USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Gardner > History of the town of Gardner, Worcester County, Mass., from the incorporation, June 27, 1785, to the present time > Part 25
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" I am the resurrection and the life."-John 11 : 25.
(HE word cemetery derived, as it is, from the Greek word koimaomai, meaning to sleep, or to repose, is beautifully expressive of the final resting place, of all that is mortal, of our dearly cherished friends. When " Abraham stood up, from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth saying, I am
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a stranger and a sojourner with you ; give me a possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight,"* and when the patriarch Jacob said to his son Joseph, " Bury me not I pray thee in Egypt, but I will lie with my fathers ; and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place,"t they both expressed the universal senti- ment of mankind, concerning the final disposition of the dead. Says Mr. John Jay Smith, superintendent of Laurel Hill Cemetery, referring to the acts of these patriarchs, " such are the natural expressions of human feeling; it is a matter of instinet, a spiritual impulse, which supersedes belief and dis- dains question. Even the American Indians have been known to burden themselves with the bones of their ancestors when removing to new reservations. These feelings are common to all ages-to the barbarian and the civilized, to the bond and free, to the heathen, to the christian. They are manifested by the barrows, cairns and mounds of olden times ; and every where spots seem to have been so selected that the magnificence of nature might administer comfort to human sorrow and incite to human sympathy. The aboriginal Germans interred their dead in graves consecrated by their priests. The Egyptians soothed their grief by embalming the dead and interring them in vast catacombs or enclosing them in stupendous pyramids. The Hebrews watched with religious care over their places of burial. They usually selected for this purpose ornamental gardens, deep forests, fertile valleys, or rocky mountains ; and they still designate them, with a sad emphasis, as the ' house of the living.' The ancient Asiatics lined the approaches to their cities with sculptured sarcophagi and mausoleums em- bosomed in shrubbery. The Greeks exhausted the resources of their exquisite art in adorning the habitations of the dead. They discouraged interments within the limits of their cities, and consigned their relics to shaded groves in the neighborhood of streams and fountains, and called them ' places of repose.'
*Gen. 23 :3, 4.
+Gen. 47 : 29, 30.
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The Romans erected the monuments of the dead in the suburbs of the city, on the sides of their spacious roads, in the midst of trees and ornamental walks. The Appian Way was crowded with columns and obelisks in memory of their heroes, and at every turn the short and touching inscription met the eye- Siste, viator, (pause, traveler), inviting at once to sympathy and thoughtfulness. These suggestions must have given for- merly, as they may do still, to the language of the senseless stone a voice enforced by the benignity of that nature with which it is in unison. The Moslems placed their burial grounds in rural retreats and embellished them as a religious duty."
TIIE TOWN BURYING YARD.
In obedience to a time honored custom, the early settlers, of this town, proceeded, immediately after its incorporation, to select an appropriate place, in the Centre of the town, for a meeting-house, common, and burying yard. At a meeting held November 7th, 1785, the town " Voted, To purchase land of Seth Heywood for a meeting-house, common, and burying yard, for the sum of thirty-six pounds, bounded as follows, viz. : Be- ginning at a stake and stones at the road between John Glazier and said Heywood, running west twenty rods, to a stake and stone ; thence south, to the county road ; thence east on said county road to the first mentioned road ; thence on said road, to where it first began. Voted, To appropriate one acre and a half for a burying yard, at the north end of said land. Voted, That the selectmen be a committee to take a deed." November 14th, 1785, " Voted, That the selectmen take a deed of the four acres of land of Mr. Seth Heywood, that Mr. Samuel Cook surveyed off last spring, with the encumbrance of a road on the same, and give him, the said Heywood, security for the same, in behalf of the town. Thirty pounds is the price, and the said Heywood to improve the same one year, he relinquish- ing the interest, so long as he improves the same, excepting so much of [the] burying yard, as the town shall have an occasion
