USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Abington > History of the town of Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement > Part 20
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80
John C. Harden .
72
Charles Shaw .
68
Nehemialı Hobart
76
Nathaniel Shaw
64
Daniel Holbrook .
75
John Smith
71
Richard Holbrook
70
John Stetson .
73
David Humble
73
Gridley Thaxter
78
Isaiah Lane
75
Ammiel Thompson
70
Aaron Leavitt t
71
Jesse Torrey
72
Leonard Nash
71
Samuel Wales
72
Benjamin Norton
66
Eleazer Whiting
80
* These Resolves are contained in a preceding chapter.
t Deceased.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Municipal Affairs of the Town.
TOWNS, in their incorporate capacities, are democracies in the lowest form. Here the people meet together in their pri- mary assemblies, aud exercise certain rights which are insured to them by the Constitution and laws of the State in which they reside, and of which they compose a part. Under these rights they lay out and make roads, keep them in repair, build school- houses, town-houses, poor-houses, &c., and for these, and other purposes, raise money by taxation. They elect their own town officers and vote their pay.
In another and a higher capacity they are a part of the people of the United States, and have a voice in the election of the President and Vice-President, of both houses of Con- gress, the Governor of the State, and both branches of the State Legislature.
Town corporations are improvements of modern times ; the ancients had nothing of the kind : the people then were ruled by powers they had no hand in creating, and were under governments usually possessing more of an arbitrary charac- ter. Even now, in countries where the Catholic religion prevails, the people have but little influence in political and ecclesiastical affairs. In this country the case is very differ- ent ; emigrants who settle here, can in a very short time enter into all the rights and privileges of the native citizens. It is not perhaps strange that many who come among us, - espec- ially they who come from countries in which the people have little voice in civil and church affairs,-should not at first seem fully to appreciate the special privileges enjoyed here ; and should come short in the discharge of the higher recip- rocal duties and obligations which the enjoyment of these
(239)
240
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.
privileges devolves upon them. It is not strange that they should appear at first to be with us, and not of us. Doubtless evils of no inconsiderable magnitude have arisen from this cause ; and we cannot be so sanguine as to expect that they will not occur in future ; but we believe that the tendency of the spirit of the age is to freedom and rationality ; and we can- not doubt that the evil of which we are speaking will gradually disappear. At all events, with the possession of such privi- leges as we in this country enjoy, it becomes very important, nay, it is a religious duty that the inhabitants of a town should improve them wisely and justly, for the good of the whole community.
This duty, of late years, in many instances has been lost sight of and neglected, both by native and adopted citizens. Our municipal affairs have been too much influenced by polities, political partizans, and sectional views : town officers have too frequently been chosen under such influences.
Our municipal affairs have probably, on the whole, been managed as well as those of other towns. It would be impos- sible now to give a detailed account of their doings : it would require a long article, and in many cases it would be impos- sible, as the records are very deficient, especially in early times. Many of the doings of the town have already been noticed incidentally in the previous chapters, in statements respecting roads, schools, finances, &c.
Town meetings have been held annually ever since the incorporation of the town, in March or April, for the choice of town officers and other town business. A great many other town meetings, as occasion required, have been held since, amounting in the whole,-estimating ten in each year,-to fifteen hundred.
The town has always been very careful to husband their finances. They cut down every expense as low as possible- especially in early times. They were not in the habit of bor- rowing money in anticipation of the collection of taxes. There are but a very few instances known of this kind. The town has always kept free from debt until within a few years. Besides
241
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.
voting to raise money for war expenses, to put down the rebel- lion-which has been very patriotic and liberal-they have got into the habit, of late years, of voting to raise money by borrowing, on many occasions before the sums were assessed. In this way, if a town-house, a school-house, a poor-house is wanted to be built, a road to be made, it is voted to be done, and the town treasurer is directed to borrow the money for the purpose. This money goes into a town debt, and is never acted upon specifically. If the legality of raising money in this way is not very doubtful, it is at least a very loose mode, and is liable to great abuse. The town now stands indebted for borrowed money, on town bonds, bank and individual loans, about $60,000. A good part of this debt was occa- sioued by the war expenses : but it ought not to be increased by any future loans, and it ought to be reduced as fast as possible.
A custom now prevails, and has for years, with respect to the election of representatives to the State Legislature, which ought to be abandoned-that is, to elect them successively from the four sections of the town-South, Centre, North and East. Sections of a town are not represented in the Legisla- ture, but towns in their whole corporate capacity. This mode limits the field of selection of the most suitable candidates, and confines it to a quarter part of the town. Another practice that has come into vogue, and which ought to be abandoned, is limiting the term of service in the Legislature to two years. This practice of course makes it necessary, if a representative is ever so well qualified, that, after having served two years, and acquired experience, he shall give place to some one else elected from another quarter part of the town. This is sec- tional indeed, and gives place surely to rotation in office ; - which last, I fear, had too much to do in introducing the practice.
