USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Canton > History of the town of Canton, Norfolk County, Massachusetts > Part 27
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Among the prominent men in Canton who held positions in the military, I find in 1741 the name of John Shepard as captain.
He was a resident of Stoughton before it was a township; and when it became incorporated, he received from his fellow- townsmen every office it was in their power to bestow. For seven years he was a member of the board of selectmen, and their chairman for four years. For nine years he was moder- ator of the annual town meeting; he was guardian of the Ponkapoag Indians and a justice of the peace, and until he entered military life was known as "Squire," - a title more
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
honored in his day than senator now. He rose by his own ability through the subordinate grades, and was appointed major in the militia. He commanded his regiment in 1746, and was encamped in the vicinity of Boston during the ad- ministration of Governor Shirley, when the French fleet, under D'Anville, was hovering on our coast.
" For this Admiral d'Anville Had sworn by cross and crown To ravage with fire and steel Our helpless Boston town."
In 1753 he was chosen to represent the town in the Great and General Court, but was expelled from the House at the June session. A committee from the General Court had vis- ited Ponkapoag and found upon the evidence of a number of the inhabitants that he had allowed his friends to cut wood on the Indians' land, and that for five years his accounts had been kept in "chalks and memory." Notwithstanding this, he was re-elected by his constituents as a rebuke to the House for its action the previous year, and as a testimonial of the confidence and respect his fellow-townsmen held in him.
The General Court without another investigation at once expelled him upon the report of the previous year, and passed the following resolve: -
Province of the Massachusetts Bay,
In the House of Representatives, November 15th, 1754.
Resolved, That Major John Shepard, of Stoughton, has so behaved in his breach of trust as guardian of the Puncapoag Indians, and in his mall conduct as a Justice of the Peace, that he is unworthy of a seat in this house, and that the clerk of this house be directed to erase his name out of ye roll, and that Mr. Speaker issue a precept to ye town of Stoughton for ye choice of a representative.
Major John Shepard married, May 18, 1721, Rebecca Fenno. In his latter years he became poor; and in the ninety-second year of his age, at the house of his son-in- law, Samuel Tucker, at York, on the 30th of August, 1781, he passed away, unknown to the generation among whom he moved, - a stranger in his own land.
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The Billings family figure quite prominently in our annals of military life. One of our early settlers, William, was an ensign in 1725, and afterward lieutenant. He resided west of the Dedham road, in an old house now demolished.
Another military man, Col. Roger Billings, also resided in the same old house. He was the son of " good old Stephen " and Elizabeth (Fenno) Billings, and was born March 15, 1730. He received one half of the estate of his uncle, "old Lieut William," dying Jan. 29, 1802. His son Jonathan was the last occupant of the house, and in his time it was allowed to decay. As a soldier in the Revolutionary War, he escaped the bullets of the British to die aboard ship on a home voy- age from Georgia, May 15, 1801. He was buried at sea; and it is said that as soon as his body touched the water, it was immediately devoured by a shark or some other sea-monster.
Capt. John Billings was the son of Joseph and Ruhami (Babcock) Billings, who together kept the "old Billings," afterward called the Blue Hill Tavern, in Milton. He was born May 29, 1722, and died Oct. 3, 1786. He was called "Capt. John the Elder," for he had a son John who was a lieutenant, and whose gravestone has the following peculiar inscription : -
" In memory of ye Ris Lieut John Billings Jr. who departed this life Oct. ye 224, 1782, in ye 38th year of his age."
We are also informed that -
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" His dust waits till the jubilee, Shall then shine brighter than the skies, Shall meet, and join to part no more His soul, that was glorified before Wives and children happy be With husbands parents such as he Present useful, absent wanted, Lived desired, and died lamented."
Another member of this family has the inscription : -
"In memory of ye Ris Lieut William Billings, who departed this life Feby ye 9th 1783 in ye 66th year of his age."
