USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Warwick > History of the town of Warwick, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1854 > Part 9
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
all future quotas of said town on future calls previous to a draft being made or ordered ; also voted to au- thorize the selectmen to borrow money for the same.
What follows was taken from Adj .- Gen. Schouler's " History of Massachusetts in the Civil War," vol. ii. Warwick incorporated Feb. 17, 1763. Population in 1860, 932 ; in 1865, 909. Valuation in 1860, $342,- 556; in 1865, $220,657.
The selectmen in 1861 and 1862 were William H. Bass, Sylvanus N. Atwood, Charles R. Gale ; in 1863, Charles R. Gale, Hervey Barber, Eben G. Ball; in 1864, Hervey Barber, Eben G. Ball, Jesse F. Bridge ; in 1865, E. F. Mayo, J. F. Bridge, William H. Gale.
The town-clerk during all these years of the war was Edward F. Mayo. The town-treasurer in 1861, 1862, and 1863, was Benjamin G. Putnam; in 1864 and 1865, Philip Young.
Mr. Mayo, the town-clerk, writes, "The men who went from our town were among our best citizens ; and those that have returned to us fully occupy their former stations. We have lost in the war twenty-six men. Alexander Cooper, sergeant of Company G, Thirty-sixth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, was more than three years in the army, and was dis- charged for wounds received at Spottsylvania. He was killed Nov. 22, 1866, by the fall of a derrick, while raising a stone for the soldiers' monument in this town."
Warwick furnished ninety-nine men for the war ; which was a surplus of nine above all demands.
April 6, 1864. - The town voted to accept of the grant of land given by Mrs. Experience C. Fisk for
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
an addition to our burying-ground, complying with the conditions of said grant. Also voted that the Chair appoint a committee of three persons to draft suitable resolutions, expressing the gratitude of the town to the donor, and report to this meeting ; the same to be presented to Mrs. Fisk, and a copy to be inscribed on the records of the town.
Rev. I. S. Lincoln, William H. Bass, and Deacon G. W. Moore were nominated by H. Barber, chair- man, and confirmed by the town. Then voted that the selectmen be a committee to examine the grounds, and report at a future meeting. The committee to draft resolutions, &c., reported as follows : -
Whereas, As Mrs. Experience C. Fisk presented to the town of Warwick a beautiful and valuable lot of land con- tiguous to the existing cemetery : therefore
Resolved, That the citizens of said town receive the same with gratitude, and, in town-meeting assembled, return a vote of thanks to the donor for her most valuable and acceptable gift.
Resolved, That this land thus received, and consecrated as a resting-place for the dead, shall be called the Fisk Cemetery.
Resolved, That the town-clerk is hereby instructed to place this preamble and resolutions upon the town-records, and present the same to the donor, and send a copy thereof to the editor of " The Gazette and Courier." at Greenfield, for publication.
I. S. LINCOLN, - G. W. MOORE, Committee. W. H. BASS,
WARWICK, April 6, 1865.
The selectmen, being chosen a committee for that pur-
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
pose, examined the grounds given by Mrs. Fisk, and reported that said grounds needed fencing on three sides ; that some parts needed levelling ; that several old trees should be cut down, and the old cellar be filled up ; that walks and drive- ways should be made, and that it should be otherwise beauti- fied, to comply with the wishes of the donor.
HERVEY BARBER, E. G. BALL, Committee.
J. F. BRIDGE,
Report accepted by the town ; and the selectmen were instructed to carry the substance of said report into effect.
The above improvements were made during the season ; and several times since the town has directed their selectmen to make further alterations ; so that when the ornamental trees have become some larger, and all vacant places that were at first proposed for trees of various kinds are filled, the Fisk Cemetery will compare favorably with any in this vicinity.
1865. - As per report of the overseers of the poor, the sum-total of expense of paupers on the town the past year is $121.35.
Whole number of weeks' board of paupers on the town- farm was 364.
Average cost of board per week, 333 cents each.
Whole expense of the farm, $141.70.
Sum-total of expense for the year, $263.05.
HERVEY BARBER, JESSE F. BRIDGE, Overseers of the Poor. WARWICK, March 4, 1865.
A small expense per week for the support of per-
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sons on the town-farm, which speaks favorably for the way we support our paupers, and the manner that we proceed in cultivating the farm, and superintending the whole concern.
