day of July next at nine of the Clock in the fournoone To Consider and conclude on the following Articles, Viz: -
"I. To hear and adjust the accompts of the Commitee that have been concerned in managing the affairs of the said Propriety and for laying out the Lotts in sd Township and all other Charges that have Arisen and other Charges that may be thought proper to allow att said meeting and to defray the Same which Charges to Each Proprietor according to Computation will be four pounds.
"2. To hear and Determine when any dispute may arise amonge the heirs of any of the Grantees deceased, according to the Resolve of the General Court.
"3. To consider and conclude in what way they will Draw their Lotts and to Draw them as they Shall then agree.
"4. To consider and conclude how to lay out ways in said Township.
"5. To conclude how to relieve any persons that may be uneasey with their Draughts.
"6. To consider and conclude on any thing or things that may be thought proper att said meeting.
" In the name and by order of the Commitee.
" Charlstown June 11 1734. WILLIAM WILLIS proprietors Clerk."
The standing committee held a meeting a week previous to that of the proprietors announced above, and "voted that Mr. James Lowden, Capt. Bowman, and Mr. John Cutting, the First Commitee of this Society, prepare their accompts as Soone as may be Refferring to what they have Received of the proprie- tors money and likwise of their Disbursements and Commit the same to the proprietors' Clerk in order to the whole Accompts being prepared to be Layed before the propriety at the next meeting," July 9, 1734. The Proprietors convened as notified and organized by the choice of Capt. Joseph Bowman, Modera- tor. A committee consisting of Mr. John Sherman, Capt. Sam- uel Jackson, and Mr. Samuel Kneeland, was chosen "to audit the accounts of the former committees and other persons to whom the Propriety is indebted" and Maj. William Brattle, Mr.
61
DRAWING OF FIRST DIVISION LOTS.
Benjamin Brown, Mr. Samuel Kneeland, Mr. Samuel Chandler, and William Willis were appointed "to hear such persons who shall dispute the Title to any of the Rights in said Township or with Respect to the Charges in bringing forward or proving their Claimes to Such Rights," both committees being instructed to report at an adjourned meeting.
At the afternoon session it was
"Voted, that if any of the proprietors shall be dissatisfied with their draft Lotts in said Township he or they shall or may, upon his or their Relin- quishing the said lott or lotts to the propriety, have liberty within Two years from this time at his own Cost and Charge to survey and lay out in leue thereof, Sixty acres of the undevided Land in said Township Exclusive of medow, and in a Regular forme not exceeding half a mile in length, and to make return of such their Doing to the Proprietors Commitee for the time being for their Acceptance.
"Voted, that Each proprietor Shall pay to the Treasurer in Bills of Credit so much as shall make up the Credit they already have with the Treasurer the sume of foure Pounds before they shall Draw any of their Respective Lotts.'
The lots were then prepared for drawing by Major Brattle, Captain Jackson, and Mr. Benjamin Brown, a committee desig- nated for that purpose. Before proceeding with the draft, how- ever, lot No. 8 (extending from the old common half a mile in a southwest direction along the west side of the pond) was set apart and assigned to the first settled minister of the township, and No. 95 (located directly northwest of the Cowee place, now owned by Isaac N. Smith) was set apart as a ministerial lot, for the benefit of the ministry of the town. It was furthermore agreed that the Governor's Farm, so called, as laid out by the di- viding committee, consisting of five hundred acres, and sixteen acres additional, to be reserved and used for highways at the dis- cretion of the proprietors, be set apart and confirmed to His Excellency, Jonathan Belcher, as before provided for.
This farm lay beyond the second range of lots, on the south- west side of the central village street, and extended from a little west of Mrs. Julia A. Foster's residence nearly to the late Orange Young place, including South Westminster Village, the farms formerly belonging to James and John Sawin, Abra- ham Sampson and George Adams, Joseph and Luke Sawin, Aaron Derby, and Horace B. Knower, with contiguous lands. It was in rectangular form, three hundred and forty-four rods long by two hundred and forty rods wide.
