USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Sutton > History of the town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1704 to 1876, including Grafton until 1735, Millbury until 1813 and parts of Northbridge, Upton and Auburn > Part 25
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His wife and all of his children were born in Sutton. He now sleeps in the old graveyard, the " holy ground" of his choice. The place was next owned by Mrs. Terry and occupied by her and her son, Dr. William Terry ; then by Miss Esther Terry. It next went into possession of Putnam King, who sold to the present owner. Dr. Terry is one of the best of men ; he was deacon of the church for several years, also a member of the school committee. He taught school and was a useful citizen; he married a Slocomb, and has a large family. He now lives in Ansonia, Ct. Mr.
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Joseph Hall built a house a little south of this, where he lived several years. It was moved, and has been accounted for where it now stands.
We insert the following obituaries of Sarah C., daughter of Dr. Smith, and of her husband :
"Died in St. Louis, Mo., Mrs. Sarah C., wife of David N. Hall, Esq., and daughter of Dr. D. S. C. H. Smith, formerly of Sutton, now of Providence, R. I., aged 26 years.
"A few months since Mrs. Hall left the parental roof, and took leave of the hills and valleys of her native place (often sketched by her pencil) for the city of her adoption. Little did she or her friends think she had been stricken with that disease which loves to prey upon youth and beauty, and which would prepare her for a grave in a land of strangers, far from the sepulchres of her honored sires. In intellectual and moral worth Mrs. Hall had few superiors. Possessing a vigorous and well cultivated mind, and a heart prompt to feel for others' joy or woe, she won the friendship and love of all favored with her acquaintance. Her death is an irreparable loss to her husband, and makes a wide breach in that circle of which she was lately one. There are many hearts in the place of her nativity who sympathize deeply with the bereaved in their loss ; and who fervently offer the prayer that the hand which has wounded may also heal."*
" Died on the evening of the 29th of April, at the residence of Col. Owing, St. Louis, David N. Hall, Esq., a member of the St. Louis bar, in the 33d year of his age.
" The deceased was a native of Sutton, Mass., and a graduate of Yale Col- lege, in the class of 1839. * * *
"In the spring of 1847 he received from Governor Edwards the appointment of circuit attorney for the county of St. Louis. Upon the resignation of Judge Blair, of the Court of Common Pleas, Mr. Hall was strongly recommended by a large body of his fellow citizens for that high and responsible station. In August 1847 Mr. Hall re-visited his native home, and there married an accomplished and amiable lady, the daughter of Dr. Smith of that place. Before two years had passed away, the death of a beloved wife and an only child had prepared his mind and heart for the deepest afflictions of life. * * * His mind wore a philosophical cast, and he contemplated death with the placid equanimity of a Socrates, and at the same time with the Christian's hope of a higher life to come." t
It is not known who built the next house. The first owner of whom we have any knowledge was Deacon Reuben Putnam, who was deacon in 1794. He had several children born here. Austin graduated at Brown University, and was a Congregational minister at Cornish, N. H. Polycarp, whose
* Massachusetts Spy, January 31, 1849.
t Massachusetts Spy, June 11, 1851.
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name was changed to John Milton, also graduated at Brown University. His mother was a widow and lived alone in this house for several years.
When Polycarp was eight years old, he felt that he must do something to help his mother. So he took a bundle of his clothes and a cane, and sallied forth to seek his fortune. He first went down the Boston road, stopping at every house to see if they wanted a boy, but no one gave him any encourage- ment; so he started back and threw his cane up, resolving to go in the direction that the cane might point. It directed him across lots, towards Millbury, so he went in that direction, and at last reached the house of Mr. Jonathan Waters in West Millbury; there he asked Mr. Waters if he wanted a boy. Mr. Waters inquired whose boy he was, and finding him quite intelligent, con- cluded that he would like a boy; so he told him that if his mother approved he might come and work for him. He came and lived with Mr. Waters ten years, and then, by the assistance of friends, went to college, became a Congre- gational minister and was settled at Great Barrington, Mass.
He married a Miss Brigham of Westboro', and took his mother to his own home and cared for her as long as she lived. He afterward went to Maine. His son, Rev. George Putnam, now preaches in Millbury.
