History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 51

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 51

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The early settlers of this town cannot with justice be charged with wresting these lands from the In- dians ; for there is no evidence that the Indians had any more title to the lands here than the foxes and wolves that roamed through the same forests with them.

It has already been stated that a saw-mill was probably built in East Templeton in 1743. The first family probably came here in 1751. A bounty of eight pounds, and afterwards of twelve pounds addi- tional, had been offered to the proprietor who should first settle his lot. The earliest payment to any per- son for building a house on his lot and living in it with his family was made to Elias Wilder in Septem- ber, 1751; the next was made to Deacon Charles Baker in October, 1751; and the next to Timothy Chase, in May, 1752. Such payments had been made in the next three and a half years to about thirty actual settlers.

In 1753, when there were from eighteen to twenty families in the township, a meeting-house was built, which was fifty feet long and forty feet wide. The first framed dwelling-house in the township is be- lieved to have been the " Dolbear " house, erected in 1760. This house, with its large chimney and un- plastered ceilings and walls, still stands about one- half mile southerly of the Common, on the old Hub- bardston road. The house standing next northerly of the Public Library building is a very old house. It formerly stood on what is now the Common, near the public pump. In this house Joshua Wright kept his tavern, and the proprietors at sundry times held their meetings there.

The "Wellington " house is one of the oldest houses, having been built by Rev. Mr. Sparhawk in 1764. Doubtless there are quite a large number of houses now standing that were built only a little later thạn these.

INCORPORATION-Templeton, Phillipston .- In the early years of the settlement the affairs of the town- ship had been entirely under the management and control of the grantees or proprietors. The time at length came when it seemed best to the inhabitants to assume the powers and duties of a town, and accordingly the town was incorporated by the General Court.

127

TEMPLETON.

COPY OF THE ACT OF INCORPORATION ..

Anno regni ? tertii.

L. S. Į Regis Georgii Secundo.

An Act for incorporating the Plantation called Narragansett No. 6, in the County of Worcester, into a Town by the Name of Templetown.

WHEREAS, the plantation of Narragansett No. 6, lying in the County of Worcester, is competently filled with inhabitants, who labor puder great difficulties aud inconveniences by means of their not being a town; therefore,

Be it enacted by the Governor, Conucil and House of Representatives, That the said plantation, commonly called and known by the name of Narragansett No. 6, bounding westerly on Poquoige, southerly on Rutland District and Petersham, easterly ou Westminster, oortberly on Ipswich Canada and Royalsbire, be, and hereby is erected into a town by the name of TEMPLETOWN ; End that the said town be, and hereby is invested with all the powers, privileges and immunities that any of the towne of this province do or may by law enjoy ;-

Provided, That nothing in this Act shall be understood or construed e8 in any measure to supersede or make void any grants or assessments el- ready made or agreed on by the proprietors of said place in time past, but that the same shall remain and be as effectual as if this Act had not been made.

And he it further enacted, That Joshua Willard, Esq., be, and hereby is, empowered to issue his warrants to some principal inhabitant of the said plantation requiring him, in his majesty's name, to warn and no- tify the said inhabitants qualified to vote in town affairs, that they meet together at such time and place in said plantation, as by said warrant shall be appointed, to choose such officers as may be necessary to man- age the affairs of said town ; and the inhabitants, being so met, shall be, and hereby are, empowered to choose said officers accordingly.

Feb. 23, 1762 .- Tbis Bill, having been read three several times in the House of Representatives, passed to be enacted.

JAMES OTIS, Speaker.

March 6, 1762 .-

By the Governor, I consent to the enacting this Bill. FRA. BERNARD.

In accordance with the provision made in the fore- going act of incorporation, Joshua Willard, Esq., of Petersham, issued a warrant directed to Jason Whit- ney, one of the principal inhabitants of Templeton, requiring him to call a meeting for the purpose of choosing town officers. And in accordance with the notification made, the first town-meeting in the new town of Templeton was held in the meet- ing-house, at two of the clock in the afternoon, on Tuesday, May 4, 1762, "in the Second year of his Majesty's Reign." They chose Abel Hunt town clerk, Jason Whitney, Joshua Hyde and Abner Newton for selectmen and assessors, Zaccheus Barrett treasurer and Charles Baker constable; also the usual minor officers. On June 7, 1762, another meeting was held to grant money for town purposes.

