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 31
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 31
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The population in 1800 was 634; in 1810, 675 ; in 1820, 681 ; in 1830, 566. In 1820, 119 persons were engaged in agriculture, 1 in commerce, and 34 in manufactures.
The valuation in 1831 gives the following results : 138 rate- able polls, 17 not rateable, 83 dwelling-houses, 83 barns, 4 grist and saw mills ; 314 acres of tillage land, 524 acres of upland mowing, 661 acres of meadow, 294 acres of pasturing, 882 acres of woodland, 3607 acres unimproved, 884 unimprovable, 213 acres used for roads, and 109 acres covered with water; 46
325
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
horses, 200 oxen, 474 cows and steers ; 3668 bushels of corn, 541 bushels of rye, 490 of oats, 362 tons of English hay, and 468 tons of meadow hay. By comparing the valuations for several periods since the incorporation, it will appear that the town has made little or no progress, but in many things has retrograded.
Appropriations by the Town for various Purposes.
Object.
1785. 1790. 1795. 1800. 1805.
Minister
£ 91
90
85 $285
200
1810. 280 360
320
275
320
500.
Schools
36
30
60
360
300
360
450
360
360.
Roads
60
45
60
300
480
350
400
400
350
400. 600.
Town Charges
74 60
50
300
500
550
550
700
600
County Tax
113
22
58
117
72
99
56
22.
State Tax
484
48
64
227
210
130
180
65.
SCHOOLS.
The town from its first incorporation has been divided into six school districts ; and the money raised by the town has been divided equally among them. There is a school fund amounting to $500 given by Mr. Simon Blood, the annual interest of which is appropriated in the same manner as other moneys.
The following individuals have been educated at college.
AMOS SPAULDING, son of Zebulon Spaulding, graduated at Dartmouth College 1805, and settled as a lawyer in Andover. He has been member of the House of Representatives and the Senate of Massachusetts several years.
JOEL ADAMS, son of Capt. Timothy Adams, graduated at Harvard College 1805, admitted to the bar September, 1808, and settled as a lawyer in Chelmsford, where he has since re- sided.
ASA GREEN, son of Zaccheus Green, graduated at Williams College 1807, and is a lawyer and post-master at Brattleborough.
FRANKLIN LITCHFIELD, son of the Rev. Paul Litchfield, was born August 18th, 1790, and graduated at Harvard College 1810. He went to Charleston, S. Carolina, and studied physic under Dr. Ramsay, but left there in June 1812, for Carthagena, South America, where he resided till 1815, having, during this time, made a tour to the city Quibdo or Zetara by the river Atrato, near 500 miles from Carthagena. This tour has been mention- ed by Baptiste Irvine. At the last mentioned date he emigrated
1815.
1820.
1825.
1830.
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HISTORY OF CARLISLE.
with other distinguished citizens to the Island of Jamaica, where he remained till 1819, when he removed to St. Thomas, and resided there till 1821. At this time the city of Caraccas was occupied by the Patriots, under the command of the distinguished Bolivar ; and he now proceeded to that city, and remained there till 1824, when he removed to Puerto Cabello, having been appointed Consul of the United States for that city, by President Monroe in December, 1823. Here he has since resided, and been extensively engaged as a commission merchant. From the time of his departure from Charleston, he devoted much time in giving statements of the progress of the war in South America, which eventuated in the final overthrow of the Spanish authority in that region and the acknowledgment of its inde- pendence. He married Garcia de Sena, a lady of the city of Caraccas, at Jamaica in 1826. Her eldest brother, Ramon, was Secretary at War of the government under General Bolivar, and was killed at the battle of La Puerta', as Adjutant-General of the Army. Another brother, Manuel, was Secretary at War of the government of Carthagena. Mr. Litchfield's life has been most eventful. In the various revolutions he has witnessed, he has ·experienced in an eminent degree, the enjoyments and trials, resulting from the ups and downs of life, and the acquisition and loss of fortune.
