USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Winchendon > History of the town of Winchendon (Worcester County, Mass.) from the grant of Ipswich Canada, in 1735, to the present time > Part 11
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" To his Excellency JAMES BOWDOIN, EsQ.
The Petition of the town of Winchendon humbly sheweth :
That whereas, there is great disturbance as to the administration of gor- ernment in this State, and it appears to this town that it will not do to settle matters by fire and sword ; but for the parties to unite in a peaceable way and manner, - this is therefore to pray your Excellency to immediately lib- erate Capt. Shattuck and others taken in the county of Middlesex, and con- fined in the town of Boston, in consequence of the opposition they have made to the present mode of government ; and as it is our opinion it will be the most direct way to still the commotions now subsisting among the people. And your petitioners, in duty bound, shall ever pray."
We now return to the meeting on the first of January, 1787, to which the meeting of the 18th, and that of the 21st of December, were adjourned.
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The address and acts having been read, as stated above, a marked effect was produced. The majority of the meeting were evidently con- vinced that the government was right, though only ten days before, the petition in favor of Capt. Shattuck had been approved. It was first moved " to see if the town will continue a member at the Conven- tion." Decided in the negative. Then it was moved " to see if the town will dismiss their member from any further service in Conven- tion." The yeas had it, and the meeting adjourned. There was another meeting three days later, in which the contest was renewed ; but the government men were still in the ascendant. According to the Records, " the draft-that is, of the Petition to the Governor- came up again, when it was moved to see if the town will accept the same in the present form." No, the town will not accept it. A mo- tion was then made to amend the paper; but the town would not amend it. Growing bolder, the friends of government then moved " to see if the town will vote to recall the Petition sent to his Excel- lency the Governor, to liberate Capt. Shattuck," &c. This motion passed in the affirmative. Whether this vote to recall merely means to rescind, or whether the committee had sent off the Petition, and this vote was to send for it, is uncertain ; but it is clear that this meet- ing was resolved to stand by the constituted authority. The meeting then adjourned to the 15th instant.
And now the tables were turned. The other party rallied in force, and reversed the former action of the town. The first motion was to dissolve the meeting; but this was negatived. After an hour's ad- journment, the meeting again assembled, when it was moved " to see if the town will reconsider a vote passed at a former adjournment of this meeting. Said vote is as follows, to wit : " to see if the town will vote to recall a petition sent to his Excellency the Governor, to liber- ate Capt. Shattuck," &c. The vote being put, it passed in the affirm- ative." That is, the town had voted a petition, then it had voted to recall the petition, and now it voted to reconsider the vote of recall, and the result was, that the petition was the final action of the town. The meeting then adjourned, and the matter rested. Nothing farther was done in town meeting in relation to the insurrection, or the grievances that brought it on ; but at the subsequent March meeting, the Shays men had the majority, and put their friends in office, making an almost
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clean sweep of those who were elected the year before, unless some of them happened to be on their side. But in the following May, Abel Wilder, a friend of the government, was sent again to the General Court. This might have been due to his great personal popularity, for the people never lost confidence in him amid all the changes of the times.
