USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dedham > Proceedings at the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Dedham, Massachusetts, September 21, 1886 > Part 10
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From this record it seems that a lot was set apart as a resting-place of the dead before even the homes of the living were provided for. Under date of "6 of ye 2 Mo. 1638" in the first Book of Town Records, -
" Nicholas Philips and Joseph Kingsbery upon other satisfaction in Lands layed out from the Towne unto each of them doe laye downe each of them to the Towne one p'cell of ye south end of their house Lotts and betwixt the same and the swamp thereby as it is at p'sent set out for the use of a public Buriall place for ye Towne forever."
The lot of Joseph Kingsbury was that originally granted to Ezekiel Holliman, and by him sold to Joseph Kings- bury, and was described in the original grant as
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
" Twelve acres more or lesse as lyeth betweene the way (Court St.) leading from the Keye to ye Pond towards the East and Nicholas Phillips towards the west and butts vpon ye said way wynding towards ye North and the waye leading to ye burying place (east end of Village Avenue) towards the South, the high Street through the same."
In 1638 Joseph Kingsbury sold to the town a part of this lot " for a Seat for a publique Meetinge House," the very lot on which the first church now stands.
The ancient burial-ground is that part of the old ceme- tery bounded by Village Avenue on the north, by the Episcopal Church land on the cast, by what is known as the new part added by the late Dr. Edward Stimson on the south, while the west line is within or very near the pres- ent main driveway from Village Avenue, and contains about one acrc.
In 1813, '14, '15, about an acre was added on the west by purchases from the estate of John Bullard and from Timothy Gay. In 1859 and 1860 an important addi- tion was made by Dr. Edward Stimson, who purchased lands south of the ancient grounds, which he divided into lots and conveyed to different persons for burial-lots. After the death of Dr. Stimson, his son Frederic J. Stimson, Esq., conveyed in 1880 to the town the avenues and paths and other open spaces not occupied for burial-lots upon the land which his father had purchased and laid out; and in 1885 a small corner was added by purchase from Mrs. Elizabeth S. Adams, not for burial purposes, but for use in the care of the grounds.
The way from the Meeting House to the burial-ground (Bullard St.) was laid out in 1664, under the following votc : -
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
"It is ordered and granted that a sufficient Beere waye one Rodd broade shall be layed out upon the West side of the Church Lott on that side next Mr. Allins house Lott from the Meeteing house to the Buriall place and that the said buriall place and waye be clered from shruffe. 2-11-64."
In 1671 a committee consisting of Leift. Fisher and Elea' Lusher " are deputed to enforme themselves so far as they well can where the fence should be set about the burial-place, and direct Cornellius Fisher to set it up ac- cordingly, or who else are concerned in that work."
The first death recorded in Dedham is that of John Fisher, deceased the " 15th of ye 5mo 1637." The gravestone of the earliest date now standing is that of Hannah Dyar. It is a fine specimen of imported dark-blue slate two inches and a half thick, and there is also a footstone of the same material, with the initials H. D. thereon. The inscription on the headstone is as follows : -
HERE LIES Y BODY OF HANNAH DYAR WIFE TO BENJAMIN DIAR OF BOSTON AGED I8 YEARS DYED SEPT Y 15 16 7 8
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
This unfortunate young wife, the daughter of William and Margaret Avery, was born 27-7-1660, and married Benjamin Dyar, 22-3-1677.
A few years ago the superintendent of the old Copp's Hill Burial Ground in Boston discovered beneath the sur- face (where, he says, it had doubtless been covered for more than a century) a double stone containing an in- scription six months older than any other original inscrip- tion in the ground. It was erected in memory of the grandchildren of William Copp. One inscription bears date of 1661, but the other of July 25, 1678, the very year of the inscription on the headstone of Hannah Dyar above given; but more remarkable still is the marked similarity in the form of the letters and figures on these two stones, which are very peculiar, as though cut by the same hand. The character and shape of the two stones are also similar, except that the Copp's Hill stone, being a double stone, is wider; the design also is the same.
The late Dr. Danforth P. Wight, in a very interesting paper read before the Dedham Historical Society a few years ago, stated that for a long time but four tombs were built here, and these at different times. The first was by Timothy Dwight, about the year 1700; the second, that of Daniel Fisher. The third tomb was built by Samuel Dexter after the death of his father, the Rev. Samuel Dex- ter, in 1755 ; and the fourth is of Edward Dowse, who died in 1828. The parish tomb was built in 1816, and since that time the range of tombs connected with it and those on the west side have been added.
