USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Sutton > History of the town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1876 to 1950, Volume II > Part 27
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The First Congregational Church suffered severely from the hurricane. The steeple fell, leaving the belfry roofless and one beautiful memorial window was shattered. Other damages made repairs impossible without redecorating, for which plans were made. Everyone (in spite of his own loss) responded so generously that in three or four months the church interior had been renovated. Attention then was given the steeple. Plans, drawn by Vernon S. Johnson and son Wilfred were accepted and workmen copied the old design. In less than a year the new steeple was in place.
At the corner of Church Circuit and Uxbridge Road, the house owned by James W. Stockwell in 1876 was sold to Dr. and Mrs. A. C. Faden. Their chil- dren were Florence, Clara, Andrew, Susan and Elizabeth. The boy had the mis- fortune of falling under the wheels of a wagon, loaded with wood. His Doctor father took the best care of him and brought him back to health, which was considered nothing short of a miracle. Sorrow came to the family when little Clara died, choked by a cherry stone. Dr. Faden was an able physician and had a large practice, which meant long hours of driving with horse and buggy over rough country roads in all weathers. He was interested in town affairs and served on the School Board. The people were saddened by his early death in 1891 at the age of thirty-five and were sorry to have the family leave the town.
The property was sold to Dr. Edward A. Welch and his wife. Dr. Welch was a successful physician. He served on the School Board and also was auditor for the town. Doctor and Mrs. Welch were active in community projects and were much beloved by the people. He died in 1897 at the age of thirty-five.
Mrs. E. A. Goodnow then purchased the property. She had two daughters, Mrs. Carrie Phillips and Mrs. Louise Young. A grandson, Jay Bacon Phillips, used to spend much of his time here at his grandmother's home. The family made extensive repairs to the house, which they occupied during the summer. It was destroyed by fire on Thanksgiving Eve, Nov. 24, 1909.
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After the fire, the land was sold to Mrs. Sarah Sherman, who with her son Perley built the present set of buildings, consisting of a two-story house, barn and garage. They moved to Worcester and sold the property to William A. Volkmar, a druggist from Worcester. His wife was Abbie Idella Perry, formerly of Sutton. Because of ill health, they left this home and went to live with their daughter Pauline in Shrewsbury.
In October 1923, the place was sold to Mr. and Mrs. George Emlotte and two sons by a former marriage, Walter and William Alexander. Mr. Emlotte was a painter. He died in 1934. In 1948, Mrs. Emlotte, her sister, Miss Mary A. Connors, and son William went to Worcester to live with her daughter, Mrs. George A. Lindberg. Mr. and Mrs. Walter Alexander, the present occupants, have two sons; Walter E., born Oct. 29, 1930 and Kenneth A., born April 14, 1936. Walter married and lives in Worcester; Kenneth is in High School.
The second house on Church Circuit was also owned by J. W. Stockwell and was occupied by various tenants. Among them were: Mrs. Emily Slocomb; Walter A. Wheeler, principal of the High School, and family; the Edward Malhoits and Mr. and Mrs. Randsom Richardson and daughters, Gertrude and Gladys. Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Lowe moved in the first of November 1909, just before the fire that destroyed all three houses in the row. The land was then sold to the Emlottes and Alexanders, who are the present owners.
The third house on the street, owned by J. W. Stockwell, was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. John W. Mascroft and Mrs. Pomeroy Peck. After Mr. Mascroft won $30,000 in the Louisiana State Lottery, he purchased and remodeled the house and added a new barn. He was a great sportsman and reserved one room in this house for guns and fishing equipment. Before his death, Nov. 16, 1897, at the age of fifty-eight, he had the Brigham Bros. of Fisherville go with him to Falmouth Heights where they erected several buildings.
