History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 99

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 99

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husbandman had left them in the autumn. When Sir William Howe rubbed his eyes on the morning of the 5th he saw through the heavy mists the entrench- ments, on which, he said, the enemy had done more in a night than his whole army would have done in a month. Howe took prompt measures to attempt to dislodge the Americans the next night, before their works were made impregnable. But, by another providence, a "fearful storm at night" made it im- possible to cross the bay until the American works were perfected. And thus, no doubt, the first great military success or achievement of this kind of the Revolutionary War was ' due to Rufus Putnam. Senator Hoar, in a recent centennial address, said : "The veteran British army, aided by a strong naval force, got out of Boston before the strategy of Wash- ington, the engineering of Putnam, and the courage of the untried yeomen." In August, 1776, Congress appointed him engineer, which was announced by General Washington to him as follows :

NEW YORK, Ang. 11, 1776. COLONEL PUTNAM :

Sir :- I have the pleasure to inform you that Congress has appointed yon an engineer with the rank of Colonel, and pay of sixty dollars a month. I beg ot you to hasten the sinking of vessels and other ob- structions in the river at Fort Washington, as fast as possible. Advise Gen. Putnam constantly of the kind of vessels you want and other things, that no delay that can possibly be avoided may happen I am, sir, your assured friend and servant,

G. WASHINGTON.

Colonel Putnam was placed in charge of the im- portant fortifications at West Point. He took an im- portant part in the capture of Burgoyne, and on the 8th of January, 1783, was commissioned a brigadier- general in the army of the United States.

Before the war broke up a petition of two hundred and eighty-eight officers was sent to Congress for a grant of lands north and northwest of the Ohio River to the veterans of the army in redemption of the pledges of Congress. General Putnam was the leader in this movement. A year later he renews his re- quest to Washington for aid in this project, to which Washington replied that he has exerted every power with Congress that he is master of, but Congress ad- journed without action. In 1785 Congress appointed General Putnam one of the surveyors of the north- western lands. He. says in his letter, accepting this office, that "a wish to promote emigration from among my friends into that country, and not the wages stipu- lated, is my principal motive." His engagements were such that he could not leave Massachusetts that year, having been appointed by the Legislature one of a committee for the sale of the eastern lands held by the Commonwealth, and also superintendent of the surveys to be made that year. At his request General Tupper, an old associate, was appointed by Congress in his stead one of the surveyors of lands lying northwest of the Ohio River. In January, 1787, he volunteered to assist General Lincoln in suppressing Shays' Rebellion. In April he was appointed justice of the peace, and in May of the same year was chosen

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RUTLAND.

Representative of the town of Rutland. After the return of General Tupper from his partial survey of the Ohio country, he visited his old friend and com- rade General Putnam, at his home in Rutland, and during this visit, on the 9th of January, 1786, a con- versation occurred between General Rufus Putnam and General Benjamin Tupper, as they sat before the great fire-place in Putnam's farm-house during that winter evening. They conversed long and earnestly of their long-cherished plans. The old soldiers so strengthened each other's faith in the future that they could no longer rest inactive. They joined in a brief address to the people, proposing a plan of organiza- tion. This first appeared in the newspapers of Boston January 25th, under the caption of "Information," signed by Rufus Putnam and Benjamin Tupper, and dated Rutland, January 10, 1786. The subscribers stated that they took " this method to inform all offi- cers and soldiers who have served in the late war, and who are by a late ordinance of the honorable Congress to receive certain tracts of land in the Ohio country, and also all other good citizens who wish to become adventurers in that delightful region, that from per- sonal inspection, together with other incontestable evidences, they are fully satisfied that the lands in that quarter are of much better quality than any other known to the New England people; the climate, seasons, products, etc., are, in fact, equal to the most flattering accounts that have ever been published of them ; that, being determined to become purchasers, and to prosecute a settlement in that country, and desirous of forming a general association with those who entertain the same ideas, they beg leave to pro- pose the following plan, viz .: That an association by the name of the Ohio Company be formed by all such as wish to become purchasers, etc., in that country who reside in the Commonwealth of Mass. only, or to extend to the inhabitants of other states, as shall be agreed on." It was further proposed that in order to bring such a company into existence all persons who wished to promote the scheme should meet in their respective counties at places designated, on the 15th of February following, and choose delegates, who should assemble at the "Bunch of Grapes Tavern," in Boston, on Weduesday, the 1st day of March, 1786, and there determine upon a plan of association.