WILLIAM L. RUSSELL, son of James Russell, graduated at Harvard College 1826, and is a physician at Barre.
ALBERT NELSON, son of Dr. John Nelson, born March 12th, 1812, graduated at Harvard College 1332, and is now a student at law at that institution.
FREDERICK PARKER, son of Maj. James Parker, graduated 1833.
With the exception of the clergy, the physicians have been . the only professional men. Thomas Jewett, now of Rindge, New Hampshire, practised physic here several years.
Dr. JOHN NELSON, son of Josiah Nelson of Milford, was born Sept. 8th, 1790. After being two years at Brown University, he left it, and afterwards studied his profession with Dr. Thurber of Mendon. He came to Carlisle in 1816, and is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society.
327
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.
TOWN CLERKS.
Zebulon Spaulding 1780- 1784. Jonathan Heald, Jr. '13, '14, '18 - '20.
Asa Parlin 1785-1802, 1806-'8. John Heald '15 -'17, '21-'25, '27-'29.
John Jacobs 1803, 1809 -'12, 1-26. Cyrus Heald 1829 --.
Jonathan Heald 1804, 1805.
TREASURERS.
Samuel Heald 1780 - 1785. Nathan Green
1804 - 1819.
Simon Blood, Jr.
1786 - 1788. Nathan Green 1820 - 1828.
Samuel Green 1789 - 1803. John Nelson 1829 --.
Selectmen. The town clerk has always been the first select- man ; and the board have acted as assessors and overseers of the poor. The following persons have been selectmen, arranged in order as they were first chosen : Zebulon Spaulding, Phinehas Blood, John Heald, Samuel Green, Issachar Andrews, Asa Parlin, Zaccheus Green, Nathaniel Hutchinson, Nathan Parlin, Jonathan Heald, Simon Blood, Jr., Ephraim Robbins, Leonard Green, John Jacobs, Nathan Green, Jr., John Green, Thomas Spaulding, Frederick Blood, Ezekiel Nichols, Nehemiah Andrews, Timothy Heald, Thomas Heald, Jonathan Heald, Jr., Benjamin Robbins, Jonas Parker, John Heald, Eliakim Hutchins, Aaron Robbins, Aaron Fletcher, Paul Furbush, Isaiah Green, Cyrus Heald, James Green, Cyrus Green, Thomas Heald, Jr.
Representatives. While Carlisle was a district of Acton, Dea. Ephraim Robbins, in 1790, and Asa Parlin, Esq., in 1803, were chosen jointly by both places. Since its incorporation, as a town, the following individuals have been its representatives. (Except in the years specified, it was not represented.)
Dea. Ephraim Robbins 1807, 1808. Jonathan Heald, Jr., Esq. 1816.
Rev. Paul Litchfield
1808- 1811. John Heald, Esq. 1818, 1821, 1823.
Capt. Timothy Heald
1812, 1813. Dr. John Nelson 1824.
Capt. Thomas Heald
1815. John Heald, Esq. 1826, 1827, 1830.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Name. Died. Age.
Name. Died. Age. Asa Parlin, Oct. 8, 1822. 68.
Nath'l Hutchinson, July 30, 1820. 34.
Jonathan Heald, Dec. 28, 1816. 60. John Heald.
Jonathan Heald, Jr.
John Nelson.
Bill of Mortality. No records were kept, by which to form a bill of mortality, before 1800. From that date to 1826, the Rev.
328
HISTORY OF CARLISLE.