It was furthermore agreed before the drawing began, that the house erected by order of the proprietors on lot No. I should be for their own convenience and use for seven years from date, and that afterward it should belong to the particular proprietor who should draw that lot. The doings of the dividing committee in general were approved, and also the allowance of two acres in each lot for highways, and the reservation of land between certain lots and ranges of lots for the same purpose ;
62
HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
and it was ordered that all such allowances and reservations "should be and remain for that use forever."
The proprietors present at this meeting, and the representa- tives of others who were absent, then proceeded to draw their respective lots in accordance with the foregoing votes. Those unrepresented, either in person or by proxy, were permitted to attend to that duty at an adjourned meeting, held Sept. 3d follow- ing, at which date the whole work was completed. The result is indicated in the list of grantees heretofore given .*
With the result of the drawing of the "First Division Lots," often called " Home Lots," the proprietors were generally satis- fied. Five of them, however, claimed the privilege accorded by a vote of the proprietors, passed July 9th, of throwing up the lots drawn by them and of locating elsewhere. These were Nathaniel Parker, who had drawn No. 94, formerly the Spauld- ing place, but recently owned by Mr. Lyman Seaver; Mr. Joseph Lynde, who had drawn, on the right of John Winslow, No. 79, lying south of the residence of Mr. Charles F. Knower and never built upon ; Mr. Jonathan Willard, who drew No. 78, adjoining the last upon the southeast and lying on both sides of the central road to Hubbardston, originally built upon by Benjamin Bellows but more recently known as the Rob- bins place; Nathaniel Appleton, who received No. 107, on which is now located the business part of Wachusettville; and Captain Jackson, who had drawn, on the right of Captain Pren- tice's heirs, No. 108, the lot where now stands the farm build- ings of Messrs. Benjamin Wyman and Samuel H. Sprague. These several persons, after surrendering the lots specified, selected a series lying contiguous to each other in the north part of the township, on the northerly slope of Bean Porridge Hill, which was duly assigned and confirmed to them respec- tively by vote of the propriety. The surrendered lots, with the exception of No. 94, which was, at a later date, set apart and reserved for the benefit of the schools of the township and known as the school lot, were afterwards disposed of by sale to other parties.
At the proprietors' meeting, Sept. 3d, held per adjournment from July 9th, the auditing committee made a report of the finan-
* NOTE. By some inadvertance or oversight there were two lots numbered 70 in the plan of the township submitted by the dividing committee's surveyors, making one hundred and twenty-one in all, which are duly ac- counted for in the final assignment,-one going to the first minister, one to the ministry, and one to each of the one hundred and nineteen grantees, as shown in the table referred to. One of the lots bearing the number named, sometimes called "the right 70," was located directly south of and adjoining the former John C. Miller place, now owed by Mr. George W. Peeler. The other was the lot on which stood the buildings of Doctor Liverpool, for- merly a part of the John Heywood farm. In the proprietor's records this lot is indicated as "No. 70 I. H.," the letters being enigmatical to the author of this work.
63
PROPOSED ENCOURAGEMENT TO SETTLERS.
cial standing of the propriety, which was accepted. According to that report there had been
Received from 119 proprietors, {4 each .
. £476 o o
Paid bills of standing committee 66 66 dividing
£82 175 11d
82 18
surveyors
69
13
"ל for building house
30
bills of sundry persons
83
18 2
Cash on hand
126 12
Total
· £476 0 0
The committee chosen to consider the claims of different parties to certain original rights in the township reported. Twelve cases of double claimants for the same right had been examined and judgment passed upon them. The report was accepted and the decision of the committee in each instance was approved and confirmed.
Sept. 24, 1734. A new standing committee consisting of three persons, Capt. Joseph Bowman, Capt. Samuel Jackson, and Samuel Kneeland, was chosen and instructed to issue a call for meetings of the proprietors thereafter "on request of ten or more of them expressed in writing over their own signatures, signifying also for what reason they desire the same."
