USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > History of Worcester, Massachusetts, from its earliest settlement to September, 1836 : with various notices relating to the history of Worcester County > Part 31
USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > History of Worcester, Massachusetts, from its earliest settlement to September, 1836 : with various notices relating to the history of Worcester County > Part 31
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
1 The following extracts of a leller from Mrs. Bigelow lo her husband, Feb. 26, 1780, show the deprecialed state of the currency.
'On account of the heavy fall of snow, there is not a possibility of gelling wood from the farm al present, no one who does not live on the great road can bring any with a sled. The common price is fifty dollars, and it has been sold for fifty six dollars the load.' . . 'The money you sent me was very acceptable, for I was in debl for Andrew's pair of shoes, forty dollars ; and also for some mending in the family, which made the account almost serenty dollars. I paid the servant, fifty eight dollars for whal money he had expended on the road [in a journey of aboul 60 miles.] A bushel of malt now sells for thirty dollars, and a pound of hops for six dollars.'
2 Col. Bigelow married Anna Andrews, a young orphan lady of Worcester, born April 11, 1747, and at the time of her marriage, July 7, 1762, heiress of a forlune consid- erable in those days. The union was a love match, and was contracted at Hampton' N. H. the Gretna Green of the Old Bay State. She died at Groton, July, 1809. She was the only child of a connection formed under somewhat romantic circumstances. Her father, Samuel Andrews, at a late period of youth, having fitted himself for college, and passed the customary examination, was admitted to Harvard University. Return-
281
COL. EPHRAIM DOOLITTLE.
Col. Bigelow was of fine personal appearance. His figure was tall and commanding. In stature he was more than six feet in height. His bearing was erect and martial, and his step was said to have been one of the most graceful of the army. With taste for military life, he was deeply skilled in the science of war, and the troops under his command and instruction, exhibited the highest condition of discipline. IIe possessed vigorous intellect, ardent temperament, and a warm and generous heart.
COL. EPHRAIM DOOLITTLE. Although Worcester was not the place of the birth or decease of this gentleman, his long residence here erititles us to claim him among our citizens. From 1760 to 1772, he was an inhabitant, and during that period was engaged in business as a merchant. In 1763, he was selectman : in 1766, rep- resentative. Taking active part in the political transactions of the times, he was placed on important municipal committees. From the' commencement of the difficulties preceding the revolution, he was a decided and ardent whig. In 1772, he removed to Petersham ; in December of that year, he reported a spirited answer to the circular from Boston, distributed through the country. In 1773, he was se- Jectman, and representative in the General Court. The year follow- ing, he was delegate to the Provincial Congress convened at Concord. He was elected captain of a company of militia by the town, in the autumn of 1774, and soon after was colonel of the regiment of mi- nute men in the county. The troops under his command marched on the 19th of April, were mustered into service, and stationed in
ing to visit his friends, before commeneing his classes, he saw and became enamored of Anna, youngest daughter of James Rankin and Rachel Irving, his wife, emigrants from Ireland with the Scotch Presbyterians of 1718. His suit, prosecuted with ardor and as- siduity, was successful, and the bridal was soon solemnized. Abandoning the plan of oblaining a liberal education, he purchased and cultivated a small farm on the western shore of Quinsigamond. Diligence, prudence, and sobriety, brought the reward of prosperity. He removed to the village, erected a house on the site of the jail, lately pulled down, established a tannery north of the bridge on Lineoln square, and in 1749, built the old Bigelow mansion, opposite to the Court House, on the spot where the large brick dwellings of Stephen Salisbury, Esq. now stand, where he died. On his decease, the estate descended to his only daughter Anna.
Col. Bigelow had six children, 1. Nancy : born Jan. 2, 1765, married Hon. Abraham Lincoln, long Selectman and Representative of the town. and Member of the Council at the time of his death, July 2, 1821. 2. Timothy : b. April 30, 1767, (Sec page 266.) 3. Andrew, b. Mareh 30, 1769, d. Nov. 1787. 4. Lucy : b. May 13, 1774 : m. Hon. Luther Lawrence, formerly of Groton, now of Lowell. 5. Rufus : b. July 7, 1772 : he was merchant in Baltimore, and died unmarried in that city, Dec. 21, 1813. 6. Clara : b. Dec. 29, 1781, m. Tyler Bigclow, Esq. of Watertown.
The materials for this sketch have been derived from an excellent memoir of Col. Bigelow, kindly communicated by the Rev. Andrew Bigelow of Taunton.
