History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 112

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1464

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 112

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In 1886 the Fitchburg found a rival company emu- lons of the ownership of the property of the State. After months of negotiations, terms were finally made in January, 1887, when a contract was made with the Governor and Council of Massachusetts for a consoli- dation of the Fitchburg with the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel, extending from Green- field to the Vermont line. The Hoosac Tunnel, with a length of four and three-quarters miles, was begun in 185-, that Boston might have a second and more favorable line to the West. In 1875 the tunnel was completed, but it was not until 1887, when it was thus put under one strong company, that the original pur- pose was accomplished, and one corporation operated the line from Boston to Troy and Rotterdam Junc- tion, giving direct connection with the five great com- panies which cross the State of New York and also with the Erie Canal. The labor of the president was arduous in the negotiations with the State, with the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railroad and with the Troy and Boston Railroad, and in the subse- quent organization of the parts into one working whole. In 1885 the Fitchburg consolidated with the Boston, Barre and Gardner, giving access to Worces- ter with its population of seventy thousand.

Mr. Phillips has always heen progressive and fore- most in adopting new inventions favorable to iu- creased safety and economy of working. Thus the Boston and Worcester, while he was superintendent, was the second management in the country to adopt the Creamer Brake, the best automatic brake previous to the invention of the Westinghouse Air-Brake in 1870. On the Michigan Southern and Northern In- diana and again on the Wisconsin Central he intro- duced the Tyler Switch, then unknown ou the Western roads,-a simple device that in several notable ip- stances prevented loss of life that would otherwise have occurred. On the Michigan Southern, too, he was the first west of the Alleghanies to adopt the Miller Platform and Coupler, one of the greatest im- provements ever made in car construction. He was an early advocate of strong safety-chains upon pas- senger cars and of stronger decks upon bridges. In 1888 he gave the first large order in New England for the equipment of freight-cars with air-brakes. His annual reports of the Lake Shore and Michigan South- ern and of Eastern Railroads were models of fullness and clearness to be imitated by neighboring roads. Mr. Phillips married, February 2, 1845, Maria Rebecca Ayling, daughter of Henry and Mehitable (Copeland) Ayling, of Boston. They have three children-1st, Henry Ayling, born August 19, 1852 (S.B., M.I.T., 1873), married October 4, 1888, Florence Elizabeth Waters, daughter of Colonel Asa H. Waters, of Mill- bury ; 2d, Anna Maria, horn December 21, 1856, mar- ried February 2, 1885, Cyrus A. Page, publisher of

the Boston Beacon; 3d, Walter Brigham, boru April 2, 1864 (A.B. Harv., 1886).

A friend who has known Mr. Phillips intimately for nearly quarter of a century, and who holds high official rank in one of the great railroad corporations of the country, writes of Mr. Phillips that his natural love of justice has always enabled him to deal with entire fairness to all with whom he has had relations; that industry and zeal in duty he has always highly appreciated, while abhorring with the spirit of a typical New Englander anything like laziness, and has set a grand example of fidelity himself; a good disciplinarian, he expects a man to do his best; he hates shams and is very quick to detect one; he com- bines with a conservative prudence the radical ideas of progress in all that affects safety or cconomy in the details of his profession ; faithful to the interests en- trusted to his care, straightforward and true to all his engagements, he is an exemplar of that commercial honesty the scarcity of which is so much lamented in the railroad world of to-day.

NATHANIEL E. PAINE.

Nathaniel Emmons l'aine was born July 14, 1853, at New Hartford, Oneida County, N. Y., the home of his grandfather, Dr. John A. Paine. His father, Horace M. Paine, M.D., was settled at the time in Albany, N. Y., engaged in the practice of his profes- sion. His mother, Miss Charlotte Mann, the daughter of Mr. Salmon Mann, of Norfolk, Mass., was one of the early graduates of Mount Holyoke Seminary. Dr. Paine therefore inherited the advantages and influences of an educated ancestry ; and, with two generations of successful physiciaus preceding him, a strong bias as well for the medical profession.

