USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Proceedings of the Worcester Society of Antiquity, for the year 1881-1882 > Part 34
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HUBBARDSTON :- Hubbardston was incorporated in 1767, and named Hubbardston in honor of Thomas Hubbard, a merchant in Boston. Hubbard agreed to give the glass for the first meet- ing house built in the town, on condition that the town should bear his name. The people made arrangements for an extra amount of glass, but before the house was made ready for it, Hubbard died, leaving his estate insolvent. The result was they had to buy their glass. This meeting house still stands, though it has been remodelled. Hubbard was at one time Treas- urer of Harvard University, and was a proprietor of lands in Hubbardston, Royalston, and other places. Hubbard is prob- fly the same name as the English name Hubert, meaning "clear color."
LANCASTER :- Lancaster was incorporated in 1653, and named from Lancaster, England. The inhabitants of Nashaway, as it was then called, petitioned that they might be incorporated and called Lancaster. Some of its earliest settlers came from Lan- cashire, England. Lancaster, England, is the site of one of the old Roman camps on the river Loire. There are two descrip- tions as to the derivation of the word. One authority claims that it is derived from the Saxon word lang, meaning long, and ceaster, the Saxon form of the Latin word castra, meaning "camp," and hence that it was "the long camp." Another authority claims that the prefix lan is only the changed spelling of the word Lune, and that the name was once Lunecaster, and finally shortened to Lancaster, meaning "the camp on the river Lune." It would seem more natural to designate the camp by the name of the river, than by any particular shape of the camp. The river Lune was called by the Romans Adaluna, and finally came to be called the Lune. It was probably so called either in consequence of its resemblance to the moon in its silvery whiteness, or crescent shape.
LEICESTER :- The site of this town was purchased from the Indians by Joshna Lamb and others in 1687. It was called Toutaid by the Indians, and "Strawberry Hill" by the English. It was incorporated in 1713, and named Leicester from old Loi- cester, England. The word Leicester has a similar origin to
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that of Lancaster. 'The town of Leicester, England, is the place of an ancient Roman camp, called Legionis castra, camp of "the legion." By shortening and elimination the word finally be- came Leicester.
LEOMINSTER :- Leominster was incorporated in 1740, and named from the ancient town of Leominster, England. The word minster is derived from the Latin monasterium, and means "a church of a monastery." A church or monastery founded in ancient times by a Leo, probably gave rise to the name of Leo- minster.
LUNENBURG :- As I have before stated this territory was called Turkey Hill. The town was incorporated in 1728, and named in honor of George II., one of his titles being the Duke of Lunenburg. Lunenburg is a city in the old Kingdom of Hanover. George II. was of the house of Hanover and derived this title from this Hanoverian place. The origin of the name is obseure, but the accepted theory is that on the site of this city there was once a temple dedicated to the worship of the moon. The temple and locality acquired the name of the moon, luna, and finally the town or burg was called Lunenburg.
MENDON :- The Indian was Quanshipauge. The town was incorporated in 1667, and there is no doubt that it was named from Mendham, located on the river Waring, Suffolk County, England, a place of great antiquity. There is no doubt that the General Court in its act of incorporation changed the or- thography of the word either accidentally, ignorantly or inten- tionally, for no such town or place as Mendon existed in Eng- land at that time. As I have before stated ham is the Saxon for "home" or "hamlet ;" what the prefix mend means is a mat- ter of speculation.
MILLBURY :- Millbury was taken from Sutton and incorpora- ted in 1813. The mill on the Blackstone doubtless suggested the name. Previous to its incorporation it was known as "the North Parish of Sutton."
MILFORD :- This town was set off from Mendon as a Precinct or Parish in 1741, and was known as"Mill River." It was in- corporated as a town in 1780. It was called by the Indians
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Wopowage. Mill River, which takes its rise in Hopkinton and flows through Milford in a southerly course, has been called Mill River ever since the first white settlement on its banks.
In early days a corn mill was built on this river, and was destroyed in King Phillip's war. Before any bridges were built, there were several fords familiar to the Indians, and used by the whites. From these features it can easily be seen what sug- gested the name of the town. It may be here said that there are several towns in England and in this country bearing the same name. The mill by the ford or ford by the mill is doubt- less the origin of the name.
