USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Townsend > History of the town of Townsend, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from the grant of Hathorn's farm, 1676-1878 > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28
The military spirit among the people of the province of Massachusetts, from the time of the incorporation of the town to 1775, was rather on the wane. Most of the collisions between the settlers and the Indians occurred previous to 1732. There is no record concerning any military company in this town, previous to the revolution- ary war, whereas, every town of sufficient inhabitants had an organized military company. It was customary in those days to give every man his title, civil as well as military, whether he was addressed orally or by manuscript. In the town records, at an early period. the names of Dea. Isaac Spaulding, Capt. John Stevens. Lieut. Daniel Taylor, Ensign John Farrar and Ensign Amos Whitney, are of frequent occurrence. Twenty years afterwards, more or
155
MILITARY, CEMETERIES, AND BEQUESTS.
less, the names of Capt. Daniel Taylor, and Lieut. Amos Whitney, are in the records, which is sufficient proof that they were a part of the military officers of the town, for a long time. These puritans were slow in their movements in discharging an officer, as long as he was faithful to his trust. No whim or caprice was allowed to disturb a cap- tain, a deacon, or a minister, and their offices in many instances ended with their lives.
It is impossible to describe, with any degree of accu- racy, the military organizations of the town from the breaking out of the revolution to the commencement of the present century. The "training band" of the records. consisted, as is supposed, of the robust yeomen of the town, able-bodied, and in the full vigor of manhood, who were liable, at any and all times, to be called to the defence of the province. The "Alarm List" contained the names of persons who were either too young or too old to endure the hardships of war, but on an emergency, or as a home guard, could render efficient service. Persons less than eighteen or over fifty years of age are supposed to have belonged to the alarm list. It is probable. considering the excitement caused by the Shay's rebellion, and owing to other causes, that nearly every man in town during the next ten years, after the British troops were withdrawn from our borders, was well acquainted with the use of the flint-lock musket.
The first record of any military organization was the division of the town, in order to have two military com- panies ; all persons liable, living north of the county road, made up the north company, and all south of that high- way, the south company. This arrangement was observed till 1801, when the turnpike was built and that road was made the dividing line between the two companies.
156
HISTORY OF TOWNSEND.
The most prominent men in town were selected as military officers. Men of wealth only could afford to hold a commission, for all officers were subject to considerable expense to conform to the custom of that period in furnish- ing liquors for the men. It was considered a great honor at that time to be dubbed with a military title. and very dishonorable in any officer not to furnish ardent spirit in abundance.
The orderly books of these two companies, that of the south company, as early as 1788, and that of the north company, commencing 1792, are still in good condition, from which the names of the captains are taken.
Captains of South Company :-
WILLIAM STEVENS, from 1788 to 1790. ZACHERIAH HILDRETH, from 1790 to 1796. TIMOTHY FESSENDEN, from 1796 to 1801. ELIAB GOING, from 1801 to 1804. HEZEKIAH RICHARDSON, from 1804 to 1807. WILLIAM ARCHIBALD, from 1807 to 1810. ISAAC SPALDING, from 1810 to 1812. JAMES ADAMS, from 1812 to 1815. ISAAC KIDDER, from 1815 to 1817.
Captains of North Company :- JOHN CAMPBELL, from 1792 to 1798. JONATHAN WALLIS, from 1798 to 1802. SAMUEL BROOKS, from 1802 to 1805. JOSEPH ADAMS, from 1805 to 1808. WALTER HASTINGS, from 1808 to 1812. JOHN WAUGH, from 1812 to 1815. GEORGE WALLACE, 1815.
These two companies were kept up with considerable interest till 1817. when the Townsend Light Infantry was
MILITARY, CEMETERIES, AND BEQUESTS. 157
organized. After that time it appears that all soldiers in town, not belonging to the light infantry. were gathered into one company. The records of this corps are not to be found, but the following are the names of most, if not all, of the captains of this company :- Whitney Farmer, Daniel Giles, Samuel Brooks, Elnathan Davis, Solomon Jewett, Noal Ball, Robert T. Woods, and Beriah Blood.
The interest in the militia began to decrease about the time the temperance cause commenced. Previous to this time, the social principle among the people caused the two or three days of the year devoted to military duty to pass away in an agreeable manner. Notwithstanding the large quantity of liquor foolishly used at that time, perhaps there was no more drunkenness then, than at present. It is well, however, that a large portion of the citizens of the town, gave up painting their faces and commenced painting their dwellings.
