USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Maynard > The annals of Sudbury, Wayland and Maynard, Middlesex County, Massachusetts > Part 32
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Sudbury > The annals of Sudbury, Wayland and Maynard, Middlesex County, Massachusetts > Part 32
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wayland > The annals of Sudbury, Wayland and Maynard, Middlesex County, Massachusetts > Part 32
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Sudbury > The annals of Sudbury, Wayland, and Maynard, Middlesex County, Massachusetts > Part 32
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wayland > The annals of Sudbury, Wayland, and Maynard, Middlesex County, Massachusetts > Part 32
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Maynard > The annals of Sudbury, Wayland, and Maynard, Middlesex County, Massachusetts > Part 32
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L. A. D.
EMMA LUCILLA FULLER.
Emma L. Fuller was born in East Sudbury, Sept. 30, 1833. She was a daughter of Walter and Elmira [Griffin] Reeves, and her birthplace and early home was at the house westerly of Reeves llill, in which the " Old Reeves Tavern " was long kept by her ancestry. She married Rev. Arthur Buckminster Fuller, who during the civil war was for a time chap- lain of the Sixteenth Mass. Regiment, and who died at Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 11, 1862.
The most of her life sinee her marriage has been spent at her home in Cambridge, where she now resides. She has two children. Richard B., born Feb. 13, 1861, and Alfred B., born Feb. 12, 1863.
RICHARD F. FULLER.
Richard Frederick Fuller, youngest son of Hon. Timothy and Margaret [Crane] Fuller, was born at Cambridge, Mass., May 15, 1824. In 1835 his father died, and at the age of eleven years he resolutely started for a college education. In the preparatory studies he received much aid from his sister Margaret (afterward Countess d'Ossoli). He graduated from llarvard in 1844, and after studying law with his uncle, Henry Fuller of Boston, Mass., was admitted to the bar of Suffolk County in 1846. He occupied his uncle's office for a few years subsequent to his death, and afterward removed to Pemberton Square as his place of business until his own death.
In 1849 he was united by marriage to Sarah K. Batchelder, residing in Salem for two years, and then at Reading, Mass., until 1854, when he purchased a small farm at " Tower lfill " in Wayland. The death of his wife occurred about a year later. His second marriage was in 1857 to Adeline R. Reeves of Wayland.
Mr. Fuller was a man of industrious and economical habits, resulting in commendable thrift : but he held his pecuniary accumulations in control of an unselfish and large-hearted spirit that found its bliss in blessing others. In his profession he was extremely scrupulous, never allowing himself to aid any form of injustice, declining absolutely any class of business that he considered dishonorable, and being delighted by amicable adjustments of business disputes.
At the commencement of the civil war he was declared to be physically exempt from military service, yet he voluntarily furnished a good substitute. His natural sympathy for the oppressed necessarily made him an Anti-slavery man, and consequently a Republican in polities.
Ile was a member of the (so called) " Christian Church," and his creed was simple and liberal as the gospel itself. As his chosen church had no organization in Wayland, during a portion of his residence there he found the ministrations of Rev. Dr. Sears congenial, and for a considerable time was superintendent of the Sunday school in his parish.
In his family, as husband and father, he is remembered with an affection and admiration that the lapse of a quarter-century seems to have increased rather than diminished. His fondness for children was a marked characteristic ; his delight in having them about him and in joining in their pastimes continued unabated through his busiest years and to the close of his life. The " silver cord was loosed " May 30, 1869. A son and daughter by his first marriage, with his five other children and their mother, survive him. J. S. D.
WILLIAM R. DUDLEY, At the age of 45.
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APPENDIX TO THE ANNALS OF WAYLAND.
ABEL GLEZEN.
To any one who has lived in Wayland during the last fifty years the mention of the name will bring to mind several persons so closely identified with the town and associated with its life, so fairly representing its social characteristics, as to make their names almost synonymous with Wayland. Some of these appear in these pages, and their features look out to us again with the old-time kindliness, or strength, or sagacity, recalling cherished intercourse or valuable public services in the past which have done so much to make the history of the town dear to its children.