This year there died at Whately (at the residence of her son, Samuel Lesure, Esq.) Mrs. Hannah Le- sure, widow of Mr. Samuel Lesure, aged 101 years, 4 months, and 12 days. Samuel Lesure, sen., was one of the first settlers of the town of Warwick, and was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and for some years a pensioner. His widow received a pen- sion also after the decease of her husband until the time of her departure to that " better land." We will now record a traditionary anecdote, related by one of her contemporaries, which may interest the younger portion of our readers.
While her husband was absent in the service of his country, between the years 1780 and 1783, Mrs. Lesure espied one evening in the twilight, in the edge of the woods near her dwelling-house, a large bear, coolly taking a survey of the log-house and its sur- roundings. And, knowing that bears have a particu- lar penchant for pigs, she immediately took hers from the pen, and put it in the house ; closed the door, and barricaded it with table, stools, and blocks, and other movables that the dwelling contained ; put her large fire-shovel into the embers ; and patiently waited the result. Soon Bruin made his assault upon the door, and she could plainly see his nose under the door, which was hung on wooden hinges, also fastened with a wooden latch, and a string, for the purpose of open- ing, suspended from the outside, -locks at that time
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being almost unknown. The floor being laid with loose boards, the door fitted none of the best. But, not being able to force an entrance, he next went to the slide board-window (glass at that time was very scarce), which, in her haste, she had neglected to fas- ten. This he soon forced open enough to admit his head, when our heroine seized the shovel, and made such an onslaught upon the head of the bear, that he soon retreated to the woods with growls and snarls, and left our hostess and her lodger in quiet possession of her humble abode. And when Mrs. Lesure was over a hundred years of age, she showed both her ability to labor and her patriotism by knitting stockings for our soldiers that had left their homes to sustain our government when threatened by traitors belonging to the slaveholders' rebellion.
1866. - See account of the building of the soldiers' monument, which contains all the votes of the town, except those usually recorded every year .*
March 4, 1867. - The town voted to authorize the treasurer, with the approbation of the selectmen, to borrow money for the support of the families of volun- teers, disabled soldiers, and the families of the slain ; and the same vote has been passed' at the annual March meeting each year from that time to the present.
Nov. 3, 1868. - Town voted to pay Andrew F. Nor- ton his town bounty ($125), with interest, from the date of his enlistment as a soldier accredited to War- wick in the war of the late Rebellion.
Norton's name, with several others, had been before
* On pages 146-149.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
the town, and the selectmen as a committee to inves- tigate the subject, for over two years. The others failed to receive their bounty, not from any neglect of duty, but from being unfortunate in the time of en- listment, it being prior to the date of the act making it legal for towns to pay the above bounty.
1869 .- The legislature of the Commonwealth passed an act abolishing the school-district system.
April 17. - The town voted to choose a committee to appraise the school-houses, and report at a future meeting ; then voted that the selectmen (James S. Wheeler, E. F. Mayo, and H. H. Jillson) be said com- mittee. Also voted, and added George N. Richards and William H. Bass to the committee.
And voted to adjourn this meeting to May 15, at three o'clock, P. M., to hear the report of said com- mittee.
May 15. - The inhabitants met agreeably to ad- journment ; heard the report of the committee on the appraisal of school-houses, and voted to lay the report over to the next March meeting.
Sept. 6, 1870. - The town voted unanimously to accept of the act, and return to the school-district system.