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for to bury their dead in."* April 7th, 1806, there was an article in the town warrant " to see if the town will purchase a piece of land, of Lieut. Seth Heywood on the west side of the common and burying ground, to enlarge said common and burying ground." Upon this article, the town " Voted, To choose a committee of three, to talk with Lient. Heywood, and see how they can buy a piece of land of him, and make report at May meeting next." " Chose Aaron Wood, Esq., Mr. Smyrna Glazier and Mr. Simeon Leland for this committee." At the May meeting the town " Voted, To purchase a piece of land of Lieut. Seth Heywood. Voted, To give said Heywood one hundred and thirty-four dollars, for one acre of land west of the meeting-house, and for him to move the wall. Voted, The selectmen take the deed of said land."; The following is a true copy of the deed :-
Know all Men by these Presents, That I, Seth Heywood of Gardner in the county of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, gentleman, in consideration of one hundred and thirty-four dollars, paid me by the inhabitants of the town of Gardner, in the county and Commonwealth aforesaid, the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, do hereby give, grant, sell and convey unto the said inhabitants of Gardner, their succes- sors, a certain tract of land lying and being on the west side of the common, near the meeting-house in Gardner, aforesaid, containing one aere, and is bounded as follows, viz. : Beginning at a stake and stones on the northerly line of the county road, about three rods northerly of the northeasterly corner of said Seth Heywood's barn, at a stake and stones ; thence running north, thirty-eight rods, to the southwesterly corner of the burying ground ; thence west, four rods and five links to a stake and stones ; thence south, thirty-eight rods, to a stake and stones at said county road ; thence easterly, to the first men- tioned bound, four rods and five links. Said Seth Heywood agrees to build all the division fence, between said acre of land
*Town Records, vol. 1, p. 6.
+Town Records, vol. 1, p. 446.
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and his land, upon his own expense, and the inhabitants of Gardner, on their part, agree never to erect any building south of a line drawn parallel with the south side of the meeting- house on said land.
To Have and to Hold the same, to the said inhabitants of Gardner, their successors, to their use and behoof forever. And I do covenant with the said inhabitants of Gardner, their suc- sessors, that I am lawfully seized in fee of the premises, that they are free from all incumbrances, and that I will warrant, defend the same to the said inhabitants of Gardner, their suc- cessors, forever, against the lawful claims and demands of all persons. In witness whereof I, the said Seth Heywood, have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty-first day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and six.
SETH HEYWOOD. [SEAL. ] Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of us,
AARON WOOD, WILLIAM WHITNEY.
Worcester, ss. July 11th, 1807. Then Seth Heywood above named, acknowledged this instrument to be his free aet and deed ; before me,
ABEL WOOD, Justice of the Peace.
This burying yard is situated directly in the rear of the First Congregational Church, and, at the present time, is noticeable for the antique forms of its grave stones. Here is to be found the grave of Rev. Jonathan Osgood, the first minister of the town. By means of recent appropriations, this yard is made very commendable in appearance, showing no disposition on the part of the living to neglect the final resting place of the dead. In connection with this burying yard, is the town's tomb ; also a hearse house. The first hearse owned by the town, was pur- chased in 1821 and was without a seat for the driver, the horse being led. The hearses, now used, were purchased in 1870.
Recently a heavy, substantial wall, capped with large flat stones, has been erected upon the easterly side of these grounds.
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SOUTH GARDNER GREEN BOWER CEMETERY.
The company, owning and controlling the grounds of this cemetery, was organized as a corporation, under the statutes of 1841, November 26th, 1849. The following are the by-laws :-
ART. 1. This company shall be called the South Gardner Green Bower Cemetery Company.
ART. 2. The annual meeting of the proprietors, shall be holden on the last Monday of November, at six o'clock, P. M.
ART. 3. There shall be chosen, by ballot, at each annual meeting, five or more of the proprietors, who shall constitute a Board of Trustees ; one of whom shall be chosen, by the trustees, President of the company ; and also by the Board of Trustees, a Clerk, who shall also be Clerk of the company and of the board ; also a Treasurer ; all of whom, shall hold their office, one year, and until others are chosen and qualified in their stead.
ART. 4. The President shall preside at all meetings of the proprietors, and of the Trustees, and shall perform such other duties as shall be devolved upon him by the company, or by the board. He shall call special meetings of the company, at any time, on the application, in writing, of five or more of the proprietors, and special meetings of the board, on the written application of any one of its members.