Having thus given the Records of the exciting town meetings, it is necessary to return and present some view of the action of individuals in relation to the same subject. And here use will be made to some ex- tent, of the words of Dr. Whiton. The government raised a force of. 4,400 men to bring the rebels to submission. " When the order came to draft this town's quota of the troops, one of the most exciting scenes occurred ever witnessed in this place. The large militia company, the only one then in the place, was assembled on the centre Common. A numerous crowd of other citizens stood around, of whom a decided ma- jority were Shays' men, many of them good men and honest, but goad- ed on by trying times, to measures which sober second thought disap- proved. There was a considerable minority of firm and resolute men, determined to support the existing government. The parties, with ex- cited feelings, now stood face to face. The Shays men threatened that if the government men raised the required quota of soldiers, they would send on two to one to strengthen the insurgents. The government men looked on with deep anxiety, fearing they should be unable to raise the men. When the drummer began his round to beat up for volunteers, it was to both sides, a moment of painful suspense ; all voices were hushed ; but the resolution of one man soon changed the scene. Will- iam Whitney, who came into the town in 1744, a prominent and de- cided government man, father of the late well-known Capt. Phinehas Whitney, addressing his son, who was one of the company, exclaimed aloud, ' Turn out, Phin.' Immediately Phin stepped from the ranks and followed the drummer. It was a bold example and had an impor- tant influence on the result. Successively one after another followed the example, and the required number of men was soon raised." Hos- tile feeling ran high ; while the government men were running bullets at the house of Esq. Crosby, the Shays men were employed at the same hour, in the very same business, at the house of a neighbor. At this time the government men wore a fillet of white paper in their hats, as
8
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their badge of distinction, while the Shays men were designated by a tuft of pine, or as Mr. Hyde says, " a sprig of evergreen." But the evergreen speedily withered. In a few weeks the insurrection was suppressed, and the wheels of government rolled on smoothly in their accustomed track.
How many men from this town actually joined the insurgents, can- not be stated with accuracy at this remote time, and it might not be of any use to record their names, if they were known. It is probable that the number was very small. The people of this place desired a redress of grievances, and this the government hastened to grant. No action taken by the town directly favored treason or rebellion ; and it is quite certain that the opposition of individuals ended in talk. The name of one man may be given with certainty, and without impropri- ety, as an insurgent, since the fact was published at the time in the county paper. The Worcester Magazine, printed in the second week of February, 1787, contains the following passage : " A correspondent informs us that the member of Convention from the town of Winchen- don, whose name is [Samuel] Litch, went off with his arms, week be- fore last, and actually joined the insurgents under Adam Wheeler." The " week before last" would be toward the close of January, and thus Mr. Litch had time to reach the camp before the final march and de- feat. Adam Wheeler was a bold, rough revolutionary captain, living in Hubbardston, who was very forward in the rebel movement.
BECTION 3 .- THE FLIGHT.
The drama was hasting to its ignoble exit. 'After various maneu- verings, the insurgents were collected, in considerable force, in Pelham, about the 29th of January, and on Saturday, the 2d of February, see- · ing the government troops advancing, they began a retreat in the even- ing. The weather was mild, and the evening light, but at length snow began to fall. The insurgents could find no shelter, and so pressed forward all night, until the morning of the 3d, when they halted in Petersham to prepare their breakfast and take some rest. This was Sunday morning, the snow flying thick and fast, and being piled in drifts. The weather had become intensely cold. The Shays men sup- posed that their pursuers had halted, and felt increased security from pursuit on account of the raging of the storm. But this was the cause
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of their sudden surprise and total rout. As the government soldiers could find no place of shelter and comfort, they kept moving all night, for the sake of keeping up a circulation of the blood. The result was that they came pouring into Petersham in the morning, and captured two hundred find fifty of the insurgents. According to the narrative of the late Col. Benjamin Adams, and Capt. Phinehas Whitney, who were in the ranks of the government troops,-being then quite young -they caught the Shays men cooking their breakfast ; but they took to their heels, leaving the kettles on the camp fires. The troops helped themselves to a warm meal, and the great mass of the rebels disap- peared like a morning mist. A portion of them fled to Winchester, N. H., from whence they scattered, in smaller numbers ; but a large part left the camp at Petersham for their homes. They hid their guns, and gave up all sign of opposition, for the declaration of a rebellion had been issued, and the government was pursuing with an overwhelming force.
One anecdote, related by Dr. Whiton, will here find its appropriate place. "After the dispersion of the insurgents at Petersham, four or five of them belonging to Middlesex county, passed through this town on their way home, in ill-humor at their want of success. Calling at Dr. Whiton's, where Mr. Winn has resided for many years, and find- ing the Dr. a strong government man, one of them used high words, and threatened to run him through with his bayonet. The Dr. raised a heavy, long-handled iron shovel to defend himself; his wife, affrighted, seized from the cradle, her sleeping infant, for protection; but the passionate man was checked by one of his more prudent associates, who told him it would never do to threaten a man's life in his own house, and induced his companions immediately to depart." That infant thus snatched from the cradle, became the Rev. Dr. Whiton. Thus ended a wild and utterly unjustifiable attempt to work a change in the laws, if not in the form of government, of the State. In a few years the misguid- ed insurgents and their friends were glad of their failure, and were zeal- ous supporters of the constituted authority. Party bitterness, in this place, gave way to old neighborly kindness,and the parties lived in peace together as if they had never been at variance.
