USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Franklin > History of the town of Franklin, Mass., from its settlement to the completion of its first century > Part 12
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GEORGE F. WOODWARD, son of Austin. Enlisted September, 1862, for nine months, in Company C, Forty-fifth Regiment. Was honorably dis- charged.
DANIEL W. WHITING, son of Willard C. Enlisted for three years, in Company K, Twenty-third Regiment. Was promoted to Sergeant. Re- enlisted for three years. Was honorably discharged.
LEWIS E. WALES, son of Otis, Jr. Enlisted for nine months in Com- pany B, Forty-second Regiment. Died of fever in New Orleans, 19th June, 1863. Was buried in Franklin.
JOHN D. WALES, son of Otis, Jr. Enlisted for nine months, in Com- pany B, Forty-second Regiment. Was honorably discharged.
GEORGE H. SCOTT, son of George W. Enlisted December, 1863, for three years in Company I, Eighteenth Regiment.
ALONZO F. EDDY, son of Asahel. Enlisted December, 1863, for three years, in Company I, Eighteenth Regiment. Was transferred to Com- pany D, Thirty-ninth Regiment. Was honorably discharged.
GEORGE L. RIXFORD, son of -. Enlisted December, 1863, for three years in Fourth Cavalry. Was honorably discharged.
JAMES F. SNOW, son of John W. Enlisted December, 1863, for three years, in Company C, Fifty-sixth Regiment.
GEORGE R. RUSSELL, son of Thomas. Enlisted September, 1863, for three years in Twelfth Heavy Artillery.
WILLIAM G. WHITE, son of Adam H. Enlisted April, 1864, for three years, in - Battery.
DANA FOLLEN, son of James. Enlisted February, 1865. Was honor- ably discharged.
It is believed, though not so stated in the town clerk's records. that all the survivors above were honorably discharged at the end of their service, as only one of the ninety-six is recorded as a deserter. His name is undesignated.
The preceding list of names is believed to represent only na- tives or residents of the town at the time of their enlistment in
... ..
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our quota. But it is known not to include all the sons of Frank- lin who enlisted in other towns and States. Such a list it were perhaps impossible to collect. But it has been ascertained that Edward Dean, son of Luther, entered the army from Kansas. and rose to the rank of Adjutant-General in the service. Charles II. Thayer. son of Nathaniel (see biographical sketches). enlisted while in Providence into A. E. Burnside's First Rhode Island Reg- iment for three months. and was in the first Bull Run battle. Re- enlisted in First Rhode Island Cavalry, and was put in charge of the training camp, at Cranston, R. I., for which he was promoted to Second Lieutenant. Served in Army of the Potomac and Shenandoah Valley. Was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1862, and Captain in 1863. Was wounded and taken prisoner at Kel- ley's Ford ; carried to Libby Prison ; exchanged and honorably discharged 31st December. 1864. Captain Thayer was three and one-half years in the service and in thirty-one engagements. And these are samples only of that time. Could the history of those great armies be fully known, no doubt many another Frank- lin boy who had migrated to some other State could parallel such examples from his own career. At any rate we feel satisfied that our town will have no occasion to be ashamed of the rebellion record of her sons in the days of the nation's need, and it has a right, not to say a duty. to erect some memorial monument or hall in honor of its children's patriotism. What better than a fire-proof building for its library, town documents and memorials of the past century. and tablets of its fallen soldiers !
THE CITIZEN SOLDIERY
of the town deserves a paragraph, not so much for any important public service it ever rendered, as for the enthusiasm it always excited among the boys of half a century ago. The contour of the town was such that two military companies could far more conveniently muster than one. These were called the North and South companies, and a degree of rivalry obtained between them. sometimes for a superiority of appearance and drill, and sometimes. as the public sentiment inclined, for superiority of neglect. The May trainings were the times for public comparison - when both companies manœuvred at opposite ends of the Common. and marched around Davis Thayer's store and Dr. Emmon's house,
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and the voices of the captains could be heard through the whole distance. But the spirit which animated the troops in those days evaporated before the next morning.
