History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 102

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 102

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Here is exhibited the spirit of our town in the struggle for its liberties. By their inflexible deter- mination as a body corporate, by their material and

moral support, they had conquered a peace, and no act or surrender of any principle should now put in jeop- ardy their rights. For neglecting to send a repre- sentative to the General Court in 1782, the Legislature had imposed upon the town a fine of forty-nine pounds, ten shillings. In May of 1783 a town-meeting was held to petition for a remission of this fiue ; a com- mittee was chosen to prepare the petition, which is as follows :

Commonwealth of Massachusetts : To the Honorable, the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled. The petition of the town of Barre humbly showeth that whereas said town is fined £49 10s, for not sending some person to represent them in the Great and General Court the last year, pray that the same may be taken off; and they flatter themselves that honorable Court will be convinced of the reasonableness of the petition when they consider this is the only instance of the like kind that they have failed in since they have been a town, and even in this, when it was tried to know whether they should send or not, there appeared but two or three votes majority in the negative, so that near one-half of the inhabitants are punished for what they must call their misfortune, not their crime ; and it will ap- pear further reasonable if the honorable Court will please to consider that the town of Barre, as they humbly conceive, has stood for some years past, and now stands as high on the State valuation according to its interest, than perhaps any town in the County, so that they feel, in a peculiar manner, the weight of their taxes. They have hitherto stifled every groan, that they might uot seem to discourage the common cause in which they considered themselves so minch interested, but for the future must beg leave to complain unless the proportion is altered between some towns with which they think they are well qualified to compare themselves. There is another reason which is of singular force with the town, and they hope it will have its due weight with the honorable Court, viz. : that besides the last Continental tax, the whole of which remains unpaid, they find themselves in debt between one hundred and two hundred pounds more than the town's proportion in the present State tax, all which, with the addition of fine npon fine, makes it appear to them a burden almost iusupportable.

This petition probably had the desired effect, as we find uo record of the fine having been paid.

The depreciation of the currency and the unset- tled condition of the country were still weighing heavily upon the inhabitants, and were productive of deep and wide-spread suffering. Credit was ex- tinct, the temporary act of 1782 making property a legal tender for debts due had proved a failure, as it still further postponed collection. Suits-in-law be- tween neighbors and between individuals and the town were numerons; the town annually appointed an agent to defend such suits as were brought against it, trusting that a judicial hearing might be beneficial, both in the way of bringing the matter forward for a general discussion, and by the decision of the court, reducing the amount which had been claimed as due; the administration of the State government was arraigned, and the town was re- quested by petition to take measures that would re- sult in changing the state of affairs for the better ; this petition had no further effect than to elicit the reply that time would eventually make the matter right; other towns taking a similar stand, a conven- tion was called to sit in Worcester in April to con- sider the grievances the people labored under, and to petition the General Court for redress. Barre and twenty-five other towns of the county were repre- sented in this conventiou ; the difficulties of the peo-

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ple were freely and fully discussed, and the outcome of the meeting was, that the various representatives to the General Court should be instructed to procure a change in certain laws and customs, prominent among which were that there should be immediate settlements with all officers having charge of the State funds, a reduction of lawyers' fees and a set- tlement of accounts between the State and the Con- gress. Here was the entering wedge for what proved afterwards a blot on our escutcheon. The difficulties increased daily.

In 1784 a town-meeting was held on the 1st day of March to see if the town would choose a committee to sit in convention at Worcester on the third Tuesday, in conformance with the request of a circular letter, signed by Willis Hall, of Sutton, by the order of nine towns in the southeast part of the county. The sub- stance of this letter was to have a discussion and con- sideration of their grievances, in regard to an impost being granted for twenty-five years. Nathaniel Jen- nison was the delegate from Barre; this convention being productive of no more satisfactory results than that of two years previons, another convention assembled in Leicester in June of 1786, to which this town sent William Henry as its delegate. Thirty- seven towns were represented; the distress of the people, and how to relieve it, were the chief topics for consideration ; these deliberations were productive of no good result. The following September some of our citizens united with bodies from other towns in revolt against the laws and courts. On the evening of the 4th they entered Worcester and took possession of the court-house; amongst these was Lientenant Moses Smith, of Barre, now claiming the rank of captain.