In August, 1855, his father removed to Clinton, Oneida County. The years spent at Clinton were of great advantage to the growing boy. The duties re- quired of him on his father's farm made him strong and muscular, and gave him an acquaintance with practical affairs, often sadly missed by city-bred chil- dren.

In 1865, Dr. Horace M. Paine again removed his family to Albany, and directly re-established himself as one of the leading physicians of the city, a posi- tion which he continues to hold with ever-increasing honors and appreciation.

His oldest son, the subject of our sketch, was a pupil for some time at the Albany Adademy, and after- wards studied with Professor Lewis Collins, until he was admitted to Hamilton College in 1870. His col- lege course was one of great advantage to him, but it was not until he reached the studies of the senior year that he found real delight in his work. While engaged in chemistry the young student showed unusual quali- ties of precision, patience and unwearied application, which less congenial studies failed to bring out. The record of his college work was closed at.his com-

n. Emmou Pain. Taur

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WESTBOROUGH.

mencement by the taking of the first chemical prize, an honor which was a foregone conclusion for some months, owing to his well-known laboratory work.

On his return to his home in Albany, the young man matriculated as a student in the Albany Medical College, a department of the Union University. But his medical work by no means began at this point. During the vacations of his college course he was engaged in assisting his father in his office; while, in fact, he was daily under the influence of the profes- sion from childhood, being early acquainted with visiting physicians and their conventions. During Dr. Paine's childhood and youth were the days of the trial and development of homoeopathy in New York State. He witnessed the struggles of the early years of its State and county societies, the founding of its hospitals, and finally the establishment in 1874 of its State Asylum for the insane at Middletown, Orange County, the first institution of its kind in America.

While this pioneer work properly belongs to the recital of the lives of his grandfather and father, it exerted a wide influence on the growing boy, giving him a familiarity with organization, and many les- son's in the necessity of tact, patience and discretion in the bringing about of desired measures. His med- ical studies were supplemented by a continuous ex- perience with his father in his wide practice, so that he entered upon his chosen work under especially favorable circumstances. That his course in the Medical College was a successful one is attested by the fact that, on his graduation, he had the honor of being valedictorian of his class, and received also a prize in obstetrics.

Directly after his graduation he sailed for Europe, where, for over a year, he studied in Germany-the greater part of the time in Vienna. He found in special post-graduate courses, and in the opportun- ities offered by the large hospitals, the best means of adding to his knowledge and experience.

Returning to America in 1877, Doctor Paine ex- pected to engage in private practice in Albany, New York, but an offer to become an assistant physician at the Middletown Homeopathic Asylum led him to that special work, in which he has since been engaged. He began his duties May 1, 1877. Doctor Paine en- tered upon his new field of work with much enthusi- asm, and bringing to it, as he did, a keen mind, well trained by years of preparation, as well as ready sym- pathies, he soon became endeared to his patients, and received for his work the commendation and appreci- ation of the trustees and superintendent. Three years and a half were thus well spent in the daily routine of hospital work. During this period Doctor Paine invented several means of restraint for his pa- tients, which have been proved by years of use to be of great value in the treatment of the insane, and which have been adopted by many institutions in the country.

His most noted invention in 1878 was that of the Nasal Feeding Tube, which has taken the place largely of the old stomach-pump. By its means re- fractory patients have been fed without violence or pain, and life, in many instances, has been sustained until the brain has had time to return to a healthy tone and condition. As it is contrary to the code of the physician to make any personal profit from a professional instrument, the tube has never been patented; but it was manufactured by Tiemann & Co., of New York, and described in their catalogue as Paine's Nasal Feeding Tube.

