USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > History of the town of Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts : from its earliest settlement to 1832; and of the adjoining towns, Bedford, Acton, Lincoln, and Carlisle; containing various notices of county and state history not before published. > Part 26
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > History of the town of Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts : from its earliest settlement to 1832 : and of the adjoining towns, Bedford, Acton, Lincoln, and Carlisle > Part 26
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After Mr. Sherman's dismission several meetings were held to agree on the terms of communion. April 4, 1768, it was voted, " that this church will have but one covenant, and therefore require the same qualifications in all ; yet if any person can desire to enter into covenant and receive baptism for himself or children, and yet fears to approach the Lord's table at present, he shall be received, he promising, (though he come not immediately to the Lord's table) that he will submit himself to the watch and discipline of this church." The other regulations of the church, though revised, were not materially varied from those already noticed. During the interval till the ordination of Mr. Sher- man's successor, 28 persons were baptized, and 7 joined the church in full communion.
On the 7th of September, 1767, the church chose the Rev. Josiah Thacher, a graduate of Nassau Hall in 1760, to be their minister, and the town agreed to give him £120 settlement, and £60 as his annual salary. But before the application could be regularly made to him, he received and accepted a call at Gorham.
February 18, 1768, the church made a second attempt to settle a minister, and chose unanimously (by 22 votes) the Rev. Joseph Willard. The town concurred, and voted the same salary as to Mr. Thacher, excepting that when he should be unable to supply the pulpit, he was to receive but £30. Before the terms of his settlement were finally agreed upon, he declined being considered a candidate.1
In the next attempt the church did not proceed with much harmony. A majority were in favor of Mr. John Emerson of
1 The Rev. Joseph Willard was a native of Grafton, was graduated at Harvard College in 1765, ordained at Mendon, April 19, 1769, dismissed December 14, 1782, and installed at Boxborough, November 2, 1785. He died in September, 1828, aged 86.
267
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
Malden, but " for peace sake," Mr. Asa Dunbar, " a young can- didate newly begun to preach," was employed for a month. At length, August 22, 1769, the church chose Mr. Emerson by 18 votes, and the town concurred, and voted him £133 settle- ment, and £66 13s. 4d. salary. "But there was such an opposition in the town against Mr. Emerson settling here (though without any charge against his character either in doctrine or morals), that he was constrained to give the church and town a denial."
The next trial succeeded. Mr. Joseph Penniman was chosen, January 15, 1771, by 29 out of 31 votes, and the choice con- curred in by the town. His salary was the same as was voted to Mr. Emerson. He was ordained May 22, 1771. The council consisted of the second church in Braintree, the second in Cambridge, the first in Woburn, and the churches in Billerica, Lincoln, Lexington, and Concord. The Rev. Mr. Sherman of Woburn made the first prayer ; the Rev. Mr. Weld of Braintree preached from 2 Tim. ii. 2; the Rev. Mr. Cook of West Cam- bridge gave the charge ; the Rev. Mr. Clark of Lexington made the last prayer ; and the Rev. Mr. Lawrence gave the right hand of fellowship. The town voted, " that the day should be re- ligiously observed agreeably to the solemnity of the occasion, that they were determined, as much as in them lay, to prevent all levity, profaneness, music, dancing, frolicking, and all other dis- orders."
After about twenty years, during which 42 persons were ad- mitted to full communion, and 190 baptized, objections were brought against Mr. Penniman, and referred to a council, consist- ing of the churches in Waltham, Chelsea, East Sudbury, Billerica, Weston, and Charlestown. It met October 29, 1793, and, after three days' session, advised a separation. This was complied with by the church and town ; and he was dismissed November 1, 1793.