In the last seventy years-from 1735 to 1806-but eight different representatives were chosen, and in that year but one was chosen. Of these eight, one was chosen for seventeen years, one for fourteen years, one for six, one for five, one for
21
-
242
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.
four, and two for one year each. Five years there was no representative. These periods of service are for the most part very different from those of representatives in these days.
The town has now been incorporated over one hundred and fifty years. The first town meeting was held March 3, 1713, at which the following town officers were chosen : --
" William Hersey, Moderator ; William Hersey, William Tirrill, and William Reed, Selectmen; William Reed, Town Clerk ; James Nash, Town Treasurer ; Joseph Joselyn, Con- stable ; Edmund Jackson and Nicholas Porter, Surveyors of Highways ; Ebenezer Whitmarsh and Edward Bates, Fence Viewers."
The selectmen were generally, if not without exception, assessors. To avoid repetition, their names are given the first year they were chosen, and the number of years they served, without noticing the yearly changes.
1713. William Hersey,
2
1739.
Jolın Noyes,
12
1713. William Tirrill,
2 1740.
Ephraim Spooner,
8
1713. William Reed,
10
1744.
Daniel Reed, 15
1714. Samuel Porter,
3 1752. Nathaniel Pratt,
1
1714.
Edmund Jackson,
1 1755.
Woodbridge Brown, Samuel Norton,
11
1715.
Andrew Ford,
1 1756.
8
1715.
Edward Bates,
10
1758.
Samuel Pool,
6
1716.
Samuel French,
7
1760. ,David Jones,
6
1716.
James Nash,
2
1763.
Josiah Torrey,
10
1718.
Nicholas Noyes,
1
1771.
William Reed, jr.
4
1718.
Samuel Pool,
6
1772.
Samuel Brown,
5
1719.
Joseph Josselyn,
1
1775.
Joshua Howe,
5
1719.
Samuel Noyes,
1
1775.
Benjamin Bates, Jr.
3
1720.
Joseph Lincoln,
2
1775.
Joshua Shaw,
3
1720.
Hezekiah Ford, Edmund Jackson,
3
1780.
Daniel Shaw,
2
1723.
James Nash,
1
1780.
Jacob Smith,
11
1728.
Matthew Pratt,
1
1783.
Jacob Pool,
10
1728.
Jacob Reed,
8
1785.
Luke Bicknell,
1
1729.
Joshua Shaw,
11
1786.
Jacob Dyer,
1
1729.
Samuel Jackson,
3
1786.
Thomas Reed,
1
1730.
Samuel Reed,
2
1786.
Edward Cobb,
1
1730.
Thomas Tirrill,
1 1790.
Josiah Torrey,
4
1733.
Christopher Dyer,
4
1792.
Benjamin Thaxter,
1
1734.
Nicholas Shaw,
3
1793.
Nathaniel Howe,
1
1735.
Ebenezer Bates,
1
1794.
Ephraim Noyes,
1735. Obadiah Reed,
8
1794. David Lane, jr.
13
1736. Jacob Porter,
3
1798.
Samuel Norton,
12
1737.
Joseph Hersey,
4 |1799.
Noah Ford.
1
1
1778.
Daniel Reed,
2
1721.
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.
243
1799. Nathan Gurney, jr.
24
1845.
Lysander Cushing,
1
1806. William Wales,
10
1846.
Stetson Vaughn,
1
1813. Micah Pool,
11 1847. Davis Gurney,
3
1816.
James Bates,
12 1850.
Wm. P. Corthell,
6
1819.
Jared Whitman,
9
1851.
Samuel Reed, jr.
1
1821.
John Cushing,
9
1852.
Nathan S. Jenkins,
4
1824.
David Beal,
17
1852.
John N. Noyes,
3
1830.
Asaph Dunbar,
1
1855.
Sylvanus Nash,
1
1833.
Joseph Cleverly,
8
1856.
Marcus Reed,
9
1833.
Spencer Vining,
7
1856.
Joseph Wilks,
1
1840.
Nathan Beal,
2
1856.
Micah H. Pool,
2
1842.
Isaac Hersey,
9
1857.
Henry A. Noyes,
5
1842.
Wm. W. Cushing,
1
1858.
Samuel V. Loud,
2
1843.
William Bonney,
1
1860. Zenas Jenkins,
5
1844.
