USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Marlborough > History of the town of Marlborough, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1657 to 1861; with a brief sketch of the town of Northborough, a genealogy of the families in Marlborough to 1800 > Part 14
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"8. Resolved, That this Province, and every individual town and person, separate or together, have a right to petition his Majesty for a redress of grievances, according to the Bill of Rights and other Acts of Parliament, and that the assertion of a corrupt ministry, a Lord Hillsborough, the Bar- onet of Nettleham, or any other tools of arbitrary power proclaiming to the contrary, or their withholding petitions and remonstrances from King and Parliament, is denying and withholding justice, and is unconstitutional, and deserves our resentment.
"9. Resolved, That when a people justly complain of illegal acts of Parliament, which are contrary to the constitution of the nation, and peti- tion the throne in a proper way for relief-to be denied a hearing, and called
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seditious and guilty of treason against his Majesty, as has been the case, is totally subversive of the constitution, and a great indication of much cor- ruption, and a sign of wicked rulers, and that the glory of such a people is departing, or already gone, which calls aloud on such a people to exert themselves in the cause of their God and country, for the case is very dan- gerous, and there should be no delay in this matter.
" 10. Resolved, As the opinion of this town, that this Province is in the utmost danger of being ruined, and that it is time, yea, more than time, to rouse out of security, and to consider of the danger we are in of being stripped of the privilege of trial by jury, and deprived of a Council of our own choosing and supporting, which is now sought after by those mercenary wretches who are so sordidly detached from all good, as that they are endeavoring to enslave this country in misery, by stripping the people of their Religious Liberty and Property.
" 11. Resolved, That every town, not only in this Province, but in all the British Colonies, and elsewhere in the British dominions, ought to furnish themselves with everything necessary that is lawful and commendable in the sight of God, in order to save and defend themselves, and regain support and secure ourselves, property, liberties and privileges, civil and sacred, and that without any further delay."
These Resolves were unanimously adopted. But the chang- ing phases of the controversy required new expressions of opin- ion, and the patriots of Marlborough were ready to meet any issue that might be made.
At a meeting in 1773, called for the express purpose of con- sidering the alarming state of public affairs, the following patri- otic Preamble and Resolutions were adopted :
" When we reflect upon the peace and harmony that once subsisted between Great Britain and the Colonies, we cannot sufficiently regret the loss thereof ; and when we consider that it proceeds from unconstitutional measures adopted not only on the other side of the Atlantic, but by one * among us whom the people once were ready to promote to all the places of trust, profit, and honor in their power ; who has been, nevertheless, using all his artifices and cunning to produce an intestinal commotion between us and our mother country, and reduce us to a state of slavery worse than death itself .- Do therefore
" Resolve, 1st, That all such who are in any ways aiding or assisting in imposing any unconstitutional taxes upon us, deserve our resentment, and may expect from us no favor or affection.
" Resolved, 2d, That by an act of the British Parliament, the East India
* Gov. Hutchinson, whose friendly pretensions to the Colonists had just been exposed by the discovery of secret correspondence with the Ministry, in which he recommended more stringent measures against the Colonies, is probably here alluded to.
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Company are allowed to export certain teas to America, free of duty in Lon- don, but subject to a duty payable in America, which we look upon to be a scheme laid to catch us in the net they have long set for us.
" Resolved, 3d, That although our land is very fruitful, yet being taxed without our consent, we may be brought to a morsel of bread, or but one meal of meat in a week, which is the case with Ireland, a very fertile land ; and as our great Lawgiver, and the law of nature, require self-preservation, we are determined by no means to submit to such arbitrary measures, duties, tythes, taxes, &c., but will unite with our brethren in this and the neighboring Provinces, and oppose them to the last extremity.
" Resolved, 4th, That peace and harmony will never be enjoyed between Great Britain and the Colonies, until the interests of both be inseparably connected ; which will be accomplished by nothing short of a repeal of all unconstitutional acts, and the removal of all sineenres, pensioners, pimps, informers and bad governors.
" Resolved, 5th, That we look upon every person who does not oppose the present unconstitutional measures of administration, especially Edward Winslow and others, of the ancient and memorable town of Plymouth, who without giving one reason, have protested against the proceedings of said town, as inimical to the interests of America, and ought to be despised by all the human race.
