History of the town of Oxford, Massachusetts with genealogies and notes on persons and estates, Part 50

Author: Daniels, George Fisher, 1820-1897
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Oxford : Pub. by the author with the cooperation of the town
Number of Pages: 916

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Oxford > History of the town of Oxford, Massachusetts with genealogies and notes on persons and estates > Part 50

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1 He had a vein of quiet humor, and numerous witty remarks of his were repeated in town in bygone years. He and Gen. Learned were warm friends, and when the General raised his new house (now standing) at North Oxford he gave Mr. B. a special invitation to be present, which was accepted. After the frame was up, the punch, as was the custom, was brought on, and the General called on Mr. Butler for a toast, wlio responded in the hearing of the large company ; "The frame of this house-may it rot to the ground! " Learned was much surprised at what he considered the harsh sentiment, and ex- claimed, "Mr. Butler, what do you mean by proposing such a toast?" "I mean," said he 54

"may the winds of heaven and the devouring fire spare this house to shelter succeeding gen- erations till the last beam in it shall rot away." " Very good toast, Mr. Butler, very good toast," said Learned, and the good cheer went on.

When Mr. Moulton, the Congregational minis- ter, was building his new house near the com- mon (now Campbell's) Mr. Butler kindly offered to buy ornamental windows for the front door, and proposed one to be put over the door. Mr. Moulton, however, preferred side windows, and after their completion invited Mr. B. to see them, who expressed his approbation and then said pleasantly, " But, Ah sir, you are the minis- ter who does not wish for light from above."

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the Northern Pacific railroad to Portland, crossing to Puget Sound and thence to Victoria, Vancouver's Island. He was pastor at Wells River, Vt., from 1847 to 1850, at South Danvers, now Peabody, till 1852, and at Cincin- nati, O., until 1854, professor in Norwich University from 1845 to 1847, in Wabash College, Ind., from 1854 to 1858, and in the University of Wisconsin, Madison, from 1858 to 1867. While abroad he wrote letters for several lead- ing papers in this country, and his articles in the Bibliotheca and other peri- odicals are numerous. He is a man of remarkable intellectual abilities and rare and varied attainments. He m. Anna, dau. of Joshua Bates, D.D .; they had James D., Henry S., was graduated at Harvard College 1877; Anna B., Agnes C .; ANTHONY, b. 8 Oct., 1767, m. (1) 29 July, 1790, Jerusha, dau. of James Hill of Dudley, settled at Hardwick, and in 1796 at Pittsford, Vt., where she d., m. (2) 20 Feb., 1797, Deborah, sister of his first w., had ch., she d. at Pittsford, he removed 1817 to Oxford, Butler Co., O., where he m. again and d. 13 March, 1847. He had literary tastes, was gifted with the pecu- liarity of the family, a remarkably retentive memory, and in his old age could repeat book after book of Milton's Paradise Lost. Ch. by first m. : James, Mary, Hannah, who came to Ox. and lived with her grandmother Butler, and m. Stearns DeWitt; ELIZABETH, b. 2 Feb., 1770, m. Jeremiah Kingsbury ; HANNAH, b. 5 Dec., 1771, d. 6 July [Town Rec. say Feb.], 1792, betrothed to Jeremiah Kingsbury; JOHN, b. 4 July, 1773, m. 6 Feb., 1796, Sarah, dau. of Dr. Daniel Fisk. He was then of Rutland, Vt., was in 1804 in trade at Spencer, Mass., went in 1806 to St. Louis. In a letter to a relative he says :

"After parting with you the 9th of Nov. I pursued my journey on to Hart- ford and my horse was almost done there, and was two days in getting there and one day to Farmington, only nine miles. There I found I must give the horse to sell the saddle and bridle, I received one gold watch and five dollars for all. The watch I sold for $30, and took the stage. In my route from Oxford I have travelled in the following States: through Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North West Territory to this place, and I think of all the places in my travels no one equals this. It is without exception the finest country I ever heard of or saw for goodness, but the inhabitants are indolent, living from hand to mouth. Millions of acres of land in this territory as level as a floor without a tree on it, but grass as high as your head on horseback and very thick. One hundred bushels of corn to the acre, wheat good, but no good mills at present through idleness. Can keep 200 hogs, 100 cows, 50 horses here as easy as you can five hogs, seven cows and three horses. I have been to the lead mines and find there is made in this territory 3000 tons per year of lead."