The place was occupied by Capt. William Warren, who had a large and very intelligent family. One of his daughters kept a select school in this house. One married a Horton, and was the mother of Rev. Francis Horton. It was next owned and occupied by Ithran Harris, then by Dr. D. S. C. H. Smith. Simon Wheeler lived there once. Nehemiah Chase took possession on a mortgage and sold to Mrs. Sylvester Morse, a very fine lady, who had two worthy sons and one daughter; she occupied it several years. It now belongs to William D. Mascroft. Mr. William P. Mascroft lived there several years, and there died. He married a Bateheller and had a large family. Three of his sons weigh over two hundred and fifty pounds cach. He, in his best days, weighed over three hundred pounds.
The next house, which stood on land now owned by M. M. Hovey, was originally owned by Percz Rice, who, " Master Hall" said, was cousin to the Rices that the Indians carried from Westboro' to Canada in 1700. He had a large family and owned a large real estate in Sutton. He it was, according to the Leland papers, that owned the first chaise in town. His nephew, Rev. Asaph Rice, gradu- ated at Harvard in 1752; taught school in Sutton, and
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preached in Westminster. The place was afterward occupied by a Leland, and then by Capt. Francis Putnam, who mar- ried Leland's daughter.
The next house was built by Mr. Simeon Carpenter for his son JJohn, whose children were born there. It was after- ward occupied several years by Reuben F. Chase. Many other families have since lived there. It is now owned by Putnam King and occupied by Andrew Laverty.
The next place, so far as can be learned, was first owned by Henry Harback, then by Ensign David Putnam; next by his son Abner, and has since been owned by Reuben Wheelock, Luther Whiting, Samuel King, Isaac Burdon, William V. Inman, H. C. Mascroft, George Stockwell and A. W. Putnam. The Rev. Samuel Mellen Whiting was born here. Solomon D. King, Esq., bought the place some eight years since and now occupies it. He has been town clerk, and held other town offices, has presided in county conventions, been one of the leaders in many of the temperance organizations; has also been a justice of the peace, a member of the legislature, etc. He married Julia Ann Hall, daughter of Oliver Hall, Esq. They had three sons and one daughter : Sim E., who was a soldier in the late war, and is now in a law-office in Worcester ; Henry ; and Sarah, who is a graduate of the Sutton high school.
Rev. Samuel Mellen Whiting was born (in the house on this place), June 25, 1825; was graduated from Trinity College, Hartford, in 1846, and from Newton Theological Seminary in 1850. He was ordained May 8, 1850, in the first Baptist church, Hartford, and was married the next day to Miss Mary Elizabeth Flint of that city. In June following they sailed from Boston for Assam, India, as missionaries of the American Baptist Missionary Union, and arrived at Gowahati, Assam, in April, 1851.
His missionary service in India covers a period of a little over ten years, a decade rendered remarkable in the history of our missions by the enlargement of missionary operations, and the triumphs of the cross over the powers of heathenism. Mr. Whiting was qualified by natural endowments, culture, learning, piety and zeal, to enter into, and help forward this aggressive work. He translated large portions of the Old Testament from Hebrew into As- samese, a work which reflects great credit upon his accurate scholarship. He was successful as pastor and preacher, as teacher and translator, as editor and financier, proving himself equal to all these high trusts. For four years he took charge of the printing establishment, and for two years he had the whole charge of the mission at Sibsagor.
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He did a great work for Assam, and left behind him there a name and an influence that will live in all coming time. He returned to this country on account of Mrs. Whiting's health in 1861, and entered at once into earnest work for the Master.
For seven years he was the esteemed and successful pastor of the church in Colchester, Vermont. While there he performed a large amount of varied and useful work in the New Hampton Institution at Fairfax, and in the vari- ous religious organizations of the state; showing in these spheres the same versatility of talent, mature wisdom, and executive ability which had charac- terized his services in India. He was very highly esteemed in ministerial circles beyond the Baptist denomination, and was pronounced by the best judges in Vermont the foremost Hebrew scholar in the state. He was as modest and unassuming as he was profound in classical scholarship. He was as true in friendship, and as gentle and loving in spirit, as he was firm in truth and principle and unswerving in integrity.
