USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Berlin > History of the town of Berlin, Worcester county, Mass., from 1784 to 1895 > Part 29
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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
It is related of Uncle Joe that when his father would have married a second wife at 80, he went to dissuade the widow in Marlboro. Persuasion naught availing, he said to her: "My name is Joe Priest; I live between two hills in Bolton, and if I ever see you there, I'll kill you." Whatever her affections for his father might be, she thought she would not adopt such a son-in-law. Uncle Joe always wore the Continental costume-a cocked hat, knee and shoe buckles. He d. in 1817. His will was probated Sept., 1817, Solomon How, exr. The town of Berlin was made residuary legatee, as appears from the following extract from his will :
"All the remainder and residue of my estate I give and bequeath to the town of Berlin, to be kept on good security, at interest annually, and said interest applied solely for literary
460
HISTORY OF THE
purposes." Amount received from executor, $505.31 ; the fund stands now on the books, $520.
Holman Priest, s. of Gabriel, m. Prudence Sawyer of the Sawyer mills family; he settled on the farm now owned by Joseph John Randall and formerly by Reu- ben A. Wheeler. Had Silas, b. Aug. 6, 1774; Prudence, b. Oct. 10, 1785, m. John Bruce, Jr., rem. to West Boylston 1813; Mrs. George Houghton, my corre- spondent at West Boylston, is his dau. He d. Jan. 22, 1831 ; wid. d. April 7, 1854.
Luther Priest, s. of Gabriel, m. Asenath Bruce Aug. 12, 1795 ; he lived on the west side of the Northboro road, where Addison Keyes now res .; he was a carpenter by trade; Luther loved a joke, though at his own expense. He need not have told that coming from Bolton in the evening with his carpenter's tools, broad-axe and all in hand, a mother sow by the roadside took after him; Luther ran; the sow ran; both ran the same way, but the sow ran the faster; one by one Luther dropped his tools to aid his speed. In dire necessity he leaped the wall, on which just behind him his pursuer rested her forefeet with a vicious grunt. With a shake of his fist and an affirmation not to be repeated, the carpenter respond- ed : "If I had my broad-axe here, I would make two sows of you." Had Sally, b. Dec. 24, 1795, d. Oct. 8, 1815, admitted to the church at her home the same day; Roxana, d. young; Granville, m., res., Wal- tham; Clarendon, d. in infancy; Minerva, m. Dr. John Austin of Vermont; Almira, m., May 24, 1829, William Sawyer, res., Ohio; had also Lydia, Charles
461
TOWN OF BERLIN.
and Sarah. Luther d. by fall on the ice Jan. 12, 1829; his wid. d. 1853 ; record incomplete.
Abraham Priest is named on some of our early records: what connection with the other Priests does not appear; he moved to Marlboro, N. H. It is related that he was a famous story teller, and this among others, that he had been in some place where junks of wood and iron thrown into a machine would come out of it ready-made carpenter's hammers. That was Priestly at least.
Silas Priest2, Holman1, m. Persis, dau. of Fortuna- tus Barnes, May 27, 1802 ; he retained the homestead of his father. Had Rufus, b. 1803, m. Lydia Brig- ham, rem. to Sterling, where they d. (also Rufus' s., Lewis, b. 1831, d. 1865); Ira, b. Sept. 21, 1806, d. Oct. 10, 1807, and the father, Silas, d. at the same date: Persis, wid., m. Pelatiah Jones.
PROCTOR.
Joel Proctor, from Vermont, m. Pamelia A., dau. of Dea. John Powers; she d. July 27, 1890 ; he settled on the place now owned by John Collins; rem. to Bolton.
PRY.
John A. Pry, b. Jan. 9, 1838, m. Anne Gens, b. Oct. 17, 1845 ; came from Clinton in 1889 and settled on the Merrick Sargent place, near Bolton depot. Had Anne Dora Louisa, b. Nov. 9, 1864, m. John Hoff- man ; Mary L., b. Sept. 17, 1868, m. August Lehman ;
462
HISTORY OF THE
Amelia G., b. Aug. 15, 1870, m. Henry Kable; John A., b. Sept. 17, 1872; Henry G., b. July 28, 1877, d. 1882.
PUFFER.