Among these honored names is that of Abel Glezen. Born in the town, his whole life passed in it, he stands its worthy representative. He was one of the last of the old Way- land " land-marks," men of the last generation, who were universally known and respected. and whose memories are valuable legacies to those who were associated with them.
Ile was born Mareh 3, 1803, of old New England stock, his parents being Reuben and Mary [Paine] Glezen. His life-long patriotism received early encouragement from the stories told him in his youth by his grandfather and others, participants in the resistance to the British at Concord and Lexington, and the subsequent events of the Revolution.
His early life was passed at home on his father's farm. When a young man he taught school for nine successive years, during the winter months. in his native and in neighboring towns, and was remarkably successful, his own love of honor and sincerity appealing to that of his pupils and finding a ready response.
He was married Sept. 13, 1832, to Elizabethi Hale Mann of Oxford, N. H., and con- tinned to live on the home farm, where fifty years later, in 1882, was celebrated their golden wedding.
Abel Glezen possessed a singularly kindly and affectionate disposition, gentle in manner yet just to stern severity. Always of a commanding presence, he was until in his later life, when an accident compelled the use of a cane, remarkably upright in his carriage. Devoted to his friends, enjoying nothing more than the extension of the hospitality of his home, extremely fond of children, ever retaining the dignity and courtesy of the old-school gentle- man, his character may well stand as representative of the best life of an old New England town.
Of him it may be said that not only did he enjoy life, but he enjoyed living. Simple and abstemious in his habits, of a strong and rugged constitution, he found in neighborly intercourse, in his friendships, in real interest in the yearly round of farm work, and in his fine domestic animals, more than contentment and happiness. A great lover of horses, his judgment and knowledge of them were highly prized.
While not seeking official distinction, he faithfully and conscientiously fulfilled the duties of the various town offices which he was called to assume, and in the years 1840, 1844 and 1845 served as representative at the State Legislature.
Thus his useful but unassuming life was spent. A good townsman, a reliable neighbor, and a friend to every one. For many years his venerable but upright figure in his old- fashioned chaise, or, seated with a grace a young man might covet, on his fine horse, was one of the most familiar sights in the streets of the town.
He died Feb. 2, 1890, mourned as few men are by all who had known him, and leaving the memory of a just. a strong and a gentle character. A. W. C.
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APPENDIX TO THE ANNALS OF WAYLAND.
NEWELL HEARD.
This name is strongly associated with a building known for nearly a century as " The Old Red Store." It stood fronting the street on land near the present Railroad Station. It was built in two parts, the older portion being originally a schoolhouse. It still exists as a carriage house on the premises of L. K. Lovell.
In this building Mr Heard, after having served elsewhere an apprenticeship as earpen- ter, began the business of trade in such miseellaneons artieles as are usually found in country stores, adding at one time a department of " Dry Goods." He remained here in business upwards of forty years, and until about two years of his death. As a merchant his reputa- tion stands untarnished.
During a period of thirty-eight years he held the position of Postmaster, greatly to the satisfaction of the citizens, although through the marked political distinctions of nine national administrations - from that of J. Q. Adams, when he was first appointed, to Abra- ham Lincoln - he was an outspoken and consistent politician. His tall form, as he stood behind his desk and with steady voice recited the letter list of daily arrivals, will be long remembered He was held in sincere respeet by all.
He was a son of Zeehariah and Abigail [Damon ] Heard, born in East Sudbury, Dee. 15, 1788. He married Jerusha Gront. April 30, 1822. His death oeenrred JJune 14. 1865. He left one son and one daughter. J. S. D.
RICHARD HEARD.