Mr. Litch, being obnoxious to the penalty of the law, left the State, and never returned to reside. Others kept out of public view for a sea-
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son. One or more took refuge on the borders of the Monomonauk, where they had a boat, and a hut. The boat was for flight as well as for fishing. But the government was lenient, and the men soon re- turned to their homes, where they were unmolested by the officers of the law, while they were respected by their neighbors. An old ballad has been quoted already ;- another will furnish a fitting close to this narrative.
·
"Says sober Will, 'well Shays has fled, And peace returns to bless our days.' "Indeed!' cries Ned, 'I always said, He'd prove at last a fall back Shays ;* And those turned over and undone, Call him a worthless Shays to run.'"
* The chaise, then in use, was sometimes spelled shay, like the insurgent leader's name.
r
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CHAPTER VIII .- STATE AND NA- TIONAL AFFAIRS.
SECTION 1 .- REPRESENTATION.
" A firm union will be of the utmost moment to the peace and liberty of the States as a barrier against domestic faction and insurrection."
THE FEDERALIST.
In this chapter the connection of Winchendon with the political ac- tion of the times, will be briefly traced. In the Revolution, the people were unanimous, so far as is now known, in supporting the Declaration of Independence, and they did not falter, nor withhold their support, till peace and independence were secured. Shays' Rebellion divided the town into two hostile bands, a majority of the people being on the side of the insurgents, though but a very few of them engaged in any hostile acts, while much of the intelligence, property and moral worth of the place steadfastly adhered to the government. In regard to oth- er questions there was difference of opinion, and the people ranged them- selves with the great parties of the country, though without the violence and rancor which characterized the times of Shays.
Winchendon was rather backward in claiming her place in the State House. For several years after the organization of the town, no del- egate was sent to the House of Representatives. In May, 1770, the town declined to send a representative. Similar action was taken in several of the next succeeding years. Robert Bradish, a plain, rough, but sensible man, was sent in 1776, and 1777, to the General Court. At the meeting, May 27, for choosing their representative, the town chose a Committee of seven persons to draft instructions for his guid- ance. As a peculiar interest attaches to every name engaged in the heroic work of those times, they will be given in full. The same rule will hold in the future. The committee were Ebenezer Sherwin, Thorn- ton Barrett, Moses Hale, Daniel Goodridge, Richard Pearson, Abel Wilder and Benjamin Brown. The Report of the committee which was approved by the town, was in these words.
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" To Mr. Robert Bradish,
Sir : You being legally appointed to represent the town of Win- chendon in the Great and General Court the ensuing year, the town think proper to give you the following instructions, viz: That you use your influence to the utmost, to obtain a repeal of an Act, passed by the General Court in the close of their session in the year 1776, entitled an Act for a more equal representation. And upon the repeal of said Act, to issue writs for the choice of a new House, and then dissolve. And in case the said Act should not be repealed, not to proceed to any business, but return home."
SECTION 2 .- STATE CONSTITUTION.