36
282
HON. DAVID THOMAS.
Cambridge. On the organization of the army, he retained his rank in the Massachusetts line. His regiment was engaged in the battle of the 17th of June. Col. Doolittle being confined to his bed by an accidental injury, they were led by Major Moore of Paxton, who found a soldier's honorable grave on Bunker Hill.
For many years he was chairman of the committee of correspond- ence of Petersham : in 1778, of the committee reporting against the form of constitution proposed by the general court, and almost una- nimously rejected by the people : in 1779, delegate in the convention at Cambridge, to frame a new consitution. He participated in al- most every act of a public character in Worcester and Petersham, during his residence in either town.
Soon after the close of the war, he removed to Shoreham in Ver- mont, where he remained until the period of his decease, in 1802, at an advanced old age.
He was more distinguished for sound judgment and accuracy, than brilliancy or extent of talent ; for the scrupulous practise of com- mon virtues, rather than the exercise of extraordinary powers.
A curious implement was invented by him, to supply the defi- ciency of muskets in the armament of his regiment. When the long shaft, of heavy material, was held levelled towards an advancing ene- my, two stout blades, eight inches long, united to a strong head, pro- jected forward like the prongs of the hay fork : two other blades of equal length extended laterally, and another was turned downwards, to give a descending blow. Five little swords, whetted on both edges, were thus provided, to attack an assailant on any exposed point. The handle was lined, for two or three feet from the end, with sharp steel plates set in the wood, to defend it from sabre cuts, and to lacerate the hand which should grasp the weapon to wrest it from the owner. The lower extremity terminated in a rounded iron point, to be fixed in or against rampart or masonry. The formidable instrument of warfare, after short trial, was laid aside.
HON. DAVID THOMAS. About 1718. David Thomas, an emigrant from Wales, arrived in Worcester, purchased, cleared, and after- wards cultivated, a tract of woodland on the summit of Tatnuck hill, in the western part of the town, where he lived to a good old age. Land and name were inherited by his son David, born in 1740, who bestowed the latter on his son, David, the subject of this notice, born in Worcester, June 11, 1762. From the early age at which the chil- dren of New England begin their lessons of industry until fifteen, he labored on the farm, attending in winter the common school of
283
HON. BENJAMIN HEYWOOD.
the district. In 1777, he served as a volunteer, with the troops rais- ed for the relief of Rhode Island ; at one time for the term of three months; at another for two. Soon after, he was bound apprentice to the shoemaker's trade. In 1781 the town was required to furnish twen- ty nine soldiers for the army of the revolution, and the inhabitants were divided into the same number of classes, each to furnish, pay, and maintain one man during three years. Mr. Thomas entered into an agreement with Capt. Palmer Goulding, with whom he lived, and who was head of a class, to cancel the indentures, and enlisted in the service as a soldier for that class. He joined the fifth Massa- chusetts Regiment, under Col. Rufus Putnam, at West Point, and was appointed to be corporal : on the preliminary articles of peace being signed, he was transferred to the third regiment of the state line, and promoted to be serjeant. When the army was disband- ed, he returned to Worcester. His residence in his native place was short. In the spring of 1784, he emigrated to Salem, in Wash- ington county, New York, and engaged in agriculture, as a day la- borer. Industry, frugality, and capacity, earned their just rewards. He was enabled to become the owner of the farm upon which he had hired. Military offices were showered fast upon him. He rose, step by step, through the gradations of captain, major, colonel, and brig- adier, to the rank of Major General of a division of militia. Civil honors flowed scarcely less rapidly. He was magistrate, county judge, and representative in the state legislature many years. In 1800, he was elected representative in Congress, when New York was entitled to ten members only, from a district composed of the counties of Washington, Saratoga, Warren, Essex, Clinton, and Franklin. This office he held until 1808, when he was appointed Treasurer of the State of New York, and, ex officio, Commission- er of the Land Office, and trustee of Union College. To discharge these duties, it became necessary for him to remove to the city of Albany. There he resided until 1813, when he resigned all public trusts, in consequence of domestic troubles. After his retirement to private life, he removed to Providence, where he remained till his decease, in 1834, at the age of 72.