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
Isaac, the brother of Colonel Roger, was a captain. He was born July 14, 1745, and died Jan. 3, 1818. He at one time kept the ferry across the Neponset.
He married, Sept. 7, 1769, Mary McKendry ; and Isaac, a lieutenant in 1806 and a major in 1807, who died March 12, 1854, in the seventy-eighth year of his age, was his son. They both resided at Packeen.
In 1744 Charles Wentworth was a lieutenant in the Third Company of the Fourth Regiment, and was promoted to cap- tain in 1746, upon the promotion of John Shepard to the position of major. The same year Silas Crane was a lieuten- ant, and was promoted to captain in 1748. In 1757 the com- mand of the Canton company was in the hands of John Billings; and his lieutenants were Nathaniel May and Nathan- iel Leonard, the latter of whom was a lieutenant in 1752. In 1763 the captains were Consider Atherton, Ebenezer Tisdale, and Samuel Billings, Jr., none of whom resided in Canton ; but the next year Samuel Wentworth was the captain, John Withington, Jr., lieutenant, and Samuel Chandler ensign.
On Dec. 18, 1766, Benjamin Gill received his commission as lieutenant, and Ensign Blackman's commission was read. In 1771 Gill received his captaincy; John Davenport and Asahel Smith were commissioned his lieutenants. Passing the period of the Revolution, I find that the number of per- sons who were entitled to rank as gentlemen, having held commissions, had wonderfully increased. Among the offi- cers in 1781 were the following: colonels, Richard Gridley, Thomas Doty, Benjamin Gill; captains, Jedediah South- worth, who had been an ensign in 1775, Thomas Crane, who was a corporal in 1757 and a major before he died, James En- dicott, Abner Crane, Asahel Smith, and Isaiah Bussey, the latter of whom had been an ensign in 1775, Benjamin Bussey, John Tucker, John Billings, and Nathan Crane. The lieuten- ants in 1781 were Edward Downes, Elijah Wentworth, David Lyon, Benjamin Tucker, John Puffer, and Samuel Capen.
Nathan Crane was the son of Deacon Elihu and Eliza- beth (Houghton) Crane. He was born Nov. 27, 1748, and died Dec. 10, 1837. He lived on the homestead of his
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father on Green Street, and from the location of his residence was known as the Northern General, to distinguish him from Gen. Elijah Crane, who lived at South Canton. In politics they were as widely separated as were their residences. Na- than was a rabid Republican, while Elijah was a stanch Fed- eralist. Nathan married for his first wife, Feb. 13, 1772, Esther Damon; she died Nov. 24, 1807. He subsequently married the Widow Hannah (Withington) Howe. He had seen some service in the Revolutionary army, and was an active man in town affairs. I first find him as a captain in the Third Regiment in 1783; in 1792 lieutenant-colonel, in 1794 a colonel, and a brigadier-general in 1798. His son Nathan was adjutant in 1806.
In 1783 his regiment trained on June 10 at Savage's tavern in Sharon, on October 6 at Canton Corner, and on October 13 at Walpole. In 1787 it is stated that the regiment con- sisted of ten companies, and that four companies belonged to Stoughton. Much indignation was expressed by the Stough- ton officers that Ezra Badlam should have been elected colonel by the votes of the officers from Dorchester and Milton, with- out proper notification of the day of the election.
Deacon Stephen Badlam, who removed from Milton to Stoughton with Hannah his wife in 1748, had two sons,- named Stephen, born at Canton, 175 1, died Aug. 24, 1815 ; and Ezra, born May 25, 1745, died October, 1804. Left orphans at an early age, they had only the few advantages of education which district schools of those days afforded. At the break- ing out of the Revolution, Stephen joined the army, and soon after received a commission as second lieutenant of artillery, from which he was rapidly promoted to first lieutenant, and then to captain. He was ordered to join the army under the command of General Lee, in New York, who says of him, "Captain Badlam is a man of great merit in his way." While there, he formed the acquaintance of Alexander Hamilton, who appreciated his talents as an engineer. To Washington he was well known, and was highly esteemed by him. From New York, Stephen sailed for Canada, to take command of the artillery there, and was in time promoted to the rank of
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
major. From Canada he returned to Crown Point, and took possession of a fortified eminence on the Fourth of July, 1776, which he called Fort Independence, which name was afterward confirmed by General Gates. This ended his mili- tary career; being seized with a violent fever, he resigned his commission, and retired to private life.