Joshua Whitmarsh,
1
1860.
William Brown,
1
1844.
Goddard Reed,
1
1861.
Samuel B. Thaxter,
2
1845.
Zenas Jenkins, 2d,
6
TOWN CLERKS.
William Reed,
1713-1718. | Luke Bieknell,
1784-1798.
Edward Jackson,
1719-1723.
Richard Briggs,
1799.
Samuel Noyes,
1724-1729.
Luke Bieknell,
1800-1814.
Jacob Reed,
1730.
Samuel Norton,
1815-1820.
Thomas Tirrill,
1731.
Ezekiel Thaxter,
1821-1832.
Jacob Reed,
1732-1749.
John Nash, 1833-1851.
Woodbridge Brown,
1750-1754.
Freeman P. Howland, I851-1857.
Josiah Torrey,
1755.
John N. Noyes,
1858-1859.
Woodbridge Brown,
1756-1777.
Nathaniel T. Hunt,
1860-1864.
Samuel Brown,
1778-1783.
It is to be observed that the Town Clerk has usually filled also the office of Town Treasurer. The only recent exceptions to this are these : - John N. Noyes was Town Treasurer in 1857, Nathaniel T. Hunt in 1858 and 1859, Zenas Jenkins in 1863, and George A. Beal in 1864.
The following extracts of some of the votes passed by the town in former times, are stated as specimens of the extreme care which the inhabitants took in all matters that affected their interests, not even omitting to notice fashions aud dress, and in some cases assuming the powers of legislation, and passing by-laws for the enforcement of their votes with fines for neglect to obey, and rewards for obedience.
· 5th March, 1716 .- Voted, "That every man sixteen years old and upwards, shall kill twelve blackbirds, or pay two shillings to the town charge, more than their part."
244
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.
2d March, 1724 .-* Voted, "That the Drinkwater people shall have liberty to make a Pound upon their own cost, and Isaac Hatch was chosen keeper of said Pound."
5th Sept., 1726 .- " Lieut. William Reed, Matthew Pratt, Edward Bates and Samuel Noyes, were chosen a committee to draw up objections in answer to the Drinkwater people's petition to draw off from them." And it was voted, that " Mat- thew Pratt and Samuel Noyes should carry the answer to the court."
17th Nov. 1735 .- Voted, "To send a petition to the Gen- eral Court, that we may be eased upon the Province taxes." The petition was presented and a resolve passed thereon.
13th Jan. 1736 .- "That the sum of £32 16s. be granted and paid out of the public treasury to the Selectmen of Abing- ton, to reimburse the like sum they had paid as a fine for not sending a Representative, anno, 1734, and what they were overcharged in the Province tax."
7th March, 1737. - Voted, " That any person that shall kill any grown wild cat this year, within our town, shall have 20s."
26th May, 1746.t-The town voted off "a part of their township to a number of petitioners." The part taken off was at the south end of the town. It was annexed to the corners of four of the neighboring towns, to from what was for many years called Tunk Parish in Pembroke, now Hanson.
25th May, 1775 .- Voted, "That it was an indecent way, that the female sex do sit in their hats and bonnets, to worship God in his house," and offensive to many of the good people of this town.
" The people here referred to, lived in the neighborhood of Drink- water River, now in Hanover and Hanson. According to tradition, this river derived its name from the circumstance, that the first mill upon it was raised without the use of ardent spirits.
¡ My father (Col. Aaron Hobart) stated to me, that the people of the centre of the town did this to prevent the centre going farther sonth. The territory set off composed what is now a large part of Hanson.
245
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.
11th Feb. 1777 .- The currency of the country being in a state of rapid depreciation, the town agreed on the prices of labor, provisions, and various articles of merchandise. A list is on record.
29th May, 1780 .- The town voted their acceptance of the constitution agreed on by the convention, but were for so modifying the third Article in the bill of rights, as to allow every one to pay his money for the support of public worship, where he attended. They were, also, for limiting the number of counsellors and senators to thirty-four.
9th June, 1788 .- * Voted, "That no person shall set up any cake or cakes, or anything in imitation of cakes, or throw any stones or sticks at them, within half a mile of the meeting- house, each way on the public road, or on the green near the meeting-house. Any person so offending, shall pay a fine of 5s. for the use of the town."
14th Jan. 1793 .- Mr. Niles, Col. Hobart, and Mr. Jacob Dyer, were appointed a committee to prepare instructions to the Representative against the repeal of the then law against theatrical exhibitions.
1st April, 1793 .- Voted, " That all persons that suffer their dog or dogs to go to meeting, at the meeting-house, when the people assemble for public worship, shall pay the same fine as is provided for breach of the sabbath."