Rev. Reuben Puffer, D. D., from Sudbury, was a descendant of George Puffer, who settled in Quincy about 1640; this George had two sons, Mathias and James; the former of these was the ancestor of Charles Sumner and also Edward Everett; James settled in Braintree and had a s., Jabez, who moved to Sudbury in 1712; this Jabez had a s., Jabez, b. 1705, who was the father of the noted divine of Berlin, hence the lineage runs Reuben®, Jabez', Jabez3, James', George'. Rev. Dr. Puffer was the first minister of the town, ordained Nov. 26, 1781; he m. Hannah Perry, by whom he had: Sophia, b. July 1, 1780, m. Edward Baker Ball of Northboro; Lucy, b. May 7, 1782, m. Nathaniel Goodnow of West Boylston; Stephen, b. Feb. 17, 1784, m. Sally Fosgate and rem. to Amherst; Hannah, b. Oct. 31, 1785, m. Reuben Hastings; Charlotte, b. Sept. 16, 1787, m. John Flavel Fay of Northboro; Henry, b. Feb. 15, 1790; Reuben, b. Aug. 3, 1792, d. Sept. 10, 1792; Palmyra (Almira), b. Sept 21, 1793, m. Ephraim Hastings, she d. July 10, 1879; Charles, b. Dec. 25, 1795 ; Oliver, b. Sept. 8, 1797, d. Jan. 20, 1799; Oliver, b. June 5, 1799, m. Phebe Thayer of Richmond, N. H., where he settled about 1830 as a wool carder and cloth dresser, he was here at the dedication of our new Town Hall, d. in New Salem; Sarah, b. March 27, 1801, d. Jan. 9, 1822; Mary, b.
.
.
MR. AND MRS. MERRICK R. RAND.
NATHAN RICE,
CAPT, SETH RICE.
463
TOWN OF BERLIN.
May 18, 1803, m. Cyrus Abbot of Barre, m., 2d Stone of Wrentham. Wife, Hannah, d. Jan. 5, 1812, at 51 ; he m., 2d, 1814, Phebe Morse Stowe, wid. of William Stowe of Marlboro, by whom he had Phebe M., b. June 14, 1815, d. Oct. 8, 1833 ; Mrs. Stowe had by former husband, Truman, Freeman, William, and Eugenia, who m. Rev. Lyman Gilbert of West Newton Sept. 28, 1828. Rev. Reuben Puf- fer d. April 9, 1829, at. 73 yrs .; wid., Phebe, d. Jan. 12, 1856, aged 84.
RAND.
The families of this name in town are descendants of one Robert Rand and Alice Sharp, his wife, who came from England and settled in Charlestown in 1635.
Isaac Rand, of the seventh generation from Robert and s. of Benjamin, was b. March 6, 1787, m., Oct. 4, 1814, Anna Whitman Pollard, b. Feb. 16, 1799, dau. of Aaron Pollard and Anna Taylor; he lived in Roxbury and had four sons: Isaac P., b. Nov. 7, 1816; Luther, b. Dec. 23, 1820, d. Aug. 21, 1828 ; Francis A., b. July 30, 1823; Merrick Rice, b. July 4, 1827 ; Francis A. and Merrick R. have been res. of Berlin.
Merrick R. Rand, s. of Isaac Rand of Roxbury, m., Oct. 19, 1853, Sarah E., b. Dec. 14, 1834, dau. of James Harper, res., West Berlin, on the old John Pollard place. Had Merrick F., b. July 23, 1854; Carrie E., b. Jan. 4, 1856, m. Charles Danforth ; Ida A., b. May 8, 1858, m. Albert H. Sibley; Delia S., b.
464
HISTORY OF THE
Sept. 24, 1860, m. Frederick Cogsill; Gaza F., b. April 14, 1864; Grace W., b. June 16, 1868.
Rev. Francis A. Rand, bro. of Merrick R., m., Nov. 15, 1859, Rachel R., dau. of John C. and Susan Robb, of Farmington, Pa., b. Sept. 10, 1837; graduated at Williams College in 1847; studied for the ministry and ordained a Presbyterian minister and preached for some years at various places in Pennsylvania; he came to Berlin in 1867; settled in the west part on the place recently owned by Henry O. Felton. Had Anna L., b. July 17, 1863; Emma B., b. Dec. 28, 1864; Francis L., b. July 5, 1866; John C., b. April 28, 1868. Wife d. May 22, 1871 ; he d. June 27, 1889. Anne W. (Pollard) Rand, wife of Isaac and the mother of Merrick R. and Francis A., d. here with Francis A. April 2, 1888, at 89 yrs.
