USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Sutton > History of the town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1876 to 1950, Volume II > Part 19
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Darkness has now become a hindrance. I can barely see my way. Telephone and electric wires are underfoot everywhere. I feel certain, however, the current must certainly have been cut off as a protection to all humanity. I resist a des- perate urge to run in to the homes of friends and relatives, as I pass them on my way, to see that all is well. Cheery little candle flames can be seen flickering in all the windows. But I mustn't stop now. I am so near home and it is pitch dark. I cannot see the ground under my feet. I am now practically feeling my way along.
Sutton Center at last. The gleam of a flashlight. Another human being grop- ing around in the dark. I find myself peering into the face of a neighbor - but I have to ask who it is. I barely can distinguish the outline of his body. Now voices of two other people, men, within a foot or two of where I am standing. They also are making the same inquiry, "Who's there?" I recognize the voice of one, my husband !
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Our meeting there in the center is simultaneous, he from one direction after abandoning his car, and I from another. It seems miraculous and yet no more so than other things which are happening in this storm. I pinch myself to see if it is real or simply a product of my imaginings. The pain is there anyway. To say the least - it's a happy discovery.
They tell me I sound a bit hysterical. I'm afraid at this moment my emotions are getting the best of me and my voice gives me away.
Our neighbor tells us the First Congregational Church spire has toppled, many barns are flat near the center, some with cows buried beneath them, homes are badly damaged - and all this observation from within a small radius. What will be seen when morning breaks and we are able to get about ?
But my mind is at home already. If my body would only move. Seems like the whole world has stopped revolving with the lessening of the wind, although it still is an effort to walk against it. In spite of its still extraordinary velocity it seems like a calm beside the strength of it an hour ago.
A quarter of the way home we pick up another wayfarer. The extra company seems good. My husband's little dog trots at our feet and a flashlight dimly lights our path over the fallen telephone poles, wires and trees. Even sheds blown from nearby fields are in the highway.
At this point we commence to see the lights of automobiles blinking here and there off in the distance. People have axes and, with several men working to- gether, they are chopped small loopholes in the trees through which they can drive a car.
One car we encounter has come a distance of a mile or more from West Sut- ton. The driver has come to the conclusion he can go no further without damage to the car and it would take hours before he could chop his way to his destination anyway. He turns around and, humorously as it seems to us, we three and the dog pile into the car for a lift. Seems funny, wheels moving under you. A kind of locomotion I had almost given up as a lost art.
In a jiffy we are at home. The house and barn are still standing. I can't see a thing out of place. We rush for the door. Every one - yes, every one of the family is there. All talk at once. My baby is contentedly sleeping in her crib upstairs! Two strange men are here, having given up the fight they were making at 6 P. M. to get home from work. They will share our roof for tonight.
We learn of the damage done which, in our anxiety to get into the house, we had not noticed. The family tells us the big barn door is shattered, part of the barn roof is gone, a chimney toppled and the hen coops razed. But who cares. We are all here together, a roof over our heads.
It's starlight now. A calm exists over all. We open windows and settle into our beds. Another world has been made; one which we cannot see 'till morning.
The milestone at the MacLaren Farm, it is said, is not at the exact 48-mile limit on the road to Boston.
Postmaster General Benjamin Franklin, passing through Sutton to lay out the Post Road, set the marker beyond the next house, several rods below the present site. Mr. Woodbury (Benjamin or Bartholomew), who kept a tavern nearby on Boston Road, promised, that if the marker were placed in front of his tavern, he would have set up a fine granite stone, superior to the one ordinarily used. His offer was accepted. Hence the initials, B. W., near the base of the milestone.