HON. BENJAMIN HEYWOOD was son of Phinehas Heywood, a respectable farmer of Shrewsbury. At the common age, he was bound apprentice to a housewright. Having completed the term pre- scribed by his indentures, he began business as carpenter, and work- ed at that trade one or two years. Love of letters, and confidence of capacity for usefulness, induced him to throw aside the hammer and
284
HON. BENJAMIN HEYWOOD.
chisel, and devote himself assiduously to preparations for collegiate education. He entered Harvard College in 1771. There is cotem- porary evidence of his sobriety of conduct, diligent application, and proficiency in mathematical science.
The martial spirit pervading the country, penetrated even the seats of learning. The young men of the institution, formed a military company, under the designation of the Marti-mercurian Band, a name descriptive of the union of the soldier and scholar in its ranks. Mr. Heywood was ensign of this corps, on the nineteenth of April, 1775, and, with some of his comrades, participated in the perils of that memorable day. Amid the tumult of arms, the quiet pursuits of literature were suspended ; the students were dismissed, and the halls occupied by troops. The senior class, of which Mr. Heywood was member, did not again return to the seminary, although their degrees were conferred in course.
Mr. Heywood immediately entered the service of his country, and received the commission of Lieutenant, in May, 1775. In 1776, he was promoted to the rank of Captain, which he retained through the whole war. His habits of order and accuracy qualified him for the office of paymaster, to which he was soon appointed and attached to Col. Nixon's regiment.1 He was at the capture of Burgoyne, par- took of the sufferings, and shared in the victories of the army, during the long period of its service. When the soldiers were about to be disbanded, a dangerous state of feeling arose. The tedious post- ponement of payments meritoriously earned, the pressure of want, and the anticipation of future poverty, excited discontents, artfully fomented by inflammatory publications. Gen. Washington, apprehen- sive of serious violence from exasperated troops feeling the injustice of the country and conscious of the power of numbers, discipline and arms, to avenge, if not redress, the real or supposed wrongs, con- vened an assembly of the officers, addressed them on the disastrous consequences of the course to which they had been directed, and left them to their deliberations. Gen. Knox, Col. Brooks, and Capt. Heywood, were appointed a committee, to consider and recommend proper measures to be adopted in the impending crisis. By their prudence and energy, the rising disorders were quieted.
Another proof of the confidence of his companions in arms in the honor and capacity of Capt. Heywood, was his election on a commit-
1 The entire series of rolls and accounts of his office, preserved in the Am. Ant. Soci- ety's Collections, afford proof of his fidelity in this trust.
285
HON. JOSEPH ALLEN.
tee to adjust the acounts of the officers and soldiers of the Massachu- setts line. He was associated with Major Fernald, Capt. Hull, and Capt. Learned. The duty of the committee led to long negociation with the Legislature of the state, resulted in provision for equitable settlement, and was concluded by voluminous reports, prepared by Capt. Heywood.
When the army was disbanded, he was retained, for some months, in the office of the General Superintendent, and afforded valuable aid in arranging the complicated concerns of the department char- ged with the settlement of the affairs of the war.
After the restoration of peace, he returned to his home, and mar- ried an adopted daughter of Mr. Nathaniel Moore, an early settler and respectable farmer of Worcester. Activity of disposition, and facility in business, enabled him, in addition to the management of a farm, to devote much time to the concerns of his neighbors, and to public affairs. The reliance on his integrity and good judgment, was testified by frequent selection as arbitrator, executor, and guar- dian. In 1802, he was appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and held that office until Sept. 1811, when, by a new ar- rangement of the judicial system, the seats of all the judges of that tribunal were vacated. For many years he was an acting magistrate of the county, and member of the Board of Trustees of Leicester Academy. He was twice chosen an elector of President and Vice President of the United States. By the General Court, he was ap- pointed Trustee of the Hassanameset Indians : and was an officer of many charitable and religious associations.
He died Dec. 6, 1816, aged 71, leaving the reputation of unstain- ed integrity and extensive usefulness.1
HON. JOSEPH ALLEN, a native of Boston, was born Sept. 2, 1749.2 Attending through the regular term of seven years, from the age of seven to that of fourteen, on the Grammar School, he
1 These facts have been derived from the venerable Dr. Bancroft, to whom the men of Worcester have been indebted for many an obituary memorial of their fathers. The no- tices of our distinguished citizens from his pen, have been remarkable for felicitous expressions, fidelity, accurate discrimination, and all the excellences of biography.
