USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Middleborough > History of the town of Middleboro, Massachusetts > Part 30
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Mrs. Bowdoin, while a resident of the town, presented the First Church with a large silver cup, which at one time was used upon the communion table, but is now preserved by the church as a relic.
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was a guest of Dr. Oliver in 1773, attended the First Church, and at a reception given to him met many Middleboro people.
Opposite the end of Nemasket Street, which has been dis- continued, stood the house of Asaph Churchill, and upon the other side of the street was the old red schoolhouse. For William Duyan years the house was the residence of William Tup- per, whose name and family have now become extinct in this part of the state. He was a well-to-do farmer and a staunch patriot, and is said to have been the only man in town who did not stand in awe of Judge Oliver, and who never hesitated to cross him in his endeavors to carry any particular matter either in town or in church. He and Cap- tain Joshua Eddy were more outspoken against his political views than any of the citizens. At one time, in the presence of a large number of people standing near the rock on the side of the pond between the two roads, he said to them in derision : "If Judge Oliver told you that that rock had been moved dur- ing the night, you are all d- fools enough to believe it." At the close of the war, upon the reorganization of the militia of the county, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel.
In the year 1778, by an act of the legislature, many of the tories of the province were banished and their estates confis- cated, including that of Peter Oliver. In 1786 Nahum Mitchell and Edward Winslow, appointed to dispose of the confiscated land of the tories, sold a portion of the Peter Oliver estate to Jesse Bryant and Abner Weston. This afterwards came into the possession of Andrew Leach, who had opened the first store
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here about 1745. He was a Scotchman, keen and quick in manner and blunt of speech. Opposite the store was his house, which was burned many years ago. Soon after his death he was succeeded by Gamaliel Rounseville, a man of ability holding many offices in town, who also lived there. He carried on busi- ness for more than fifty years, and upon his death his stock of goods was sold at public auction; this created unusual inter- est from the fact that many articles had been in the store for more than forty years.
In the beginning of the last century there were in this vil- lage four stores : Mr. Rounseville's at the corner of the road ; one at the top of the hill belonging to E. T. Soule, which was later moved to another part of the town ; one owned by General Abiel Washburn, opposite his house, which was afterwards taken down and a new store, now standing, built and occupied by him ; and next to this, on the site of Dr. Oliver's office, the store of Judge Weston, since moved to a position near the herring-weir. A new store was erected on Muttock Hill and occupied by Colonel Thomas Weston. This also was moved away and used as a dwelling-house.
The making of hammered nails is now one of the abandoned industries, to which it is interesting to give a passing note. Iron was collected from different parts of the county, together with what could be obtained from the blast furnaces, and was brought to the forge, where it was made into bars about six feet long, three inches wide, and half an inch thick. These bars were then taken to the slitting-mill, cut up, and rolled into nail-rods about six feet in length and about a quarter of an inch square, or according to the thickness of the nail desired ; these were bound up in bundles of fifty and taken by the farm- ers and others to their shops in this and surrounding towns and made into hammered nails, which were then taken to Mr. Weston's store, put into kegs, and shipped over the country. In addition to those at the forge and slitting-mill, there were over fifty men thus given employment when not at work upon their farms. The shops where these nails were made were from twelve to twenty feet square, and at the present day, as one
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rides through the town, many of them may still be seen as reminders of an occupation which was superseded by the in- vention of the nail machine.
Here shovels were manufactured by General Washburn and his son, Philander, and found a ready market all over the coun- try, the men employed being known as " shovel busters."
After the confiscation and sale of Judge Oliver's property at Muttock, the works there were managed for short periods by different men, but in the latter part of the eighteenth century, when they came into the possession of General Abiel Wash- burn and Thomas Weston, a large and successful business was carried on for more than a generation. One can scarcely realize, in passing over the bridge, that a hundred years ago it. was a place of so much business activity. At that time the follow- ing manufacturing establishments were built upon the dam : a large sawmill, the iron house for the forge, opposite on the other side a large coal house, the ruins of which can still be seen, the forge, the slitting-mill, a grist-mill, the hammer and finishing shop, a large coal house on the other side of the dam, two finishing shops for shovels, a large blacksmith's shop, and on the other side of the street the shovel factory. Below the dam were the ruins of the old Oliver furnace and the wood house connected with it.