CENTER DISTRICT, No. 4
T HE first place in District No. 4 on Boston road, coming towards the Center, is the Deacon Marble Farm. Deacon John Marble was the son of Mrs. Polly Woodbury Marble, who died in 1879. He married Miss Susan Garfield. Deacon Marble was an upright, God-fearing man; greatly respected in the community; often a friend to a family in need. He was a Selectman of the town and the 27th Deacon of the First Congregational Church, serving from 1864 to 1895. Beneath a rather grave exterior, he carried a keen sense of humor. Although he was an excellent mimic, he usually refrained, because he thought it was wicked to imitate another. A fine trainer of oxen and owner of several pair, he was a familiar figure on the roads of Sutton, wearing a long farmer's frock, and driving from two to seven pair of oxen at a time. Jonas Cabino, a full-blooded Indian, was once employed by him. Mrs. Marble for many years was an earnest and devoted teacher of a girls' class in the Sunday School of the First Congregational Church. In later years Mr. and Mrs. Marble became deeply interested in the Dudley Bible School and contributed their life holdings toward its religious upbuilding. Mrs. Marble was known to the students as "Mother Marble" and was much beloved. Having no children of their own, they adopted Charles Edward Chamberlain when he was a small boy. He attended the Sutton Schools, and died at the Bible School, then located in Spencer, January 27, 1902, at the age of 31 years. They also adopted a girl, Eva Garfield, who was recommended to the Marbles by a local dentist. Eva proved to be a dutiful daughter, and was given a good musical education by her foster parents. She was a church organist for thirteen years and was married to Ernest E. Kenneway of Leicester. Mr. Marble died at the age of sixty-nine on February 13, 1905. Mrs. Marble died on Feb. 29, 1936 at Old Common, West Millbury, at the home of her niece Miss Elizabeth Garfield with whom she lived.
The Marble home was sold in the spring of 1905 to Charles Harwood and his wife, who was Miss Mary Putnam. They had three children: Archibald, Wini- fred and Sidney. Mr. and Mrs. Lovell Putnam then bought the farm and lived there with their youngest daughter Ruth, who attended the Worcester Art School and taught in the Eight Lots School.
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Eaton and their young son Hugh Jr. came there to live in 1916. Three more children, John Alvin, Paul and Rita were born here; Muriel, the fifth child was born in Manchaug.
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Mr. and Mrs. Martin Gilinsky were the next owners, purchasing the farm in 1922. Having sold the property to Mr. and Mrs. Stasis Cepalauskas, they moved to Auburn. Mr. and Mrs. Cepalauskas had two children: Mary, the daughter, married Eugene Gravelin and they live in Millbury with their two sons; Stanley, the son, is married and lives in Worcester. Mr. Cepalauskas died August 10, 1949. Mrs. Cepalauskas' brother lived here a short time. Later, Mrs. Cepalauskas had drilled an artesian well, put in a bathroom and made an apartment which has been rented to two different families.
"THE DUGGAN HOME"
Continuing east on Boston Road, the house on the right is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Q. Duggan. On the death of his mother, Mary (Thurston) Griggs, in 1878, Lewis Griggs bought the property from the heirs. In 1885, with his daughter, Miss Ann Griggs, he moved from the old Deacon Hall place in the Eight Lots District to this home. At his death July 4, 1898, the property came into his daughter Ann's possession; and at her death passed to her sister, Mrs. Henry S. Stockwell (Mary Louise Griggs).
The first floor was rented for several years, the tenants being: Charles Har- wood; Miss Grace Putnam, a local seamstress; Wilbert Munroe; Mrs. Phoebe Gifford, who lived to be ninety-four; Everett Wheeler, who died here Nov. 12, 1936, at the age of seventy, and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Evarts and daughter Glenna.
Mr. and Mrs. E. Q. Duggan had previously lived a year of their married life in Leicester, Mass., where they had rented an old farmhouse. While there, the
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dream of remodeling an old house of their own began, having in mind a desir- able place, able to accommodate two or more saddle horses.
In an extensive search, Mr. Duggan came upon this property and purchased it in 1942. The house, however, was sadly in need of repair. Untold hours of diffi- cult work were spent with the aid of carpenters for the heavier labor and the house gradually began to change in appearance. Meanwhile the horses were grazing in the pastures of their own land, the Duggans being too busy to ride. Having taken a period of approximately nine years of their own hard work, the Duggans feel that they can now more fully enjoy their home and horses. Their daughter Sheila, six years old, of course adds to this enjoyment and follows along with the same interest for horses, having a pony of her own.
"After more than a hundred years, this colonial house stands very lovely in its attractive surroundings. The six fireplaces have been repaired to preserve their genuine and original beauty and other quaint features of the house have been similarly treated. The large kitchen fireplace and Dutch oven remain intact. The huge, stalwart beams of the house, except in the kitchen, have been exposed to bring an added enchantment to the rooms. The bathroom, though modern, also has its waxed beams open to view.
"The home originally consisted of six rooms. By removing a partition between two upper rooms, a very spacious master bedroom was the result, containing two fireplaces and eight windows.
"The handmade pine clapboards on the outside have been replaced by cedar shingles which have been painted barn-red. Both front and side entrances are identical, the front door being the original, each having a sunburst above the doorway. On the site where the old carriage shed stood, has been erected a new barn, in architecture similar to the former, but of larger dimensions."