Chief Justice Ward, a man of minch dignity, firm- ness and courage, and who had been a general in the Revolution, demanded an explanation of the proceed- ings; one of the leaders of the mob replying that they had come for a redress of grievances, Judge Ward informed them that their complaints were with- ont any substantial foundation. Captain Smith replied that any communication from him to them must be in writing.

The judge refused to so communicate with them, and soon afterwards was allowed to address them, when he spoke for about two hours with good effect. The next day Captain Smith unceremoniously intro- duced himself to the judge, and with his sword drawn, offered him a paper purporting to be a petition of the body of people "now collected for their own good and that of the commonwealth," requiring an adjournment of the courts without day, and demanded an answer within half an hour.

The judge at once replied, telling him that no an- swer would be given, when Smith retired. In this condition of affairs it was found impossible to hold sessions of the courts, and they were adjourned until November, in hopes that the mob would see its use-

lessness and disperse. But the infection was too extensive; on the 29th of November, Captain Smith and others from this town were still taking a promi- nent part in what was now known as the Shays' Rebellion. How this rebellion ended is a matter of history. Smith, with his company of Barre men, after parading through the main street of Worcester, marched home on Saturday, the 9th of December.

The feeling in Barre was intense. The community was divided in opinion in regard to this affair, a large minority upholding the insurgent course and many bitter feelings were engendered. Even the church was disturbed, and one of the more offending mem- bers was the subject of a number of meetings, the result.of which was his suspension ; bnt, finally apol- ogizing for his indiscretions, he was reinstated in his church membership.

In town affairs the excitement was of long-con- tinued duration. About this time it was discovered that the town's ammunition had been stolen. A committee of nine was chosen to make immediate search for it. Lieut. (or Capt.) Moses Smith and Richard Mills (both of whom had been officers with the insurgents and were suspected of knowing con- siderable about it) were placed on this committee. After much labor and anxiety on the part of the com- mittee, and by virtue of several search-warrants, the ammunition was found in the barn of a well-known citizen, Joseph Smith. The excitement increased, and Smith was prosecuted for the theft. He presented his case in a long petition to the town, stoutly affirm- ing his innocence and declaring that he had no knowledge, directly or indirectly, how the powder came to his barn. He appealed for clemency and asked that the suit might be withdrawn. A number of town-meetings were held in regard to his case and the matter was finally allowed to drop, he being compelled to pay all the expenses that had accrued. Subsequent developments pointed strongly to Mills as the party who stole the ammunition, he having been encouraged in the theft by Lient. Smith, and to throw any suspicion from himself, when the insur- gents had no use for the powder, he concealed it in Josiah Smith's barn.

Jannary 1, 1787, the town decided to petition Gov- ernor Bowdoin for relief from the causes that were generally assumed to be the cause of the revolt and that this outbreak might be condoned. In this peti- tion the inhabitants represented that application having been made to the town by a number of its disaffected citizens, called insurgents, and desiring the town to take up the matter as mediator between government and the disaffected citizens of said town, they, the petitioners, deplored the situation and dep- recated the horrors of bloodshed, " more especially town and neighbor against each other, and, to close all with accumulating horror, an armed force, ready to march from the town at the call of government, while a party is ready to march in opposition," and

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besought His Excellency to desist from prosecuting the affair with rigor until every conciliatory measure had been used that was consistent with the good, the safety and the dignity of the Commonwealth; and if His Excellency would desist they pledged them- selves that the insurgents among our people would promise that the Courts of Common Pleas and of General Sessions of the Peace should not be ob- structed in their business until after the next session of the Legislature, provided their lives and property should be safe from seizure in consequence of their hitherto illegal acts.