The Rev. Joseph Penniman was born in Braintree, and gradu- ated at Harvard College in 1765. After his dismission he re- moved to Harvard, where he died. Though possessed of respect- able talents, he was very eccentric in his manners and public per- formances. His prayers were more like a familiar conversation with a fellow being than an address to Deity. Many of his ex-
268
HISTORY OF BEDFORD.
pressions, more marked than the following, are still recollected by lis people. On a certain occasion, when a plentiful rain had come after a drought, he said, "We prayed, O Lord, for rain, but we do not wish thou shouldest leave the bottles of heaven un- stopped." Soon after the 19th of April, 1775, he is said to have used the expression, -" We pray thee to send the British soldiers where they will do some good ; for thou knowest, O Lord, that we have no use for them about here ! "
December 5, 1793, was kept as a fast by the church and town. The Rev. Messrs. Litchfield, Cummings, Ripley, Marrett, and Clark assisted in the public religious services on the occasion. The Rev. Samuel Stearns was chosen December 17, 1795, by the church, and December 28th by the town ; having preached his first sermon in Bedford the 13th of the previous September. He was ordained April 27, 1796. The churches in Lexington, Billerica, second in Woburn, Concord, Lincoln, Carlisle, second in Andover, Epping, Chelmsford, and the Rev. Drs. Willard and Tappan of Cambridge, composed the council. The Rev. Mr. Stearns of Lincoln made the first prayer ; the Rev. Mr. French of Andover preached from Isaiah xlix. 5; the Rev. Mr. Marrett of Woburn made the ordaining prayer ; the Rev. Mr. Clark of Lexington gave the charge ; the Rev. Mr. Cummings of Billerica gave the right hand of fellowship ; and the Rev. Dr. Tappan made the closing prayer. The town agreed to give the Rev. Mr. Stearns $850 settlement, and $333-33 salary to be stated on the following articles : - corn 666 mills, and rye 833 mills per bushel ; beef $4.166 per hundred weight, and pork 55 mills per pound ; one quarter of the salary in each of the above articles. In 1811 a new contract was made, and the salary fixed at $560 and 20 cords of wood annually.
The confession of faith and the covenant were revised in 1798, and printed in 1821. The church then contained 105 members, of whom 40 were males and 65 females. In 1829 there were 140.
The Rev. Samuel Stearns, son of the Rev. Josiah Stearns, was born at Epping, New Hampshire, April 8, 1770, and gradu- ated at Harvard College in 1794. His ministry has generally been remarkably peaceful and happy. It is only within the last two years that the town gave any decided indications towards a
269
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
division of the religious society, after the example of many of her neighbours. In 1832 this division was made, and a new meeting house erected for Mr. Stearns.
SUCCESSION OF THE DEACONS.
Names.
Time of Birth.
Election.
Death.
Age.
Israel Putnam,
Aug. 4, 1730.
Nov. 12, 1760.
62
Nathaniel Merriam, Dec. 10, 1672.
Aug. 4, 1730.
Dec. 11, 1738.
66
Job Lane,
June 20, 1689.
Feb. 11, 1739.
Aug. 9, 1762.
74
Benjamin Bacon,
Dec. 6. 1713.
Feb. 19, 1759.
Oct. 1, 1791.
78
Stephen Davis,
Nov. 6, 1715.
Dec. 29, 1760.
July 22, 1787.
72
James Wright,
born in Woburn. Sept. 1, 1785.
Dec. 24, 1818.
73
William Merriam,
May 16, 1796.
removed from office.
Moses Fitch,
March 3, 1775. June 10, 1805.
Oct. 12, 1825.
71
Michael Crosby,
born in Billerica. July 15, 1817.
Zebedee Simonds, born in Woburn. Jan. 1826.
Sept. 20, 1826.
40
Amos Hartwell,
Nov. 21, 1826.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
Bedford is not very well situated for an agricultural town. About half of it is meadow land, unimproved and partly incapable of improvement. It contains, however, several very good farms, and nearly all the varieties of soil. Among the peculiarities of its geology is found a substance which has been used for painting, resembling yellow ochre, and commonly known as Bedford Yel- low. It has not, however, been much used of late years. Lead has been found here.
The Shawsheen is the only considerable stream of water. It rises in Lincoln, and runs through Bedford in a northerly direction, receiving Elm Brook, which arises in Concord, Farley Brook, which arises in Lexington, and another which arises in Burling- ton. On the Shawsheen is a mill which was built before Philip's war in 1676, and was then owned by Michael Bacon, who was allowed to have two garrison soldiers stationed there for his safety.