Benjamin Heywood married Mehitable Goddard, d. of Elisha Goddard of Sullon. Their children were, 1. Mehitable: 2. Nathaniel Moore, merchant, b. July, 1788: m. Car- oline Suinner of Boston, Sept. 16, 1816 ; died at Richmond, Va: 3. Elizabeth : 4. Ben- jamin Franklin, physician in Worcester ; m. Nancy Green, d. of Doct. John Green of Worcester : 5. Joseph : 6. Lucy; b. April, 1796 ; d. Nov. 1796 : 7 Nancy ; b. Feb. 7,1798 ; d. Aug. 30, 1814.
2 His father, James Allen, a merchant of Boston, married the sister of Samuel Adams
286
HON. JOSEPH ALLEN.
was a favorite pupil of the celebrated master Lovell. About 1770, after regular mercantile apprenticeship, he entered into business in Leicester. A firm whig, he was active in the preliminary move- ments of the revolution, and with Col. William Henshaw, Col. Thomas Denny, and other patriotic citizens of the place of his res- idence, drafted, circulated, and supported, the spirited resolutions, memorials, and addresses of the citizens in their primary meetings, and conventions.1 Soon after the change of the government he was appointed, in 1776, to succeed Levi Lincoln, sen. as Clerk of the Courts, and removed to Worcester. The duties of this office he discharged for thirty three years with singular accuracy and fidelity. It was relinquished in 1810, against the wishes of the judicial offi- cers. He occasionally accepted those publie honors conferred as testimonials of esteem and confidence. On the death of Mr. Up- ham, he was chosen Representative to the 11th Congress, and at the expiration of the term declined reelection. From 1815 to 1818, he was of the Executive Council : and twice of the College of Electors of President. One of the founders and patrons of Lei- cester Academy, he was long Treasurer of the corporation, and was first President of the Worcester County Bible Society. ' His mind and manners,' writes one of the best of our portrait painters of character, 'were alike formed on the best models ; in addition to his classical attainments he was distinguished for that politeness and gracefulness of deportment, which was, in some degree, peculiar to the men of his generation. Through his whole course, strict integ- rity,2 unblemished honor, and undisguised detestation of whatever
1 A little circumstance, illustrative of the influence of the unsettled condition of the times on the relations of private life, is related. At one time, Mr. Allen had his knap- sack packed with the soldier's blanket, and his trunk with his nuptial suit, uncertain whether he should be earliest called to the bridal or the battle.
2 The following example may serve as illustration of his honorable sense of integrity, more scupulous than is usually found among men. In the negociation of business, Mr. Allen liad become indebted to John Smith, 2d Lieutenant of Capt. Bigelow's company of Minute men. The account was deliberately adjusted, the balance carefully ascer- tained to the mutual satisfaction of both parties, payment made, and full and ample discharges given. Some years after, when Smith was passing through town, he was met by Mr. Allen, who informed him that he had then recently discovered an error in the settlement favorable to himself, which he desired to correct by a further payment. The creditor, declaring his entire satisfaction with the former computation, and his eonvietion that no mistake could have occurred, declined an examination. With reluctance he was induced to review the accounts, and on revision, still expressed content. Mr. Allen then explained to him, by reference to the seale of depreciation, that he had received a Jess amount than he was entitled to have, and delivered to him the sum of money, which he long refused to believe he had lost on the original liquidation.
287
ISAIAH THOMAS.
was base and unworthy, were predominant traits in his character. A native generosity of disposition prompted him to deeds of benefi- cence. He was familiar with the best English writers, and had stored his mind with their beauties, which his refined and discrim- inating taste tauglit him to appreciate with singular accuracy and apply with the happiest effect.' He died Sept. 2, 1827, aged 78.