Training day was usually enlivened by a troop of cavalry, en- rolled mostly within the town, which pranced and curveted among the sweet fern at the south end of the Common. But the Franklin Artillery struck the deepest awe into boyish hearts. It included many members from Wrentham, but its gun-house, cannons, tumbril and horse furniture were on Franklin Common, and here it paraded according to law. The dark blue and slightly-trimmed uniforms. the Bonaparte chapeaus, with their long black. red-tipped plumes. the flashing long swords, the slow march to the dirge-like . Roslyn Castle " as the lumbering brass four-pounders were drawn over the tufts of grass and bushes by drag-ropes angling outwards like wild geese lines reversed. impressed us with some idea of the solemnity of war, and fascinated all into always following the artillery. But the height of excitement was reached when the Franklin Cadets appeared. They had been drilling for weeks be- hind the powder-house hill under a Captain Partridge, from some military school, and believed themselves to be the élite of the militia. At length they emerged on the muster-field, with white pantaloons, blue coats abundantly buttoned and silver laced. black, shining leather caps, and long, white, perpendicular plumes, just tipped with black, and new. glinting muskets. Under the command of Nathan Cleveland, their first captain, afterwards colonel. they manœuvred and marched and involved themselves with such admirable precision as to attract continued reinforcements so long as any military fervor beat in the public bosom. Their line of captains included many of the now prominent citizens of the town. The Franklin Cadets, the Wrentham Guards, and the Bellingham Rifles, were the flower of the onee Norfolk County Regiment.
Probably some part of Franklin's interest in military matters must be attributed to the singular adaptation of its broad Common to military display, which led to its frequent selection for regimental musters. Perhaps this chapter cannot close better than by a de- scription of an old-time muster, from a frequent participant years ago. It may give the youth of to-day some taste of the great event of boy-life fifty years ago.
The muster was what the cattle show now is -the autumnal
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festival, except that lines of uniformed men took the place of cattle and piles of vegetables. It occurred soon after the weight of the farm work was done and the workmen were ripe for a holiday.
The day before muster, a detailed squad of men marked ont. by a long rope and with the heads of old axes, a straight and shal- low furrow as a toe-line for the regiment. which they generally ad- hered to until afternoon. A boundary was also roped along the eastern side next the road, which marked the limit for spectators. On this side were groups of men building rough booths for the sale of eatables and drinkables, gewgaws. etc .. to the crowd of the coming day. It was late at night sometimes before all was ready.
With the earliest daylight came noisily-driven teams into town. bringing soldiers and civilians. lads and lasses. from far and near. Tents and marquees were hastily pitched around the meeting- house and on the west side of the Common. Luncheon boxes and extra garments were stowed in them. guards set. and at 6 o'clock the long roll from a score or less of kettle-drums called the companies together to the turmoil of the day. Drill. evohi- tions and marching's displayed the skill of the captains, and as- tonished the fast-gathering crowds until 9 o'clock. when. at the vociferous shouting of the adjutant, the musical squads headed their companies up to the tor-line already described. The musi- cians then gathered at the head of the regiment near the gun- house to receive the colonel and his staff whenever they should emerge from the tavern near at hand. On their appearance and reception the wings wheeled into an enclosing square. with the officers in the center. and the chaplain. on horseback, prayed for the country and the protection of life and limb. On straightening out again there came the march of the single fife and drum down and back the length of the line, the official inspection. the regi- mental manœuverings and dodging the line of guards by the spec- tators. At 1 o'clock came dinner in tent. booth. on the grass. anywhere, hilariously moistened - possibly with vencrable cider at least. until at 3 o'clock a big gun and a solemn cavalcade of colonel and staff with chaplain and surgeon called the scattered bands into line for the grand finale - the sham fight. This used to be a great exploit of strategic skill. Sometimes the infantry
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attempted to capture the guns of the artillery ; sometimes, divided into two equal battalions, they furiously bombarded each other ; sometimes a tribe of pretentious Indians rushed from behind Dr. Pratt's barn with original and indescribable yells upon the cavalry only to be ignominiously chased back to their invisible wigwams. Sometimes the whole regiment formed a hollow square with a can- non at each corner in defense of their officers, and banged away at unseen and unanswering enemies, while the cavalry ran, in all possible directions to repel imaginary sallies. Trumpets blared, drums rattled, horses reared and snorted, children screamed, ram- rods, forgotten in the hurried loading, hurtled through the poplars, till a cloud of villainous saltpetre enwrapped in suffocating folds soldiers, spectators. booths and landscape, and until cartridge- boxes were emptied and military furore was satiated. The hub- buh subsided about 5 o'clock into an occasional pop from tardy muskets. and the wounded - by pocket pistols - were picked up in the booths and along the poplars. and the crowd took up their winding way -- to some very winding - to their supperless homes. And so ended the autumnal muster. but we boys thought it a great day.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF THE
PROFESSIONAL SONS AND SONS-IN-LAW OF FRANKLIN.
