USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Warwick > History of the town of Warwick, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1854 > Part 7
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
received about thirty dollars per year, and will probably continue to receive her proportion of the money in the funds of said society. After learning all these facts, we, your committee, are unanimously of opinion that it will be more for the harmony of the citizens of this town to have the business indefinitely postponed than to take any further measures upon it.
All which is submitted by your committee.
JUSTUS RUSSELL, PEREZ ALLEN, Committee. JOSEPH DRAPER,
In April, 1817, the town voted to accept the follow- ing report ; viz. : -
The subscribers, having been appointed a committee, at the annual meeting in March last, to take into consider- ation the fifteenth article in the warrant of said meeting, relative to the ministry and school funds in the town of Warwick, report their opinion, viz. : That eight dollars and seventy-six cents of the interest of the unapplied ministry- money now in the treasury be added to the ministry-fund, in order to increase the fund to nine hundred dollars. And that the sum of one dollar of the overlays of the town-tax the present year be added to the school-fund in order to increase that fund to five hundred dollars ; and that all the loans of said funds now existing, excepting what is secured by mortgage of real estate, shall, on or before the first day of January next, be collected, and paid into the treasury, or be secured by mortgage of real estate ; and that the said funds, after that date, should be loaned by the selectmen of the town to the inhabitants of the town of Warwick, in sums not less than one hundred dollars, nor over two hun-
9*
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
dred dollars, to be secured by mortgage of real estate to double the amount, to be appraised by the selectmen of said town ; and the person or persons that shall not pay the interest to the treasurer on or before the first day of Janu- ary, annually, shall not be entitled to the continuance of said loan ; and that no person shall have a loan a longer time than three years at a time, on condition that others want it for equally good security.
JOSHUA ATWOOD, JUSTUS RUSSELL, Committee.
ASHBEL WARD,
At an adjournment of this meeting, it was voted to reconsider a part of the report of the committee re- specting the ministry and school funds, so as to extend the time of payment to ten years, upon the condition of paying ten per cent of the principal annually, and the interest on such sums as may be loaned to the inhabitants of said town.
At the adjournment in May it was voted to build a
- powder-magazine for the security of the town-stores, as follows, viz. : Eight feet square, to be built of good, well-burnt bricks laid in lime mortar, the walls to be seven feet high, with a square roof, well boarded and shingled, and to be ceiled with good white pine boards planed on the inside, and a good, double floor well nailed ; the door to be double, with a good lock and key ; the walls to be eight inches thick ; and a founda- tion of flat stones to be built in a workmanlike man- ner. A committee of three was chosen to superintend the building of said magazine ; viz., Amos K. Whit- ney, Caleb Mayo, William Cobb.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
1818.
April 4, 1818, voted to accept the report of the committee respecting the purchase of the burying- ground as follows : -
The subscribers, having been chosen a committee to com- plete the purchase of land of Mr. Bunyan Penniman for an addition to the burying-ground, have attended that service, ' and report as follows : That we have obtained a deed of said Penniman of one acre and fifty rods of land, measur- ing fifteen rods on the road, fifteen rods on the south line, twelve rods on the west line, and fifteen rods and thirteen links on the north line, and have paid him sixty-five dollars and sixty-two cents as a consideration for the same, it being understood that the town is to fence said land.
CALEB MAYO, - Committee.
WILLIAM COBB,
It was voted that the same committee that pur- chased the ground to make an addition to the bury- ing-ground be a committee to fence the same.
It was wisely said by the wise king of Israel that " there is a time for every thing ; " and purchasing this spot of ground to enlarge our burying-place was one of those transactions that was performed in its proper time. A more judicious and timely act is not to be found on our public records.
1820.
In August, 1820, a meeting of the inhabitants of the town was convened, on the question whether it
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
was expedient that delegates should be chosen to meet in convention to amend the Constitution of this Commonwealth. On sorting and counting the votes, it appeared that there were thirty-two votes against it, and forty-three in favor of the measure.
In October, Jonathan Blake, jun., was chosen a dele- gate to attend the aforesaid convention.
1821.
In April, 1821, the articles of amendment proposed by the convention for altering the constitution of the State were laid before the town for their approval or rejection ; and but two out of the fourteen articles were accepted ; viz., the eighth and fourteenth. The amendments were not popular in this town.