In a letter dated Aug. 15, 1807, at Mine à Burton, he says :

" War has been declared and the Indians are very numerous and make a hostile appearance, and we expect to be driven off from the country."

He remained west until the War of 1812, enlisted, and 1814 was Lieut., acting Adjutant at Newport, Ky., was Aug., 1814, in command of a compa- ny at the attack on Fort Mackinaw, later returned to Ox. and resided near his father. In 1818 he was innkeeper at Charlton, removed to Dedham, where his w. d. 23 May, 1823. He soon returned to Ox., where he d. 25 Sept., 1824. He was a man of good mind, and although of ordinary size was very athletic, and said to have been a champion wrestler in the western army. Ch. Celia, b. 22 Nov., 1796, m. Lament Bacon of Southbridge, removed to Chelsea, Vt., where both d., had ch .; Susanna F., b. 21 Oct., 1798, m. 20 May, 1816, Capt. William Sears of Rochester, Mass., where they settled, had ch .; Mary, b. 28 May, 1803, at Spencer, m. Capt. Blodgett of Southbridge, where they settled; had Fred; the father d., the widow and son removed to

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New Orleans, where she d .; PETER, b. 16 Dec., 1774; SARAH, b. 29 Sept., 1776, m. Jeremiah Kingsbury, second w .; CELIA, b. 25 April, 1779, m. Archi- bald Campbell.

2. PETER, son of James (1), m. (1) 23 Nov., 1800, Mehetable, dau. of Samuel and Lucy (Larned) Corbin of Dudley, she d. 2 Dec., 1836, m. (2) 15 Dec., 1841, Abigail, widow of Abijah Davis, Esq., she d. 11 Feb., 1858, he d. aged 82, 30 Dec., 1856. As he was the youngest son he remained at home and engaged in business with his father. In young manhood he thought of set- tling at Utica, N. Y., then a frontier, in the fur trade, but was persuaded to remain with his aged parents. He built in 1800 the house next south of the tavern stand, H. 179, resided there until 1806, when he took the tavern and store of his father, was 14 years licensee, in 1821 rented the tavern and moved into the new brick store and house he had built on the corner opposite, where he continued trade. He was Adjutant of militia by appointment of Col. Sylvanus Learned. He had much strength of character, was highly respected by his fellow-townsmen, active in church affairs, social, sympathetic, but indifferent to promotion. He had a remarkable memory, well stored with the produc- tions of English writers and local traditions, rare powers of conversation, and for general intelligence was much above the average. . . . Children : JAMES, b. 17 Feb., 1802, m. 7 March, 1832, Ann G. Simpson of Newburyport, in his youth lived with his uncle James D., at Rutland, Vt., learned business and settled in the hardware trade in Boston, he d. 30 July, 1874, ch. : Anna S., b. 30 Jan., 1833, m. George W. Grouard, had ch .; Mary S., b. 17 March, 1835, m. Capt. Austin H. Wood, d. July, 1865, 1 dau .; Lucy M., b. 4 Dec., 1836, m. Frank H. Smith of Reading, she d. 16 March, 1873, 1 son; Katherine, b. 16 Aug., 1839, m. Lieut. Sidney L. Smith, U. S. N., 1 son; James, b. 15 June, 1841, m. Carrie Orrall, had ch .; Emily, b. 5 Sept., 1843, m. Fred W. Flint; William, b. 9 March, 1846, m. Susan H. Nash; Sarah, b. 8 May, 1849; Jennie, b. 13 Sept., 1851, d. 12 April, 1870; SAMUEL C., b. 10 Jan., 1804, m. 22 Feb., 1825, Amy, dau. of Richard Olney, settled at Ox., removed to Webster, where he d. 16 Dec., 1837, she removed to Trempealeau, Wis .; they had Amy A., b. 1825, d. 1826; Mary, b. 27 Feb., 1827, m. 27 Dec., 1850, Amasa P. Webb of Trempealeau, had ch .; Samuel K., b. 29 April, 1829, d. young; Lncy E., b. 1836, m. 1858, Charles Angell of R. I., residence, Trempealeau, had ch .; LUCY L., b. 20 Dec., 1805, m. Andrew Sigourney, Jr .; MARY S., b. 5 April, 1808, m. (1) 20 March, 1831, Samuel Stafford of Providence, R. I., removed to New Orleans, where he was a successful merchant, 1 son, d. young, he d. 30 Dec., 1866, she removed to Ox. 1867, m. (2) 17 Jan., 1872, Andrew W. Porter of Monson, who d. 4 March, 1877, aged 82, she d. 9 July, 1887, at Worcester; ELIZA L., b. 28 Aug., 1810, m. Wilson Olney; SARAH M., b. 13 Sept., 1815, m. 13 Sept., 1838, Edward M., son of Rev. David Holman of Douglas, civil engi- neer, settled at Worcester, removed to Holly Springs, Miss., where he d. in 1866; they had Clara B., Edward E., lawyer at Washington, D. C .; Sarah H., James D. ; HANNAH H., b. 30 Sept., 1817, d. 8 Jan., 1864, unm. ; PETER, b. 6 Jan., 1820; CHARLOTTE, b. 18 Aug., 1824, m. 28 May, 1850, William R. Shedd of Wells River, Vt., removed to Newbury, Vt., where she d. April, 1885; they had Ruth A., b. 10 Feb., 1854.

