History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 60

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 60

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).

In 1844 his parents removed to Ware, and the next year he found employment in the store of A. & J. H. Peters, continuing with them until the termi- nation of their business in 1845. The next four years he remained with his father at work upon the farm, until, in the autumn of 1849, with the resist- less curiosity of an energetic young man wishing to see something of the world and to accomplish some- thing for himself, he went to Enfield, Mass., to work in the store of Field & Leland. This firm carried on the palm-leaf and hat business, and their employés knew nothing of the eight-hour law of to-day.

Young Hitchcock's duties began with the rising of the sun, and when late at night the last story had been told by the "oldest inhabitant" to the ever-lis- tening group at "the store," his thrifty employers sent him with his associates to the loft to "sort hats," this employment frequently lasting until midnight. As compensation for these arduous services he received for four years' labor with this house the princely sum of four hundred dollars, from which his board for the last year was deducted, and as the minimum price for board in that town at that time was two dollars and fifty cents per week, but two hundred and seventy dollars remained as the salary for this long and efficient term of service. In October, 1853, he returned to Ware and obtained employment in the general store of David P. Billings, with whom he re- mained till March of 1855, when he purchased the McClintock farm, and for the next eight years was a tiller of the soil; here he produced milk, with which he supplied the people of Ware. His tastes were for mercantile life, and in 1863 he sold the farm and re- moved to Gilbertsville, which has since been his home.

Here he established a general store-the first one in the place. For several years, with the assistance of his young wife, who proved herself to be in very deed a "helpmeet " to him, he was enabled to carry on the whole business. As time passed on and prosperity. came to him, and the needs of the community de-, manded, he increased and extended his business.

In 1879 he associated his only son, Fred. A., with him in business, and in 1885 they opened the Central Market, thereby supplying a long-felt want in this section of the town. At present the business of the firm gives employment to twelve persons and ne- cessitates the service of four teams. In a town of the size of this the development of a business of these proportions can only be accomplished by untiring effort and strict integrity. A rule of business adopted by him in early life and firmly adhered to through all his career, was to "count one man's money as good as another's, have but one price for a given article, and allow no bartering or controversy over it."

Upon the son's admission to membership in the firm, Mr. Hitchcock, feeling the need of some relaxa- tion from the activity and confinement of his business, purchased a farm one mile from the village, and in 1884 erected a substantial and attractive home thereon and removed his family thereto, where he has since resided.

Stock-farming having attractive features for him, he took this means of obtaining recreation, and his herd of Jerseys are his delight.

November 17, 1853, he was united in marriage with Hannah M. McClintock, of Ware, daughter of Levans and Plythina Mcclintock. Six children have blessed this union. They are: Susan P., born at Ware, April 23, 1855 ; she is now the wife of W. E. Brown, M.D., and with him resides in Gilbertsville. Fred. A., born in Ware, May 26, 1857, married Clara M. Packard,

Chat of Hitchcock

Joseph Stone.

1141

HARDWICK.

daughter of Otis and Melita Packard, April 19, 1882 (and to them have been born two sons, viz. : Chas. Frederick, born August 30, 1884, and Ralph Packard, born August 24, 1888) ; May E., born in Ware, May 30, 1860 ; Claribel, born in Ware, July 8, 1863,-these two daughters now reside with their parents. Wm. K., born in Gilbertsville, July 27, 1866, died August 11, 1866. Anna M., also born in this town, June 6, 1870, died January 25, 1879.

Mrs. Hitchcock proved a true help-meet to her husband.

Charles F. Hitchcock has a generous, charitable disposition, free from any miserly taint. His hand is ever ready, and his purse is ever open to assist any one in suffering or in want. He is never a hard creditor, but always ready to extend to the deserving all possible leniency. His manners are kind and affable. He has never sought or accepted any official position, although repeatedly urged to do so by his fellow-townsmen, preferring to give his whole time to the interests of his constantly increasing business.

In politics a positive Republican-reliable and true to his party, not the blind partisan, but the well- read, thinking man, able to defend and " give a reason for the faith which is within him."

He enjoys the confidence and respect of the com- munity in which he dwells, and is recognized as a representative business man, and an important factor in the growth and prosperity of the village in which he resides.