The home of Deaeon Heard's parents was on " The Island," where he was born Sept. 3, 1787. His marriage with Abigail Riee oeenrred Feb. 23, 1815 ; his golden wedding was celebrated in 1865. Early in life he left the farm to learn the carpenter's trade in Waltham. After marriage, the native town was chosen for the new home, where. alternately. as circum- stances required, farming and carpentry occupied his attention while he lived.
Ile was a man of great physical endurance, indefatigable industry and striet integrity in all his engagements. Honesty was not simply the best poliey with him, - it was his absolute rule of life. Success. to him, was found in being useful.
Mentally, he was of the rationalistie order. To know the reason of things was a delight. and when reason decided against a proposition, appeals for his support were in vain, whether in religious ereeds, political plans, or in the common concerns of life. He was endowed with a strong faculty of caution. He was a good listener. But any sophistical attempt of a speaker served only to sharpen his power of detection. Ilis earnest attention to pulpit dis- courses will be long remembered. The soul seemed on the utmost streteh of alertness lest it should miss some helpful ray of light.
Ilis usefulness in the affairs of the town was marked. His knowledge of pauper laws equalled that of many lawyers. His simplicity and kindness of heart won many friends in social life. He was a Deacon in the Unitarian Church about forty-three years. His transit from this world occurred Nov. 4, 1872, leaving his wife, whose deeease followed in 1873.
J. S. D.
HORACE HEARD.
Horace Heard was born in East Sudbury (now Wayland). Oct. 16, 1804. He was the youngest son of David and Sibyl (Sherman) Heard. He married Eliza A., daughter of Enther and Nabby (Staples) Gleason. and had four children - Eliza, Theodore, Leander,
HORACE HEARD, At the age of 68.
191
APPENDIX TO THE ANNALS OF WAYLAND.
Emily, the last named being the only survivor of his family. He spent his entire life in his native town, holding her honor sacred by filling the offices of trust given him with the strictest integrity. He received his first appointment as deputy sheriff June 19, 1837, which was retained for over twenty years, during which time he made life-long friends with some of tlic best legal minds of that period. In 1872 he represented the town at the General Court, and held, all other town offices for long terms, being town treasurer eleven years.
Mr. Heard took a deep interest in public affairs during his entire life. He was in early life a Whig, and since 1860 a Democrat.
His religious associations were with Unitarians, and the First Parish of the town received his liberal support. He was a man of strong mind and large heart, of whom it could be said, " Ilis word was as good as his bond."
REV. JOHN BURT WIGHT.
" Rev. Henry Wight" of Bristol, R. I., " was a man of amiable disposition, of meek and quiet temper and truly catholic spirit. He was a good representative of the best type of New England character, physically, mentally and morally. His figure was erect, his bearing noble and dignified, and his manners kindly and courteous."
Such is the testimonial given half a century ago to the character and personnel of the father of Rev. John B. Wight ; and so perfectly applicable is it to the son, that it is here transferred to him, with a single addition, as very complete. An estimable lady writes in 1882: " At 92 he is a grand wreck, yet still the courtly gentleman. To see his profound salute to a lady is a picture ; and although the mind is slipping away, he invariably greets every visitor in the most graceful and deferential manner."
His preparation for college was complete at the age of twelve. He entered Brown University at fourteen, and graduated at the head of his class in 1808. In 1816 the degree of A.M. was conferred on him by Harvard University. His ordination as the minister of the church in East Sudbury, in the new meeting-house,* occurred Jan. 25, 1815. IIis doctrinal views at that time, as appears from a printed creed, though of liberal east, were not entirely divested of Calvinistic tints, which gradually faded until about 1825, when his Unitarian sentiments became so transparent as to cause dissatisfaction, and an actual rupture in the church two years later.
After a service of fifteen years, during the first twelve of which the utmost harmony prevailed, his official charge terminated at his own request. Subsequently Mr. Wight preached for societies in Castine, Me., Milford and Amherst, N. H., and North Dennis, Mass. In 1842 he returned to Wayland, which he always regarded as his home, where the remainder of his life was spent.
