USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Palmer > History of the town of Palmer, Massachusetts, early known as the Elbow tract : including records of the plantation, district and town 1716-1889 > Part 33
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L. L. MERRICK POST, No. 107, G. A. R., was organized July 18, 1881, with 30 charter members. Its present membership is 52. Its first commander was Col. H. R. Stoughton, followed by Dr. Wm. Holbrook, D. W. Taft, Chas. Upham and Capt. H. E. W. Clark. Its present officers are : Commander, E. A. Kirk ; S. V. Commander, Geo. O. Henry; J. V. Commander, C. P. Stone ; adjutant, C. W. Cross ; Quartermaster, A. A. Converse ; Surgeon, Dr. Wm. Holbrook ; Chaplain, Capt. H. E. W. Clark; Officer of the Day, A. J. Bixby; Officer of the Guard, S. S. Nichols ; Sergeant- Major, J. V. Clark ; Quartermaster-Sergeant, Wm. Kurtz. The Post holds semi-monthly meetings.
340
HISTORY OF PALMER.
THE WOMAN'S RELIEF CORPS, No. 76, auxiliary to the G. A. R., was instituted November 19, 1886, with a list of 20 members ; it now numbers 53. It holds its meetings the first and third Fridays of every month. Mrs. D. S. Davis has held its highest office since its organization. Its present officers are: President, Mrs. D. S. Davis; S. V. President, Mrs. A. J. Lawton ; J. V. President, Mrs. Clara B. Ellis ; Secretary, Mrs. Rose E. Carter ; Treasurer, Mrs. Julia H. Henry; Chaplain, Mrs. Hattie M. Kirk; Conductor, Mrs. Jennie Smith ; Guard, Mrs. Kate Shumway; Asst. Conductor, Miss Georgie Packard ; Asst. Guard, Mrs. E. J. Griswold ; Correspond- ing Secretary, Mrs. Susan W. Coleman.
ORDER OF THE IRON HALL .- Branch No. 681 of the Iron Hall was instituted at Palmer February 29, 1888. It meets semi- monthly and has 40 members, and is in a flourishing condition. Its officers are : Chief Justice, Chas. E. Fuller ; Vice-Justice, C. W. Cross ; Accountant, H. E. Huntley; Cashier, C. E. Fish ; Medical Examiner, Dr. W. H. Stowe ; Adjuster, C. K. Gamwell ; Prelate, O. P. Allen ; Herald, L. G. Parkhurst ; Watchman, Luke Park- hurst ; Vidette, C. A. Bogne ; Trustees, O. P. Allen, R. J. Henry, C. L. Sanders.
GOLDEN RULE ALLIANCE .- Mizpeh Chapter, No. 23, of this organization was instituted at Palmer June 16, 1881. It is a social life insurance organization. This Chapter has 34 members. The meetings occur on the second Tuesday of each month, and are held at the houses of its members. Its officers are : Past Judge, O. P. Allen ; Judge, J. H. Haynes ; Associate Judge, H. Lawrence ; Advocate, S. H. Brown; Scribe, C. W. Cross; Collector, G. F. Brown ; Treasurer, E. J. Wood ; Chaplain, S. Edgerton ; Guide, Mrs. E. J. Wood ; Warden, Mrs. S. Edgerton ; Sentry, Mrs. O. P. Allen ; Surgeon, Dr. G. H. Wilkins.
THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION at Three Rivers was organized November 4, 1876.
THE THREE RIVERS READING ROOM ASSOCIATION was organ- ized October, 1878. 0
QUABAUG COUNCIL, ROYAL ARCANUM was organized -- 1885, with a charter of 22 members. At present it has - members on its rolls. Its first regent was Geo. Robinson. Others who held the position are S. W. French, Frederick Allen, and C. E. Fish. It has
341
MISCELLANY AND STATISTICS.
semi-monthly meetings. These are its officers: Regent, F. N. Car- penter ; Vice-Regent, C. T. Brainard ; Secretary, A. C. Page ; Orator, Geo. Robinson ; Collector, H. W. Smith ; Treasurer, H. N. Sedg- wick ; Guide, J. H. Shaw ; Chaplain, C. A. LeGro ; Warden, C. B. Sumner ; Sentry, W. B. Ham.