JOSEPH STONE, M.D.1

Dr. Joseph Stone was born in Shrewsbury, Wor- cester County, Mass., Nov. 12, 1789, and died in Hardwick, Worcester County, June 27, 1849, in the sixtieth year of his age.

His father, Joseph Stone, was long a respectable and influential citizen of Shrewsbury ; lived to a good old age and died in the autumn of 1825.

Dr. Stone was the eldest of five children by a sec- ond marriage both of his father and mother. His mother's maiden-name was Mary Keyes, of Western (now Warren), Worcester County. She was the daughter of Colonel Keyes, who was a colonel in the American army of the Revolution, and lived long afterwards a prominent citizen of the county.

Dr. Stone passed his minority principally with his father upon a farm in his native town. His oppor- tunities for early education, therefore, were only such as was afforded at that time in the village common school, which usually kept about six or seven months in the year, and the instruction of his parents, who were both intelligent, exemplary and religious per- sons.

During his youthful days he possessed an inquisi- tive and thoughtful turn of mind, and manifested a strong desire for the acquisition of knowledge. Even

when quite young most of his leisure hours were devoted to reading or study.

" When he was a boy he always had a book in his hand," was the remark of one of his near relatives. He was in the habit of reading all the books he could obtain, often borrowing from the clergymen and others who had larger libraries than he found at home. At the age of eighteen or nineteen he com- menced the study of Latin at Leicester Academy.

After passing a year or two in preparatory studies at Leicester, he entered upon the study of medicine in the office of the late Dr. Joseph H. Flint, then a resident of Shrewsbury. Dr. Flint soon afterward removed to Petersham, whither his pupil accom- panied him, and remained through the term of his pupilage.

In the winter of 1812-13 he attended a course of lectures in the Medical College at Boston. In the summer of 1813, having then completed the pre- scribed course of study, Dr. Stone went to Hardwick with a view of establishing himself in business, but not meeting with sufficient encouragement, he left in the autumn and went to Newfane, Vt., where he spent the winter in teaching school.

In the following year, 1814, soon after the death of the established physician in Hardwick, Dr. Beckwith, some of the inhabitants invited Dr. Stone to return, which he accordingly did, and here his professional labors commenced, and continued to the end of his life. In 1816 he was married to Miss Patty Maynard, of Shrewsbury, with whom he lived in perfect har- mony till the day of his death. They had six chil- dren, the only son dying in infancy.

During his long residence in Hardwick, Dr. Stone, besides attending to a laborious medical practice, engaged at times in public business, and was an ac- tive friend of the benevolent enterprises of the day. He was often selected by his fellow-citizens to fill public offices of honor and high responsibility, and he always discharged those trusts to the acceptance of his constituents. He was elected to various town offices, and among others he held the office of town clerk for twenty years in succession, and, it is said, " the town records will remain a perpetual memorial of his fidelity and correctness." For many years before his death he held a commission of jus- tice of the peace.

He was a member of the memorable convention of 1820 for revising the Constitution of Massachusetts, and in 1823 he was elected and served as a member of the House of Representatives in the State Legis- lature. In 1844 and 1845 he was chosen by the elec- tors of Worcester County a member of the State Senate.

As a man, Dr. Stone was alike distinguished for physical, mental and moral energy, resulting from a sound constitution, a well-balanced mind, and from judicious early moral and religious trainng. He was a man of quiet, retiring habits, yet (in the language

1 By Almon Orcutt, M.D.

1142

HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

of one of his neighbors) "No man's opinion on pub- lic affairs was listened to with more respect, and no man's advice more sought in private matters between man and man. The poor and unfortunate found in him a firm friend and adviser upon whom they could rely with safety."

He was an ardent friend of the cause of temperance, and practically illustrated in his own life the precepts which he endeavored to impress upou others.

He was a patron and promoter of the cause of edu- cation, labored earnestly to elevate the character of the common schools, contributed to the advancement of the higher institutions of learning, and was an effi- cient supporter of the institutions of religion.

But the favorite and engrossing object of pursuit was his profession. This he ardently loved, and to it he bent the energies of his mind with a diligence that never wearied. He shrank from no duty that was re- quired of him, and whatever he undertook was always faithfully performed.

Dr. Stone was a member of the Massachusetts Med- ical Society, also of the Worcester District Medical.