Thus Narragansett No. 6 was merged in the town of Templeton. The origin of the name is not known. The name was spelled "Templetown " in the act of incorporation. It was also so spelled in the town warrants and earliest town records. After 1764 the town-meeting warrants always have it "Temple- ton."

The township, Narragansett No. 6, and the town incorporated as Templeton, included most of the present town of Phillipston. Quite early it became manifest that there was an east and a west side of the town. The deep valley of the Burnshirt River and Trout Brook separated the two sections. Moreover, the meeting-house was decidedly to the east of the

middle of the territory of the town. The central point would be in the deep valley previously mentioned, and never, in the olden time, was a meeting-house set in a valley. But it was a long way from the west part of the town to the house of worship, and especially inconvenient in the winter season. And so the town sometimes voted that the Rev. Mr. Sparhawk might, for a few Sundays in the winter, preach in the west part of the town, the meeting-house being closed on such Sundays ; but this was done with reluctance by the town, and seems not to have been a satisfactory arrangement for either side.

Much discussion and controversy arose regarding the matter. It was proposed in town-meetings, at different times, to build a meeting-house in the west- erly part of the town, to move the meeting-house to the middle of the town, and even to divide the town; but all these plans failed. Finally, in 1773, the westerly part of the town petitioned the General Court to be separated from the rest of the town in the matter of its parochial affairs. This petition was granted in 1774, and two precincts were thus formed. They acted together in transacting most of the ordinary town business. The town-meetings were held at the meeting-house on the Common, as usual, but in call- ing the meetings the selectmen made out two war- rants, one to be served by a constable in the westerly part of the town, and another by a constable in the easterly part. The easterly part of the town was sometimes called the "First Precinct," the westerly, the "Second Precinct." In 1784 fourteen of the inhabitants of the Second Precinct, not satisfied with their sitnation, petitioned to be united again with the First Precinct, and that precinct voted to receive them, but there is no intimation that any action was taken by the General Conrt.

The Second Precinct, together with a portion of the southeasterly part of Athol, was incorporated as a town October 20, 1786, by the name of Gerry. The name was in honor of Elbridge Gerry, a man prominent in the political affairs of this State. The name was changed to Phillipston, February 5, 1814. In 1785 the town of Gardner was incorporated, whose territory was made up of portions of Win- chendon, Ashburnham, Westminster, and from twelve to fifteen acres from the easterly side of Templeton. The town of Westminster, or Narragansett No. 2, formerly reached to the stone monument, near the residence of Mr. Lucas Baker. In laying out that town they had accidentally made the lines so as to include a portion of the territory granted to the pro- prietors of Narragansett No. 6, or Templeton. The amount thus included was estimated at four hun- dred acres, and as a compensation for the loss of this, the proprietors of this township were permitted to have an equal amount from the lands of the province on the northwesterly side of the town. This, in some way, resulted in a quite extensive enlargement of the

128

HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

area of the town on that side. This arrangement was made abont 1737.

COUNTY RELATIONS .- For more than a hundred years intermittent efforts have been made with refer- ence to the formation of a new county made up of towns in the northern part of Worcester County, with the addition of some other towns lying either to the east or to the west of them. Sometimes it was proposed that Templetou should be the shire-town ; sometimes Petersham was named ; but the later efforts have been made with the design of having Fitchburg as the shire-town. This town chose Joshua Willard, Esq., as its agent to act "at the Great and General Court concerning a new county," in 1763, a little more than a year after the incorporation of the town.

A delegate was chosen to represent the town in a convention held at Petersham in 1781, but with in- structions not to join in the petition for a new county unless the towns of Ashby, Ashburnham, Fitchburg, Lnnenburg, Leominster and Westminster were also included. Charles Baker was chosen, in 1784, as agent of the town for a division of the county, and the next year the town refused to send a delegate to represent them in a convention at Petersham. ID 1791 the town sent delegates to the same place; but later in the year " the town, by vote, signified their disapprobation of a new county." In 1792 an effort was made to form a county, extending from Ashburn- ham on the east to Pelliam and Shutesbury on the west, and including nineteen towns. But this town voted that its agent should not sign this petition. The town made a like refusal in 1794.