Mr. Litchfield regularly recorded the deaths as they took place. From these records the following facts are obtained. The total number of deaths in these 27 years is 334, about 13, or one in 50 of the inhabitants annually ; the aggregate amount of ages is 11600, and the mean average 344 nearly. The least average age was 15, in 1808 ; and the greatest 58, in 1826. Of these 334 deaths, 58 died under the age of 1 year, 44 between 1 and 5; 17 between 5 and 10; 18 between 10 and 20; 29 between 20 and 30; 23 between 30 and 40; 20 between 40 and 50 ; 36 between 50 and 60; 20 between 60 and 70; 30 between 70 and 80; 26 between 80 and 90 ; and 13 between 90 and 100. The proportion of males to females, who died from 90 and upwards was as 6 to 7; and 80 to 90, as 11 to 15. By this it appears that I in 20 nearly arrive to the age of 90; 1 in 9 to 80 ; 1 in 5 to 70 ; 1 in 4 to 60 ; and 1 in 3 to 50. One fifth nearly, die under 1 year, and one third under 2 years. It appears from a careful examination of the records that the month in which the least number of deaths occurred was May, and the greatest, in October. 23 died in January, 23 in February, 22 in March, 37 in April, 19 in May, 22 in June, 22 in July, 32 in August, 35 in Septem- ber, 41 in October, 33 in November, and 25 in December. In 1817, fourteen died of the disentery, 10 of whom were under 5 years. In 1819, of those under 1 year, 8 died. In 1821, the canker rash prevailed and was fatal to many. I subjoin a. few remarkable instances of longevity, which may interest some readers.
Date. Name. Age.
Date.
Name. Age.
1800, April 19, Jon. Spaulding, 95. 1817, April 28, Wid. M. Parker, 93.
1803, June 28, Wid. S. Fletcher, 94.
1819, Sept. 23, Amos Kidder, 90
1807, Sept. 11, Wid. R. Heald, 90. 1821, Dec. 5, Wid. R. Monroe, 99.
1808, April 4, Wid. E. Nichols, 94.
1815, Jan. 21, William Wilson, 94.
1826, Jan. 10, Isaac Wilkins, 92.
1810, Feb. 5, Wid. L Spaulding, 93. 1812, Dec. 22, Joseph Barrett, 91. 1826, Nov. 17, Wid. L. Russell, 95.
1816, Nov. 30, John Waters, 98.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. The first house for public re- ligious worship was commenced about 1760, and completed in 1781, when 24 pews on the lower floor were sold for $950.50;
329
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
and in 1793, nineteen in the gallery for £58. This house was struck by lightning in May, 1810, and entirely consumed. The present house was dedicated the second Sabbath in Decem- ber, 1811, and contains 44 pews on the lower floor and 16 in the gallery, which were sold that year for $2746.50. The builders were Joseph Wyman and John Sawyer ; and the whole expense of the house, including the preparation of the spot, was $4866.81. A bell was procured in 1812 at an expense of $350. In consequence of the unfortunate loss of the old house the state tax for 1811 was remitted.
The church was organized February 28th, 1781, and then consisted of 10 male and 24 female members. Nathaniel Taylor, John Green, Phinehas Blood, and their wives, Joseph Monroe, Ebenezer Chase, Agnes Foster, Mercy Monroe, Ruth Monroe, Abigail Parlin, and Rebecca Heald had been members of the church in Concord. The other male members were Joshua Monroe, Jonathan Spaulding, Thomas Spaulding, Job Spaulding, John Robbins, and David Dickinson.
On the 17th of May, 1781, the church voted unanimously to invite Mr. Paul Litchfield to become their first pastor. In this vote the town concurred the 25th of the same month by a vote of 43 to 3. It was agreed to give him £150 as a set- tlement ; and £80 in silver money, and 20 cords of wood annually, as a salary, so long as he should supply the pulpit. He was ordained November the 7th, 1781, on the same day as Mr. Stearns at Lincoln. The council on the occasion was com- posed of pastors and delegates from the churches in Billerica, Bedford, Concord, Acton, Westford, Ashby, 2d in Scituate, Abington, 2d in Medway, Franklin, North in Newburyport, and 2d in Salem ; and were invited by Jonathan Spaulding, Thomas Spaulding, and John Green, a committee of the church. In the public religious exercises, the Rev. Samuel Spring, of Newbury- port, made the introductory prayer ; the Rev. Samuel Niles, of Ab- ington, preached the sermon from 1 Cor. iv. 2 ; the Rev. Nathaniel Emmons of Franklin, made " the prayer during the imposition of hands "; the Rev. David Sanford of Medway, gave the charge, the Rev. Samuel Spring the right hand of fellowship, and the Rev. Samuel Whitman of Ashby made the concluding prayer.