3. PETER, son of Peter (2), was in youth in the store of his uncle James D., at Rutland, Vt., went thence into the employ of Mr. John C. Proctor, hardware merchant of Boston, was very efficient and while still young became a partner in, and later the head of, the house. The business very much

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BUTLER .- CALL.

increased under the names of Butler, Keith & Hill, and Butler, Keith & Co., and he became a leading merchant in that line in the city ; was very enterpris- ing, and successfully competed with, and did much to supplant, English goods with American productions, and to build up Boston's then great foreign and domestic trade. He lost heavily in the great fire and thereupon went out of trade. He has extensive acquaintance with financial affairs ; has resided for more than 30 years in Quincy, at the Quincy mansion, built 1635 ; has a choice library, and a large collection of rare and curious mementos of the past. He m. 5 Sept., 1843, Lucia, dau. of Dea. John C. Proctor, settled at Boston, removed to Quincy. ... Children : LUCIA C., b. 25 March, 1846, d. unm. 6 Oct., 1868; MARY SIGOURNEY, b. 15 April, 1850, m. Peter B. Olney, her cousin; ISABEL J., b. 24 Dec., 1853; SIGOURNEY, b. 24 Oct., 1857, was graduated at Harvard College 1877, Harvard Law School 1879, lawyer in Boston, Second Comptroller of the Treasury under President Cleveland, administered his office with ability and success, his decisions being upon questions involving large sums of money and important rights of the government.

EMERSON, of Leicester, and Mary E. Nichols, m. intentions 18 Aug., 1832. HORACE W., and Sarah J. Newell, m. 28 Nov., 1849.

MRS. MARGARET (Irish), aged 52, d. 2 March, 1871.

MRS. MARIA A., dau. of George W. Corbin, aged 26, d. 4 April, 1877.

MRS. SOPHIA S., m. n. Sargent, of Clinton, d. aged 74, 19 Sept., 1880. CATHARINE (Irish), widow, aged 76, d. 5 July, 1886.

BUXTON, ANDREW, and Susanna, had SUSANNA, b. 16 Feb., 1808, m. 3 July, 1826, Thomas Barnes of North Brookfield, she d. 4 March, 1871.

FANNY, aged 20, d. 4 June, 1839.

BYRNES, THOMAS, and Susan Tillinghast of West Greenwich, R. I., m. intentions 28 Sept., 1835.

CABOT, JUSTUS, and Lydia Robinson, both of S. Gore, m. 29 May, 1787.

CADWELL, ERASTUS, son of John of Wilbraham, aged 70, d. 28 June, 1876.

AMORET, w. of ERASTUS, aged 46, d. 26 Oct., 1859.

ERASTUS O., son of Erastus, aged 23, d. 18 Sept., 1860.

SARAH, widow of Erastus, aged 66, d. 8 Oct., 1888.

CADY, EPHRAIM, of Athol, and Sarah Parker, m. int. 16 Dec., 1775.

ABIGAIL, and Barzillai B. Huse of Northbridge, m. int. 19 Aug., 1811.

AARON, d. 26 Oct., 1832; his son SAMUEL R., aged 58, killed on railroad 3 March, 1862.

MRS. NANCY [Northbridge(?)], aged 105, d. 1 Aug., 1873, at Ox. almshouse.

CALDWELL, JOHN, son of Moses, aged 4, d. 5 Nov., 1827.