The first vote of the town, May 22, 1778, on the subject of a State Constitution, has already been mentioned. The state of the case was this. The General Court of 1777-8, in accordance with a recommen- dation of the General Court of the previous year, met together as a Convention, and adopted a form of Constitution " for the State of Mas- sachusetts Bay," which was submitted to the people. This town voted in its favor, 25 to 6, but it was rejected by the State. At this same meeting the town declined to send a representative to the legislature. The General Court followed up the movement for a new Constitution, by passing a Resolve on the 20th of February, 1779, calling upon the qualified voters to give in their votes on the questions-Whether they chose to have a new Constitution or Form of Government made, and, Whether they will empower their representatives to vote for calling a State Convention for that purpose. The people, by a large majority, voted in favor of both these propositions, and then the General Court, on the 17th of June, 1779, passed a Resolve, calling on the people to choose delegates to a Constitutional Convention, to be held in Cam- bridge on the 1st of the ensuing September. The people of this town, on the 20th of May, 1779, voted in favor of having a new Constitution, 18 to 7, and at the same time declined to send a representative in the General Court. In accordance with the above Resolve, a town meet- ing was held on the 8th of July, and Abel Wilder, Esq., was chosen delegate to the Convention at Cambridge. It may be stated here, that at a subsequent meeting, in July, 1780, the town " voted and granted 85 dollars per day for 34 days service at the Convention on the Con- stitution, the whole, £367," or $2890.
The Convention met on the first of September, and was presided over by JAMES BOWDOIN. After organization, a committee of thirty
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was chosen, to whom the work of drawing up a " Declaration of Rights and the Form of a Constitution," was assigned. The Convention then had " a general and free conversation" upon the subject of a " Decla- ration and Rights," &c., in the presence of their committee, after which the body adjourned to the 28th of October. The committee of thirty appointed JOHN ADAMS to draught a " Declaration of Rights," and a sub-committee of three, viz: JAMES BOWDOIN, SAMUEL ADAMS and JOHN ADAMS, to prepare a " Form of Government." This committee assigned this task to JOHN ADAMS, who was thus the author of the whole work, which was, finally, after being somewhat amended, adopt- ed by the Convention. What part the delegate of this town took in the proceedings, does not appear, as the debates were not published. His name is not found in the Journal as a member of any committee, but doubtless a man of his sense and weight of character, had influ- ence in private discussion. After several adjournments the Convention completed their work, and submitted it to the scrutiny of the people.
It should be noted that the warning of the meeting to choose dele- gates to the Convention, was addressed " to all the freeholders and oth- er inhabitants, being free and twenty-one years of age," thus putting the great work of forming a new frame of government into the hands of all the people, without regard to property or rank. The same for- mula was used in calling the town meeting to vote on the Constitution, held on the 15th of May, 1780. It was in these words : " All male persons, inhabitants of Winchendon, being free and twenty-one years of age," &c., were warned to meet and " hear the Declaration of Rights and Constitution or Form of Government for the State of the Massa- chusetts Bay." After reading the above instrument of government, the meeting adjourned to the 24th of May, that the people might form their deliberate conclusion. The meeting met and again adjourned to the 29th, when the vote was taken, as follows :
" For the Constitution with the Amendments, 21 yeas.
For the Frame of Government as it stands, yeas, 9; nays, 2."
The people of the State approved of the new Constitution, and un- der it the first General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts met at the State House in Boston, on Wednesday, October 25, 1780. Abel Wilder represented the town in the House, or the county in the Senate, from this time to his decease in 1792. On May 20th, 1782, Samuel Crosby, Esq., Dea. Moses Hale and Mr. Alexander Brown,
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were chosen a committee to draw some instructions for " ye represen- tative, Abel Wilder, Esq." These instructions are not on record, and the design of them is not known. On the 5th of April, 1784, Mr. Wilder received 25 votes for Senator and Counsellor. This vote brought his name before a larger constituency, which a year or two later adopt- ed him.
In 1786, January 6, it was voted " to take taxes in shingles," in the case of several persons. In March, the town voted a hundred pounds to pay the town debt, and in keeping with its honorable course towards the new town of Gardner, the proportion assessed to that town was de- ducted.
SECTION 3 .- NATIONAL CONSTITUTION.
In 1788, March 10, Dea. Moses Hale was chosen delegate to the State Convention to consider the proposed Constitution for the United States. There was a powerful opposition to the adoption of the Con- stitution, which would perhaps have been defeated, in the Convention, if the great patriot, Samuel Adams, and his compeer, John Hancock, had not been induced to give it their support. A majority of the del- egates from Worcester county, including the delegate from this town, on the final vote, were found in the negative.