42
330
HISTORY OF CARLISLE.
The first communion was held December 31st, 1781, when it was voted to require a written or verbal relation by candidates, before the church and congregation, of the religious exercises of their minds before admission into the church. This embarrass- ing regulation was so modified two years afterwards, as to permit them to do it before a committee of the church. The doctrines contained in the confession of faith, and preached by Mr. Litch- field were strictly Calvinistic, coinciding in many points with that system of theology known by the name of Hopkinsianism.
No records are preserved to show the number of admissions into the church during Mr. Litchfield's long and peaceful ministry. In 1798, an interesting revival of religion prevailed, in which considerable additions were made to the church. The number of communicants in 1829, were 3 males and 24 females.
Deacons of the Church. Dea. John Robbins, chosen Novem- ber 29th, 1781, excused from active duty, on account of infirmi- ties October 5th, 1815, and died March 28th, 1826, aged 82 years ; Dea. Ephraim Robbins, a brother of the preceding, admitted to the church May 9th, 1784, chosen into office soon after, and died July 29th, 1820, aged 63; Dea. John Green, chosen October 5th, 1815, and Dea. John Jacobs, chosen in 1812, are at present in office ; the former in the Rev. Mr. Hull's, and the latter in the other church.
The REV. PAUL LITCHFIELD, died November 7th, 1827, in the 76th year of his age ; and on the 46th anniversary of his ordination. He was the eldest of twelve children, and born of respectable parents in Scituate, March 12th, 1752. His youth was marked for sober and exemplary deportment, and for warm attachment to the friends of evangelical truth. With an inten- tion to qualify himself for the gospel ministry, he entered Har- vard College, and graduated in 1775. After he left college, he studied theology with the Rev. Dr. West, of Stockbridge ; and was subsequently employed at several places till his engagement in Carlisle. Here he performed the ministerial duties with gen- eral acceptance. His views of evangelical truth were formed in the school of Hopkins, Emmons, and their associates ; and were agreeable to the views of orthodoxy which were maintained by the rigid Calvinists at the time of his ordination. Of doctrinal
331
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
theology, he was particularly fond, and was often accustomed to present its peculiar traits to his hearers. In his intercourse with his people he was kind, familiar, charitable, and peaceful. He rejoiced at the prosperity of the church, and aided by his personal services, and his wealth, many of the great religious charities of the age. To the Massachusetts Domestic Missionary Society he bequeathed, at his death, a generous legacy. He died in the full belief of that Christian faith, which he had inculcated, and of that hope which the Christian religion inspires.
The funeral sermon preached at his interment by the Rev. John H. Church, D. D., was printed, to which the reader is referred for a more particular notice of his character. Mr. Litch- field married, for his first wife, Miss Mary Bailey of Scituate, who died July 12th, 1809, aged 59, by whom he had 6 chil- dren, - 5 sons, Paul, Roland, Philo, Benjamin, and Franklin (who was graduated at Harvard College), and a daughter, who died in childhood. He married, for his second wife, Mrs. Sarah Capen of Braintree, October 12th, 1811, who still survives.
The REV. STEPHEN HULL, the successor of the Rev. Mr. Litchfield, was born at Stonington, Connecticut, February 17th, 1779, and installed at Carlisle, December 29th, 1830, having previously been minister at Amesbury and Raynham, and dis- missed at his own request. On this occasion, the Rev. Mr. Whit- man made the introductory prayer ; the Rev. Mr. Barry read selec- tions from Scripture ; the Rev. Peter Eaton, D. D., of Boxford, preached the sermon ; the Rev. Dr. Ripley made the consecrat- ing prayer ; the Rev. Mr. Allen gave the charge ; the Rev. Ephraim Randall gave the right hand of fellowship; the Rev. Charles Briggs addressed the people ; and the Rev. John Golds- berry, of North Bridgewater, made the concluding prayer. These gentlemen, and the Rev. Mr. White of Littleton, and the Rev. Dr. Packard of Chelmsford, with delegates from their respective churches, composed the council. The Rev. Messrs. Samuel Stearns, Marshall Shed, and William Lawrence were invited to the council, but did not attend. Mr. Hull's church then consisted of one male, and ten female members, and worship in the meeting- house erected by the town. Three male and eight female mem- bers had before seceded, and, with several others not members, erected a separate house, where they worship.
