USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Winchendon > History of the town of Winchendon, from the grant of the township by the legislature of Massachusetts in 1735, to the present time > Part 2
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greater than ever. A cloud was soon thrown over the prosperity which everywhere began to be visible. The "Revenue Act" was passed in 1768. Again the peo- ple of Massachusetts took the lead in asserting the liberties of the Colonies, and they acted promptly and effectually.
By means of associations, speeches, circulars and pamphlets, the rights of the Colonies, and the dangers with which they were threatened, were fully discussed and laid before the people.
In September, 1768, the Selectmen of Winchendon received a letter from the Selectmen of Boston, re- questing them to call a town meeting, and then to take into consideration 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 Winchendon, on this important subject. A town meeting was accordingly called to consider of the Votes lately passed by the town of Boston, and act in regard to them ; and " to choose a suitable per- son to join the Convention to be held at Boston." The town held their meeting on the 19th of the same month, and readily and cordially " consented to the several Votes passed by the town of Boston, at their meeting on the 12th of September instant." " But," " in the language of the vote then passed, "being a small people, we think it not necessary to send a Com- mittee ; but oblige ourselves to consent to those meth- ods, that the Convention shall come into for the pre-
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
servation of our invaluable rights and privileges." On reviewing these transactions, and their subsequent pro- ceedings, no doubt is left but that thus early, the peo- ple were resolved upon maintaining their rights.
The firm resistance with which the projects of the British government were received, served to strengthen the determination of the Ministry to carry their point at all hazards. Troops were stationed at Boston to overawe the inhabitants. Acts of increased severity were passed. The colonists saw that they must yield, or maintain their rights at the point of the bayonet. They did hesitate between the alternatives. They did not prepare for the encounter under the impulse of the moment, but calmly deliberated upon the pro- priety of every measure. The pens of Otis, Adams and their associates, were ever busy. The acts of the government were severely scrutinized, and the rights of the Colonies most ably vindicated and maintained. But one sentiment pervaded the community, and that was a fixed determination to preserve inviolate their freedom.
The people of Boston took the lead in these meas- ures of resistance, and were nobly seconded by the inhabitants of the other towns. They sought an ex- pression of opinion from every town on the all engross- ing subject of dispute, in order that they might know what they could rely upon, if it should be necessary to meet the obstinacy of Great Britain with open rebel- lion.
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
In January, 1773, another letter was received from the town of Boston, containing their statement of the rights of the Colonies, and the infringement made up- on them, and requesting the inhabitants of Winchen- don to pass suitable resolves, as free members of soci- ety, and to send them in the form of a report to the Committee of Correspondence in Boston. The town was not unmindful of this invitation. A town meet- ing was speedily called, by Abel Wilder and John Boynton, a majority of the Selectmen, agreeable to a request signed by ten freeholders,-To see if the town will take into consideration the distressing circumstan- ces of the present affairs of the province ; and so far as concerns particular towns and individual persons, to act thereon by choosing Committees, or otherwise, as they shall see fit. The meeting was held on the 15th of February following. A copy of the records of this meeting will convey a good idea of the views and feelings of the inhabitants, on these importont subjects. The record is transcribed in the notes.1
We hence learn what the sentiments of this town were concerning the course which Great Britain was pursuing towards her colonies. They believed that it was oppressive and unjust, and that they, as freemen, ought by no means to submit to it. Though living far back in the interior, they heartily responded to the noble and patriotic sentiments, which animated the bosoms of the people of Boston, and acquired for
1 See Note GG.
3
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their favorite place of meeting, (Faneuil Hall,) the name of the "Cradle of Liberty."