The following roll of natives and of those who have married natives of this town and have devoted themselves to some liberal profession has been made up by a most diligent and wide inquiry. assisted by Rev. W. M. Thayer, of the Centennial Committee. It is believed to be as nearly complete as it can now be made - deficiencies must be referred to defects of records or failure of letters. It is an honorable roll of which Franklin may justly be proud. In the ratio of population few towns can show a longer list of collegiates. It certainly illustrates the impulse which one energetic intellect can give to the young minds of a town. Many of them have directly attributed their first appetite for learning and their first encouragement to seek it from the words of the half-century pastor of the one church then in town.
It is admitted that Franklin has exerted a wide influence in the land through her educated children. May their power for the true and the good never diminish, but increase in width and depth, so that it may continue to be said of her coming sons, with increas- ing satisfaction and larger numbers, "this man was born there."
GEORGE A. ADAMS, Esq., son of Gardner and Eunice R. Adams. was born in Springfield 3d April, 1850, but returned soon after to Franklin, where he attended school and in 1869 graduated at Dean Academy. He then entered Tuft's College, but in conse- quence of a serious fall was obliged to remit study for a year. In 1871 and 1872 he was able to teach school in Goddard Seminary, Barre, Vt., where he began the study of law. In 1873, May 8th. he was admitted to the bar at Dedham, and in July opened an office in Attleboro, where he now is in his profession.
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Mr. Adams married, November, 1872, Clara I., daughter of Horace M. Gowen, of Franklin. They have two children.
Rev. JAMES ADAMS was son of Dea. James and Sarah (Bacon) Adams, and was born in South Franklin 21st October, 1800. After the usual public school training he studied Latin a few months and at 16 entered a printing office in Dedham. About 1819 he went to Portland, Me., where, finding no room in a Congregational church, he attended and became interested in the Episcopal service. In 1836 he removed to Burlington, N. J., and edited the Burlington Gazette until 1839, which paper was largely ·instrumental during that time in carrying the State for the Whigs. Meanwhile, under the direction of Bishop Doane, he studied for the ministry and was ordained by the Bishop 25th April, 1839. IIe devoted himself henceforth chiefly to the upbuilding of feeble churches in New Jersey and Connecticut. He preached in Flem- ington, Alexandria, and Lambertville about ten years. Thence he went to Cohoes, N. J., until 1851. Then was assistant rector in Elizabeth. He next removed to New York, where he aided in establishing the "House of Mercy," and acted as chaplain on Blackwell's Island until he fell into a severe sickness. On recov- ery Mr. Adams went to Redding, Conn., for two years ; to Bethany until 1858, thence to Tarifville for two years, and thence to Po- quetannock, where he died as rector of St. James church 24th October, 1869. It was said of him -" faithful unto death."
Rev. Mr. Adams married, 28th November, 1827, Miss Caroline Brooks of Milton, Mass., who died at Lambertville, N. J., 10th May, 1845. They had five children, only two of whom are now living - Ellen Winslow Adams of Hyde Park, and Julia Frances Adams of Medway.
Prof. ALDIS SAMUEL ALLEN, M. D., was born in Franklin 13th November, 1803, and was the oldest child of Dea. Samuel and Sarah Wood (Aldis) Allen. Some of his early years were spent in the family of Dr. Emmons, where he received his first impulse towards a collegiate education. In the family of Dr. Ide he be- came a Christian, and began the study of Latin with Dr. Ide. He completed his preparation by two years' study in Phillips' Acad- emy, and entered Yale College, graduating in 1827. He was teacher of music, gymnastics and penmanship one year in Dr. Sereno Dwight's Gymnasium, and then studied medicine with Dr.
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Smith of New Haven. After graduation as M. D. he settled in Bridgeport, Conn. In 1833 he went to Jacksonville, Ill., where he died of a fever, 9th August, 1833. He had the character of a perfeet Christian gentleman. and his death was a triumph of the Christian religion which he professed.