Ezra Badlam also entered the service early. He was com- missioned as captain, June 22, 1775 ; and upon the recommen- dation of the Committee of Safety to the Provincial Congress, he took the place of John Wiley in the artillery. On August 4 following, he was attached to Gridley's regiment. In 1776 he was with Colonel Baldwin at Trenton and Princeton; and we have before us his return as captain in the Honorable Col. Richard Gridley's regiment. In August, 1777, he was commis- sioned as major for personal bravery displayed in a sortie from Fort Schuyler against the Indians. In September, 1777, he was at Albany, suffering from fever and ague, which he had contracted at the siege of Fort Stanwix. He speaks en- couragingly of the status of the army, commends their enthu- siasm, is rejoiced at their excellent spirits, and is glad that the confusion with which the army has been surrounded has passed away. In the momentary expectation of a general action, he expresses his belief that it will turn in favor of the Americans; and that in a few days, by the help of Almighty God, they will be able to give a very good account of General Burgoyne and his army. He says that the communications of the latter are cut off so that no more provisions can reach him. The Indians and Tories, he writes, begin to think we are too strong for the British army.
In speaking of the battle of Stillwater on the 19th of Octo- ber, he says, -
"We had sixty-four killed, two hundred and seventeen wounded, and thirty-seven missing. Deserters inform us that the enemy had one hundred and forty-four killed at the time, and forty-four have died since."
He complains bitterly of the high price of everything, and believes that before long the officers will be obliged to resign
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their commissions if the people who have the reins of gov- ernment in their hands do not speedily devise some more efficient way of paying the soldiers. On the 3d of February, 1780, he was captured by the British under Colonel Norton, at White Plains. Serving throughout the Revolution and Shays's Rebellion, he received, at the close of the former, the rank of brigadier-general by brevet.
Archibald McKendry, son of John, the first of the name in Canton, was born in 1756, and died April 7, 1806. He resided on the Turnpike, on the right-hand side as you drive to Stoughton from Ponkapoag, where the house is still standing. He was a captain, and was the father of Captain William of Ponkapoag, and of Colonel Benjamin. During the last decade of the century a squadron of cavalry was organized which was under the command of Capt. Elijah Crane. It figured at the Fourth of July celebration in 1789. During these years, I find the name of Jesse Davenport as adjutant. Soon after the beginning of the present century, I find Nathan Gill as major, and in May, 1802, lieutenant-colonel. Nathaniel Whiting was lieutenant in 1800, major in 1804, and lieutenant- colonel in 1807. In 1801 Amos Upham was ensign, and cap- tain in 1804. Michael Shaller was ensign in 1798, lieutenant in 1803; and in 1804 Samuel Leonard was ranked the same. A captain in 1809, he subsequently rose to be major. Adam Kinsley was captain in 1803, and Jonathan Upham in 1804. In 1806 Lemuel Bailey was ensign, in 1807 lieutenant, in 1809 captain, and in 1812 major of the Second Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division. In 1806 Thomas Dunbar was a lieu- tenant. In 1807 Benjamin McKendry was ensign; in 1808 lieutenant, in 181 I captain, and afterward colonel. His expe- rience was to be of service to his country at a later period.