A brief account of the tornado that passed over the south part of Warwick, an occurrence that may well be remembered by many of the sufferers, but which, for the information of posterity, ought to be preserved, as a very frightful, destructive, and uncom- mon occurrence : -
On the ninth day of September, 1821, a tremendous whirlwind passed over the south part of this town, most appalling and terrific in its appearance, and most destructive in its consequences. I was an eye- witness of this most sublime and astonishing phe- nomenon of Nature ; and language is too feeble to express my feelings, or to properly and accurately describe the majestic and interesting scene.
It was on the day instituted by our benevolent Creator for a day of rest that this awful calamity
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
befell us, when, if ever (after the solemn services of the sanctuary are ended), the minds of rational and intelligent beings are composed and calm, and the benign and beneficial influences of religion pervade the heart. Just as the sun was sinking behind the western hills, an appearance of agitation or concus- sion was discovered in the clouds: slight showers of rain had fallen in several places in this vicinity during the afternoon, and the heat had been oppres- sive. The commotion in the clouds had something of the appearance of the angry billows of the ocean when raging at the utmost extent of their fury. These agitations and concussions soon blended to- gether, and assumed a form, which at first sight resembled a column of smoke ascending from the conflagration of a building, or the burning of pine timber on new lands ; but it soon became more com- pactly embodied and more visible, and moved along with a majesty and grandeur inexpressibly surprising, powerful, and great. Its appearance was in the shape of an inverted cone : the bottom, like the besom of destruction, swept every thing before it; and the top besieged the heavens. The embodied appearance of this elemental strife was black, dense, solid, and compact ; and it sustained its form with all the regu- larity of a magnificent temple. It moved almost direct from the west towards the east: detached pieces of buildings, such as timber, boards, shingles, limbs of trees, leaves, grass, and, in short, fragments of every kind, were thrown out of its vortex in every direction, filling and darkening the air. Birds, espe- cially hawks and crows, were sailing round and round,
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
high in the air aloof from the storm, expressing their dismay by dismal screams. But above all the tre- mendous crashing, stunning, deafening noise, not unlike heavy thunder or the internal bellowings of an earthquake, which caused the earth to tremble under us, and seemed to forebode its final dissolution, it filled us with sensations too sublime and too awful to be adequately expressed. Thus far I have described the visible appearance and movement of this scene of terror and destruction ; and now I will attempt to give a short and imperfect account of its effects.
Its first appearance in the clouds was discovered to be not far from Connecticut River. It was high up from the water, and did not begin its work of destruc- tion until it came in contact with the earth, near the top of the high ridge of land called Northfield Moun- tains. The first building it destroyed was Mr. Garland's house ; the next were Chapin Holden's house and barn : these buildings were in Northfield. Mr. Joseph Will- son's house and barn in Warwick were entirely torn from their foundations, and some of his family badly injured. Mr. Elisha Brown's house was also destroyed ; and one of his daughters, about thirteen years of age, buried in the ruins, and killed : another daughter was permanently injured. These were in Warwick. In the north-westerly part of Orange, Capt. Moses Smith's tavern-house, with barns and sheds, were all swept away in a moment. In the twinkling of an eye . they were scattered in every direction ; and a young woman by the name of Stearns, about eighteen years of age, in the bloom of youth (an inmate of the house), was thus instantly called to her final account. Only
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
the two persons above mentioned perished ; but many were severely wounded. Some cattle were killed, and others much injured. Five dwelling-houses and thir- teen barns were either entirely destroyed or unroofed ; and many more sustained some damage.
It is impossible to describe this scene of destruction the morning after the calamity. The resistless fury of the wind had laid low the dwellings and other build- ings of many of our townsmen and friends. Wood- land, orchards, stone walls, and even large rocks, were no impediment to its force .* The wake of the whirlwind was literally covered with wood, timber, boards, shingles, hay, straw, and fragments of every thing conceivable. Heavy logs that had lain years on the ground, and were embedded considerably in the soil, were torn out of their resting-places, and in many instances were broken to pieces. Several rocks that would weigh a ton or more were started from their beds, and moved a considerable distance. Household furniture and clothing were strewed over the ground, rent and torn, and. dashed to pieces. Many articles of value were found in other towns east of us, and a few of them were not materially injured. A part of - the roof of a building was found twenty-five miles from the place whence it was taken; and a part of a leaf of an account-book was found in Groton, about sixty miles from the house where it was de- posited in a chamber. The next day after this awful visitation the town assembled, and chose a committee to ascertain the loss of the inhabitants, and agreed to
* See Appendix, page 188.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
raise four hundred dollars, to be distributed among the
. sufferers in proportion to each one's loss, or as nearly so as the committee should think proper.
