USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Clinton > History of the origin of the town of Clinton, Massachusetts, 1653-1865 > Part 34
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William J. Coulter was born in Troy, N. Y., February 13, 1841. He learned his trade in the office of the Washington County Post, published in Cambridge, N. Y. Later, he worked on the Albany Morning Express. He came to Clin- ton in 1860, to work in the Courant office. During the sum- mer of 1865, shortly after his return from service, he bought out the printing business of Eliphas Ballard. Mr. Ballard had previously attempted to get enough subscriptions to justify him in starting the paper again, but had not been able to secure the four hundred names which he deemed requi- site. When he learned that Mr. Coulter was about to begin re-publication, he told him that he needed a guardian. The new series was called the Clinton Courant, and the first issue was September 30, 1865. Wellington E. Parkhurst, was the editor .* He was born in Framingham, January 19, 1835. He was educated in the public schools and Framingham Academy. He was a paymaster of the Lancaster Quilt
* For an account of his father, see pages 347-8.
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WELLINGTON E. PARKHURST.
Company, 1856-9. He worked for two years in the Clinton Savings Bank. He has taught school. He has been on the editorial staff of the Worcester Spy. The later historian will tell of services rendered by Mr. Parkhurst to the Congrega- tional Society, to the town, as clerk, assessor, treasurer, direc- tor of the library and member of school committee; and to the state, as an influential member of the legislature. The Clinton Courant, the best of country papers, will remain a lasting memorial of his wit, his sound sense and his devotion to public good.
CHAPTER XXVI.
LAWYERS, PHYSICIANS, AND DENTISTS.
CHARLES GODFREY STEVENS was born in Claremont, N. H., September 16, 1821. His ancestors had lived here for several generations. His grandfather, Josiah Stevens, had fought as ensign in the battle of Bennington. After the Revolution, he became the colonel of his regiment. Godfrey Stevens, the father of Charles G., was a merchant. He was a member of the national convention which nominated Har- rison for the presidency. He was prominent as a speaker in the stirring campaign that followed. Paran Stevens, one of the uncles of our townsman, was noted as a hotel owner and proprietor. Among the hotels controlled by him were the Revere and Tremont Houses in Boston, and the Fifth Ave- nue Hotel of New York and the Battle House of Mobile.
Charles G. Stevens fitted for college at Meriden, N. H. The school here was one of those academies which, before the days of high schools, stood between the elementary dis- trict schools and the college. He entered Washington Col- lege at Hartford, Ct. This was an Episcopal institution, and the religious convictions of his parents led to the choice of this college. After he had been here about two years, he had a severe sickness, on account of which he was obliged to give up his studies for a time. When he recovered, he entered Dartmouth where he graduated in 1840. He was one of the originators of the custom of senior banquets, which is still kept up at Dartmouth.
On account of the death of his father, he was obliged to
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CHARLES GODFREY STEVENS.
give up his course at the law school soon after he had en- tered. He studied at Claremont in the office of George B. Upham, and afterwards in that of Alpheus F. Snow, who was Upham's successor. From Claremont, he went to Boston, where he continued his studies and then opened an office. He came to Clintonville in 1846. On September 29th of the same year, he married Laura Russell. The family lived for four years in the Kendall cottage on High Street. In 1851, Mr. Stevens built his present residence on the corner of Chestnut and Church Streets, which was, at the time of build- ing, considered to be a great distance from the center of business. Mr. Stevens has one son and one daughter now living.
His office was in the southwest corner of Kendall Block. In this office, many schemes for the development of the new community were devised. Mr. Stevens acted as counsel for the corporations, and H. N. Bigelow was accustomed to con- sult with him on all matters relating to the good of the village which was growing up around the mills. When the library and reading room of the Bigelow Mechanics' Institute was opened, Mr. Stevens was in charge of the room, as it adjoined his office. Isaac Baldwin studied with him, and afterwards, acted for a time as his partner. He also had charge of the library for some time. He went from here to Clinton, Iowa, where he has been very successful in his profession, and has been mayor of the city An insurance business was united to the legal practice of Mr. Stevens. This in time developed to large proportions. His son, Colonel Edward G. Stevens, has been associated with his father in this department of his work.