Due to a subtle chimney fire, flames spread through the Mascroft house and to the two adjoining homes, burning all three to the ground on that memorable "night of a great, cold wind, hail and snow." (From Grandma Julia Ann Holbrook's diary.) The barn on the Mascroft property was saved. Mrs. Delia Mascroft hired George F. Chase of Millbury to erect the present house. Henry Balcome was employed by her and lived there as a caretaker. He owned a pair of beautiful white horses and took great pride in driving them around the town.
Mrs. Mascroft sang in the choir of the Congregational Church and was inter- ested in the church organizations. After her death, Nov. 23, 1919, Mrs. Nellie Pratt, Admx. sold the property to the present owners, J. Roger and Flora W. Putnam. Mr. Putnam made the one-family house into three apartments in one of which he and Mrs. Putnam live. The tenants have been: Mr. and Mrs. William Keeler and June; Mr. and Mrs. Coon and Marjorie; Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe Fisher (Lois Briel) and family and Mr. and Mrs. Pendleton Havener (Laura Rosebrooks). At present Mr. and Mrs. Rene Hebert (Faith Putnam) and sons, David Wayne (Feb. 9, 1948) and John Leslie (Sept. 25, 1950) and Mr. and Mrs. Charles LaCrosse live here.
This picture of Deacon John Marble was taken near the Brick Block, looking across the Common to the James W. Stockwell house and the Simon J. Wood- bury shop. Volume I of the History states that Mr. Woodbury built this house
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JOHN W. MARBLE
in 1832 and about the same time "a shoe shop and store between the house and the road."
Sarah King Bennett, who transcribed the manuscript for the first history, sent the photograph and wrote that this shop was moved to Bramanville about 1865.
The Edmund Mills house, which has been in this family since 1819, is supposed to have been built by Rev. David Hall. It was his residence and had a line of stepping stones from the front door to the old Congregational Church on the Common.
The house could tell many tales of the long ago; scenes of the Court which convened in the front room during the time Edmund J. Mills was Trial Justice for the District; meetings of the Masonic Order, held on the floor above, in a room with a star painted on the ceiling; the wedding, in an adjoining room, of Mrs. Abigail Moore Mills to the Rev. Nathaniel Emmons, D.D. of Franklin. William Mills, for many years civil engineer for the city of Worcester, had the unique experience of attending his grandmother's wedding.
Dr. Emmons, June 30, 1831, in a letter to Mrs. Mills concerning his proposal of mar- riage, writes, "I have known you for many years past, and have entertained a high opinion of your person, your virtue, your piety and many excellent qualities. This led me in my lonely and bereaved state, to fix my eye upon you, as the most agreeable companion I could find, with whom to spend the short residue of my days. I should have been greatly gratified, if you had given a more direct and definite answer to my serious and interesting proposal; though, I must say, I approve of your delicacy and prudence in holding me in some suspense. I hope, however, you will maturely and finally come to a conclusion which shall be equally satisfactory to us both.
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HOME OF MRS. GRACE MILLS JORDAN
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HOMES of SUTTON
After the death of Edmund J. Mills, Sept. 11, 1889, Sarah M. Mills, his daughter, continued to live in this house where she was born. She was educated in the public schools of Sutton, attended Millbury High School and then a pri- vate school. She was always prominent in the women's activities in the town. She was assistant teacher in the high school, member of the School Board and secretary of Sutton Grange for twenty-seven years. For thirty-three years, she was trustee of the public library and was librarian for nearly thirty years. She was a member of the First Congregational Church and for years, in the Sunday School, taught a class which was organized among the ladies. She died Sept. 22, 1920, at the age of seventy-nine years.
Miss Mills, in speaking of her parents, said they were devoted to each other, but she had never heard them address each other by their Christian names. Her mother would call from the doorway, "Mr. Mills, the dinner is ready." Such was the reserve in these old families. The clergy were often entertained in the home. One afternoon a minister, sitting before the fireplace in the parlor, turned to the little girl beside him and said in a gruff voice, "Child, do you know you are an unregenerate sinner?" As soon as the frightened child could slip away, she ran to mother with the question, "Mother, what is an unregenerate sinner?"