The delegates at that historic meeting were Man- assah Cutler, of Essex County ; Winthrop Sargent and John Mills, of Suffolk ; John Brooks and Thomas Cushing, of Middlesex ; Benjamin Tupper, of Hamp- shire; Crocker Sampson, of Plymouth ; Rufus Put- nam, of Worcester; Jelaiel Woodbridge and John Patterson, of Berkshire; and Abraham Williams, of Barnstable. It was decided to raise a fond of not less than one million dollars, in shares of one thou- sand dollars each.

After about a year another meeting was held at Brackett's Tavern in Boston, and it was reported that, although only two hundred and fifty shares had been

subscribed for, there were many in Massachusetts, also in Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hamp- shire, who were inclined to become adventurers, and who were only restrained by the uncertainty of ob- tainiog a sufficient tract of country collectively for a good settlement. It was now decided to make direct and immediate application for the purchase of lands in the territory northwest of the Ohio River, and as an agent to negotiate with Congress, the association chose one of their own number, Rev. Manassah Cut- ler, pastor of a little Congregationalist Church in the hamlet of Ipswich (now Hamilton), Mass. Dr. Cutler labored most zealously for the cause, especially with the Southern members, and so won their friend- ship, by his genial, hearty manner, that the ordi- nance was passed.

The contract exceeded by far any ever before made in the United States. It contained one million five hundred thousand acres upon the Ohio, at the mouth of the Muskingum.

In December, 1787, the advance detachment was sent out under command of Major Haffield White, being sent ahead to build boats upon the Youghi- ogheny, a small affluent of the Monongahela, in Western Pennsylvania. Another party started Jan- uary 1, 1788, which General Putnam would have commanded but for business, which led him to New York ; he, however, joined them on the 24th in Eastern Pennsylvania, and at length, after three months of hardship and misfortune, they reached what is now " Marietta," and thus was begun, by forty-eight men from Massachusetts, the State of Ohio and of the Northwest Territory.

The contract price of the "Ohio Purchase" was one million dollars. The total valuation of real and personal property for taxation in 1880 was forty-six million five hundred and eighty-one thousand two hundred and ninety-two dollars, showing an annual increase on that price of fifty per cent. It is said that there is no other colony in the whole West in which the original and distinguishing characteristics are so distinctly preserved as in Marietta, Ohio. It has a peculiarly Eastern or New England aspect ; the substantial buildings, the stately elms, the spa- cious door-yards offer a pleasant suggestion of the New England village.

It is hard to refrain from saying more concerning this distinguished man, who, for five years and more, made his home in Rutland. The old house in which he lived is still in fine condition, and is owned by Mr. E. F. Meade. It is really the most historic place in town, and perhaps deserves the space we have given to it. About fifty persons emigrated or followed General Putnam from Rutland to Ohio.

A relative of General Rufus Putnam by the same name came from Warren, Mass., and settled in this town about 1809. He practiced law, was a justice of the peace, and was the means of settling many dif- ferences of the inhabitants in a peaceful way, always

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

recommending an adjustment of the difficulty with- out the help or exercise of the law. He was a man in whom the people had great confidence, and many persons who were at variance became reconciled, and were also saved expensive lawsuits, by heeding his counsels. His son, Mr. George A. Putnam, has held the office of town clerk for twenty-five years success- ively.

Deacon Jonas Read, author of " Read's History of Rutland," was born April 21, 1759 ; died June 2, 1839. No historian writes his own biography. Mr. Read was one of Rutland's most valued and useful citizens. He built thirty-two of the seventy parts of the forty-three miles of turnpike built from Amherst, through the towns of Pelham, Greenwich, Hardwick, New Braintree, Oakham, Rutland, Holden, Worces- ter, to the great road in Shrewsbury, and had charge of a portion of this turnpike for many years. He held many offices of public trust, and collected and arranged a valuable historical work up to the year 1836, which was reissued with a supplement up to 1879, by Daniel Bartlett, of this town. From this history many quotations are brought into this work, for which the above authors are entitled to due credit.