RANDALL.
Reuben Randall, s. of Reuben of Richmond, N. H., and bro. of Joseph of Bolton, m. Sarah Earle of Leicester; lived on the Isaac Moore farm in 1830-40; built the house where Edward L. Wheeler lives; rem. to Worcester; d. there.
Paul A. Randall, b. July 8, 1830, s. of Joseph of Bolton, m. Abbie W. Kimmins, dau. of John of Bolton, June 3, 1860; his farm is in the north part of the town, the place formerly owned by David Southwick and later by Oliver and Nancy Young ; has recently built a new house on the premises. Had Joseph John, b. April 13, 1861; Reuben H., b. May 9, 1863, d. Feb. 13, 1866; Lucy J., b. Oct. 13,
----
1
REV. FRANCIS A. RAND.
HENRY W. HASTINGS.
465
TOWN OF BERLIN.
1868. m. Charles E. Small: Alice P., b. Sept. 27, 1870. m. Lewis E. Day; Flora S., b. Aug. 27, 1880.
Joseph John Randall, s. of Paul A., m. Anna Grant of Clinton Sept. 5, 1882; he lives on the south side of Sawyer hill, the place once owned by Holman Priest and later by Reuben A. Wheeler. Had Ethel E .. b. April 16, 1883 : Charles P., b. March 29, 1884; Carl H., b. Nov. 6, 1886; Chester R., b. Nov. 10, 1887 : Clifton A., b. Nov. 14, 1889; Joseph John, b. April 29, 1893. d. March 8, 1894.
RATHBUN.
Solomon H. Rathbun, b. Oct. 19, 1805, came from Richmond, R. I .; m., Oct. 17, 1835, Hannah M. Boyden of Leominster; he attended Thomas Fry's school. Lived in Bolton several years after marriage ; bought the Sanderson Carter place in 1846; sold that and bought the John Powers place in 1865. Had Charles B., b. July 1, 1836; George C., b. Dec. 24, 1837 : Mary E., b. March 22, 1839, m. Nathan Gee of Fitchburg, she d. in 1892; Thomas F., b. Feb. 17, 1841. was the first soldier from Berlin to enlist in 1861, d. at Winchester, Va., March 14, 1862; James F., b. Dec. 12, 1842; the three youngest children d. in infancy, viz. : two John Henrys and one Francis E. Wife d. May 6, 1850; he m., 2d, Mary Holden May 26. 1852: she d. 1868 ; he d. March 23, 1871.
Charles B. Rathbun, s. of Solomon H., m. Marion S., dau. of Abraham Brigham, July 1, 1860; settled on the old Powers homestead on Baker hill. Had Alice M., b. Oct. 3, 1867, graduated at the Northboro high school, taught school five years, m., Oct. 3,
31
466
HISTORY OF THE
1893, Dr. Frank L. Harvey, M. D., of Leominster, settled in Clinton.
George C. Rathbun, s. of Solomon H., went to Rhode Island; m. there; returned here and m., 2d, April 12, 1876, Mrs. Emma (Miller) Hunting, sister to wife of Francis Babcock; she had by her first husband, Arthur. ' She d. March 4, 1882; he m., 3d, Jennie Baker, and res. in Canterbury, Conn.
James F. Rathbun, s. of Solomon H., m. Dolly Harris Dec. 12, 1869; rem. to Cochituate; d. Sept. 9, 1874. Had Lillian, b. 1873, d. 1875 ; Lucy d. in in- fancy. Wid. d. in Boston in 1877, at 27 yrs.
RICE.
David Rice, s. of Abraham of Framingham, was one of the first settlers near the middle of the town; res. where the Berlin Hotel now is; his father had a deed of the land in 1744 and conveyed it to his s., David, in 1760-sixty-three acres; David Rice sold the same to James Goddard in 1778-eighty-four acres, and Goddard sold to Jonathan Meriam. Had s., Stephen.
