USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Canton > History of the town of Canton, Norfolk County, Massachusetts > Part 15
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The following is the petition of the Danforth brothers:
Feb. 1, 1716.
We also humbly petition the Town of Dorchester for the stream and privileges mentioned on the other side of this paper, hereby
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EARLY MILLS.
firmly obliging ourselves and engaging to the town to perform and fulfil the conditions, there also mentioned, of setting up a good, sub- stantial corn mill there.
The petition was at once granted by the town; and the land and river at Pacomit, as the place was called in the record, was laid out and confirmed to the Danforths. The place selected for this first grist-mill was at the extreme southern boundary of the Ponkapoag Plantation, and was the site after- ward used for the government powder-mill, now occupied by the Revere Copper Company.
On the IIth of April, 1717, William Ahauton, Indian preacher, in connection with Squamaug, Momentang, Quok, Mary Pomham, and others, in behalf of all the Indians in the township of Dorchester, and in consideration of £40, paid by Elijah Danforth and his brother Samuel, and in consid- eration of " leave given us by the Governor, the Lieutenant- Governor, and the Honorable Commissioners of the Indians, do give and sell all our interest in the river running from Mr. Joseph Tucker's saw-mill downward to the meadows, and the soil and stones which the said water runs upon." The land was then directly opposite the land of Mr. Samuel Jones in the "Twelve Divisions," and contained about forty acres. The town of Dorchester ordered a road to be laid out in 1717 on the south side of Massapoag Brook, running from what is now Washington Street to the Revere Company's dam, at a dis- tance of four rods from the river, and authorized the Dan- forths to join their mill-dams over the river to any part of the highway. It is not probable that this mill was a financial success, for in ten years we find the Danforths gone, and the property, with the dwelling-house and grist-mill, in the hands of Ebenezer Maudsley (Mosely), who conveyed it to Philip Goodwin.
For a hundred years after its settlement in 1620 Massa- chusetts was the chief seat of the iron manufacture on this continent. The places where the iron was melted were called bloomeries, and their owners or workmen bloomers. The bog, or swamp, ores were the only kinds obtainable. The
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
vicinity of Canton was abundantly supplied with this ore, and so valuable was it considered that when land was sold, in some instances rights to dig iron ore were reserved; or in case iron ore should be subsequently discovered, then the sale was to be invalid.
The Neponset Cotton Factory -a large stone building, erected in 1824-is easily seen from the viaduct of the Bos- ton and Providence Railroad in Canton. It occupies the last water privilege on the easterly branch of the Neponset River. In 1717 the privilege now occupied by this corporation was selected by a company of gentlemen as a suitable place whereon to erect a mill for the smelting of iron ore. It consisted of Edmund Quincy, of Braintree, John White, of Boston, Standfast Foster, Samuel Paul, Thomas Tileston, Ebenezer Maudsley (Mosely), Ebenezer Jones, Timothy Jones, and Robert Royall. From the ninth lot in the "Twelve Di- visions," originally laid out by the town of Dorchester, they purchased two acres of land; and here, in connection with Timothy Jones, the owner of the property, they built a dam and erected buildings suitable for smelting iron ore. These works were the first in Dorchester and were continued for some time; but the cost of procuring iron in this manner was so great that the business was discontinued, the build- ings unused, and finally demolished.
The policy of the mother country had always been opposed to the manufacture of iron in the colonies; and the law passed in 1750 prohibiting the erection or continuance of any mill for slitting or rolling iron, or any furnace for making steel, under a penalty of £200, was one of the grievances which resulted, a few years later, in the Revolution.
Kent, Suffolk, Dorset, and Warwickshire in England each has a river Stour. Like other ancient Saxon names, the original meaning of Stour has faded away; and its etymology is by no means easily ascertainable. The suffix ton originally meant an enclosure, a homestead, or a farm; and in Scotland at the present day, a solitary homestead, as well as a hamlet, goes by the name of a toun. If the ton, or enclosure, was situated on a hill, it was called Hilton; if it was noted for its
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INCORPORATION OF STOUGHTON.
production of apples, Appleton; if it was a good place for a hunt, Hunton; if it was situated by the water, Waterton; if on the river Linn, Lynton; if on the river Stour, Stourton. We may therefore by the termination ton distinguish the Saxon origin of a name or place. These places gave sur- names to families; and the English family of Stoughton, with a slight orthographical change, derived their name from the town on the Stour.