In 1844 and '45 he was unanimously chosen presi- dent of the last-named society, and he discharged the duties of the office with dignity and impartiality. He declined a re-election in 1846, and when urgently so- licited by the members to continue in the office he had filled so acceptably to all, with his accustomed modesty he replied that "He had already held the office two years, and knowing, as he did, there were many other members better qualified than himself to perform its duties, he could no longer consent to de- prive the society of their services."

He was, probably, for some years before his death, more than any other, the consulting physician in his neighborhood.

In his intercourse with his medical brethren he was kind, conciliating, open, frank and liberal, ready to listen to their suggestions and adopt their opinions so far as consistent with truth, but would never yield his own convictions when he was satisfied of their truth, or the welfare of the sick required them to be main- tained. He literally spent his life in going about doing good : his whole earthly existence was a free-will offer- ing upon the shrine of benevolence and humanity.

CHAPTER CXLII.

WESTMINSTER.

BY REV. WILLIAM S. HEYWOOD.

Origin-Settlement-Early Annals-Incorporation.

KING PHILIP'S WAR .- The history of Westmin- ster, which properly includes the causes that led to its original settlement, began in the year 1675, at the opening of that tragic episode in early New England

life known as the Narragansett or King Philip's War. More than half a century had passed away since the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, and more than forty years since the founding of the Colony of Massachu- setts Bay, and peace and good-will had prevailed for the most part between the new-comers to these shores and their aboriginal occupants. This state of tran- quillity and kindly intercourse had been secured and perpetuated largely through the influence of Massa- soit, the benignant, just, magnanimous chief of the Wampanoags, an important Indian tribe occupying the territory lying along the eastern borders of Narra- gansett Bay.

But Massasoit was no more, and his son, Pometa- com, otherwise called Philip, a man of very different spirit from that of his father, had succeeded him. Jealous in his disposition and faithless to his promises of friendship and peace, the new chieftain, encouraged and supported by some of his hot-blooded warriors, entered upon a course of conduct well calculated to engender hostility and violence on the part of his subjects and to fill the colonists with anxiety and fear. Nor was it long before the purpose that lay back of all his actions was revealed.

A series of horrid massacres, beginning in the early summer of 1675 and continuing through several succeeding months, told all too plainly not only that war had begun between the red and white men, but that, so far as the former were concerned, it was de- signed to be a war of extermination. The terrible tragedies at Swansey, Mendon, Brookfield, Hadley and other places dispelled all doubts in this regard. Thoroughly alarmed, the imperiled colonists rose to meet the crisis so unhappily forced upon them.

Commissioners of the Plymouth, Massachusetts and Connecticut settlements met in November and decided to raise an army of a thousand men and equip them for service under the command of Gov- ernor Josiah Winslow of Plymouth, on or before the 10th of December following. The men were en- rolled accordingly. The Massachusetts troops mus- tered on Dedham plain at the date named, ready for an advance into the country of the enemy. Before taking up the line of march, as directed by General Winslow, proclamation was made, in the name of the Colonial Government, to the assembled soldiers that, in addition to the regular pay for services rendered, they, or their heirs and representatives after them, should have a special grant of land, provided that " they played the man, captured the fort where the great body of the enemy was intrenched and drove him out of the country." These troops thereupon proceeded from Dedham, being soon after joined by those from Plymouth, and still later by the quota from Connecticut, when all went on together to the territory of the Narragansetts, on the westerly borders of Narragansett Bay. Thither the various marauding parties, that had been roaming abroad through the summer and autumn, committing depredations, burn-

1143

WESTMINSTER.

ing towns and savagely butchering whomsoever they could, betook themselves, as the cold season came on, and with others, to the number of several thousand in the aggregate, went into winter-quarters on a rising swell of land, some acres in extent, in the centre of a large swamp, in what is now South Kingston, R. I. There they had built a village of six hundred wig- wams and surrounded it with an invulnerable stock- ade, through which there were but two small entrances, protected on the outside by a strong guard. This was the objective point towards which the approaching army was slowly making its way. It had reached a point fifteen miles distant on the 18th of December, where the night was spent. Early the following morning the line of march was resumed in the midst of a snow-storm, which continued through the day. Weary with the journey, the swamp was not reached till about two o'clock P.M., when an attack was at once made upon the fort. The guards outside were slain, entrance was gained and a terrible battle was fought, resulting in the complete overthrow of the Indians, of whom, it is said, a thousand were slain or taken captive. The English also suffered severely, losing six of their'bravest captains and about eighty men, while one hundred and fifty more were wounded.