11th March, 1805 .- t Voted, " To divide the town of Abing- ton into two separate towns." Sixty-eight in favor of a division, and forty-seven against it. At the same time a com- mittee of five were appointed to run the dividing line.
6th April, 1807 .- The town refused to "vote off Aaron Hobart and others, as a separate religious society in the south part of the town," and appointed Daniel Lane, jr. and John
* When I was a boy, the practice was to set up "toby cakes," as they were called, two, three, or four rods off, and throw stones at them, three or four for a copper : if they hiit, they won.
t This was on account of the singing difficulty. It was reconsidered soon afterwards.
21*
246
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF EVENTS AND PERSONS.
King Esq., agents to attend the Legislature and oppose their petition to be set off.
15th Sept. 1812 .- The town adopted a preamble and resolves, reported by a committee, relative to the war, then recently declared againt Great Britain. In these, the war, which had been waged against "paper blockades," in derogation of our rights as a neutral nation, and against the British claim of a right to impress her own seamen out of American vessels on the ocean, and her practice, under that claim, of impressing naturalized and native American citizens, was declared to be both just and necessary. The town pledged their support in carrying it on, inculcated obedience to the Constitution and laws of the land, deprecated all opposition to the war in the shape of mobs, and all measures that tended in any way to destroy the union of the States.
9th March, 1835 .- Voted, " To build a house for holding future town meetings in." Subsequently, it was agreed to build the house on a half acre of land given by Capt. Thomas Hunt, and situated on the northerly side of the road, near Jesse Dunham's. The cost of the house was about $3,000.
CHAPTER XXX.
The First Settlements in Different Parts of the Town .- Some Account of the First Settlers.
THE first settlement in the town is said to have been in the north part. The Colony, in 1642, granted to Nathaniel Souther, the first Secretary of Plymouth Colony, two hundred acres of land on the west side of the Hatherly Grant, running in Hatherly Range, two hundred rods nearly south and one hundred and sixty rods nearly west. James Lovell, of Wey- mouth, for himself, and Andrew Ford, purchased Souther's
247.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF EVENTS AND PERSONS.
title to this grant of land, and subsequently (1679) Lovell conveyed to Ford his part of this grant ; which was at the time of conveyance, and always had been, in the possession of said Ford, and was known and called by the name of Ford's Farm.
In Lovell's conveyance to Ford, this land is described as lying " by the road that goeth from Weymouth to Bridge- water." It seems that this conveyance was thirty years after the first purchase of the title from Souther. At that time there were other inhabitants on the Ford Farm, for in 1692 the inhabitants on Ford's Farm were taxed fifteen shillings by the Colony. This tract of land was situated westerly from Deacon J. Cleverly's. The ancient house of the Fords, or one of them, was near a broken pile of rocks, a little westerly from a brook which runs by said Cleverly's house.
It does not appear that James Lovell ever resided in this town. It is probable that he made over half of the purchase of Souther on speculation. Andrew Ford doubtless settled upon this grant soon after its purchase. He was from Wey- mouth, and was named in the will of his father-in-law, Robert Lovell, dated 1654. He had, at that time, two sons at least, and was the progenitor of all the Fords in Abington, and many others of the name out of town. (See History of the Ford Family, in Appendix.)
In another portion of the town, the north-easterly part, (East Abington,) settlements began early ; an interesting ac- count of which I have received from Nathan Beal, Esq., who has resided there all his lifetime, (over seventy-five years,) and many of his ancestors before him.
The statement is as follows :-
When the town of Abington was incorporated, (1710,) most of the land in the north-easterly part was owned by residents of Hingham ; a large part by Thaxters, Andrews and Lincolns. The Thaxters built a saw-mill in 1703, where Beal's corn-mill now stands, and built a small house west of the mill, south side of the dam; and in it lived a slave, who tended said mill ; they also built a frame house a few rods south of where
248
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF EVENTS AND PERSONS.
Elias Pool now lives, where several slaves lived, who worked getting logs for the mill. This house is said to have been the first framed house raised in East Abington. They also built a barn near where Thomas Lane now lives.
Eleazer Whiting, son of Thomas, a cooper by trade, came from Hingham and built a log house in a dense forest near where Gideon B. Phillips' house now stands. He and Elisha Vining of Hingham lived there together for some time. He finally built a frame house where Jacob Whiting's house now stands, married Sarah Beal, daughter of Jedediah, of Hing- ham, March 6, 1746. He was an enterprising farmer, and, together with his sons, carried on the coopering business. He died January 17, 1795, aged ninety-five. Children-Jotham, Thomas and Barzillai, all settled in Abington.