The town of Stoughton was incorporated by an Act of the General Court, passed on the 22d of December, 1726, one hundred and six years after the landing on Plymouth Rock. It was named in honor of Lieut .- Gov. William Stoughton, son of Col. Israel Stoughton, who in his lifetime owned many acres of land in Dorchester, and who during the Pequot War was com- mander-in-chief of the colonial forces, and subsequently in England was a lieutenant-colonel in the parliamentary army.
William was born at Dorchester in 1631. After graduating at Harvard, he went to England and became a Fellow of New College, Oxford, and received the degree of Master of Arts. He pursued the study of divinity, and preached with great acceptance, both in England, and on his return in his native land. Not desiring a settlement in the ministry, he interested himself in public affairs. In 1676 he went to England a sec- ond time, in obedience to a requisition from King Charles, as an agent for the colonies, to give answer to the vari- ous complaints which had been brought against them. On May 12, 1686, he was appointed governor, but refused to serve. Soon afterward he was appointed deputy president of the colony ; and in the July following he was placed at the head of the courts of the colony, which office he held until he became a member of the council of Sir Edmund Andros. In 1692, on the arrival of the charter of William and Mary, he was appointed lieutenant-governor, which office he held until his death, and by virtue of which he assumed the duties of governor upon the departure of Sir William Phipps for England in 1694. He received his appointment as Chief- Justice of the Superior Court, Dec. 22, 1692, and was ap- pointed Chief-Justice of a special Court of Oyer and Ter-
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
miner, constituted to conduct the trial of persons charged with witchcraft. He died unconvinced of the erroneous decisions he made at that time. Aside from this he was, says an old account, "a person of eminent qualifications, honorable extract, liberal education, and singular piety." He was liberal with voice and pen in the cause of education. His gift of land to Dorchester for school purposes, the town farm in Milton, and Stoughton Hall at Harvard College re- main as memorials of his liberality. He died at Dorchester on the 7th of July, 1701.
Whom have we lost? STOUGHTON ! Alas ! I have said sufficient. Tears press. I keep silent.
The Act incorporating the South Precinct of Dorchester, with the exception of that portion which had been previously set off to Wrentham, as a new town, was signed by the Lieutenant-Governor, William Dummer, the office of gov- ernor being vacant, and became a law on the 22d day of December, 1726.
"At a Great and General Court or Assembly for his Majesties Province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England, begun and held at Boston on Wednesday, the 25th day of May, A. D. 1726, and con- tinued by several Prorogations unto Wednesday, the 23d day of November following, and then met.
" An Act for Dividing the Town of Dorchester, and Erecting a New Town there by the name of Stoughton.
" WHEREAS the Town of Dorchester, within the County of Suffolk, is of great Extent in Length; and lies Commodious for Two Town- ships, and the South Precinct with the Land beyond it within the Bounds of Dorchester are competently filled with Inhabitants, who have made their Application to the said Town, and also Addressed this Court that the said Lands may be made a distinct and separate Township :
" Be it therefore Enacted by the Lieutenant Governour, Council, and Representatives in General Court Assembled, and by the Author-
-
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INCORPORATION OF STOUGHTON.
ity of the same, That all that Part of Dorchester lying to the South- ward of the Dividing Line betwixt the North and South Precinct, together with the Lands beyond the said South Precinct in Dor- chester, be and hereby are set off and constituted a separate Town- ship, by the name of Stoughton; And that the Inhabitants of the said Lands as before described, excepting those Families already set off and added to the Town of Wrentham, be and hereby are Vested with the Powers, Privileges, and Immunities that the Inhabitants of other Towns within this Province by Law are or ought to be Vested with : And that the Inhabitants of the said Town of Stoughton shall have their proportional Part of the Income of the School Lands lying within the same; viz : In Proportion to their Part of the Province Tax for this present Year.
" Provided, That the Inhabitants of the said Town of Stoughton do, within the space of Twelve Months from the Publication of this Act, procure and settle a Learned, orthodox Minister of good Con- versation, and make Provision for his comfortable and honourable Support, and likewise provide a School-Master to Instruct their Youth in Writing and Reading ; And that the said Inhabitants pay their respective Proportions of all Province Taxes and Town Taxes, that are already Levyed or Assessed upon the Inhabitants of Dorchester, for Charges hereto arisen within the said Town.