There was a plan for building a new conrt-house at Worcester in 1796. But the people remonstrated against it for three reasons : first, the conoty of Wor- cester was too large, and if divided, the court-house, as it then was, would be sufficient; second, if not divided, the court-house should be nearer the centre ; third, it was a time when building material and labor were too high. For several years after, the town gave its influence for a division of the county. In 1798 the town favored division by a vote of eighty four to one. These efforts all failed, and there was, for a time, a rest from these labors, But the contest was renewed in 1810, when a convention met in this town concern- ing the matter. The town sent a petition to the Legis- lature in favor of a division. But the county was not divided.

The paroxysms of agitation for county division occur less frequently as the years go on. Meanwhile, in all later efforts, Templeton has steadily opposed the division. In 1828, when it was proposed to form a new connty made up of sixteen towns from Worcester County and five from Middlesex, the vote of this town was four in favor to one hundred and twenty-six against the division. Vigorous efforts for a new county were made from 1851 to 1855, with Fitchburg as shire-town. Templeton constantly remonstrated against the measure, and several times chose Colonel | delegates from Worcester County except seven.

Artemas Lee a committee to unite with committees from the neighboring towns to oppose the division. But in 1856 some of the terms of the County Conrts began to be held at Fitchburg. A court-house and jail were also established there. Another effort for division was made abont 1875. Like all of the others, this effort failed, and the county remains with its liberal proportions, and posterity is likely to find its full integrity preserved.

STATE RELATIONS .- Templeton has always taken an active interest in the affairs of the State and the nation ; but it sent no representative to the General Court until the beginning of the Revolutionary con- test. In the first thirteen years of its existence as a town, nine times it "voted not to send," and in the four remaining years no action was taken upon the matter. Jonathan Baldwin was chosen to represent this town in the General Court, meeting at Salem in October, 1774, and also to a Provincial Congress, meeting at Cambridge, Concord, and at Watertown in 1775. He was the first representative from this town to any legislative body. His first election was the only instance in which such a representative has been chosen by this town at a meeting called " in his ma- jesty's name."

A Constitution was framed for Massachusetts hy the General Court in 1778 ; in a vote by the people, it was rejected by a large majority. Templeton gave twenty- two votes for, and fifty-one against the adoption of that Constitution.

The present Constitution was adopted in March, 1780, by the favorable vote of more than two-thirds of the people. Templeton voted fifty-seven in favor to one against; and again in 1795, the vote in this town was, "seventy-six for the Constitution to stand as it is; none against it." Capt. John Richardson and Mr. Joel Grout were delegates from this town to the convention of 1779-80, which framed the present Constitution. Lovell Walker, Esq., was the delegate to the convention of 1820, which proposed fourteen amendments, nine of which were adopted. This town voted very decidedly in favor of all the proposed amendments except two. Gilman Day, Esq., was the delegate to the convention of 1853, which proposed eight amendments, all of which were rejected by vote of the State, although Templeton favored them, cast- ing about two hundred and twenty-four votes in favor and one hundred and thirty-seven against. There have since been other amendments adopted singly, no convention having been called.

The Constitution of the United States was framed in 1787, and submitted to conventions of delegates in each of the States. The Massachusetts convention, composed of three hundred and sixty members, as- sembled at Boston in January, 1788, and ratified the Constitution by the small majority of nineteen votes. Capt. Joel Fletcher, the delegate from this town, voted against its adoption, as did also all of the other fifty

129

TEMPLETON.