For four years he was the honored pastor of the ancient and venerable church in Windsor, Vermont, a worthy successor of the devoted and able Elijah Hutchinson of blessed memory. From Windsor he was called to Fair Haven, Connecticut, where the crowning work of his pastoral life was accom- plished. The church there owes to him, under God, almost its very existence. He found them without a house of worship, few and feeble, worshiping in a ball over King's Hotel. While looking faithfully after the spiritnal interests of the people, he gave himself with singular devotion to the work of building a house of worship, and by indefatigable labors and large personal influence he succeeded in building their present beautiful church edifice on Grand street, and dedicating it to the worship of God. The spiritual interests of the church were also greatly built up under his ministry, and the church stands to-day as a monument of his fidelity and ability. In the midst of these abundant labors his health gave way, and he was forced to resign all connection with this cherished work, and retire from the active ministry of the Word. Since then he has lived in New Haven, an invalid in steadily failing health. He died Feb. 21, 1878 .*
The next place Jonathan F. Putnam bought of Lot Wood- bury, Nov. 29, 1793. The house was an old fashioned gambrel-roofed one; there was a mill and scythe-maker's shop on it when he bought it, but the next morning it was a smouldering ruin, having been burned on the very night on which he took possession. It was one of the oldest mill sites in town. Who first built there is not known. Miller Putnam, as he was always called, built a grist-mill twenty- feet square, directly after the fire, and occupied it until after the great September gale in 1815. His wife had her spinning-wheel placed in the attic of the mill, and belted to the water-wheel, and there she spun flax and tow for several years. After the great blow Mr. Isaac King induced him to
* From The Watchman and Reflector.
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build a saw-mill, that he might have sawed some of the best logs from trees that had been blown down on his land, so he built a new saw and grist-mill sixty feet long, which he operated until 1836, when he sold out to Edward Clark and others to make room for their flour-mill already des- cribed. The house on this place has been built over sixty years, and there has never been a death in it, unless one child died there in infancy when the house was first erected. Probably there is not another house in town which has been constantly occupied, in which there has been no death for more than sixty years. Estes Putnam lives in the house opposite, which has been already spoken of as once a school house and a law office.
The house now owned by the heirs of Deacon William Bond is presumed to have been built by Daniel Stone, a mason by trade, who also carried on the farm and manufac- tured potash. One of his children was buried on the place. The farm was afterward owned by Nathan Woodbury, who deeded it to Deacon Bond when his children were young ; they were born, however, in the next house beyond where Lewis Griggs now lives. Deacon Bond lived here many years, and here he died, an honest man and a Christian. His son Alvan graduated at Brown University in 1815, and studied theology at Andover. He is now the Dr. Bond of Norwich, Connecticut, a distinguished scholar and divine. The place is now occupied by Mr. John E. Ball, a very worthy man. The following sketch of Deacon William Bond and family is prepared from data furnished by Rev. Dr. Bond :
Among the old families and early settlers of the town of Sutton the name of Bond is found. In 1737 Josiah Bond, grandson of William Bond of Water- town, was received to the Congregational church by letter from the church in Newton. He settled on a farm in what was called the north parish, now Millbury. He was among the number of those who in 1744 were organized as the second church in Sutton. He was the grandfather of Dea. William Bond, who in the spring of 1801 removed from the westerly part of Millbury to the farm still in the possession of the family, about half a mile south of Sutton centre. He and his wife, members of the second church, were received by letter to the first church. In 1811 he was elected a deacon of said church, in which office he continued till his death in 1842. Dea. Bond as a citizen was public spirited, ever ready to co-operate with others in promoting the cause of education, public improvements, morality and peace.
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He was a well known peacemaker, who never had a lawsuit or a quarrel with his neighbors. As a professed Christian he was an example of humility, consistency, charity and conscientious devotion to the duties of his profession. Constant in his attendance on the service of the sanctuary, and such occa- sional religious meetings as were appointed in the parish, he showed that his piety was a principle and a life rather than a periodic awakening of religious emotion and zeal. In ordering the affairs of his household, family worship was maintained, the sabbath was sacredly remembered, and religious instruc- tion given.