We have seen how Mr. Stevens was the moving spirit in the separation of Clinton from Lancaster and the organiza- tion of the new town .* Some one in Lancaster had asked when the division was first talked about: "Who is there in
* See chapter on the incorporation of the town.
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LAWYERS.
Clintonville who is capable of running a town meeting?" While the first warrant of Lancaster, after the separation, was found defective, that of Clinton was all right, and the meet- ing was a model of parliamentary accuracy on account of the able management of Mr. Stevens, the moderator. This office of moderator of the annual town meeting was held by him for some forty years. In later times, when there has been confusion in regard to parliamentary practice or meetings have fallen under the control of a lawless element, our older citizens have said: "Such things never happened when Mr. Stevens was moderator."
When the Clinton Savings Bank was organized in 1850, he was elected to the secretaryship, an office which he has since held. In 1853, he was a member of the state conven- tion for the revision of the constitution. From 1856 to 1862, he was a member of the school committee, during which time, with the exception of one year, he acted as secretary. We shall see how prominent a part he took in the campaign against Eli Thayer in 1860. In 1862, he was elected to the Massachusetts senate. He was the first Clinton senator. He was appointed draft commissioner for Worcester County by Governor Andrew. The story of his patriotic labors during the war will be elsewhere told .* No one was more earnest than he to fill the quota of the town or felt greater pride in its grand record. He managed a large portion of the legal business connected with the pensions of the soldiers, and no expenditure of energy was too great which promised relief to the suffering families of those who had offered themselves as a sacrifice for their country. In this work, Mrs. Stevens. was engaged no less zealously than her husband. As was fitting, he was chosen to give the welcome to the returning soldiers, and his eloquent utterances were worthy of that great occasion.
In 1864, he organized the First National Bank of Clinton,
* See chapters on Civil War.
425
JOHN THOMPSON DAME.
and was chosen the first president. He has held this office since that time. His position in connection with the banks has made him a most important factor in the business inter- ests of the town, of which the banks have been the center. In later years, he and his family have been among the organ- izers and most prominent members of the Episcopal Parish in Clinton.
John Thompson Dame was born October 21, 1816, at the little farming town of Orford, N. H. He was the son of Dr. John Dame and Abigail (Thompson) Dame. His father was a physician in the adjoining town of Lyme during his early childhood. While he was still a small boy, both his parents died and he went to live with his cousin in Orford. This cousin looked after his interests with a parent's carc. The boy was sent to the academy in Meriden, a village of Plainfield, N. H. Herc, he first met Charles G. Stevens, who entered the school from Claremont, and an acquaintance was formed which was destined to extend over more than half a century, during which they were closely associated in their life work. Mr. Dame entered Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1840. The excellence of his scholar- ship is attested by the fact that he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.
He began his law studies with Judge Leonard Wilcox of Orford. The second year, he passed at the Harvard Law School. He completed his preparatory legal studies with Hon. Sidney Bartlett of Boston. He was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1843. He soon opened an office in Marlboro. During the year of his residence in that town, in addition to such practice as fell to the lot of the new fledged lawyer, he taught at times in the academy.
In 1844, he removed to Lancaster. June II, 1845, he married Eliza Elmira Reeves of Wayland. Their home was in the house of Mr. Rand, opposite the hotel. During the five years of his residence in Lancaster, he not only prac- ticed law, but he was also acting postmaster, and, for the last two years, he was police magistrate.
426
LAWYERS.
When Clinton was incorporated, foreseeing its growth, he wisely decided to cast his fortunes with the new community, and moved hither April 1, 1850. He built the house on Chestnut Street now occupied by Charles L. Swan. After living here for some years, he bought the estate on Water Street which is still in the possession of his heirs. The cul- tivation of the ample grounds of this estate was one of the chief pleasures of his life. He delighted in out-door work, in watching the development of plants and the maturing of fruits. He found joy, too, in sharing with his neighbors the products of his orchard and garden. Mr. Dame had two sons and four daughters. Mr. Dame's home was always a center of culture. Mr. Dame was a member of the Con- gregationalist Society and one of its most reliable supporters.