NEW BRAINTREE :- This township was granted to the inhabit- ants of Old Braintree, Mass., for services in the Indian war of 1675. It was for a long time called "Braintree Farms" It was incorporated in 1751, and the name New Braintree was a natural suggestion. The Indian name was Wenimesset. Braintree was named from old Braintree, England. I have been unable to discover the origin or meaning of the name.
NORTHBOROUGH, SOUTHBOROUGH AND WESTBOROUGH :- West- borough, which comprised what is now Westborough and North- borough, was taken from old Marlborough in 1717, and its geographical situation on the west of Marlborough suggested its name. Before its incorporation it was called "Chauncey Village." Southborough, taken from Marlborough in 1727, and lying on the south, was named Southborough. Northborough, taken from Westborough in 1766, and lying on the north, was called Northborough.
NORTHBRIDGE :- This town was taken from Uxbridge in 1772, and was doubtless named Northbridge on account of its geo- graphical situation on the north of the older town.
NORTH BROOKFIELD AND WEST BROOKFIELD :- These names naturally explain themselves. North Brookfield was incorpora- ted as the Second parish of Brookfield in 1750, and as a town in 1812. West Brookfield was called the West Parish of Brook- field, and incorporated as a town in 18448.
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OAKHAM :- Oakham was originally called "Rutland West Wing." It was taken from Rutland and incorporated in 1762. Many of its original settlers came from Oakham, England, the shire town of Rutlandshire. These associations sufficiently account for the name of our Oakham. Ham being the Saxon for "home" or "hamlet," and oak being a certain tree or wood, it is easy to see the meaning of the word, but as to the origin of it as a name, it is not so easy to say.
OXFORD :- Oxford was called by the Indians Manchaug. It was incorporated in 1713, and named Oxford from old Oxford, England. In regard to the origin of the name the common belief is, that it was "the ford of the ox" across the river, and in support of this theory the fact is cited that the word was, anciently, often spelled Oxenford ; but this theory is not well founded. No reason can be assigned for calling the ford an ox ford, rather than a horse ford, an ass ford, a sheep ford, or a man ford, if, as we are bound to believe, the ford was used in common by all these animals. The better authority as to its origin is that it was a ford across the river Ock. Oxford is sit- uated at the confluence of the Thames and Cherwell. The river Cherwell once bore the Celtic name of Ock, and in the course of time this prefix of the name of the river came to be spelled and pronounced Ox.
PAXTON :- This town was taken from Rutland and Leicester, and incorporated in 1765. Governor Bernard gave the town its name in honor of his friend Charles Paxton, one of the Com- missioners of Customs in Boston. Paxton, it is said, promised to give the town a bell if it was named after him, which promise he never kept. Paxton became odious to the people by reason of his strong adherence to the royal canse, and his political ras- calities in general. He left Boston at the time of the British evacuation, and proceeded to England, where he died. One of the earlier public acts of the town was to appoint a committee "to petition the General Court for a name more agreeable to the inhabitants and the public than Paxton," but no action was ever taken. A portrait of Paxton now hangs in the halls of the American Antiquarian Society. The origin of the name is
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obscure. The signification of the Latin Pax is "peace," "con- tract" or "compact." Perhaps it was a place where a treaty of peace of minor importance was once entered into, or possibly the place acquired its name from the peaceable disposition of its primitive inhabitants. The Paxton family evidently derived its name from a town of that name.
PETERSIIAM :- The Indian name of this town was Nichewauy. It was incorporated in 1754, when Shirley was Governor. The name was given after Petersham, England, but whether by re- quest of the inhabitants or by arbitrary notion of the Governor is uncertain. The meaning of the name of course is Peter's home." The place where Peter lived finally grew into a hamlet and village, and in time acquired the name of Petersham. Peter is from the Greek meaning "rock."
PINILLIPSTON :- The town was incorporated in 1786 under the name of Gerry. In 1814 the inhabitants petitioned the General Court to change the name to Phillipston on account of their dis- satisfaction with Gov. Gerry's official and political action.
They state in their petition that they "never asked for the name of Gerry," and that they "are under no obligation to him for any benefit conferred." It was named Phillipston in honor of William Phillips, then Lieut. Governor. The query is how it came to be named Gerry ? Probably it was fixed up between Gerry himself and Gov. Bowdoin. Although by the action of the inhabitants Gov. Gerry failed to perpetuate his name in a township, he succeeded far better in another way, for the word "gerrymander" has become incorporated into the English lan- guage, and is used by people who never heard of Gerry, and who have not the remotest idea how the word originated.