The men employed here and the clerks in these stores were many of them among the brightest young men of the town. Some of the leading spirits were Louis Weston, Thomas Stur- tevant, Harry Hubbard, Joseph H. Bisbee, William E. Doggett, and Alpha Crossman. The stories of their witticisms, their fun, their genial good-fellowship, and the pranks which were played upon customers and countrymen who came to the vil- lage, have been repeated in the neighborhood with the zest of former times. Strange purchases were made : one desiring material for a suit of clothes was induced to buy several yards of furniture covering of a gay pattern as "the latest style." At the commencement of the great temperance movement in the early part of the last century, the stores in Muttock were among the first to discontinue the selling of rum, the
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favored intoxicant among the common people. Afterward many of the topers, Jube, an old colored man, among the num- ber, would come and earnestly beg for a dram, and some strange mixtures were prepared by these clerks, compounded of almost everything in the store which would mix with water, with a large portion of cayenne pepper to give flavor to the drink. These practical jokes were not always confined to the village. A maiden lady, who by some of her remarks had pro- voked the enmity of these young men, had met with an acci- dent which was made the subject of another joke of a little more serious character. For generations it had been the cus- tom of those attending the First Church to send requests for prayers for the sick or bereaved. These were usually car- ried to the clergyman by the sexton after he had taken his seat in the pulpit. One Sabbath morning a man noted for his absent-mindedness occupied the pulpit, and as he was about to read the requests for prayers, a stranger walked hastily up and gave him an additional notice. Without glancing at it he opened it and commenced to read : -
" Desire Morse desires prayers For falling down Deacon Nathan's stairs."
The good man's thoughts were evidently elsewhere and he did not notice what he had read, but continued : -
" She broke no bones but bruised her meat, Which was not fit for dogs to eat."
Great was the consternation of the assembly, but the poor man was so absorbed in the duties before him that he did not comprehend the situation. While it was not known who was the author, it was not difficult to trace this to these fun-loving clerks. Many another tale could be told did time and space permit.
The prominent business men in Muttock were Judge Thomas Weston and General Abiel Washburn. They were men well known for their business ability, their sterling integrity, and the esteem in which they were held throughout southeastern Massachusetts.
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Thomas Weston was born March 20, 1770. In the early part of his life he was engaged in business at Pope's Point furnace in Carver ; in 1798 he moved from Carver and made Mut- tock his home, having purchased a large tract of real estate there, in- cluding the Peter Oli- ver house and a portion of the works upon the dam. He held many public offices, was a member of the house and senate, and for four years a member of the governor's council. He was nominated as re- presentative for Con- THOMAS WESTON gress when nomination of his party made elec- tion sure, but declined to serve. In the latter part of his life he was appointed chairman of the Court of Sessions, a posi- tion which at that time gave him the title of Judge. He died June 17, 1834, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. Upon his death his son, Colonel Thomas Weston, succeeded him in business until the year 1844, when he moved to Warrentown.
General Abiel Washburn had previously been in business at the Four Corners with Major Levi Peirce and Major William Bourne, under the firm name of Washburn, Bourne & Peirce. This partnership was dissolved a little before Judge Wes- ton came to Muttock, General Washburn having purchased an interest in the dam and water privilege there, and a large farm, now occupied by his grandson, Charles E. Grinnell, a member of the Boston bar. He commenced manufacturing shovels, and built the hammer shop upon the dam. He was also interested in the sawmill and grist-mill. This business
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1818]
was continued until his death, and was afterwards carried on by his son, Philander Washburn, who had been in partnership with him for several years. General Washburn was the son of Edward Washburn, a patriot soldier in the Revolution, and from him he inherited what in those days was considered a large property. This was afterwards lost in business, but by his sagacity and enterprise he later became the wealthiest man and the largest tax-payer in town. He was for many years the acknowledged leader of the Federal party, which at that time was hopelessly in the minority, yet upon all important town mat- ters he was consulted, and his suggestions . were usually adopted. He was interested in the local militia of the state, and held com- missions for thirty-six years through the dif- ABIEL WASHBURN'S RESIDENCE ferent grades of office to that of Brigadier-General of Plym- outh County Brigade, from 1816 to 1824. General Washburn was a gentleman of the old school, of large and command- ing stature ; he died June 17, 1843, in the eightieth year of his age, leaving a large family of children.
