USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Medfield > History of the town of Medfield, Massachusetts, 1650-1886 : with genealogies of the families that held real estate or made any considerable stay in the town during the first two centuries > Part 2
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The meadows with their unlimited supplies of grass were doubtless the attractive feature of this region in the eyes of the early explorers. Dedham, however, embraced but a small part of "Boggestow," the river being the boundary. Beyond was a stretch of "country land," the property of the colony, not yet laid out to any town.
In the early days, the General Court granted large tracts of "country land " to persons who had rendered eminent services. In what is now the southerly part of Sherborn and the north-east corner of Medway, hundreds of acres had been given in this way. These tracts of land were not occupied by the grantees, but were held by them for sale to actual settlers, and were known in the speech of those times as " the farms." Hence, the terms that have come
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THE PLACE COMMONLY CALLED BOGGESTOW.
down to us, -" Farm Bridge," "Farm Pond," "Farm Street."
The first distinct mention of this part of the township of Dedham, in their records, is in 1640, when that town granted "to Edward Alleyne, gentleman, and to his heirs and assigns forever, three hundred acres of upland and fifty acres of meadow, all to lie in or about that place called Boggestow, or not far from thence, where the said Edward shall make choice before any other do make their entrance thereabouts of any lands whatsoever." Alleyne died in 1642 ; but the land was laid out to his heirs in 1649, thus making good the town's promise, before any others "made their entrance," a settlement here being then proposed. That land was afterward bought by this town ; and its loca- tion is unknown, though it must have been on the east side of the river.
In 1643, the Court granted to Rev. John Allen, of Dedham, two hundred acres at " Boggestow, on Charles River." This was laid out on the west side of the river, and north of Bog- gestow Brook. In the grants of land by the town some years later, we find some of the lots bounded on "Mr. Allen's farm." A part of it was sold, however, about 1657.
It has been thought by some that there were scattered families living in this region before Medfield was incorpo- rated. Savage gives countenance to this idea in the expres- sion, several times used,-"settled in that part of Dedham which afterward became Medfield." Such was very evi- dently not the fact. A law had been enacted that "no houses be built over half a mile from the meeting-house, except mill-houses and farm-houses of such as had dwellings in some town." People were obliged to dwell together for mutual protection ; and all the early grants for house-lots in Dedham, as well as in other towns, were near each other. That the town of Dedham had granted no lands on our present territory, except that of Mr. Alleyne already referred to, is evident, as in every case when grants were made they were bounded on each other or on common land.
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HISTORY OF MEDFIELD.
APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY IN EARLY DAYS.
We generally picture to ourselves a dense and an unbroken forest, tangled and impassable, the ground piled with fallen trunks barring the traveller's way, as we see them now in mountain regions where stands "the forest primeval." We are often surprised, however, in reading the story of the carly Indian wars, to find that bodies of horse and foot soldiers seem to have penetrated the country in all direc- tions without much hindrance; and tradition says that the woods were so thin and trees so scattering that a deer could be seen in the forest at a distance of forty rods.
In the first written descriptions of the country by the English settlers, these open forests were compared to the parks of Old England. In 1629, Mr. Graves, of Salem, wrote: "The country is very beautiful, in open plains in some places five hundred acres not much troublesome to the plough. The grass and weeds grow up to a man's face : in the lowlands and by the rivers, abundance of grass, and large meadows without a tree or shrub."
In 1632, Morton wrote : "The savages burn the country, that it may not be overgrown with underwood. The trees grow here and there, as in our parks, and make the country very beautiful."
In Wood's New England's Prospect, written in 1634, it is said: "There is no underwood, save in swamps and low places ; for, it being the custom of the Indians to burn the woods in November when the grass is withered and the leaves dried, it consumes all the underwood and rubbish. There is good fodder in the woods, where the trees are thin ; and, in the spring, the grass grows rapidly on the burnt lands. ... The woods were open and the forests penctrated without difficulty. The only obstructions were streams, hills, and swamps."