Fred L. Batcheller of the Milestone Farm tells this story about Postmaster General Franklin, who laid out the Post Road from New York to Boston through Sutton in 1771. "It seems he spent the night at this farm on his stay here and the family gave him a fine, turkey supper, lodging and breakfast. As he was to continue on his journey, he asked what his bill was for the good service. "There is no bill. It has been a great pleasure, Mr. Franklin, a great pleasure, and come again.' The Postmaster General was so overcome, his only answer was, 'Well! Well! You are a most beautiful lady! May I kiss your hand.' As he walked away, he commented, "This event caps my whole work. I never in my life got so much for so little expense. Thank you and good-bye! "
This brings us to the third place, the Jacques farm. This property was owned by the Stockwell brothers, James, Henry and their younger brother, Frederick; but was never occupied by them. It had, however, various tenants. One of these was Thomas Dailey, who had Irish wit. His wife, Ellen Manning Dailey, with cheerful alacrity, assisted many housewives. Their sons James and John left Sut- ton for more lucrative fields. The family had a precocious fowl which often strayed to Deacon John Marble's. "Yes", said John, relating the incident, "He comes up daily (Dailey)." The Daileys left Sutton for the home of their daughter Ellen in Milford, where they died at advanced ages.
Joseph and Esther Jacques, who came from Vermont, were the next owners and made it their home for fifty years. By intense industry, Joseph paid for the place, a fifty-two acre farm, by day-labor in the employ of James W. Stockwell. Lady Luck smiled on him, when he received a sum equal to the amount that he had paid for the property, for a pipe line privilege to convey gasoline across the
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premises from south to north. Mrs. Jacques died July 11, 1931 and her husband on January 5, 1933; both passing away at the home of their daughter in Oxford. Their three children, George, Joseph and May have found and filled useful places in neighboring towns. George, an inventor, lived in New Bedford, then in Worcester where he died in April 1945. Joe, a veteran mail carrier in service for 50 years, lives in Millbury; and May was married to William Clementson and lives in Oxford; their two daughters, Esther and Shirley, trained to be nurses.
The Jacques Farm by Joseph H. Tatro
"Joseph H. Tatro of Millbury bought the farm, owned by the Joseph Jacques heirs, in the late fall of 1935. The place was in a sad condition but an architect was employed to keep the lines of the house intact yet permit restoration and modernization within. Though members of the family were pessimistic of ulti- mate results, all joined willingly and labored diligently along with workmen for the next two years, finally achieving, beyond expectations, our dream farm. Pure bred cattle and farming early proved a business in itself and we settled down to enjoy the peace and quiet of our farm as a summer home only, with children and grandchildren spending each season happily. Yet the little house was easily equipped for winter living, as was proved when the Batcheller's "Milestone Farm" barn was burned, damaging the house with smoke and water so as to be unlivable. Mr. Batcheller went to live with a daughter in Sutton center, and Edward Maclaren and family moved into 'Juniper Fields' for the rest of the
"JUNIPER FIELDS", HOME OF DR. AND MRS. BUTLER
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winter. After ten ideal years, the Tatro family yearned for a summer at the Cape and the farm was leased to a delightful couple, Mr. and Mrs. William Wilhelm for 1946-47. Mr. Wilhelm, a Colonel in the Army, had been stationed at Fort Devens throughout the war years but had returned to business as a General Sales Manager of the Dodge Motor Company in Worcester. Mrs. Tatro's father, Charles R. Smith, who had labored long and lovingly at 'Juniper Fields' stone walls and in the wonderful gardens, which furnished the table with every good thing, passed on to his rest in 1944. Without his wise counsel and help, and with illness in the family, it became necessary to make a choice between the farm and our Miles St. home in Millbury; so it was sold 'as is' in 1947 to Dr. Joseph Butler." A daughter, Priscilla Tatro, an accomplished musician, ably assisted in the choir of the First Congregational Church during the summers.
Dr. and Mrs. Butler (Doris E. Wright of New Bedford) came here to live when they returned from their honeymoon in February 1948. The snowfall that winter was very great, and, when the car was in the road in front of the house, it could not be seen from the house because of the huge mounds of snow. Dr. Butler, who attended Worcester schools and did his medical studying in Phila- delphia, is a practicing physician in Worcester. Mrs. Butler is a graduate of St. Luke's Hospital, New Bedford. The Butlers are the present occupants at the farm.