But the doctor had still another long course of experience and discipline to endure, entirely un- looked-for by himself or his friends. The strain of his studies and special work proved too much, and in 1880 his health failed. He resigned his position at the asylum iu October, 1880, receiving every mark of appreciation from its Board of Trustees and its superintendent, Dr. Selden H. Talcott, and many evidences of affection from his patients.

The next four years were spent in endeavors to regain the lost strength and vigor. Their history consists of a sequence of experiments in treatment and travel. But while thus occupied in a weary round, they were by no means valueless to the doc- tor. He tested personally many courses of treatment only known to him before by theory, and his expe- rience was greatly widened by the necessities of his own case. Above all, his sympathies were deepened, and it is largely owing to this time of suffering that he has acquired that insight into the feelings of his patients and the delicate appreciation of their trou- bles which is so decided a characteristic.

In December, 1884, Dr. Paine received an offer from the Board of Trustees of the Westborough In- sane Hospital to become its superintendent, which resulted in his acceptance of that position. Before entering upon his duties Dr. Paine spent the winter and early spring of 1884-85 in visiting and exam- ining the asylums of other States, with the special purpose of studying their construction. He removed to Westborough with his family in May, 1885.

The alteration of the State Reform School build- ings, to fit its new necessities as a hospital for the insane, occupied a year and a half. During this time Dr. Paine was in constant consultation with the Board of Trustees and the architect, and was able, through his experience in such institutions, to make valuable suggestions in matters of construction. The history of the Westborough Hospital is to be given in another portion of this work. That history has been largely influenced by the skill and wisdom of its superintendent, and its wider future and assured suc- cess rest on the foundation of his personal character and attainments.

In the fall of 1887, Dr. Paine was appointed lec- turer on insanity in the Medical Department of the Boston University. He delivers didactic lectures to

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

the students of the graduating class at the college, which are supplemented by clinics held at the West- borough Hospital.

It should be said, in conclusion, that on June 5, 1879, Dr. Paine married Harriet, the youngest daugh- ter of the late William Gould, of Albany, New York, a gentleman well-known and honored in that city. The doctor's marriage has given him that best of helpful inspiration and incentives for good work, a happy home-life.

Dr. Paine stands at the beginning still of his life- work, showing ability for executive and professional success and all the qualities of mind and heart which not only endear him to those with whom he is officially connected, but also command their respect and admiration.

May he long be blessed with health and strength to carry out his many plans for the help and allevia- tion of his suffering patients.

CHAPTER CLXVIII.

DUDLEY.

BY J. J. GILLIS.

DUDLEY, located in the south central section of the county, between the French River upon the east and the Quinebaug upon the west, comprising about thirteen thousand acres, was named in honor of the Dudley family, first Englisb proprietors of this terri- tory, descendants of Governor Thomas Dudley, one of the patentees of the Massachusetts Colony. This township is part of the land west of the Kuttatuck (now Blackstone) River, conveyed by deed February 10, 1681, from the Nipmuck Indians to William Stoughton, of Dorchester, and Joseph Dudley, of Rox- bury, agents of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in consideration of the payment of fifty pounds, cur- rent money of New England. This deed contained the following reservation : "Reserving always unto ourselves, our heirs and assigns out of the above said grant a certain tract of land five miles square, at two such places as we shall choose, to be wholly at our own use and disposal."

This reservation was selected and surveyed in Oc- tober, 1684, to " Black James " and others. One sec- tion extended from Lake Chaubunagnugamaug (now in Webster) to the west of Dudley Hill or the Centre Village, and nearly. all subsequently became the property of Hon. Joseph Dudley, which, together with other grants from the province, he retained title to until his decease, April 2, 1720, when they became the property of his sons, Chief Justice Paul and the Hon, William Dudley, and were soon offered for sale by them. These sales, beginning in 1721, are recorded in the records of Suffolk County, in

which they were located previous to the erection of Worcester County in 1731. The earliest purchasers and settlers of these lands were John Healy, Jonas Clark, Philip Newell, William Ward, Benjamin Newell, Nathaniel Ramsdell, Samuel Newell, Joseph Putney, Clement Corbin, Benjamin Sabin, Daniel Williams, Joseph and Ebenezer Edmonds.