1822.
In 1822 a committee was chosen to report the best method to be pursued by the town in choosing, or- ganizing, and empowering our school committee in future.
The report of this committee contains sentiments honorable and laudable in themselves, and of great importance to the town ; and it is a matter of regret that we have so soon forgotten such salutary advice.
Here follows the report, viz. :---
The subscribers having been chosen a committee to report a plan for the better regulation and examination of the schools in the town of Warwick, - impressed with the opinion that the subject of the education of youth, as it re- spects science and morals, which are by law required to be taught in our common schools, is of the highest importance to society ; that there cannot be too much attention and patronage given to this subject by the public ; that a well- regulated and uniform system of instruction throughout the several school-districts in the town would be of great ad- vantage to the community, - to effect the above the follow- ing is respectfully submitted : -
Ist. That it is expedient to choose a committee annual- ly : that this committee consist of two persons, whose duty it shall be (together with the minister of the town) to visit and inspect the several schools twice in a season ; viz., near the commencement, and before the close, of the winter term.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
2d. As strangers and foreigners from different parts of the country are frequently intrusted with the charge of in- structing our children, therefore that this committee be au- thorized to recommend and introduce such modes of instruc- tion, and such books, as, in their judgment, are best adapted to promote the great object for which our schools were established.
3d. That any person presuming to take the charge of any school within the limits of the town, as an instructor, shall be required to produce to the committee of the district who contracts with him, and to the examining committee on their first examination, such credentials as the law requires.
4th. That as large sums of money have been frequently paid to those whose services as instructors have been injuri- ous, rather than beneficial, to our youth, that this committee, noting any such defect on their first examination, shall report the same to the district in which he may be engaged.
5th. That this committee (the minister excepted) re- ceive from the town a reasonable compensation for their services if performed agreeable to the foregoing report.
AMOS TAYLOR, 7 LEMUEL WHEELOCK, JOSEPH STEVENS, Committee.
JOSIAH PROCTOR, JAMES GOLDSBURY,
The town voted to accept of this report, and chose a committee of two persons, agreeable to its recom- mendation ; but how soon have they forgotten or dis- regarded these useful hints !
In 1823 the present hearse-house was built, under the superintendence of Abijah Eddy, Isaac Hastings,
10
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
jun., and William Cobb, - a committee chosen by the town for that purpose.
1824.
In 1824 the meeting-house was painted, and the windows and plastering repaired.
1832.
On the 23d of April, 1832, a number of the inhabit- ants of Warwick turned out voluntarily, and procured and set out about sixty rock-maple trees around the burying-ground, and a spruce-tree in the centre, and one each side of the south gate.
Thus, in an imperfect manner, I have detailed to you the origin of many of the principal events that have transpired in this place since civilized man has claimed dominion over it; and, in closing, perhaps a few observations on the situation of the town, the . productions of the soil, manners of the inhabitants, longevity, &c., will not be misplaced.