ART. 5. The Trustees shall be authorized to purchase a site or plot of ground for a burying ground, said ground or lot to be called the South Gardner Green Bower Cemetery. Said site or plot to be purchased of John Sawin, by a deed running to the Trustees of the company. The Trustees shall manage the affairs of the company and for this purpose may erect and repair such suitable fences as they may judge necessary to enclose the South Gardner Green Bower Cemetery, may lay out the said cemetery into plots, suitable for burying spots, may divide the said cemetery into paths and make all other improve- ments, for utility or ornament.
ART. 6. The Clerk shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of his duty and shall keep, in separate books, a true record of
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the doings of the proprietors and Trustees ; he shall notify all meetings as hereinafter provided, and perform such other duties as may be devolved upon him by the company or board.
ART. 7. The Treasurer shall give bonds in the sum of five hundred dollars, with two sureties to the acceptance of the Trustees. He shall collect all assessments, issue certificates of burying lots, and execute all instruments for the purchase, sale, or transfer of lots, or other property, under the directions of the board ; and shall perform such other duties as the propri- etors or Trustees may prescribe.
ART. 8. The President and Trustees shall receive no com- pensation for their ordinary services, but when performing any special service as agent, or performing labor for the company shall be reimbursed their expenses and shall receive such further sums as the Trustees may think reasonable. The Clerk and Treasurer of the company shall receive a reasonable com- pensation for their services, to be agreed upon by the Trustees.
ART. 9. Ten of the proprietors shall constitute a quorum for doing business, and all votes passed and all business trans- acted, at any legal meeting of the proprietors, shall be as truly and absolutely binding as though they were present. Absent proprietors may vote by proxy authorized in writing, but no proxy shall extend beyond one meeting including adjournments of the same.
ART. 10. All meetings of the proprietors shall be notified by the Clerk, by posting up notices in two or more public places in said Gardner, at least five days before the time of holding such meeting. The Clerk shall also notify the meet- ings of the Trustees, in such manner as they may designate.
ART. 11. In the absence of the President or Clerk, at any meeting of the company or the board, they shall respectively have the power of filling the vacancy, for the time being. Any permanent vacancy in the offices of Clerk or Treasurer may be filled by the company at any meeting duly notified for that purpose, but any permanent vacancy in the Board of Trustees, or President, may be filled by the other members of the board ;
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but all such officers shall hold their office only till the next annual meeting, or till others are chosen or qualified in their stead.
ART. 12. The by-laws may be altered or amended at any ยท meeting of the company, such alterations having been presented in writing at a previous meeting.
ART. 13. All persons, becoming proprietors, shall be required to sign and be bound by the by-laws of the company.
This cemetery originally contained one acre and eighty-three rods of land. It is pleasantly situated, upon the southwest side of the South Village, about a quarter of a mile from Broadway. The main portion of the land, comprising this cemetery, is sufficiently elevated in position, to afford a pleasant outlook, in all directions. Its avenues are pleasantly laid out, making the lots easy of access, many of which are arranged very tastefully and are bordered with costly curbing. There are, in this cem- etery, several beautiful and expensive monuments. There is also, within the enclosure, a tomb. In 1864, this cemetery was enlarged by the addition of one and nine-tenths acres upon the north side, making, in all, about four acres. These grounds, bordered as they are, upon one side, by a grove of pines, afford an appropriate and pleasant resting place for the dead.
CRYSTAL LAKE CEMETERY.
Previous to the laying out of the South Gardner Green Bower Cemetery, in 1849, all interments, for the whole town, were made in the old burying yard at the Centre. This yard, con- sequently, became very fully occupied, creating a necessity on the part of the town, for providing a suitable place for the burial of the dead. August 7th, 1858, there was an article in the town warrant " to see if the town will take measures to procure a piece of land for a cemetery, for the use of the town, or act anything relating to the same." Acting upon this article the town voted to choose a committee of three " to see on what terms land could be purchased for a cemetery, and report to
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an adjourned meeting." This committee reported the expedi- ency of procuring a tract of land, upon the west side of Crystal Lake, comprising in all, about ten acres, which the town au- thorized them to purchase " for a cemetery, for the use of the town." This cemetery is remarkable for the beauty of its location, occupying as it does, an elevated tract of land, which gradually slopes down to Crystal Lake, whose clear waters form a delightful foreground to this resting place of the dead. This cemetery, with its background of pines, viewed in connection with Crystal Lake, reposing so peacefully at its foot, furnishes a scene of natural beauty and picturesqueness, whose tranquil- izing effect, serves to deprive the grave of its terror, and to take away from the minds of the living, all desire for " couch more magnificent," while
" Sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust,"
they feel assured that here they may approach their graves,
" Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."