The matters concerning. the cemetery were recorded on the Town Records until the formation of the Second Parish. After that time, 1730-31, they were recorded in the Rec- ords of the First Parish ; but for the past twenty years or more the town has made appropriations to keep this and
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
the other cemeteries in town in repair, and has taken the whole care thereof.
In September, 1881, after Brookdale Cemetery had been laid out, the Board of Health, under the General Statutes, upon the application of the Cemetery Commissioners, passed the following regulation : -
" No interments hereafter shall be made within the limits of the Old Parish Burial Ground, or of the grounds added thereto, and enclosed therewith, outside the boundary lines of lots, the legal title to which is held by individuals, or which are now enclosed or marked by bounds and reserved for the exclusive use of families for burial purposes."
This regulation was made because portions of this ceme- tery were so over-crowded, and also on account of the impos- sibility of providing for the burial of persons outside of lots enclosed or reserved in some way for the use of families, and for the further reason that in Brookdale Cemetery ample provision had been made for all the needs of the town.
The number of persons buried in this old burial-ground is unknown. Here rest the bones of the founders of this town, and of the men in the generations following, - citi- zens of the town who have been distinguished for their acts of charity and devotion to their fellow-men, and for love of and labors for the town and for the whole country, a record of whose deeds would fill volumes.
Over the Dwight tomb in the cemetery there had been for many years a stone bearing this inscription : -
Here lyes Intombd the Body of TIMOTHY DWIGHT, Esq: who Departed this Life Jan! the 31. Anno Domini 1718. Aged 88 years. .
This stone, as the inscription indicates, marks the last resting-place of Timothy Dwight, who, when a lad of but
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
five years of age, came to Dedham with his father, John Dwight, among the first settlers, in 1636. Both father and son were conspicuous and honored men in their day, and their descendants have been in every succeeding genera- tion prominent in public affairs and especially identified with the educational institutions of the country.
In the judgment of some of the officers of the Dedham Historical Society it seemed desirable that the fact of the direct descent of this distinguished family from the first settlers of Dedham should be inscribed on this memorial stone; and in compliance with their request the following appropriate and felicitous inscription, prepared by a mem- ber of the family, was cut thereon : -
The Ancestor Of the DWIGHT family in America : A family like himself, Truly serious and godly Of an excellent spirit ; Faithful and upright ; Among men of renown In Church and State, In Halls of Learning And in War.
The line of descent from John Dwight to Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight, now President of Yale University, is as follows : -
1. John Dwight, the settler, of Dedham, Mass.
2. Capt. Timothy Dwight, of Dedham, Mass.
3. Justice Nathaniel Dwight, of Northampton, Mass.
4. Col. Timothy Dwight, of Northampton, Mass. 5. Maj. Timothy Dwight, of Northampton, Mass.
6. President Timothy Dwight, of New Haven, Conn.
7. James Dwight, of New Haven, Conn.
8. President Timothy Dwight, of New Haven, Conn.
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
In the wall at the left of the main gate at the entrance of the cemetery from Village Avenue, and in front of the ancient grounds, the Committee have caused to be placed a neat block of Dedham stone unhammered, in which has been inserted a bronze tablet with the following inscription : -
THE BURIAL PLACE.
THIS PORTION SET APART IN 1636.
ENLARGED IN 1638. IT WAS
THE ONLY
BURIAL PLACE FOR
NEARLY
A CENTURY. HERE
WERE
BURIED ALLIN ADAMS
BELCHER
DEXTER AND
HAVEN
MINISTERS
OF
THE
CHURCH
AND ALLEYNE
LUSHER
DWIGHT
AND
FISHER
WITH OTHER
FOUNDERS OF THE TOWN.
THE TRAINING-FIELD.
Several years before the settlement of Dedham, in the very infancy of the Colony, the General Court passed an order "that every Captaine shall traine his Compaine on Saterday in everie weeke ;" and from time to time there- after other similar laws were made requiring the settlers to become familiar with military practice and discipline, and but few were excused from this duty; and so frequently were the men called upon to "traynee " that the proprie- tors of towns set apart grounds therefor.
