USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Berlin > History of the town of Berlin, Worcester county, Mass., from 1784 to 1895 > Part 14
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doned the ground in despair, without hope of ever getting a living here. The longevity of the people will bear favorable comparison with those of other towns ; while we have had none whose age was more than a century, we have had many nonagenarians whose ages came near it. A native of the town was living at the time of this writing, at the age of ninety- four, born 1800. The town has been remarkably free from fatalities caused by lightning. No one that we have ever heard of has been killed here by the electric fluid; no houses or barns have been burned from this cause. This locality on the whole seems to have been highly favored by the action of the elements and forces of nature. The climate, also, seems to be more genial and agreeable and healthful than in some other towns in the immediate vicinity, owing in part to the southeasterly slope of a large portion of the town, combined with other sanitary causes. The conclusion reached from the above facts is obvious,-that Berlin is a good town in which to live, enjoy life, and take comfort. If any should question the truth of the above, ask any native Ber- linean, and he will verify the facts.
The morality of the town will bear favorable com- parison with other towns. From the first settlement to the present time the town has been saved from the record of but few of the more heinous crimes against society, but few have ever been incarcerated in jail, and these for minor offenses, and none have been sentenced to the state prison (except in one case, -- not a Berlin man). One murder case, it is true, occurred within the limits of the town at the old Reuben Hastings house, but this is not properly
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chargeable to Berlin, as the parties were foreigners from Clinton, occupying the house at the time. The underlying cause was rum, which, in fact, is the potent factor in the commission of nearly all crimes. (See article, "Livingston.") Few communities prob- ably are freer from profanity and low vulgarity than Berlin. It may be premised that the influence of Dr. Puffer and his successors has been salutary. The efforts of the leaders of other denominations have also contributed materially to purify the moral atmosphere of the town. While not intending to claim ethical superiority over other communities, we may justly affirm that we have had no "hardscrabble" or "den of thieves."
ACCIDENTAL AND VIOLENT DEATHS.
It is presumed that the following list comprises but a part of those who may from the early settlement to the present time have died by accident or from violence. The first of which we have any knowledge was one John Canouse, a German, a deserter from Burgoyne's army in 1777; M. Phebe Butler, He was one of the six that gave the name of Six Nations to a district in Boylston. He was thrown from a horse and killed near Bolton depot; no date.
Nancy (Bride) Bruce, widow of Benjamin Bruce, was burned to death in the chimney corner while the family were at church, Thanksgiving day, 1824.
A child of Obadiah McBride, who may have been living at the time on the William Fry place, was caught in a window of the old east school-house by the falling of the sash, and suffocated. She had returned to the school-house for her books. The
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door being locked, she gaincd ingress by the window, with the result above stated; 1828.
A young man by the name of - Converse, a son-in-law of Samuel Gage, who lived at the time on the Newsome place, was killed by a cart tongue falling upon him, 1819.
Joseph Pollard, son of Luther, was killed when about eight years old by falling on a corn cutter, 1822.
Henry Powers, Jr., son of Henry, 2d, was stabbed and killed by one Brooks, at Grafton, 1834. Through the leniency of the father, who didn't believe in capital punishment, Brooks only received a short term of imprisoninent.
Eliza Ann (Walker) Rice, wife of Nathan Rice (who was living at the time of the accident on the Dea. Oliver Sawyer farm), was thrown from a carriage while descending the hill north of Willard G. Bruce's on a Sunday morning on the way to church. She was accompanied by Miss Sophia Sawyer, who escaped without serious injury, but Mrs. Rice sur- vived but a short time after the accident. The cause of this fatal disaster was that the harness broke. The horse ran down the hill and upset the carriage. This occurred October 4, 1863.
Luther Babcock, while picking apples for David and Abram Fry, October 9, 1878, fell from the tree on which he was working and received internal injuries, from which he died soon after.
Dea. John Bartlett was killed by being thrown from a wagon in descending the hill west of Geo. H. Barnes', July 6, 1864.
Mrs. Mary A. Livingston, wife of James Livingston,
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who had moved from Clinton into the Reuben . Hastings house, was murdered by her husband, Feb. 5. 1883.