Warwick is situated in the north-east corner of Franklin County, seventy-seven and a half miles from Boston by the stage-road, and twenty miles from Greenfield (the shire-town of the county), having the State of New Hampshire on the north, and joining Winchester and Richmond in that State ; on the east by Royalston in the County of Worcester, and Orange in the County of Franklin ; south on an unin- corporated tract of land called Erving's Grant ; west
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
on said grant, and the town of Northfield. It con- tained originally twenty-three thousand acres of land before the south-east corner of it was set off to Orange. The surface is broken and hilly, and a high hill called Mount Grace occupies a very prominent station near the centre of the town. In many places the soil is so rocky and broken as to render it unfit for cultivation : in other places, tolerably good ; not so suitable for English grain as for grass, corn, and po- tatoes. The principal exports are beef, cattle, butter, and cheese ; but not so much of these as formerly. Braiding straw and palm-leaf hats is the principal occupation of the women, excepting attending to the dairy and other household affairs. The inhabitants, generally speaking, are hardy, industrious, and perse- vering, principally cultivators of the earth ; sober, intelligent, and of steady habits, averse to idleness, and aloof from extreme poverty : perhaps as much on an equality as any town in the Commonwealth, - none extravagantly rich, and none miserably poor. The climate is healthy and the air salubrious, and the water is not surpassed by any on earth. The princi- pal disease is consumption ; not exempt, however, from fevers, and the numberless little petty diseases inci- dent to man. Only one person has ever died in this town that was over one hundred years of age; and that was a Mrs. Willson, who was about one hundred and two years old when she died. As a proof of the longevity of its inhabitants, in a population of eleven hundred and fifty, there are now living forty-six indi- viduals over seventy years of age,-twenty-three men and twenty-three women. Twenty-five of them
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
are over eighty years, -thirteen men and twelve women ; three over ninety years, -two men and one woman; the oldest man ninety-three years, the oldest woman ninety-one years. The aggregate ages of the thirteen men that exceed eighty years is eleven hundred and four years ; and of the twelve women, ten hundred and ninety-seven years : total aggregate amount of the twenty-five oldest persons is two thou- 'sand two hundred and one years. It is presumed this falls years short of the exact truth, as there are no fractions counted, although some of them amount to almost a year.
There is now the Congregational society in this town, Rev. Preserved Smith, pastor, which comprises about one half of the voters and taxable property ; a Universalist incorporated society ; part of a Baptist society, incorporated with a part of Royalston, Elder Marshal, minister ; part of another Baptist society, who are connected with some of the inhabitants of Erving's Grant and New Salem, Elder John Shepard- son, teacher ; and a few Methodists who belong to a Methodist society in Northfield, and have a meeting- house in the South Woods (so called). Here follows a list of the names of all the persons that have ever been chosen and served as town-officers, with the number of years they served, when known .* There have been two settled ministers of the Congregational order before the present one, Rev. Preserved Smith ; viz., Rev. Lemuel Hedge and Rev. Samuel Reed.
Rev. Lemuel Hedge was ordained, and a church
* See Appendix, page 192.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
gathered, Dec. 3, 1760. Rev. Mr. Forbes of Brook- field preached the sermon from Ist Timothy, 4th chap., 6th verse. Ministers present, - Mr. Forbes, Mr. Hubbard of Northfield. Mr. Frink of Rutland Dis- trict was moderator, and gave the charge. The covenant was signed by Lemuel Hedge, David Ayres, Ebenezer Davis, Ephraim Perry, David Burnett, John Farrar, Asa Robbins, Charles Woods, James Ball, Jeduthan Morse, Amzi Doolittle, and Silas Town. Rev. Lemuel Hedge died Oct. 17, 1777, in the forty- seventh year of his age, and the seventeenth of his ministry. The sermon at his funeral was preached by the Rev. Bunker Gay of Hinsdale, N.H. Rev. Samuel Reed was ordained Sept. 23, 1779, and died
July 31, 1812. Rev. Joseph Lee of Royalston preached the sermon at his funeral. There was a great congregation present. Rev. Preserved Smith, jun., was ordained Oct. 12, 1814, and still remains here (viz., 1832). There has been one Universalist minister, the Rev. Caleb Rich, and two Baptist minis- ters, the Rev. Levi Hodge, and . Rev. John Shep- ardson, that have resided in town previous to the above date.
Almost one generation has passed away since I commenced and wrote the first part of the history of Warwick. The first settlers have all passed off the stage of action ; and most of the then aged and worthy members of society have followed them to their final resting-place, - the grave. Those then in the prime of manhood are either dead, or tottering in old age ; those that were young then are bearing the
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
public burdens, and filling the ranks made thin by the great Destroyer ; and those unborn at that time have arrived to adult age, and are busily employed on the great theatre of life. The grand object of the his- torian ought to be a desire to perpetuate the truth, to transmit to all coming time a fair record of all the pass- ing events, uninfluenced by present party-feelings, and above all disguise and hypocritical cant.