The Putnam Homestead, at the corner of Boston and Hutchinson Roads, re- mained in the family for 120 years, until 1938. The present house was built in 1818 and was the home of five generations of Putnams. Alvan Woodbury Put- nam and his wife, Mary Lovell Knight, and their family lived in the main house. There were ten children: Elwin Tyler married Lillian Rogers and lived in Sutton; Edgar married Miss Annie Hutchinson and lived in Worcester; Irving W. mar- ried Miss Emma Bryant on May 1, 1879. In 1874 Alvan W. Putnam added the bay windows and in 1880 the ell was raised, making a home for his son, Irving and his wife. Lovell, the fourth son, married Mary W. Putnam in 1878, and died on December 21, 1891; Milton K. remained in Sutton after marrying, and died on March 28, 1934; Jennie F. had died in 1863. The seventh child, Elmer mar- ried Miss Marian Woods and lived in Worcester; Edward P. and Edwin P., twins, died at birth; Emma C., the youngest, was married on April 25, 1899 to Dr. Harry C. Martin, a former Sutton physician. They moved to Springfield where he continued his practice. She died on January 7, 1927. The Putnam family was very musical. Elmer had a rich tenor voice and he and his sister Emma often sang at church and at entertainments in the town. They were generous in giving pleasure to others with their music. Singing together, they seemed to be in perfect harmony of voice and spirit. Alvan Putnam died on April 15, 1891. His wife went to Springfield with Emma, with whom she lived until her death in 1905.
Irving Putnam's wife Emma (Bryant) died Oct. 30, 1881. They had one child, Arthur Bryant. Irving married for his second wife, Rena E. C. Moore of Holden in 1884. They had three children: Wilber, died at birth; Olive died of scarlet fever in her twelfth year; Kenneth, who had been educated in the local schools, Cushing Academy and Clark College, was a student at Burdett College in Boston when he died on April 9, 1918 of spinal meningitis at the age of 22. The deaths were tragic blows to the parents, but through all their trouble they kept their
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faith - and in their sorrow renewed their interest in the youth of the town. Mr. Putnam was Deacon of the First Congregational Church for twenty years (1909- 1929) and Mrs. Putnam was Church Clerk for twelve years (1912-1924). Both Deacon and Mrs. Putnam were devoted church workers and were faithful and generous towards its support. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in March 24, 1934. Mr. Putnam died April 7, 1936 and his widow took up residence in Holden where she died November 10, 1949.
After Mrs. Alvan Putnam left Sutton, the tenement in the main house was rented to Henry C. Batcheller and to Fred Batcheller. Later Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Putnam (Miss Ethel Fletcher) and their son Clyde lived here. Ethel Putnam died here in January 1927. Clyde Putnam attended Northeastern University, and was graduated from the University of Massachusetts, having specialized in market gardening. He was master of the Sutton Grange and an interested member of the Sutton High School Alumni Association. He married Miss Blanche Clark of Oxford on July 25, 1939, and now resides in Baltimore, Md. Arthur Putnam took for his second wife, Mrs. Anah Caswell Rosebrooks, on March 20, 1929, and she and her daughter Laura came here to live. They were the occupants of the farm when it was sold to Currier Brothers of Auburn in 1938.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Currier, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Currier and their three children, Ralph 2nd., Ruby and Lucille, came to occupy the farm. As in the gale of 1815, the hurricane of September 21, 1938 took this house for a target; scarcely a whole pane of glass remained in the many windows. The beautiful elm on the lawn, which had withstood many an ice storm, was uprooted by the wind.
Mrs. Ralph Currier died May 10, 1944. Henry Currier later bought out his brother's share in the farm and Ralph and his second wife, who was Mrs. Flor- ence Garmache, moved to the Ray Cottage on Carter Road. Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Currier now live in Northboro.
Ralph 2nd, married Eleanor Whittles-Bates on Aug. 7, 1943. He served in the Army during the Second World War while his wife and oldest child, Lynn Bates, lived in the Shappy apartment. Their other children are Patricia Ann, Stephen Wayne and David Bruce. After the war, they returned to live at the Currier home until their new house on the farm, facing Hutchinson Road, was ready for occupancy in September 1950. Ruby Currier married Alfred Olson on September 8, 1945 and moved away. Lucille married Frederick Goddard, Febru- ary 12, 1949 and they are living at a New York Military Base where he is sta- tioned. They have a daughter, Marjorie Ann.