" Resolved, Gth, We return our hearty thanks to our worthy brethren in the town of Boston and the adjacent towns, for their noble and spirited exer- tions against the attacks of arbitrary power, and stand ready to assist them in the execution of their votes and resolves, at a minute's warning.
" Voted, That the foregoing Resolves be recorded on the Town Book, and that the Clerk transmit a copy thereof to the Committee of Correspondence of the town of Marlborough, to be forwarded to the Committee of Corres- pondence of Boston."
On the 20th of June, 1774, the inhabitants of the town were convened by a warrant from the Selectmen, to act on the fol- lowing article :
" To see what measures the town will come into respecting an Act passed by the British Parliament for blocking up the Harbor of Boston, and other Acts which have passed and are in agitation respecting the Colonies, or the Province of Massachu- setts Bay in particular."
After due discussion, Edward Barnes, Samuel Stow, Alpheus Woods, Hezekiah Maynard and George Brigham, were chosen a Committee to draw up a Covenant of Non-consumption of British goods, for the people to subscribe at an adjourned meet- ing. At the adjourned meeting, the Committee presented their covenant, which was signed by a great part of the people. The conclusion of the meeting is thus described in the Record :
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" After hearing the names of the persons who had not signed the said covenant, the town, by a vote, ordered that the persons' names who had not signed, or did not sign by the first of Sep- tember next, be published to the world by the Committee of Correspondence of this town."
At a meeting held September 29, 1774, Peter Bent was eleet- ed Representative, and the town instructed him as follows :
" We hereby instruct you that you adhere strictly to the Charter of this Province, stipulated and agreed to between their Majesties, King William and Queen Mary and this Province, and that you pay no acknowledgment to any unconstitutional and new fangled Counsellors, and that you do not give your consent to any aet or thing that may be construed a tacit ac- knowledgment to any of the late oppressive, wieked and unjust Aets of the British Parliament, for altering the Government of the Province of Massachusetts Bay."
In the incan ume the town adopted measures to prepare for any exigency that might arise. They directed the Selectmen "to make an addition to the town's stock of ammunition- powder, bullets and flints." They also united with several of the neighboring towns, Shrewsbury, Westborough, Northbor- ough, Southborough and Grafton, in the choice of field officers, and in reorganizing the militia of said towns.
The town also adopted measures to carry into effect the recommendations of the Continental and Provincial Congresses, raised a company of minute-men, provided for their drill and discipline, and offered them a bounty, provided they were called into service. They also instructed their constables, who at that day were collectors of taxes, not to pay the Province tax over to the Royal Treasurer, but to the Treasurer appointed by the Provincial Congress. And while they were in this manner providing for military defense, they were not unmindful of the poor, who were brought to a state of great distress by the closing of the port of Boston. They agreed to contribute to their sup- port, and chose a committee to procure means for their relief.
In the spring of 1775, the busy notes of preparation were heard throughout the Province. In Marlborough, fifty-five additional guns, with bayonets, were procured ; drums were furnished to the companies ; blankets were procured for the minute-men, who were to be paid for the time spent in their
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weekly drill. And while these warlike preparations were going on, the town were careful to select some of their most discreet and reliable men, to represent them in the General Court. And when by the arbitrary act of Gov. Gage, the Legislature was prorogued, and no new election was ordered, so that the Gov- ernment was about to be abolished, or what was even worse, to be swallowed up in the Executive, the people wisely substituted a Provisional Congress as a government of the people them- selves. In this Provisional Government, Marlborough was rep- resented by Edward Barnes, Peter Bent, and George Brigham, some of the most substantial, devoted, and patriotic of their citizens, who justly represented the sentiment of the town.
Having brought the civil and political history of Marlborough up to the opening of the American Revolution, before entering upon that field of hardships and trials, of patriotic efforts and of glorious success, it is well to pause and reflect upon the ques- tious at issue, the condition of the American people, and the moving principles which prepared them for the contest. In these respects, the history of one town is the history of the Province. Though there is a lively interest felt in the result of a battle, to the philosophic mind this interest is greatly increased, when we understand clearly the cause of the war, and the principles to be settled by the conflict. It is, therefore, due to the present generation, and especially to the memory of our fathers, that we present the true issue and the motives by which they were actuated in taking up arms against the mother country.