Until the early part of the last century the highway from Muttock Hill to the Green was over the old dam upon which Oliver's works were located. On July 27, 1818, the town voted, "that an agent be appointed to petition the court to locate a highway across the mill pond at Oliver's works." Judge Wilkes Wood was chosen, and was authorized to contract for the building of this bridge. The records do not show any further action, although by that contract the bridge was built and the road over Muttock Hill was made. The bridge was of wood, and the road over the hill was so steep that it was con- sidered unsafe. This gave rise to so much complaint that a town meeting was held May 12, 1856, when it was voted, " that
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the selectmen be a committee to cause to be rebuilt the bridge over Nemasket River at Oliver's works." May 9, 1859, a com- mittee was appointed to replace the bridge by a stone struc- ture and to raise the grade several feet ; at the same time the top of the hill was cut down some eight or ten feet, leaving the road as at present.
In this neighborhood lived Ephraim Norcutt (the husband of Mary Norcutt before mentioned), who had taken part in the French and Indian War, and was afterwards in Judge Oliver's employ, working on his estate as " skipper " of the furnace.
In the latter part of the eighteenth century John Ritchie, a Boston merchant, bought an interest in the confiscated Oliver's works, and built the house opposite the entrance to the ceme- tery which was recently burned. There is a tradition that very soon after Mr. Ritchie left, two ladies of apparent means and education came and lived in the place for a number of years. They refused to give their names, or to have any intercourse with the people of the town. They were very fond of flowers, and had a large garden on the south- erly side of the house. After residing there a RITCHIE HOUSE few years, one of them died and was buried quietly in the cemetery opposite; the other went away, leaving no trace of their names or previous history.
In the early part of the last century Benaiah Wilder lived in the house occupied by the late Captain Leonard Driggs, and opposite this house he had anchor works until the em- bargo of Jefferson's administration destroyed that industry ; now a few cinders are all that mark the place. He was one of those whom Judge Oliver hoped to influence, but who disap- pointed him by joining the patriots early in the Revolution. He was a brother of Ebenezer Wilder of North Street, who for
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a long time was a deacon and prominent member of the First Congregational Church.
Henry Weston, whose home was with Captain Earl Sproat, served with distinction in the navy during the War of the Rebellion. Before he reached his majority he was a master's mate in Farragut's squadron, and was in many of the battles in the famous Red River expedition, where he was promoted for bravery in several engagements. He was in command of the gunboat Diana in one of the battles on the Atchafalaya River. After a most desperate fight, in which all of his officers were either killed or wounded and not men enough were left to fire a single gun, he was obliged to surrender his ship. He was then taken to the rebel prison in Texas, known as Camp Ford, where he remained until the close of the war.
Beautiful for situation, between Plymouth Street and the Nemasket River, lying on its eastern bank, is the Nemasket Hill Cemetery, known as the Old Burial Hill, or simply The Hill. March 24, 1885, it was incorporated as the Nemasket Hill Cemetery Association, and is the oldest and by far the largest in town.
Soon after Peter Oliver came to Middleboro, he bought the following parcels of real estate : -
Jan. 15, 1742, From Joseph Haskall one half of a certain piece of land con- taining eight acres lying in Wareham near Wankinco River, with a mill dam and stream.
Jan. 25, 1744, From Ebenezer Morton fourteen acres and a quarter of land in the 17th. lot of land in the 3rd. allotment of the little Lot Purchase in Middle- boro.
Jan. 29, 1744, From Joseph Bumpas one half of the saw-mill on south side of Namaskett River in Middleboro near the slitting mill.
March, 1744, From Nathaniel Bumpas one fourth part of a saw-mill on Namas- ket River in Middleboro, with utensils etc.
Dec. 26, 1744, From Peter Thacher, with Jeremiah Gridley, six sixteenth shares of the slitting mill on Namasket River in Middleboro; also six sixteenth shares in the dam on sd river and tools & instruments of the mill ; also Thacher's remaining right in five acres of land lying on south side of river and some interest in a saw-mill.
Mar. 30, 1745, From Samuel Thacher certain tract of land in Little Lot Pur- chase, 17th. lot in number about 163 acres.
April 6, 1745, From Thomas Hubbard, with J. Gridley, tract of land lying in
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Middleboro upon Chusamuttock Hill containing fifteen acres and the lands that Samuel Thacher purchased of one Thomas, an Indian ; also one eighth and one quarter of an eighth share in an Iron mill or forge, slitting mill, and grist mill, all near Namasket River.