Miss Sarah I. Hastings, daughter of R. S. Hastings, met with a fatal accident November 14, 1893. This sad and distressing event awakened the sympathies of the entire community: universal sorrow brooded over the town; all felt that it was an irreparable loss that one so active, useful and capable in many ways should so suddenly be snatched away. The circum- stances were these: She was on her way to Clinton with a livery team, by way of Barnes' hill; stopped at George H. Barnes', took in his daughter Lucy and proceeded on their way. In descending the hill northerly, the horse became ungovernable and ran at a furious gait down the incline towards the long bridge of the Central railroad, on nearing which the horse turned to the right, upsetting the carriage and throwing them both out. Sarah struck her head against the abutment of the bridge; she never regained consciousness, and lived but a short time. Her companion escaped without serious injury.
PAUPERS.
At the first town meeting (1784) began a practice, then common in most towns, of putting up at vendue the keeping of the poor to the lowest bidder. A11 see the liability of the poor to suffer thereby, but public sentiment would resent abuse no doubt. The practice was discontinued here fifty or more years ago. William A. Howe, then but just in his ma- jority, was, I believe, the first to oppose the practice in town meeting. The first person named on our
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record of the poor is Mary Piper. The next year, voted to allow the account of Joseph Howe, for bringing Polly Kitty from Bolton to his house, four shillings, and for cleansing said Polly, four shillings and ninepence. Polly's board is also allowed at four shillings per week. The town has never seen fit to found a pauper establishment. It had, it is true, a small house for the poor, which would accommodate only a very small family. (See article, " House for the Poor.") The town may have had in mind in the purchase of the Meriam farm the probability of con- verting it into a farm for the poor, but the paupers were too few to warrant the expense. In recent times the poor are well cared for by the Overseers of the Poor, and placed in good families.
FIRES-BUILDINGS BURNED.
Within twenty years past there have been more fires in town than in all its prior history. In the early times we learn of comparatively few. For- merly people were not so well insured as of late, and the losses seem to have been proportionately small. Less the insurance, less the fires. That some of the fires have had an incendiary origin there is no doubt, and this element is an important factor in raising the percentage of insurance, from which we all suffer.
The first in our list of which we know anything about was the house of Leonard Hartwell, who lived at the time on the place now owned by Lorenzo Bruce (next east of George W. Howard's). It was a house built by Mr. Hartwell, and was burned in the night time. In 183- he erected the present one in its place.
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After the Hartwell fire we learn of no other for about thirty years. The two-story tenement house of Capt. C. S. Hastings was burned September, 1860, and was replaced by the present one on the same site. This fire took from hot ashes in a barrel in an adjoining wood-shed.
The next in point of time was the blacksmith shop of Albert Peterson in the south part. This occurred in the night, in the autumn of 1868. The shop was built by T. W. Barker. Well insured.
The building known as the Grassie & Hartshorn shop in the Centre, on the Clinton road, was burned June 17, 1867.
The shoe shop in the south part, built for the Union Store Co., and owned and operated by one Budreau of Marlboro, was burned about one o'clock on night of January 25, 1878. Probably well in- sured : no known cause of fire.
The large shoe factory in the middle of the town, known as the Parker shoe shop, was burned in the day-time of February 18, 1882. This was not in- cendiary. It took fire on the roof, and there was no means here to extinguish it. Help came from Clinton and Hudson, but too late to save the building.
Henry A. Stone's shop for blacksmithing and wheelwrighting was burned May 6, 1882. The fire took, undoubtedly, from natural causes.
Madam Rudersdoff's buildings seemed to have been marked for a play of the elements. First a new barn, by her then recently erected, was burned, 1879; and again a strange fatality attended her barns, a second one in process of completion being blown down in a furious gale, July 16, 1879, and two men
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were killed - Jonathan Nourse and Thomas Cheney, both of Hudson. The present one on the Reed Tyler place was the third she built. The old mansion built by Deacon Oliver Sawyer was finally doomed. It went up in smoke in the night of January 31, 1881, no one living in it at the time. The cause of the fires is a query,-no doubt about the blowing down.
The devouring element seems to have made sad havoc in 1882 and 1883. No less than six fires oc- curred during this period. The old Joseph Priest house, more than one hundred years old probably, and owned by Rufus R. Wheeler, was burned in the night-time, no one living in it. This old house was consumed May 13, 1883.