Phillip is from the Greek, meaning "a lover of horses."
PRINCETON :- The Indian name of this place was Wachusett. It was incorporated as the "District of Prince-town" in 1759, and as a town in 1771. It was named Princeton in honor of Rev. Thomas Prince, who for forty years was pastor of the Old South Church in Boston. Prince was an extensive owner of land in this vicinity which was sometimes called "Rutland East Wing." He took great interest in the survey and settlement of
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the town, which accounts for the selection of the name. Prince is a common name, and is derived of course from the Latin, princeps, meaning "first."
ROYALSTON :- Col. Isaac Royal and others obtained a grant of the township in 1752. The proprietors held their first meet- ing in a tavern in Boston and voted to call the land Royalshire, whereupon Isaac Royal agreed to give £25 towards building a meeting house. This little arrangement was probably under- stood beforehand, and the £25 was the price this royal gentle- man was to pay for the sake of having the place bear his name. It was incorporated is 1765, and named Royalston-ton being a more appropriate suflix for a town than shire. The word "Roy- al" explains its own meaning.
RUTLAND :- The Indian name of this town was Naquag. It was purchased of the Indians in 1686, and incorporated in 1713. A local historian claims that it was named in honor of the Duke of Rutland, but I am inclined to believe that this claim is erro- neous. The incorporators no doubt had in mind the County of Rutlandshire, England, which in territory corresponded nearly in size to the then large township of Rutland. It was named at a time when nearly all towns were named after places in the old country. The incorporators asked for the name of Rutland in their petition, and no reason can be assigned why they, coming as they did from the eastern part of Massachusetts, should wish to compliment the Dake of Rutland. It is possible that some of its earliest settlers were born in Rutlandshire, England, but I am not aware of any authority for the statement. The name is derived from the Anglo Saxon rud or rut, meaning red and lund. The territory was so called from the redness of the soil ; this was so marked that it colored the wool of the sheep.
SHREWSBURY :- This town was incorporated in 1727, and one authority states that it was named in honor of Charles, Duke of Shrewsbury. It is possible that it was named after Shrewsbury, England. The fact that at about this time the custom arose of complimenting distinguished Englishmen in naming towns, is the only reason we have for beleiving that the Duke was meant instead of the town. There are two theories in regard to the
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origin of the name. One authority states that Shrewsbury de- rived its name from Shrew and bury, being a place where the Shrew or Shrews dwelt, and this is the common acceptation. But a better authority denies this derivation, and claims that the word Shrew is a corruption of a Saxon word meaning"shrub" or "scrub," and that the shrubby characteristics of the locality gave rise to the name. Shrewsbury, England, is a place of great antiquity, situated on the Severn.
SOUTHBRIDGE :- For some reason, now unknown, this locality, previous to its incorporation, was called "Honest Town." It was taken from Sturbridge, Charlton and Dudley, and incorporated in 1816. Its location on the south of Sturbridge furnishes a reason for its name.
SPENCER :- Spencer was taken from Leicester and incorpora- ted as "Second Precinct of Leicester" in 1744, and as "Spencer District" in 1753. Lieut. Governor Spencer Phipps approved the act of incorporation as a District and gave it his name. It is not likely the inhabitants wanted the name, for Gov. Phipps had previously vetoed an act of the General Court incorporating it as a town, and could not have been very popular with its people. It never had any other incorporation, but in 1775 sent a rep- resentative at the request of the Provincial Congress, and there- after assumed the full rights of a town. The word Spencer is an abbreviation of the word "dispenser." The "Spencer" of olden times had an important charge, that of the buttery, and place where the household stores were kept. The word is from the Latin dis and pendo, to weigh or measure out.