The representatives from this town to the General Court have been : Jonathan Baldwin, 1774, 1775, 1786; Capt. John Richardson, 1776, 1777, 1785; Capt. Ezekiel Knowlton, 1778, 1779, 1788, 1784, 1787, 1788, 1789; Capt. Joel Fletcher, 1781, 1791, 1792; Col. Silas Cutler, 1798, 1798; Capt. Leonard Stone, 1795, 1800, 1801, 1806, 1809; Silas Hazleton, 1797; Lovell Walker, 1808, 1805, 1808; John W. Stiles, 1810-13; Moses Wright, 1814-16; Eph- raim Stone, 1819, 1830; Benjamin Read, 1823; Dr. Josiah Howe, 1825, 1827 ; Col. Leonard Stone, 1828, 1829, 1831; Samuel Lee, 1830; Artemas Lee, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1836, 1847, 1861; Samuel Dadman, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1885; Moses Leland, 1837-39; Joseph Davis, 1838; John Boyntou, 1839, 1840; Charles T. Fisher, 1842, 1843; Gilman Day, 1845; John W. Work, 1846, 1849, 1851; Dexter Gilbert, 1850; Ed- ward Hosmer, 1852; Benjamin Hawkes, 1858; Fred- erick Parker, 1854; John Sawyer (2d,) 1855; Henry Smith, 1856; Leonard Stone, 1859; William Smith, 1865; George P. Hawkes, 1866; William Stone, 1871; William N. Walker, 1872; Edward Sander- son, 1874 ; Charles W. Davis, 1876; Otis D. Sawin, 1880; Charles S. Lord, 1882; Charles A. Perley, 1885; Percival Blodgett, 1889.

A change was made in the State Constitution in 1857, by which two or more towns were united to form one representative district in some cases. This town was, at one time, united with Hubbardston, then with Gardner, then with Hubbardston, Petersham and Phillipston, and now with Gardner, Winchendon and Ashburnham. In the foregoing lists only those representatives whose residence was in Templeton are included.

Under the former system, Templeton in fourteen different years voted not to send a representative, and iu one year, 1844, there was no choice.

POLITICAL PARTIES,-The town of Templeton, in its relations to political parties, has usually been de- cidedly Federalist, Whig and Republican, successively, although there have been years and times when the vote was cast quite differently from the usual habit. A few instances selected from the vote for Governor in different years will reveal the usual division into parties. At the first election after the adoption of the State Constitution, John Hancock, Federalist, had fifty-one votes; his opponent, five votes. In 1807 Caleb Strong, Federalist, had one hundred and eighteen votes ; James Sullivan, seventy-two. In 1816 John Brooks, Federalist, had one hundred and forty votes ; Samuel Dexter, seventy-four. In 1835 Edward Everett, Whig, had two hundred and two votes ; Marcus Morton, Democrat, twenty-eight. In 1845 George N. Briggs, Whig, had one hundred and forty- nine votes ; lsaac Davis, Democrat, one hundred and twenty. It is interesting to mark the rise and prog- ress of the anti-slavery sentiment in this town, as indicated by the vote for Governor in successive years. There were eight votes for the candidate 9

which represented that party in 1848. The vote for successive years next following was seven, thirty- three, thirty-eight, thirty-seven, forty-six, thirty-nine, one hundred and fifty-four, one hundred and twenty- nine, one hundred and thirty-three, one hundred and thirty-two, one hundred and fifty-three and one hundred and forty-one in 1853. A political cyclone swept over the State and battered down all political fences formerly existing, and the Native American party had a very decided preponderance of votes for three years, beginning with 1854. In 1860 Johu A. Andrew, Republican, had three hundred and thirty- five votes ; Erasmus D. Beach, Democrat, had one hundred and eight. In 1880 John D. Long, Repub- lican, had three hundred and fifty-one votes ; Charles P. Thompson, Democrat, one hundred and forty-eight. These selected votes will give quite as correct an idea of the division into parties as an average, computed from all of the years would give.

CHAPTER XIX.

TEMPLETON-(Continued.) MILITARY AFFAIRS.

The Revolution-The Currency-Second War with England-A Militia Muster-The Civil War-The Sanitary Commission.

THERE is abundant evidence to prove that the in- habitants of the town of Templeton were fully in- formed of the nature and significance of the contest which was arising between the colonies and the mother country. They were thoroughly in earnest and filled with patriotic zeal for the proper mainten- ance of our rights and liberties. So zealous were they, that they had not patience or forbearance to endure the presence of those who criticised the course of the colonists or expressed sympathy for the royal government. In their opinion, the right of pri- vate judgment should not be extended so far as to cover the case of those who thought the Parliament of England was in the right. A Tory was a hateful ob- ject in their eyes. He had few rights that others felt bound to respect. Sometimes he was visited hy a committee, and some confession was extorted from him. Sometimes others refused to have business transactions with him.