" And further, It is to be Understood That the Proprietors of any Common and Undivided Lands in the said Townships of Dorchester and Stoughton, are to Hold and Enjoy their respective Rights and Properties in such Lands, as if the said Township had not been made, Any Law, Usage, or Custom to the contrary notwithstanding."
The day after the Act incorporating the town of Stoughton was signed, Nathaniel Hubbard, commonly called Squire Hubbard, was directed to call together the inhabitants of the new town; and in conformity thereunto, on the 26th of December he issued his warrant, directed to Samuel Hart- well, one of the constables of the town of Dorchester, whose residence was in the newly incorporated town, requiring him to warn the voters to assemble at the meeting-house to choose suitable officers for the new town. The original war- rant, signed in a bold and elegant hand, is before me as I write; and on the back of the instrument is Samuel Hart- well's return, with his autograph.
1
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
SUFFOLK, SS.
L. S. To Samuel Hartwell, of Stoughton, in the County of Suffolk, yeoman, one of the Constables in the South part of Dorchester, now made Stoughton, GREETING :
In pursuance of an order of the Great and General Court im- powering and directing me, the subscriber, to summon the inhabitants of said town of Stoughton to meet and assemble for the choosing of town officers to stand until the next annual election, according to law, these are in His Majesties name to require you immediately to summons and give notice to the inhabitants of Stoughton afore- said, qualified for voters, to assemble at the public meeting house in said town, on Monday, the second day of January next, at eleven of the clock of the forenoon, then and there to choose town officers according to the aforesaid order of Court.
Hereof fail not, and make return hereof, and of your doings herein unto myself, at or before the said second day of January. Dated at Stoughton aforesaid, the twenty-sixth day of December, in the thir- teenth year of His Majesties reign, ANNOQUE DOMINI 1726.
NATHANIEL HUBBARD.
SUFFOLK, SS.
STOUGHTON, Dec. 31, 1726.
By virtue of this warrant I have warned the inhabitants of the town of Stoughton to meet according to time and place within mentioned. SAMUEL HARTWELL.
At the beginning of the new year, on the 2d day of Jan- uary, 1727, in obedience to this call, the legal voters as- sembled at the meeting-house, and organized their first town meeting. The following officers were chosen: -
Nathaniel Hubbard, Esq., was elected moderator. Joseph Tucker was elected town clerk. Nathaniel Hubbard, Esq., Joseph Hewins, Joseph Tucker, William Crane, and George Talbot, selectmen and assessors. Philip Liscom, constable for the north part of the town. John Hixson, constable for the south part of the town. Surveyors of highways, John Shepard, John Withington, Ephraim Payson, Samuel Bul- lard. Tithing-men, Isaac Stearns, Benjamin Esty. Fence- viewers, John Fenno, Benjamin Esty. Town treasurer, Joseph Tucker. Sealer of leather, William Crane. Hog-
r
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INCORPORATION OF STOUGHTON.
reeves, Obadiah Hawes and John Kenney. Field-drivers, Bezaleel Billings and Ebenezer Healy.
As soon as the officers were chosen, it was the custom for the town clerk to issue an order to one of the constables of the town, requiring him to summon the persons elected to the various offices to appear before one of his Majesty's justices of the peace for the county of Suffolk, within six days, to be sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of their respective offices.
The first duty of the selectmen, who were also assessors, was to make a tax list. This of course was done in 1727, and was the first tax assessed in Stoughton.1 The list was divided into two parts, - one embracing the taxable inhabit- ants living in the north part of the town, or that part now the town of Canton, and the other taking in those residing in the south part of the town, now Sharon.
1 See Appendix XXIII.
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
CHAPTER XI.
SECOND MINISTER.
D URING the latter half of the seventeenth century, a Scotchman by the name of John Dunbar, having met with misfortunes in business, resolved to leave the land of his ancestors and the place of his birth, and seek another country, where he hoped to re-establish his shattered for- tunes, and better his worldly condition.