The custom of burning the woods seems to have been general, and was remarked by the Dutch along the Hudson River. Owing to the destruction of many saplings by the annual burnings, valuable timber trees were not abundant. They grew in moist places and along watercourses, where
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THE PLACE COMMONLY CALLED BOGGESTOW.
the fires were less severe; and the towns adopted meas- ures for economy in the use of "timber trees." In our village, as we learn from the records, the large trees grew along Vine (or Meeting-house) Brook ; and there was cedar timber near, probably in "pine swamp."
The meadows were in early days much drier than at pres- ent : the change began to be noticed about 1740, when the river, from various causes, became more sluggish. Their ap- pearance was, doubtless, much like that described by Graves. They were free from trees and bushes, and yielded immense quantities of very good grass for the winter subsistence of cattle. There is little doubt that they were the great in- ducement to the selection of this as the site of a new town.
The soil of the plain on which our village stands is natu- rally dry : the fires would have full power, and it was probably not much wooded. It was, very likely, one of those open plains, "not much troublesome to the plough," divided by the belt of timber trees which grew along the brook. There were other open plains, evidently : as "south plain," "herd- house plain," and "bridge street plain," are mentioned in the very earliest records. We also read about "the great field in the middle of the town " and the " north plains."
There is no doubt that the aspect of the country as first viewed by Europeans, with the open woods free from under- growth, the patches of clear land between, and the verdant meadows skirting the streams, was quite as picturesque as any found to-day in the outlying portions of the town.
CHAPTER IV.
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GLIMPSES OF COLONIAL LIFE, 1630-1650.
HE fathers of New England evidently intended that every industrious man should have a fair chance to obtain a competency. To this end, land was given to all, so that the tiller of the soil should also be owner of it,-a con- dition quite the opposite of that to which he had been accustomed in England.
The State granted land in townships : the towns made grants to householders. In dividing the town land, the num- ber of persons in a family, as well as the amount of property, were taken into account; or, as they expressed it, the divi- sion was made " by heads and estates."
In some towns, the house-lots were made of equal size; in others, the smallest were to be not less than half the size of the largest. The house-lot contained a building site and a field adjoining, sufficient for the first needs of the settler. Afterward, other fields, woodlands, and meadows were divided by persons and estate. The location of these was generally determined by drawing lots.
Men in those days were not to expose themselves to need- less peril. In 1637, it was ordered that no man travel more than a mile from his house without arms, unless near other houses, under pain of 12s. fine.
In the same year, a man was fined for going to Connect- icut without giving notice to the Court or Council.
Offences against public order were to be properly dealt
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GLIMPSES OF COLONIAL LIFE FROM 1630 TO 1650.
with. In 1639, "the town of Dedham is fined 2s. 6d. for not having a pair of stocks."
By colonial law, a constant watch was to be maintained, to give alarm in case of danger from Indians. The signal was by discharging three muskets, by continual beat of the drum, by firing the beacon, by sending a messenger to ad- jacent towns, or by firing a cannon in the night. Every trained soldier was to take the alarm at once, under pain of £5 fine.
Every town was to provide a sufficient place of retreat for women and children, and for keeping ammunition. "Garrisons," as they were called, were sometimes built partly of stone, with a stockade.
The watch was to be set throughout the country at sun- set, and not to be discharged till beat of drum at sunrise. Gunpowder was distributed, one barrel to each of the smaller, and two barrels to each of the larger towns. That these precautions were not for an occasion of sudden alarm, but a stated regulation of the colony, is shown by the fact that, five years after the first order, an act was passed that " if any man shoot off a gun after the watch is set, except by allowance, he shall forfeit 40s."
The military officers of each town were to appoint what arms were to be brought to the meeting-house on the Lord's day and at other times of meeting, and to provide that no arms be left at distant houses or farms, so that an enemy might possess himself of them.
In 1645, it was ordered that "the chief officer of every company shall with all diligence take order that there be a daily ward kept upon the outskirts of their several towns that lie within their several charges, and that they send out daily scouts for the ranging of the woods upon the borders of their several towns."
The colonial government insisted upon proper respect being shown it. In 1644, Robert Saltonstall was fined "for presenting his petition (to the General Court) in so small and bad a piece of paper."
The interests of education were attended to. Harvard
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IHISTORY OF MEDFIELD.