Bedford is bounded westerly by Concord River, which sepa- rates it from Concord and Carlisle ; southerly by Lincoln and Lexington ; easterly by Lexington and Burlington ; and northerly by Billerica. The lines are very irregular, and contain many angles.
270
HISTORY OF BEDFORD.
In 1765 it contained 67 houses, 72 families, and 457 inhabi- tants, of whom 201 were males, 240 females, and 16 negroes. In 1800 it contained 538 inhabitants ; in 1810, 592 ; in 1820, 648 ; and in 1830, 685.
The town contained in 1831, according to the return of the assessors, 8,593 acres of land. There were then 194 polls, 20 of whom were not taxed, 101 dwelling-houses, 3 shops adjoining, 16 other shops, 101 barns, 51 out-buildings, 295 acres of tillage land, 374 English mowing, 1405 fresh meadow, 2228 pasture, 784 wood land, 2,375 unimproved. There were raised 5,025 bushels of corn, 308 of rye, 50 of oats, 20 of barley, 364 tons of English hay, 689 of meadow ; 486 cows.
Appropriations made by the Town at different Periods.
1740 1750 1760 1770 1780 1790 1800 1810 1820 1830 £10 £20 -
Schools
£20 -
£40 $300 $400 $400 $300
Incidental
65
12
31 100 1000
- 300
300 500 900
Highways
60
15
30 20 1000
50 467
800 500 652
Price of Labor
6s. 2s. 4d. 2s.
2s. £4 10s. 3s.
1
1
1 1
The Page Fund, for the support of the gospel ministry and sacred music, was constituted as follows : Anna Page, widow of Thomas Page, gave $663.93, William Page, $500, and Samuel Hartwell, $300. It is to be increased by adding one sixth of the income to the principal annually, and now amounts to upwards of $1,700.
Schools. - The first school was opened in 1733, and £5, equal to about 3 dollars, granted for its support. A committee was chosen the next year to hire a master to " settle a moving school." For several years one school only was kept, sometimes in the centre and sometimes in different parts of the town. A school-house was first built in 1743. In 1744 a part of the money was divided into four quarters, to be expended for the use of schools by " school dames." In 1758 a writing-school was kept four months in the centre of the town, and " a woman's teaching school six months in the quarters of the town; " in 1781 three months' writing-school in the middle of the town, and six weeks' women's school in each of the quarters. In 1790 the town voted to hire a master four months, and should " he have a very full school, he shall principally attend to those who write and cypher." In 1792 the town was divided into five districts,
271
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
Centre, East, West, North, and South, and in 1799 a school-house was erected in each district. In 1818 the town voted, that the money raised for the support of schools should be divided as fol- lows. In proportion to $7,307, the Centre district shall draw $1,640, the East $1,550, the North $1,420, the South $1,400, and the West $1,297. This method has since been continued.
A building for a town-house and Centre school-house was erected in 1828 at an expense of $2,216-43. A fire-engine, which cost $482.32, was procured about that time.
Employment. - Agriculture is the employment of a large por- tion of the people. The manufacture of shoes for the Boston market was begun here in 1805 by John Hosmer and Jonathan Bacon, and has been increasing since under their management and that of others. The principal establishments in 1832 were owned by Reuben Bacon, Esq. and Mr. Chamberlain, in which were employed 60 men and 80 women. About 90,000 pairs of shoes, estimated to be worth $50,000, are made annually. This busi- ness has been the source of considerable wealth to the town. No shoes are in better credit than those made in Bedford. About 4,000 sets of " Bacon's Patent Lever Blind Fasteners " were made in Bedford in 1832, and it is the most approved article of the kind with which I am acquainted.
Individuals who have received a Public Education.
1. DAVID LANE, son of James Lane, was graduated in 1753, and went into the French war, in which he died.
2. JOB LANE, son of Job Lane, Jr., was graduated at Yale College in 1764. The following epitaph appears on the stone over his remains in New Haven.