Nov. 8. - Voted to appropriate $ 100 for the bene- fit of a public library. Also voted to accept of the two pieces of land north of Nahum Jones's boot-shop ; the same to be kept as a public park, and to be kept enclosed with a suitable and substantial fence. And also voted that the selectmen be a committee to dis- pose of the timber on the town-farm, if, in their opinion, it would be for the best interests of the town.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
The proprietors of the park, prior to the above vote, were several citizens of the town, who had authorized their committee to convey said park to the town, on condition that the town would vote to receive it, and for- ever after keep it in suitable repair, as an ornament to the village. Its history is as follows. Some time in August, 1867, Mrs. M. A. McKim (a former resident of Warwick), Mrs. E. C. Sibley, and Miss Sarah Ball, circulated a subscription-paper for the purpose of purchasing the blacksmith-shop lot, north of Mrs. McKim's new house in Warwick Village, and Mr. Jones's lot, north of his boot-shop, to be improved and ornamented for a public park. On said subscrip- tion-paper are to be found the names of our citizens to the amount of $325, for the purpose of purchasing said pieces of land. After said facts had become known, Mr. Jones generously presented his lot, and gave a deed thereof to the town ; and the blacksmith lot was purchased of A. S. Atherton, Mrs. McKim being the original owner. They each gave $25 for the above object. The proprietors, or rather the contrib- utors, met at the hotel, and voted to choose a com- mittee of three persons from their number to take charge of the funds contributed, and finish off and beautify said grounds in a suitable manner for a pub- lic park. Voted and chose Hervey Barber, Calvin W. Delva, and Edward F. Mayo, said committee, who circulated another paper for subscriptions for the above purpose ; and they obtained the promise on the same of the sum of $127.50, to be paid in money, labor, and materials, as specified on said paper, to be expended under the supervision of the committee, for
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
the purpose of levelling, fencing, the setting of trees, and otherwise ornamenting said park. The commit- tee soon commenced their work; and after some delays, from one cause and another, the more promi- nent one being the want of funds, and the county- commissioners having laid a road in such a way as to necessitate the selectmen to take a part of the pro- prietors' lands for the continuance and extension of said road, the lot, being fenced and nearly finished, was presented to the town, and accepted, as above stated, and a deed of warranty given by Messrs. Jones and Atherton, on condition that the town ever after keep the same in good order, and continue it as a public park.
March 6, 1871. - The town voted to accept of the proprietors' library, on the following conditions : That the town shall, at the annual March meeting each year, choose a board of five trustees, who shall have power to appoint a librarian, to furnish a suitable place to keep the library, to make by-laws, and adopt such regulations for its government and support as they in their judgment shall think best. Said trus- tees shall have power to fill all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, removal, or otherwise, during the year. They shall report to the town at the annual March meeting their doings and the condition of the library. And the town shall, from time to time, make such appropriations as shall be necessary to increase the number of volumes, and thereby increase the usefulness of the library. And, when the town shall fail to comply with the condi- tions on which they receive the library, it shall revert
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to the original owners. The town voted, and chose as trustees of the library Rev. John Goldsbury, Dea- con H. Barber, Dr. S. P. French, Jesse F. Bridge, Esq., and William K. Taylor. Also voted to appro- priate the money returned to the town by the county- treasurer, from the dog-tax, to the library; to be expended by the trustees for the benefit of the same.
April 10. - The town voted to accept a donation of $500, given by Mrs. Mary Blake Clap, of Dorchester District, Boston, and comply with the request of the donor, which was as follows : "That said sum shall be invested by the town, and the interest arising there- from shall be annually applied to the beautifying and keeping their cemetery in repair."
Also voted that the town-clerk and selectmen con- stitute a committee to draft suitable resolutions, the same to be presented to Mrs. Clap, and also to be inscribed upon the records of the town, expressing the gratitude of the town to the donor for her very acceptable gift.
The committee presented the following report, which was accepted by the town :-
Preamble. - The undersigned having been chosen by the citizens of the town of Warwick, in town-meeting assem- bled, to make and transmit to Mrs, Mary Blake Clap, of Boston, an expression of thanks, and the grateful acknowl- edgment thereof of the people of this town for her gener- ous action in aid of our cemetery : therefore
Resolved, That we herewith present to Mrs. Mary Blake Clap, of Boston, the grateful thanks of the town for her very generous donation to the town as a cemetery-fund.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
Resolved, That it is our intention to carry out the wishes expressed by the donor, and comply with them in such a manner as to make the spot endeared to us as the last resting-place of the bodies of our relatives and friends a pleasant rather than a gloomy retreat.
ARNON S. ATHERTON, Town-Clerk.
E. F. MAYO, H. H. JILLSON, Selectmen. J. F. BRIDGE,
May 2. - The town voted to prohibit the sale of ale, porter, strong and lager beer, within the limits of the town the ensuing year.
Nov. 7. - Voted that the matter concerning school- districts in the warrant be referred to the chairman of the school-committee and the selectmen, who shall take the subject into consideration, and report at some future meeting.
March 4, 1872. - Voted, and chose William H. Gale moderator; also Henry H. Jillson, Jesse F. Bridge, and James L. Stockwell, selectmen, and assess- ors, and overseers of poor ; A. S. Atherton, town- clerk and treasurer ; George A. Cushing, superin- tending school-committee for three years; Nahum Jones, Hervey Barber, Dr. French, Jesse F. Bridge, and William K. Taylor, trustees of the public library ; -
William K. Taylor, constable, and collector of taxes.