Asaph Rice once lived north of George H. Bruce's on west side of the road; his children, when the parents were away, set fire to the barn to clean out the rats. It did the job.
How strange, indeed, that Asaph Rice, So pestered was with rats and mice, His children thought 'twould be no harm To clear them out, to burn the barn. When from the church the parents came, The barn was gone, the rats the same. Ne'er troubled more was Asaph Rice In that old barn with rats and mice.
467
TOWN OF BERLIN.
The numerous families of this name settled in Marlboro, Northboro and Shrewsbury, were descend- ants of Edmund Rice, b. in England in 1594; came from Barkhamstead to Sudbury in 1639 with wife, Tamzine, and children; she d. in 1654; he m., 2d, Mercie, wid. of Thomas Brigham, of whom came our families after several generations; he settled in Marlboro, near "Gates' pond," about 1660, on the old Boston and Worcester road, and his name stands at the head of the petition for the Marlboro "grant;" he had eleven children, and his posterity have been very numerous in all the above-named towns. He d. in 1663 and was buried at Sudbury. Edmund, a grands. of his, who settled in Westboro, had one son killed and two captured and taken to Canada by the Indians in 1704. The two captives remained with the Indians, married Indian wives and had children by them. For a more extended account see Hudson's "History of Marlboro."
The first of the Rice name on the records as a citizen of Berlin territory was David Rice, whose s., Stephen, had a blacksmith shop on the spot where A. A. Bartlett's house now stands, at the time the first meeting-house was built. He, or possibly John Pollard, may have built the original Bullard house. What became of the family or what connection (if any) with the Edmund Rice family does not appear.
Capt. Seth Rice, s. of Samuel of Northboro, b. May 9, 1794, m. Oct. 2, 1820, Persis, b. Oct. 2, 1799, dau. of Jonas Bartlett of Northboro; came to Berlin in 1842; res. on the Holman Priest place and Timo- thy Bailey farm; was representative to the General
468
HISTORY OF THE
Court in 1846; rem. to Shrewsbury in 1859, where he d. Feb. 14, 1865; wid. d. in Berlin Dec. 5, 1880. Had Seth, b. June 27, 1821 ; William, b. Feb. 27, 1823 ; Jonas, b. Feb. 21, 1825; Eliza G., b. July 3, 1827 ; Lewis, b. Aug. 6, 1828; Harriet, b. April 2, 1831; Silas, b. Aug. 19, 1833; Ellen P., b. June 26, 1835; Susan, b. Sept. 23, 1837 ; Samuel S., b. Nov. 4, 1839; Mary E., b. Oct. 26, 1841.
Nathan Rice, from Northboro, b. Aug. 11, 1812, S. of Nathan of Marlboro and of the Edmund Rice line, m. Mary Eliza Pearson Oct. 22, 1840; she d .; m., 2d, Eliza Ann Walker May 9, 1847; d. Oct. 4, 1863, caused by being thrown from a carriage on Sawyer hill; m., 3d, Zilpah H., wid. of Edward Bliss, June 25, 1871 ; he lived with Sophia Sawyer, also on his last wife's place; he d. May 12, 1875. Had by Mary E., Arathusa, b. Nov. 6, 1841, d. Feb. 28, 1845 ; Mary P., b. April 6, 1843, res., California; Theodore, b. Oct. 28, 1844, d. April 26, 1881 ; had by Eliza Ann, Oliver C., b. Sept. 15, 1848 ; George H., b. Aug. 2, 1852, d. Aug. 8, 1875.
Oliver C. Rice, s. of Nathan, m. Augusta, dau. of Edward Bliss, Dec. 25, 1870, res. on the Edward Bliss place; is a shoemaker and painter. Had Louisa May, b. April 14, 1874, m. Jerome Warren July 29, 1890, res. in Berlin; Leslie O., b. Dec. 21, 1885.
WVillis Rice, b. Aug. 9, 1845, s. of Abel Rice of Marlboro of the Edmund Rice line, m. Harriet Susan, dau. of Nahum W. Fay, April 3, 1873 ; came to town in 1880; res. on the Oliver Fosgate place; was the first to introduce hot-house culture of early
469
TOWN OF BERLIN.
vegetables. Had Emily H., b. Jan. 5, 1874; Effie G., b. Sept. 3. 1875: Frances E., b. Feb. 4. 1878 ; Lucy F., b. Feb. 13, 1884.