Mr. Dame was police magistrate in Clinton from 1850 until he was commissioned a trial justice under the law of 1858. The latter office he held until the close of 1863. In speaking of his work in these offices, Mr. Stevens says that Mr. Dame's decisions were so just that he cannot recall any instance of an appeal from his judgment as a magistrate. As a lawyer, he was especially esteemed for "his ability as an adviser," for "his familiarity with the statutes pertaining to real estate and conveyancing," for "his spotless integrity and self-less devotion to duty."
Resolutions which were adopted by his associates at the bar soon after his death state: "As magistrate and practi- tioner, he brought to the discharge of all his duties an intel- ligent and comprehensive knowledge of the law, a well trained, vigorous mind, habits of untiring industry and a strong love of justice which always distinguish the impartial judge and the successful, upright lawyer. He had a keen sense of the obligations of his profession to the community, and used his influence and opportunities as a councillor to discourage strife and promote the peaceful settlement of controversies between contending parties. While always true to client and faithful and painstaking in his client's
427
JOHN THOMPSON DAME.
cause, he was equally loyal to the court, and in all his tran- sactions as a lawyer kept both the letter and spirit of his attorney's oath."
Mr. Dame never had any partner until his son, Walter R. Dame, was associated with him in 1886. Among the stu- dents who studied with him, may be mentioned L. D. War- ner of Harvard, who went to Richmond, Virginia, before the war and has since filled various important positions there. A large insurance business was carried on by Mr. Dame. Money was loaned through him and real estate transfers were consummated. Thus, his office was always a busy place. This was at first located in G. P. Smith's Block, and after 1857, he was in Greene's Block, first in the old brick building and later in the new.
In politics, Mr. Dame was a Democrat of the old school. The fundamental element of his political creed was, that the most perfect freedom for the individual comes from the localization of government, and he feared the results from the centralizing tendencies of his time. He often received the vote of members of both parties for local office, for everyone knew that he would strive to fill any position to which he might be elected for the best interests of the town and without regard to party associations. It is worthy of note, that, although he was a Democrat, yet it was he who made the motion under which Clinton appropriated money for the relief of the families of those who had enlisted for the defense of the government. He received commissions as postmaster of Clinton from Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan, and filled that office from September 7, 1853, to April 6, 1861. Immediately upon entering upon his duties, he removed the office from Kendall's Block to the Library Building on Union Street. His administration was progres- sive and efficient. Among his clerks were Dexter Fisher, James Powers, George W. Moore, L. D. Warner and Ezra Sawyer.
Mr. Dame always took the deepest interest in town busi-
428
LAWYERS.
ness. No voice was heard more frequently in town meetings. He was conservative in his tendencies and so sternly op- posed to the waste of public funds that he was sometimes spoken of as "the watch dog of the public treasury." In some directions, such for instance as the cause of education, he believed in the most liberal appropriations and here, we come upon the most important service he rendered the town in any official capacity, his work as a member of the school committee. He was a member of the board for seventeen years and was chairman for fourteen years. Most of this service comes after the period covered by this his- tory. The school reports prepared under the direction of Mr. Dame make a bulky volume and must be consulted by any who would form an adequate idea of his efficient and unremitting labors for the educational interests of the com- munity. He also served in his later life, for eight years from 1884, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bige- low Free Public Library. From 1888 to 1892, he was chair- man of the board. He prepared a history of Clinton for the Worcester County History published in 1879, by C. F. Jewett & Company.
After a prolonged illness, he died July 3, 1894. Thus closed a life fraught with blessing to the town, both in deed and example. A life of service both through private and public channels, a life of high ideals in education, of un- swerving integrity and of Puritan simplicity.
As Daniel H. Bemis did not begin to practice in Clinton until after the war, his story is left for future histories.
Since the most important service that Enoch K. Gibbs ren- dered the community was in connection with law and the courts, his record is entered here. Enoch K. Gibbs was born in Sturbridge, Mass., July 31, 1811. His father, Elijah Gibbs, was a farmer. The boy was brought up on the farm and attended the common schools. He came to Factory Village when he was seventeen years old to learn the comb business. He remained here some years. He then became
429
ENOCH K. GIBBS.
a member of the firm of Gibbs, Tiffany & Company of Stur- bridge, which was engaged in the manufacture of pistols. He returned to this section in 1839. He had married Mar- tha Lowe, the daughter of John Lowe, April 21, 1833. They had six children, Albion W., Charles W., William H., Edward M., and two daughters. He came into possession of the homestead of John Lowe on North Main Street and, here, he has since spent his life. October 15, 1872, he married Martha C. Hart. We have seen how he engaged in the comb business on Rigby Brook. In later life, he was our best known auctioneer. He was one of the officers of the first temperance society in Factory Village and one of the organizers and most earnest supporters of the Congrega- tional Society of Clinton.