APPENDIX.
No. I. (SEE PAGE 103.)
HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE EVIDENCE RELATING TO THE EVENTS OF THE 19TH OF APRIL, 1775.
FIFTY years after the events of the 19th of April, 1775, occurred, some statements relating to the history of those events became the subject of controversy. The following questions embrace the most material points in discussion.
1. Did the Lexington company disperse as directed by the British officers ? and were they first fired upon while dispers- ing ?
2. Was the first forcible resistance to the British armed soldiers made by the provincials at Lexington in the morning ; and did they then return the fire of the enemy ?
Some individuals are satisfied with a history which describes the whole of the events of that day under the local name of Lexing- ton Battle, whether reference be had to the affair at Lexington in the morning, or to the fight at Concord, or to that in the afternoon, continued during the whole course of the retreat from Concord to Charlestown ; and they will consider it of little importance how these questions are answered. But those who regard truth as important in historical matters, even in minute particulars, will look at the subject in a different light. Without any intention of reviving the controversy, or of stating at length the reasons for the opinions I entertain, or of casting a com- parative shade over the honor acquired by the brave " sons of liberty " in either town for the part they acted, I deem it due to historical truth to make the following detail of facts, that the subject may be fairly understood; and that those who entertain or promulgate opinions relating to these historical events, may have the means of doing it accurately.
The origin of this controversy will appear from the following statements. On the 2d of September, 1824, Lafayette passed through Lexington and Concord ; and in an address to him in
334
APPENDIX.
Concord the Hon. Samuel Hoar said, " You now behold the spot on which the first forcible resistance was made " to British op- pression. The same idea had often been given before by Morse, Worcester, and others, who had in their Gazetteers, described the geography of the town. In the following October the Bunker Hill Monument Association published an address to the public, soliciting subscriptions in aid of its objects, in which it is said, " At Concord the first [British] blood was shed between the British and armed Americans." -" It is also intended to erect a suitable monument at Concord, where the first conflict was had, bearing proper inscriptions to commemorate the glorious spirit of inde- pendence which manifested itself there." This produced two illiberal newspaper articles in " The Boston Patriot," and a reply from the Hon. William Sullivan, chairman of the committee. During the approaching winter the citizens of Concord made arrangements to celebrate by public performances the fiftieth anniversary of the 19th of April, 1775. The Hon. Edward Everett was engaged as the orator, and Lexington and the neighbouring towns were invited to unite in the ceremony. The Bunker Hill Monument Association appropriated $500, - which was somewhat less than the amount of the subscriptions to that Association in Concord, - towards the erection of a monument in that town, and sent to the committee of arrange- ments a plan of the monument, and proposed that the corner- stone should be laid on the day of the celebration.1
In the mean time the inhabitants of Lexington had taken measures to collect and publish a statement, intended, as we are informed in the preface to the publication, to counteract the influence of the two statements above mentioned ; and also the testimony given under oath in 1775; and the narrative of the Rev. Mr. Clark published in 1776. The result of these measures was, "The History of the Battle at Lexington," written by Elias Phinney, Esq., a member of the committee chosen by the town for that purpose. This pamphlet was placed in the hands of the honorable and accomplished orator, and he states in a note to the historical Oration, pronounced at the celebration, that his " aim has been not to pronounce on questions in con-
1 This money has been vested on interest by the town for this object. The Directors of the Bunker Hill Monument Association have also more recently pledged themselves to pay the additional sum of $1000; and when received, the whole will be appropriated to building a monument, probably on the very spot where the first British blood was shed, - where the first British life was taken, in the cause of American liberty, and where are the graves of the slain.
