USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Lancaster > History of the town of Lancaster, Massachusetts : from the first settlement to the present time, 1643-1879 > Part 7
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Another reason for exclusion is given by Willard, and is certainly entitled to great respect. " Vicious persons would be disorderly ; the situation was critical, the danger of giv- ing provocation to the Indians would be increased, and it would require but a slight matter to destroy the settlement." They had provided, as we have seen, for the accommodation and encouragement of five or six able men of the right stamp.
Under the Covenant to refer certain matters to arbitrators, three men who had been chosen to act in that capacity, Simon Willard, Edward Johnson and Edmund Rice, in May, 1656, passed upon several matters of interest. One deci- sion was that proprietors should abide by the measure of land made by the appointed surveyor, and not measure for them- selves. On the complaint of some that their lots were too small, it was decided that justice should be done to them " with care, what speed they may."
There was a complaint of "the want of recording lands in the town book." The arbitrators therefore appointed Ralph Houghton to keep a Record of lands. Much of the early history of the town depends upon that vote. Without the " Record of Lands " existing now in a copy from the original book, it would be impossible to locate the settlers, or scarcely
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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
guess where the larger part of them lived. The arbitrators also made the following sensible suggestion in regard to the prudential affairs of the town. "First, the town are to con- sider what their occasions are that shall be attended to there- in, and write it in their town book; and this being done, then to choose their selectmen to act thereupon."
The selectmen, or townsmen, as they were styled, seem to have had their first meeting on the twelfth of January, 1658, at the house of John Tinker. They ordered every inhabit- ant that had lands laid out to him to bring in a perfect list in regard to " quantity, quality, place and manner of lying of their said lands, with their several butts and bounds." These lists were to be fairly recorded in a book kept for that purpose. The copy of the Record thus provided, is among the volumes of town Records and is of great value to the student of our history.
At a meeting held in February, at the house of goodman Kerley, it was ordered that all "highways laid out and allowed for the town and countries use, be amply recorded for posterity, and the way marks be yearly repaired by stakes or otherwise." If they had also provided for the making of a map of the town, and the insertion of each new road, when opened, the convenience of posterity would have been sub- served, and much time saved which has been vainly spent in the effort to find the starting point, the angles, and the end of roads, by pine and other trees which have been dead more than a hundred years.
A vote passed by the selectmen, who met with Ralph Houghton in February, 1658, is interesting in as far as it shows us one feature of town life which long since passed away with the division of the land held in common. The order provided that two gates should be set up where the fences were made against the commons and common pastu- · rage lands, on the east side of the river. That is, a highway passed between the common lands over the river, east of John White's house, and a gate opened on either side of the
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POWER WANTED.
road. At the same time, three gates were to be set up on both sides of the Nashua, somewhere on the road that now crosses the Atherton bridge.
There was a town meeting on the twelfth of March, 1658, when the orders made by the selectmen were read to them. The town agreed to all the orders " except that of the gift of goodman White. And it therefore crossed it because he feared not to speak in his own cause." What there was offensive in goodman White, either in the matter or manner of his speech, has not come down to us, and conjecture must be forever at fault. But it appears that he had right on his side, because the selectmen, in July .of the same year, "" upon serious consideration," granted him substantial justice.
Upon trial it was found that the governing apparatus did not work efficiently, and Master Tinker, the most prominent member of the board of selectmen, procured in their behalf, from the committee, Messrs. Willard, Johnson and Dan- forth, an addition to their powers. His petition reads : " May it please you to understand, that since your session with us, and commission granted to such as you are pleased to entrust in the prudentials, the Lord has succeeded our endeavors to the settling, as we hope, of Master Rowlandson amongst us, and the town in some silent,* (at least) we hope in a good preparative to after peace ; yet it is hard to repel the boilings and breaking forth of some persons difficult to please, and some petty difference will arise among us, pro- vide what we can to the contrary. Wherefore be pleased to consider whether our power already given be not sufficient, - that is, insufficient - to add a small penalty to the breach of our orders made for the good of the town, each neighbor, etc. ; else it is a sword tool, and no edge." He says farther, " if we may not receive power from you to hear and determine of differences amongst us under twenty shillings damage ; otherwise the oppressed in small things bears his burden, because it is a greater burden to go far for ease." 6 *A few words illegible.