" Siste Viator. Hic juxta situs est D. JOB LANE, A. M. Col. Yal. Tutor, Vir ingenio, modestia, literis, atque pietate
præclarus. Illum Bedfordi natum Massachusm. An. 1741 Literarum a puero avidissimum fuisse ;
Studiis academicis præ cæteris eminuisse ; Evangelium studiose triennium prædicasse, Tutorisque officio biennium fideliter functum ; Parentibus vixisse charissimum,
Amicis, omnibusque pietatis fautoribus dilectum,
272
HISTORY OF BEDFORD.
Discipulisque vere honoratum ; Et omnibus maxime defletum ; e vita migrasse Septs. 16. Anº. 1768 ; Hic tumulus brevi interiturus tibi declarat."
3. OLIVER WELLINGTON LANE, son of Captain James Lane, was graduated in 1772, and was a distinguished schoolmaster in Boston where he died.
4. JAMES CONVERS, son of Josiah Convers, was graduated in 1799, and is now a minister at Weathersfield, Vermont.
5. SAMUEL HORATIO STEARNS, son of the Rev. Samuel Stearns, was born September 12, 1801, and graduated in 1823, and at the Theological Seminary at Andover in 1828.
6. WILLIAM AUGUSTUS STEARNS, brother of the preceding, was born March 17, 1805, graduated in 1827, and at the Theo- logical Seminary in Andover in 1831, and was ordained at Cam- bridge Port December 13, 1831.
7. JONATHAN FRENCH STEARNS, brother of the two preceding, was born September 4, 1808, and graduated in 1830. He is now a student in Theology.
8. EDWARD JOSIAH STEARNS, son of Elijah Stearns, Esq., was born February 24, 1810, and graduated in 1833.
Physicians.
Dr. JOHN FASSETT, who came from Harvard, was the first physician. He died January 30, 1737, aged 66.
Dr. JOSEPH BALLARD came from Lancaster to Bedford in 1767, and died there January 29, 1777. He was a delegate to the Provincial Congress in Concord in 1774, and was a distin- guished man.
Dr. AMARIAH PRESTON from Uxbridge came to Bedford about 1790, and is now living there.
Among other physicians who have practised for short periods in Bedford, the names of Dr. Stephen Massy, Dr. Kendall, Dr. Gardner, and Dr. Kittredge, may be mentioned.
Justices of the Peace.
John Reed, Elijah Stearns, Amariah Preston, Thompson Bacon, William Webber, John Merriam, and Reuben Bacon.
273
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
Representatives.
When the year is not specified, the town was not represented. John Reed, 1776, 1783; John Moore, 1780; John Webber, 1787 ; David Reed, 1805, 1806, 1808; William Webber, 1809 - 1811, 1821, 1823, 1824, 1827 - 1829 ; Thompson Bacon, 1812; John Merriam, 1813, 1814, 1816, 1818, 1830, 1831; Amos Heartwell, 1832.
Dr. Joseph Ballard and John Reed, Esq., were delegates to the Provincial Congress at Concord in October, 1774.
John Reed was delegate to Cambridge in February, 1775, and to the Convention to form the Constitution in 1779.
Town Clerks.
Samuel Fitch, 1729 - 1731, 1733- 1737 ; John Fassett, 1732; Israel Putnam, 1738-1745; John Whitmore, 1746- 1748 ; Stephen Davis, 1748- 1760, 1766 - 1772, 1775; John Reed, 1761 -1765, 1773-1775; John Webber, 1776-1779, 1783 - 1793; William Merriam, 1780 - 1782, 1794- 1804; William Webber, 1805-1829 ; Reuben Bacon, 1830.
35
CHAPTER XVIII. HISTORY OF ACTON.
General History. - Ecclesiastical History. - Description. - Miscellaneous No- tices.