The land set apart in Dedham for that purpose included what is now known as the Great Common at the upper village. Although the exact date when this lot was first used as a training-ground cannot be determined from the
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
record, yet as the law no less than the necessities of the situation required them to train, it seems reasonable to in- fer that it was at the very beginning of the settlement, and that the place first designated continued to be used; for the records show that in 1637 there was a " trayned band organized with Clerk and other officers." In 1644 a grant was made to the military company of " two acres more as it lycth on the westerly end of the trayning ground; " and in 1648 a confirmatory grant was made to the company, its officers and successors, of the free use of all that parcel of land commonly called the training-ground; and this grant provided that the same could not be sold except by the consent of the company and the selectmen. In 1677 a portion was sold off, and in 1687 the town being short of funds proposed to sell the training-ground ; but no one seemed disposed to pay the price fixed. From 1773 to 1836 a part of the grounds was used for the almshouse, and in the latter year the house and a portion of the land were sold by order of the town. Since that time the remainder has been improved as a common.
There is much cause to regret that the town should have suffered a street to be laid out directly through this lot, thus dividing it into two small lots, instead of allow- ing the same to remain as one entire common; but so it is that the people of one generation seem to have widely different tastes and views from those of another generation. There are but few landmarks left so intimately connected with the carly settlement of an ancient town, and so sug- gestive of the trials and dangers which the first settlers endured, as the old training-field.
That coming generations may not forget the location of the training-ground, nor the dangers and hardships endured and overcome by the founders of this town even from the very beginning, and as a simple memorial thereof, the Committee have erected upon the east cor-
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
ner of the field, at the junction of High Street and Com- mon Street, a plain block of Dedham stone, bearing the simple inscription, -
THE TRAINING FIELD IN 1636
THE FIRST DAM AND MILL.
The first public enterprise of vital importance to the original settlers of Dedham was to provide for a corn-mill. Abraham Shaw, one of the original proprietors, undertook the work; and for his aid and encouragement the town as early as Feb. 21, 1636-7, passed the following order : -
" Whereas Abraham Shawe is Resolved to erect a Cornemill in our towne of Dedham, we doe grante vnto him free liberty soe to doe. And for that purpose we have nowe assigned Edward Alleyn, Samuell Morse, Ezechiell Holliman, Thomas Bartlet & Nicholas Phillips, or any 4 or 3. of them to accom- pany him & his workmen to find out a con- venient place : And viewe what fitting (timber) is about yt place soe found for yt purpose : As also to order every thing concerning ye per- fecting of ye same."
We have only to call to mind that the new settlement was a considerable distance from the older ones, without roads thereto ; that the people had their own houses to build, their lands to prepare for cultivation, with the count- less other difficulties necessarily incident to such a settle- ment, - to understand that the erection of a corn-mill was no small undertaking, even with all the encouragement the town could give. A month later, March 23, 1636-37, the following vote was passed : -
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
" Whereas ther hath ben made some proposition by Abraham Shawe for ye erecting of a Corne Mill in our Towne We doe nowe graunte vnto ye sayd Abraham Sixty Acres of land to belong vnto ye sayd Mill soe erected provided allwayes yt the same be a Water Mill, els not. We order also yt every man y' hath lott wth vs, shall assist to breng the Milstones, from Watertowne Mill by land vnto ye boateing place neer M' Haynes his farme. It is alsoe further graunted vnto ye sayd Abraham y' the sayd grownd & mill soe to be builte shal be at his owne disposeing in case of sale or other alienation at his pleasure. Saveing yt our Towne shall have ye first Refusall of it, at such a price as an other man wold Realy give for any such alienation accordingly."
Before Abraham Shaw had accomplished his work he died; but considerable progress had been made, and a plan devised by which the mill could be run by water. It was a bold enterprise; but boldness of enterprise was one of the leading virtues of the early settlers. They undertook a work which would be considered almost impossible now, and that was literally to create a water-power by the fol- lowing vote passed March 25, 1639, only ten years after the settlement at Boston of Governor Winthrop and his company : -
" Ordered y' a Ditch shal be made at a Com'on Charge through purchased medowe unto ye East brooke, y' may both be a partition fence in ye same : as also may serve for a Course unto a water mill : yf it shalbe fownd fitting to set a mill upon ye sayd brooke by ye Judgement of a workeman for yt purpose."
This is the origin of Mother Brook, or Mill Creek as it is sometimes called ; and the result accomplished thereby
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
was to turn a portion of the water of Charles River into Neponset River, down a fall sufficient to accommodate several large mill privileges.