April 24, 1745, From Lemuel Donham, with J. Gridley, certain lot of land which sd. Lemuel bought of Simeon Totman, together with dwelling house thereon.
May 1, 1745, From Ichabod Tupper, with J. Gridley, one acre of land in Middleboro butted on the country road adjoining lot of Moses Sturtevant, also adjoining Namasket River.
May 13, 1745, From James Bumpas one fourth part of a saw-mill on Namas- ket River in Middleboro.
June 12, 1745, From James Bowdoin, with J. Gridley, 4} sixteenth parts of a slitting mill, of a forge and of a Grist mill standing on a dam erected across Namasket River in Middleboro, also of five acres of land adjoining sd. works on south side of river, and of one acre ad- joining sd. works on north side of river; also of a Way through lands of Ichabod Tupper to the highway, and of buildings - Coal House, Store House etc.
BACKPIECE IN FIREPLACE AT OLIVER HALL
March 26, 1746, From Moses Sturtevant, with J. Gridley, certain tract of land in Middle- boro on the purchase commonly called the Twenty-six Men's Purchase near Namasket River, containing about twelve and a quarter acres bounded by land bought by Gridley & Oliver from Tupper and by lands of Joseph Bumpas & Joseph Leonard.
Sept. 4, 1747, From Benjamin White, with Jeremiah Gridley, one sixteenth part of a Grist mill on Namasket River in Middleboro, with tools and implements.
Sept. 10, 1747, From Jeremiah Gridley his one, two & thirtieth share in Slit- ting mill, tools etc., Mill dam, one acre of land on northeast side of river, five acres on southwest side of river, with buildings Forge, Coal House, & Store House.
Nov. 1747, From Simeon Totman, with J. Gridley, westerly half of a lot of land bought from Samuel Thacher in 1741, together with buildings thereon.
Mar. 28, 1748, From Andrew Oliver, with J. Gridley, one hundred and sev- enty-three acres of land in Middleboro being part of the Great Lot in the Eight Men's Purchase of the whole 240 acres being the part lying on the southwest of the division line. Also, a 20 acre lot laid out in the right of John Blackwell in the second allotment in Eight Men's Purchase.
Aug. 15, 1748, From Moses Sturtevant, a certain lot containing about 78 acres, being a part of the 10th. lot of the land called the Twenty-six Men's Pur- chase. Also, a 10 acre tract in the Twenty-six Men's Purchase, being a part of the 4th. lot in the last allotment of sd. purchase.
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Sept. 6, 1748, From Andrew Oliver, with J. Gridley, two lots in Eight Men's Purchase, one, the 3rd. lot in the Ist. allotment in John Blackwell's right, con- taining 60 acres ; the other, the 4th. lot in the Ist. allotment in Francis Walker's right, containing 80 acres.
Oct. II, 1748, From Amos Ahanton lot of land in Middleboro, containing four acres commonly known by the name of Indian Burying Ground, near Oli- ver's other lands.
Nov. 14, 1749, From Nathan Thomas, one eight part of slitting mill, forge, and grist mill on a dam across the Namasket River in Middleboro; five acres of land on south side of river; one acre of land on north side of river ; tools etc. ; Coal House; Store House and dwelling house, right in an Iron ore lot; dwelling house, barn and land adjoining any of forementioned premises.
Sept. 1, 1758, From Jeremiah Gridley one half of : Slitting mill, forge, grist- mill, saw-mill, store house, dam, 5 acres of land on south side of Namasket River, one acre on north side, way through land of Thomas Tupper, 2 lots of land bought from Andrew Oliver, I lot bought from Sturtevant, I lot from Thomas Hubbard.
Jan. 27, 1759, From Joseph Leonard, tract of land adjoining at lower corner the land Oliver bought of Sturtevant, on easterly side of Namasket River, con- taining seven acres.
July 3, 1759, From William & Mary Sherman, homestead in Rochester con- taining 601 acres of land where Joseph Oliver (Peter Oliver's father) lived - adjoining Arthur Savorey's land. Also 17 acres laid out to W. Sherman in 1755 by Hiller, Briggs & Barlow.
Sept. 3, 1767, From William Oliver (one of his sons to whom he had given or sold these mills etc.) one sixth part of : Slitting mill, forge, grist-mill, saw-mill, boulting mill, cider mill, axe house, all near dam across Namasket River, the dam, stream of sd. river, 5 acres south of river; I acre north of river, way through Tupper's land, four lots in Eight Men's Purchase (total 335 acres), tract of land in Twenty-six Men's Purchase (107} acres) four acres purchased Ahanton, build- ing etc.
