USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Groton > Proceedings of the centennial celebration at Groton, Mass., July 4th, 1876, in commemoration of the destruction of the town, March, 1676, and the Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776. With an oration by Samuel Abbott Green > Part 4
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* Massachusetts Archives, LXXI. 195.
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hardships, and has sustained great Loss and damage." In consideration of his loss and service, he was allowed the sum of ten pounds out of the public treasury.
A man was killed here, June 12, 1707. His name was Brown, and he is spoken of in Pike's "Journal" as Mr. Bradstreet's man.
In a list of prisoners in the hands of the French and In- dians at Canada,* March 5, 1710-II, we find the names of " Zech : Tarbal, John Tarbal, Sarah Tarbal, Matt. Farns- worth [and] Lydia Longley," all of Groton, though there is nothing in the record to show when they were captured. With the exception of Lydia Longley, they were probably taken between 170.1 and 170S. In the spring of 1739, the capture of the Tarbell boys is spoken of as occurring "above thirty Years ago," and it is said that Zechariah was so young at the time that he lost his native language. The town records show that he was born January 25, 1700, and John, July 6, 1695. Sarah Tarbell was undoubtedly a sister of the boys, and was probably taken at the same time with them. I have been unable to find out what became of her, as all tradition on this point is lost. The history of the two brothers is a very singular one, and sounds more like fiction than truth. They were sons of Thomas Tarbell, who had a large family of children and lived on what is now known as Farmers' Row, a short distance south of the Lawrence farm. He was prob- ably the "Corpo Tarboll," who commanded, in the autumn of 17.11, one of the eighteen garrisons in the town. The two boys were picking cherries early one evening - so tra- dition relates - and were taken by the Indians before they had time to get down from the tree. They were carried to Canada, where, it would seem, they were treated kindly.
In the year 1713, John Stoddard and John Williams were appointed by Governor Joseph Dudley, to go to Quebec and treat with the Governor-General of Canada for the release of the New England prisoners. They were accompanied by Thomas Tarbell, - probably the elder brother of the boys, -- as we find his petition presented to the House of Representa-
* Massachusetts Archives, LXXI. 765.
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tives, June 1, 1715, " praying consideration and allowance for his Time and Expences in going to Canada, with Major Stod- dard & Mr. Williams, Anno 1713. to recover the Captives."
The petition was referred, and, on the next day, --
"Capt. Noyes from the Committee for Petitions, made Report on the Petition of Thomas Tarboll, viz. That they are of Opinion that nothing is due from the Province to the said Tarboll, since he pro- ceeded as a Volunteer in that Service to Canada, & not imployed by the Government, but recommended him to the favour of the House."
The report was accepted, and, in consideration of Tarbell's services, he was allowed ten pounds out of the public treas- ury. Captain Stoddard's "Journal" of the negotiations is printed in " The New England Historical and Genealogical Register," for January, I851 (v. 26), and Tarbell's name is mentioned in it.
We find no further trace of these boys, now grown up to manhood, for nearly twenty-five years, when Governor Bel- cher brought their case, April 20, 1739, before the Council and the House of Representatives. He then made a speech in which he said that, -
'. There are lately come from Canada some Persons that were taken by the Indians from Groton above thirty Years ago, who (its believed) may be induced to return into this Province, on your giv- ing them some proper Encouragement: If this Matter might be effected, I should think it would be not only an Act of Compassion in order to reclaim them from the Errors and Delusions of the Romish Faith ; but their living among us might, in Time to come, be of great Advantage to the Province."
The subject was referred the same day to a Committee con- sisting of John Read, of Boston, William Fairfield, of Wen- ham, Thomas Wells, of Deerfield, Benjamin Browne, of Salem, and Job Almy, of Tiverton. On the next day, April 21 - as we read in the printed "Journal " of the House of Representatives - the chairman of
" The Committee appointed to consider that Paragraph in His Excellency's SPEECH relating to the Encouragement of two Eng- lish Captives from Canada, viz. John Tharbell and Zechariah Tharbell, made report thereon, which he read in his Place, and then delivered it at the Table; and after some debate thereon, the House did not accept the Report ; and having considered the same
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Article by Article, the House came into a Vote thereon, and sent the same up to the honourable Board for concurrence."