The impression is somewhat general, that the people took up arms simply to relieve themselves from a small tax upon tea, and a few imported articles. This narrow view of the subject does great injustice to our patriot fathers. The subject of taxa- tion was not the sole canse of the conflict. Taxation, it is true, was one, but only one of the manifestations of arbitrary power. The Parliament claimed the right to legislate for the Colonies "in all cases whatsoever." This implied not simply the right to tax, but to impose any other burden-to command their ser- vice in any mad scheme of conquest in any part of the world- the right to take away their charter, to alter or annul any of their laws-to deprive them of the right of trial by jury, and so
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render their property, their rights, and even their lives insecure. In a word, to reduce them to a state of the most abject servi- tude.
The tax upon stamped paper and tea was only a single instance of the exercise of despotic power; but it involved the great principle, and was defended by the ministry on the ground that the power of Parliament was unlimited, and ex- tended to every subject whatever. Our fathers pleaded the principles of the English constitution, and maintained that they were protected by the doctrines of the Great Charter of the realm, and were justly entitled to all the rights and immu- nities of English subjects. But the haughty ministry virtually informed them that Parliament in America was supreme, and the guaranties of the English constitution did not apply to dependent Colonies.
Our fathers saw in the Stamp Act, and the other modes of tax- ation, the assertion of that unlimited power, which, if submitted to, would reduce them to a state of the most abject slavery. Nor was the taxing power the only odious power Parliament attempted to exercise in America. They claimed and attempt- ed to exercise the right of quartering troops upon the Colonies in times of peace, and of making the military paramount to the civil power. They also violated the charter granted to the Colonists, claimed the right of transporting them to England, to be tried for any offense of which they saw fit to accuse them ; made the courts of justice dependent upon the Crown alone ; and attempted to enforce all these arbitrary laws as interpreted by a corrupt court, and passed upon by packed juries, at the point of the bayonet.
And to insure success in this work of oppression, the military force at Boston was greatly augmented ; and the subjugated condition of that devoted town, foreshadowed the fate of the Province. Instead, therefore, of its being a question of mere taxation, it became a question of life or death to their civil and religious institutions, and to their personal, private rights. With such an issue before them, they could not hesitate. Nor was the issue one in which they alone were concerned. They knew that their children, and those who came after them, would be affected by the result of this controversy, and that the great cause of human rights was in a manner committed to
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them. Having a posterity to regard, a country to save, a God to obey, they chose the path of duty and of right, and hence were firm and unwavering in their purpose.
But though the principle of abstract right was clear, many, very many obstacles presented themselves. The right of rev- olution, which must be admitted in the abstract, can never be urged as a duty, unless there is a reasonable prospect of suc- cess in improving our condition and securing a greater good. And what were the prospects in this case ? A feeble province, almost without arms and munitions of war, against the most powerful nation of the earth, then at peace with all the world, and so in a condition to bring all her mighty energies to bear upon her rebel subjects! Well might the timid fear, and the prudent hesitate. No doubt there were men at the commencement of the Revolution, who were sincere lovers of freedom, and who would willingly have spilt their blood in defence of human rights, if they could have seen any reasona- ble prospect of success. But seeing nothing but blood and carnage before them, and a protracted struggle which must end in our defeat and more perfect subjugation, they were from principle opposed to the commencement of hostilities.
Our natural antipathy to the "tories " has undoubtedly led us to be too indiscriminate in our censure of the whole of the class, who at that day adhered to the royal cause. That there were men who attached themselves to royalty merely for the sake of preferment, and fawned before the officers of the crown from self-interest, and would be willing to sell not only their own birth-right, but the liberties of their brethren for a mess of pottage, there can be no doubt ; and our detestation of such men can hardly be too great. But removed as we are from those perilous times, and enjoying as we do the blessings of free government, we can afford to be generous, and are in duty bound to be just in our estimation of that portion of our coun- trymen.