THE ANCIENT ORDER OF UNITED WORKMEN was instituted in the fall of 1886, with 18 charter members ; its present list numbers 38. Its meetings occur on second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, and are held at Three Rivers. H. B. Knox was the first master workman ; and those who followed him are : E. F. Smith, W. O. Twogood. Its present officers are : M. W., F. A. Upham ; P. M. W., C. F. Nickerson ; F., F. E. Stillman ; O., C. E. Dal- rymple ; Financier, P. P. Hayes ; Recorder, P. D. Frome ; G., E. P. Arnold ; Receiver, H. J. Eaton ; I., W. Russ ; O.W., Elijah Freak ; Trustee, C. L. Alexander.
THE FATHER MATTHEW TOTAL ABSTINENCE and Benovelent Society of St. Thomas Church. This Society was organized Jan- uary 8, 1888. Its membership is -. As its name indicates, its object is to promote the cause of temperance and provide aid for its members in sickness. It has these officers : President, James Healey ; Vice-President, Charles Burns ; Recording Secretary, John Roach ; Financial Secretary, John McMamanany ; Treasurer, M. J. Dillon ; Spiritual Adviser, Rev. T. J. Sullivan ; Physician, J. J. Flynn.
PALMER READING ROOM ASSOCIATION was organized May 18, 1888, for the purpose of maintaining a reading room in connection with the public library, free to all who wish to avail themselves of its privileges. The funds are voluntary contributions of the mem- bers. The officers of the association are as follows : President, Dr. W. H. Stowe ; Vice-Presidents, O. P. Allen, M. J. Dillon ; Secre- tary, A. C. Merritt ; Treasurer, L. E. Chandler ; Directors, Dr. W. H. Stowe, H. P. Holden, O. P. Allen, E. P. Ball, L. E. Chand- ler, A. C. Merritt, C. E. Fish, Rev. T. J. Sullivan, L. H. Gager, C. L. Alexander, C. E. Fuller, M. J. Dillon, M. J. Dorson, Wm. A. Brakenridge. The society has about fifty members.
PALMER LAWN TENNIS CLUB. - Organized in May, 1888. Grounds on Knox street. The club has these officers : President, W. F. Wade ; Vice-President, H. L. Holden ; Secretary and Treas- urer, Miss Addie L. Rogers ; Executive Committee, W. F. Wade, E. E. Hill, W. W. Hall.
342
HISTORY OF PALMER.
PALMER BASE BALL ASSOCIATION was first organized in 1879. Its grounds are leased from the Agricultural Society, east of the village. Its present officers are : President, C. A. Brown ; Vice- President, H. E. Huntley; Treasurer, L. W. Caryl ; Secretary, H. E. Sanger; Manager, D. F. Holden ; Directors, C. E. Fuller, G. Erskine, F. E. Carpenter, O. Gardner, H. P. Holden, C. O. LeGro, O. J. Stockwell, G. Griffin.
THE PALMER SEXTETTE .- For many years the village of Palmer has had a well organized cornet band, but owing to frequent re- movals of some of its members it has been necessary to have it re- organized nearly every year. At the present it has a well organized corps of six pieces. Besides the leader, W. A. Weld, the members are: F. O. Munger, Harry Dark, A. C. Merritt, D. G. Gradey, F. E. Sedgwick.
Among the open societies, not already mentioned-all worthy of notice-are : Crescent Club, Paterson Club, Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Wigwam Debating Society, Bondsville Division Royal Legion, Sons of Temperance, Temperance Society connected with Catholic church in Thorndike.
THE PALMER SAVINGS BANK was chartered March 4, 1870, and organized March 26, 1870. Corporators : George T. Hill, Frank- lin Morgan, Gordon M. Fisk. Officers chosen at first: George T. Hill, president ; Franklin Morgan, Albert Norcross, Henry F. Brown, vice-presidents ; Gordon M. Fisk, Enos Calkins, John Foster, Ebenezer Brown, S. R. Lawrence, D. W. Ellis, E. F. Mor- ris, R. M. Reynolds, J. G. Langley, Ira G. Potter, A. L. Converse, trustees ; James G. Allen, secretary; M. W. French, treasurer. The bank first occupied a room in Lawrence block.