The following persons belonging to Rutland have held offices in the county : William Caldwell, Esq., sheriff from 1793 to 1805 ; Moses White, sheriff from 1811 to 1812 and justice of the Court of Sessions in 1807 ; Daniel Clap, Esq., from 1784 to 1816; Francis Blake, clerk of the court, 1816 and '17; J. Warren Bigelow, County Commissioner from 1862 to '77.

The following gentlemen have represented the town in the Senate and House of Representatives : Hon. John Fessenden, Senator from 1787 to '91; Hon. Francis Blake, Senator from 1810 to '12, and from 1813 to '15; Hon. Thomas Blood, Senator from 1816 to '18; George S. Flint, Representative, 1836 and '37 ; Calvin G. Howe, 1838; William Davis, 1839 and '40; Warren Flagg, 1841; Henry Brigham, 1843 and '44; D. W. Fletcher, 1845 and '46; William F. Davis, 1847 and '48; George A. Gates, 1850; D. W. Fletcher, 1851 ; Miles Demond, 1853; Charles M. Temple, 1854; Abram H. Temple, 1855; J. Warren Bigelow, 1856; Franklin Hathaway, 1859; Z. G. Gates, 1861; Joseph Davis, 1862; Alonzo Davis, 1865; Willis Smith, 1868; Moses Smith, 1873; Charles R. Bartlett, 1878 ; and Richmond H. Potter, 1883.

Rutland was the residence, for a few years, of the late "Madame Jumel," who died in New York in 1865. In 1794 a poor vagrant family, consisting of a young girl, her sister, mother and step-father, came into this town. They had heen shipped from "pillar to post," having been helped by the authorities of one town over the line into another, coming from North Brookfield to Rutland. The names of the girls were Polly and Betsey Bowen, the mother's name Phebe and the step-father's name Jonathan Clark. It is

said that their " manner of life" previously may be inferred from what it was in Rutland. They lived in a small one-story cabin, partly under ground, abont fifteen or twenty feet in area, built into the southerly side of a hill, called " Goose Hill," in what is known as " New Boston." The site of their house is now in- cluded in the town burying-ground, and stood where the gate now stands. It had but one room, which the whole family occupied in common, with a single chimney on one side ; with two doors, leading respect- ively to the road and to the roof. Just within the front door, opening upon a road now discontinued, Clark used to sit on his bench and work at his trade of shoemaking. His wife worked out in the families of their neighbors, to whom she not unfrequently complained of the crossness of her husband. He had been formerly a captain in the Revolutionary War, but had become very much dissipated. The family did not go to meeting, nor the girls to school, and some incidents related by the older people, who in 1834 recollected the family, indicated that the reputation of the young women was not above suspicion.

After living in town a little more than three years, they removed to North Carolina, where Mr. and Mrs. Clark were carried off by an epidemic in 1798. The two girls in some way managed to get to Washington, and afterwards to New York, where Betsey, who pos- sessed great beauty and an attractive manner, capti- vated the very wealthy French merchant, Stephen Jumel, and became his wife about 1804. Thus the lowly-born, uneducated Betsey Bowen rose from her obscurity and poverty and became the wife of one of the merchant princes of New York, the possessor of wealth and everything that wealth could command. They lived together until 1832, when Jumel died, having settled upon his wife a large estate, and she was designated as " Madame Jumel." But she was destined to fill a much higher and more distinguished social position.

Late in the same year, 1832, she was married to Aaron Burr, who had been Vice-President of the United States from 1801 to 1805, the first term of President Jefferson's administration. This was an ill-advised, unhappy and brief union. He was then seventy-six and she about fifty-five. They separated in 1833, and she applied for a divorce. It is not on record that she obtained a divorce, but she took the uame of her first husband, and ever afterward was called " Madame Jumel."

Having unlimited means at her disposal, she spent much of her time in France, and was very much flattered at the French court on account of her wealth and beauty. She was for many years well known in Saratoga, where it is said "that she bought and took possession of a large establishment in one day." Here she made great display of her dress and equipage, riding in a chariot drawn by eight magnificent horses.

RUTLAND.