Deacon Bond had three children, two of whom are now living. It was a cherished purpose of this christian father to give to one of his two sons a col- legiate education, with the hope that he might become a preacher of the gospel. This purpose was accomplished and the hope realized by the educa- tion of the eldest son at Brown University, and the theological seminary at Andover. And he enjoyed the privilege and satisfaction of representing his church as a delegate to the council by which that son, Rev. Alvan Bond, D. D., now of Norwich, Conn., was ordained and installed as pastor of the Congregational church in Sturbridge, Nov. 29, 1819.
After a prosperous ministry of nearly twelve years, Mr. Bond in 1831 accepted an invitation to a professorship in the theological seminary, Bangor, Maine. As his health suffered somewhat from the severity of the climate in that place, he accepted an invitation from the second Congregational church, Norwich, Conn., to become pastor of the same, being installed May 6, 1835. After a happy and prosperous ministry as the pastor of this church, continuing thirty years, he resigned his pastorate on account of age and failing health. He continues to dwell among the people for whom he so long labored in the gospel, esteemed and honored in his old age. During half a century he has, in addition to his professional labors, been active in promoting the interests of education, and in organizing, supporting and managing the institutions of christian benevolence, most of which have come into existence during his life- time, to the support of which he has been a constant contributor.
Among the first settlers of Sutton the name of Richard Waters may be found. He united with the church when the Rev. Mr. Mckinstry was pastor, being received by letter from the church in Salem. Several families of this name lived in the westerly part of this town, and others in what is now Mill- bury. In Sutton, Ebenezer Waters, Esq., was a prominent citizen and a land surveyor. He gave the bell to the old church. He lived on the Bullard farm, West Sutton. A brother or relative was Elder Waters, a Baptist preacher, whose house was a short distance below where the Baptist meeting-house now stands, and upon the opposite side of the street .* As Baptist ministers in these times did not receive salaries, it was necessary that they should procure some secular occupation as the means of support. The "Elder," as he was called, was an enterprising man of business, a well known and highly respected citizen, and an earnest preacher in his denomination. The fact that this good Baptist Elder run a distillery shows how different public sentiment then was as to the manufacture and use of intoxicating liquors from what it now is. He received the surplus cider of the farmers and converted it into what was called cider brandy, at one time extensively used as a beverage.
* See sketch of Elder Samuel Waters in connection with the history of the first Baptist church.
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With many other good men, Deacon Bond made cider for the elder's distil- lery; on one occasion, after having discharged a load of cider, the deacor tarried for the purpose of a social chat with the elder. While watching the fire of the distillery, "Deacon," said the elder, "this business furnishes me with some very striking illustrations for my preaching. Here, while attending to the fire, I have time to think and study my discourses. When I want to impress on my hearers the awful subject of future punishment, this big fire which I keep continually burning affords an illustration of the fire of hell which is not quenched. The worm of the distillery reminds me of what Christ has said about the worm that never dies. And then the product, the spirit of the cider, represents the evil spirits by which men are tempted and in danger of being destroyed." And as the conversation went on, the deacon thought that the elder's study, with its fire and worm, and burning fluid, was quite a suggestive place for sermon making. Neither of these good men at that time entertained the slightest suspicion that the business in which they were engaged was not as justifiable as any other occupation.
If young men had dreamed dreams in those days, as one did on a time about "Deacon Giles's" notorious distillery, in which it was said a Bible depository was kept, some one might have immortalized Elder Water's distil- lery as a study in which sermons were made. He might have dreamed how the good man's exhortations and warnings for Sabbath services received point and force from the inspiration created by the grim fixtures and fiery work of this old cider-brandy mill.
The next and last house in district number four was owned and occupied by Mr. Daniel Tenney, then by Elisha Carpen- ter, then by his son Simeon, then by his son Tyler. It has since been owned by Aaron Holman, Henry M. Brigham, Joel Houghton, Stockwell and Putnam, I. A. Dodge and S. B. Holbrook, the present owner. Simeon Carpenter, son of Elisha, son of William, was a comb-maker and carried on that business here. His eleven children were born here. His sons, David and Simeon, went to Charlton and were prom- inently connected with the Worcester County Agricultural Society. Tyler married Betsey Waters, and went to Min- nesota ; Matilda married Stephen Waters and is the mother of Jason Waters. There was once another house on this farm, owned and occupied by James Giles, who was a cooper, and had a shop near his house. Both buildings were burned about 1818. It is not known by whom either of these houses was built.