The successive presidents have been : H. P. Wakefield, elected January 6, 1873; William N. Flynt, elected January, 1874; Enos Calkins, elected January, 1876; H. P. Wakefield, elected January, 1877; M. W. French, elected January, 1878; James B. Shaw, elected January, 1879; Charles L. Gardner, elected January, 1882, and still holding the office.
Secretaries: J. G. Allen, elected January, 1870; W. A. Lincoln, elected January, 1878; C. L. Gardner, elected January, 1881; Stephen S. Taft, elected January, 1882, and still holding the office.
Treasurers : M. W. French, elected January 6, 1871; Ebenezer Brown, elected January, 1874; Leonard Green, elected March 16, 1875; Wm. A. Lincoln, elected September, 1877; A. W. French,
343
MISCELLANY AND STATISTICS.
elected September, 1881; Wm. C. Dewey, elected January, 1882; Louis E. Moore, elected February 11, 1882; James B. Shaw, elected September 5, 1885; Louis E. Moore, elected January, 1886, and still holding the office.
Amount of deposits January 6, 1873, $216,888.74.
Financial statement, July 1, 1889:
Loans, Real Estate,
$551,254 09
Personal,
Bank Stock,
194,290 45 7,486 30 31,456 46
Towns,
Public Funds,
20,000 00
Bank Stock,
47,223 75
Railroad Bonds,
80,100 00
Real Estate,
18,100 00
Deposited in Banks on interest,
48,000 00
Cash,
5,837 07
$1,003,748 12
Deposits,
$978,740 85
Guaranty Fund,
22,000 00
Undivided Profits,
3,007 27
$1,003,748 12
1889. Vice-presidents : Enos Calkins, Lyman Dimock, George Mooers. Trustees : Enos Calkins, J. B. Shaw, Lyman Dimock, George Mooers, C. L. Gardner, S. S. Taft, C. B. Fisk, J. S. Hol- den, Geo. C. Buell, H. G. Loomis, O. P. Allen, Stillman Ellis, L. E. Moores, T. D. Potter, H. P. Holden, Hiram Ward, F. A. Packard. Board of Investment : Enos Calkins, George Mooers, C. L. Gardner, T. D. Potter, H. G. Loomis.
PALMER NATIONAL BANK .- Organized Nov. 18, 1875, with $75,000 capital ; began business Feb. 16, 1876. May 22, 1882, voted to increase capital $75,000, and July 30, '84, voted to increase $50,000 more, making it $200,000. March 23, 1889, voted to re- duce capital stock to $100,000.
Officers at organization : President, M. W. French; Cashier, Leonard Green; Directors, Marshall W. French, Alonzo N. Dewey, John A. Squier, James B. Shaw, Albert H. Willis, George Mooers, Horace P. Wakefield of Monson, Philip P. Potter of Wilbraham, Henry S. Lee of Springfield.
List of Presidents : Marshall W. French, elected Nov, 23, 1875 ; Albert H. Willis, elected Jan. 13, 1880 ; James B. Shaw, elected Jan. 13, 1885; Louis E. Moore, elected Jan. 10, 1888.
Vice-Presidents : Albert H. Willis, elected Jan. 14, 1879; Oren B. Smith, elected Jan. 13, 1880 ; Louis E. Moore, elected Jan. 8, 1884 ; James B. Shaw, elected Jan. 10, 1888.
344
HISTORY OF PALMER.
Cashiers : Leonard Green, elected Dec. 13, 1875; William A. Lincoln, elected Aug. 27, 1877 ; Samuel W. French, elected Jan. 11, 1881; William C. Dewey, elected Feb. 1, 1882; Charles B. Fiske, elected Aug. 17, 1883.
Present officers : President, L. E. Moore; Vice-President, J. B. Shaw ; Cashier, Charles B. Fiske ; Directors, James B. ; Shaw, Edward Fairbanks of Warren, Louis E. Moore, Charles B. Fiske, Joseph F. Holbrook, Charles D. Holbrook, George H. Wilkins.