On the 23d, we find
" A Petition of Thomas Tharbell of Groton, Elder Brother of the two Mr. Tharbells lately returned from Captivity in Canada, praying he may be allowed the Loan of some Money to enable him to pay William Rogers, jun. his Account of Charges in bringing his Brethren to Boston. Read and Ordered, That the Petition be considered to morrow morning."
On the next day, -
" The House pass'd a Vote on the Petition of Thomas Tharbell of Groton, praying as entred the 23d current, and sent the same up to the honourable Board for Concurrence."
All these efforts, however, to reclaim the two men from savage life proved unavailing ; for it is known that they re- mained with the Indians and became naturalized, if I may use the expression. They married Indian wives, and were afterward made chiefs at Caughnawaga and St. Regis, vil- lages in Canada. Their descendants are still living among the Indians, and the Tarbells of the present day, in this town, are their collateral kindred. Nearly forty years after their capture, Governor Hutchinson met them in New York State, and refers to them thus :-
" I saw at Albany two or three men, in the year 1744, who came in with the Indians to trade, and who had been taken at Groton in this, that is called Queen Au's war. One of them ---- Tarbell, was said to be one of the wealthiest of the Cagnawaga tribe. He made a visit in his Indian dress and with his Indian complexion (for by means of grease and paints but little difference could be discerned) to his relations at Groton, but had no inclination to re- main there." - Hutchinson's " History of Massachusetts," II. 139.
This is another account : --
"It is related that, about a century and a half ago, while a couple of boys and a girl were playing in a barn at Groton, Mas- sachusetts, some Indians suddenly appeared, seized the boys and fled, carrying them to the village of Caughnawaga, nine miles above Montreal. They grew up with Indian habits, manners, and language, being finally adopted as members of the tribe; and married Indian brides selected from the daughters of the principal chiefs." - " The Galaxy," for January, 1870, page 124.
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The people must have lived in constant dread of the Indians during most of Queen Anne's war. Sometimes an outlying farmhouse was attacked and burned, some of the inmates killed and others carried away in captivity ; some- times the farmer was shot down while at labor in the field, or while going or coming. This was the fate of John Shat- tuck and his son, John, a young man about twenty years of age, who were killed May 8, 1709.
At another time, the date of which is not recorded, the house of John Shepley was burned, and himself and all his family were massacred, except his young son, John. There may have been some special spite against him, because some years before he had killed an Indian; for which act he received from the General Court a bounty of four pounds.15 This boy, John, the savages carried away with them and held as captive during several years. But as is often said, where there is great loss, there is some little gain. The knowledge which he obtained of their language and customs while a prisoner was of much use to him in dealing with them in after-life. Tradition relates that, when buying furs and skins of the Indians, he used to put his foot in one scale of the balance instead of a pound weight. He is the direct ancestor of the Honorable Ether Shepley, for- merly Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Maine, and of General George F. Shepley, now a Justice of the Circuit Court of the First Circuit of the United States.
Near the end of Queen Anne's war, we find a list of eighteen garrisons in this town containing, in all, fifty-eight families, or three hundred and seventy-eight souls. Of these, seventeen were soldiers in the public service. 16
The military company at this post, in the summer of 1724, was made up of soldiers from different towns in this part of the State, and was commanded by Lieutenant Jabez Fair- banks. Some of them were detailed as guards to protect the more exposed garrisons, and others were scouting in the neighborhood. They were so scattered that the command- ing officer found it difficult to drill them as a company. Fortunately, however, they were not engaged in much fight-
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ing, though the enemy had been lurking in the neighbor- hood, and threatening the town. Penhallow, in speaking of the Indians at this time, says that, --
" The next damage they did, was at Groton, but were so closely pursued, that they left several of their Packs behind." (Page 102.)
Thirteen of Lieutenant Fairbanks's company belonged here, and represented some of the most influential families in the place.17
It was on the ninth day of July of this year, that John Ames was shot by an Indian, one of a small party that attacked Ames's garrison in the westerly part of the town. It is said that he was the last person killed by an Indian within the township. The Indian himself was immediately afterward shot by Jacob Ames, one of John's sons. 18
Governor Saltonstall, of Connecticut, writes * from New London, under date of July 23, 1724, that the friendly Indians of that neighborhood seem inclined to hunt for scalps about Monadnock and the farther side of Dunstable and Groton. This was owing to an offer made about this time by the governments of Massachusetts and New Hamp- shire, of a bounty of a hundred pounds for every Indian's scalp that should be taken and shown to the proper authori- ties. This expedient stimulated volunteers to scour the wilderness for the purpose of hunting Indians, and Captain John Lovewell, of Dunstable, organized a company, which soon became famous.