Also voted to accept of the report of the selectmen, which leaves a balance of $8,450.93, as the indebted- ness of the town above all resources.
Voted to raise two per cent on the valuation, which shall constitute, with the amount assessed upon the
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
polls, the sum-total of the State, county, and town taxes the present year.
Voted to appropriate, out of the above, $1,200 for the use of the schools the ensuing year.
Voted to appropriate $100 to be expended by the trustees for the enlargement of the town-library.
Voted to raise one-half per cent on the valuation, which shall, with the poll-taxes, be the amount to be expended on the highways the coming year.
Voted to continue the school-district system. Also voted to hear the report of the committee raised at a former meeting to take into consideration our school- districts, and make such alteration therein as may be to the best interests of the town, which was as fol- lows, to wit : -
The subscribers chosen by the town as a committee to make such alterations in the bounds of several school-dis- tricts have attended to that duty, and ask leave to submit the following report : -
Your committee are of the opinion that it will be for the interest of the town, and not add much to the inconvenience of the inhabitants of said districts, to annex the lands and estates of Mrs. Stratton, George W. Smith, Luke Delvee, Henry Esketh, and the Messrs. Holden, in school-district No. 6, to district No. 4 ; and unite the remaining lands and estates of school-district No. 6 with school-district No. 3, to be called school-district No. 6, - its original number ; also unite school-district No. 10 with No. 7, to be continued as No. 7 ; also that district No. 9 take the name of No. 3, -its former number ;- making eight districts within the town, numbered from one to eight in regular order. And we are of the opinion that any further alterations would be inexpe-
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dient at the present time. All of which is submitted for the consideration of the town.
HERVEY BARBER, E. F. MAYO, Committee.
J. F. BRIDGE,
WARWICK, Feb. 10, 1872.
Also voted to accept of the report of the Rev. John Goldsbury for the trustees of the town-library ; and ordered the same to be printed with the report of the school-committee, for the use of the inhabitants of the town.
And the trustees at their annual meeting passed a vote of thanks to the Rev. Mr. Goldsbury for his able, instructive, and interesting report, and ordered it inscribed on the records of the library.
S. P. FRENCH, Secretary.
April 20, 1872. - At a town-meeting held for the purpose, it was voted to accept of a second donation of $500 from Mrs. Mary Blake Clap for the improve- ment of the cemetery, and comply with the wishes of the donor ; and that the selectmen and town-clerk pre- sent to her the thanks of the town for her acceptable and desirable gift.
A. S. ATHERTON, Town-Clerk.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
THE REBELLION OF 1861-1865.
The outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, and a call for troops to defend the national capital, although not unexpected by our people, was nevertheless something of a surprise, as we had for many years lived in peace, and knew very little of the waste of life, of time, and of treasure, which a state of war entails upon a community therein engaged. At this time, and for many years previous, no military organization existed in our town ; and our whole number of enrolled militia consisted of less than one hundred and fifty men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, of which more than one-half were invalids, or in some way incompetent to do military duty. Yet on the part of our citizens, both old and young, male and female, there was shown a persevering determination to support the government in putting down the Rebel- lion by enlisting their energies in sustaining the stars and stripes, and maintaining to the last the union of all the States of our beloved country, as the brief his- tory of what we shall say of the doings of our patri- otic people during those years of labor, suspense, and trial, will fully corroborate ; and which shows our readi- ness and willingness to sacrifice time, wealth, and even life, in our country's defence.