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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
In other words, an oppressed or injured man could not afford to carry his cause to court at a distance from home.
Master Tinker inquired farther if the power of the towns- men or selectmen, extended to the giving and granting of lots, divisions, and additions, of lands and meadows ; and if they might " choose an artist " among themselves or their neighbors to lay out the town bounds. In closing, the petition said : "Gentlemen, be pleased to resolve these cases, and vouchsafe us an addition to our powers where defective, in any of these, as without which we are, or seem of little courage ; and by which, through God's assistance, we may be theirs and yours humbly to serve."
This application, made by Master Tinker, in behalf of himself and colleagues, who were not masters, but goodmen, according to the style of the time, met with a favorable response. There is such a fine flavor of antiquity to these old papers, that one takes pleasure in giving them at full length, at the risk of prolixity. The committee replied : " 1. That it is in the power of the selectmen to impose any meet fine for the breach of any of their prudential orders, not exceeding twenty shillings for each offence. 2. That if the town please to nominate three meet persons to be your com- missioners for ending small causes, and present them to the county court, they may there be allowed for any case under forty shillings. 3. That it shall be in the power of the selectmen, and not in the hands of the inhabitants, who may make their address to the committee in case of any griev- ance." They say in reference to the fourth point -the choosing an "artist " to lay out the town bounds, - that it is not in their power to act; but "in case it be done," that is, if the selectmen should appoint some man to the service, the committee " would further the acceptance thereof to their power."
There was a strong desire among the selectmen, and doubt- less the feeling was general in the town, to have Major Wil- lard take up his abode here, and give the aid of his sound
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MAJOR WILLARD INVITED.
sense and wise discretion for the guidance of affairs. This sentiment found expression at a meeting of the townsmen on the eighteenth of February, 1659. They met at their houses in rotation, and were all present generally except William Kerley, who seemed to have a grievance. When his turn came, they met at the meeting-house, near his home. The meeting under notice was held with goodman Prescott, and the action there taken is recorded as follows : "they think meet and do order that a letter of invitation be sent to Major Simon Willard to come to inhabit among us, with such measures concerning accommodations as have been formerly propounded ; and the hands of the selectmen are fixed, and a copy of it recorded." What the "measures concerning accommodations " were, cannot be found in the selection from the Records which remain to us; but the inducements offered to incline "the Major " to become a resident must have been liberal as appears by the subsequent grants made to him.
As the town became consolidated and began to feel the force of a settled community, the feeling grew up that the restrictions in regard to receiving additions to the popula- tion might be safely relaxed. This does not, however, prove that the restrictions were not prudent and wise at the time of their adoption. The door was now opened for the admission of inhabitants besides the " five or six families more that were then in being, [to] be admitted for the good of the town and church." And the selectmen, July 15, 1659, " conceived it to be most for the good of the town, that so many inhabitants be admitted as may be meetly accom- modated, provided they are such as are acceptable, and therefore the former order is repealed. And that admittance be granted to so many as shall stand with the disposition of the selectmen, and are worthy of acceptance, according to the committee's acceptance." Surely the door of entrance was duly guarded when the approbation of the selectmen and also of the committee must be first obtained.
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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
This was the last meeting of the selectmen which Mr. Tinker attended, being about to remove to Pequid, or New London, where he took a respectable and prominent position. The rest of the selectmen, in view of his departure, on the seventh of July, "petitioned the committee that goodman Wilder might be appointed by them to act as a selectman ; which was granted." This was Thomas Wilder, who had recently moved into the town.