The story of Lovewell's fight was for a long time told in every household in this neighborhood, and there is scarcely a person who has not heard from early infancy the particu- lars of that eventful conflict. It was in the spring of the year 1725, that Captain Lovewell, with thirty-four men, fought a famous Indian chief, named Paugus, at the head of about eighty savages, near the shores of a pond in Pequaw- ket. Of this little Spartan band, seven belonged in this town ; and one of them, John Chamberlain by name, distin-
* Massachusetts Archives, LII. 23.
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guished himself by killing the Indian leader. It is fit that a reference to this fight should be made, on this occasion, though time does not allow me to dwell upon it.
The town, now no longer on the frontiers, was again threatened with danger near the end of King George's war. A company of thirty-two men, under the command of Cap- tain Thomas Tarbell, scouted in this vicinity for six days in July, 1748, but they do not appear to have discovered the enemy. A few days afterward, another company of thirty- six men was sent on a similar expedition, but with no better success. 19 In the rolls of these two companies we find many names that have been prominent in the annals of the town from its very beginning. Among them are the Prescotts, the Ameses, the Bancrofts, the Shepleys, the Parkers, a son of Parson Bradstreet, and a grandson of Parson Hobart.
The military service of Groton men was not confined to this neighborhood. Daniel Farmer, a Groton soldier, was taken prisoner, July 14, 1748, in a skirmish with the Indians, near Fort Dummer. * He was carried to Canada and kept till the following October, when he was allowed to return home.
Fort Dummer was situated on the west bank of the Con- necticut River, in the present town of Brattleborough, Vt. Two of its early commanders had been connected with Groton by the ties of kindred. Colonel Josiah Willard, in command of the fort for many years, was a grandson of Parson Willard; and he was succeeded in command by Lieutenant Dudley Bradstreet, a son of Parson Bradstreet, and a native of this place.
Ebenezer Farnsworth, born in Groton, was captured Aug. 30, 1754, by the St. Francis Indians, at Charlestown, N.H. t He was taken to Montreal and held a prisoner during three years. His ransom was paid in the summer of 1755, but he was not then set at liberty. Mrs. Johnson and her sister, Miriam Willard, were captured at the same time. They were both daughters of Moses Willard, who had formerly lived in the south part of this town.
* HIall's History of Eastern Vermont, page 50.
i A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson, pp. SI, 96.
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During the French and Indian War, the territory of Aca- dia, or Nova Scotia, fell under British authority ; and the conquest was followed by a terrible act of cruelty and vio -. lence. The simple Acadians, unsuspicious of the designs of the English leaders, were assembled in their churches, in obedience to military proclamation, and thence, without being allowed to return to their homes, were driven at the point of the bayonet on board ships, to be scattered over all the English colonies in America. This was done with so little regard to humanity that, in many instances, wives were sep- arated from husbands, and children from parents, never to see one another again. Many an Evangeline waited in vain expectation of being re-united to her Gabriel, thus torn away from her. Two of these French families, ten persons in all, were sent to Groton, where one of the mothers died, not many months after her arrival, perhaps, from the rude trans- planting. A few years later, a French family - perhaps one of these two -- is mentioned as living here; but the household had become divided, some of the little children being sent to the neighboring towns. Our pity for these unfortunate people will be stronger when we reflect that they were miserably poor, among a race who spoke a strange. language, followed other customs, and abominated their religion. Under these circumstances, their homesickness must indeed have been bitter ; but we have reason to believe that they were treated with tender care by the people here. We are glad to learn from the records that they were fur- · nished. with medical attendance, and articles necessary for their bodily comfort.
Another struggle was now impending, severer than any the Colonists had been engaged in. Almost immediately after the French and Indian War, the odious Stamp Act was passed, which did much to hasten public opinion toward the Revolution.
I hold in my hand a stamp issued under the authority of this Act. On a public occasion, many years ago, Mr. Ev- erett said, in speaking of a similar one, that "this bit of dingy blue paper, stamped with the two-and-sixpence ster-
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ling, created the United States of America, and cost Great Britain the brightest jewel in her crown."