James Endicott was a son of James Endicott who was a cap- tain in the War of the Revolution; his mother was Abigail Puffer. He was born in 1766, and was for many years a school- teacher. He first appeared in military life in 1789 ; the next year he received under the hand of John Hancock a commis- sion as lieutenant in a company belonging to the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, and rose to be captain. He married
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
in June, 1801, Betsey, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Strowbridge) Crane. He built the first brick house in Can- ton in 1807, was prominent in town affairs, and represented Canton in the General Court during the years 1832 and 1833. He died Feb. 22, 1834.
Lemuel Tucker, the oldest son of Capt. John and Rachel (Thompson) Tucker, appears as lieutenant in 1807, and cap- tain in 1809. In 1812 he was promoted to major. He lived at the Farms on the site of the house now occupied by Mr. Ellis Tucker. He died May 4, 1845, aged seventy.
In 1817 the chaplain of the regiment was the Rev. William Ritchie. John Tucker, 2d, was ensign in 1809, and captain in 1811. He died April 7, 1808, aged seventy-one years and nine months. In 1808 Isaac Horton was quartermaster, and in 1809 Samuel Chandler was lieutenant. In 1807 the town voted to detach a number of men from the company by order of the Governor, but they went out themselves; and in the same year the town voted to give five dollars to each officer and soldier that should uniform himself by the fall training. The train-band consisted of all able-bodied men between twenty-six and forty years of age, and only persons under sixty were on the alarm-list; all ministers, negroes, grammar- school teachers, and Indians were exempt from this call. The equipments of a soldier consisted of one good fire-arm, bayonet, and cartridge-box holding fifteen cartridges, six flints, one pound of powder, forty balls, haversack, blanket, and canteen.
Elijah Crane as brigade quartermaster, Second Brigade, First Division, presents a list of the military stores necessary to be provided by the town for the year 1810. From this list it appears that the law required that the town should have in stock sixty-four pounds of good gunpowder, one hundred pounds of musket-balls, one hundred and twenty-eight flints, and three copper, iron, or tin camp-kettles for every sixty- four soldiers enrolled.
There seem to have been two militia companies at this time in Canton, - one commanded by Capt. Nathaniel Hill, consisting of forty-six men, and one by Capt. Lemuel Bill- ings, consisting of sixty men.
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In 1818 Jesse Pierce was colonel of a regiment.
A low one story and a half red house, with a lean-to, stood near the house now occupied by E. B. Thorndike, who uses the old well. The land was purchased in 1731 from the sons of Joseph Tucker, and extending on to Frog Island, embraced that eminence known as Mount Enos. John Pierce, Jr., was the purchaser; and he, with Rebecca (Fenno) Pierce, were 'occupants until his death, March 9, 1774. She died March 13, 1783. In 1799 his heirs sold this property to Thomas Shepard, who was born Oct. 16, 1766, and died Jan. 1I, 1835. It was in this house, in 1842, that Ivory Dana committed sui- cide; and on June 8, 1844, it was burned.
Jesse Pierce, the son of John, was born in this house Aug. 25, 1751, and here he brought his bride, Catherine Smith, on the 7th of November, the same year. He re- moved with his parents to Stoughton in 1799, and resided there many years, where he was connected with town affairs, also keeping school. He removed to Dorchester, where he died Feb. 3, 1856. A son of his, Henry L. Pierce, has been Mayor of Boston and Representative to Congress, and for many years has occupied the Redman farm at Ponkapoag; another son, Edward L. Pierce, served his country in the war, has held offices of honor under the government, was the biographer of Charles Sumner, and the author of a trea- tise on Railroad Law.
On the retirement of Jesse Pierce, a meeting was held at Cobb's tavern, May 27, 1818, at which John Gay was elected colonel and James Blackman lieutenant-colonel. Charles Tucker was at this time captain of the Canton company; Elijah Crane and Abijah Tucker lieutenants. Col. John Gay received his commission as lieutenant, May 4, 1813, was pro- moted to captain, May 3, 1814, and major, June 9, 1817. Aside from his military position, he was quite prominent in town affairs. He was at one time on the school board, chair- man of the selectmen, Master in 1825 of Rising Star Lodge, often moderator of the town meetings, and represented the town in the General Court. He was the son of Lemuel and Abigail (Davenport) Gay, and was born in Canton, May 20,
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1792, attended the Milton Academy, and afterward taught the Blue Hill School. He kept a diary from the year 1818 to the time of his death, which occurred Feb. 9, 1851, to which I am indebted for the record of many important events and dates. His wife Susan, daughter of Solomon and Chloe (Gay), died Feb. 26, 1879, in her eighty-second year.