Those persons, as a general rule, who had favored the Shays' move- ment, were opposed to the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. There was a prevalent fear that the central government would become too strong ; and they could not foresee that a great, wicked, and bloody rebellion would in the next century, grow in part, out of a jeal- ousy for State rights. But besides these, there were others who were reluctant to enter into a union with slave-holders, and become bound to endure the slave trade until 1808, and take on themselves the obli- gation to restore fugitives from servitude. Their fears have been more than realized in our recent history. If the men of 1788 could have clearly foreseen the evils that a tolerated system of oppression has brought upon this generation, it is hardly conceivable that they would have entered the Union except on condition of the total abolition of slavery in all the States.
The first meeting to choose officers under the Constitution of the United States, was held on the 18th of December, 1788, when the town cast its vote in favor of Washington and Adams for President and Vice President.
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Samuel Adams received every vote for Governor, on the 6th of April, 1795.
At the election, in 1792 and 1796, the Presidential candidates sup- ported by the federal party received a large majority of the votes cast by the freemen of Winchendon.
The warrant for a town meeting in the last year of the last century, was addressed to " the freeholders and other inhabitants of the town qualified by law to vote in town meetings, viz : " such as pay to our single tax besides the poll or polls, a sum equal to two-thirds of a sin- gle poll tax." The warrant for a meeting to choose a representative was " to the male inhabitants of the town, being twenty-one years of age, and resident in the town for the space of one year next preceding, having a freehold estate of the annual income of three pounds, or any estate to the value of fifty pounds."
The voters of this town gave to Washington their most cordial and zealous support during both of his presidential terms. When troops were called for to suppress the " Whiskey rebellion" in Pennsylvania, they were ready to take the field. When he died, they sincerely mourned, in common with the great mass of his countrymen. Mr. Adams, though following in the footsteps of his predecessor, met with a strenuous, and even fierce opposition, especially in the South ; but his own State was united in his support. The people of Winchendon concurred with the State in casting their votes for him, in the autumn of 1796, and also in 1800, when he was defeated. Their resentment against the insults of the French government was ardent, and they were ready to take up arms in defence of the honor of the nation. The well-known song, " Adams and liberty," was a favorite with our pat- riotic and high-spirited ancestry of that period. But Mr. Jefferson, the leader of the Virginia school of politics, came into power. The " Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions" superseded the principles of Washington, Adams and Marshall, and the country entered on a career which naturally culminated in the wicked rebellion of 1861. ;
In closing these notices of the political affinities of the town, it is but fair to state, that though the Rev. Mr. Brown, then supported by the town in its capacity as a parish, was a firm friend of the Govern- ment, in the time of the Shays excitement, he was not, on that account, called in question, the people, even in the time of the most violent agi- tation, conceding to their minister his right to untramelled action as a citizen.
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CHAPTER IX. - EDUCATION PRE- VIOUS TO 1800.
"Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way, With blossom'd furze, unprofitably gay, There, in his noisy mansion, skilled to rule, The village master, taught his little school." GOLDSMITHI.
In this chapter, a full, though concise history will be given of the progress of education, including schools, school-houses, districts, teach- ers, committees, &c., down to the opening of the present century. The first entry in the Records bearing on this subject, is dated May 5, 1765, when eight dollars were appropriated for schooling. This was the first year after the organization of the town. The school was at the Centre. The sum granted, March 3, 1766, was $20. In 1767, $13. The next year, the appropriation was six pounds, or twenty dol- lars ; and it was voted as follows : " the extreme parts of the town to have a school by themselves, they providing a place and keeper." This year one bill brought against the town was for " a horse to bring the school dame up and carry her down again," five shillings. She be- longed, of course, to one of the lower towns. On the 6th of March, 1769, forty shillings were devoted to schooling, and the Selectmen were authorised to lease eighty acres of school land, and use the pro- ceeds in supporting a school. The school land was rented for school- ing in 1772, and in the next year, twelve pounds, besides the rent of the school land. The following bill helps to fill out the picture of those primitive times.
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