A warrant was issued by the Selectmen, for a town meeting to be held on the 4th of August, 1774. The substance of one article, as stated in the warrant, is, that " Whereas the Committee of Correspondence of the town of Winchendon, have received a letter from the Committee of Correspondence of Worcester, to- gether with the Committee of Winchendon, request- ing the town of Winchendon to appoint one or more of the Committee of the town of Winchendon, to meet the other Committees of the several towns in this county, at Worcester on the 9th of August next, to consult together, and come into some regular meth- od to oppose the late Acts of Parliament, the intent of which is to bereave us of our rights and privileges" -to see if the town will choose one or more of the Committee for the above said purpose. A town meet- ing was accordingly held, and a delegate chosen. And they accepted and adopted a number of loyal as well as spirited Resolutions.1 The town meeting was ad- journed to the 15th of September following, when the town again met, and voted to send a Delegate to the Provincial Congress, which was to meet at Concord, the second Tuesday of the next October. They then voted that every [male] person, from the age of six- teen years to sixty, should appear at the meeting
1 For a particular recital of the transactions of this town meeting, see Note HH.
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house in Winchendon, on the 20th of September cur- rent. They also passed a vote, indemnifying the Con- stable in not returning a list of the persons qualified to serve as Jurors, agreeable to a late Act of Parlia- ment, and directing him never to make such return.1
The Provincial Congress had recommended to the several towns, to withhold the amount of their annual taxes from Harrison Gray, Esq., who was the State Treasurer under the royal government, before the commencement of difficulties in the colonies, and was still Treasurer ; and that they should pay them over to Henry Gardner, Esq. of Stow, as the Treasurer for the province. With this recommendation the town complied, and ordered the Constables to pay the mon- , ey to Henry Gardner, Esq., and engaged to indemnify the Constables.2 These were, certainly, very bold measures, and well calculated to bring on the struggle of war ..
The town, at their meeting January 10, 1775, chose a Committee to see that the agreement, and associa- tion of the Continental Congress, be put in execution.
It will be seen that the town was prepared for the important crisis, which was now at hand-the opening scene of the Revolution.
On the 19th of April, the troops of Great Britain and her Colonies first came in hostile collision. The alarm of Lexington was spread in Winchendon, by
1 See Note II. 2 Mr Gardner was, afterwards, the first State Treas- urer under the Constitution of 1780. See Note JJ.
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firing guns. Here was one small company of militia, of which the Hon. Abel Wilder was Captain. He and his company marched immediately. When the time of action came, the people of this town did not fail to make their deeds correspond with their profes- sions.
There was, in this town, as well as other towns in the country, a certain number of men enrolled by them- selves, and denominated " minute men,"1 whose duty it was to be ready to meet any emergency, at a mo- ment's warning.
As there was no immediate need for their services, Capt. Wilder and his men soon returned home. Capt. Wilder was afterward in the battle of Bunker Hill, in which one of his company, Samuel Bradish, was wounded in a remarkable manner ; a musket ball, ac- cidentally discharged by another of the company, entered the back of his neck, and came out at one of his eyes ; he of course lost one eye. He got well, and lived many years.
After this period, several of the inhabitants joined the army at different periods, and for different lengths of time. This people were ever prompt, during the whole time of the revolution, in furnishing their quota of men. and w. ulcer war necessary, to the utmost of their ability.
The warrant for the annual meeting in March, 1776,
1 Minute men, men ready at a minute's notice ; a term used in the American Revolution. Webster's Dictionary.
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and previous warrants, had ever commenced in this form-" In his Majesty's name, you are required to warn," etc. This was the last occasion on which the people of Winchendon acknowledged the authority of " his Majesty's name."
The warrant for the town meeting which was held on the fourth day of July, 1776, and subsequent war- rants, ran thus-" You are required, in the name of the Government and People of the Massachusetts Bay, to notify," etc.
This town meeting shows what was the disposition of the inhabitants, when the important question of National Independence was submitted to them. The General Court, then in session, had assured the Con- tinental Congress, that if they, in their wisdom, should deem it expedient to declare the colonies free and in- dependent, the people of this colony would, undoubt- edly, support them in the measure. The State Legis- lature, however, to make the thing certain, passed a re- solve that each town should act individually, on this important question. By virtue of this resolve, this town assembled on the 4th day of July.