The lieutenant-colonel, James Blackman, who was com- missioned captain, July 29, 1815, was the son of George and Amy (Morse) Blackman, who were married Dec. 20, 1787, and on the Ist of November, 1788, there was born to them this son James. The house in which he first saw the light was situated between the Eagle Inn and the present residence of William Horton. It was a long, one-story, gambrel-roofed house, with its end to the street. It disappeared about 1825, and the present house of Mr. Horton was erected by Mr. James Blackman. In the shop, or end of the house toward the street, were made nearly all the coffins needed from 1804 to 1829, and a record which the colonel kept fixes ap- proximately many deaths the dates of which would other- wise have been lost. James Blackman removed in 1839 to. the West, where, says one who knew him, he lived for thirty- five years " a blameless, quiet, modest, and pure life, full of kindness and good-will to his fellow-men, without a spot upon his character." He died March 16, 1874.
In 1815 Luther Swan commanded a company of cavalry of the First Division, Second Brigade, that contained many Canton names.
In June, 1818, William Tucker was cornet, lieutenant in 1819, and subsequently captain.
From 1821 to 1823, Leonard Kinsley was captain of the Canton company in the Second Regiment, Second Brigade. He was the son of Adam and Sarah (Leonard) Kinsley. He died Oct. 12, 1840, aged seventy-seven years.
William McKendry was lieutenant in 1820, and captain in 1824. He was the son of Capt. Archibald and Sarah (Crane) McKendry. He died Dec. 30, 1876, aged over eighty. He was a carpenter by trade, and many of the buildings now standing in Canton were erected by him. He always resided
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at Ponkapoag. He received property from his uncle, Lieu- tenant William, who was in the war of the Revolution.
Charles Leonard, the son of Quaker Leonard, was a captain from 1815 to 1823. He erected a forge on the privilege where Reed's cutlery works now stand, and once manufactured arms for the United States government, receiving therefor at one time, $11,000. He left Canton in 1826 in poor circumstances.
July 8, 1822, Rev. Benjamin Huntoon was elected chaplain of the regiment, and again the following year. Mr. Edwin Wentworth says when on parade he rode a jet-black, high- stepping horse, "and sat him as well as any man I ever saw."
James Bent was adjutant from 1819 to 1824; Leonard Everett quartermaster in 1822; the same year Frederic W. Lincoln was paymaster, major Feb. 13, 1827, and his subse- quent rank of lieutenant-colonel was received when aide-de- camp to Gov. Emory Washburn in 1854 and 1855.
Simeon Tucker, Jr., was in 1822 " surgeon's mate,"-a po- sition which had been occupied by Dr. Jonathan Stone in 1812.
On March 25, 1822, was formed the " Crane Guards," - a military organization, so named in honor of Major-Gen. Elijah Crane. To show his appreciation of the honor, he determined to present them with a flag. On the 17th of October, 1823, the company were drawn up in front of his residence, and Miss Eliza Capen and Mrs. Harriet Drake assisted in the presentation. Mrs. Drake was the daughter of the general; she was born March 21, 1793, and died March 1, 1830. Her first marriage to Col. Bethuel Drake, major in 1815, and lieutenant-colonel in 1817, was announced in the " Boston Yankee," with the following additional lines, supposed to have been from the pen of Charles Leonard:
" Not birds of one peculiar feather In this new age shall wed together. The stately Crane and beauteous Drake, Each its own tribe seem to forsake; If mutual love incline their breast, They feather well their nuptial nest."