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The estate settled on her by her first husband con- sisted largely of real estate in New York City-on Broadway, Seventh Avenue, &c .; a large tract of land on Washington Heights, including the historic mansion of the English Colonel Morris, at one time Washington's headquarters, overlooking Harlem River, in which she resided at the time of her death, being over ninety years of age. After her death her will was admitted to probate, giving the bulk of her estate to the Episcopal Church and its rector at Washington Heights. The members of her family, consisting of a nephew and niece, children of a daughter of her sister Polly, whom she had adopted, and their father, Nelson Chase, Esq., a lawyer of New York City, all of whom resided with her, and had reasonably expected to succeed to her estate, were

obtained, and summoned Mr. Reuben Walker and his sister, both very aged people, who lived neighbors to the Bowens, as witnesses, and they went to New York to give testimony in the case.

MUSCHOPAUGE HOUSE .- The Muschopauge House stands in the centre of the town, on the spot where the parsonage was built for the first minister in Rutland in 1723 by Rev. Joseph Willard, who was killed that year by the Indians in a meadow about half a mile north of the centre. In 1762 an addition was built to the west end of the parson- age and opened for a tavern, which was kept for more than a hundred years for a " Wayside Inn." Iu 1880 it was purchased by the present owner, having become untenable by being so much out of repair. In 1883 the present house was built by

MUSCHOPAUGE HOUSE.

given but little. The late celebrated Charles O'Conor was retained on their behalf, and he brought suit to annul the will. It was in the course of the prepara- tion for the trial of this case, which engrossed all his great learning, and which he intended making the crowning effort of his professional career, that the early history of "Madame Jumel" was hunted up, and the clouds of romance which surrounded it were dissipated.

The will was set aside, and Mr. Chase and his children became possessed of the estate. Two or three other suits were brought by pretended heirs, and the estate has been involved in great litigation. Finally there was a compromise effected with the heirs of Steven Jumel, in France, and Mr. Chase became possessor of "Jumel Mansion " in 1882, where he has since lived.

Pending these lawsuits the counsel for Mr. Chase came to Rutland, where some of the above facts were

Messrs. L. Q. Spaulding and C. R. Bartlett, to satisfy a want of more ample accommodations for summer visitors upon the delightful hills of Rutland. The good patronage the house has received since its open- ing, June, 1884, attests the appreciation of the guests for such accommodations. This house, unlike many summer hotels, is thoroughly and substantially built, well appointed in every respect, both as to the ar- rangement and furnishing of rooms and the table, which receives the best attention that experienced cooks and the market affords.

From the observatory can be seen several moun- tain peaks seventy-five and eighty-five miles distant -Everett, Greylock, Stratton, Dorset, etc .- while in comparatively near view are Monadnock, Watatic, Wachusett, etc., which are clearly seen to their very base. Church spires from fourteen town centres can be distinctly seen. The almost innumerable smooth and well-rounded hills, and the valleys cutting into

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

each other in every direction, with here and there a lake, a winding stream or roadway, first seen, then lost to view, as it enters a belt of woodland in the valley below, then coming out again on a neighbor- ing hillside, only to disappear once more, and the whole landscape, dotted over with villages and farm- houses, making one of the finest views in New Eng- land. The house has nearly four hundred feet in length of piazza, by ten in width. The lawns sur- rounding the house are large and attractive, compris- ing more than two acres of ground. The house has accommodations for abont one hundred guests. It is under the management of the owner, Mr. C. R. Bartlett, who bought out Mr. Spaulding's interest in 1887.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

WILLIAM J. STEARNS.

The late Wm. J. Stearns, of West Rutland, who died December 27, 1887, was a son of Adolphus and Nancy Stearns, born in Holden, September 3, 1837, and was a feeble child, the youngest of ten children. He received his education in the public schools of the town ; was married to Ellen M. Moore, of the same town, November 14, 1858. At this time he was in a mill at Oakdale, in charge of the weave-room ; came to Unionville, in Holden, soon after and worked for DEACON RUFUS B. MILES. Chandler Pratt in the same capacity until the mill closed; then went to Worcester and worked for Washburn & Moen in wire-mill. He came back to Unionville and commenced to manufacture hoop-skirt tape on his own account. Made a good article and was successful, but through the treachery of a friend, had to abandon the business. After this he began to peddle tea and spices, which business he followed until June 27, 1871. His natural inclination leading him again to engage in manufacturing, he moved to Oakdale and manufactured cotton batting and bed- comforters, which he continued to do until the 16th of the following May ; he then moved to Tatnuck, where he engaged in the same business, when in the fall of 1872 the mill was robbed and burned. He soon after, in 1873, bought what was known as the Woodis Mill in West Rutland and again started the business of making hed-comforters and cotton bat- Deacon Miles, son of Barzillai, was educated in the public schools and at Westfield Academy. He mar- ried Judith, daughter of Captain Muzzy, of this town, December 22, 1836, by whom he had seven children, only two of whom are now living,-Lucy M., wife of D. W. Wheelock, of Worcester, and Edward B., of the firm of Whiteom & Miles, of Worcester. Mrs. Miles died in 1852. ting, making about twenty-four comforters per day and furnishing cotton batting to adjoining towns. He continued this business about two years, when his mill and house were burned April 29, 1876. He set imme- diately to work and built a much larger and better mill on another privilege, a few rods farther up the stream, when he commenced the manufacture of satinets, running one set of machinery, employing about fifty He married for his second wife Miss Maria L. Lin- coln, daughter of Justus Lincoln, of this town, De- cember 14, 1855, by whom he had three children, hands. This was successfully carried on until 1882, when the mill was destroyed by fire. This unex- pected calamity would have dannted the courage of i two of whom are living,- Etta L., wife of George H.