Elisha Vining built a house in the field north of the east cemetery, near the Hanover line. Children-Elisha, David and Ebed. Elisha and Ebed settled in Abington; David moved West. He had several daughters, who married in Scituate and Hingham. He died in April, 1799.
About the same time Joseph Damon and Leavitt settled on the east side of Pond Street ; Benjamin Farrow settled in the woods west of Pond Street, at a place known as the Farrow Farm, and died May, 1809. Damon died March 9, 1805. The Leavitt family moved out of town.
About 1754 Jacob Smith came from Weymouth, and built a house on the east side of what is now Liberty Street, where John Smith now lives. Before that, Benjamin Barrett, Umphry Barrett and Benjamin Clark had settled on said street.
The first settlement of another part of the town, the south, then belonging to Bridgewater, I have learned from a very reliable source, Bela Dyer, Esq., who now resides on the estate of the first settler, William Dyer, and who is the fifth generation from him. He learned it from his grandmother, the widow of Christopher, of the third generation from William. The statement of the aged widow, (over eighty,) who was the mother of his father, Bela Dyer of the fourth generation, was, that three young men, residing one in the town of Weymouth,
249
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF EVENTS AND PERSONS.
two in the town of Hingham, near the dividing line between the two towns, were all married within a few days of each other (in one week). They soon after all met together with. their wives ; they were dissatisfied with their location, the land being rocky and sterile. Then the young men proposed to their wives to emigrate to better lands (they had previously agreed to, if their wives would consent). The wives con- sented ; and the three husbands took their axes and knapsacks, in the spring, and came to the above location, erected log houses, cleared up around, and moved into them.
Their names were William Dyer,* William Hersey and Thomas Josselyn. From these three young men has descended a numerous posterity. All of the Dyer family in South Abing- ton descended from this first Dyer, and many have removed elsewhere. The posterity of Hersey was formerly numerous in Abington, but now more so elsewhere. The descendants of Josselyn are but few here now; many of them are to be found in East Bridgewater, Hanson, and other towns.
Two of the sites of their buildings are now to be seen. Dyer settled a few rods back of where Bela Dyer now lives ; Josselyn a few rods back of Jonathan L. Reed's house ; Hersey, on "Tater IIill," as it was called, and which was where the new Tack Factory now stands ; the hill has been lowered over twenty feet since then, and the gravel was used for building the Old Colony Railroad. I have seen all the places ; they were all within about sixty rods of each other, on quite elevated land, yet differing from each other. The grounds were of easy tillage, rather of a sandy and loam soil. They were all within hail of each other, so that in case of being blocked up by snow, or any accident happening to
* Some suppose the given name of this Dyer was Christopher, and not William; this was the belief of the late James Bates, Esq., a lineal descendant in the female line of this first settler. And this was, doubtless, true, according to the statement of this aged lady. She makes no mention of the first settler ever returning to Wey- mouth, and she married the third settler from him.
250
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF EVENTS AND PERSONS.
either, by climbing a tree they could communicate with each other ; they were all near a river, now called Hersey's River, after the name of the one nearest to it.
The selection of these sites showed great judgment and foresight in these emigrants ; three more suitable locations for them could not have been found in all South Abington.
Mr. Dyer has the barrel and lock of a gun which belonged to the first settler. These parts, with the old stock, were laid away for over fifty years, but are now in good order, (Mr. D. having put a new stock to them,) and the gun is now frequently used by him. It was used by the first settler in shooting a deer, which was found one morning standing before his door upon a rock.
These traditionary statements are confirmed by " Hobart's Sketches of Abington," when he states the settlements of these three families. Josselyn was here in 1686, as he was a defendant in a lawsuit. He was from Hingham. Dyer was here from Weymouth before 1699, as he was appointed a surveyor of highways for that year. Hersey was here in 1696, and is stated to have been part owner of a saw-mill raised in 1693. The mill stood on the dam, near the Tack Factory. He was from Hingham. From these dates and circumstances they must have been here some time previous, probably from 1670 to 1680. They were undoubtedly the same persons and families named by the above lady.
The above genealogical account of the first settlers of the town and their descendants, is very clear and interesting. The settlements of the different parts of the town commenced about the middle of the seventeenth century, averaging about two hundred years since. Here we have the very names of most of the first settlers, and the very place in the wilderness where they took up their habitation. Their posterity are very numerous in town, and many have gone to people other towns. Their names, with many others who joined them in the next century, (eighteenth,) compose most of the leading names of families in town. There are many other very respectable family names of those who have settled here within the
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