We insert here the following sketch of Hon. J. H. Morse, which should have been given in connection with the place now owned by George S. King.
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Hon. John Hathaway Morse, son of John and Mary Hathaway Morse, was born in the town of Sutton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, July 21, 1819. The family was originally English, and came from a renowned and remote ancestry.
Three brothers - Anthony, William and Robert Morse - emigrated from England and settled in Newburyport, Massachusetts, in the year 1635.
From Anthony, the oldest son of Anthony, descended Professor Morse, father of our telegraph system; and from Joshua, the youngest son, John Hathaway Morse of Missouri traces his genealogy.
His paternal grandfather, Nathaniel Fry Morse, was a surgeon under Wash- ington during the revolutionary war; and his grand-uncles, Caleb and Joshua Morse, served as soldiers during that memorable struggle, and never laid down their arms until the freedom of the colonies was proclaimed.
The father of John was one of the first cotton manufacturers in the United States, but met with severe losses in the destruction of his mills by fire in 1822. Owing principally to these reverses, young John received but a common school education, and was early called upon to begin the great battle of life. It being prior to the introduction of railroads into the United States, the elder Morse became interested in running canal boats from Providence, Rhode Island, to Worcester, Massachusetts, on what was known as the Black- stone Canal, in which occupation he was assisted by his son John, who had barely reached his sixteenth year.
In 1837, when John was eighteen years old, the family moved west, and settled in McLean County, Illinois, John going to Springfield and becoming engaged in general wood working. Here he remained four years and married Miss Panthea Armsby. His wife being of a very delicate constitution, he was induced to return to the east, in the hope of bringing to her renewed health and strength; but disease had taken a too strong hold of her, and she died in 1844, John returning and coming to Missouri in 1847.
Possessed of a quick and active mind, coming from one of the best devel- oped and most prosperous of the eastern states, of wonderful energy and perseverance, and perfectly enthusiastic upon all matters relating to the open- ing up and developing of his adopted state, he soon began to take active part in all the important questions of the day, and ere long was tacitly acknowledged as the representative man of his section. Politically he was always known as an old line whig, and a union man as opposed to slavery. He was a firm believer in state rights; but was firm in the opinion that the institution of slavery was wrong in itself, and injurious to the growth and prosperity of the state. These ideas he never failed to advocate upon all occasions.
During the war Mr. Morse occupied a very peculiar and what might be termed a very harrassing position. Living on the line between the two hostile parties, he was exposed to the incursions and hostilities of both parties. Regarding the union of the states as a strong and indissoluble bond, he warmly favored the measures put forth by the general government for its mainte- nance. Notwithstanding a majority of the most influential citizens of the county were secessionists, he strongly advocated the restoration of the states to their old places in the union, and assisted in raising a company of soldiers for that purpose. His influence kept many at home who were inclined to join fortunes with the confederacy. The educational interests of Missourl had no more faithful guardian in the legislature than Mr. Morse, who watched with a jealous eye every movement liable to affect our public school system.
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In 1872 the university was crippled for the want of money; the public schools suffered from the same cause. Mr. Morse was the author of the measures reimbursing the state university and the common schools, giving to the university $147,080 of the proceeds of the sale of the stock of the State Bank of Missouri, sold under Governor Fletcher's administration to James B. Eads, and giving $900,000 to the common schools. This was one of the most popular measures ever passed in Missouri. Mr. Morse was married twice; in 1841, as has been already intimated, in McLean County, Illinois, to Miss Panthea Armsby, who died in 1844 without issue.
His second marriage took place in 1861, in Springfield, Illinois, where he espoused Miss Mary P. Barrows, a native of Vermont, but whose early life was passed in Sangamon County. She still survives, and has borne him three sons. * * Through his own intrinsic merits and indefatigable energy he has made his life a success. His industry has been rewarded. Generous in his nature and social in disposition, he counts his friends and well-wishers by the thousands, who respect and esteem him for the high moral principles which he ever puts forward in his public and private career, and which to-day place the name of John Hathaway Morse among Missouri's most honored citizens .*
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