Of his usefulness as a citizen of the town much could be said. He was called early to the chairmanship of the school committee. Ile evidently did not coincide with the senti- ment that -
" A little learning is a dangerous thing,"
for he introduced into the district schools such studies as Astronomy, with Natural and Intellectual Philosophy, that the incipient buds of those nurseries might be slightly developed towards great possibilities, the results of which were esteemed excellent. A scholar of those days well remembers the impressive manner with which, in his school visits, he used to incul- cate views of the " Creator's power, wisdom and goodness " drawn from the wondrous facts 'of the starry heavens.
* The fifth in lineal order from the original in Sudbury in 1643.
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APPENDIX TO THE ANNALS OF WAYLAND.
Hle believed in books as a means of disseminating knowledge, and immediately after his settlement he began collecting volumes for the ". East Sudbury Charitable Library " (our first free publie library). kept at his house for the use of the citizens. In the formation of the present Public Library Mr. Wight was among the foremost in rendering service. His most important work in this direction will be remembered as his effort in the Massachusetts Legis- lature of 1851 (of which he was a member), in preparing and presenting a bill whereby cities and towns were enabled to establish and maintain libraries at the public expense. the first of its kind in the country.
Ilis later years were passed quietly in his home, under very striet conformity to the nat- ural laws of health, with which he always endeavored to comply. " Decay stole very gently upon him. until without any local disease his strength passed."
His birth occurred at Bristol, R. I., May 7. 1790; his marriage with Sarah Grout, Jan. 1. 1818 : his demise Dee. 20. 1883. J. S. D.
JOHN N. SHERMAN.
Mr. Sherman is a native of this town, born July 15, 1808. He fills a place in the seventh generation, from Capt. John Sherman, the first immigrant of that name to this country, who settled in Watertown. His parents were Luther and Rebecca (Wheeler) Sherman. His marriage with Celinda Griffin occurred April 20, 1834.
Habits of industry and economy were early formed. Education was secured at the common school, with two Academic terms in the town of Stow, to pay for which he borrowed money until he could earn it.
At the age of twenty he began a successful course of winter-term school teaching, and pursued this calling during twenty-one consecutive years in his own and adjoining towns. two and one-half years of which were in a yearly school at Charlestown.
It was not difficult for his associates to discern in him one in whom they could repose confidence : henee his fellow-citizens have frequently, and during a long period of time, honored him with responsible official trusts. His genial but firm manner of presiding at town and other publie meetings are fresh in memory. On school and library committees his influence was marked ; but on boards of selectmen his labors, especially during the civil war, may well be characterized as in a high degree prompt, energetic and faithful. In 1863 he was appointed by State authority au enrolling officer.
In 1853 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives by Democratic votes. In 1860 he joined the National Republican party, and in 1869 was again sent to the State Legislature.
His views on the temperance question have been clearly defined, and his efforts earnest for their dissemination to suppress the cvils of inebriety.
Hle united with the Orthodox Church in 1829, and became one of its chief supporters while he remained in town. In 1872 he vacated his home in Wayland, and has since then resided in Walpole. Mass., where he has been a useful and highly respected citizen.
J. S. D.
EDMUND H. SEARS.
NOTE. - The following is an abridgment of a more complete sketch published in the " History of Middlesex County, 1890," Vol. I .. p. 509, by permission of the publishers of that work. See also partial sketch on pp. 58-9 in the body of this work.
Edmund Hamilton Sears, the youngest son of Joseph and Lucy (Smith) Sears, was born in Sandisheld, Mass., April 6. 1810. As a boy, while on his father's farm, he was serious-
JOHN N, SHERMAN, At the age of 80.
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APPENDIX TO THE ANNALS OF WAYLAND.
minded, fond of study and given to writing poetry and sermons. He entered the Sophomore class at Union College. Schenectady, N. Y., at the age of twenty-one, and stood high as a scholar through his collegiate studies.