He sailed for one of the West India Islands, but soon after his arrival, becoming disgusted by the impiety, and shocked by the immorality, of the natives, resolved to embark for New England. On arriving here, he found among the denizens of the town of Boston that reverence for God and respect for the ordinances of Christianity which he had sought in vain in sunnier climes. The customs and habits of the people re- minded him of "bonnie Scotland," and he was charmed with the honest and upright life of the people with whom he came in contact; but there was another influence, far more potent, that held him to these shores. He became enamoured of a young lady soon after his arrival, Miss Margaret Holmes by name, who resided in Dedham. The intimacy continued, and soon ripened into marriage. On the 2d of October, 1704, in the town of Boston, a child was born to them; he was christened by the good old Scripture name of Samuel. But the little boy was destined to grow up without the care and protection of his father, who, dying when the boy was four years of age, left to the mother the sole charge of the child. Thus, early in life, Samuel Dunbar became dependent solely upon the industry and exertions of his mother. He soon, however, attracted the attention of the Rev. Cotton Mather, one of the most learned and distinguished ministers, and the
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SECOND MINISTER.
most voluminous author of his time. Mather was then pas- tor of the North Church in Boston; and fortunate indeed was young Dunbar to obtain the patronage of so scholarly a man. True, he imbibed many of the austerities and popular fanati- cisms of the day, along with the store of knowledge which was imparted to him by the eminent divine. To one famil- iar with the history of the witchcraft delusion and the promi- nent part which Mather played in it, it is unnecessary to say that, educated under a man holding to the strict doctrines of a severe faith, it is no wonder that the pupil, in after life, should have been somewhat distinguished for arbitrary and dogmatic inclinations. We must remember that the early ministers who were potential in influencing the minds of younger ones had the sternness and devotion, but not the gentleness and forbearance, of the Christian of to-day. Could gentleness, grace, forbearance, and forgiveness have been added to their undeviating regard for principle, they would have manifested the highest type of Christianity.
Mr. Dunbar entered the Boston Latin School at an early age, and afterward Harvard College, and graduated in 1723. Immediately afterward he accepted the position of usher in the Latin School, at the same time prosecuting the study of divinity. In due course of time he completed his studies, and received a call to settle over the church of Christ in Stoughton.
The following members of the church extended the call to Mr. Dunbar : -
Nathaniel Airs, Edward Bailey, Benjamin Blackman, Wil- liam Crane, Samuel Chandler, John Dickerman, Joseph Esty, Benjamin Esty, Nathaniel Etheridge, Benjamin Gill, Samuel Hartwell, Joseph Hewins, Elhanan Lyon, Peter Lyon, Joseph Morse, Joshua Pomeroy, Robert Pelton, Isaac Stearns, Thomas Spurr, Richard Smith, David Stone, Joseph Tucker, Joseph Topliff, Thomas Tolman, George Talbot, David Tilden, John Wentworth, John Withington, William Wheeler.
The decision of the church was ratified and concurred in by the town at a meeting held on the 3d of August, 1727;
12
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
and the town voted to give Mr. Dunbar £100 in salary annu- ally, and £200 in gratuity, if Mr. Dunbar would consent to become the minister. The town also chose as a committee to agree upon terms with Mr. Dunbar, Isaac Stearns, Samuel Bullard, Joseph Tucker, John Vose, Peter Lyon, Jr., and John Wentworth.
The following is the letter of acceptance written by Mr. Dunbar, recorded upon the town's books, the original of which is still extant. The letter bears date, Sept. 23, 1727:
GENTLEMEN, - Whereas it has pleased the Holy God, in whose hands are the hearts of all men, so to incline your hearts and affec- tions to me and my preaching as that, in a meeting called in order to choose a pastor to watch for your souls, there was a very great and delightful unanimity in electing myself, - the youngest, the meanest, and most unworthy of all, -I would, in the first place, give all the glory to God (Not unto me, oh Lord ! but to thy name be the glory) ; and then would render thanks, and all suitable gratitude to you, who have elected me. It being a case of such great weight and concern, I, unwilling to trust to my own judgment or inclination, have, after earnest prayer to God for directions, applied myself to several, both ministers and others, for their advice, as knowing that in a mul- titude of counsel there is safety. The advice that has been given me is to accept of your call, provided you will come unto these conditions : In general, that you will afford me a comfortable maintenance, that I may live as a minister of Christ ought to live. In particular, that besides the £200 which you give me as a settlement, you procure some parsonage lands fit for the production of hay and corn. That besides the £100 you have offered me as a yearly salary, you will promise to find me my firewood from year to year, and bring it to my house. That if God should increase me in a family, and this should prove too little and narrow, you will make such additions as shall sup- port me comfortably, so that I may not be taken off from my studdys and my ministerial labors, through necessary distressing cares. That you will promise to afford me this maintenance if I should be carried off from my work by the Providence of God, either through sickness, or, if God should spare and prolong my life, through the infirmities of old age. If you will comply with these terms - which to me seem reasonable - and will oblige yourselves to fulfil them, I now declare to you, in the presence of the Great and Glorious God, who keepeth covenant, and his Holy angels, who are doubly concerned spectators
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SECOND MINISTER.