When Miss Sarah Mills' health began to fail, Franklin L. Mills, her brother, came with his family to live in the Mills Homestead in 1918. It was in this same home that he was born, Oct. 24, 1836. He possessed a very rugged consti- tution but a severe case of pleurisy caused his death February 14, 1919. Mr. Mills, when a young man, left Sutton to study civil engineering. He followed this vocation until the Civil War broke out. Then he enlisted in the 18th New York Regiment and served until the end of the war.
His wife, Caroline Morse Mills, his daughter, Grace Mills Jordan and grand- daughter, Caroline Helen Jordan, continued to make their home in this place after his death. Nov. 21, 1931, Mrs. Mills, at the age of seventy-five years, passed away suddenly. For thirteen years Sutton had been her home. She was a member of the First Congregational Church and the Grange. As a Past Noble Lady and Government member, she continued her membership in the Odd Ladies of Worcester until her death.
During the last one hundred years, there has been one wedding in this two- century-old home. Caroline Helen Jordan and Gilbert Garrish Huntington, both graduates of Tufts College, were married June 25, 1932. They have one daugh- ter, Deborah Mills Huntington, born March 21, 1936, and are now living in Rhode Island.
Miss Louise M. Ray makes her home with Mrs. Jordan. Mrs. Lucia K. Ray died here Aug. 27, 1951. Mrs. Jordan and Miss Ray have been teachers in the public schools of Sutton for many years and Mrs. Jordan has taught music to many of the boys and girls in the town. Mrs. Jordan was organist and choir director of the First Congregational Church for over thirty years, and has gen- erously given her services on countless occasions. During World War II she assisted Mr. Mansfield in directing the Defense Program.
The next house on Uxbridge Road, built for Dr. David Solon Chase Hall Smith was sold by Putnam King to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hall who lived here a great many years. They both loved children and having none of their own
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made much of the Ray girls, Maude, Flora and Alice as they drove their father's cows by the Hall home twice daily to and from pasture. They also enjoyed flowers and had beautiful gardens.
The next owners were Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Batcheller. Mr. Batcheller was a member of the Board of Selectmen for the Town in 1884, '85 and '86; State Representative in 1891 and 1892 and was Town Clerk for 23 years (1889- 1912). He was moderate, methodical, painstaking and conscientious in the per- formance of his duties. After Mr. Batcheller's death, Mrs. Batcheller made her home with relatives and the place was sold to Harold and Maude (Ray) MacLaren and they and their six children, Katherine Ray, Herbert Logan, Lucia Lincoln, John MacFarlane, George Loren and Ada Jeannette came here to live. Louise Bryant was born here February 14th 1924 and Alta Lois on February 2nd 1925. The MacLarens made drastic changes and improvements in the interior of the house and on the grounds around the buildings. Katherine Ray Maclaren married Henry John Provost June 15th 1935 and they are living in South- bridge.
On October 24th 1936, the MacLaren family moved to their new home (the next house right on Uxbridge Road) and this place was rented. Tenants were Mr. and Mrs. Herman Munyon and two sons, Dean and Roger; the Degnan and Huff families; Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Aspinwall and three sons, Frederick, George and Frank.
Mr. and Mrs. Irving Johnson (Eva Benwood) of Worcester bought the place in April 1941 and moved here in July 1948 with their three children, Chris Irving, Pamela and Charles. A fourth child, Ben Wood Johnson was born April 27, 1950. Mr. Johnson is with the Johnson Steel and Wire Co. of Worcester.
South on Uxbridge Road is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward King. Mr. King writes of its construction.