THE town of Acton lies wholly within the ancient limits of Concord. It does not, however, include any part of the six miles square first purchased of the Indians, but in subsequent grants and purchases, adjoining and lying westerly of the " old town." These lands were granted to the town of Concord " for feeding"; excepting the Iron-Work Farm, Major Simon Willard's farm in the north part of the tract, and two grants near Nagog Pond, one to the Indians, and the other to Joseph Wheeler and others. An account of these grants has already been given in the His- tory of Concord. Their bounds, as renewed in 1706, began where the present southeast corner of Acton meets with Con- cord and Sudbury, and ran nearly on the present line separating Acton and Stow, Boxborough and Littleton, till it comes to the " westerly end of Nagog Pond," and from thence "up to the line of Chelmsford towards Tagnack," (near the Heartwell tavern now in Westford) ; from thence the line ran easterly to the north part of " Virginia Meadow," or " Blood's Dam," so called in Carlisle ; and thence by Billerica to " Berry Corner," and by Concord old bounds to the place first mentioned. Though the bounds or extent of the several grants which make up this extensive tract of land, are not very particularly defined, the de- scription is sufficiently accurate to enable us to form a tolerably correct idea of each. When actually surveyed, they were found to contain a greater number of acres than nominally specified in the grants. The section lying in the southeast part of the " Vil- lage," as it was then called, nominally containing 1,000 acres, but actually containing more than that number, was granted to Major Willard for the benefit of the Iron Works, and known as the Iron-Work Farm. This was conveyed to James Russell, Esq. of Charlestown, when Mr. Joseph Sherman was employed as an
275
GENERAL HISTORY.
assistant in the business, and by him 600 acres of it were sold in 1701 to Samuel and Ephraim Jones, and Jonathan Knight, to- gether with all his right in the Village, for £150. This tract and another northerly, conveyed by deeds from the Indians in 1684 already given,1 the grants to Joseph Wheeler in 1660, to Major Willard in 1655 in the north part, and the half of Nashoba pur- chased by the Hon. Peter Bulkeley and the Hon. Thomas Henchman in 1686, covered much more land than is now in- cluded in Acton. Littleton took a part near Nagog Pond, and Westford and Carlisle a large tract in the north and northeasterly sections. Considerable difficulty arose between the proprietors of the Village and the proprietors of individual grants, included in the above described lands, concerning their boundary lines. The heirs of Robert Blood inherited the Willard farm. Their title was however doubted, and, after perplexing controversies and lawsuits, it was finally adjusted about 1710.
A settlement was commenced in these grants as early as 1656, and perhaps a few years earlier. The Shepherd and Law fami- lies were among the first. Captain Thomas Wheeler commenced an extensive improvement here in 1668, as noticed in the His- tory of Concord.2 Several others also had particular lots granted or sold to them by special vote of the town.
Many of the meadows were open prairies, and afforded, with little or no labor, grass in abundance. Some of the uplands had been cleared by the' Indians, and were favorite places for feed- ing. The meadows were leased, and the rents either paid into the town treasury, or reserved for the proprietors. In 1706 the meadows were leased to Jonathan Knight and Ephraim Jones for £5 6s., and about the same sum was annually received for them for some years afterwards.
These lands were granted to the proprietors of the town of Concord at the time the grants were made. And, though the se- lectmen, under direction of the town, managed them as they did other common property, they were considered distinct from the whole town from about 1690. New emigrants into Concord were not considered as proprietors. In 1697 a committee was chosen to obtain a list of the proprietors, who, after several con-
1 See pages 41, 42.
2 See page 43.
276
HISTORY OF ACTON.
sultations concerning the best method of admitting them, pro- posed, June 29, 1702, " that every freeholder that was possessed of house and land in the year 1684, and makes it so appear, shall be added to the former proprietors." The proprietors, as admitted by the committee according to the above regulation, were generally accustomed to hold their meetings immediately after the town meetings, and on the same day, from 1698 to 1710; and their proceedings were recorded by the town clerk with the proceedings of Concord. A Village clerk was first chosen in'1710.
The disposal of these lands, and the manner in which they should be divided, occupied the attention of the proprietors for many years. Meetings were held on the 16th of June, 1719, legally summoned by James Minott, Esq., on the 9th, 22d, and 29th of March, and on the 8th of July, 1720, at which several votes were passed, one of which was to admit persons who were freeholders in town in 1684 to rights in proportion to 1 to 3 of the freeholders in 1661; and committees were chosen to obtain lists of the proprietors agreeably to this vote ; and to divide the meadows into 120 thirty-acre lots. As these committees pro- ceeded in their business, so many obstacles presented themselves, that the plan was finally relinquished. Another vote was passed to divide it in proportion as 1 to 2 for the times abovementioned, but this was also unsuccessful.