These grounds are divided into suitable burying lots, several of which are enclosed, by costly and substantial curbing, and are interspersed with avenues, walks and ornamental plots, beauti- fied with cultivated flowers and green sward, which present a scene of beauty and attractiveness, under the careful and tasteful management of the present committee, Messrs. Lyman F. Wood, Ambrose P. Chase and Thomas B. Warren, the latter of whom, is an Englishman, by birth, and though aged more than three score years and ten, yet continues to combine unusual vigor, with excellent taste in the care and attention which he bestows upon these grounds. There are, in this cemetery, several monuments of superior costliness and beauty. The town makes an annual appropriation for the benefit of these grounds, varying in amount, from year to year, as the neces- sities of the case may require, which, together with the pro- cecds from the sale of burying lots affords a fund which is sufficient to give to this " sleeping chamber" of the dead, the
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care and labor needful for its continued attractive appearance and beauty.
The following are the rules and regulations of Crystal Lake Cemetery :-
Any person who shall become the owner of a lot in said Cemetery shall hold the same subject to the following condi- tions and limitations, as set forth in the deed, executed by the Treasurer, by order of the Cemetery Committee :-
ART. 1. Upon the selection of a lot, the committee shall issue to the person proposing to purchase, a certificate stating the amount agreed upon ; and said person shall present it to the Treasurer, and pay to him said amount within thirty days from date thereof. If not presented within the time aforesaid, all right to the selected lot shall cease.
ART. 2. Said lot shall not be used for any other purpose than as a place of burial for the dead, otherwise than to erect thereon some funeral monument or structure, and cultivate trees, shrubs or plants.
ART. 3. When a burial lot has been sold, it shall be graded within one year from the date of the deed, under the direction of the Cemetery Committee ; or the committee may at any time thereafter cause the same to be done at the expense of the proprietor.
ART. 4. If any tree, shrub or bush in any lot shall, by . means of its roots, branches or otherwise, become, in the opinion of the committee, detrimental to the adjoining lots or avenues or dangerous or inconvenient to passengers, the com- mittee shall enter said lot and remove the same or any part thereof.
ART. 5. If any structure or inscription be placed in or around said lot which a majority of the committee shall decide to be offensive or improper, said committee may enter upon said lot and remove the same.
ART. 6. Proprietors of neglected lots shall be notified by the committee of their condition; and in case of continued neglect, so as, in the opinion of the committee, to impair the
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general appearance of the cemetery, such lot may be put in order by said committee at the expense of the proprietor.
ART. 7. No tomb shall be constructed within said cemetery except by the written consent of the Cemetery Committee.
ART. 8. The deed of the lot shall be executed by the Treas- urer, in behalf of the town, by order of the Cemetery Com- mittee.
ART. 9. All burials in the public burial ground shall be made in the location directed by the Cemetery Committee.
ART. 10. The receiving tomb shall be used as a temporary place of interment ; and no body placed therein between the first day of May and the first day of November shall be kept therein more than ten days. No body shall be placed in or removed from the tomb or any lot in the cemetery, except by the Sexton or by his direction, he keeping a true record of the same and reporting the same to the town each year at the annual town meeting in March.
ART. 11. No unseemly noise, discharge of fire-arms or dis- orderly conduct will be permitted within the cemetery.
ART. 12. No horse shall be driven faster than a walk within the cemetery or left unfastened without a keeper, nor fastened except at such places provided for that purpose.
ART. 13. No person on horseback or in a carriage shall cross any lot or ride or drive on any walk or path ; but all riding or driving shall be confined exclusively to the avenues.
ART. 14. No dog shall be allowed to run at large in the cemetery.
ART. 15. All persons are strictly forbidden bathing in Crys- tal Lake from or near the banks of the cemetery.