"We acquired our present homesite from Mr. and Mrs. Arthur E. King in 1946. The lot has a frontage of 106 feet and depth of 242 feet. As this lot was covered with apple trees, five had to be removed before the cellar could be dug. This done, I hired a bulldozer to excavate the cellar and from that time I was on my own. The foundation measured thirty-six feet by twenty-eight feet with an ell on the southeast side, eight feet by twelve feet."
Mr. King then tells of the months spent in digging trenches, installing the cement work, drains and the two tile septic tanks, followed by the back-filling and grading.
"In the summer of 1948, with the help of my great-uncle Vernon S. Johnson, we got the cellar boarded over and a water main piped from Arthur E. King's artesian well, next door. Sidney Hutchinson was hired to frame and finish the house. He took over the 13th of September 1948, when the house took shape rapidly. The building, as planned, was to have four rooms, bath and a laundry on the first floor and four rooms and a bath on the second floor. We planned also to finish the first floor at this time and the rooms upstairs as we needed them. Since the cost exceeded all our previous estimates, we finished the whole house, to make a four-room apartment on the second floor. On January 15, 1949, we moved into our new home. The weather was mild for this time of year, which was in our favor. Our first tenants, Mr. and Mrs. James L. Hutchison of
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HOME OF EDWARD S. KING
Tiverton, R.I., moved in March 19, 1949, during a blizzard-a day to be remem- bered. The next project, a two-car garage in 1952.
"Without the encouragement and financial support of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur E. King, this home would not be a reality today. We are deeply grateful to both for the same. We have two children: Edward Perry King, born June 6, 1946 and Cynthia Elaine King, born February 18, 1949."
The next house on Uxbridge Road, at the top of the hill, belonged to William D. Mascroft in 1876 and was sold to John Patch Stockwell, April 2, 1878. He tore down the house and used the lumber to construct a barn. He also erected the present house and a long shed, used for wood, by the side of the road. This has been removed.
Mr. Stockwell married Frances L. Hall on Jan. 7, 1855. She died on Nov. 20, 1892. Mr. Stockwell was the Superintendent of Rural Cemetery in Worcester. After his retirement, he married for his second wife, Addie Sherman, May 25, 1894. She died on Sept. 8, 1910, at the age of forty-six. (Vernon S. Johnson was hired to shingle the house and on a bitter cold day, the nails were heated in a pan on a wood stove. Mrs. Stockwell insisted that Mr. Johnson wear her kid gloves to keep his hands warm. )
The granite stones, used in the eighteen-foot foundation of this new house, were once the curbings of the lots in Rural Cemetery and are especially fine hand-worked stones. People from town came to see the hand force pump that was installed in the kitchen to fill the hundred gallon zinc-lined tank in the
HISTORY of SUTTON
HOME OF ARTHUR E. KING
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open attic. Only one other house in the center boasted a bathroom at this time. Mr. Stockwell was responsible for the many plantings, still growing on the place,-a tree peony, single and double althea bushes, Hercules Clubs, peonies, flowering almonds and rambler roses.
After Mr. Stockwell's death, the house was rented for a while to Mr. and Mrs. Hunton and their children, Ruth and Paul. On March 31, 1911, Milton M. Sherman, Administrator, sold the property to Alfred A. Putnam, who lived here with his wife, Abbie M., and Maude Hendrickson. Mr. and Mrs. Putnam cele- brated their fiftieth wedding anniversary here in 1917. After Mr. Putnam's death, Maude Hendrickson took Mrs. Putnam, who was blind, to live with her in Holbrook, Mass. Maude married Percival Brewster.
The place was sold to Arthur E. King, Jan. 21, 1921. Mr. King is in the Cattle Business. Although there were two wells on the property, there was not enough water for the demands, so arrangements were made for an artesian well. After drilling for nine weeks, water was reached at a depth of 224 feet, June 15, 1928, a flow of thirty gallons a minute. The next venture was a barn for the cattle. This was started in Nov. 1929 and completed in April 1930 and later a garage was erected for cattle trucks. The house was remodeled with two sleeping rooms being made out of the attic.