Among his classmates at the Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., from which he graduated in 1837, were H. W. Bellows, D.D., and R. P. Stebbins, D.D.
He was ordained as minister of the First Church in Wayland, Mass., in 1839, and the following year he accepted a call to the Unitarian Church in Lancaster, Mass. After a most happy but laborious ministry of seven years he returned to Wayland with impaired health, and resorted for a time to agricultural pursuits for its restoration. In 1848 he resumed his ministry to his former church in that town, and during the seventeen years of its continu- ance he was happy and successful in his work. Here, in 1853, he encountered the deepest grief of his life. in the death of his only daughter at the age of ten years.
In 1865 he was installed as colleague of Rev. Dr. Field, in Weston, Mass., upon whose death, in 1869, he became sole minister. The ten years he spent here were exceedingly pleasant and happy ones, enriched by a tour to Europe in the summer of 1873.
Mr. Sears is well known as a writer upon religious themes, and besides many sermons and discourses he published the following volumes: "Pictures of Olden Time," 1853; " Regeneration," 1853 ; "Foregleams of Immortality," 1858; "The Fourth Gospel the Heart of Christ." 1872; "Foregleams and Foreshadows of Immortality " (revised from former work), 1873; "Sermons and Songs," 1875; "Christ in the Life," 1877. Some of his lyrical pieces are well known, especially the two Christmas hymns.
In anti-slavery and war times he composed several stirring songs which were often quoted, particularly the one on the death of John Brown.
He was senior editor of the " Monthly Religious Magazine " for many years. "More than any man of his day, he held convictions and made statements which commanded the assent of considerable numbers of thoughtful and cultivated persons outside of the religious body to which he belonged." *
Mr. Sears stands as a remarkable man among his compeers, not because of the greatness and scope of his powers in general, but rather from the depth of his poetical and spiritual insight. This rare gift of seeing the spiritual in the natural was exceptionally profound, and its fruits are seen not only in his rhythmic lines, but in all his best and most effective prose works. He divined truth with wonderful quickness, yet he was not a visionary ; whatever he thus foresaw was held in abeyance until confirmed by reason. Hence his religious works have a unique and peculiar character, especially the one on the Fourth Gospel. The style is fervid and poetic, the religious feeling strong and even intense, yet no conclusions are reached that are not logically defended.
His poetic nature gave also to his character a degree of fineness that drew close around him many appreciative friends, though it was not clearly understood by some of a different mould.
He was in sympathy with the earlier leaders of the Unitarian movement, though not led by them, for he reached his most cherished convictions by his own independent think- ing. But to the last of his life he affirmed his loyalty to the Unitarian body, and his gratitude to it for the freedom it had always allowed him.
As a citizen he was prominent and active in the affairs of town, state and nation. He raised the standard of schools, and gave to the young people of his pastorates valuable stimulus and help. In great national crises his voice was heard from the pulpit declaring with power, - as in the " United States Fugitive Slave Law," -" that when the human and
* New York Evening Post.
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APPENDIX TO THE ANNALS OF WAYLAND.
Divine laws were in conflict it is the duty of all to obey the latter." Ilis sermon on " Revo- Iution or Reform " so commended itself to the anti-slavery leaders that an edition of many thousand copies was printed and circulated.
Mr. Sears received the degree of D.D. from Union College in 1870. His marriage to Ellen, daughter of Hon. Ebenezer Bacon of Barustable, Mass., occurred in 1839. Ile died Jan. 16, 1876, at his residence in Weston, after a long and painful illness.
SAMUEL D. ROBBINS.
Samuel Dowse Robbins, second son of Abba Dowse and Peter G. Robbins. M. D., was born in Lynn, Mass., March 7, 1812.