In 1731 a petition was presented to the General Court for a grant for a township, the motive being apparently a religious one; for in the act of incorpo- ration we find the following: " WHEREAS there are many inhabitants in a tract of land lying between the towns of Woodstock and Oxford, in the county of Worcester, who, together with others, lately set- tled in the southwest part of Oxford and very remote from any place of public worship of God, ... Be it enacted," etc.

That these early settlers were exceedingly fervent in religious sentiment may be inferred from the fact that upon the records of the town may be found a vote unanimously passed, " to hold a day of fasting and prayer to God for direction in the great and mighty affair of calling and settling a minister."

By authority of the General Court, Joseph Ed- monds issued a warrant calling the inhabitants qual- ified to vote to meet at the house of William Carter (now the property of Deacon Daniel Dwight), June 20, 1732, to vote for all the necessary officers for organizing the town as by law is required.

The officers elected were as follows: Moderator, Joseph Edmonds ; Selectmen, Joseph Edmonds, Eb- enezer Edmonds, James Corbin, Geo. Robinson, John Lilly ; Town Clerk, John Lilly ; Constable, Joseph Putney ; Fence-Viewers, John Healy, Clement Cor- bin; Tythingmen, Jonathan Newell, Benjamin Conant; Hog-Reeves, David Southwick, Joseph Wakefield ; Treasurer, Jonathan Newell.

The meeting was then adjourned to the 29th in- stant following, when the following business was transacted (Moderator, James Corbin) : " Voted, to have a minister, and to raise the money for his support by a tax upon improved lands and stock, and that William Carter's house be the place to meet to hear the gospel preached."

The selectmen were authorized to procure a minis- ter. Jonathan Newell was appointed . to set the psalms in the public worship and Joseph Payson to read them.

It was also decided to build a meeting-house upon the end of William Carter's land.

A vote was passed to give Rev. Isaac Richardson, the minister, one hundred and fifty pounds, together with one hundred acres of land donated for this pur- pose by the Hon. William Dudley, and a further salary of eighty pounds the first year, with an in- crease of five pounds per year until it reached one hundred pounds, which was to be the maximum, and the day of ordination appointed ; but it is the popular belief that the ordination did not take place.

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DUDLEY.

A vote was passed valuing all the land in town at twenty shillings per acre and to remain at that value seven years. Also, a committee was chosen to apply to the Legislature to permit a tax on all lands as here voted. At this time none but improved lands could be taxed, unless so authorized by the General Court.

The preliminary acts of the British Government, which excited the colonists and produced the War of the Revolution, did not have much effect npon the people of this town until the closing of the port of Boston.

At a town-meeting, held on Sept. 20, 1773, it was voted not to act upon the letter received from the Boston Committee. This letter set forth the uncon- stitutional character of all acts of the English Parlia- ment in framing laws for taxing the Colonies, on the ground of non-representation. But the port of Bos- ton closed, the people lost all indifference, realized that war was inevitable and prepared for the contest.

A Committee of Correspondence and Safety was chosen June 30, 1774, consisting of Capt. John Courtis, Lieut. Timothy Foster, Joseph Vinton, Arch- ibald Jewell and Elisha Corbin.

Sept. 19th the town voted to add to its stock of am- munition, and chose Col. Thomas Cheney to repre- sent the town in the Provincial Congress at Concord. Nine days later the town instructed its constable to collect and keep the province money in his hands till further orders, the town to hold him harmless; and chose a committee "to settle and establish minute- men .??

Dec. 17th it was voted to appropriate the province money in the hands of the collector to buy guns and bayonets ; to adhere to the doings of the General Congress in all matters whatsoever, and to conform to the non-importation agreement.