The town " unanimously resolved, that if the Hon- orable Continental Congress should think it best, for the safety of these Colonies, to declare them inde- pendent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, that we will, with our lives and fortunes, support them in the measure."1 On the very day, on which the question
1 See Note KK.
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was decided, and the Declaration adopted by Con- gress, the people of Winchendon declared themselves ready to peril their lives and fortunes in the cause of freedom.
The declaration having been adopted, copies were sent, by the order of the Council, to the several towns of the State, where they were read from the pulpit, and then copied into the town Book of Records- " there to remain as a perpetual memorial thereof."
It must strike every one with some surprise, that during the suspension of all judicial and executive au- thority in the State, the great mass of people should have been kept quiet and orderly. The wisdom, and power, and goodness of the Supreme Ruler of the universe-who has the hearts of all in His hand, and turns them whithersoever He will-were herein re- markably obvious. It was truly a moral spectacle. It was a nation bursting the bands in which they had been bound, and ruling and governing themselves in an orderly and peaceable manner. The force of pub- lic opinion, at any time great, was then irresistible. The recommendations of Congress were law, and the Committee of Safety saw that the laws were executed, against whom no one durst rebel. In this, they were fully countenanced by the people, who in their frequent meetings and discussions of national affairs, became convinced that union and order were necessary to their existence as a people, and they had virtue enough to guard these most sacredly.
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
The town, at a meeting, September 30, 1776, " vot- ed and consented that the present House of Repre- sentatives, together with the Council, in one body, form a system of laws, for the regulation of this State ; that the same be made public for the inspection and perusal of the inhabitants before it be established." And the General Court having given liberty to every town that was not, at that time, represented in the General Court, to send at this time ; this town being not now, nor ever before represented, at this meeting " voted to send a Representative, and chose Mr. Rob- ert Bradish, to represent this town in the Great and General Court, the remaining part of the year." In May, 1777, Mr. Bradish was again chosen Represen- tative.1
Though the burthen of the war was now pressing heavily upon the town, which was not highly favored in the possession of worldly goods, the people did not despair of the cause of Independence. They contin- ued to labor steadily to the utmost of their ability. It is impossible for us to realize, at the present day, how completely that struggle called into exercise every re- source, and the whole energy of every individual throughout the community. How low soever might be his condition, and however scanty might be his means of supporting himself and his family, every man was called upon to act-to do to the utmost of his ability,or to rest under the imputation of being a tory.
1 See Note LL.
5
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Let it be remembered also, that at this time, when all kinds of business had been brought nearly to a stand by the operation of the war, when specie was almost unknown throughout the country, and the paper currency was of but little value,1 the ordinary expen- ses of the town-such as the support of the minister, of schools, of the highway and bridges, &c. &c .- bore with extreme rigor upon the inhabitants.
In May, 1779, the town voted in favor of a new State Constitution. In August, Abel Wilder, Esq. was chosen a delegate to attend a convention, which was to meet at Cambridge, on the first of Septem- ber, for the purpose of forming a State Constitution.
State Constitution.
In May, 1780, the present Constitution of the State was submitted to the people for their considera- tion. The inhabitants of Winchendon voted in favor of adopting it.
Peace with Great Britain,
Most welcome was the news of the peace with Great Britain in 1782. The days of the Revolution had been trying times. In common with others, this town had been heavily burdened with the expenses of the war. Many of the citizens had engaged at differ- ent periods, in the service of their country. Our fa- thers experienced trials, and hardships, and sufferings,
1 See Note MM.
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of which it is impossible for their descendants, at the present day, to have an adequate conception.
In May, 1781, Abel Wilder, Esq. was chosen to represent the town in the General Court, under the new Constitution. He represented the town ever af- terward, except one year, until 1786, when he was · elected a member of the Senate of this State, by the suffrages of this Senatorial district.1
Winchendon Lottery.
The war, as is well known, left the country in an impoverished condition. Poverty was everywhere. A sound circulating medium was wanting.