335
APPENDIX.
troversy,"-" reference being had to the testimony contained " in Mr. Phinney's pamphlet. These two publications (the Oration and History) appeared in print about the same time ; and, so far as relates to the particular facts in question, stand equally on controversial ground. In 1827, "the Rev. Ezra Ripley, D. D., and other citizens of Concord, published a "History of the Fight at Concord," intended to invalidate some of the statements contained in the two pamphlets just mentioned. All three of these publications, though they contain much valuable historical matter, must be considered in regard to the points at issue, controversial.
About the time these publications were made, several highly controversial articles appeared in the newspapers ; but they cannot be regarded by candid minds in the serious light of his- torical truth. A new lithographic edition of Doolittle's Historical Engraving, first published in 1775, also appeared. In the original no one is represented as firing at the British soldiers at Lexing- ton, but several as dispersing and some as slain. As this would be rather an awkward representation of a battle, the editors, as is sometimes the practice of historians, thought fit to improve the original to suit their views of what the engagement should have been. From this picture wood cuts have been prepared, which appear in some school-books to perpetuate error.
The original evidence, which was for the first time obtained and printed in the above pamphlets, was taken ex parte, and design- ed, so far as relates to the question at issue, to establish some particular facts in controversy, and cannot therefore be consid- ered strictly impartial. If there was an influence which produced defective evidence in 1775, as has been stated, is it not more reasonable to suppose that some other influence, operating fifty years afterwards, when the facts could not be so distinctly re- membered, and the points then in controversy were a subject of frequent conversation, might produce evidence so stated and expressed as to give erroneous impressions ? Whatever weight might be attached to either of these publications, no accurate historian will be satisfied with their statements merely, or pro- nounce on questions in controversy, without a reference to the whole original evidence. In this case, as well as in many others, where historians copy the errors of other writers, it will be found to differ materially from the modern version. And what are the original sources of the evidence ? What is its purport ? And how was it understood ?
Some account of those events was published in the " Essex Gazette " of April 21st and 25th, and May 5th, 1775, which,
336
APPENDIX.
including an introduction, a list of the killed and wounded, and a " Funeral elegy to the immortal memory of those worthies which were slain in the Battle of Concord, April 19, 1775," soon after appeared in a hand-bill 20 inches long and 15 wide, entitled " Bloody Butchery by the British Troops, or the Runaway Fight of the Regulars " ; - " being the Particulars of the Victorious Battle fought at and near Concord." Just above the title were pictured 40 coffins over which were printed the names of the slain.
On the 22d of April a committee of the Provincial Congress, consisting of Col. Elbridge Gerry of Marblehead, Hon. Thomas Cushing of Cohasset, Col. James Barrett of Concord, Capt. Josiah Stone of Dracut, Dr. John Taylor of Lunenburgh, Mr. Samuel Freeman of Falmouth, Abraham Watson, Esq. of Cambridge, and Jonas Dix, Esq. of Waltham, was chosen to take the deposi- tions relating to the conduct of the British on the 19th ; another was appointed to draw up a narrative, and another to make an additional copy of the depositions. After it was collected, the evi- dence was transmitted to the Continental Congress, and to Eng- land ; 1 part of it was published in the " Pennsylvania Ledger," and copied into other American and English newspapers. The whole was published by Isaiah Thomas, by an order of the Provincial Congress passed May 28th, in a pamphlet of 22 pages, 8vo., entitled, " A Narrative of the Incursions and Ravages of the King's Troops under command of General Gage on the Nineteenth of April, 1775, together with the Depositions taken by order of Congress to support the truth of it." The pamphlet was ordered to be sent to every town in the province, though I have seen but one copy, which is owned by William Lincoln, Esq., of Worcester. These depositions were all taken the next week after the battle ; and it is a fact worthy of notice, that those
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