At length a petition was preferred to the town of Concord, which resulted in the following proceedings.
" We the subscribers being chosen a committee by the town of Concord at a general meeting on May the 25th, 1722, continued by adjournment from the 15th of said month, to consider and make report what we think is proper for the said town to do about their Village or New Grant, report as follows.
" 1. We find the grant from the General Court, as also the Indian deeds of conveyance from the Indians were made to the inhabitants and proprietors of the town of Concord.
" 2. We find no act of the said town of Concord, in any town meeting legally warned for that purpose, that has fully settled the proprietors or altered the constitution thereof, but considerable to the contrary.
" We are therefore humbly of opinion as followeth.
277
GENERAL HISTORY.
" 1. That the town pass an order to forbid all persons cutting wood, timber, &c., on the Village without order, and that the town do forthwith proceed and choose a committee, and fully em- power them to prosecute at the law all persons that do any ways trespass on their said New Grants by cutting wood or timber contrary to order.
" 2. That the town choose a committee to enquire into the matter of a farm-grant made out of the premises to Mr. Joseph Wheeler, whether the present proprietors thereof have not in- croached and come beyond their bounds, and to make report.
" 3. That the town, as soon as may be, settle the proprietors of the premises, and in order thereunto do choose a committee to consider of and report under their hands unto the town, what they think is the most just, honest, and safe rule, for stating the pro- prietors and dividing thereof, and present it to the town for their further consideration."
This document is dated November 12, 1722, and signed by Richard Parks, John Wheeler, Nathaniel Stow, Samuel Wright, Samuel Chandler, John Fassett, and David Whitaker.
The committee proposed in this report were chosen, and re- ported the next February, " that each freehold of house and lands, that was such in the year 1666 or in the year 1684, to have a five-acre right in said Village or Town's New Grant ; and each freehold of house and lands, that was ratable in the year 1694, to have a four-acre right in the premises ; and each free hold of house and land, that was ratable in the year 1704, to have a three-acre right ; and each freehold of house and land, ratable in the year 1714, to have a two-acre right ; and each freehold of house and land, ratable in 1722, to have a one-acre right, but none to draw in more than one order for one freehold abovemen- tioned. And we think it very proper, that a committee be chosen to take a list of the proprietors in each order as above- said, that each proprietor may know his right, that when the Village is divided, it may be divided as abovesaid.
" Noah Brooks, Samuel Wright, Joseph Fletcher, Richard Parks, John Fassett, George Farrar, Samuel Chandler, John Fox, and Samuel Heywood."
This report was accepted by a ballot of 60 to 2; but after it was declared, 14 others came in and requested to have their
278
HISTORY OF ACTON.
dissent recorded. A committee, to make a list of proprietors agreeably to this vote, were chosen, who reported at length at a subsequent meeting ; and other preliminary arrangements were made for dividing the Village. But 25 freeholders dissented ; and there appeared so much want of harmony on the subject, that the plan was finally relinquished. Meantime some of the com- mon land had been taken up and improved, and some of the occupants were prosecuted and tried before the court.
At length, after several more meetings, the proprietors voted, June 16, 1725, " That all such as are possessed of a freehold, consisting of a dwelling-house and improved land in Concord, which was such a freehold in the year of our Lord 1661, shall have or draw 3 acres ; and all such as are possessed of a free- hold, which consisted of a dwelling-house and improved lands in said Concord in the year 1684, shall have or draw 2 acres ; and all such as are possessed of a freehold, which consisted of a dwelling-house and improved lands in said Concord in 1715, shall have or draw 1 acre ; or agreeable to that proportion, ex- cept when the right of said Village or New Grant is sold or re- served from said freehold." And "Ensign William Wheeler, Mr. Samuel Jones, and Mr. Ebenezer Wheeler were chosen a committee to draw a list of all the proprietors of said Village or New Grant according to the votes of the proprietors."
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