Everything in the new township of Narragansett No. 2 was now ready for a settlement within its borders, and it was of considerable importance to the proprietors that the work of tak- ing up and improving the lands, building houses, and establish- ing families there, should begin at as early a date as possible. The conditions upon which the original grant was made by the general court, and upon which every proprietor held his title to his share in it, were that sixty families should be settled within seven years from the date thereof, that is, before June 15, 1735, which time had been extended to June 1, 1741. But people did not seem anxious to leave their comfortable homes in well- established communities, with neighbors and friends close about them, and take up their abode in the wilderness, far away from such advantages and enjoyments, amid privations, discomforts, and dangers of many a kind and name. Moreover, the open- ings for settlements were too many and presented too great a diversity of claims and attractions for any of them to be filled with great rapidity. Special endeavors and inducements were therefore found necessary in cach case, in order to secure the desired result in this behalf. The proprietors of Narragansett No. 2 deemed it wise to take some definite action in the matter at an early day. A call was therefore issued in proper form, for a mecting to be held on the 24th of March, 1735, at the house of John Bradshaw, Esq., in Medford, to act upon the fol- lowing articles :
1
64
HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
"1. To Consider and conclude upon some method that will be Effectual to encourage and oblige Sixty of the proprietors to Settle their Lotts in such a Space of time as the proprietors shall agree upon.
" 2. To Consider and conclude what method will be Best to proceed in Respectin their Highways and building bridges.
"3. To Consider and conclude upon some method to build a Saw-mill in said Town.
" 4. To Consider whether the Proprietors will agree upon any way or method that they may Come to the Knoledge of their medows in said Town and come to the devition thereof.
" 5. Also to consider and conclude upon any other thing or things that may be thought proper to act upon att said meeting."
At the meeting convened pursuant to this notice, it was
"T'oted, that the propriety will Endeavor to Settle Sixty familys on the said Township within foure years from the Grant thereof by the General Court [meaning, undoubtedly, June 1 1734], and also that Each of the pro- prietors that shall settle as aforesaid Shall Erect and build a house not less than Eighteen foot long Sixteen foot wide and Seven foot stud and well cov- ered. and likewise to Clear and fence Three acres of Land fitt for mowing or Plowing within the time above Limmited."
No other business of importance was transacted. At an ad- journed session, held the second Tuesday of May (13th) follow- ing, it was
"Toted, that, in consideration of Maj. William Brattle of Cambridge his building a Saw-mill on his lott in the Narraganset Township No. 2, by March 1736 & Keeping the same in good Repaire for twenty years next en- suing, Twelve acres of the undevided medow or Swamp Land nighest to the said Maj. Brattle's lot now and hereby is Granted to the said Maj. Brat- tle and his heirs forever, He being at the Charge of Laying out said Lott, and giving a five hundred pound [Bond] for the Erecting and Continuing of said mill for the term of Twenty years aforesaid.
"Voted, that Maj. Wm. Brattle and his Heirs for ever have liberty to flow all the medow above said Brattle's lott for the conveniency of said mill from the last of September to the tenth of April from year to year.
"Voted, and Ordered, that the first fifteen proprietors who shall appear and enter their names with the Clerk or such other person as the propriety shall appoint and give Bond to the value of fifty pounds. with a sufficient Surty or Surties to performe and fullfill the following Articles viz: that each of the said proprietors shall att or before the last Day of September next which will be in the year 1736, Erect a dwelling House on Each of their Respective lotts in said Township (of the dimensions before stated with cleared land adjoining) and shall personally continue to dwell there themselves and families, if such they have untill the terme perfixt by the Great and General Court for the settling of said Township be fulfilled. That then there shall be paide to Each of the aforesaid fifteen proprietors upon their giving Bond as aforesaid the sume of Twelve pounds [$40] out of the Treasury of said propriety."
By a corresponding vote, the clerk, William Willis, was au- thorized to take the bonds provided for, and to pay the bounty specified in each case. In order to meet the demand, which by these votes might be made upon the treasury, a tax of one hundred and eighty pounds, in the aggregate, was ordered, pay- able on or before the date named, and the standing committee
65
ENCOURAGEMENT TO SETTLERS OFFERED.
was instructed to take measures for carrying this vote into effect, collectors in each town being appointed to receive and pay in the several assessments required.