The hotel, which stood on the present site of the Unitarian parsonage, called the Belmont House, was burned in the day-time September 26, 1883; Fred Wheelock, proprietor. Mrs. R. S. Hastings' build- ings were barely saved from the flames. A query how it caught.
The old blacksmith shop in Carterville, erected by Riley Smith, then owned by Samuel M. Haynes, was burned September, 1883.
Horace A. Gunnison's house, just north of the Oliver Smith place in Carterville, was burned March 18, 1883, the family being absent at the time.
Arad Taylor's house and barn on the Jonathan F. Wheeler place were reduced to ashes, April 9, 1885.
The parsonage of the Rev. W. A. Houghton, and it also had been that of Dr. Puffer, was consumed by the devouring flames May 14, 1894. The house at the time was occupied by tenants, and the fire took from sparks from the chimney. This was regarded
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as a special calamity, on account of the associations connected with the place and the prominence of the house as a village residence.
The typical old red school-house on the Hudson road, which had been known by the oldest inhabit- ant from childhood (built 1792), was burned at mid- night, July, 1894. The old Joshua Johnson house, owned by A. B. Allen, was burned, 1886.
BERLIN DOCTORS.
Dr. Hezekiah Gibbs appears first on the list; was here some years prior to 1784, and was probably from Framingham. Lived on the Fred A. Woodward place. No other record.
Dr. Benjamin Nourse, son of Deacon David Nourse of Bolton, from 1784 to 1804.
Dr. Nathaniel Martin, of whom I am unable to report; 1792.
Dr. Daniel Brigham from Westboro studied with Dr. James Ball of Northboro. Settled on the Crosby place, near the Old Colony depot, 1800; removed to Marlboro 1825.
Dr. Samuel Griggs, born at Saxton's River, Vt., studied with Dr. Twitchell of Keene, N. H. Was here from 1824 to 1831. He removed to West Boylston, thence to Westboro 1843. Died in 1879 at 86 years.
Dr. John L. S. Thompson succeeded Dr. Griggs from 1831-1840. He removed to Bolton and thence to Lancaster. Died 1885.
Dr. Edward Hartshorn was the successor of Dr. Thompson. Practiced here from 1840 to 1854.
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Dr. Lemuel Gott, the last resident physician in town, continued in practice from 1854 to 1888, the time of his death. Some other doctors have had offices here at brief intervals. At present, Dr. F. L. Harvey has an office at the Dr. Hartshorn place.
THE BERLIN TOTAL ABSTINENCE SOCIETY.
The organization of this society dates back to 1855. No organization in town has exhibited greater vitality during all these years. The interest in the meetings, as shown by the well-filled houses, is worthy of special note. The young people of the town have generally constituted a large proportion of the audi- ence, attracted no doubt in part by a desire for social intercourse as well as to enjoy the music, singing and lectures. The clergymen of the town have generally been active in these meetings, and have gratuitously given their time and labor to the promotion of the cause of temperance.
The meetings of the society have been latterly held at the Town Hall on the evening of the third Sunday in each month. The three religious societies frequently hold union services. There can be no question but that these meetings have contributed largely to the formation of a public sentiment here in favor of temperance, sobriety and good order in town.
GOLDEN CROSS.
A branch of the Golden Cross was organized in Berlin March 19th, 1879, with eleven charter mem-
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bers, E. H. Hartshorn, noble commander. Whole number that have belonged since its organization, forty-six; the largest number at any time, thirty-six; present number, thirty. Five members have died .. We have paid in benefit assessments $11,948, and the families of those that have died have received $10,800. The present noble commander is Andrew J. Johnson.
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
In 1888 Mr. Houghton wrote: "Sadly, Berlin has no public library. Sectional influences have prevented united action. When we separated from Bolton, a generous library became a bone of contention. A division of it was finally effected. The Berlin share, with additions, was kept alive during the pastorate of Dr. Puffer. "
Happily this town is no longer open to reproach as being so exceptional a Massachusetts town as to. be without a public library.
Thanks to a fortunate combination of circumstances, Berlin now has a small but steadily growing and highly appreciated public library.