This was the great battle of the war and virtually its turning-point, though hostilities and massacres continued in a desultory form, after the Indian fashion, till the following summer. The escaping warriors formed themselves into squads or bands, who went roaming through the country, attacking and destroying settlements and doing all possible harm to the population. New recruits were called into the field by the Colonies and soldiers were sent in all directions to meet and destroy or thwart the purpose of the enemy wherever he could be found. In spite of all that could be done, however, in this way, the Indians were continually perpetrating out- rages and barbarities in widely-divided and most un- expected localities, elnding the search of their pur- suers and sedulously avoiding an open fight. Lan- caster, Medfield and Groton were surprised and burned before the winter was over, and Northampton, Seekonk, Marlboro', Sudbury, Turner's Falls and other places, later in the season. Many persons were slain or taken captive. But the power of the Indians was broken and fast ebbing away. Where Philip was all this time is not known. His men were not only greatly reduced in numbers, but were losing heart and hope. Some had deserted and surrendered to the whites. Others had left the neighborhood and joined other tribes not involved in the conflict. The family of Philip was taken captive. At length he himself once more appeared upon the scene, hut dis- crowned and despairing, as a refugee, seeking safety with a few followers at Mt. Hope, R. I. But the place of retreat was known, and a detachment of soldiery under Captain Church surrounded it, sure of their

prey. As the investing troops drew nearer and nearer to each other, Philip sprung from his hiding-place, and seeking to rush through an opening in the ranks of his foes, was shot by one of his own men who had gone over to the side of the colonists. The death of Philip took place August 12, 1676, which was the virtual ending of the war. The whites had suffered fearfully in the conflict, but they had gained the victory, and the power of the red man in New England had gone forever.

LAND GRANTS .- In 1685, nearly ten years after the termination of the war briefly outlined above, Wil- liam Basset, of Lynn, and some forty others in that and neighboring towns, petitioned the General Court of the province of Massachusetts Bay for a grant of land to the Narragansett soldiers, as those engaged in the conflict were designated, in fulfillment of the promise made to them at Dedham. On the 4th of June the court granted " a tract of land eight miles square in the Nipmug country " "to the petitioners and others that were serviceable in the late Indian War." Of this action on the part of the Provincial Government nothing came, so far as can be ascertained from the records, the tract having never been located and the parties to whom it was assigned never taking measures to secure what had been given them.

The subject seems to have received no further at- tention from any one for more than forty years or until a large percentage of those actnally engaged in the Narragansett service had gone to their graves, when, in the month of June, 1727, Samuel Chandler and Jacob Wright, " in behalf of themselves and of many others who were personally present at the fort and fight at Narragansett, or descendants of those who were there or in strictest alliance with them," petitioned the General Conrt for lands substantially as before, "nnder snch restrictions and limitations as the Court shall judge fit." The petition was favor- ably received and action was taken looking to the granting of the prayer of the petitioners and also to the ascertaining of the names of all persons having claims under the pledge of the government designated. The matter did not come to a definite conclusion, however, until the 15th of June in the following year, when a committee was chosen to survey and lay out two tracts of land of the contents of six miles square in some of the unappropriated territory of the prov- ince for the officers and soldiers who served their country in the Narragansett War, to whom said tracts were to be granted and assigned on condition that the grantees shall " settle sixty families at least in each township, with a learned Orthodox minister, within the space of seven years from the date of the grant." On the 18th of the next December this committee re- ported "the plan of a town of the contents of six miles square exclusive of the pond near Rutland and Lnnenburg." This was the original plan of what was afterward the town of Westminster, and is still pre- served in the Archives of the State of Massachu-