ART. 16. All persons are forbidden to write upon or other- wise deface or injure any fence or other structure in the come- tery ; or to gather any flowers, either wild or cultivated, except on their own lot; or break any tree, shrub or plant therein ; under the penalty in such case made and provided.
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CHAPTER XH.
INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS.
" Deduct all that men of the humbler classes have done for England in the way of inventions only, and see where she would have been but for them." -Arthur Helps.
" Neither the naked hand, nor the understanding, left to itself, can do much ; the work is accomplished by instruments and helps."-Lord Bacon.
" Patience is the finest and worthiest part of fortitude, and the rarest too. Patience lies at the root of all pleasures, as well as of all powers." -John Ruskin. "The sire of gods and men, with hard decrees, Forbids our plenty to be bought with ease; Himself invented first the shining share, And whetted human industry by care."-Dryden.
" For sure by wit is chiefly meant Applying well what we invent."-Swift.
" See, I have called by name Bezaleel, and I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of work- manship."-Ex. 31 : 2-5
" And King Solomon sent, and fetched Hiram out of Tyre : he was filled with wisdom and understanding and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to King Solomon and wronght all his work."-1 Kings, 7: 13, 14.
HE truthfulness of the proverb, " Necessity is the mother of invention," finds frequent verification, in connection with the chair manufacturing enterprises of this town. Atten- tion has already been directed, in chapter VII., page 166, of this work, to the simplicity of the tools, originally employed in the construction of chairs. With a growing market, for this product of industry, there has ever been a growing demand for increased facilities for this sort of manufacture. Stimulated by this demand, the inventive brain and cunning hand of some
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of the more thoughtful and studious of our citizens, have not been inactive, nor slow to respond. As a result, of this demand, Gardner claims the honor of having, within its limits, several individuals whose inventive genius, and whose invaluable in- ventions have given them a cosmopolitan reputation, among all manufacturers of chairs. The names of some of these inven- tors, together with their inventions, we shall now proceed to mention.
PEARSON COWEE.
This gentleman was born in Gardner, in 1797, where he died in July, 1876. Being engaged, early in life, in the manufac- ture of chair stock, he conceived the idea of constructing a dish saw, which could be used in sawing chair backs into the con- cave shape required, in chairs, instead of being obliged to work them out by hand. He accordingly employed the mechanical skill of a neighboring blacksmith to forge, for him, a disk of iron, of a dishing form, and having eight points, upon which were adjusted saw teeth. This done, Mr. Cowee, fastening his invention to a revolving shaft, found that it did the required work admirably, which had before been done so laboriously, by hand, and in much less time. Mr. Cowee, however, never secured a patent upon this, his invention, though he must, in justice be the acknowledged inventor.
LEVI HEYWOOD.
Prominent among the business men and inventors, of this, his native town, stands the name of Mr. Levi Heywood, a sketch of whose ancestors, life and inventive genius, we here give, by courteous permission of the authors, as extracts from a large and valuable work, now in press and soon to be issued by Messrs. Van Slyck & Co., No. 7 Pemberton Square, Boston, entitled " The Manufacturers of New England."
" In connection with each of the varied industries which have made New England the work-shop of the country, there is, in almost every case, some single name, that of a pioneer or especially successful manufacturer, which is at once suggested
--
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when the industry is named. In this relation, to the chair manufacture, stands the name of HEYWOOD. The various families of this name, widely disseminated through Middlesex and Worcester Counties in Massachusetts, are, all of them it is believed, descended from John Heywood, who, prior to 1650, came from England and settled in Concord, Mass. His son, well and widely known as Dea. John Heywood, was a man of large influence both in civil and in ecclesiastical affairs. One of his sons, Phineas, born in Concord in 1707, removed, in 1739, to Shrewsbury, Mass. He was a selectman, a representative in the Provincial Congress, a member of the Committee of Cor- respondence, in 1774-1775, and a man of large influence in public affairs and an ardent patriot. His son, Benjamin, born in 1746, was commissioned in 1776, a captain and paymaster in the Army, and served through the war. He was present at the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne. From 1802 to 1811, he was one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, and for many years was one of the most eminent citizens of Worcester County.
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