July II, 1771, From Nathl. Perkins & Ezekl. Lewis, all Jeremiah Gridley's right in lands in Middleboro, all his interest in one-half of 500 acres of land, 5 dwelling houses, saw-mill, forge etc.
April 5, 1774, From Oxenbridge Thacher, one-half of the Tomb which is in the Burial Place in the East Precinct in Middleboro, near the East meeting house in sd. precinct.
CHAPTER XXIII
THOMPSON ROAD, THE LOWLANDS, WARRENTOWN, PURCHADE
T HE Thompson Road district extends for two miles and a half on Thompson Street on the western side of Bart- lett's Brook and the great cedar swamp. Thompson Street was among the first roads in town, extending from the meeting-house toward Boston, substantially as at pre- sent. At one time many descendants of John Tomson lived here. What is known as Danson Brook crosses the street, running into Bartlett Brook between the houses occupied by the late Reuel and Ve- nus Thompson. Here George Danson, neg- lecting the warning of John Tomson, was shot by the Indians in King Philip's War. The resi- dents have been for the most part well-to-do farmers. Perhaps the most prominent man, next to the first set- tler, was Isaac Thom- son, a descendant of John Tomson, famil- iarly known as " Squire Isaac." He married Lucy Sturtevant1 in 1775, and died Decem- CAPTAIN ISAAC THOMSON ber 21, 1819, in .the
1 Sturtevant is probably the same as Stuyvesant. Thompson Genealogy.
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seventy-fourth year of his age. He served the town in different capacities for more than twenty-five years. He was selectman for seventeen years, one of the representatives to the General Court for five years, and state senator for nine years. He was for thirty-three years a prominent member of the First Church, and was widely known throughout the county as a man of more than usual intelligence, thrifty, and faithful in the discharge of every duty. The house in which he lived is still standing on the western side of Thompson Road. Mr. George Thompson, who occupied this house from his early manhood until his death in 1875, was a worker in marble, and not a few of the. gravestones in the dif- ferent cemeteries of the town were of his workmanship.
Upon the western side of this neighbor- hood lay the great swamps known as GEORGE THOMPSON HOUSE White Oak Island, Beaver Dam Swamp, and Meeting House Swamp, which cover a tract of land almost entirely destitute of houses or cultivated land, measuring nearly four miles in length and a mile and a half in width.
A familiar spot in the early history of the town was Bear Spring, opposite the junction of Plain and Thompson streets. It is often mentioned in bounds of land connected with the great swamps in this immediate vicinity.
Upon Bartlett Brook, which flows a little to the east of Thompson Street along its entire length, was in 1715 erected the first sawmill of which we have any record in the town of Middleboro. It was built by Edward' Thomas, Jacob Thom- son, Henry Wood, and John Tinkham. They were owners in equal shares of the mill and the meadows lying near it.
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[1748
September 10, 1725, Jacob Thomson, John Tinkham, and Isaac Tinkham, the owners, agreed that "the price for saw- ing boards should be twenty-five shillings a thousand, of two inch oak plank and oak slit work forty-five ; of two inch spruce plank thirty-five; spruce and pitch pine slit work to be mea- sured by board measure twenty-two shillings and six pence, and to have half the slabs, the owners of said mill to saw by turn." In 1744 Isaac Tinkham, Jacob Thomson, and Caleb Thomson rebuilt this mill.
THE LOWLANDS
This place in the extreme northeastern portion of the town bordering upon Taunton River, including River Street and the northern portion of Thompson Street, was never thickly set- tled. It was the home of Thomas Darling, one of the early settlers, and for many generations his descendants have been found here as well as some of the descendants of John Tomson. Soon after the close of the Revolution, Captain Joshua Eddy built a small vessel at Woodward's Bridge. There was a shipyard from which small ships were built and launched in the river back of the house occupied many years ago by Thomas Covington. Upon the south of this neighbor- SHIPYARD FROM WOODWARD'S BRIDGE hood lies White Oak Island, partly included in the Thompson neighborhood, through which no street or road has ever been built.
On River Street was the home of Captain William Thom- son, called "Squire Bill," a great-grandson of John Tomson, born February 15, 1748. He married Deborah Sturtevant, a lineal descendant of Peter Sturtevant, the celebrated governor
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