He graduated at the Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge in 1833, and was ordained as pastor of the Unitarian Church in his native town November 13 of the same year, where he remained for seven years. His next pastorate was in Chelsea, Mass., which was retained during ten years. In 1853 he became pastor of the church in Framingham, Mass , which position he held fourteen years. In 1867 he became the minister to the First Church in Wayland, from which he retired in 1878 to his farm in Concord, Mass , and from thence to a home in Belmont.
Mr. Robbins was a man of marked characteristies. In his social ministries, while at Wayland, no shadows could abide in his presence. From his lips, notwithstanding all due restraint, an almost unceasing overflow of mirthfulness made Gladness his constant attend- ant. Ferveney and earnestness of spirit were his prominent characteristics in the pulpit. Many of his sermons seem to have been written while seated on the borders of spiritual worlds, in view of their splendors. At the house of bereavement nothing could exceed the tenderness of his sympathy : the consolations given on such occasions can never be forgotten by the recipients.
lle received the degree of A. M. from Harvard College in 1865. He was devoted to the eanse of edneation, and served on school committees in his several pastorates more than forty years.
Of his poetry it has been said: " From time to time he has sent to magazines and papers hymns and sacred poems of great excellenee. They are full of devout and tender sentiment, are finely expressive of Christian trust and love, and have met a warm response in the hearts of their readers. " *
His marriage to Mary E. Rhodes of Boston was in December, 1833. His death ocenrred at Belmont, Mass .. Aug. 17, 1884. The burial was at " Edgell Grove Cemetery, " Framing- ham, Mass. J. S. D.
MRS. ABBY B. HYDE.
Abby, daughter of Asahel J. and Abigail (Rogers) Bradley, was born in Stockbridge, Mass., Sept. 28, 1799. She had a frail constitution, and her health from childhood was delicate. In early life she manifested an intelligence and a literary taste unusual for a person of her years. Sept. 28, 1818, her nineteenth birthday, she was married to Rev. Lavius Hyde, formerly a teacher in her native town, but who a short time previously had been ordained to the ministry in Salisbury, Conn. In 1823 Mr. Hyde removed to Bolton. Conn .. and eight years later to Ellington, Conn., in both of which places he had charge of the Congregational Church. July 22, 1835, he became pastor of the Evangelical Trinitarian Church in Wayland, Mass. Subsequently he removed to Becket, and after eight years, at
# Alfred Putnam in "Songs of the Liberal Faith."
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APPENDIX TO THE ANNALS OF WAYLAND,
the age of sixty, returned to his former charge in Bolton. During the long years of her husband's life in the gospel ministry Mrs. Hyde proved an efficient and faithful helper. Her name at Wayland is associated with pleasant years, and the sweet characters of herself and her husband were as silent preachers in the community long after their bodily presence had passed from the place. At an early age she commenced the writing of poetry, and in after years became prominent as a writer of sacred hymns. Some of these were first published, but without her name, in Dr. Leonard Bacon's " Monthly Concert Hymns," printed at Andover, Mass. Subsequently, the authorship having been made known to Dr. Nettleton, on the publication of his book entitled " Village Hymns," he solicited of Mrs. Hyde selce- tions for his fortheoming work, and received a contribution of nine. " He also charged her," says the writer of her husband's biography, "to aim at additional hymns for a new edition, the preparation of which he entrusted by will to Mr. and Mrs. Hyde, which con- tains forty-three from her, mostly written during his life and approved by him. Of some in the first edition he wrote her, "I know of none which have been more useful." In all of her hymns, besides the beauty of felicitous expression and the display of fine poetic taste, there is manifest a richness of religious fervor, and firm, abiding faith in her Saviour, such as ever characterized the author's experience. IIer hymns were based upon the great truths of a purely gospel theology, and were the outgoings of an experimental knowledge of Him in whom she heartily believed and always put her trust. Perhaps the most popular of her hymns in the present day, and the one oftenest found in the modern hymn-book, is that beginning with the lines, --
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