One of the acts of the State Legislature of 1890 was the appointment of a Free Public Library Com- mission, authorized to assist towns of low assessment valuation to establish free public libraries. By the terms of the act the Commission was empowered to buy and present to such towns $100 worth of books. on certain conditions, such as making satisfactory provision for the accommodation and care of the books, an annual appropriation for the support of the library, etc.
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At the town meeting of March 2d, 1891, the terms of the legislative act were accepted, and a Board of Library Trustees elected, which consisted of Rev. G. F. Pratt, Hon. William Bassett and F. H. Crossman.
To the State Free Public Library Commission our Trustees were indebted not only for advice as to further purchase of books and many other particulars, but also for a manifestation of personal interest. On the part of individual members of the Commission, this went as far as the collection of many books from their friends, which they presented to our library, so that it was able to start with more than the hundred dollars' worth of books donated by the state. For this exhibition of personal interest and zeal for the good cause in which they were enlisted, Berlin has occasion to record with gratitude the names of Hon. Henry S. Nourse and Miss Elizabeth P. Sohier of the State Free Public Library Commission.
The first appropriation for the library made by the town was $50.
This has since been increased to an annual appro- priation of $70.
Berlin Grange was prompt to show its public spirit in this direction by a gift from its treasury of $26.50, to be expended for the purchase of a set of Chambers' Encyclopædia for the library.
It is but just to the Grange to recognize the fact that from its members came the first effectual impulse in town toward securing the library. Next after the state's donation, the largest and most welcome gift to the library was that of Mrs. Cordelia S. Hastings, of $100 in cash. This gift was very opportune, enabling the infant library at once to assume propor-
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tions commensurate with the demands made upon it at the outset. Other gifts of books and money have been received from time to time ; notable for its helpfulness at the time, $10 from Miss H. E. Bigelow of Marlboro.
In establishing the library the most perplexing problems met by the Trustees was to find house room for it. Not without much difficulty did the town clerk (also a member of the Board of Trustees) con- trive a suitable lodgment for the library in a corner of the Selectmen's room in the Town House.
This solves the problem for a time, but only for as long as the books are few in number and we have no reading room. Soon some larger space must be provided, either by an addition to the Town House or the erection of a separate library building.
It would be hard to devise a nobler benefaction to the town than a gift, through legacy or otherwise, for this object.
The work of cataloguing a library in the scientific manner of to-day requires an expert. Fortunately this operation and the task of setting the machinery successfully in motion were rendered comparatively easy by the quiet assistance of one who had been a trained and experienced librarian in a larger town- Mrs. Pratt, wife of one of the Trustees.
On July 11, 1891, the library was first opened to the public with 190 books on the shelves, and Miss Sarah I. Hastings in charge as librarian. To-day, May, 1895, the library has 858 volumes.
For a time the library was open for an hour on Saturday afternoons and for two hours on Saturday ·evenings.
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For the past year it has been open on Saturday evenings and every other Wednesday evening. It is proposed to open it also on Saturday afternoons again.
After a year's trial had shown the advantages of a public library, it was suddenly enriched and doubled in size by the donation of the entire library of 380 volumes belonging to the Union Library Association of South Berlin.
For some years enterprising citizens of the section of the town known locally as South Berlin, had maintained a circulating library for the benefit of residents of that neighborhood.
Their collection of books was of excellent character, and made a valuable and timely addition to the Public Library.
In October of 1893, the library, in common with the whole community, met a sad loss in the sudden death of Miss S. I. Hastings, who was thrown from a carriage while driving. Miss Hastings was a young lady endowed with many talents and great energy of character.
On November 18, 1893, Miss Mary M. Babcock entered upon the duties of librarian, for which she had received some special training as assistant to her predecessor.
She has proved a very efficient and popular librarian, and under her administration the patron- age of the library has made most gratifying progress.
THE SHAKESPEARE CLUB.