POST OFFICES .- " Posts," i. e., men on horseback, were employed to carry messages and documents to and from Boston and the in- terior of the State from the earliest settlement of the Connecticut valley. After the Revolution the regular post rider made his weekly trips from Worcester to Springfield, via Brookfield, Western (Warren) Old Centre, over the old Boston road. When Capt. Pease put on his stage line he carried whatever papers and letters were offered. And the regularity and certainty and safety of this way induced the United States Government, on his petition, to es- tablish the turnpike as a mail route and the Captain himself as the contractor. This was as early as 1805 or 6.
The post office for Palmer was of course located at the Old Cen- tre, which continued to be the only office in town till 1826. The first postmaster was Col. Amos Hamilton, who held the place till old age. Succeeding him were John Ward, Theophilus Knight and Col. Elias Turner, who was in commission when the office was removed to Thorndike in 1845.
The postmasters at Thorndike have been, Gamaliel Collins (1845), A. R. Murdock, G. Collins again (1865-68), Silas Ruggles a short time, Capt. H. E. W. Clark (1869-85), John A. Wright (1885).
The post office at Three Rivers was established as early as 1826 or 7 and kept in a store on the corner southwesterly from the mill. P. R. Russell, the merchant, was the first postmaster. He was succeeded by James G. Hale in 1831, Nathan M. Cutter in 1834, Asa Shumway in 1839, A. F. Packard (1842-62), George W. Randall, Abel Webber, Charles H. Murdock till 1873, D. F. Holden till 1877, A. P. Tradeau, J. Twiss, A. P. Tradeau again in 1889.
The post office at Palmer Village was established in 1839. The postmasters have been A. C. Billings, Chester Strong (1842), John Bowles, Abner Allen, Dr. William Holbrook (1849-53), O. H. Bid- well, D. Granger, Col. Cyrus Knox (1861-64), Cyrus Knox (1864- 88), C. A. Brown (1888).
345
MISCELLANY AND STATISTICS.
The post office at Bondsville was established in 1849. Postmas- ters : Nathan D. Wight to 1878, E. B. Murdock, 1878 to -,
Holden.
THE KIDD LETTER .-
"Ever since the days of Captain Kidd, The Yankees think there's money hid."
As the finding of a letter signed Robert Kidd, created a great excitement in Palmer, and was commonly believed to be a genuine document, and is still thought to be genuine by well-informed men, it is given a place in these annals .*
One morning in February, 1849, rather exciting word was brought into the Depot Village on the Boston and Albany railroad, that a singular and remarkable document or letter had been found by the side of " The Old Road," on the farm of one Samuel Shaw, by his son and his cousin, the son of a Dr. Gardiner Shaw, two young men, one about twenty, the other perhaps eighteen years old, who had been out the day before with their dog in pursuit of rabbits. Having run one under a shelving ledge of rocks, they sought to dislodge him by enlarging the aperture, so that the dog might enter, or if practicable, to draw him forth with the hand. Removing a loose stone, one of the young men thrusting in his arm, his hand came in contact with a small glass bottle, or rather, perhaps, a large vial. Drawing it forth, and seeing that it contained a roll of paper, they became very much excited and curious to learn what, if anything, was written thereon. The vial was hermetically sealed with a cork made of sheet lead, closely and tightly pressed in, with a cap of the same material over all, and wound tight around the neck by a small wire or cord, somewhat after the manner in which sea-faring per- sons prepare communications to be thrown overboard in time of distress, hoping the same may be washed upon some distant coast. Going to the house on the side, and nearest the highest part of the rocky mountain heretofore described, and not many rods from the place of their find, they uncorked the vial and attempted to with- draw the paper, but the scroll having loosened from its coil after its insertion through the small neck, filling it full, they found it impracticable to obtain the paper intact, and were necessitated to break the glass. There were two pieces of paper in the vial ; the outer one bore merely a postscript, but upon the inner one there was written what follows :
* The following statement, and copy of the letter, are taken from a paper prepared by FREDERICK T. WALLACE, EsQ.
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HISTORY OF PALMER.