most men ; but, with his natural determination to rise above every obstacle that came in the way of his ambition, he set himself to work to secure the assist- ance of some friend in this emergency, and such a friend was found in the person of N. A. Lombard, of Worcester, through whose kindly aid he was enabled to build, in 1884, a mill of double the capacity of the former, which has subsequently been added to and improved, in which two sets of machinery are operated, and nearly one hundred hands are em- ployed. The mill has been kept running day and night a larger portion of the time, to fill the orders. Mr. Stearns, since his last start in business, has built a large tenement-house, store and market, purchased and improved several estates, among others his own elegant house, and altogether owning more than one- half of the village of West Rutland. Although a very heavy man, weighing more than two hundred and fifty pounds, yet he was very active and delighted in driving a good horse. Mr. Stearns was a man of publie spirit, always interested in the welfare of the town, and always favored every enterprise that would tend to promote the publie good. He was in every sense of the word a progressive man. He was a kind husband, an indulgent father, being very fond of children. His widow and son, Frederick B. Stearns, continue in the business.

Deacon Rufus Barzillai Miles was born in Rutland, October 23, 1809; son of Barzillai and grandson of Captain Benjamin Miles, who came from Concord, Mass., and was one of the early settlers of Rutland. It is not definitely known when Captain Miles came to Rutland, but it was many years prior to the Revolu- tionary War, as he was a soldier in this war and died January 28, 1776, in his fifty-second year. He settled on Joyner's Hill, one mile northwest of the centre, on land bought of his father-in-law, Ebenezer Hubbard, which was set off as house-lots Nos. 26 and 27 to Jonathan Waldo, with after-divisions ad- ded thereto. Captain Miles was an active and useful man, was chosen into many offices in the town, church and militia. His sons Barzillai and Ebenezer married and settled on these two farms above men- tioned.

W.J. Steams

Rufus, B, Miles

IN Moulton

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RUTLAND.

Miles, and Arthur L., who is to graduate at the Am- herst Agricultural College in the class of 1889. Dea- con Miles settled on the old homestead, and a little more than twenty years ago bought the adjoining es- tate formerly owned by his uncle, Ebenezer H. Miles, and uniting it with his farm, made one of the best farms in town. Not very far from this time Mr. Miles built large, convenient and attractive farm buildings. This farm is plainly seen from the centre village, and is admired by all observers. Nor does " distance lend enchantment to the view," for the first impressions are fully realized when you reach and view the premises. It is within one-half mile of Rutland station, on the Central Mass. Railroad, one mile from post-office, church, schools and stores, and is withal one of the most attractive and desirable farms in Worcester County. Mr. Miles has been a practical and successful farmer, and a useful and re- spected citizen of the town; has filled many offices of trust, having been chosen selectman and assessor, and has also served upon important committees of the town. He has served as deacon of the First Con- gregational Church since 1850, and was for many years superintendent of the Sunday-school. He is an earnest and sincere Christian, ever ready to counsel and encourage those who are seeking the way of truth and righteousness; is a genial and obliging neighbor, a kind and indulgent husband and father, and a man who is greatly beloved and honored by a large circle of friends. He is now in his eightieth year, enjoying his mental and physical faculties to a remarkable extent.

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 99

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