In 1837, a law was enacted making all military duty voluntary, which set aside all the uniformed companies. Many considered the expense of the system as unneces- sary. It grew unpopular from many causes. The clergy preached against it ; peace societies were formed and peace conventions assembled. The excellent advice of Wash- ington, "In time of peace prepare for war," was regarded as old-fashioned, and applicable to some other nation. Had it not been for a few regiments of volunteer militia, from Massachusetts and New York, in 1861. the capi- tol of the nation probably would have fallen into rebel hands.
On petition of Levi Warren, Walter Hastings, and others, the Townsend Light Infantry was chartered, in
21
158
HISTORY OF TOWNSEND.
1817. This company commenced under favorable circum- stances, and it was kept up, with much interest, for more than thirty years. Its ranks were kept full for more than ten years after military duty was not compulsory. It lived long enough to wear out three sets of uniforms in different styles and colors. This company was a well disciplined corps, and on various occasions upon its appearance out of town on parade, for its soldierly bearing and general good appearance, it received many compliments from military men. The Prescott Guards, of Pepperell, and the Townsend Light Infantry, were considered the best companies in the regiment to which they belonged.
On the fourth of July, 1822, at a celebration on the common, at the centre of the town, this company received the present of a standard, from the ladies of Town- send. The company orderly book contains the following record :-
"The standard was escorted to the common by nearly an hundred respectable ladies of this town, and presented by the amiable Miss Susan Pratt,* and received by Ensign Ebenezer Stone, after which the ladies were escorted back to the tavern by the company.
JOHN LEWIS, Clerk."
Persons who were in attendance at this celebration inform the writer that the ceremony was impressive, and the presentation speech, composed by Aaron Keyes, Esq ..
* Daughter of Benannel Pratt. Married, August 29, 1822, Ptolemy Edson, M. D., a practical physician at Chester, Vermont, for fifty-five years. She died September . 8, 1844. He died December 20, 1866.
159
MILITARY, CEMETERIES, AND BEQUESTS.
and also the reply, were prepared with care, and well delivered.
Captains of the Townsend Light Infantry :-
ASA TURNER, from incorporation till 1821. LEVI WARREN, thence till April 3, 1822. JOSIAH G. HEALD, thence till March 21, 1823. WILLIAM PARK, thence till August 6, 1825. EBENEZER STONE, thence till November 7, 1826. JEPTHA CUMMINGS, thence till March 13, 1828. LEVI STEARNS, thence till August 6, 1829. JOSEPH H. HILDRETH, thence till August 20, 1831.
SAMUEL ADAMS, thence till December 2. 1834. HORACE WARNER, thence till April 18, 1837. ABRAM S. FRENCH, thence till November 29, 1839. AI SHERWIN, thence till April 15. 1842. ALEXANDER CRAIG, thence till April, 1844.
PRENTICE STONE, no record.
JONATHAN PIERCE, no record. ELIAB GOING, no record.
WILLIAM ADAMS, no record.
WALTON BANCROFT, thence till 1852.
The company closed its existence under Capt. Ban- croft, since which time the town has been without a military company.
It shows a lack of good judgment for a civilized peo- ple or municipality to be without a suitable military force. At this time, the country is in as defenceless a condition as it was in 1861, notwithstanding the lesson then learned. Should the nation be embroiled in another war, and as long as human nature remains the same it is liable. to become so at most any time, a long routine of preparation ยท would be required, and the delay in organization and discipline would give the enemy a great advantage, and
160
HISTORY OF TOWNSEND.
perhaps, be at the expense of many lives. People lull themselves to sleep in talking about the horrors and wickedness of war. Clergymen and pious citizens pray that all wars may cease, and exhort to non-resistance ; and statesmen trust in diplomacy. Now moral suasion is a great power ; but in an exigency like a riot, sixty-four rifles, in the hands of disciplined men, under a clear-headed commander, are worth more than eloquence, argument, or prayers.
In 1742, the town "Voted to accept of an acre of land. from Mr. William Clark, for a burial place." It is prob- able, that this "God's acre" was given to the town a considerable length of time before this vote was passed. There must have been some burials in Townsend during the first twelve or fifteen years of its settlement, and from its proximity to the meeting-house, this was undoubtedly the first place selected for the interment of the dead. The graves first made here are marked by rough slabs of slate, minus any inscriptions, and the first stones on which are any records, date back no further than 1745.