Prof. Allen married Eliza M. Weeks of Jamaica. L. I. Of his children we are not informed.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ALLEN was son of George and Eunice (Haven) Allen. and born in Franklin. His mother was a daugh- ter of Asa and Ennice (Aldis) Haven, and was born in Franklin 17th March, 1773. The family resided in several places, and finally settled in Albany, N. Y., where the father died young. leaving only the above son. B. Franklin went to live with his relative, Hon. Asa Aldis, in St. Albans, Vt. He fitted for col- lege in the academy there, and graduated at Brown University. 1817. After graduation he became Principal of Greenwich Acad- emy, but died at the end of his first year. His intended marriage with Miss Lucia Richmond of Providence was never consummated. and his promise of usefulness. so suddenly cut off. was a great grief to his friends.
Judge ASA ALDIS,* son of Nathan and Sarah (Metcalf) Aldis, was born in Franklin, 14th April, 1770. His mother was a dangh- ter of Jonathan Metcalf. She died, leaving only this child, a little over two years old. His father was a merchant in Franklin, but was preparing to move to Boston when he died, in May, 1775. thus leaving Asa an orphan of five years. His father was ac- cused of being a Tory, which his intimacy with a British officer and his removal to Boston, seemed to justify, but which his friends, Dr. Emmons in particular, would not admit. He probably dreaded disturbances and took no side in the coming strife. The people, however, on his death. demanded the confiscation of his property, and a mob broke open his store and seized the goods, but they found no account books. notes, or papers of value to confirm or dispel their suspicions.
* It was only upon particular request that the following has been furnished from a sketch, prepared for the family alone by Mrs. Judge Kellogg of Brattle- boro, Vt., daughter of Judge Aldis. The light it casts upon the olden times will justify its full quotation.
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Judge Stephen Metcalf, the brother of Asa's mother, took the guardianship of the lad, and placed him with a sister of his mother, the wife of Rev. Daniel Pond, in Medway. This family were warm Republicans, and his aunt had made a vow, when the tea was thrown overboard, that another cup of tea should never be made in her house. The only Boston paper taken in their neighborhood came to Mr. Pond's, and on its weekly arrival all gathered at his house in the evening to hear it read. They sat in the large kitchen - little Asa on the dye-tub on one side of the fire-place, while his uncle read. The listeners had relatives and friends in the war, and the news was commented upon and deeply pondered in this as in all New England homes.
One illustrative incident of the spirit of the lad. A certain cooper alone disapproved of Washington. For weeks he had said, . Washington should have been here - he should have been there - he was always doing wrong." No one ever replied. One night, when they were all gone, the little boy stretched up to his aunt saying, " Aunt, why don't they put out Washington and put in cooper White?"
Another anecdote illustrates the spirit of the household. On a dark, windy, rainy. November night, as they were all sitting around the fire, there was a knock on the outside door. On opening, there stood a man belated, and it was some ways to a tavern. At- tracted by their light, he had stopped to ask for a night's lodging. " Certainly, we can keep you," said both Mr. and Mrs. Pond, for they were hospitable. "Have you a horse?" "Yes." And out went Mr. Pond and a boy to take care of the horse. The stranger was given a seat by the fire. On learning that he had had no sup- per, Mrs. Pond and her daughter prepared the table, and Mrs. Pond was soon cooking some meat over the fire, when the conversation took a religious turn. In reply to something he said, she answered, " But Moses, in describing the plague of Egypt, said -" " What of that," says he, " Moses was nothing but a conjuror !" Mrs. Pond looked around at him and asked, " What did you say about Moses?" " I said Moses was nothing but a conjuror, and he was not." Off came the pan from the fire. " I can cook you no supper ; no man who disbelieves the Bible and calls Moses, the servant of the Lord, a conjuror, can stay in my house over night." Just then Mr. Pond came in from feeding the horse. She repeated
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the conversation, adding, " we cannot keep him." " No," said Mr. Pond, " I will get your horse." The man begged to stay, but to no purpose, and he had to go on his journey in the dark. It was in such a family Asa passed his childhood and laid the foundation of his character. He afterward said of them he never knew them to do a thing they believed to be wrong.
At the close of the Revolutionary War, and when the Independ- ence of the States had been acknowledged, Judge Metcalf received a request from a Mr. Amory of Boston, to bring Mr. Nathan Aldis' son to Boston. IIe went, and was advised to ascertain from the General Court, then in session. what disposition was to be made of Mr. Aldis' property. On the declaration of the law- yer, Mr. Sullivan, that Mr. Aldis died one year and two months before the Declaration of Independence, and that no evidence ex- isted that he had ever said or done anything against the cause or measures of the revolutionary party, the court decided unani- mously that there was no law that would warrant the confiscation of the estate, and that it should be restored to the son. After the decision Mr. Amory informed Judge Metcalf that he had just re- ceived Mr. Aldis' papers, which were supposed to be lost. Capt. John Goldsbury,* foreseeing the tumultuous times coming, had gone, on Mr. Aldis' death. privately to Franklin, and secured the papers, and, unknown to his relatives, had sent them to England. These papers had been just sent back.