But the existence of loyalists in the midst of society at that day, whatever may have been their motives, could not fail to be a troublesome element, and must have caused great uneasi- ness in the community. To have a spy in our own camp- one who might betray us into the hands of the enemy-is naturally regarded as a great calamity ; and even the suspicion
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of being one, must almost of necessity subject such a person to the detestation of those whose safety and lives are thus put in jeopardy.
Marlborough seems to have been cursed with at least one man, who was known and acknowledged to be a devotee to Royalty. We have already seen that as early as 1770, the people of the town condemned Henry Barnes* as an importer who brought goods into the country contrary to the. agree- ment of the patriotic and self-sacrificing merchants of Boston and its vicinity, and solemnly agreed that they would not trade with him. Subsequently, when in 1775 Gen. Gage sent his
* Though there were several families of Barneses in Marlborough, whose descendants are found there at the present day, it does not appear that Henry Barnes was in any way connected with these families. Tradition says that he came to Marlborough from Boston. He appears to have been a man of some note, and a favorite of the loyal Governor, who appointed him one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Middlesex in 1766. He is denominated an " importer " in the Marlborough Resolutions. He kept a store in Marlborough, and appears to have been a man of wealth and enterprise.
In 1753 he preferred a petition to Governor Shirley, in which he sets forth, " That he has lately been at considerable expense and trouble in erecting in Marlborough a commodious house, works, and utensils for the distilling and manufacturing of cider spirits, and the same has so far answered his expecta- tions, as that besides what has been consumed in the Province, he has distilled the same spirit and sent to Boston for exportation between two and three thousand gallons, and the same is esteemed by proper judges to be as good and wholesome as any spirit now used ; " and prays that he may be licensed to retail it in small quantities. Whereupon the Court of Sessions and the Select- men of the town were empowered to grant such license.
Henry Barnes resided in the east village, in the house known as the Cogswell house, which he built in 1763. He was a man of considerable property, and one of the largest tax-payers in the town. He was the owner of several slaves, one of whom, " Daphine," he left in Marlborough, and she was supported out of his estate. We have already said that he espoused the royal cause, and at the breaking out of the Revolution was found with the enemy. He left Marl- borough early in 1775, and repaired to Boston to take shelter under the protec- tion of the King's troops. An act was passed in 1778, forbidding all persons who had left the State and gone over to the enemy, returning to their former homes ; and providing that in case of their return, they should be arrested and sent out of the dominion of the United States; and in case they should, after such transportation, return without the leave of the General Court, " they shall suffer the pains of death without benefit of clergy." In this act, Henry Barnes is expressly mentioned. His property was confiscated. He was in England with his family in 1777, and died in London, 1808, aged 84.
For some of these facts I am indebted to Hon. LORENZO SABINE, whose admirable work on " American Loyalists " (which he is now revising) should be in the hands of every student of American history.
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spies to Worcester to sketch the topography of the country, they sought his house as a place of refuge, where they supposed themselves perfectly safe, as we shall show hereafter.
The year 1775 opened with a large British force cooped up in the town of Boston. The military became impatient, and Gen. Gage felt that he must adopt a more active policy to satisfy his troops, and to meet the expectations of the ministry. He knew that the Province was making military preparations, and that they had collected warlike stores at Concord and Worcester, and he resolved to take an early opportunity to destroy them. Consequently he detailed Capt. Brown and Ensign D'Bernicre, two officers of the royal army, "to take sketches of the roads, passes, &c., from Boston to Worcester," and also from Boston to Concord, preparatory to the contem- plated expedition to these towns to destroy the military stores. These officers entered upon their duty, and in disguise visited both of those places, and sketched the topography. In the account of the adventure written by D'Bernicre, we learn that on leaving Worcester for Boston, they came on unobserved until they passed Shrewsbury, when they were overtaken by a horseman,* who appeared to examine them very minutely and attentively, as if he intended to know them, if he met them again ; or be able to describe them, so that they might be known by others. After he had taken his observations, he rode off in haste, taking the Marlborough road, but they took the Framingham road, and returned to Jones's tavern in Weston, where they tarried for the night. The next day, though the weather was severe, they traveled to Marlborough.