"TO JOHN BAILEY, EsQ., of New York :
Sir-I fear we are in a bad situation, we are taken for pirates, and you must come to Boston as soon as you get this ; there is no one here I can depend on-the man who brings this to you cannot read it, he knows nothing what is in it-you must come as soon as you get it, or I may not see you before I am carried to England. If I do not see you I will tell you where the money is, for we have plenty of that if it will do any good. It is buried on Conant's Island, in Boston Harbor, on the northwest corner of the island in two chests, containing from fifteen to twenty thousand pounds sterling, in money, jewels and diamonds. They are buried about four feet deep with a flat stone on them, and a pile of stones near by. There is no one that knows where it is but me now living, as Dick Jones and I hid it when part of our men were in Boston and the rest were asleep one night-it is about sixty rods up the side hill. I want to see you before we are carried to Old England, if possible-if not, you must get all the witnesses in my favor, and the best of counsel to help you. I want you to see Col. Slaughter and John Nichols and James Bayard and Capt. Houson and Edward Teach, and all that can do me any good ; say nothing to them about the money or that I have wrote to you. You know my old friends in New York, and who will help me. That Moore scrape is the worst part of my case. I think my interest with Lord Bellamont, and my two commissions and some French papers I have with me, and my men running away to the pirates to Culiford, and other things are in my favor. All may be safe yet ; they think I have got money buried down at Plymouth or that way somewhere, they don't think it is so near Boston ; but they shan't have my money and life too ; don't fail to come to me as soon as you get this.
I enquired the best way by land to New York, and told him to go to Worcester and then to Quabog, an Indian town where Maj. Wil- lard fought the Indians ; there is a pond and a stream leading to Connecticut river, and down to Hartford by water to New York, and to give this to you himself. Say nothing to him about me or that you ever saw me-but come without fail, or if I am gone to England, be there as soon as possible. Secure the money and diamonds before you come, as my money will do a great good for us-it will buy a great many great people and all the poor I want in my favor. Keep dark in New York, say nothing to any but my friends-don't fail to be in Boston before I am carried to England, as I can tell you more than I can write, and better what I want. I told the man that brings this to you, if he met with any trouble or was taken by the Indians, to hide his papers in some safe place where he can find
347
MISCELLANY AND STATISTICS.
them if he got away. I will put them in the glass, for if he should get them wet or anything should happen to him they will be safe. I can't think of anything more to write now, but will tell you all when you come. They keep me well and are kind to me here. This is from your friend
ROBERT KIDD.
Boston, 1700-1.
N. B .- Come soon, without fail, and I will tell you more and all about the money. It is on Conant's Island, about three miles down the Harbor of Boston-they don't think it is so near Boston ; but you must keep dark here-say nothing to any one here about me till you see
R. KIDD."
Although the bitterest cold day of the winter, and snow more than two feet deep and much drifted across the hills, the writer availed himself of an invitation and a seat in a well-robed sleigh and visited the highest mountain farm house in the town-the home of Mr. Samuel Shaw, a quiet, honest and every way respect- able citizen. We arrived at the house about noon and found some twenty or more persons already there, having come mostly from the villages in the valleys from three to five miles distant to see the re- markable curiosity. All the circumstances relating to the finding were recounted by the two young men and repeated to every new visitor. That lonely farm house never before opened its door to so many visitors. Prominent citizens, born in the town, were there for the first time. There upon the table lay the broken glass-the cork and cap of sheet lead and the two sheets of long but rather narrow, unruled cap paper, the latter coarse and of a dingy white color, and bore the stamp of the English crown, plainly to be recog- nized when held up to the light. The writing was what would be called old English commercial style, " a fair round hand," like unto that of the commander of the Pinafore. No one who saw that let- ter doubted of its antiquity and genuineness, that it was found by the boys as described, and that it had lain in the silence of the cave of the mountain for 150 years. For weeks the house of Mr. Shaw was besieged by visitors, and until the family became so much em- barrassed thereby that the document was finally sealed up and de- posited in a bank for safe keeping.