There was a meeting of the town on the sixteenth of February, 1660, which took action in regard to a second division of land, and relates therefore in a special manner to the proprietors. It is of interest to the student of our history chiefly for two things. The meeting was held in the house 'of Major Willard. This shows that he had listened to the overtures made to him by the selectmen, and taken up his residence here. His house stood on the site now occupied by Sewall Day, where "the Major's " descendants have lived, for several generations, almost down to the present time. He was a great acquisition. The coming of Thomas Wilder was, prospectively, scarcely less important, because the families of Willard and Wilder, in every gener- ation, have occupied a prominent and useful position in the town. The other point of interest connected with this town meeting relates to the method adopted in making the division of land. Having made ready for settling the division by casting lots, the Record goes on in these words : "which being finished, and all the orders and instructions aforesaid agreed on, and the Lord being sought unto for his blessing upon his own ordinance, Lots were taken as followeth, without any disturbance or distraction."
There is nothing recorded of special interest for two or three years ; but we can readily believe that the town was well managed by its multiform government. The committee in Boston chose the selectmen. At one time the committee directed the selectmen in regard to their action ; at another time the latter acted on their own discretion. The selectmen
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SELF-GOVERNMENT.
called the town together, at times, and asked their concur- rence in what had been done. And on one occasion, in 1658, the town being met " at a training," passed a vote in relation to the "setting up of a saw mill." What legal validity could pertain to a vote passed at such a meeting, may be questionable; but the mill was set up, and the town made a liberal grant in aid. There was still another complication, for the town often acted as a body of pro- prietors.
In 1664, there began to be an expression of opinion in favor of self-government, which led the townsmen, or select- men to call the attention of the people to the subject. Simon Willard, having moved hither, was immediately made chair- man of the selectmen. He was also chairman of the com- mittee. The town felt confident of their ability, with his guidance, to manage their own affairs. The selectmen, in their communication to the town, say that, " we. conceive, by some expressions of several of our brethren and neigh- bors, that there is not such a loving concurrence as we could desire. Therefore if it be your desire to have the liberty to choose officers, and to order the prudentials of the town as other towns ; if our endeavors herein be of use to you, and also acceptable to you, we desire to bless God for it; but if not, we desire not to create trouble to ourselves, and grief for our loving brethren and neighbors, but rather choose this love tender to you." They say farther that they were ready, if such was the desire of the town, to join "lovingly and cordially " in petitioning the "honored committee to appoint a meeting and to have a hearing of what hath been acted by the townsmen here since they committed the care of the prudentials to us." The same kind and unambitious spirit pervades the letters to the close. "If any be grieved at anything that has been acted, that then and there they may be eased ; and if the committee please to return liberty into the town's hands, we hope it will be as acceptable to us as unto yourselves." This bears date, January 14, 1664,
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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
and was signed by Willard, Prescott, Wilder, Sumner, and Ralph Houghton.
Meantime the selectmen continued to act in relation to all matters committed to them. The larger part of their business related to the division of lands, and was therefore only of private interest. John Roper was chosen a selectman in place of Roger Sumner. The selectmen called a town meeting at which it was voted that "all gifts, grants, acts, orders, con- clusions and records, acted, ordered or recorded by the town, townsmen or committee, shall be confirmed and rati- fied by the town, from the beginning of the plantation to this day." This was unanimously voted, February 13, 1664.
At the same time it was voted that the selectmen should " further a second division of meadows to be laid out," but were not to " dispose of lands," or make grants. Ralph Houghton was chosen clerk for the year and allowed £2 18s. for his trouble herein. Some action of the town, as pro- posed by the townsmen will be referred to in connection with ecclesiastical affairs.
The time had arrived when the town was to pass from its state of pupilage, and become self-governing, under the general court. On the seventeenth of March, 1665, the town, through the selectmen, "earnestly desired that the honored committee would be pleased to put forth their power to ratify and confirm this act of confirmation of the town, and also to give liberty to the town to choose towns- men within themselves, so long as yourselves see a loving concurrence therein among ourselves ; and in so doing, your worships will engage us yours in all Christian service."