RICH.
James Rich, from Lynn, m. Hannah, dau. of Benja- min Baker, July 16, 1797 ; he built on the road below Ira Brown's. Had James, Stephen, Hannah, and others: record incomplete.
James Rich, Jr., mn. Sally, dau. of Daniel Bruce, 1823: he lived in Fitchburg and d. there; the family returned and lived on the place recently owned by Mrs. James B. Hartley. Had William A., b. 1824; Maria, m. -- Dalrymple of Northboro; George W., b. 1825: Jane. m. Piper ; Hannah, m.
Brigham, d. : Louisa, b. 1827 ; James G., b. 1832, d. 1856; Harriet: Lucy; Edwin; Charles; Elliott: Henry P., b. 1845, d. in the army, record in our soldiers' memorial. This record of the family was gathered in scraps ; no doubt incorrect.
RICHARDSON.
Francis Richardson and wife, Susan, and his bro., Peter, came from Newton in 1867 ; bought the place where Rufus R. Wheeler now lives. Had Mary, who m. Alanson Saltmarsh, and they had a s., Edward ; Mary d. Feb. 13, 1876, age 27. Francis d. Dec. 7, 1876; wid., Susan, d. April 17, 1881; Peter d. at Edward Flagg's in 1888.
ROBBINS.
John Robbins, s. of Jonathan of Stow, b. July 8, 1828 ; came to Berlin in 1846; m. Lucinda S., dau. of
.
470
HISTORY OF THE
Jonas Hale, April 1, 1850; he bought the old Simeon Bowman place, where Rufus R. Wheeler now lives; built the house now on the premises; was a soldier in the late war; enlisted in the 3d Mass. Cavalry in the spring of 1864. His wife, Lucinda S., d. April 4, 1864; m., 2d, Lucie E. Rogers of Stow March 28, 1866; rem. to Stow in 1867; he d. suddenly of hcart disease while in Hudson Feb. 12, 1894. Had by Lucinda S., five children, four of whom d. in infancy ; George E., b. Nov. 28, 1860, is now m. and lives in Stow; had by Lucie E., Charles H., b. Oct. 30, 1868, m., res., Hudson; John F., b. Feb. 19, 1870.
Jonas Robbins, from Acton, m. Sarah Bonner of Hancock, N. H .; he settled on the place now owned by Joseph Turner ; d. May 8, 1847, by suicide in the barn; he was succeeded by Daniel E. Williams, who hung himself in the same barn. Wid., Sarah, d. at the Robbins house in the Centre Nov. 23, 1863, at 76.
ROSE.
John F. Rose, b. in Germany 1830; came over 1850; m. Clara E. Smith ; has a house in the Centre on the Clinton road; wife d. Nov. 24, 1876; is a shoemaker and works in Hudson; was a soldier in the late war in Co. I, 13th Regt., also in Co. C, 5th Regt. Had John P., b. in Marlboro Dec. 25, 1857, m. Lizzie McGrew, lives in Pittsburg, Pa.
RUDERSDOFF.
Madam Rudersdoff (Mansfield) was a native of Russia, b. in one of the lower provinces; educated
EBENEZER S. SAWTELLE. MRS. STEPHEN S. SOUTHWICK. DEA. OLIVER SAWYER.
MRS. STEPHIEN SAWYER. O. B. SAWYER. OLIVER SMITH.
CAPT. LEWIS SAWYER. MRS. P. B. SOUTHWICK. CAPT. SILAS SAWYER.
47I
TOWN OF BERLIN.
in Germany; came to this country at the time of the great peace jubilee in Boston. For a summer resi- dence she bought "Lakeside," the place where M. Reed Tyler now lives ; she was singularly unfortunate in the loss of buildings; first, a new barn, which was burned; second, a new barn in place of the one burned was demolished by a tornado, in which two were killed and others injured; third, her house, which had been repaired and enlarged, was burned in the winter when not occupied, she being in Bos- ton at the time. She was a very celebrated teacher of vocal music: had numerous pupils from all parts, many of whom obtained a national reputation as singers.