A year passed by and nothing had been accomplished in the way of settling the township. The fifteen proprietors whom it was hoped the bounty of twelve pounds would induce to come forward, accept the offer, and locate on their lots, did not respond. Time was hurrying on. There was danger that the lands would be forfeited by non-compliance with the terms upon which they had been received. No doubt some of the inter- ested parties were becoming anxious in view of the situation, - anxious to have the required settlement made, but not anxious to assume the responsibility-the toil, the privation, the risk, the sacrifice to themselves.
Another meeting of the proprietors was therefore called for the 2d day of June, 1736, to take further action towards the for- warding of the end in view. A vote similar to that of the year before was passed, -the difference being in increasing the num- ber of families required to settle from fifteen to sixty, in extend- ing the time of such settlement from September, 1736, to June, 1738, in reducing the amount of the bounty from twelve pounds to ten, and in fixing the term of continued occupancy of land at three years. The necessary supplementary votes were also passed.
Time went on. As no fifteen families came forward under the former vote, to constitute a settlement, so no sixty families appeared for the same purpose under the latter. The year 1736 expired and the wilds of Narragansett No. 2 were as wild as ever, and as tenantless, so far as actual residents were con- cerned. One house, lone and desloate, stood within its bounda- ries. The sawmill of Major Brattle had probably been erected early in the season, at the head of the Narrows, where the dam of the Wachusettville reservoir is now located, although there is no record of the fact. And these were all the signs and tokens of civilized life apparent in the township. Otherwise one wide wil- derness, an unbroken forest covered all its hills and dales, ex- tending eastward to Lunenberg and Lancaster, southward to Rutland, westward as far as Petersham, which had been colo- nized two or three years before, and northward indefinitely, - the home of wild beasts and a great variety of small game, of insect tribes, denizens of the ponds and streams, and birds of the air, but not of civilized man.
1737 opened. The eventful year had come,-the year of the town's birth, the year in which Narragansett No. 2 was to have a "local habitation," as well as "a name," and be an accom- plished fact as well as a corporate factor, in due time, of New England history and of New England civilization.
The first actual settler in the township was undoubtedly Mr. Fairbanks Moor, from Lancaster, a lineal descendant of one
5
66
HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
John Moor, who, coming from England, located in Sudbury, in 1640, and whose son, "Ensign" John Moor, was an early inhab- itant and influential citizen of Lancaster, and the grandfather of the pioneer resident on the territory of Westminster. There are no known data by which the exact day of Mr. Moor's arrival in the place can be determined. According to the best evidence that has been obtained upon the matter, however, he arrived "in town" early in the month of March, in the year mentioned, and made a beginning upon lot No. 19, where Mr. Hobart Raymond now resides. This lot he had purchased nearly a year before of John Sherman of Watertown, an original proprietor. For a little while Mr. Moor was sole inhabi- tant here, "monarch of all he surveyed." Before the expira- tion of the month, it is understood that he was joined by Mr. Joseph Holden of Watertown, son of Justinian Holden, the immigrant, who was in that place in 1634. Mr. Holden located on lot No. I, adjoining that of Mr. Moor, on which the Baptist meetinghouse formerly stood, he having bought it the previous autumn of Benjamin Pemberton of Boston. And these two men, dwelling together here in the wilderness, working side by side to make a clearing and to build a home for themselves and theirs, occupying, no doubt, at first the proprietors' house, which chanced to stand on Mr. Holden's land, constituted the beginning, -the nucleus of the settlement from which, and around which, has grown and gathered all that has appeared and transpired here during the past one hundred and fifty years.
Nothing is known, or is ever likely to be known, of the circum- stances attending the almost simultaneous appearance of these two men upon this territory. Singularly enough, the proprie- tors' records contain no account, no hint even, of the important event. A multitude of inquiries relating to it rush upon the thought, but they can be answered only by conjecture. It would be exceedingly gratifying to find out how these men made the journey to their newly chosen abiding place in the wilderness. Did they come hither on foot, bringing with them such articles of convenience and use as their strength would allow, or with teams? Had they previous acquaintance with each other, and a mutual understanding in regard to the new settlement, or did they meet as strangers when they gave each other greeting near the borders of Meetinghouse Pond on that unknown day of March, 1737? These and other questions pertaining to their first experiences and mode of life at the outset, suggest themselves spontaneously, but there is no reply for them. The most that can be said is that the men were here, and that they were here to stay :- Mr. Moor for a few years only, however, but Mr. Holden permanently, dying on the estate where he first located, in 1776, full of years and honors.