We would first record, that soon after the assault upon Fort Sumter, before any calls had been made upon our town for troops, a large number of our young men had enlisted, and gone to the front to assist in sustaining the authorities in maintaining the rights of
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all American citizens, -liberty, freedom, and a strong republican government. Although the ma- jority of them were not afterwards accredited to our town, yet those that remained rejoiced to see so many of their companions and neighbors showing their patriotism by giving themselves to the cause of the free institutions of their beloved republic, which were now threatened by their deluded Southern countrymen, - a strong evidence to those that re- mained that the principles of justice, right, and free- dom, would ultimately prevail. And several times during the war large contributions of clothing, band- ages, lint, and palatable kinds of preserves, fruits, and food, were collected by the noble women of our town, and sent to the hospitals for the comfort and subsist- ence of our sick and wounded soldiers, who were suf- fering and dying to sustain the best government on the face of the earth. And often were the manly forms of our fathers and sons collected together to sustain and cheer each other, as doubt and hope came over the wires with lightning-speed, announcing first defeat and then victory to their inquiring and anxious minds, as they were looking for news from the army of occupation or of advance into the enemy's country. And quite often large subscriptions were collected to aid the government in forwarding men to the front, as they were called for from time to time. The whole amount of money appropriated and expended by the town on account of the war, exclusive of State aid, was $8,786.09. There was also raised by private sub- scription $2,638.21, which was not reimbursed by the town.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
The amount of money raised and expended by the town, for State aid to soldiers' families during the years of the war, and which was afterwards reim- bursed by the Commonwealth, was $6,403.07, making a sum-total of $17,827.37, which was raised by our patriotic citizens during those years, besides large amounts of articles of various kinds sent for the relief of our sick and wounded soldiers .*
THE SOLDIERS' MONUMENT.
Nov. 7, 1865, the town voted to erect a monument to the memory of its deceased soldiers who fell in the war of the slaveholders' rebellion.
Also voted that the selectmen be instructed to obtain drafts and plans for a monument, and submit them to the town at some future meeting.
And voted that the committee be confined to granite as the material for building said monument.
March 5, 1866, voted to authorize the selectmen to contract for furnishing the material for the erec- tion of a suitable monument to the memory of its deceased soldiers, and to authorize said selectmen to borrow a sum of money, not exceeding $1,000, for the same.
Aug. 25, the town voted to have the soldiers' monument erected in the Fisk Cemetery.
During this season a beautiful granite monument was purchased by the selectmen, and transported
* See Appendix, page 189.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
from the quarry in Fitzwilliam, N.H., and placed in the centre of the Fisk Cemetery, on suitable and sub- stantial foundations, - a memorial to the patriotism of our sons, to the number of twenty-six,* whose names are inscribed thereon, and will show to future generations the gratitude of all our citizens ; that. they so nobly gave their lives to their country in the suppression of the greatest rebellion ever known, thereby showing to the world that republican institu- tions are revered, preserving the Union, abolishing African slavery, enlarging the freedom of all, and leaving our land in a situation to become the greatest, the wisest, and the happiest upon the face of the earth.
And we are happy to record, that as yet no one has expressed any dissatisfaction that this memento to the worth of our lamented sons has been erected to perpetuate their prowess and patriotism. But many there are who rejoice that they have, in this commend- able manner, commemorated their disinterestedness and valor. A tribute of respect is due to those of our fellow-citizens who gave their influence to for- ward the object, and especially to the selectmen who acted for the town in its corporate capacity, and those friends that still have a deep interest in the prosperity of their former and ever-to-be-remem- bered residence, and who so generously contributed towards its completion, in a sum of $336, which, with the town's grant of $1,000, makes $1,336, which is the total expense of erecting and finishing
* See names in Appendix, page 189.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
both the monument and the grounds surrounding the same.
In addition to what has already been said of the minerals in this town, we would say that the radiated tourmaline, found in large quantities on Mt. Grace, is one of the handsomest of its kind; and there are specimens of it to be found in many of the cabinets of mineralogists in this country, and in several in the Old World. From the quarry of crystallized quartz found near the road leading from the Common in Warwick towards C. W. Hastings's pond, on lands of Widow Rhoda Wheelock, are obtained noble speci- mens, which are quite extensively known and ap- preciated by many professors both in our country and in Europe; and Prof. Tenney has a splendid impression of a specimen of this mineral, to be found in his valuable work on mineralogy. We will also continue the account of the natural curiosities in town by a brief statement of an Indian kettle that will hold from eight to ten pails of water, to be found on the south side of a ledge of rocks on the west side of the road, about a hundred rods north- west of Chandler W. Bass's saw-mill ; and of a bear's den, so called, on the Nath. G. Stevens farm, not far from a hundred rods north of the Stevens's mill- pond, and from twenty to thirty rods east of the line between Northfield and Warwick : this den is covered by a shelving rock of a size sufficient to shelter five hundred men. Also, on Mr. D. Stone's Atwood farm, on the west side of the old road, near the Win- chester line, is to be found a large bowlder, adjudged
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