He served his first writ as a constable October 19, 1846. In October, 1850, he was appointed deputy sheriff of Wor- cester County, an office which he held for thirty-nine years. During this time, he served three thousand four hundred and eighty-six attachments. So great was his coolness and tact, that although he was frequently threatened, sometimes with loaded weapons, yet he was never attacked so as to receive any injury. For six years, he had charge of the grand jury. He had an office for a long time with C. G. Stevens at the Library Building on Union Street.
He was appointed postmaster April 6, 1861, under Presi- dent Lincoln, and served until August 1, 1870. The office during all this time was in the Library Building. Among his clerks were his sons, Albion W. and William H. Gibbs, Oscar M. Lawrence and Maria M. Paul.
Mr. Gibbs is passing an honored old age among us in well earned reposc.
In the early days of this community, very little demand was made on the services of the physicians. Some did not
* See page 166.
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DOCTORS.
" believe in doctors," some were fatalists and said: "If the sick person is going to get well he will get well, doctor or no doctor, and, if he is fore-ordained to die, he will die in spite of all the doctors in the world." With others, the prayers of the minister or deacon were considered of more efficacy than the prescriptions of the physician. There were certain women, too, in every community who had acquired the repu- tation of knowing how to care for the sick "better than any doctor." Although superstition too often conferred this reputation on some old hag, yet it is doubtless true that 1 there were some women, "born nurses," who were more capable of dealing with ordinary cases of disease than the poorly educated practitioners of that olden time. Moreover, every mother of a family was supposed to know something of the art of medicine which had been handed down in recipe books or by word of mouth from generation to gen- eration. Each housewife laid away her store of herbs for the winter with as much care as she made her preserves. Wormwood and thoroughwort, plantain leaves and tansy, false indigo and Saint John's-wort, pennyroyal and catnip, sarsaparilla and horehound, sassafras and dandelion, the dif- ferent kinds of mints and mallows and various other pro- ducts of garden, field and forest were gathered and dried and hung up in bundles along the rafters of the attic against the day of need.
Old people with chronic complaints were constantly dos- ing themselves, especially with the New England rum, which was with some the universal specific. Often, some bitter concoction of herbs was kept simmering by the fire and a sip would be taken as opportunity offered. In the spring, "the system always seemed to need toning up."
In a case of illness, if the home store of herbs, the eme- tic, "the rum sweat" and the poultice failed to work a cure, the wise woman of the village was called in. If the patient still lived and failed to recover, either the minister or the doctor might be summoned. The latter came with his sad-
431
DR. GEORGE W. SYMONDS.
dle bags and surgical instruments. The lancet never was missing. Bleeding was the chief means of conquering dis- ease, "visit and venesection" the most frequent charge. The physicians were not lacking in prescriptions, however. One prepared by Dr. Stephen Ball of Northboro, whose visits extended even to this section during the first half of the present century, contained thirty ingredients. A patient asked him one day: " What is the need of so many differ- ent things, Doctor?" "Well," the doctor answered, "if you are going to shoot a bird, you use plenty of shot. Some of these things will be pretty sure to hit the case." One of his common directions was: "Take a little of this 'ere and a little of that 'are, put it in a jug before the fire, stir it up with your little finger and take it when you are warm, hot, cold or feverish." In his "Resipee Book" is found the following recipe for scratches: "One qrt. fishworms, washed clean, one pound hog's lard stewed together, filtered through a strainer and add half a pint oil turpentine, half pint good brandy, simmer it well and it is fit for use."