Tenants on the farm have been: Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. Salmon and family, who later bought the Hunt place on the Town Farm Road; Mr. and Mrs. Strong of Auburn; Mr. and Mrs. Toombs and one child, who moved from here to the Waters farm in West Sutton; Mr. and Mrs. Robert Adams, formerly of Whitins- ville; Mr. and Mrs. Roland Vigeant and two children of Southbridge; Mr. and Mrs. Russell Trumbull and child, formerly of Shrewsbury, and Mr. and Mrs. Francis Ford and son.
The cottage on the Putnam-Currier shore of Lake Singletary was built by Arthur B. Putnam in 1908 and was used by him while on vacation from the Rural Free Delivery Service. It has been rented annually to Carl E. Peterson of Worcester and he is believed to be the veteran camper on this side of the lake. Blueberries grow in abundance on the Currier farm.
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The Foster Freeland place, on Boston Road, east of the Currier property, at present owned by Mr. and Mrs. John Newton, was formerly the Zadock Wood- bury farm. It was occupied by the Freeland family and never rented from 1858 to 1945. The barn on the place burned September 23, 1896. Mr. Foster Freeland died May 27, 1907, at the age of eighty-eight, having lived here forty-nine years. His daughter, Frances J. W., then became the owner. She was the only woman mentioned in the first town history as a resident of the street, who was born, lived and died in the same house, from the writing of the first history until the start of the compilation of this volume. Great was her pleasure and privilege in contributing from her remarkable storehouse of knowledge to the writing of this history. Miss Freeland was a member of the first class to be graduated from the Sutton High School, and she was a valued teacher at one time in the Eight Lots School. Fred Fulton came here from Nova Scotia to live in 1907. He was a skillful teamster and, he claimed, had outlived his business. Miss Freeland died at the age of eighty-six, on April 14, 1945. Mr. Fulton inherited the estate. The farm is noted for its blueberries, which grow in abundance and are much sought after by pickers from the nearby city.
At Mr. Fulton's death, November 23, 1946, the property was left to a friend, Miss Minnie L. Smith. In November 1948, the estate was sold to Mr. and Mrs. John H. Newton (Evelyn Gagne). They moved into the house in May 1949 after electricity, plumbing and a heating system were installed. They have a son, Neil Everett Newton.
In November 1915, Michael J. Kane, a contractor and builder of Worcester, bought that portion of the Foster Freeland farm lying on the south of the Boston Road. He built a barn first, and the house in 1918. In the substantial foundations for the house and stable, he used many of the stone walls. A tract of wood was sold to Frank Arnold for $1000 and the land cleared for additional pasturage. Mr. Kane brought quantities of fertilizer from his Worcester stables and raised bumper crops with satisfaction. He stocked the farm with sheep and Hereford cattle, later changing to a dairy herd. He used power equipment in mowing the fields. The Eugene Doerrs occupied the house five years (1921-26). The trend of Mr. Kane's business having changed, he sold to Alfred Charron in April 1927. The rainy season proved detrimental to his health so he sold to Edmond Rich- ford, May 23, 1927. Richford had served 20 years on the police force of Wor- cester and became tired of the demands of agriculture to which he had not been accustomed. He sold to Henry Bousquet in October 1927. Before the year ended, Bousquet transferred to one, named Belleau, who never lived on the place. The next owner was Henry Paquette in August 1928, who worked it with his son-in- law, A. I. Snow, to their mutual profit. The real estate seeming desirable, George Toezke of Spencer bought it in 1930, living here one year with his family. In July 1931 Daniel MacDonald bought it, stayed six weeks and in September transferred it to Stanislaw Marcinkiewicz, known as Martin. He moved here August 3, 1931 and on May 17, 1932 vacated in favor of Anthony and Mary Sobol, who came from Jefferson.
On February 20, 1938, Sarkis Davagian with his wife and six children moved to the farm, their new home in Sutton, Massachusetts. The property, which was purchased from Anthony Sobol, was comparatively run-down and a bit depress-
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ing, but the new owners could see the vast possibilities in the beautiful, low, roll- ing fields. The dairy barn, having been built along relatively modern plans, made it possible for efficient dairy operation. The house was originally built on a two family basis with all modern conveniences, which made it possible for the new owners to enjoy a comfortable home life.
The first few years were the most trying, because of the endless hours spent in painting and making necessary repairs. A new garage and equipment shed was built to take the place of the one destroyed by the hurricane. In order that truck farming could be carried on, it was necessary to rebuild the soil on one-third of the tilled acreage. Additional acreage located across the street from the main property, was purchased in 1944 from Miss Frances Freeland.
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