College was established, so that a class was ready to gradu- ate as early as 1642 ; and schools for the instruction of chil- dren were maintained by law, even in those troublous times. In 1647, every town of fifty households was or- dered to have a school where children should be taught to read and write. Every town of a hundred households was to have a "grammar school" to fit youth for the uni- versity, under penalty of £5.
The first comers to these shores brought with them hand- mills to grind their corn ; but, as soon as houses had been erected in the settlements, a site was selected and a water- mill built "for the supply of the town."
All owners of cattle put them into the common herds for pasturage in the burnt woods or "herd-walks," under care of a herdsman. A hut or shelter was built for him on his range, called the "herd-house." Such a structure is sup- posed to have been the first building ever erected by white men on Medfield soil; a herd was probably kept by the Dedham people during the summer in the easterly part of what is now Medfield, some time before the settlement here was begun.
The houses of the colonists were covered on the outside with thin boards overlapping each other. It is said that these were at first split or cloven, not sawed, and were called clove-boards, and hence our word "clapboard." The roofs were at first thatched; and, on account of the great danger from fire, every householder was required to provide a ladder for his house or be fined. After a few years, roofs of the better class of houses were shingled. The interior was generally ceiled. Only the wealthy had their houses plastered, or "daubed," as it was then called. Oak was generally chosen for building purposes at first. There was not much confidence in pine. Oak was used for frame, for enclosing and ceiling, as well as for clapboards and shingles. Pine and cedar were gradually substituted for these last ; but oak was thought indispensable for frame and enclosing boards, to a much later date.
Many of the first settlers were mechanics, and it was not
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GLIMPSES OF COLONIAL LIFE FROM 1630 TO 1650.
difficult for each town to provide itself with most articles of necessity requiring mechanical skill. Arrangements were soon made for tanning, cach farmer sending his hides to the tanner. When they were returned in the shape of leather, the village shoemaker, or "cordwainer" as he was called, was invited to bring his tools, stop a few days with the family, and make up the year's stock of shoes.
The first rude buildings might probably be erected by almost any person who could wield an axe; while, for the better class of houses and for mills, a carpenter was gener- ally to be found in the settlement.
The production of some kind of cloth was a necessity, and weavers were found in every town. These were bred to the business in the old country ; and, taking the thread spun by the housewives, they were skilled to produce goods of dura- ble quality and sometimes even of beauty.
The food of the colonists consisted of beef and pork, which they raised in abundance, with bread and beans. . The latter were largely used. Sweets and dainties were not common. Luxurious living was discouraged by such stat- utes as that which ordered that " no cakes or buns be made or sold except for burials or weddings."
The grain produced was chiefly Indian corn, no doubt raised with greater facility than any other grain. It was a principal article of food, as well as of trade. Wheat and rye were raised to some extent, rye being sold at about the price of corn, wheat much higher. Potatoes were unknown till a century later. It is said of the first that grew in a neighboring town that a judicious citizen, having tasted of a raw one, remarked that he thought they might be good after lying in the ground over winter and getting well ripened by the frost. After their introduction here, they were considered a rarity. A bushel was thought to be suffi- cient for a winter, as they were only served up for visitors. There is no indication that tea and coffee were in use in the colony for many years after it was founded.
Wolves and wild-cats infested the swamps in this region, and their revels much annoyed the early settlers at night.
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HISTORY OF MEDFIELD.
The howl of the wolf was frequently heard, and young cattle feeding near their haunts often fell a prey. Hunting wolves was a necessary pursuit, and very popular among the adven- turous young men. The bounties offered by the authorities made the reward for bringing in a wolf's head sometimes as much as £2.
No man could be a "freeman," with right to vote or have any voice in the management of public affairs, unless he was a member of the church ; and all male citizens who were not freemen were required to take an "oath of allegiance" to the colonial government. By these enactments, the colo- nists sought to guard themselves against the intrusion of "men inimical to their views, whose aim would have been to subvert their church and destroy their government." In 1641, it was declared that "all who were orthodox in judg- ment and not scandalous in daily life " could become mem- bers of the church.