The spring of 1849 was the period at which the California fever was at its height, and men were leaving the country towns no less than cities by the hundreds for the Golden Gate. Among the large number which left Palmer for that distant coast were the two young men who had found the Kidd letter. Thinking some ques-
348
HISTORY OF PALMER.
tion might possibly arise concerning it in their absence, or doubt be expressed touching the truth of their oft-repeated statements of the circumstances of the finding of that letter, they thought it im- portant and prudent to leave behind them a more solemn statement of the facts, and to that end applied to the writer to draw up their respective formal affidavits, rehearsing and setting forth particularly and minutely every fact and circumstance connected therewith, which was accordingly done and which they subscribed and made solemn oath to before a magistrate, and, leaving the same with their respective fathers, departed for Colifornia.
About the same time, but a little later in the spring or early summer, Mr. Samuel Shaw, the father, for the first time in his life, made a trip to Boston and visited the islands in the harbor, and especially the one anciently called Conant's, but now Gov- ernor's, Island. He found, however, on inquiry and from local history, that there had been, even in recent years, much change in the shores of most of those islands, and especially the one of par- ticular interest to him from the allusions thereto in the lately found letter-that more than sixty rods of the northwest corner of the island indicated in the letter as the place where two chests of treasure had been buried had, in the long interval of 150 years, been washed away by the tide-in fact, he was told by a resident on the island that more than thirty rods had been swept away from the same cause within the then last thirty years-that the Govern- ment was then building a sea wall to protect that part of the island from further erosion by the tides.
There can be no doubt of the genuineness of the Kidd letter and that it was found near the ancient highway in the town of Palmer, Mass., as before related, for the absolute honesty and sincerity of the two young men is not to be questioned. Besides, there was not a person in the town, nor within a hundred miles of it, possessed of the specific colonial historical information of a hundred and fifty years previous who could or would undertake to perpetrate a fraud and imposition by the manufacture of such a document, nor a per- son living on earth who would select such a place for its conceal- ment with any hope or expectation that at some indefinite time thereafter a rabbit and dog, supplemented by two young hunters, in a cold and cheerless winter's day, upon the side of a desolate and lonely mountain, would bring it forth to astonish and deceive an honest and intelligent community. But, though undisputed and undoubted at the time by hundreds of gentlemen who visited the place and examined and read the paper, let us notice some of its peculiarities and the internal evidences of the genuineness of the
349
MISCELLANY AND STATISTICS.
letter. First, its enclosure in glass and sealing is after the manner of a seaman ; its peculiar date, 1700-1, indicating, though the month and day were omitted, that it was at the point of the annual period when under the " old style " it would be 1700 and under the " new style " 1701, and the character of the handwriting. The whole tenor of the communication-specific, peculiar, solicit- ous, anxious, just such a letter as such a character would be likely to write under like circumstances, and just such as the facts of his- tory will show to have existed at the moment and prior and subse- quent thereto. Then, again, the names of persons therein alluded to, some known to history, others not; likewise the names of Indian localities and battle grounds in the description of the ancient route from Boston to New York.
So far Mr. Wallace's paper. The sequel is soon told. It seems that a dispute arose between the two senior Shaws as to the custody and proprietorship of the letter in question. Samuel brought a suit at law against Gardner. Eminent legal talent was retained on both sides. The plaintiff employed Hon. R. A. Chapman of Spring- field, and the defendant was represented by Hon. Wm. G. Bates of Westfield. The case came to trial. The plaintiff took the witness stand and swore that the letter was a forgery. And so the affair ended.
THE FIRE OF 1851 .- By this fire, which happened April 17, 1851, the finest part of Main street in Palmer Village was destroyed, and the loss was not less than $70,000. It broke out at midnight in a wooden building owned by Elisha Converse, and occupied by W. C. Munger as a general dry goods and grocery store. A wooden building owned by Chester Strong and occupied by stores and as a family residence, and the adjacent brick building in which was the printing office of the Palmer Journal, fell in course. Then the Palmer Hotel, owned by Mr. Converse, and the Nassawano House, owned by D. & C. M. Shaw, were wiped out. Most of the mer- chants and tenants had light insurance, and their means were greatly crippled. The real estate owners were better protected, and at once re-built in a more substantial manner of brick.
April 19, 1857, the block on the corner of Main and Furnace streets, was destroyed by fire. It was occupied by the Palmer Journal, the Blood hat works, and by tenants, and the loss was about $10,000.
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