This courteous and respectful address was answered, March 19, in the same tone, and perhaps came from the same pen, since Major Willard was chairman of both boards. The reply is pleasant reading. "Gentlemen, and loving friends : We have, although through straits of time, but briefly, provised and considered what you have above pre-
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RECORDS LOST.
sented, and do with much thankfulness to the Lord, ac- knowledge his favor to yourselves. And not only to you, but to all that delight in the prosperity of God's people and children, in your loving compliance together, that this mercy may be continued to you is our earnest desire, and shall be our prayer to God. And wherein we may in our capacity contribute thereto, we do account it our duty to the Lord and you, and for that end do fully concur and consent to your proposals for the ratifying of what is. And for liberty among yourselves, observing the directions and laws of the general court, for the election of your selectmen for the future."
The town had now " come of age," and was henceforth to conduct its own business, without a body of supervisors living at a distance, and making occasional visits. The action of the town ever afterwards proved its capacity to order its affairs with discretion. There are records of many meetings between 1665 and 1670, when the Records come to a long hiatus, but the action generally related to lands. The brief references to roads and bridges give no additional information worthy of recital. The Records fail between February 10, 1671, and the time of the massacre. And from that event to the year 1724, there are no town Records. The volume, said Mr. Willard, in 1824, "mysteriously dis- appeared about forty years since," that is, about the year 1784. We must feel our way through this period by the help of the Proprietors' Records, which cover a small part of the time ; by the " Book of Lands," and by the manuscripts in the archives of the state relating to military, civil and ecclesiastical affairs. During this period there are no church Records to lighten our way, previous to 1708.
Glancing at events contemporary with the history of Lan- caster from the first step towards its settlement in 1643, to the spring of 1676, we find that the governors of the colony had been Winthrop, Dudley, Endicott, Bellingham and Leverett. Winthrop had been impeached in 1646, and
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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
acquitted ; a synod of the churches of New England had been held ; Eliot had been engaged in preaching to the Indians, and had translated the Bible into their tongue ; the colony had had a controversy with the Long Parliament, and come off victoriously ; had, in 1651, as ever after, the favor of Cromwell, and had in 1656-60 encountered its trials with the Baptists and Quakers. At the same time great events had taken place in England. The Long Parliament had dethroned and executed king Charles I .; Cromwell had succeeded to power, and till the close of his life, had ruled the three kingdoms with splendid success, while raising his country to the highest point of honor and influence among other nations. Richard Cromwell had been pushed aside ; the Rump, after brief sway, had yielded to the rising tide of loyalty which welcomed Charles II. in 1660.
CHAPTER IV.
RELIGION. EDUCATION. CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE, INCLU-
DING THE MINISTER. THE INDIANS. THE BURNING AND MASSACRE, 1676.
THE ecclesiastical affairs of the town, as revealing the character of the people, deserve special mention. It has been already stated that the services of a minister were had as early as 1654, a year after the first enabling act of the corporation. The Rev. Joseph Rowlandson came to the place, and continued from the year above named till 1676, as the only religious teacher and pastor. The provisions of the Covenant entered into by the town in 1653, relative to the church lands, the building of a meeting-house, and the support of a minister, have been recited on a former page. Eighty-two acres of land, including thirty of upland, forty of intervale, and twelve of meadow, were set apart forever as church lands for the use of the minister, pastor or teacher for the time being " or whomsoever may be stated to preach the word of God." The lands might be rented, or the minis- ter might improve them if he chose. They agreed to build a house for the minister, as well as a sanctuary for God. All of these stipulations appear to have been fulfilled .. The date of the erection of the first meeting-house is fixed by the two following facts. In 1657 the committee ordered the selectmen to take care for the "erecting a meeting-house." A meeting of the selectmen was held in the meeting-house · in June, 1658. This house was placed on the northeast corner of the lot which is now the Center or Middle Ceme- tery, between the road to South Lancaster and the railroad.
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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
It was on the brow of the hill which then sloped gently to- wards the river. The old burying yard was about sixteen rods northeast of the meeting-house, and was, doubtless, visited by the people during the noon intermission of every Sabbath-day. The first house stood until 1686, when it was taken down and a new one erected in its place. The second house was burned by the Indians, July 31, 1704. The first house of worship had been spared by the natives in 1676. Had they lost their reverence for "God's house," or had their feelings become more embittered ?