These pioneer settlers were in the township, as stated, in March, 1737, taking a fresh start in life and opening the way
67
CONDITION OF THE FIRST SETTLERS.
for others coming after them. In June, it is understood, the frames of their future dwellings were raised, both the same day. About that time, some of Mr. Holden's sons, nearly grown to manhood's stature, joined their father, and no doubt helped both him and Mr. Moor in the work already successfully begun. The houses were in due time enclosed and covered, with boards probably from the Brattle sawmill ; and being made comfortable, received the families of the builders and owners during the fol- lowing autumn. Thus the two households were established in their respective habitations, facing the fortunes awaiting them in the years ahead. Mr. Moor had a wife and six sons, Mr. Holden a wife, three sons, and two daughters, a total of fif- teen persons, the population of Narragansett No. 2 at the close of the year 1737.
It is well to take a hasty glance at these pioneer settlers as they were situated at the beginning of their new life in the town whose foundations they were permitted or commissioned to lay. It was no pleasing, easy task to which they had applied themselves, no holiday entertainment was theirs to enjoy, but a continuous round of struggle and self-sacrifice. Here they were in the wilderness; cut off from the happy companionship of relatives and friends, and from all the privileges and delights of civilized society ; deprived of most of the comforts and of all the delicacies of domestic life; encountering difficulties and hardships unknown to old and well-established communities ; surrounded by dangers of which they had little knowledge, their repose broken oftentimes by the discordant roar or cry of the untamed denizens of the forest ; more or less apprehensive of attacks from wandering aborigines, the memory of whose cruel and bloody deeds in earlier days must have haunted both their sleeping and their waking hours. How little can people of the present day realize what these brave men and women passed through, and at what cost of toil, hardship, privation, and anxious solicitude was obtained the heritage now enjoyed within these borders! One of the early comers, Abner Holden, then a lad in the fifteenth year of his age, has left a memorial of those days worthy of a place in the annals of the time. In graphic language he describes the condition of the settlers thus: "A howling wilderness it was, where no man dwelt. The hideous yells of wolves, the shrieks of owls, the gobbling of turkeys, and the barking of foxes, was all the music we en- joyed ; no friend to visit, no soul in the surrounding towns- all a dreary waste, exposed to a thousand difficulties."
All honor to the heroic and faithful men and women who so self-denyingly served not only their own time but the generations that were to come ! "They labored and we have entered into their labors." May something of their royal temper and lofty purpose and sublime faith animate and glorify the hearts and lives of their descendants in this, our day, and forevermore.
CHAPTER VI.
NARRAGANSETT NO. 2-Continued.
PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT - DIFFICULTIES - ATTAINMENTS- WESTMINSTER INCORPORATED.
A MOST important event in the history of this town had now transpired, -a signal achievement won. No longer was the territory a wild uninhabited waste, but the veritable abode of civilized man. A settlement had actually been made, opening the way to future development, to increase of numbers, to hoped-for prosperity, and ultimate success. And this neces- sitated concurrent action on the part of the proprietors at large, a more vigorous and progressive policy, practical measures for the supply of existing and prospective needs. Newly created demands must be met, or what had been gained would be put in peril, if not irretrievably lost.
The exigencies of the case seem to have been clearly recog- nized by those whose interests were involved, who, at an early day, caused a meeting to be called, as set forth in the following
"ADVERTISEMENT.
" Whereas a number of the proprieters of the Narraganset Township No. 2 by their Petition bearing Date September the 16th 1737 have petitioned the proprietors Commite for calling a proprietors meeting -These are therfor to notifie the proprietors of Said Township to Assemble att the House of Mr. Samuel Smith in the northwesterly precinct in Cambridge on Wensday the 23d Day of november next att nine of the Clock in the morning. To consider and act on the following articles, (viz.)
"I. To Consider what method the proprietors will Take for mending the Roads Leading to and in Said Township.
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