In 1744, "Voted to choose a committee of three men to clear up the burying place, and dispose of the timber for the best advantage of the town. Chose for this com- mittee, Nathaniel Richardson, Joseph Baldwin, and Josiah Robbins." In 1747, the town evinced a deeper interest in this cemetery, and "Voted to fence the burying place with a stone wall four feet and four inches high." Mr. William Clark, the giver, was the owner of a large amount of land in this town. His name appears on the list of the seventy- two persons quoted in this work, who were present at Concord, in May, 1720. He subscribed for a "Lott" in "ye North Town" but did not pay at the time. He was a
161
MILITARY, CEMETERIES, AND BEQUESTS.
shoemaker, owned slaves, came from Concord to this town, and settled on the south side of the river, at the base of the hill on the South Row road leading from the old meeting-house, on the west side of the road, where one Isaac Spaulding afterward lived. The bridge, at the west of the Harbor pond, has always been known as the Clark bridge, and was called for him.
A slate gravestone, now in a good state of preserva- tion, was erected to his memory, situated near the centre of this burial place, from which it appears that he died in 1756, aged seventy-seven years.
About 1816, the people began to talk about a new burying place, the acre of ground given by William Clark being nearly full; besides, there are no avenues in this acre ; and "dust to dust" is so closely commingled, and the headstones are so numerous, that the part farthest from the road is not easily approached by a funeral cor- tege. In 1818, the town voted to buy the land now used for a cemetery at the centre of the town, then owned by Rev. David Palmer, Deacon Daniel Adams, and Richard Warner, Esq., each of whom had an angle of land needed to make the grounds eligible, both in distance from the meeting-house and quadrangular in shape. In 1854, the town chose a committee, consisting of the selectmen, to buy land at the east of their new burial place in order to enlarge the same. The east line of the land, bought in 1818, commenced near the site of the receiving tomb ; thence southerly in a line nearly parallel with the west line of the cemetery. This committee bought about six acres of land, of Richard Warner, at the eastward of this line, enclosed it with a picket fence, and took up the east line fence of the original plot. The gentle hill in the
162
HISTORY OF TOWNSEND.
land, making it an eligible location for building tombs, was probably considered in selecting this spot in 1818. The summit of this hill contains only a few graves, from which it may be inferred that this elevated part of the ground was disliked as a burial place.
The tombs on the west side of this cemetery were built in 1819. The fashion, of making tombs like those, was quite general in this vicinity at that period. From the time of Cheops, the pyramid man, to the present, mankind in all grades of civilization and religion, have evinced the most absurd ideas in regard to the burial of the dead, from the Indian, whose steed and war weapons were inhumed with his corse, to the nabob, or senator, reposing beneath the ponderous and elaborately finished marble at Mount Auburn. The uncoffined and unknelled remains of the soldiers at Andersonville prison, sleep as well "after life's fitful fever " as though placed beneath the gorgeous monuments erected to their memory in the prin- cipal cities of this great nation, the liberties of which they fell to perpetuate. The genius and wealth of the world combined cannot make death either welcome or lovely.
In 1836, Mr. Levi Warren set apart a tract of land for a cemetery, on the south side of the road from West Townsend to Ashby, not far from the baptist meeting- house. Two or three bodies were buried there. For good reasons, Mr. Warren altered his mind about the location and had the bodies moved in 1838, at his own expense, to the cemetery now at the north of the river, and then gave the town a deed of the land.
The stocks used by our ancestors for reformatory purposes more than one hundred years ago. were placed at the west end of the meeting-house, in the open air.
163
MILITARY, CEMETERIES, AND BEQUESTS.
They were made with two heavy, hard wood, three inch plank, each about a foot in width and seven or eight feet long. In the edges of these planks placed edge to edge, four holes were cut, one-half in each plank. They were firmly set together in that position, with a hinge at one end and a padlock at the other. When a culprit was to be punished, he was taken to this spot, when the upper plank would be raised sufficiently to admit the persons ankles into these holes, then the plank would be shut down and locked, leaving the offender to remain, either sitting, or on his back. to reflect on the condition of his allegience to the constituted authority. No record has been found showing what class of crimes were punished by this instrument of torture to the flesh. It probably never was used many times, and then only in extreme cases of civil offences.