ISAIAH THOMAS,1 a native of Boston, was the descendant of an- cestors of good repute, emigrating from England, soon after the foundation of the town, and engaging in mercantile business. His father, Moses Thomas,2 soldier, mariner, trader, and farmer, at dif- ferent periods, after sharing and escaping the perils of the unfortu- uate expedition against Cuba, in 1740, when pestilence destroyed most of the provincial forces spared by the sword, lived a few years on Long Island. Revisiting his early home, reverses of fortune wasted his share of a good inheritance. Driven abroad, he died in North Carolina, about 1752, leaving a widow in destitute condition, with five small children. The energy and fertility of invention, so often manifested by females in similar circumstances, soon provided 'esources for the support of her family. The profits of a little shop, added to the other gains of industry and ingenuity, and the savings of frugal thrift, afforded comparative comfort aud independence. She was, at length, able to purchase a small estate in Cambridge, fterwards lost, on sale, by the depreciation of the continental cur- ency. 3
The youngest son, Isaiah, was born Jan. 19, 1749; at the age of
I In the History of Printing, i. 368, is a narrative of the life of Mr. Thomas from his wn pen. In the Massachusetts Spy, April 13, 1831, are published portions of an ad- ress, containing beautiful delineation of his character, delivered by Isaac Goodwin, sq. before the American Antiquarian Society, and transferred to the 2d volume of eir Transactions. The first writer was under the restraints imposed on the autobiog- apher ; the last, felt those resting on the public speaker. Neither space nor ability permit le attempt here, to do justice to the services of one of our most eminent citizens. The uty of rasing worthy memorial, remains for more fortunate hands. The materials of le notice of Mr. Thomas in these pages, are taken from the memoirs before mentioned. 'he few facts which have been added, are stated on the authority of his personal relation, ere obtained from the diaries of interleaved almanacs, or are derived from official apers.
2 The earliest of the name, mentioned by John Farmer, the most faithful and accu- ate of the antiquarians of the age, in his Register of the First Settlers, is Evan Thom- s, vinter, of Boston, admitted freeman in 1641, who died Aug. 25, 1661. George Thom- s, and Rebecca his wife, had three sons: 1. Peter, b. Feb. 6, 1682; 2. George, b. Tarch 16, 1685; 3. Maveric, b. March 19, 1694. Peter, the eldest, was a merchant in oston, and acquired good estate : his children were ; George, Peter, Elias, Moses, men- oned in the text, Mary, Merey, Elizabeth, and William, who lived to mature years.
3 She married a person named Blackman, and died Jan. 17, 1798, aged 73 years ..
288
ISAIAH THOMAS.
less than six years, he was bound apprentice to Zechariah Fowle, a printer of single sheets, small tracts, and pamphlets, described in the History of Printing, as honest, but eccentric, irritable, effemi- nate, and better skilled in domestic cares than the mysteries of the printing house. It reflects no credit on the sense or taste of the master; that the first essay of his almost infant workman, who re- quired the elevation of a high bench to reach the case, should have been directed to the composition of a licentious ballad.1 'The pu- pil, deprived of the usual advantages of schools and of good instruc- tion in the art, was compelled to rely on his own resources to supply the deficiencies of education. Earnest desire of improvement found or made the way. A tattered dictionary and ink stained bible were the whole library of the office. Two or three books, purchased with the savings of trifling perquisites, and a few more borrowed from friends, were added to this slender collection of literature. Diligent study and persevering assiduity, enabled him, unassisted, to possess himself of the elementary branches of learning, and to acquire such facility of expression as to be able to put his thoughts in type with- out the aid of writing, and the expertness in printing which made him principal manager of a business extended under his supervis- ion. After cleven years of apprenticeship and employment with Fowle, Mr. Thomas went to Nova Scotia and entered the office of Anthony Henry, proprietor of the Halifax Gazette, the government paper, a good humored and indolent man. The willing assistant was allowed to assume the management. Although Henry's labors were diminished, his responsibilities directly increased. It was the period of the Stamp Act, and the Boston boy brought with him the spirit kindled in his birth place. The appearance of an article in opposition to the obnoxious measure which roused the colonies to resistance, was followed by citation before the authorities, and Hen- ry escaped punishment, only on the ground that the paragraph had been inserted by his journeyman without his knowledge. On the repetition of the offence, the young man himself was called before the Secretary of the Province, and received reprimand, admonition, and threats, alike ineffectual. Not long after this interview, the whole year's stock of paper arrived from England, stamped accor- ding to the act : by night, the brand of oppression was cut off from
1 The composing stick first used by Mr. Thomas, an impression of ' The Lawyer's Pedigree,' and the very press upon which it was worked, which afterwards sent out the glowing words of the patriots of the Revolution, were given to the Antiquarian Socie- ty by its founder, and have been scrupulously preserved, in accordance with his wishes.
289
ISAIAH THOMAS.
the sheets : the effigy of the commissioner appointed to collect the impost, was found suspended from the gallows. The very correct opinion prevailed, that Mr. Thomas was principal in these and otli- er acts of defiance of government. The sheriff, sent for the purpose of intimidating the young printer by threats, or extorting confes- sions, was met with so much firmness and intrepidity, that the fruit- less mission was abandoned. 1
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