In this state of things the town chose a committee › to petition for a lottery, to enable the town to build and repair the bridges it was obliged to support.
Permission for a lottery was accordingly obtained in 1783. There were, afterwards, three classes drawn, and some money was obtained. In 1785, the bridge which is now in the North Village, was erected. It is now considered, that no scheme of taxation could have been devised more injurious and extravagant. It was paying under a fascinating prospect of gain, a much larger sum than the citizens would have been obliged to contribute by regular rates. Nor. was this all. Some will now recollect the time consumed in drawing the several classes of this lottery, the idle-
1 The Hon. Abel Wilder was, afterward, annually elected a Senator, until his decease. He died Nov. 1, 1792, universally lamented.
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
ness and consequent dissipation it induced, to say nothing of its natural tendency to beget a love of gaming.
After the declaration of peace in 1783, a general stagnation of all kinds of business ensued. The Uni- ted Colonies were burdened with a debt of forty mill- ions of dollars, without any means of paying it. Con- gress, under the Confederation, had power only to advise the several States to adopt certain measures to meet the wants of the times.
But the States, actuated by a spirit of commercial rivalry and jealousy, would agree upon no uniform system. So far, then, from any measures being adopt- ed to pay the public debt, even the interest of it re- mained unpaid.
The whole body of the people became alarmed, and all confidence was destroyed. Certificates of public debt lost their credit, and many officers and soldiers of the late army, who were poor, were compelled to sell these certificates at excessive reductions. They had fondly hoped that if they could establish their in- dependence, and a government of their own choosing, public and private prosperity would everywhere abound, and that things would go on delightfully. Bitter, now, was their disappointment. Of money there was next to none. The introduction of the precious metals had been prevented by the war and its attendant evils, and the paper money in circulation, was of small value. Creditors became alarmed, and used every means in
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
their power to collect their debts. Business was at a stand-men failed-lawyers were overwhelmed with employment, and Courts of justice filled with business. Massachusetts, for the purpose of maintaining her credit, loaded the people with excessive taxes. It was impossible for them to meet the demands made upon them. They knew not the origin of the evils, but supposed that there was some defect in the laws -- that there were either too many, or not enough. Petitions were poured in upon the Legislature from all quarters, but the Legislature, like all deliberative bodies, moved slow. The patience of the people was entirely ex- hausted, in seeing their property seized on ' executions,' issuing from the authorative Courts ; and as petitions, remonstrances, and mild measures had failed to work out a remedy for their grievances, they were deter- mined to seek a remedy by force of arms. Thus much it has been necessary to premise, to account for the origin of " Shays' Insurrection" in 1786.
1417476
Facts Connected with the Insurrection in Massachusetts.
A majority of the people of this, as well as the neighboring towns, were 'Shaysites.' In extenuation, though not in justification of their conduct, it may be remarked that their straight forward way of thinking, did not lead them to comprehend the actual state of public affairs, and the necessity of sacrificing present convenience to future good. After a war of eight years' duration, to avoid the evils of excessive and il- legal taxation, they could not see what they had gain-
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ed, if they were now to be subjected to severer taxa- tion than ever.
They did not break out into open rebellion here, though many stood ready. However, they put no re- straint upon their tongues, and their language savored strongly of rebellion. Several persons were involved in that unhappy insurrection, whose names are sup- pressed from charity to their memories. Their ef- forts here were always thwarted by the firmness of the " government men," who were unwearied in their ef- forts to quell the spirit of rebellion.
A few persons, taking advantage of the popular excitement, during the time of the insurrection, were chosen to offices of profit and trust, from the Insur- gent party ; but they generally became satisfied of their error, as soon as, by their intercourse with intel- ligent patriots, they saw the dangerous tendency of their measures. We cannot, at this day, realize the horrors of the civil war that then threatened, and, in many places, actually distracted the State. A house. was literally divided against itself. Neither sex nor age were exempt from the angry passions that prompt- ed the warlike preparations.