The following is a copy of the will of Lieutenant Amos Whitney, whose name so frequently occurs in this volume :-
"In the name of God, amen, I Amos Whitney of Townshend in the county of Middlesex in the Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England Gentleman, being in health of body and of perfect mind and memory thanks be to God, calling to mind my mortality, knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do make and ordain this my last will and testament, that is to say principally and first of all I recommend my soul into the hands of God who gave it and my body to be buried in a decent manner, at the discretion of my executor, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection to receive the same by the mighty power of God; and touching such worldly goods
164
HISTORY OF TOWNSEND.
and estate as God has blessed me with, I give and demise in manner and form, viz ; Imprimis : I give and bequeath to my kinsman Levi Whitney of Townshend, his heirs and assigns, all the lands in Townshend which I pur- chased of the heirs of Major Jona Hubbard as bounded in said deed with the buildings thereon ; Also all my right or share in the undivided lands in the towns of Townshend and Ashby ; also my right or privilege in the meeting- house in Townshend. I also give and bequeath to said Levi Whitney all and singular my other estate both real and personal not hereafter or otherwise disposed of. I also constitute and appoint said Levi Whitney sole execu- tor of this my last will and testament.
"ITEM. I give and bequeath to the town of Town- shend all the lands I am now possessed of in Townshend, not particularly given to Levi Whitney, with the buildings and appurtenances belonging thereto; (my right in the meeting house excepted) to lye as a parsonage forever, as long as the gospel is preached in said town, to be appro- priated to the use of the settled ministry for the benefit of the town : also my clock I give and bequeath to the town as aforesaid for the use and improvement of the settled ministry, and it is my will that the said clock be not car- ried, used or improved off said farm by me bequeathed to the town. And it is my will that the town of Townshend take possession of the above bequeathed premises on the fifteenth day of April next after my decease. I also give and bequeath to said town of Townshend, one hundred pounds of lawful money, to be paid by my executor, fifty pounds in one year and the other fifty pounds to be paid in two years next after my decease, to be by the town put at interest forever, and said interest to be appropriated to
MILITARY, CEMETERIES, AND BEQUESTS. 165
the use and support of a reading and writing school in said town and to be appropriated to no other use.
"ITEM. I give and bequeath to the town of Ashby four pounds lawful money to purchase a cushion for the ministerial desk, to be paid by my executor in one year after my decease.
"ITEM. I give to the district of Shirley four pounds Lawful money, to purchase a cushion for the ministerial desk to be paid by my executor in one year after my decease.
"ITEM. I give to the town of Mason four pounds of lawful money to purchase a cushion for the minis- terial desk to be paid by my executor in one year after my decease. Furthermore my will is that my execu- tor do speedily after my decease pay all my just debts and funeral charges and speedily after my decease and inter- ment, procure and erect upon my grave a decent and large pair of grave stones, for which purpose and the payment of the several legacies before mentioned, I give and bequeath to him the said Levi Whitney all my notes, bonds and book debts: Furthermore I do by these presents utterly revoke and disannul and disavow all other former wills, testaments legacies and bequests, and do ratify this and this only to be my last will and testament.
" IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty-eighth day of August, Anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine.
AMOS WHITNEY, [L. S. ]
"Signed, Sealed, pronounced and declared by the said Amos Whitney to be his last will and testament in the presence of us the subscribers.
DANIEL FARWELL THOMAS HUBBARD JAMES LOCK JR."
22
166
HISTORY OF TOWNSEND.
This document is given entire, to show the character of the testator, and the strong religious feeling which governed everything at that time. In this place, nothing need be said concerning the manner in which the par- sonage was disposed of, sixty years after the death of Mr. Whitney. The "hundred pounds lawful money" disap- peared from the town records at about the time when the continental scrip became worthless. The executor carried out the wishes of the testator to the letter in every par- ticular. He erected the "decent and large pair of grave- stones" and put on the larger one this inscription :-
IN MEMORY OF LIEUT. AMOS WHITNEY,
Who departed this life October 31, 1770, In the sixty-sixth year of his age.
The man is gone no more to visit earth ; And Lo. a new scene opens at his death. His Public views in Lustre do appear. And men enjoy his bounties far and near. This town by gratitude and justice led Owns him a benefactor now he's dead ; On children yet unborn his gifts descend. Which will remain till time shall end.
Amos Whitney, a bachelor, was born at Watertown, in 1704. He held several town offices, and was a repre- sentative for Townsend in a convention held at Faneuil Hall, in 1768. He was one of the pillars of the church, an estimable townsman, square and upright in all his transactions.