December 27th, 1877, the teachers and School Committee with several others, by invitation of Miss
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Fiske. then teacher of the high school, met and organized the Shakespeare Club, with Mr. E. C. Shattuck, president, and Miss Mary Bassett, secre- tary. The first meeting and several following were held in the old Town House, standing near the house of J. E. Sawyer, and occupied by the primary department of the Centre school. After the first year the meetings were held at the homes of the members. During the seventeen years of its exist- ence, the club has been highly prosperous in the keeping up of the interest, the harmony prevailing, and the amount of work accomplished. The club made choice of the best in the beginning: the immortal Shakespeare, at whose feet for two years they sat as willing learners and loath to part company, has ever been the most frequent guest at their intel- lectual feasts. Much time was given to the study of the life and writings of the trio-Longfellow, Holmes and Whittier, and to the Concord celebrities Emerson and Hawthorne; the life of James Russell Lowell in his Cambridge home, and the study of his writings, with their treasures of wit and wisdom ; Sir Walter Scott. Milton, Ruskin, Hannah Moore, Mrs. Browning. Harriet Beecher Stowe; taking up many more of the standard English and American authors, besides the lesser poets and authors, none of whom have been exhausted, holding within them mines of wealth yet to be explored by the club. A large range of subjects, literary and scientific, has been taken up: the study of precious stones and geologi- cal formations from specimens collected by the club ; electricity ; architecture ; music ; travels ; history ; the evenings spent in trips to the White mountains,
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Yellowstone park, up the Hudson, in which the tourists, real and imaginary, with their delightful sketches and the aid of maps, stereoscopic views and specimens, making them real, were full of pleasure and profit; the memorable event when the fledgling poets of the club assayed to use their wings at the request of the most honorable member. Many papers and essays were prepared upon the subjects taken up, some of which have appeared in print, and others equally worthy still remain in the archives of the club.
No history of the Shakespeare Club would be com- plete without some record of its social features, which were interspersed as recreations from its more solid work,-
With friendship's golden chain we're bound, Its brightest links, our social joys.
Among these the cherry parties and other social gatherings with Mr. and Mrs. Addison Keyes, Mrs. Keyes being for many years the secretary of the club; repeated visits to Hunnewell's gardens : trips to the Wachusett mountain; a day spent in the Bloom- ingdale nursery, Worcester ;- with their delightful reminiscences and the unique experiences connected with them, which have become legends in the club; the memorable ride to Concord August 17th, 1881, "Coldest day on record," the oft-quoted remark of one of the members who came near freezing; sleigh- rides long deferred, sleigh-rides shortened by mishaps, and sleigh-rides most enjoyable were the order of the winter. For the summer annual picnics with the pleasant associations of Elm farm, Larkin homestead, and the Bassett grounds, at which some of the mem-
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bers immortalized their names in the club by their preparation of chowder for the picnic of 1884.
Elves who brewed for us the witch's broth So fowl and so feline, will live When other names are long forgot.
The crowning feature of the social gatherings of the season, was the annual suppers given as surprises to the gentlemen by the ladies, each season vieing with the last in making them more delightful and attractive. Culling
From out the realm of cuisine art,
Savory viands, sweets delectable, Salads, jellies, ices, creams delicious,
Choicest fruits from tropic lands,
With nuts to eat and nuts to crack.
For each guest some souvenir
Holding the past in mem'ry's shrine,
The genii their work completed,
Behold a fairy bower, In which to serve the fair repast,
Where friendly cheer and sparkling thought Go round the board, where all partake.
The wit and wisdom of the club combining in an entertainment literary and otherwise, fitting for the closing up of these annual festivities, our allotted space is filled and only a bare outline appears,-just a hint here and there of the good things of the Shakespeare Club.
The present officers: P. B. Southwick, President ; Addison Keyes, Vice-President; Miss Jennie Morse, Secretary; the president and vice-president having held the offices for a number of years.
THE OLD BERLIN LYCEUM AT THE CENTRE.
The first lyceum in town of which we have any account was held in the old Town House on the
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Common about 1837. It was a time when the Berlin Academy was a flourishing institution here, and the principal, Josiah Bride, took an active interest in the debates and other exercises of the Lyceum, which largely contributed to its success. The topics dis- cussed were such as began about that time to engage the public attention, especially temperance and anti- slavery being themes often dwelt on, and public sentiment here may have been largely moulded by the free debates and earnest discussions held in the old Town House. Among the numerous names of those who took an active part were Daniel Holder, Amory Carter, Daniel H. Carter, Rev. Eber S. Clarke, George Ball, A. A. Bartlett, L. L. Carter and P. B. Southwick. The organization continued only three or four years, and was succeeded later by the South Part Lyceum.
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