MARY, and John Stone of Providence, R. I., m. 9 June, 1828.

CALL, SAMUEL, of Malden, later of Leicester, bought 1731 the Livermore place, North Gore, H. 110, returned to Leicester, soldier in Col. Ruggles' Regt. in expedition to Fort William Henry, and perhaps in Louisburg expedition, heelmaker. In 1745 Israel Whitney sued him for "15 pounds or 300 dozen good heels for women's shoes," of wood probably. He m. Abigail, dau. of Capt. Nathaniel Green of Leicester. ... Children : MARY, b. 16 Oct., 1730; MARTHA, b. 9 April, 1734; NATHAN, b. 24 Aug., 1736; JOHN, b. 16 April, 1739.

ABIGAIL, and Ebenezer Dike of Dudley, m. intentions 3 Dec., 1743.

Woodstock September 7th 1720

Wo the Subscribors having ha cequantance with the Row wir John Campbell now of On o approvedhim as a person endowed with quinglorial accomplishments; and hopes be hive that by the blogging of howvon the will serve lo the glory of Go, the ffiritual ciDification offent in the place wherethe Divine prova weoffical fire him in the work of the Gefiel ministry. Josiah Dwight Joseph Barton John Swift- Robert Broche John prentice

Gluthe Solatmen of oregon

REV. JOHN CAMPBELL'S HAND-WRITING. FROM THE CHURCH RECORDS.

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CAMPBELL, REV. JOHN, b. " in the North of Scotland," the first minister of Oxford, was doubtless the most influential man in the town in its earlier years, not only in religious but in civil and social affairs. This he owed to his official position, his tact and knowledge of human nature, his firmness of character, sympathetic temperament and diversity of acquirements. He was very efficient in business matters, his name appearing often in the records, and his operations in land were considerable. He received at his settlement 40 acres as a homestead with all the rights of a proprietor to other lands, 20 acres additional on the east, and 140 acres in the northwest corner of the town, in which there appears to have been liberal measurement, as he sold in 1757 to his son Alexander 230 acres in that locality. In 1721 at the sale of North Gore lands he bought 300 acres, which he sold in 1747. In 1736, " on account of difficult circumstances in the ministry at Oxford," he received a grant nomi- nally of 300 acres on the east shore of Chaubunagungamaug, which Mr. Wigglesworth, later owner, sold for 400 acres. He also owned several large lots in the west part of the town, and was proprietor, probably, at one time of 1,000 acres at least.

He was in numerous cases adviser in probate matters, the writer of many wills, deeds and other legal documents, and administrator of estates. When the Papillon tract of 8,000 acres was, in 1736, divided among the heirs, he was one of the three to whom the matter was entrusted. In 1749 he was adminis- trator on the estate of James Coller, and had for nine years kept his accounts. He was the friend and adviser of the widow and orphan, and at times accepted the guardianship of minor children. As a peacemaker he was widely known. Possessing a judicial mind and the full confidence of the people he was able to adjust many cases of difference, thus avoiding the expenses and vexations of the law. He was also physician as well as minister and judge. Hints have come to us by tradition that his sway over his people smacked somewhat of autocracy, but in those days the public universally owned a fealty to relig- ious institutions, those who for any length of time absented themselves from public worship were brought to account for their delinquency, and the minis- ter was honored and revered in a manner very rare at the present day.

Rev. William Phips, then minister at Douglas, in his discourse at the funeral of Mr. Campbell, said :-

"Duty and gratitude call me, I conceive, to say something concerning what he was; of his extraordinary endowments, and of the extraordinary diligence and integrity with which he appeared to improve them. . . . He was esteemed one of penetrating and discerning understanding, of a peculiarly sagacious and enterprising genius, and of a very retentive memory. . .. It was thought by some that were likely to know that few gentlemen of his opportunity could excel him . .. in the management of family affairs, and secular concern- ments, with dispatch and prudence, so as to consist with a diligent applica- tion to his ministerial duties. Where is the man that could order and manage well so much business in so little time?

"In common conversation he was peculiarly free and pleasant. . . . He became your pastor when it was the day of small things with you, and then and ever since he manifested no small love and concern for you. When did you ever find him unwilling to serve and promote your true interests? . . Has he not ministered to your bodies in distress, as well as to your souls? And when was the day, when was the night, what was the weather, what were the storms, or what the way which hindered him from being quickly with you in your distress? ... Surely you will own, many of you, that he has been a father to you in civil kindness, as well as in his ecclesiastical ministry. . . . He has also been a peacemaker . . among you . . . and moreover, abroad in the land, and has been abundantly improved and blessed

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as a healer of difficulties . . . in various parts of the country, for which God had given him an extraordinary talent."