An anecdote is connected with these papers illustrative of the times. Judge Metcalf said to Asa, as they examined them, "I think Dea. Slocum owed your father several hundred dollars, but I find no note. Go and ask the deacon." He did so. "Yes," said the deacon, " I owed your father, and you will find the note among the papers." Still they could not find it. .. Well," re- plied the deacon, " if you don't find it, I owed it, and shall pay you all the same." About two years after Asa received a letter from Capt. Goldsbury in Halifax, N. S., wishing to see him. He went at onee to his father's old friend, who told him much about his father, and the difficulties he had in getting the papers in Frank-
* Capt. Goldsbury had been one of the chief men in Franklin, but from syn- pathy with the British side had gone out of the way of the coming strife for lib- erty to Nova Scotia, where he remained afterwards till his death.
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lin. Inquiring after Dea. Slocum, he took a paper from his pocket-book, and handing it to young Aldis, said, " Asa, Deacon Slocum saved my life. I wanted to see a young lady friend of mine near Franklin. We had not evacuated Boston. Washing- ton was eneamped at Cambridge. and I could get to Franklin only by crossing through his lines. I forged a pass which took me through, but they soon discovered Washington's signature to be false, and sent a detachment after me as a spy. I was no spy, but I fled for my life. I hid three days in the woods. Dea. Slocum fed me, and then seereted me in his own house till I got off to Bos- ton. When I saw this note against him among the papers, I took it out and kept it. It is the only paper I ever withheld. I vowed that if you got the money I would bring you the note, but if that cursed government got it, they should never have a penny from the deacon !"
Mr. and Mrs. Pond and their daughter were now dead, and during the settlement of the estate Asa made his home mostly with his uncle, Ebenezer Aldis, in Mendon. He always acknowl- edged this period - from 15 to 19 - to have been the wild period of his life, when he went for fun everywhere. His aversion to ardent spirits saved him. He said Dr. Emmons never gave him up, but passed many an hour with him, talking of his parents and other things interesting to a youth. At 19 he applied to Rev. Caleb Alexander, of Mendon - afterwards a celebrated teacher in Fairfield. N. Y. - to fit him for college ; but he hesitated on ac- count of his then reckless and disputatious reputation. But Dr. Emmons urged him and he took young Aldis into his family, and when he left Mr. Alexander said he never had a more obedient pupil. Aldis' gratitude to Dr. Emmons lasted through life.
. Asa Aldis was graduated at Brown University, in 1796, and studied law with Judge Howell of Providence. After a short resi- dence in Chepachet, R. I., he was married, and in 1802 removed to St. Albans, Vt., where he entered upon his profession with characteristic zeal. In the years of the embargo, and during the . War of 1812, he was a zealous supporter of Jefferson's and Madi- son's administrations. This was the unpopular side in northern Vermont, but his violent political opponents were often his warm personal friends. On one point he was almost alone. He would never permit one dollar's worth of smuggled goods to be brought
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into his house, and even refused to be retained by his old clients in any case, if they were smugglers. But while he was the Gov- ernment's supporter and adviser, he refused all office and gave his advice gratuitously. At the close of the War of 1812, he was persuaded to accept the office of Chief Justice of Vermont, but declined a second election, in spite of the entreaties even of po- litical opponents.
Judge Aldis was a supporter of John Quincy Adams, especially in his anti-slavery sentiments. Having joined an abolition soci- ety while in Providence, he adhered to its principles in its dark- est day, and was among the leaders of the liberty party in his State.
After 50 years of age he professed religion and was confirmed in the Episcopal church by Bishop Griswold. He was also an especial friend of schools. Of his integrity it was said, after his death, that no one could say that he had wronged one man. He died 16th October, 1847, aged 77 years. He left at least one son, Hon. Asa O. Aldis, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and a daughter, the wife of his successor, Judge L. C. Kellogg, of Vermont. The view on the following page will be interesting as a relie of ante-revolutionary days. The building on the right is the " old store" already mentioned. The Aldis homestead is on the left. Both are to-day as the photograph reflects them.
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