Open rebellion having broken out in several places, and threats and demonstrations of warlike movements beginning to appear in others, the State authorities were compelled to take notice of them, and resolved to put them down by an armed force. They had un- der their control the militia of the Commonwealth, and
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
on their side all those, who preferred good order and an observance of the laws-though somewhat objec- tionable-to open rebellion and civil war.
The insurrection of 1786 being rather a matter of State history, than that of any particular town, this sketch of it will be brought to a close in a few words.
The force headed by Shays himself having been dispersed, the agitation on this subject principally sub- sided in the following year.
It was customary for the friends of government, to wear a fillet of white paper in their hats, while the adhe- rents of the opposite party adopted, as a badge of dis- tinction, a sprig of evergreen. But, fortunately for the country, the evergreen, in the language of one in that day, soon withered ; the arm of power scattered the insurgent forces, and the miserable and misguided ad- herents of Day, and Shays, and Wheeler, and Par- sons, were glad to sue for mercy to that power, which they had so lately risen up to crush. And their suit was not in vain ; policy, as well as a predisposi- tion to clemency, spared their lives, and they were suffered to return to their homes in peace. Those, whose reason returned as their passions subsided, be- came convinced of their follies and their criminality, and many of them became firm supporters of the gov- ernment. Happily, quiet and order were restored. It seems now to be as generally admitted, that there were causes of complaint, as it is that the course pursued to remove them was unjustifiable.
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
MEETING HOUSES.
Congregational Meeting House in the First Parish.
The first house of public worship being too small for the inhabitants, the town erected a new one in 1792.1 It was raised on the 25th and 26th of May. The dimensions of the house are 50 by 60 feet-posts 28 feet-a porch at each end of the house. It has front and side galleries-with square pews, and some free seats above and below .? Several years after the building of the house, a tower, and steeple, and bell were added.3 The first meeting in this house was on the 1st of June, 1793, when it was solemnly dedicat- ed to the service of God.
Baptist Meeting Houses.
There is a Baptist meeting house in the south west part of the town. It was erected about thirty years ago.
There is now (1848) being erected, in the Village near the railroad depot, a meeting house, by a Baptist society recently formed.
Methodist Meeting Houses.
The first Methodist meeting house was located near the northwest corner of the town ; that house was af- terward sold.
1 See Note NN.
2 See Note 00. 3 See Note PP.
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
The Methodist society erected a handsome and commodious chapel in 1833, in the North Village.
Winchendon North Congregational Meeting House.
In the early part of the year 1843, a voluntary as- sociation was formed for the purpose of building a house of worship in Winchendon Village. The asso- ciation consisted of thirty two gentlemen, and was termed the North Winchendon Congregational Meet- ing House Company. They accomplished their de- sign in the course of the year by erecting a beautiful house, spacious enough to seat comfortably 400 per- sons, including old and young.
An ecclesiastical society was then formed, denomi- nated the North Winchendon Congregational Society, to which the Company transferred the meeting house, and by which the preaching of the gospel has since been sustained.
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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
The First Church.
This church was formed December 15, 1762, con- sisting of twelve members, including the minister, Mr Daniel Stimpson, who was ordained pastor of the church at the same time. Some of the original mem- bers were from other churches-some of them made a profession at the time.
Rev. Mr. Stimpson was educated at Harvard Col- lege-was settled on a salary of £60-£60 was giv- en him as a settlement, besides a lot of land of 100 acres, which was reserved for the first settled minister.1
At the first meeting of the church, of which there is any record found, which was held March 24, 1763, Mr. Richard Day was chosen Deacon. It was also voted at the same time to have the sacrament of the Lord's Supper administered on the first Sabbath in May, 1763. Mr. Day appears to have been the only deacon of the church till November 12, 1767, when Mr. Abel Wilder was chosen Deacon.2
Rev. Mr. Stimpson died of a violent fever July 20, 1768, having performed a ministry of less than six years ; during which time, according to Mr. Stimpson's
2 See Church Records, written by Rev. Daniel Stimpson.
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