There was no regular physician within present Clinton limits until Dr. George W. Symonds came in 1845, but those from other sections of Lancaster and the neighboring towns were occasionally called. We have already had occasion to notice the celebrated Dr. William Dunsmoor of Revolution- ary times. The blood of the Prescotts and the Sawyers flowed in his veins, and he was closely associated with the people of this section. He was no less noted as a patriot and as a man of affairs than as a physician. He died in 1784, at the age of fifty. During the first years of the present cen- tury, Israel Atherton,-who lived in New Boston and gave the name to the Atherton Bridge, which was near his dwell- ing-place,-James Carter and Samuel Manning were physi- cians in Lancaster, and had more or less practice in this vicinity.
Dr. Calvin Carter, who died in 1859, had for many years almost a monopoly of the practice in the South Village. He
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DOCTORS.
was the son of Dr. James Carter, and was similar to his father in character. Dr. G. M. Morse, in some reminiscences read before the Clinton Historical Society, says: "The physicians " in town in 1846, were Dr. Symonds, Dr. Burdett and myself. We were kindly assisted in our labors by Drs. Carter, Lincoln and J. L. S. Thompson of Lancaster, and Dr. P. T. Kendall of Sterling. These have all passed to their reward. Proba- bly no man in this section had such a reputation as a physi- cian and surgeon as the late Dr. Carter. He then had his office in the house (lately) occupied by Dr. G. L. Tobey, in Lancaster. He was a queer compound of ignorance, wisdom, tact and skill in prescribing, and today is remembered by his old patients with the greatest kindness and respect, I might almost say, reverence. I once heard a man say that it would do more to cure a patient to see his old gray horse and sulky drive into the yard, than all the medicine of all the doctors within ten miles. He never received a diploma from any medical college, but had a license to practice from the Massachusetts Medical Society. He had a very oracular way of answering questions. Soon after I came here, a man was injured at the Counterpane Mill, and of course Dr. Car- ter must be sent for. He visited the patient, came down stairs, and the companions of the injured man crowded around him. 'Well, doctor, what do you think of the man?' He paused, then said: 'Four times six is twenty-four. Go long!' The man died the next day. This passed for wisdom."
In an article published in the Clinton Courant, December 28, 1895, Hon. Henry S. Nourse gives the following descrip- tion of his characteristics: "His parting admonition to a favorite pupil about to start upon the practice of his profes- sion, was: 'Well, Charles, you must be honest-at least as hon- est as the times will permit you to be. You may have to lie once in a while, but always keep the probabilities within sight.' He knew everybody,young and old, by name, and often halted to gossip with those met in his drives, commenting in quaint phrase upon some topic of the day. Shortly after the birth
433
DR. CALVIN CARTER.
of Clintonville, sundry youthful M. D.'s illuminated its chief street with their bright gilt-lettered signs. The old doctor, driving homeward in his shabby sulky, saw an old acquaint- ance on the street, and stopping short, addressed him with: 'Gilbert, how many doctors have you got here?' Mr. Greene counted them up on his fingers and said six, or whatever the number then was. 'Six! Good Heavens ! damned if it isn't lamentable !' and the doctor jerked the reins and hurried out of the village. To a worthy old lady who, in spite of shak- ing nerves and protesting friends, would have sooner died than give up her two cups of strong tea at each meal, he re- plied when she asked him if tea could be injurious: 'Cer- tainly not, madam, if you drink it strong enough.' His doses were heroic, for the rural majority then seemed to think that curatives must of necessity be nasty, and that tumultuous intestinal war was an essential preliminary to the establish- ment of a peaceful working together of humanity's organs. Strong-willed patients who had experienced the revolution- ary result of swallowing some of Dr. Carter's favorite deter- gents, sometimes became rebellious. An old gentleman whose . I won't' meant something more than contingent re- luctance, was constrained to consult the doctor one day. After the usual fingering of wrist and inspection of a furry tongue, the doctor pronounced it a case of torpidity of liver, and added: 'An emetic will set you all right in a day or two.' Now, if there existed any superfluity which the old gentle- man had made up his mind never to indulge in again, it was an emetic. After a little mild expostulation, the doctor dropped argument and asked what he would prescribe for himself. The sick man thought he could swallow a pill or two. The pills were deftly made before the patient's face, received from the doctor's soft hand, and disappeared. The next day, when the doctor's sulky drew up at the door he was met on the threshold by the lady of the house, with a dolorous tale of her husband's terrible experience. 'Why, those pills were worse than two emetics,' said she, 'and they
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