STERLING :- This town previous to its incorporation was "the Second Parish of Lancaster," and was commonly called by its Indian name, Chocksett. It was incorporated in 1781, and one authority says it was named from Stirling, the capitol of Stir- lingshire, Scotland ; but there is reason to doubt this. Peter Whitney in his History of Worcester County states that it was named in honor of Lord Stirling, and there are strong reasons for believing this to be correct. William Alexander, known in history only as Lord Stirling, was born in New York in 1726. He claimed the Earldom in Scotland and spent a large fortune
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in attempting to gain title to the estates of Stirling, but was unsuccessful. In the French and Indian war he was a member of Gen. Shirley's military family. At the breaking out of the revolutionary war he was appointed colonel of a regiment, and subsequently was created a Major General. He fought with Washington at the battle of Long Island, Brandywine and Ger- mantown. As a patriot he fills an honorable place in American history. Considering the date of the naming of the town, 1781, it is far more reasonable that the people desired to compliment the Patriot, Lord Stirling, than that they had in mind this Scotch town of Stirling. The name was originally Easterling, and was anciently given to the money brought to England by honest Holland merchants, "Easterling money," it was called. The word was finally shortened to Sterling, and in time became the name of the English money. In this . way the word came to mean, "good," "money" &c.
STURBRIDGE :- This town was incorporated in 1738. It was originally granted to petitioners from Medfield, and called "New Medfield." It was named from Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England, from whence some of its earliest settlers came, which explains the selection of the name. Stourbridge, England, is situated on the river Stour, which explains the origin of the town's name. The word Stour is Gælic, meaning"rough,""un- worn."
SUTTON :- The territory of this town, called by the Indians Hassanamisco, was purchased by its proprietors of John Wam- pus, alias White, an Indian Sachem, and the grant was con- firmed in 1704. The town was incorporated in 1715. How it came to be named Sutton is not quite certain. It may have been named in honor of one of the Sutton family in England, or, it may have been named from the old town of Sutton in England. There is a tradition to the effect that John Wampus crossed the Atlantic and visited England, and while on his re- turn voyage, falling sick, he received particular care and atten- tion from one of his fellow passengers, Dr. Sutton, and from gratitude to him for his kindness, suggested his name for the township when he gave the deed conveying it to the proprietors
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But it is probable, considering the date of incorporation, that it was named from the old town of Sutton. The name originally was "Southtown," and was contracted to Sutton.
TEMPLETON :- The territory was originally granted to 120 soldiers and their descendants who fought in the Narragansett war, and it was called "Plantation of Narragansett No. 6." It was incorporated as a town in 1762, and named Templeton in honor of John Temple, who then represented the American branch of the family of Richard Grenville, Earl Temple. Ber- nard was Governor at the time, and doubtless gave the town its name. Temple is from the Latin Templane, meaning "a place of worship." How it came to be a proper name is a mat- ter of speculation.
UPTON :- Upton was taken from Mendon, Sutton and Hopkin- ton, and incorporated in 1735. It was probably named from Upton, Worcestershire, England, a very ancient town on the river Severn. In early days it was probably "Uptown" in dis- tinction from "downtown."
UXBRIDGE :- Uxbridge wa staken from Mendon and incorpora- ted in 1727. Its Indian name was Waruntug. It was probably named in honor of Henry Paget, Earl of Uxbridge, and at that time a member of the Privy Council ; though it is not certain but what it was named from the town of Uxbridge in Middlesex County, England. The date of the incorporation is the only reason for supposing that the Earl was meant instead of the town. Uxbridge, England, is on the river Colne, a Roman name which superseded the Celtic name of Ux. The place of the bridge across the river Ux finally came to be Uxbridge.
WARREN :- This town was incorporated as Western in 1741, and the name changed to Warren in 1841. The new name was given in honor of the patriot, Gen. Joseph Warren. The simi- larity of the name Western to Weston, Middlesex County, giving rise to postal mistakes was the reason assigned for the change. The name dates back of the Norman conquest. A warren was a privilege by the King for keeping conies, hares, partridges &c. The ancestor of the Warren family was proba- bly a keeper of a Warren.
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WEBSTER :- Webster was taken from Dudley and Oxford in 1832 and named Webster in honor of Daniel Webster. The word "Webster" means "a weaver," being derived from Webbe, Webber. An old English couplet runs,
"My wife was a webster And woolen cloth made."
In mediæval English the termination "ster" was a feminine one ; and still survives with its primitive signification in "spin- ster." We see the same ending in such names as Baxter, originally "Bakester," "a female baker," Brewster," "a female brewer." The female ancestor of the Websters, was without donbt, a weaver ; and her descendants took her occupation for a family name, rather than the father's for some reason.
WEST BOYLSTON :- West Boylston, taken in part from Old Boylston, and lying on the west, explains itself.