To a Tory in the time of the Revolution the atmos- phere of this town could not have seemed congenial ; neither would its inhabitants have seemed to him al- together lovely or possessed of all the milder virtues. If there was some intolerance in this, we must remem- ber that it needed that full earnestness and intensity of feeling to carry us successfully through the contest. Any considerable indifference or lukewarmness would have left us still colonists of Great Britain.

In 1765 this town contained a population of three

130

HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

hundred and forty-eight persons. In 1776 there were ten hundred and sixteen. In both cases Phillipston is included, that town having not yet been incorpo- rated. The people had hardly cleared their farmsand built their houses before the warning notes of the coming contest were upon them. The first settlers were not wealthy. Their strong muscles and stout hearts were their most valuable possessions. There was abundant opportunity to turn both of these to practical use. The inhabitants of the town conducted themselves with great spirit, patriotism and self-sacri- fice during the whole of the war.

At a meeting held May 17, 1774, the town adopted some resolves concerning goods imported from Great Britain, as follows :

" Voted, first, that we will not by ourselves, or by any under us, directly or indirectly, purchase any goods, of any person whatever, that is or shall be subject to any duty for the purpose of raising a rev- enne in America. Voted, second, that we will not use any foreign tea, nor countenance the use of it in our families, unless in case of sickness, and not then with- out a certificate from under the hand of one or more physicians, that it is absolutely necessary in order for the recovery of their patient. And whoever in this town shall act contrary to the aforementioned votes shall be deemed an enemy to his country and treated as such."

A Committee of Correspondence and Safety was chosen by the town each year during the war. By means of such committees in the various towns the public were kept informed of the progress of events, maintained their interest in public affairs, and were ready to act with promptness in any emergency. There was at least one company of minute-men in this town. A committee was chosen by the town in March, 1775, to take care of the farms and families of the minute- men, if they should be suddenly summoned away. The selectmen were to procure fire-arms and ammu- nition at the expense of the town. A marble tablet on the walls of the town hall commemorates the ser- vices of Captain Ezekiel Knowlton and thirty-six sol- diers, minute-men, perhaps, who promptly responded to the alarm sounded through this province on the morning of the 19th of April, 1775. The tidings borne from Charlestown by Paul Revere on the evening of April 18th probably reached this town at about noon of April 19th ; and before the day closed, the soldiers from this town were on their march for Boston.

It is interesting to observe, in the public records, the changes in the mode of beginning the warrants for calling the town-meetings. From the earliest times until the time of the Revolution the warrant began : " In his majesty's name you are required to warn," etc. The warrant for a meeting on March 6, 1775, read in this way ; but the warrant for a meeting on May 7th of that same year began : " Agreeable to the Late Char- ter of this Province and the Constitutional Laws of the Same." The warrant for a meeting on July 5th began :

"By order of Congress." Each of these last-named forms was used in the next warrants. Next came one with this formula omitted entirely. "In the name of the government and people of Massachusetts Bay in New England," was then used, until after the adoption of the State Constitution. From the begin- ning of the year 1781 to the present time the warrant has been issued " in the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

It is known that Captain Ezekiel Knowlton, Cap- tain Joel Fletcher and Captain John Richardson, all of this town, commanded companies some time during the war. The names of some of the soldiers serving under them are also known. The town records show that many times during the war the town provided beef and other provisions for the army, furnished clothing for the soldiers, paid bounties for enlistment, and chose committees to look after the families of sol- diers during their absence. At a town-meeting held May 24, 1776, under an article, "to give Instructions to their Representative Respecting the united Colo- nies Declaring themselves to be in a state of Inde- pendancy, Separate from Grate Britain," it was " Re- solved, that if the Continental Congress should, for the safety of the united Colonies, declare them Indepen- dent of the kingdom of Great Britain, we do solemnly engage with our lives and fortune to support them in the measure." This vote was passed a little more than a month before the Declaration of Independence was made by the Continental Congress.

Military stores were collected at Bennington, Vt., by the Continental authorities. Gen. Burgoyne sent a detachment of troops to capture them ; but instead of that, his whole detachment was captured by the American troops in a battle which occurred August 16, 1777. The news of the approach of British troops to these western New England towns spread quickly in this vicinity, and on Angust 21st, Capt. Josiah Wilder, of this town, at the head of sixty-one men, set out for Bennington. But it was soon found that there was no further need of troops there, and the men returned to their homes after a very brief service.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 51

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