Now (in 1854) a blank of twenty-two years is to be filled ; and I shall begin where I left off in 1832.
1833.
In 1833 some proposed amendments to the con- stitution of the State were laid before the town for their approval or rejection ; and there were one hun- dred and eighteen yeas to nine nays.
1834.
In 1834 the school-fund was separated from the ministerial fund ; and the town voted that it should be loaned on land security : it amounted to five hun- dred dollars.
This year the town built a new pound ; and also the school-districts were defined anew by a committee chosen for that purpose, consisting of Jonathan Blake, jun., Josiah Proctor, and Lemuel Wheelock.
1836.
In 1836 the first religious society in Warwick (Uni-
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
tarian) built a new meeting-house, which is now stand- ing (in 1854), being the third house built for, or by, that society. It stands a little west of where the two others stood, and on the west side of the county-road. It is not large, but a neat, well-proportioned edifice, erected by subscription of the members of the parish, at a cost of about three thousand dollars. The house contains sixty slips, or pews, which will seat five grown persons each : no gallery except in front, ex- pressly for the singers. It has a fine-toned bell, weighing a thousand and eighty-nine pounds, which cost three hundred and fifty dollars, which is in- cluded in the first-mentioned sum. This was the first church-bell that was ever purchased in Warwick. The above bell was warranted for one year ; and before the year was out it broke, and was returned to Boston and exchanged for another which was a few pounds lighter, without any cost to the society except the freight each way, and the trouble attending. This bell was also warranted for one year, and lasted until early in 1841, when it gave out also. The society then thought it best to try at Ames's foundry in Spring- field, carried the old bell there, and exchanged for a new one, of about the same weight, and paid the dif- ference between old metal and new : this bell remains sound to this day; viz., 1865.
The house has a well-finished vestry in the base- ment, for the use of the sabbath school, public meet- ings, &c. The subscribers chose Jonathan Blake, jun., Joseph Stevens, and Samuel Moore, a committee, to contract for building the house, and superintending its erection. It was raised the eighth day of September,
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
1836. The hands that raised the meeting-house took dinner at Asa Taft's Hotel with the architect and contractor, Mr. Chapin Holden, two ministers, two doctors, two deacons, and the building-committee by invitation, numbering in all seventy-four. The pews were appraised by a committee, and then put up at auction for a choice, and all sold, bringing four hun- dred and seven dollars more than the cost of the house, which was expended in furniture for the house, and in finishing the vestry .*
There was an Orthodox society formed in 1829, in this town, partly from seceders from the first society (Unitarian), and a few others, and organized a church, consisting of thirty members ; and in 1833 they built a meeting-house, at a cost of about thirteen hundred dollars. This house stands on the land formerly occu- pied by the Franklin Glass-Factory Company, and near where their main buildings were located, and is a short distance south of the town's common and the Unitarian meeting-house. On the sixth day of Novem- ber, 1833, the Rev. Samuel Kingsbury was settled as their pastor. He preached for them about two years, and was then dismissed. The Rev. Roger C. Hatch was ordained as their second pastor on the twenty- third day of December, 1835, and was dismissed June 22, 1853.
In 1840, at the April meeting, an article of amend- ment to the constitution of the State was voted on ; and there were eighty-three yeas, and fourteen nays.
In 1850 the school-districts were regularly and
* See Plan.
PLAN OF THE INTERIOR OF THE UNITARIAN CHURCH.
Chimney.
Chimney.
5.75.
$28.00.
5.00.
$44.00.
Phil. Holden.
Eldad Hodge.
$36.00.
$44.00.
$35.00.
Israel Fisher.
Harry Grout.
$5.75 choice.
Jonathan Blake.
Hervey Barber.
Elias Knowlton.
4.00.
Asa Taft.
$44.00.
$28.00.
55
56
57
58
59
60
I
2
3
4
5
6
54
53
52
6
8
7
31
J. Russell, J. Blake, and L. Wheelock. $65.00. 25 cts.
Samuel Ball. $65.00. 5.25.
30
10.75.
$30.00.
7 75.
$75.00.
12.75.
$70.00.
Wm. Hastings. $72.00. 13.25.
Caleb Mayo. $72.00. 12.25.
29
Stephen Reed
$70.00.
12.75.
$75.00.
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