Jan. 2, 1775, Col. Thomas Cheney was again chosen Representative to the Provincial Congress, this time to be holden at Cambridge. Col. Thomas Cheney was then in his sixty-eighth year; he died two years later, April 30, 1777, and lies buried in Sturbridge. He was a great-grandson of William Cheney, who emigrated from England, with his wife, two sons and two daughters, in 1635, and settled in Roxbury. Col. Thomas was born in Cambridge, 1708; held a commission in the Colonial Army ; was present at the taking of Louisbourg, 1745. (" April 21, 1746, Gov. Shirley issued orders to Capt. Thos. Cheney, of Dud- ley, to march with his Company of 60 troopers to Northfield. Indians were lurking in the neighbor- hood, and men had been murdered a short time before."-Temple and Sheldon's "History of North- field.") He came to Dudley about 1735, and settled near the present village of West Dudley. The home which he here established has ever since remained in the possession of direct descendants.

The next meeting of the Provincial Congress was held at Watertown, May 31st, in which Wm. Learned was the representative.

News of the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775, spread like wild-fire and before the close of the next day the following minute-men were on their way to Bos- ton under the command of Capt. Craft : Jonathan Day, John Blood, Eben Amadon, Nat. Clark, Elisha Corbin, Lemuel Corbin, Benj. Edmonds, Jonas Fairbanks, Wm. Learned, Stephen Sly, Eben White, Jr.

The following were minute-men in Capt. Nathaniel Healy's company in Col. Ebenezer Learned's regi- ment, who, immediately after the battle of Lexington, with his regiment, reported for service at Cambridge, and with Colonels Prescott and Warren ordered to join General Thomas at Roxbury : Capt. Nat. Healy, Lieut. David Keith, Ensigu Saml. Healy, Sergeants Timothy Foster, John Bacon, Eleazer Jackson, Asa Curtis, Corporals Mark Dodge, Jacob Chamberlain, John Vinton, Joseph Marcy, Drummer John Edmonds, Privates William Jordan, Jeremiah Haskell, Ephraim Corbin, Nathan Inman, Benj. Upham, Ebenezer Griggs, Timothy Vinton, Asa Robinson, Jesse Sabin, Moses Jewell, Joseph Healy, David Haskell, John White, Benj. Kidder, Ira Green, Amasa Marshall, Ebenezer Jewell, Geo. Robinson, Ebenezer Edmonds, John Mason, Ezekiel Hovey, Ichabod Kocks, William Carter, Jonathan Foster, Benj. Inman, Shadrach Smith, Stephen Edmonds, Stephen Healy.

From a muster-roll of a subsequent date we take the following names, members of the same company, omitting such as have been already given : Sergeant William Corbin, Corporal Amos Hooker, Fifer Ste- phen Healy, Privates John Phipps, Ebenezer Dodge, James Brown, Elijah Convers, Jonathan Willard, Lemuel Edmonds, Richard F. Hunt, Aaron Wake- field, John Dodge, Joseph Cody, Asa Edmonds, Nathan Fletcher, Samuel Hibbard, Samuel Kidder, Amos Commins, Amos Wakefield.

Upon a roster of Capt. Courtis' company, same regiment, are found the following names of men from this town : Nathaniel Corbin, Benjamin Havens, Joseph Peagon, Gideon Sabin, Thomas Carroll, Sam- uel Peagon, Caleb Kidder ; also in Captain Lemuel Cor- bin's company from Dudley, detached for Rhode Island on alarm of July 18, 1780: Lieut. Joseph Keith, Sergeant William Wasson, Corporals William Smith, John Heath and Wm. Foster, Privates Aaron Albee, Ichabod Chamberlain, Hosea Howard, Jesse Jewell, Thomas Morris, Russel Smith, Simeon Upham, Solomon Wakefield, John Comstock, Wm. Westcott, William Brown, Ebenezer Hibbard, Lem- uel Healy, Joel Lee, Nathan Sly, Nathan Fitts, Ste- phen Wood, Obed Warren, Joseph Foster.