Their journey thither, and the incidents of that adventure, are thus described by D'Bernicre.
" At two o'clock it ceased snowing. a little, and we resolved to set off for Marlborough, which was about sixteen miles off. We found the roads very bad, every step up to our ancles ; we passed through Sudbury, a large vil- lage near a mile long; the causeway lies over a great swamp, or overflow- ing of Sudbury river, and is commanded by a high ground on the opposite
* Capt. Timothy Bigelow, of Worcester, sent by the Committee of Corres- pondenee of that town to observe these strangers, whose martial bearing, not- withstanding their eaution, betrayed them. Capt. Bigelow communicated their probable visit to the people of Marlborough, where they were expected that night.
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side. Nobody took the least notice of us, till we arrived within three miles of Marlborough, (it was snowing very hard all the while,) when a horseman overtook us, and asked us from whence we came-we said from Weston ; he asked us if we lived there-we said no; he then asked where we resided, and, as we found there was no evading his questions, we told him we lived in Boston. He then asked us where we were going; we told him to Marl- borough, to see a friend ; (as we intended to go to Mr. Barnes's, a gentleman to whom we were recommended, and a friend to the Government ;) he then asked us, if we were of the army ;. we said no, but were a good deal alarmed at his asking us that question ; he asked several rather impertinent questions, and then rode on for Marlborough, as we suppose, to give them intelligence of our coming-for on our arrival the people came out of their houses (though it snowed and blew very hard) to look at us ; in particular, a baker asked Capt. Brown, ' Where are you going, Master ?' He answered, to see Mr. Barnes.
" We proceeded to Barnes's, and on our beginning to make an apology for taking the liberty to make use of his house, and discovering to him that we were officers in disguise, he told us that we need not be at the pains of telling him, that he knew our situation, that we were very well known, he was afraid, by the town's people. We begged he would recommend some tavern where we should be safe ; he told us we would be safe no where but in his house ; that the town was very violent, and that we had been expected at, Col. Williams's tavern, the night before, where there had gone a party of liberty people to meet us. While we were talking, the people were gather- ing in little groups in every part of the town [village].
" Mr. Barnes asked us who had spoken to us on our coming into town ; we told him a baker ; he seemed a little startled at that, told us that he was a very mischievous fellow, and that there was a deserter at his house. Capt. Brown asked the man's name ; he said it was Sawin, and that he had been a drummer. Brown knew him too well, as he was a man of his own Company, and had not been gone above a month; so we found we were discovered. We asked Mr. Barnes, if they did get us into their hands what they would do with us ; he did not seem to like to answer; we asked him again; he then said, he knew the people very well, that we might expect the worst treatment from them.
" Immediately after this, Mr. Barnes was called out ; he returned a little after, and told us the Doctor of the town had come to tell him, he was cone to sup with him, (now this fellow had not been within Mr. Barnes's doors for two years before, and came now for no other business than to see and betray us.) Barnes told him he had company, and could not have the pleas- ure of attending him that night; at this the fellow staid about the house, and asked one of Mr. Barnes's children, who her father had got with him ; the child innocently answered, that she had asked her papa, but he told her it was not her business; he then went, I suppose, to tell the rest of his crew.
" When we found we were in that situation, we resolved to lie down for two or three hours, and set off at twelve o'clock at night; so we got some supper on the table, and were just beginning to eat, when Mr. Barnes, who
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had been making inquiries of his servant, found the people intended to attack us : he then told us plainly, that he was very uneasy for us, that we could be no longer in safety in the town ; upon which we resolved to set off immediately, and asked Mr. Barnes if there was no road round the town, so that we might not be seen. He took us out of his house by the stable, and directed us by a by-road which was to lead us a quarter of a mile from the town; it snowed and blew as much as I ever saw in my life. However, we walked pretty fast, fearing we should be pursued; at first we felt muclı fatigued, having not been more than twenty minutes at Barnes's to refreshi ourselves, and the roads were worse, if possible, than when we came; bnt in a little time it wore off, and we got on without being pursued, as far as the hills which command the causeway at Sudbury, and went into a little wood, where we eat a bit of bread that we took from Barnes's, and eat a little snow to wash it down.
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