The Stamp Act was followed by the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the Boston Port Bill, - all too familiar to be particularized. These acts excited through- out the land a deep feeling for the capital of New England. The eyes of all the colonies were now turned toward Boston, and she received the hearty sympathy of the whole country. The sentiments of the people of this town are shown in the following letter * from the Town Clerk : -
"GROTON, June 28th, 1774.
" GENTLEMEN, - The inhabitants of the Town of Groton, in general, are deeply affected with a sense of our public calamities, and more especially the distresses of our brethren in the Capital of the Province, as we esteem the act of blocking up the harbor of Boston replete with injustice and cruelty, and evidently designed to compel the inhabitants thereof to submission of taxes imposed upon them without their consent, and threatens the total destruc- tion of the liberties of all British America. We ardently desire a happy union with Great Britain and the Colonies, and shall gladly adopt every measure consistent with the dignity and safety of British subjects for that purpose.
" In full confidence that the inhabitants of the Town of Boston will, in general, exhibit examples of patience, fortitude and per- severance, while they are called to endure this oppression for the preservation of the liberties of their country, and in token of our willingness to afford all suitable relief to them in our power, a number of the inhabitants of this Town have subscribed, and this day sent forty bushels of grain, part rye and part Indian corn, to be delivered to the Overseers of the Poor of said Town of Boston, not doubting but the same will be suitably applied for that pur- pose ; and we earnestly desire you will use your utmost endeavor to prevent and avoid all mobs, riots, and tumults, and the insulting of private persons and property. And while the farmers are cheer- fully resigning part of their substance for your relief, we trust the merchants will not oppress them by raising upon the goods which they have now on hand and heretofore purchased. And may God prosper every undertaking which tends to the salvation of the people.
* Massachusetts Historical Collections, Fourth Series, IV. 7, S.
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" We are, gentlemen, your friends and fellow-countrymen. In the name and by order of the Committee of Correspondence for the Town of Groton.
" OLIVER PRESCOTT, Clerk. "TO THE OVERSEERS OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON."
The reply * was. as follows : -- " BOSTON, July 5th, 1774.
"SIR, - Your obliging letter directed to the Overseers of the Poor of this Town, together with a generous present from a num- ber of the inhabitants of the Town of Groton, for the relief of such inhabitants of this Town as may be sufferers by the Port Bill, is come to hand. In behalf of the Committee of this Town, ap- pointed for the reception of such kind donations, I am now to return to you and the rest of our benefactors the most sincere thanks. The gentlemen may be assured their donations will be applied to the purpose they intend. We are much obliged to you for the wise cautions given in your letter ; and we shall use our best endeavors that the inhabitants of this Town may endure their sufferings with dignity, that the glorious cause for which they suf- fer may not be reproached. We trust that the non-consumption agreement, which we hear is making progress in the country, will put it out of the power of any of the merchants to take unreason- able advantage of raising the prices of their goods. You will, however, remember that many heavy articles, such as nails, &c., will be attended with considerable charge in transporting them from Salem. As the bearer is in haste, I must conclude, with great regard for your Committee of Correspondence and the in- habitants of the Town of Groton.
"Sir, your friend and fellow-countryman,
" Signed by order of the Overseers of the Poor,
"SAM. PARTRIDGE. " TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE TOWN OF GROTON,
IN MASSACHUSETTS."
The times that tried men's souls were now rapidly approach- ing ; and the rights of the Colonies were the uppermost sub- ject in the minds of most people. Groton sympathized warmly with this feeling, and prepared to do her part in the struggle. A considerable number of her inhabitants had
* Massachusetts Historical Collections, Fourth Series, IV. 9, 10.
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received their military schooling in the French war, as their fathers before them had received theirs in the Indian war. Such persons did not now enter upon camp life as inexperi- enced or undisciplined soldiers. The town had men willing to serve and able to command. Within a quarter of a mile of this very spot the man was born, who commanded the American forces on Bunker Hill; and, as long as the story of that battle is told, the name of Prescott will be familiar .*
Before the beginning of actual hostilities, two companies of minute-men had been organized in this place ; and, at the desire of the officers, the Reverend Samuel Webster, of Tem- ple, N. H., preached a sermon, February 21, 1775, before them, which was afterward printed. It is there stated that a large majority of the town had engaged to hold themselves, agreeably to the plan of the Provincial Council, in prompt readiness to act in the service of their country. The sermon is singularly meagre in particulars which would interest us at this time, and is made up largely of theological opinion, perhaps as valuable now as then, though not so highly prized.