In 1946, a larger garage was built for the cattle vans with a six-room apart- ment over it. The large doors were made attractive and things of beauty with murals, featuring KINGS COWS (regular breeds and Scotch Highlands), painted by a local artist, Donald L. Brigham.
Mr. and Mrs. King (Eunice Perry) had three children. Mary Marthena was born on Oct. 1, 1919 at the King Farm; Arthur Perry, born Oct. 25, 1924, died here Jan. 23, 1926; David Shepherd, born here Dec. 30, 1927. Marthena was graduated from the Sutton High School and Salter Secretarial School, Worcester. She married Edward S. King, June 5, 1943, and lives next door. She was the first Woman Master of Sutton Grange P of H No. 109. David was graduated from Sutton High School, Boston University, spent a year in Japan with the Army of Occupation and is now attending Andover Newton Theological School, preparing for the Christian ministry.
David S. King entered service September 1946. Trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Served with the 25th Infantry Division on Occupation duty in Nara, Japan for a year. Discharged Jan. 1948.
Mrs. Arthur King has been an active worker in the town, interested in organ- izations of the church, school and grange. She has held many important offices in these groups and served on countless committees. She has been a Registrar of Voters for ten years in Sutton.
Tenants in the King Apartment have been: Mr. and Mrs. Norman Briggs and son Philip; Mr. and Mrs. James Norton, Patrick and Jamie; Mr. and Mrs. Waldense Malouf and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Marion, Geraldine, Paulette and Linda.
Herman Kupfer lives on the place in a little house, moved there for him.
Dr. Charles S. Smith bought land of Hollis Sherman and erected a house in 1910. George N. Perry furnished the stones for the foundation, Vernon S. Johnson was the contractor and Elmer E. Gilbert and Albert Brown did the finish work so that Dr. and Mrs. Smith moved to their new home in May 1911.
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HOME OF ANTON G. KESSELI
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HOMES of SUTTON
Since he was the Town Physician, the Town laid out and maintained a highway to his house. After the influenza epidemic of 1918, he gave up the practice of medicine because of the loss of his hearing, due to overwork. Dr. and Mrs. Smith took automobile trips across the country, looking for an ideal site for a new home. They finally decided on Clarkesville, Georgia, and here they built themselves a most attractive house. Mrs. Smith still resides there.
The following appreciation was written by Mrs. Grace Jordan.
"Dr. Charles S. Smith died in Clarkesville, Georgia. He served many of the residents of Sutton and the neighboring towns most faithfully for twenty years. He also was on the Sutton Board of Health and its School Physician. In his day, the only means of transportation to a lonely situated home was the horse and buggy or sleigh. All hours of the day and night, in good or bad weather, he traveled over rough country roads to the bedside of a sick patient where his quiet dignity and gentleness brought hope and courage and his exceptional skill restored health. During the epidemic of influenza, he gave of himself unceas- ingly, even impairing his own health.
"In his earlier life, he was very clever surgeon and one of the first doctors to do skin grafting successfully. Ill health made him give up a large practice and seek a home in the country. He chose Sutton, the home of his ancestors. Thus was Sutton blessed by the patient, experienced care of this worthy doctor.
"It is with deep appreciation and gratitude that we give this word of tribute to a great and noble friend and physician."
The Smiths sold the property in Sutton to Arthur Cushman who was connected with the Felters Co. in Millbury. In Dec. 1931, he sold this property to Anton and Inez Bourne Kesseli who moved here from Worcester with their three chil- dren, Richard, Carolyn and Marcia.
Mr. Kesseli is Treasurer and General Manager of the Kesseli and Morse Co. of Worcester, Mass. He was appointed Commissioner of the Purgatory Chasm State Reservation by the Governor of Massachusetts. He has served for a number of years on the School Building Committee and was a member of the Town Finance Board. Mrs. Kesseli has been active in church and community work.