Richard Mansfield, the celebrated actor, is one of her sons.
She d. in Boston in 1882 and was buried at Mt. Auburn; a huge boulder for a monument marks her grave.
SARGENT.
Curtis Sargent, s. of Stephen, m. Hulda Forbes. Had Stephen John E., who m. Frances L. Rand Nov. 29, 1877; Warren, b. 1850, d. May 19, 1867 ; Lucinda Ella, m. Charles D. Starkey, m., 2d, Dana M. Larkin, infant d. He d. 1851 ; wid., Hulda, m. George W. Howard.
SAWYER.
The Sawyers of Berlin are descendants of Thomas Sawyer, b. in England in 1616, who came from Row- ley, Mass.,and settled in Lancaster in 1647; he was a
472
HISTORY OF THE
blacksmith; his wife was Mary, the dau. of John Prescott, the head man of early Lancaster; his homestead was on the present grounds of the Seventh Day Adventists, between South Lancaster and Clinton. He d. Sept. 12, 1706, at about 90 yrs., leaving ten children; the oldest of these, Thomas, Jr., b. 1648, was in the lineage of our Berlin Saw- yers, and was the one captured by the Indians in 1705. The story of his captivity has given him a popular fame above all college graduates; nothing gave notoriety like exploits with Indians, nor can the Lancaster experiences be forgotten in any age. Sawyer's is romantic, though oft repeated. This Indian raid and capture was during Queen Ann's war; was nearly thirty years after the Lancaster massacre (so-called) in King Philip's war in 1676. The Indians were from Canada; were the allies of the French in the contest involving the French and English colonies in America; the event occurred on the 16th of Oct., 1705. This Thomas.Sawyer, Jr., while at work in his saw-mill, at present "Deer's Horn," together with his s., Elias, and John Bigelow of Marlboro, was captured by the Indians and taken to Canada. A younger bro. of Elias escaped through a window. Sawyer was a millwright, Bigelow a
carpenter.
The French had no saw-mill. Sawyer
saw their opportunity. For their liberty he pro- posed to the French governor to appropriate the water of the Chambly river to lumber making. The governor saw his opportunity, too, but the Indians did not see it in the same light. They saw in the vigor of their chief captive the pluck of a good subject for their devilish torture. The narrative
473
TOWN OF BERLIN.
has it that he was finally tied to a stake; the French Catholic priests had gained much influence over the Indians. A friar was equal to the occasion; brandish- ing a key in mid-air he threatened "to unlock purgatory and thrust them into eternal fires if they did not release the prisoner." Superstition had its uses ; they let him go; the mill was built, the first in all Canada: Thomas Sawyer and Bigelow came home: Elias was detained a year longer to run the mill and instruct others in the art of sawing. No wonder the Sawyers have had saw-mill "on the brain." If you can find a saw-mill in all this region not started or run by a Sawyer, publish it. Some Sawyer, doubtless, was responsible for this old saw :
Sawyer says of all the saws He ever saw saw, He never saw a saw saw, As Sawyer's saw saws.
As appears by a will of Thomas Sawyer, Jr., put on record in 1735, he had four sons, William, Joseph, Bazalies and Elias, and two daus., Mary, wife of Joshua Rice of Marlboro, and Hannah, wife of Jonathan Moore (of Bolton). He bequeathed twelve pounds to purchase a vessel for the church in Lancaster. A Bolton tradition holds that he had a dau. who m. Rev. Nathaniel Whitman of Deerfield; if so, she was a dau. probably of his first wife, Sarah, b. 1671, their only child; she was buried in Bolton. He d. 1736 and was buried in Lancaster ·old cemetery.
William Sawyer, eldest s. of Thomas Sawyer, Jr., m., 1700, Hannah, dau. of John Houghton, 2d. Had Benjamin; Israel; Joseph; William; Josiah ; Uriah ;
474
HISTORY OF THE
Aholiab; Mary, m. Phineas Willard; Hannah, m. John Snow; Hephzibah, m. Increase Powers ; Thank- ful, m. Jonathan Fairbanks; Martha, m. Charles Wilder. His homestead was south of the present village of Bolton; their garrison assignment near the Centre was with John Moore, near Fryville; he had lands in other places ; had 100 acres on the west slope of "Gates hill," now "Sawyer hill," and 120 on the east slope; on these his s., Josiah, settled, but Josiah was not the first Sawyer on the hill; two William Sawyers were here in our early history, probably the father and bro. of Josiah, and also Aholiab, who lived on the west slope of Sawyer hill on land now of Henry H. Bliss; he rem. to Temple- ton about 1750.