One of the conventions that had previously been called had never dissolved, but had held numerons sessions from time to time, discussing the condition of the Commonwealth and endeavoring to devise means for a settlement of the difficulties. This convention was now in session, and notwithstanding that the ma- jority of our people professed penitence for the course that had been pursued here, and had petitioned the Governor to desist from measures which would sub- due the insurgents, they would not recall their delegate from Worcester. The insurgent minority had consid- erable power in town, and were not yet disposed to abandon their course in regard to the results that they hoped might be obtained from the deliberations of the convention, considering that by so doing they would be deprived of the right of petition, which they be- lieved to be one of their inherent rights. They ex- pected, too, that a continual agitation of the grievances would tend to bring an early relief to their sufferings. The whole town was considerably excited, but after the defeat of Shays the feeling gradually subsided.

The climax came at a town-meeting held July 6, 1787. The subject of the amount of costs incurred in regard to the procedures and search for the stolen am- munition was under discussion. Lieut. Moses Smith had been chosen moderator and a part of the business had been transacted. The debate over the ammuni- tion was heated, and an attempt was made to suppress it, Lieut. Smith and his followers being in the major- ity. To offset their strength, a protest, signed by fourteen voters, all prominent men, was presented to the meeting. This protest was as follows: We, whose names are underwritten, protest against the proceed- ings of the town, in town-meeting now assembled, and declare that we will not pay one farthing of any cost or any charges that may arise to the town, either di- rectly or indirectly, in consequence of the illegality of the same. The reason that we assign for this protest is that Lieut. Moses Smith, the moderator, has acted as an officer in the army of Captain Shays, in the rebellion against government in Massachusetts, and has not made it manifest that he has taken the oath of alle- giance agreeable to the act of court.

Smith then resigned the office of moderator, which resignation was accepted. The record further states : "Then, after considerable altercation among the in- habitants of the town then assembled, the inhabitants

dismissed without passing any further vote upon the articles contained in the warrant, leaving the select- men and town clerk in the meeting-house without one inhabitant of the town with them, and said selectmen and town clerk, after waiting till the dusk of evening, retired."

Lieut. Smith was an innholder. His first location was easterly of where Mr. W. E. Hemenway now lives, and on the opposite side of the highway. This was not a tavern, but a house of entertainment. He gave this to his son, and soon afterwards, in 1801, erected a tavern, of which he had the charge for about twelve years. This house is now used as a dwelling-house, and is opposite the school-house in old District No. 9.

After the excitement of the rebellion had subsided, Lieut. Smith held various town offices for a number of years, being treasurer in 1792. His wife died about 1800, and at her grave he placed a head-stone. He afterwards placed his property in the hands of some friends, on the guaranty to support and care for him for the remainder of his life. He died in 1815, seventy- six years of age, and was buried by the side of his wife, but no stone ever marked his last resting-place.

He was a man of much force of character and kind and indulgent to his family.

At one time in our history there were nine public places in town, some of which were taverns, the others houses of entertainment, the distinction between the two being that a tavern was obliged to be licensed, and intoxicating liquors were sold there, while for a house of entertainment no license was required, and no liquors were supposed to be obtainable. The most noted tavern of the day in the last century was that of Jonathan Nourse, which stood where now is the Metho- dist Church. Another tavern was located where now is Smith block, and was maintained as such for some years in the present century. Still another was near the residence of Lemuel P. Rice. It is on record in the proceedings of our town-meetings of the last cen- tury that frequently the town would vote for an ad- journment of five or ten or twenty minutes, then to reassemble at Landlord Nourse's.