Among the records on file in the office of the Sec- retary of State is :

A return of the male inhabitants from 16 years old and upwards and also the men engaged in the Continental service in the county of Wor- cester, with the number and deficiency of each town, in obedience to an order of the Great and General Court passed the 3d Feb., 1778.

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

DUDLEY.

Number of male inhabitants. 232 One-eeventh part. 33

Number of men in service 33

The thirty-three men who served in the above quota were :

First Company.

Win. Butler.

Luke Morris.

Elkins Moore.

Joseph Cody.

Wm. Jordan.

John Dodge.

Samuel Peagon.

Joseph O'Brien, of Machias.

John Fiviash.

John Keating, of Machias.

James Thomas.

John Ray, of Boston.

Samuel Putney.

-McNeil, of Boston.

Ebenezer Peagon. - Willis, of Boston.

Attest, WILLIAM CARTER, captain, Dudley, Jan. 13, 1778.

Second Company.

Ezekiel Chase.

Tim. Drummond, of Machias.

Paul Brown.

Chas. Frank Otto,

Joshua Ephraims.

John Otto,

Ephraim Bowers. .

James Rainer,

Jesse Sabin.

John Dunn,

John Allen.

James Barnard,

James Newton.

William Brown,

Joseph Peagon.

Matthew Fullsom.

Thomas Carroll.

Attest,

NATHANIEL HEALY, captain, Dudley, Jan. 13, 1778.

Subsequent enlistments:

1778-for nine months.

Age.

Ileight.

Complexion.

John Morris

5-5

light

John Edmunds.

5-10

dark

Elisha Corbin,

5-10

light

David Burrill.

5-7

dark

Benj. Edmonds

5-10

dark

Josiah Barnes

5-6

dark

1779-for nine months.

William Wasson

5-9

dark

Amos Commins.

5-6

dark

Nathan Dodge.

5-5

light

Andrew Webster.

5-5

dark

Stephen Wood

5-9

light

Ebenezer Allen.

5-9

light

1780-for six months.

Nathan Waldron

5-6

ruddy

Phineas Kimball

5-5

ruddy

Simeon Howard

5-5

light

Samuel Healy

5 -- 5

dark

Nathaniel May

5-4

dark

Thomas Learned.

6-1

light

Jeremiah Shumway.

5-4

light

Peter Grove.

5-5

light

Benjamin Jewell.

5-5

light

John Fenner

5-8

light

Benjamin Morris.

5-3

light

Ebenezer Allen

5-10

light

Andrew Webster

5-4

light

1781 -- for three years.

John Foster.

5-5

dark

William Wasson

5-9

dark

Elijah Humphrey.

5-9

light

Ebenezer Allen

5-10

light

Silas Hayden

5-10

light

Jeremiah Shumway

5-5

dark

Nathaniel May.

5-5

dark

Stephen Corbin

5-7

light

Joseph Healy

5-7

light

Hosea Howard.

5-8

light

Lemnel lealy.

5-6

light

Benj. Jewell ..

5-5

light

DUDLEY, April 18, 1781.

We, the subscribers, having recd., each of us, One Hundred Pounds in money and sureties of silver money at the rate of six shillings and eight pence per ounce for our engaging in the Continental service for three years, We say received each of us.1

Besides the above, three did service for the town of Leicester, as the following certifies :

LEICESTER, May 25, 1778.

SIR :- Agreeable to your direction, I have raised three men for the 9 months' service in the Continental Army. Their names are as fol- lows : Zarana Smith, of Dudley, in Col. Ilolman's Regiment and Capt. Ilealy's Company-5 feet 7 in., well set ; age, 24 years; light com- plexion.

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 112

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1464

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1464