Slavery was prohibited, except in case of "lawful captives taken in just war, and such strangers as willingly sell them- selves or are sold to us." The death penalty was to be in- flicted for murder, adultery, man-stealing, rape, and bearing false witness knowingly to deprive one of life. Cruel and barbarous modes of bodily punishment were forbidden. No gentleman was to be punished by whipping, unless his crime was particularly shameful and his life generally vicious. The old English practice of wife-whipping was prohibited, though the Court reserved to the husband the right to chas- tise his wife for just causes.
During these twenty years, prosperity began to reward the toils and hardships of the colonists, so that many of those who had barely enough to bring them over became worth hundreds of pounds. By 1643, it is stated that there were one thousand acres in gardens and orchards, and fif- teen thousand acres under cultivation for grain-raising. There were twelve thousand neat cattle and three thousand sheep in the colony. Wool, flax, and hemp were abundant for the manufacture of such articles of necessity as could be produced from them. A few ships were built in those early
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GLIMPSES OF COLONIAL LIFE FROM 1630 TO 1650.
times, and native vessels carried on something of a com- merce with the West Indies. The manufacture of glass was commenced, and iron foundries were established. A print- ing-press was set up at Cambridge in 1639, the first thing printed being "The Freeman's Oath." The population of the colony in 1643 was about eighteen thousand.
Churches were founded in every town, and meeting-houses were built. A meeting-house then was not only a place for religious services, but for all gatherings or meetings of what- ever kind. These were rude structures, the roofs being thatched like the houses. There were few, if any, pews ; but the people generally sat on benches or settees.
The curious custom of "seating the meeting-house " pre- vailed in all the towns for many years. A committee was chosen at town-meeting to perform this duty. All the seats were ranked in dignity. All the people in town were ranked also according to age, wealth, or general standing. Those of high rank in the social scale were formally assigned to seats of corresponding rank in the meeting-house. Children never sat with their parents, but were seated together, with a tithing-man to keep them in order.
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CHAPTER V.
THE SETTLEMENT OF MEDFIELD.
THE enterprise of starting a new town on the banks of Charles River was undertaken at first by Dedham men, though they were soon joined by others. This place was called at first " Dedham Village." The plan evidently was to get as much of the meadow on both sides of the river as possible, with the adjoining upland. The east side lay within the bounds of Dedham, the west side belonged to the Commonwealth. To carry out the plan, two grants were needed.
A petition was sent to the General Court for a grant of land west of the river. This petition has not been pre- served; but in the records we find the following : -
In ansr. to a petition of the inhabitants of Dedham ffor a parcell of vpland and meadow adjoyning to their line to make a villadge of, in quantity 4 miles south and north, and three miles east and west, becawse they are streightned at their doores by other tounes & rocky lands, &c. Their request is graunted so as they erect a distinct village therevpon within one yeere from this day, Octob. 23, 1649, and Capt. Keajne, Mr. Edward Jackson & the surveyor gennerall are appointed to lay it out at any time, Dedham giving them a weekes warning.
Having obtained this grant Oct. 23, 1649, Dedham held a town-meeting November 14th following, and set apart a por- tion of its original territory for the new town. After recit- ing the above grant, the town voted that there shall be " granted for the accommodation of the village so much land
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THIE SETTLEMENT OF MEDFIELD.
within the west end of the bounds of Dedham next Bogas- tow as is or may be contained within the extent of three miles east and west, and four miles north and south, -the form and line to be varied and altered as in the judgment of such men as shall be deputed thereunto shall seem for the most convenient accommodation both of Dedham and the said village."
1209730
In the following January, Ensign Phillips, John Dwight, and Daniel Fisher were chosen by the town of Dedham, and authorized to lay out the grant from that town, and to accomplish it before the middle of April, 1650. This grant corresponds very nearly, if not exactly, with the territory now embraced within the town of Medfield.
The men appointed by the Court to lay out the land west of the river, now a part of Medway, performed that duty ; and in the colonial record for May 22, 1650, we find :-
Whereas there was a graunt made by the Generall Court at a session the 22d of the 8th moth, 1649, vnto the inhabitants of Dedham, in answer to a petition of theires for the enlargement of the village theire, as by the sajd graunt may more fully appeare, this graunt, so made, was layd out by Captayne Robt. Keaine and Mr. Edward Jackson, who haue subscribed it with theire hands in manner & forme followinge, vizt: begininge at a small hill, or iland, in the meddow on the west side of Charles Riuer, & runinge from thence about full west three miles, and then, turninge a south line, ended at Charles Riuer at three miles & a quarter, this line beinge there shorter than by the graunt it was allowed to be, but accepteed by the grauntees, the sajd riuer is appointed to be the bounds from that place to the place where the first lyne began. This Court doth approue of this returne of the psons aboue mentioned concerninge the bounds of the sajd village, & in answer to the request of the inhabitants of Dedham doe order that it shalbe called [Meadfeild].