WESTMINSTER :- The territory was granted to soldiers who served in King Phillip's war, and was called "Narragansett No. 2." It was incorporated in 1770 and named Westminster from one of the seven boroughs of Lincoln. The name and place is of great antiquity. The word Minster is derived from the Latin Monasterium, and means "a church of a monastery."
WINCHIENDON :- This territory in 1734 was granted to Lieut. Abram Tilton and some sixty others, mostly from Ipswich Mass., some of whom had rendered services in the expedition to Canada in 1690, and hence it was called "Ipswich Canada." The town was incorporated when Bernard was Governor, 1764, and in naming it he attempted to honor himself. Gov. Bernard was the eventual heir of the Tyringhams of upper Winehendon, England. This explains the selection of the name. The name is probably derived from the Saxon wincel, meaning "corner or turn," and downs, meaning "low or sloping land." The place at the corner or turn on the downs finally came to be called Wincel-don, and from this word Winchendon was evolved.
WORCESTER :- The castle of the inhabitants of Hwiccia, called Hwic-waru-ceaster has long since crumbled to dust, but on the site of this ancient Roman war-castle, on the banks of the Sev- ern, modern Worcester, from which our city was named, stands
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to-day. The pleasant sounding Indian name, Quinsigamond, by which this locality was once known, means "long fishing place,"the word being compounded of quinni "long" and amang, corrupted into amond, "fishing place." To whom are we indebt- ed for the name of Worcester, and why was this name selected ?
William H. Whitmore, a critical student of the early history of the colony and the origin of names, is authority for the state- ment that there is a tradition that the name was chosen here as a defiance of the King, but he neither states any facts nor uses any argument in support of its truth ; neither does he express any opinion as to who suggested the name. Does this tradition rest upon any foundation, and if so, in whose mind did the idea originate? We find in the colonial records of 1684, the follow- ing record : "Vpon the motion & desire of Major Gennll Goo- kin, Capt Prentice, & Capt Dan Hinchman, the Court grants their request, i. e., that their plantation at Quansigamond be called Worcester, & yt Capt Wing be added & appointed one of the comittee there, in ye roome of the deceased, & that their toune brand marke be +++." It is well known that Daniel Gookin was the most influential and prominent of the little band that plan- ted the seeds of civilization within the borders of our city.
He was born in Kent, England, in 1612, and was called the "Kentish Soldier." He is supposed to have arrived in Boston May 20, 1644. Subsequently he was elected Major General, or Commander-in-chief of the colony. In 1651 he was chosen Speaker of the House of Deputies. For over thirty years he was superintendent of the Christian Indians in the colony. Ile wrote a history of New England, which was never printed, and subsequently lost by fire ; he also wrote a history of the Chris- tian Indians, which is still preserved. Cotton Mather in his memoir of Thompson, a nonconformist divine of Virginia, has the following quaint allusion to Gookin :
A constellation of great converts there. Shone round him, and his Hearenly glory were. GOOKINS was one of these : by Thompson's pains. CHRIST and NEW ENGLAND a dear GOOKINS gains.
At the time Worcester was named, 1684, Charles the II. was King, and by his oppressive measures and tyranny, had incurred
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the displeasure, opposition and moral resistance of the colony, which resulted in the revocation of the first Charter two years later, 1686. Thirty years before, 1651, Charles the II. at the head of the royalists, fought at Worcester his great and losing battle against Cromwell, from which he barely escaped with his life. The battle of Worcester was called "Cromwell's crowning merey." Gookin visited England in 1656, and remained there two or three years. Ile had an interview with Cromwell, and obtained some advantages for a certain class of emigrants to this country. Gookin, a Puritan himself, naturally was an ad- mirer of Cromwell ; a zealous nonconformist, he naturally hated the King who persecuted everything but royalty and the church. What was more natural than that the recollection of the King's crushing defeat at Worcester should originate the idea of giving" the new settlement the name of the place where he was over- whelmed? These facts furnish at least a respectable foundation for this tradition to rest upon, and it seems to me no visionary speculation to claim that the idea of naming the new settlement, Worcester, as a defiance to the King, originated in the mind of the "Kentish Soldier."
The annual meeting of the Society was held on the evening of December 5th. Hon. J. W. Lawrence, of St. Johns, N. B., President of the New Brunswick Historical Society, was elected an honorary member.
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