Richard Vernon Kesseli attended Sutton High School for a short time, then left to attend Mt. Hermon in Northfield, Mass., where he was graduated cum laude. He attended Yale University and was graduated. While there, he was in the Naval Reserve and was commissioned an Ensign at Annapolis. He served six months in the South Pacific during World War II. After working two years, he attended Columbia University, and received his master's degree. He is married to the former Betty Barnett of White Plains, N.Y. They have a daughter Katherine Elise. Richard is still a member of the Naval Reserve and is associated with his father in the firm of Kesseli and Morse and resides in Holden, Mass.
Carolyn Kesseli was graduated from Sutton High School and Lasell Junior College. She was married on June 24, 1950 to Rev. Haig J. Nargesian. They have a daughter Victoria Anne and live in Camden, Maine. Marcia Inez Kesseli was graduated from South High School in Worcester and Lasell Junior College. She was married to Dexter G. Allen of Newtonville, Mass., who served with the Marines in World War II. They have a son Christopher Richard and a daughter Patricia Bourne. The Allens reside in Uxbridge, Mass.
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The well house by the side of the road is all that marks the Putnam-Leland house.
The house across the street, on Uxbridge Road, was built by Harold Mac- Laren on land purchased from Herbert L. Ray and originally owned by John Patch Stockwell. Mr. and Mrs. Maclaren (Maude Ray) make their home here. Mr. Maclaren is a Construction Superintendent and works out of town. Mrs. Maclaren is a graduate nurse of Worcester City Hospital. They have eight children.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Provost (Katherine MacLaren) have two children; Sandra Dianne, born March 19, 1941 and Henry John, Jr., born April 25, 1945. Herbert Logan MacLaren married Gladys May Grover of Springfield, Vt. in 1938. They have three children; Judith Ann., born June 8, 1941, Patricia Jean, born May 4, 1944 and Herbert Logan, Jr., born June 7, 1945. They live in Windsor, Vt. Lucia Lincoln MacLaren and Charles Thomas Vizard of Charlton were married in 1939. They have two boys; Thomas Charles, born May 19, 1942 and Douglas Lincoln, born Sept. 13, 1944. The Vizards live in Oxford.
The John MacLarens are living in Miami, Florida. They have three daughters, Joyce Elaine, Linda Louise and Eileen Dianne. John MacFarlane Maclaren enlisted in the Army on Oct. 28, 1940, going first to Fort Devens in the Finance Dept. of the Quartermasters Corps. In April 1942, he left Devens as a Sargeant, going to Army Finance School in Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana. From there he went overseas to Scotland, England, Africa and Sicily where he was transferred to the Air Corps with the rating of Lieutenant. He married Mildred Elaine Schnurrenberger of Youngstown, Ohio, a nurse in the Air Corps, in Palermo, Sicily. She returned to the States and John went to South Sicily, Italy, Egypt and India and from here he was returned to the U.S., being stationed at Tobyhanna, Pa. He was discharged Nov. 15, 1945.
George Loren Maclaren and June Harriet Murray of West Millbury were married in 1947. Donna Alda was born Dec. 20, 1948 and Sheila June on Oct. 30, 1951. They live in an apartment in the home of the Harold Maclarens. George Maclaren entered the Service Sept. 16, 1942 and attended the Radio Signal Corps in Chicago, the Aerial Gunnery School in Panama City, Fla. and the School of Applied Tactics in Orlando, Fla. He flew fifty Missions in Combat with the 15th Air Force and escaped from Yugoslavia (23rd Mission). He served ten months with Air Transport Command, making ten Atlantic crossings. He was on duty in Scotland, England, Italy, Africa, Egypt, India, South America, Puerto Rico, Iceland and Trinidad. He received his discharge Sept. 16, 1945 with the rank of Technical Sergeant. He received the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross for Ploesti Oil Fields Raid.
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