in such weighty transactions, that I here accept of your call, and am willing to settle among you as your minister ; and promise, by the Divine help, to carry towards you as becomes a minister of Christ, and as my duty is pointed and explained to me in the Sacred Writ- ings. I promise to take pains in my study ; to prepare my sermons, that you may have the beaten oil of sanctuary ; carefully and faithfully to watch for your souls ; to give the best advice to you I can ; to ad- minister comfort to the disconsolate, and reproof to the prophane ; to administer the seals of the Covenant, the sacraments to you, and the censures of the Church even, if there should be occasion, which I pray God there may not be. Further, I promise to continue your minister till Death, unless some unforeseen Providence should fall out, which will make my duty to leave you.
SAM'L DUNBAR.
At the town meeting held on Oct. 9, 1727, the above letter was read, and the town voted to " come in to" Mr. Dunbar's proposals. The expenses of the council of the five churches were also ordered to be defrayed by the town. On the 15th of November following, Mr. Dunbar was ordained. The services were attended by a large concourse of people. The order of exercises consisted of an introductory prayer by the Rev. Samuel Dexter, of Dedham; the Rev. Peter Thacher, of Milton, gave the charge; and Rev. Joshua Gee, pastor of the Second Church in Boston, presented the right hand of fellowship.
Mr. Dunbar preached his own ordination sermon, as had been the custom since the days of John Cotton. His text was taken from the First of Timothy, third chapter, first verse: "This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." Mr. Dunbar's first year was passed with much satisfaction to himself and to his people; and at the end of the year he says: " I would bless God, who has carried me through one year so comfortably, and has given me such success in my labors and ministry." During the year fourteen persons owned the covenant, sixty- nine were baptized, eleven were married, and nineteen funerals were attended; and it was not necessary to excommunicate any member of the church, nor did any fall under its censure.
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
The second year one person owned the covenant, thirty were added to the church, and thirty-four were baptized.
In 1731 the till of the church suffered from some undis- covered cause. At one time, thirty shillings were taken from the deacon who had charge of the money, and at an- other time, forty-five shillings. The church therefore called a meeting to raise money to replenish the exchequer, in order to purchase the elements for the holy sacrament. The church voted "to acquit" the deacon of the forty-five shillings, but would not " acquit" him of the thirty. The church further agreed to "acquit " him from the duty of keeping the church money any longer. It was further considered inexpedient to allow the deacons any "pension " for going to Boston to pro- cure the elements, and it was thought wise that none of the congregation should be present at any private church meeting.
A curious custom seems to have prevailed at this time. It was voted that the bottles which were used to bring up the wine, and which were the property of the church, might with propriety be loaned to those having in charge the funeral of a church-member or any of his family, the borrower to be responsible for their safety, and to return them sound and clean.
On the 4th of August, 1734, the church voted to send delegates to a council to be held at Salem. A collection was taken to defray the expenses. It amounted to £3 3s .; and Mr. Dunbar remarks that the church "was not spirited to do as so large and numerous a church might do," and he resolves to try it again, but with no better success; and the entry this time is "a poor, niggardly collection." The result of this council at Salem, which we may say, in passing, created quite an excitement at the time, was accepted by the church in Stoughton; and they pronounced sentence of " non-communion with that obstinate and impertinent church, even the First Church in Salem."
On Dec. 28, 1735, Mr. Dunbar read a proclamation, on the matter of an unusual and malignant distemper in many towns of the province, which was likely to spread through the land.
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SECOND MINISTER.
This year it was voted "that this church be a professed Con- gregational church."
On Sept. 10, 1738, the town voted that a committee of five men be chosen to treat with Mr. Dunbar, and obtain from him a statement of what he thought would be a sufficient maintenance for him yearly, in time to come, without further demands. The committee waited upon Mr. Dunbar, who in reply wrote them the following letter, the original of which is in my possession : --
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