Peace at home was now thoroughly established, and, although various primitive business enterprises had been established, farming was still the chief oc- cupation ; still struggling under many difficulties, the political condition of the town and nation was an object of much solicitude ; after a few years of quiet, another war with Great Britain was believed to be im- minent. When, in 1807, the Congress had passed the "Embargo law," the people were much concerned, and, as its effects gradually developed, the stringency in the scanty markets of the day was everywhere manifest ; the distress that first appeared at the ship- ping centres soon extended to the interior towns. So marked was this here, a town-meeting was held in September, 1808, to take the matter into considera- tion, and an address or petition to President Jefferson

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was adopted, praying for a repeal of the law, after reciting the distress that had fallen upon the people through its enforcement. It is highly probable that this law and the war rumors of this and two or three succeeding years had much to do in arousing a feel- ing of opposition to the War of 1812. The sympa- thies of the town were rather in consonance with the Peace Convention of Hartford ; from Hartford and from Boston many circulars and posters were sent here, addressed mostly to the Federalists, showing, in various partisan ways, the attitude of the national administration. These aroused much discontent, and this trouble, with the increased scarcity of currency. added to the hardships of the people.

Our records in regard to this war are very scanty, but two allusions to it appearing. When a call for troops was made we have no records of any volunteers for the ranks, but it is evident that one draft for men was made. In August, 1814, a number of the people petitioned the town to grant such men as were or might be drafted into the service a compensation in addition to that allowed by the government, but the town refused to do this; in May, 1815, the town voted " to grant four dollars per month to those per- sons who, being inhabitants of the town, were drafted from the militia the last summer, and marched into the service of the State, or who hired substitutes."

The war with Mexico received but little sympathy here; it was fully realized that the idea of the exten- sion of slave territory was the cause of this conflict, and to this extension our people were much opposed. The anti-slavery feeling had been growing for a num- ber of years and was increasing, a few brave men standing by their convictions and aiding in forming that party which, twenty years afterwards, saved and perpetuated that Union for which their ancestors had so nobly contended in the last century. In 1840 the Presidential electors of the so-called Free-Soil party received but one vote in the fall election ; in 1844 the number had increased to thirteen, and, in 1848, to forty-one. The only resident or native of Barre, of whom we have any record, who enlisted for service in this war, was George Field, who was a member of Company E, First Regiment Massachusetts In- fantry.

Another terrible struggle was to come; the en- croachment of slavery had been increasing, and, when a change in the national administration had come, in 1861, the conflict was precipitated. The firing upon Sumter was the toc-in that aroused the whole North- ern people ; united as never before, all petty jealous- ies dropped for the time, men of all shades of politi- cal belief and of various nationalities gallantly and promptly responded to their country's call; the old spirit which animated our Revolutionary sires burned anew. The young man, and the middle-aged, left his studies, his mercantile pursuits, the bench and the farm, and, cheered on by father and mother and sister, enlisted to do battle and to die, if need be,

that his country might live. During that four years' struggle three hundred and nineteen men were en- listed as our quota, and engaged in the stern duties of the period, and saw many a bloody battle-field. At their enlistment the town and individuals pledged themselves to protect and guard the interests of their families nr dependent relatives, and well did they per- form that duty. The names of those three hundred and nineteen noble and brave men are cherished as one of our sacred records, and, though nearly a quarter of a century has elapsed since they proved their hero- ism, yet, to-day, their patriotism and their determi- nation to guard the heritage entrusted to us to care for and perpetuate are held in high esteem by those for whom their efforts accomplished so much in pre- serving and maintaining this Union. Many of these men never returned to their homes,-the deadly rifle- ball, or disease contracted in the discharge of their duty, filling a grave near many a battle-field. The town was generous to its nation's defenders, and still recalls with pride, and will forever cherish, their brave deeds.

In 1866 the town erected a monument in honor of those who gave their lives for their country; this granite base and marble shaft stands as a grand me- mento in the north park, with Gettysburg, Newbern, Port Hudson and Antietam inscribed thereon, and there are the names of fifty-nine true men who died for their country, but who "still live" in the affec- tions of a grateful people.