Dea. Josiah Sawyer4, William3, Thomas2, Jr., Thomas', b. 1714, m. Sarah Fairbanks, dau. of Jabez Fairbanks of Bolton and granddau. of the famous Indian fighter and bro. of our Esquire Ephraim Fairbanks, who lived on Wheeler hill July 28, 1738; the Sawyer stock has ever constituted a large element in our population and in the church, all as to permanent residents descendants of Josiah ; he was an original member and first deacon of the church; was a Godly man; his old Bible and the stand on which it was daily opened with care, and other relics, are sacredly preserved, now in the hands of his great grands., Daniel H. Carter.
DEA. JOSIAH SAWYER'S LEAP.
The tradition in the Sawyer family of the remarkable leap of their ancestor here, Dea. Josiah Sawyer, is undoubtedly substantially true, and worthy of record.
475
TOWN OF BERLIN.
The story is that Dea. Josiah Sawyer had become the owner of a tract of land on Sawyer hill about 1735; was living in Bolton with his father, William, probably ; he was engaged in clearing up the land and making preparation for settlement. While returning home one evening on foot, as was his custom, in descending the hill just north of the Quaker Meeting-house, an Indian, in ambush by the wayside, sprang out with toma- hawk in hand. Sawyer, being unprepared with defensive weapons, took to his heels, with the Indian after him. He, by his agility, outran the savage and reached his home in safety. By measurement the next day, it was found that one of the leaps, as the footprints showed, was sixteen feet, the most extraordinary leap ever known in these parts.
Dea. Josiah had by his wife, Sarah, Josiah, b. Nov. 24. 1738, d. young; William, b. March 5, 1740 ; Hannah, b. June 25, 1743, m. - Curtis of Har- vard : Rebecca, b. Feb. 15, 1745, m. Wilder of Putney, Vt .; Sarah, b. Feb. 6, 1747, m. William Wilder of Putney, Vt .: Aholiab, b. 1749; Josiah, b. Nov. 8, 1752. Wife, Sarah, d. 1762; he m., 2d, Mary Tooker. The Tookers preceded the Chase family on "The Acre," now in Clinton. Had by wife, Mary, Levi, b. Nov. 10, 1764, d. young; Silas, b. July 5, 1766; Thomas, b. March 9, 1770, d. 1771. Josiah served as deacon from 1770 to 1799; he d. July 3, 1805, at 91 : wife, Mary, d. March 25, 1799, at 71.
William Sawyer, s. of Dea. Josiah, m. Hannah, dau. of Lieut. Oliver and Hannah (Hunt) Barrett of Bolton, Jan. 10, 1764; the Barrett family has ever been prominent in Bolton; he settled on a part of the old homestead of his father, the present farm of M. Reed Tyler, recently the estate of Madam Ruders-
476
HISTORY OF THE
doff, and known as "Lakeside." Had by Hannah, Abigail, b. May 5, 1765, m. Cotton Newton (see Newton); William, b. Feb. 6, 1767; Amos, b. March 17, 1769 : Mary, b. Feb. 8, 1771, m., Sept. 26, 1792, Rufus Howe, both of Berlin, s. of Joseph, of Gates' pond, res., Marlboro, Vt .; Oliver, b. April 17, 1774 ; Asa, b. Aug. 2, 1775, was in Jaffrey, N. H., 1803 to 1817; Uriah, b. May 24, 1778, m., Feb. 2, 1803, Sally Spofford, res., Jaffrey, N. H., and Ohio; Polly, b. 1780, m. Rufus Howe, he d. in Marlboro, Vt., she returned; Hannah, b. Jan. 6, 1781, m. Robert Fos- gate, res., Winchester, N. H., she d. there 1871, at 90 yrs .; Levi, b. 1784, d. young. He d. Feb. 28, 1822, at 80; she d. Feb. 8, 1830, at 88.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.