1144

HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

setts. On the same day a plan of a second township of the same size was reported situated on Souhegan River, which subsequently became Amherst, N. HI. Time went on, but no steps were taken in regard to the settlement of these grants. Indeed, the grantees of them were not definitely determined for several years after they were made. The number of claimants for lands under the pledge given to the Narragansett soldiers increased slowly until it reached the aggre- gate of eight hundred and forty, whereupon it was maintained that the grants made were much too small to give each person a sufficient amount to satisfy him and answer the demands of justice and honor in the case. Consequently the whole body of claimants, who had duly organized and were holding meetings from time to time in Boston and vicinity for the purpose of conserving their interests in the matter, through a committee chosen for the purpose, asked the court for further appropriations. After a long delay it was finally decided to grant a township of the contents of six miles square to every one hundred and twenty sol- diers who had proved their claims satisfactorily to the court, and a grant of five additional towns-making seven in all-was ordered and duly approved by the Governor April 26, 1733. It was not, however, till February 26, 1734, that the last of the plans of these five townships was submitted by the committee chosen to survey and lay them out and finally approved by the General Court and confirmed to the grantees.

THE NARRAGANSETT TOWNSHIPS .- The several tracts of land granted as before stated were called the Narragansett Townships, being so designated for rea- sons sufficiently indicated already. They were passed over by the Provincial authorities to the ownership and control of the eight hundred and forty grantees as a body, to be allotted and assigned among them as they might judge best, and to be finally settled by them or through their instrumentality according to the conditions specified in the votes of the General Court appropriating them to the parties receiving them. To prepare the way for the just and proper distribution of them among those to whom they be- longed, and for the final disposal and occupancy of them, the grantees in a meeting held at Boston June 6, 1733, made a division of their number into seven distinct societies consisting of one hundred and twenty grantees each, among which the townships were to be distributed by some plan of assignment agreed upon by those concerned. In making this division, regard was paid to the location of the members, those residing near together being included in the same so- ciety in order to render it convenient for them to meet together for the transaction of necessary business. Moreover, a committee of each society was chosen by the whole body to represent said society, to have charge of its affairs and to act in its behalf. These several committees were given authority and in- structed to assign the different towns to the societies at,their convenience.

Pursuant thereto, due notice having been given, they met on the 17th of the next October, at the public-house of Luke Verdy, in Charlestown, for that purpose. The townships were distinguished from each other by number, and were called Narragansett No. 1, Narragansett No. 2, etc., which names they sev- erally bore until they were made a part of the body politic by an act of incorporation from the Legisla- ture, when they assumed those by which they have since been designated and known. In the distribu- tion of the several grants among the different socie- ties of grantees, Narragansett No. 1, on Saco River, which afterwards became Buxton, Me., was assigned to Philemon Dane and company from Ipswich and vicinity, by general consent and approval. It was then decided to dispose of the six remaining townships by lot, but before proceeding to the drawing in accordance with that decision, it was " voted and agreed upon that the Society that should hapen to Draw the Town called No. 2, at Watchusett, should lay out and assign to his Excelency Jonathan Belcher, Esq., five Hundred acres of land in s'd Towne for his Honored Father's wright." This was the township now under notice, and in the allotment which at once took place it fell to Mr. James Lowden and company from Cambridge and vicinity. In this company there were seventeen grantees from Cambridge, thirty-three from Charles- town, twenty-six from Watertown, five from Weston, eleven from Sudbury, seven from Newton, three from Medford, six from Malden and ten from Reading, making one hundred and eighteen in all. Of these only twenty had served personally in the Narragan- sett War; the others being the legal representatives of those who had been slain in the service or subse- quently passed away. The remaining townships were allotted in regular order as follows: No. 3, afterwards Amherst, N.H., to Richard Moore, of Lynn and com- pany; No. 4, which was at first Goffstown, N. H., but subsequently Greenwich, Mass., to Edward Shove and company from Northampton and vicinity ; No. 5, in- corporated as Bedford, N. H., to Thomas Tileston and company of the neighborhood of Boston ; No. 6, Tem- pleton, Mass., to Saml. Chandler, of Concord, and com- pany; No. 7, known as Gorham, Me., to Shubael Gor- ham and company belonging to Plymouth and vicinity. With the assignment of the several townships to the societies of grantees, who thereby became sole proprie- tors of them respectively, to hold in their own right and manage according to their own pleasure, the re- sponsibility of the whole body of grantees acting to- gether ceased, and the care and control of each town- ship separately passed over to the particular society to which it had been allotted.

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. II, Part 60

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