On the same day the above vote was passed, the pro- prietors made the following proposition to any one who would undertake to complete the work which Shaw had begun : -
" Ordered yt yf any man or men will undertake & erect a water Cornemill shall have given unto him soe much grownd as was formerly granted unto Abraham Shawe for yt same end & purpose with such other benefitts and priv- elidges as he shold have had in all Respects accordingly. Provided y ye sayd Mill doth grinde Corne before ye first of ye tenth month as it is Intended."
In order, then, for any one to avail himself of this offer it was necessary to have the mill constructed by Dec. 10, 1639.
The person to avail himself of this offer was John Elder- kin. The exact date of the completion of the dam and mill is unknown, but it was certainly before July 14, 1641 ; for on that day a committee of three, consisting of Francis Chickering, John Dwight, and Jonathan Fairbanks, was appointed to "search out, appoint, determine, and lay out a cart-way to our water-mill for a common leading way, where they shall by their discretion judge most convenient for the town."
A grant was made to Elderkin of eight acres on the south side of the mill-pond, jointly with Nathaniel Whiting, for a house-lot. At the same time twenty acres more of upland and ten acres of meadow were laid out to him. There is no date of this grant, but the next entry on the same page of the record is the sale by Elderkin to Nathaniel Whiting of half of the mill: -
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
" John Elderkin alienateth & selleth to Nathaniell Whiteing & his assignes forever his part in the land granted for a house Lot to the mill with the house and buildings thereon & the part of the Dams & ditchings belonging to halfe the Mill as appeares by a deed dated the 22 of the 9 month 1642."
The next entry in the record is the sale of the other half as follows : -
" John Elderkin allienateth and selleth to Mr. Jn.º Allin pastor & Nathan Aldus and John Dwight and to their assignes for ever all his rights & interest in the Water Mill standing upon the East Brooke in Dedham wth the Mill house dams & workes thereunto belonging viz : the one halfe of the sd premises And Twenty acres of upland yet to be layd out and Ten acres of Meadow not yet layd out all which sd premises are alienated as followeth : viz : the one halfe to M' Jnº Allin one fourth part to Nathan Aldus the other fourth part to John Dwight."
This sale was made also in 1642, as appears by a reference in the deed from these grantees to Nathaniel Whiting.
John Elderkin, according to Savage, soon after left Dedham, and after residing in Reading and Providence he removed in 1648 to New London, Conn., where he built the church and the first mill, and from thence in 1664 to Norwich, where he also built the first church and mill.
By deed dated " 29th 7 Mo. 1649," and recorded in the Suffolk Registry of Deeds, Lib. 4, fol. 285, Nathaniel Whit- ing acquired from John Allin Pastor, Nathan Aldus, and John Dwight all the rights to the mill which they purchased of Elderkin ; and Whiting thus became the sole owner.
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
The town took pains to see that the mill was worked so as to accommodate the people, for in 1650 the following entry appears on the records : -
" Severall complaints being made of the insufficient p'formance of the worke of ye Mille Nathaniell Whiteing the Miller being present & tendering a refference to issue the grievances by twoo men to be chosen by the Towne ; and twoo by himselfe. The Towne accepting thereof make choice as followeth :
Eleazer Lusher chosen by John Kingsbery ) chosen by
Nathaniell Coalburne , ye Towne Geo. Barber " Nath. Whiteing."
Upon the death of Nathaniel Whiting, under his will, proved in 1683, the mill passed to his wife Hannah; and under her will, proved in 1714, to their son Samuel; and under the will of Samuel, proved in 1728, to his son Zacha- riah Whiting, who in 1732 conveyed it to Nathaniel Whit- ing his cousin (son of Timothy and grandson of the original Nathaniel). Nathaniel in 1756 conveyed it to his son Joseph Whiting, who in 1804 conveyed the same to his son Hezekiah. In the partition of Hezekiah Whiting's estate in 1821 this mill privilege was set off to his three sons, Joseph, Hezekiah, and Charles, and in 1823 Joseph Whiting and the guardian of Hezekiah and Charles, then minors, conveyed the same to Jabez Chickering; and here it leaves the Whiting family, in which for so many years it had remained. Chickering the same year conveyed to the Dedham Worsted Factory, which the following year con- veyed to Benjamin Bussey, and in 1843 the executors of Bussey's will conveyed the same to John Wiley Edmands, and in 1863 Edmands and Colby conveyed this privilege to the Merchants' Woollen Company, the present owners.