A communication from Oxford, published in the Boston News Letter, soon after his decease, says :

"With great wisdom and fidelity he continued to discharge the several parts of his office for more than forty years. In his preaching he was strictly Orthodox, much improved in ecclesiastical councils, and happy in the peace and harmony of the church. The funeral was attended not only by the people of this town but by great numbers from adjoining towns. His death is a general loss; but especially so to the town, who may well be supposed to tremble when such a pillar fell."

Rev. Mr. Batcheller in his discourse at the funeral of Maj. Archibald Camp- bell in 1818, referring to the grandfather, said :

" A distinguished trait in his character was that of a peacemaker. In his day the people were united like a band of brothers, and were happy in each other's society."

A writer in the American Quarterly Register, X., 135, says he was " consid- ered a man of respectable talents and well cultivated."

As a preacher he was not remarkable. He was Orthodox in theology, stood firmly by the old Scotch standard and was impatient of innovations, a thorough Bible student, and in his sermons used very frequent and copious scripture quotations.

An accomplished member of the family, a few years since, wrote thus of him : " I remember several intelligent persons, who had received his teach- ings, who delighted to repeat the little traditions of his sayings and doings. The most profound veneratiou for his memory lingered about the scene of his ministerial labors, and I was taught to look with reverent affection upon his tomb. ... My grandmother could give little anecdotes of his gentle but firm sway over his household, and his constant affection to her as his daughter-in- law. . . . She told me he was large in person, not very tall, but portly, with a heavy brow and penetrating black eyes. His deportment was usually grave but cheerful, and the sadness, almost gloom any allusion to his early life threw over him had taught his family to avoid the remotest reference to it."

Of his ancestry and early years very little is known. It is the belief of his descendants that it was his firm purpose that they should remain a mystery. It is said on the best authority, that on a certain time his son John wished to visit Scotland to get information concerning the family but was decidedly opposed by his father, who refused to give letters when asked. "The North of Scotland " was the nearest his best friends could attain to a knowledge of the place of his birth. Doubtless he studied at the University of Edinburgh, but there is mystery even here, for the catalogue of that institution embraces no graduate of the name between 1700 and the time of his coming to America. The date of his arrival at Boston, given on his tombstone, was 1717. The generally accepted opinion among his descendants was that he was a political refugee, having espoused the failing cause of the Stuarts in the contest of 1715-that he was a relative of Lord Loudon who, when in authority in America, made an official visit to Boston and on his way from New York stopped at Worcester and with a single attendant made a friendly visit at Oxford, spending the night with Mr. Campbell and passing on the next day to Boston. It is said on good authority that Loudon on that occasion declared his kinship with Mr. Campbell.1 Circumstances indicate that he was educated

1 The people of the town seem to have been aware that their minister was a proscribed man, watched all movements with solicitude, and

were prepared to resist by force any attempt at his arrest.

See ancestry, etc., page 780.

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for the army, and in the French and Indian war he not only aided in filling the ranks, but personally fitted the soldiers for the service by drill.1 His choice of the ministry as a profession is believed to have been made after his arrival at Boston.

On 24 Nov., 1737, John Hamilton, alias Hugh Henderson, was executed at Worcester for housebreaking. Mr. Campbell preached a sermon on that occa- sion the text of which was at 1 Peter iv. 5, "who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead." This discourse was printed and fills about thirty twelvemo. pages. It closes with an address to the criminal thus :-

"I must hasten to say a few words to the distressed prisoner. Poor man, we pity you, we have frequently and fervently prayed to God for mercy to your immortal soul; and I. hope that our prayers and labors have not been in vain. . . . Consider that you are in a few minutes to give an account to Him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. Behold the judge standeth at the door. Your case is as it were called, and the sentence preparing ready to be pronounced upon you, this, 'Give an account of thy stewardship for thou shalt be no longer steward.' Consider the present state of your soul. How are you furnished to receive and entertain the righteous sentence to be pronounced upon you at the tribunal of God at the expiration of a few mo- ments? Most earnestly we beseech the Almighty Creator of all persons and things, which made waters flow out of the rock, to smite thy flinty heart and to take thy stony heart out of thy body, to open thy heart as he did Lydia's, to put a new spirit within thy bowels, to anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that so thou mayest see and feel thine own wretchedness, and mayest freely acknowledge with Paul that in thy flesh dwelleth no good thing.