Mr. Rowlandson subscribed the town Covenant, February 23, 1655, and received his allotment of land. . By order of the "arbitrators" in 1656, the town was to pay him fifty pounds annually, valuing " wheat at six pence per bushel under the price it is as they buy, and so for other grains by their proportion ; and as God shall be pleased to enlarge their estates, so they shall enlarge therein answerably." In August, 1657, according to Willard, the town conveyed to Mr. Rowlandson, " by deed of gift," the house and land that had been set apart for the use of the ministry.
In the same year, September 19, the committee or com- missioners, ordered the selectmen to " take care for the due encouragement of Master Rowlandson, who now labored amongst them in the ministry of God's holy word." They probably saw the need of such encouragement in more ways than one. Up to this time there was no organized church ; no deacons ; no seasons of communion, and probably but a small number of Christian men to hold up his hands, and encourage his heart. At the same time his support must have been meager except as he cultivated his farm. It would not be strange if he became discouraged, and willing to listen to overtures from another field of labor. However this may have been, the following extract from the Records of the town will always be read with interest. With all the gravity of the subject there is a touch of humor inter- mingled.
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GRANT TO MR. ROWLANDSON.
Under date of the fourteenth of May, 1658, the Record reads : "On the certain intelligence of Master Rowlandson's removing from us, the selectmen treated with him to know what his mind was ; and his answer was, his apprehensions were clearer for his going than for staying. They replied they feared his apprehensions were not well grounded, but desired to know his resolution. He said his resolutions were accord- ing to his apprehensions, for aught he knew. Then the select- men, considering it was a case of necessity for the town to look out for other supply, told Master Rowlandson, that now they did look upon themselves as destitute of a minister, and should be forced to endeavor after some other ; so dis- charging him."
But the selectmen were too hasty in their action. The voice of the town was soon heard ; and perhaps the female portion of it, whose wishes are often potential in calling and sustaining a minister, had a word to say. Let us see what occurred eleven days after the selectmen got the resolutions " for aught he knew" of Mr. Rowlandson. "A messenger came from Billerica to fetch Master Rowlandson away ; upon which the town, having notice given them, came together with intent to desire him to stay and settle amongst us ; and after some debate, it was voted as follows: 1. Whether it were the mind of the town to invite Master Rowlandson to abide and settle among them in the work of the ministry? The vote was affirmative by the hands of all held up. 2. Whether it was their minds to allow him, for his main- tainance, fifty pounds a year, one-half in wheat, six pence in the bushel under the current prices at Boston and Charles- town, and the rest in other good current pay, in like pro- portions ; or otherwise, fifty-five pounds a year taking his pay at such rates as the prices of corn are set every year by the court? The vote was affirmative by the hands of all held up. 3. Whether they were willing that Master Row- landson should have the dwelling-house which he lives in as his own proper right, according to the deed made by the
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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
town, and confirmed by the committee ; with the point of land westward, and some land west, and some north of his house, for an orchard, garden, yard, pasture and the like. This was put to the vote, and granted by the major part, and opposed by none but old goodman Kerley, only there was a neuter or two, with this proviso, that it hindered not the burying place, the highway, convenient space to pass to the river, and the land intended to lie for the next minister, to be reserved convenient to the interval lot now improved by Henry Kerley ; all which was left to the selectmen, to be laid out according to their best discretion."
This was to be the minister's home lot, and was situated around the minister's garrison, on the land now owned by Mr. Thayer. His upland and intervale, it will be remem- bered, was northeast of the Center bridge, the very point of the Neck. None opposed the grant but the senior Kerley, who seems to have been, for a series of years, the minority of the town, neglecting to attend the meetings of his fellow- selectmen, and in an unhappy frame of mind. The gift of this piece of land, for some reason, did not please him, and his son Henry, and goodman White, Henry's father-in-law, who held the same relation to the minister, were all mixed up in the question. Finally, the town taking a firm attitude, the Kerleys acquiesced. It was a very proper proviso of the " neuter or two," in regard to the passage way to the old burying yard, to the river, to the intervale, and to the land intended for the next minister. These points being arranged to general satisfaction, we have the following result.
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