167
MILITARY, CEMETERIES, AND BEQUESTS.
His epitaph reads: "The man is gone, no more to visit earth." This is fortunate, for if he should ever come this way again, and learn anything about his hundred pounds, and the fate of his parsonage, he might get a little excited at the careless and stupid manner in which his money and land were expended and lost.
The principal stable, or barn, on the premises that once was the parsonage, is all that remains of the build- ings which has any resemblance to their appearance when they were put in possession of the town, by the executor of the will of Lieut. Whitney.
In 1875, the house, which was a convenient cottage, one and one-half stories in height, was remodelled, enlarged, and converted into a two-story dwelling, by the proprietor, Mr. Henry Williams. The location, about midway between the central village and the Harbor. is just elevated enough to be pleasant.
At a convenient shade distance, just eastward of this spot, stands one of the largest old elms in Townsend, under the spreading branches of which, the children of Dix and Palmer whiled away many cheerful hours.
It is a temple not made with hands ; a shrine rendered almost sacred by the pious acts of Whitney, who, with prophetic wisdom, planted and trained it to "live through the centuries." The memory of the good and true is around it and with it; and, although storms and winters have mutilated its massive members, still they droop grace- fully athwart the lawn and beckon the heated and thirsty toiler in summer, to the well-curb beneath its refreshing shadow. This also will crumble to dust like the busy actors, who from time immemorial have played around it.
168
HISTORY OF TOWNSEND.
Concerning the clock given by the foregoing will. tradition saith not; but it undoubtedly marked the hours for rest, pleasure, refreshment, for school, and particularly the time for a faithful pastor to go forth to his consecrated work.
The cushions for the several desks given by these legacies have all faded, and with them the manly forms which bent reverently over their glossy damask.
But notwithstanding all these changes, the benevolent disposition of Lieutenant Amos Whitney will remain fresh in the memory of the good people of Townsend, as long as it retains a written history.
CHAPTER VII.
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.
Excitement Previous to the War-A Pamphlet Received from the Seleetmen of Boston-Committee of Correspondence and Safety -Action of the Town in 1773-Action of the Town in 1774- Delegates to the Provincial Congress-Assistance Rendered by Townsend to the Citizens of Boston During its Seige-Efforts to Obtain Salt-The Alarm on the 19th of April. 1775-Roll of Capt. James Hosley's Company of Minnte-Men that Marched to Defend the Colony-Roll of Capt. Samnel Donglass' Company- Roll of Capt. Henry Farwell's Company-Capt. Thomas Warren's Company-Attempt to Regulate the Prices of Goods and Labor- The Tories of Townsend-Letter from Boston Concerning the Return of the Absentees-Privations and Struggles for Indepen- dence-Story of Eunice Locke-Some Account of Her and IIer Brother-Roll of Capt. James Hosley's Company of Volunteers from Townsend, Pepperell. and Ashby, which Went to the Assis- tance of Gen. Gates in 1777-Adoption of the State Constitution. 1778-Depreciation of the Continental Money-Names of the Townsend Soldiers in 1780-List of Priees-Retrospective.
In September, 1768, the selectmen of Townsend received a letter from the selectmen of Boston, requesting them to call a town meeting, and then to take into con- sideration the critical condition of government affairs, and to choose an agent to come to Boston, to express there, the views, wishes, and determination of the people of Town- send on this important subject. A town meeting was
170
HISTORY OF TOWNSEND.
accordingly called expressly for this purpose, when, "Put to vote to see if the town would comply with the town of Boston in sending a man to join with them in the conven- tion, proposed to be held at Faneuil Hall, and it was unanimously complied with. Unanimously voted and chose Lieut. Amos Whitney, as a committee man to join with the convention as aforesaid."
It will be recollected that the five years, which pre- ceded the time of this action of the town of Boston, were exciting times for the colonies. Commerce had come to a stand-still by the operation of the "Stamp Act" and the "Sugar Act." The operation of both these obnoxious acts were defeated by non-importation and smuggling. In 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed, to the great joy of the colonists, and importation of goods was greater than ever before. Everything was prosperous for a short time, but in 1768, the obnoxious "Revenue Act" was passed, which threw a cloud over the enterprise and chilled the prosperity of the entire people. It was at this juncture that the town of Boston consulted the other towns in this province, in regard to asserting their rights and maintaining their liberties.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.