" What are your supports? Where do you find comfort? Can you with humility and most sincere affection take your good deeds and your bad deeds and lay them all at the feet of a Glorious Christ and say in the warmth and ardor of your soul, 'Blessed Jesus, in thee alone I find rest, comfort and support.' So then you highly honor the purity of God's nature when you charge yourself with folly, acknowledge yourself to be unclean and accept of that righteousness which alone gives a full contentment to God's infinite purity even the righteousness of Jesus Christ, in whom all the promises of God are yea, and in him, amen to the glory of God by us. .

As showing his ability to deal with secular affairs, we quote his memorial to the authorities in the matter of his executorship of the will of Richard Williams. John Ballard of Boston married Martha (Papillon) the widow of Williams, and was the guardian of the minor children. He objected in the Probate Court to Mr. Campbell's account, the judge having allowed him £40 for his services, and he appealed to the State executive in Boston.

" Whereas his Excellency William Shirley, Governor, and the Honorable His Majiestie's Council upon the 27 of February, 1755, were pleased to accept the report of the Committee of this honorable board upon the appeal of John Ballard from the decree of the Judge of Probate of Worcester County, ex- pressing their opinion upon the several reasons of said appeal; and, whereas, the honorable Committee have candidly and justly considered and pronounced the groundlessness of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth of the said reasons, I thankfully acquiesce therein; but inasmuch as the committee in my humble comprehension have not so determinately and particularly expressed themselves on the last reason of the said appeal as I would wish, and expected, viz .. the article of allowance for trouble, toil and expenses in settling the estate of said Williams which occasions this address. Wherefore, I beseech the honorable the Lieut .- Governor and this honorable board in your great clemency to hear me in a few words, shewing wherein my grievance lies.

1 He was an accomplished swordsman. It is the latter proposed a little practice for diver- sion, and soon astonished the professional by dexterously plucking his sword from his hand.

related that on a time a teacher of the art of fencing was in town, and meeting Mr. Campbell

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" And may it please your honors to observe, 1. that my original account amounted to £791. 3s. 1d., also an additional account of £33. 6s. 8d. which I sold the real estate for more than the appraisement. These two sums amount to £824. 9s. 9d. lawful money as appears by my account settled by the judge of probate. 2. That there was not one farthing of cash that I could find belong- ing to the said estate and but one bond containing about nine pounds beside Madam Mary Wolcott's Jand [bond?] conditioned for 140 acres of rough and uncultivated land in Killingly, in Connecticut, which could not procure a title to said land, both which appears by the inventory and that part of my apology formally forwarded to his Excellency the Governor and your Honors relative to them; that therefore this large sum must be made of the real estate and a few moveables; accordingly the effects were sold, the several considerations secured, the money in a great measure collected, the debts paid to the credi- tors, dispersed almost all over the province and part of Connecticut, receipts and other vouchers obtained in order to settle with the judge of probate, and all at large expense of time and money, and the risk of the whole estate to be borne by me from the beginning of my administration until all is paid and the time of my servitude expired. The deliberate and just consideration of the premised reasons induced the judge of probate to make me the allowance of 40 Pounds, as may be seen in the settlement. Add to these that I was obliged in the months of February and March last to travel to Boston, first, to answer the reasons of said appeal, and next to answer two writs served on me by Messrs. John Ballard and his Attorney, at the great expense of my health, which was then much impaired, and my purse which was not very heavy; but nevertheless I must bear all charges in this affair. Now may it please the Lieut .- Governor and your Honors to permit me to persuade myself that after so clear a representation made of facts and so well supported, you will be pleased to explain that part of the honorable Committee's report which relates to the article of allowances to the better understanding of yourselves and your most humble memorialist.

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History of the town of Oxford, Massachusetts with genealogies and notes on persons and estates, Part 50

Author: Daniels, George Fisher, 1820-1897 Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Oxford : Pub. by the author with the cooperation of the town Number of Pages: 916

Author: Daniels, George Fisher, 1820-1897
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Oxford : Pub. by the author with the cooperation of the town
Number of Pages: 916