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After the death of Colonel Drake, which occurred Nov. 20, 1821, she married Elijah Atherton, Esq., of Stoughton Feb. 6, 1825.
The banner then presented is still in existence, and bears. on one side the coat of arms of Massachusetts, with the State motto; also the words, "By Arts and Arms we conquer," " God armeth the patriot," "Instituted Mar., 1822," "Crane's Guards." On the other side there is a picture of a church, with the Guards in uniform, consisting of a gray coat, white pantaloons, white cross-straps and belt, caps quite tall, with a spread eagle in front, and adorned with a long black feather. The banner also bore the words, "In defence of Liberty," "United we stand, divided we fall," "Presented by Maj .- Gen. Crane."
The following is a list of the Crane Guards, attached to the Second Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division of Massachusetts Militia, 1823: -
OFFICERS.
Elisha Crane, Captain ; Luke Shepard, Lieutenant ; Jep -. thah Crane, Ensign. - Non-commissioned officers : William Shaller, George May, Joseph Tucker, John Dickerman, Jr.,. Russell J. Leonard, James Durick, James White, Ezekiel. Dickerman.
PRIVATES.
Francis Andrew, Elijah Bailey, David P. Bazin, Jarvis Bil- lings, Franklin Bisbee, Ebenezer Burrill, Abner Crane, Silas. Crane, Jr., Isaac Copeland, John Davenport, James Endicott, 2d, Abel Farrington, Jr., Daniel Fuller, Isaiah Holmes, Jere- miah Kelly, Albert Kidder, Allen Kinsley, Thomas J. Knowles, Jonathan Leonard, Jr., William Mansfield, Nathaniel May, Nathan Packard, George Shepard, Willard Shepard, Francis W. Tucker, Josiah Upham, Edwin Wentworth, Larra Went- worth, Lewis Whiting.
James Durick, whose name appears as one of the non- commissioned officers above, was adopted by Mrs. Seth Strowbridge. Before the establishment of cotton factories.
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it was the custom to weave at home. Durick was early taught to weave, and was of great assistance to Mrs. Strow- bridge in running her loom. He learned the art thoroughly, and when cotton factories were started, his services were in great demand to instruct operatives. He was successful in after-life, became a man of wealth, and was at one time Mayor of Buffalo.
Some of the officers of the Crane Guards profited by the experience they obtained, and subsequently became distin- guished in the militia. Elisha Crane had been a lieutenant in the militia in 1818, and was promoted to captain in 1821. His company was disbanded in February, 1822, when he joined the Crane Guards and was elected their first com- mander. He was the son of Elijah and Sarah (Houghton) Crane, and was born in the same gambrel-roofed house still standing at Ponkapoag, in 1798, and died on the 6th of May, 1839. He received his commission as captain, March 25, 1822, and was discharged in 1824.
Luke Shepard first appears in military life as sergeant in the Second Regiment, Second Brigade, Sept. 11, 1818. He was promoted to ensign, June 13, 1821, and lieutenant, Dec. 13, 1822. In 1824, on the. 24th of May, promoted to captain, on December 13 to major, and about a year afterward, Dec. 26, 1825, to lieutenant-colonel, he was hon- orably discharged April 20, 1827, and was succeeded by Harvey Nash, who appears to have risen from ensign in 1826 to the colonelcy in 1827. Luke was the son of Thomas, who bought the Pierce house in 1799; the former purchased land of Nathaniel Wentworth, and erected the house in which he lived in 1823. He died July 10, 1873, aged seventy-six years. Jepthah Crane was a lieutenant in 1824, commissioned a captain, April 5, 1825, and became major, Dec. 18, 1825, colonel in May, 1827. He was the son of Luther and Angelet (Pierce) Crane, and was born Aug. 4, 1794; he married, June, 10, 1824, Clara (Crane), and died Feb. 17, 1852.
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