At this privilege now stands the large brick mill on Bussey Street, the largest in the town. At the time the
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
Merchants' Woollen Company purchased the privilege, the dam was nearly under the bridge on Bussey Street, across the brook, but below the site of the original dam; for as dams are renewed, or rebuilt, it has generally been the cus- tom, when it can be done, to build each new dam a little below the old one, so that the position of the dam has been several times slightly changed; and in 1874, at the time of the change in the line of Bussey Street, the present dam was placed a few rods below the old dam, and the bridge carried a short distance up stream. All evidence upon the land of the site of the original dam has disap- peared; but, fortunately, at the time these recent changes were made the foundation of the original dam was discov- ered. It extended across the brook from near the west end of the south abutment of the present bridge to a point a short distance west of the west end of its north abutment.
In order to mark permanently this very interesting his- toric spot, the Committee have, with the consent and hearty co-operation of the Merchants' Woollen Company, erected upon the company's land on the east side of Bussey Street, near the south bank of the brook, a stone, upon which the following inscription has been cut: -
NEAR THIS SPOT THE FIRST DAM AND MILL WERE BUILT IN 1640.
"THE PILLAR OF LIBERTY."
It was ascertained, upon careful inquiry, by a tradi- tion resting upon the concurrent statements of several per- sons of known accuracy and reliability not now living, whose memory extended back into the last century, that
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
the Pillar of Liberty was first placed on the corner of the Meeting-House Common, at the junction of High and Court streets. It is not known when and by whom it was removed across Court Street, but it is reasonable to infer that it was done in 1828, as the inscription upon the northerly face contains the recital, " Replaced by the Citizens, July 4, 1828." For this reason the Committee, with the assent of the Parish Committee of the Unitarian Church, determined to remove the stone to this spot.
The stone itself, though differing in color and character from our Dedham ledge-stone, was no doubt originally obtained somewhere between Dedham Village and West Dedham, as similar stone can now be found there. Both faces bearing the original inscriptions were probably ham- mered and smoothed in 1766, although they now present uneven surfaces. But on the easterly face there were ob- vious tool-marks, showing that an attempt at some time had been made to sink a panel, which perhaps was abandoned by reason of the hardness of the stone. The Committee decided not to touch the sides bearing the inscriptions, except to bring out the letters by painting them. It would have been practically impossible to recut the letters with- out sacrificing their form, which was peculiar to Colonial times ; the hardness of the stone would prevent any suc- cessful result from such an attempt. At the celebration of 1836 the letters were made legible by renewing them with black paint, which will explain the allusion in Mr. Haven's address ; 1 but this was washed out by the storms of a quar- ter of a century. The Committee are assured that the brown paint now used will last much longer ; it was obtained from Concord, where it has been used for a similar pur- pose. Following the suggestion of a panel on the east- erly face, a bronze tablet has been inserted, bearing the in- scription hereafter given. The stone has been set upon
1 Haven's Centennial Address, 1836, p. 43.
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THE TOWN OF DEDIIAM.
a deep foundation and surrounded by a curb of blue stone firmly bedded.
The story of this monumental stone is interesting and instructive, and can be told with historic certainty. It is the memorial of so brief a period in the years just preced- ing the American Revolution, that it is easy to miss its full significance. The Stamp Act, the first of the oppres- sive parliamentary measures, was passed March 22, 1765. The news of its passage fired the hearts of the people of Boston and the surrounding towns with intense indignation. It was the subject of frequent town-meetings. The Stamp Commissioner was forced to resign, and a mob sacked the house of Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson. The act was to take effect Nov. 1, 1765. That day in Boston was ush- ered in by the tolling of bells and the display at half-mast of the flags of the vessels in port; the English ministers were hung in effigy; business was practically suspended ; the courts were compelled to proceed without stamped paper as the act required, because none was permitted to be sold; and all the officers of the Province were obliged to disregard the requirements of the act.
Meantime the friends of America in the English Parlia- ment had been constantly laboring for the repeal of the Stamp Act. Foremost among these was William Pitt, afterward the Earl of Chatham. It was he who main- tained that " America being neither really nor virtually represented in Westminster, cannot be held legally or con- stitutionally or reasonably subject to obedience to any money bill of the kingdom." The Stamp Act was repealed March 18, 1766, and the news was received in Boston on the 16th of the following May. The repeal was hailed with the greatest demonstrations of joy. A day (May 19) was set apart for general rejoicing, in which the booming of cannon, the ringing of bells, the decoration of houses and steeples with flags and streamers, and the release of
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