These lines can be readily traced. The "small hill or iland " is about one-fourth of a mile north of Boggestow pond. The line "about full west " is very nearly the present boundary line between Medway and the towns of Sherborn and Holliston. The "south line" makes the indentation in the northern boundary of Medway, and passing along the westerly border of Black Swamp came to the river a little to the west of Medway Village.
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HISTORY OF MEDFIELD.
In the above grant, the name of the town is in brackets : evidently, the space was left blank at that time. But the name was decided on very shortly afterward, when it was probably inserted. The name is variously spelled in the old records, frequently Meadfield and Medfeild.
Several reasons have been given for the selection of this name. The most plausible is that the towns of Dedham, Medfield, and Wrentham in England lay near each other ; that the early settlers here came from that vicinity, and per- petuated the memory of their native locality in naming these towns. This view is strengthened by the tradition that this town once received the gift of a bell from Medfield in Old England. There is no record, however, in any way relating to it.
At the meeting in Dedham, Nov. 14, 1649, the question was proposed upon what conditions the lands were to be granted. Some desired that they be freely given ; while others, in consideration of their town rights in the meadows, thought the grantees should pay £100 "to be divided among such of the inhabitants of Dedham as do not remove to the village." The latter view prevailed; but the amount was afterward reduced to £50, "in consideration of the many and great charges lying upon that town."
From this mention of the meadows in the Dedham records, it is quite probable that grass had been taken from them already. It is certain that in a time of scarcity of hay, seven years after, the farmers of Dedham looked about for a sup- ply, and found it in the "Meadow beyond Wolomolopoag," now Wrentham, which was at a still greater distance.
At the same date, we find the following record :-
Chosen by the inhabitants assembled for the managing and trans- action of whatever is or may be needed for the further performing of the erecting, disposing, and government of the said village, the men whose names are hereunder written, who are fully authorized thereunto until there be such a company of men engaged in that plantation and associated together as the town of Dedham shall judge meet for that work and trust.
RALPH WHEELOCK. THOMAS WIGHT.
ROBERT HINSDELL. HENRY CHICKERING.
JOHN DWIGHT. PETER WOODWARD. ELEAZAR LUSHER.
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THE SETTLEMENT OF MEDFIELD.
Wheelock, Wight, and Hinsdale came to the new settle- ment : the others remained in Dedham, but acted in behalf of the parent town until Medfield was invested with town rights, fifteen months afterward.
The proceedings of this committee were recorded by Eleazar Lusher; and the book is still in good preservation, a specimen of Lusher's antique but beautiful handwriting.
Among the first business undertaken by this committee was the preparation of an agreement to be signed by all who desired to be accepted as inhabitants of Medfield. Its au- thor is not certainly known ; but there is little doubt that it was chiefly, if not entirely, the work of Ralph Wheelock, who has very properly been styled "the founder of Med- field."
THE AGREEMENT.
For as much as for the further promulgation of the Gospell, The subdueing of this pt of the earth amongst the rest given to the sonnes of Adam & the `enlargemt of the bounds of the habitations formerly designed by God to som of his people in this wilderness, It hath pleased the Lord to move & direct as well the much Honoured General Court as -t allso the Inhabitants of the Town of Dedham, each of them in it, to Grante such a Tract of Land in that place called Boggastoe and the adiaciant pts thereabouts as is adiudged a meete place for the erect- ing & settling of a Town, We the psons whose names ar next under- written, being by the Inhabitants of Dedham selected, Chosen, and authorized for the ordering & manageing of the said Town or village to be erected, for the due settling therof as also for the p'venting of questions, mistakes, disorders & contentions that might otherwise arise, doe order, determine, and resolve, as followeth :
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