In the year following the adoption of the State Constitution the " Barre Slave Case" attracted much attention. James Caldwell had bought in 1754, at Rut- land, a negro man, named Mingo, about twenty years of age, a woman, named Dinah, about nineteen years old, and their child, named Quako or Quork, about nine months old, for £108. By the death of Caldwell in 1763 a settlement of his estate became necessary ; Quork, as a part of the personal property, was assigned to Mrs. Caldwell. She married Nathaniel Jennison in 1769 and died in 1774; at her death Jennison as- sumed the ownership of Quork, and Quork continued to live and work for Jennison. In April, 1781, Quork was enticed from Jennison's service by John Cald- well, a brother of James, who told him that he was a free man and not subject to Jennison's authority ; the negro at first refused to leave his supposed master, but on Caldwell's representations that he would fur- nish work for him, pay him for his services and pro- tect him, he left Jennison for Caldwell, who set him at work in his fields. Jennison missed his slave and, suspecting where he might be, went to Caldwell's and found Quork harrowing; he commanded the negro to return to his own house; Quork refused and was then attacked and beaten by Jennison and others who had gone with him, and was shut up for about two hours. By Caldwell's efforts the man in whose charge Quork had been placed was induced to release him, and through his influence, too, the case came before the

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County Court, which was really a three-fold one. May 1, 1781, Quork, or Quork Walker, as he was now called, brought an action against Jennison for tres- pass, which was tried at the June term. The defense was that Quork was the proper slave of Jennison, and as such he had the control and possession of his body, and no action for trespass could hold, to which Quork joined issue, denying that he was his proper slave.

The case was tried in the Court of Common Pleas, and a verdiot for plaintiff with damages in the sum of fifty dollars was awarded him. An appeal was was taken to the Superior Court, but was there de- faulted. In the same month of May Jennison brought suit against John and Seth Caldwell for en- ticing his negro man from his service and business; he obtained judgment in the sum of twenty-five dol- lars; this case, too, was appealed to the higher court, and at the September term they were declared not guilty and recovered judgment and costs against the plaintiff. At this term of court Jennison was in- dicted for assault and battery and illegal imprison- ment and on trial was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine and the costs of prosecution.

The que-tion of slavery was not yet settled ; this was sent up to the Supreme Judicial Court, but did not come to trial until the April term of 1783, when it had its hearing before the full bench. The case was ably argued and the decision of the court was pronounced by Chief Justice Cushing. This was the first and only trial of the question of slavery under our State Constitution, and it was then established that slavery in this Commonwealth was abolished by the Declaration of Rights, which prefaced the Con- stitution. Cushing, after rehearsing the case and explaining the previous situation, and remarking that the defendant in this case relied upon some former law of the Province which would tend to up- hold the claim that Quork was the slave of Jenni- son, says, "as to the doctrine of slavery and the rights of Christians to hold Africans in perpetual servitude, and sell and treat them as we do our horses and cattle, that (it is true) has been here- fore countenanced by the Province laws formerly, but nowhere is it expressly enacted or established. It has been a usage which took its origin from the practice of some of the European nations and in the regulations of the British government respecting the then Colonies for the benefit of trade and wealth. But whatever sentiments have formerly prevailed in this particular, or slid in upon us by the example of others, a different idea has taken place with the people of America, more favorable to the natural rights of mankind and to the natural innate desire of liberty with which Heaven, without regard to color, complexion or shape of noses (features), has impressed all the human race, and upon this ground our Constitution of Government, by which the peo- ple of this Commonwealth have solemnly bound themselves, sets out with declaring that all men are

born free and equal, and that every subject is en- titled to liberty and to have it guarded by the laws, as well as life and property-in short, is wholly re- pugnant to the idea of being born slaves. This being the case, I think the idea of slavery is incon- sistent with our own conduct and Constitution, and there can be no such thing as perpetnal servitude of a rational creature, unless his liberty is forfeited by some criminal conduct or given up by personal con- sent or contract." 1

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 102

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1576

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576