The Reverend Samuel Dana was the minister of the town at this period, and, unfortunately for him, he was too much in sympathy with the Crown in the great struggle now going on for human rights. Mr. Dana may not have been a Tory ; but he did not espouse the cause of the Revolution. The state of public feeling was such that everybody was distrusted who was not on the side of political liberty. The people said, "He who is not for us is against us ; " and the confidence of his flock was converted into distrust. It was easy to see that his influence was gone ; and almost every minister in New England who held similar opinions shared the same fate. It was important that the public teacher and preacher should be in sympathy with the popular mind on the prominent politi- cal questions. . This was a period of great events ; and no man could stand against their crushing force. It was evident
* On the night of May 21, 1775, the countersign at the camp in Cambridge was ". Pepperell," and the parole, " Groton." This was undoubtedly in com- pliment to Colonel Prescott.
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that his usefulness was ended; and the relations between him and his parish were severed without the intervention of a regular ecclesiastical council.
Mr. Dana was a conscientious man ; and it was his mis- fortune rather than his fault, that he was not more happily situated in regard to his people. It is but justice to his memory to say that, after Burgoyne's surrender, in the year 1777, Mr. Dana felt that the colonial cause was the winning one ; while before this event he thought that the want of suc- cess on the part of the Colonists would result in their greater misery. He then became satisfied that the power of the country was sufficient to sustain the Declaration of Indepen- dence ; and he was ever after the uniform supporter of all measures Jooling to its acknowledgment by the enemy. It is a little remarkable that Mr. Dana, who had such a Tory bias that he was obliged to leave the ministry in Groton, should have been a candidate in 1782 for the convention to form a constitution for New Hampshire, " as a sovereign and independent body politic."
After his dismissal from the parish, he officiated during perhaps a year and a half, in 1780 and 1781, as the minister of a Presbyterian society, which had a short existence in this town. This was owing chiefly to some of his old parishioners, who were dissatisfied with Dr. Chaplin, his successor. While living here, Mr. Dana was appointed executor of the will of John Bulkley, Esq., an attorney-at-law in this town. This . position brought him in contact with a library, which he used in studying law, though, at this time, with no professional eye to business. In the year 1779, Thomas Coleman, who succeeded Mr. Bulkley as a lawyer, had his residence and office in Mr. Dana's house; and this circumstance helped him in gaining his new profession. He was admitted to the bar in 1781, and began practice at Amherst, N. H. He soon attained high rank in his new calling, and received many marks of kindness and confidence from his neighbors and fellow-citizens. He was offered the appointment to a judgeship of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas ; but he de- clined it. He afterward accepted the office of Judge of Pro-
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bate, which he kept only for a short time. His success as an advocate before a jury was marked ; and this was due in part to his fluency of speech and clearness of expression, resulting from his pulpit experience.
He died, April 2, 1798, at Amherst, and was buried with masonic honors, when the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, of Groton, delivered a funeral eulogy, which is in print. His name is perpetuated in this town by the Dana School.
During several days before the Battle of Lexington, a hos- tile incursion by the English soldiers stationed in Boston was expected by the patriots. Its aim was the destruction of stores collected for the use of the provincial cause; and, on this account, every movement of the British troops was closely watched. At this time, the Committees of Safety and of Supplies voted that some of the stores should be kept at Gro- ton : and, if their plan had been fully carried out, it is among the possibilities of the war that another battle might have been fought in Middlesex county, and Groton have been the scene of the action. But open hostilities began so soon afterward, that no time was given to make the removal of the stores. It was ordered by these committees, April 17, that the four six-pounders be transported from Concord to Groton, and put under the care of Colonel Prescott. On the next day, it was voted that all the ammunition should be deposited in nine different towns of the province, of which Groton was one, and that one-half of the musket cartridges be removed from Stow to Groton. It was also voted that two medicinal chests should be kept at different places in the town, and that eleven hundred tents be deposited in equal quantities in Groton and six other towns .*
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