USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > The history of Melrose, County of Middlesex, Massachusetts > Part 23
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Yours respectfully,
ELIHU B. HAYES.
After this the efforts of these patriotic women were given to procuring articles suggested by the above letter, rather than gathering clothing and other articles as at first; and in this manner much other valuable assistance in this good work was rendered.
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CHAPTER VIII.
MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
U . S. GRANT POST 4, G. A. R., DEPARTMENT OF MASSA- CHUSETTS. The Grand Army of the Republic was formed in 1866, soon after the close of the War of the Rebellion. Its object and purpose was set forth in the first official report of the then Commander-in-Chief, Gen. B. F. Stephenson:
Early in the spring of 1866, a few patriots, deeply feeling the impor- tance of organizing a grand association of the gallant Union soldiers and sailors of the late terrible rebellion, for the purpose of fostering fraternal relations and keeping alive the zeal of patriotism and devo- tion to our country, and above all, for the purpose of mutual support and assistance in clothing the naked, feeding the hungry and furnish- ing employment to destitute, sick and wounded comrades, and caring for the widows and orphans of the gallant dead, forming their plans, and publicly calling on all interested, on the 13th day of July, 1866, met in convention in the representative hall at the State Capitol at Springfield, Illinois, and then and there, formed the nucleus of the grand organization here represented in convention, and which from that humble origin now extends an influence of great power through- out nearly every state and territory in our country.
Soon after the organization was formed, February 19, 1867, the surviving soldiers and sailors then living in Melrose, those that served on her quotas, and those that became citizens after the war, formed a Post, being the fourth one organized, and named it after Gen. Grant.1 It was the only one that bore his name during his lifetime; others have been named after him since his death. Soon after this Post was named, Congress passed a law that no Posts should be named after living sol-
1 " We have a Grand Army Post, keeping green the memory of the patriot dead, and pointing annually to the increasing and ever to be honored roll, saying, these are they
whose valor and endurance pre_ served to you the blessing of liberty and union." George F. Stone, address at Dedication of Town Hall, June 17, 1874. MSS.
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diers. The Post is the happy possessor of his autograph, in a letter signed by him less than three months before he died, at Mt. Gregor, July 23, 1885;2 and it was in answer to the follow- ing letter of sympathy and condolence sent by the Post.
HEADQUARTERS U. S. GRANT POST 4, G. A. R. DEPARTMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS. MELROSE, April 7, 1885.
Honored and Esteemed Comrade :
Permit us, the Post of the G. A. R., bearing your honored name to send you this brief note in assurance of our deep and sincere sympathy with you in this time of your great trial and suffering. Recognizing as every American must, your just desert of all the heartfelt interest now felt in your condition, and feeling that your comrades in arms, who under you were enabled to save the Union from disruption, have still greater reason than all others to appreciate your great services to the country. As also to sorrow with you in your grief and trials, we offer you our sincere condolence in this hour, and the assurance of our prayers that the God who has held and kept you as in the hollow of His hand during the days of your strength, will now make you to feel that the everlasting arms are under you and will keep you and bless you forever. Yours in F. C. and L. EDWIN C. GOULD, Com. GILBERT N. HARRIS, Adj't.
To Gen. U. S. Grant, New York.
To this sympathetic letter, Gen. Grant replied as follows:
NEW YORK, April 29th, 1885.
DEAR SIR .- The resolutions of sympathy of your Post are received. Now that I am better I wish to acknowledge the same and to express my appreciation of the action.
Very truly yours,
To Commander U. S. Grant Post, No. 4, Melrose, Mass.
Soon after this correspondence, the Great Commander and
2 This was the last time but one name ; so says his son, Col. Fred- that Gen. Grant ever signed his erick D. Grant.
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HISTORY OF MELROSE.
Ex-President died. The Nation mourned his loss. Melrose recognized the solemn event in "Services at the Town Hall, Melrose, August 8, 1885, under the auspices of the Selectmen, in Memory of General Ulysses S. Grant;" on which occasion addresses were made by Hon. Levi S. Gould, Chairman of the Board, Hon. Daniel W. Gooch, Rev. Richard Eddy D. D., Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, Col. Francis S. Hesseltine, Col. Samuel Adams Drake, and Rev. John G. Taylor. Among the other exercises, the following hymn, written by Dr. Julius S. Clark, was recited by Miss Louie H. Orcutt:
MUSTERED OUT-MUSTERED IN.
To U. S. Grant Post No. 4, Department of Massachusetts, G. A. R.
Hallowed hence in Mt. McGregor, Pilgrim's consecrated goal ; Vernon of the country's Saviour, Mecca of the patriot soul.
Like an incense heaven ascending Up from hamlet, mart, and mead, Anguished hearts in pathos blending, Sanctify the Nation's dead.
Strew your path with morning cypress, Join the march with measured tread ; Nobler far than Greek Ulysses, Grant, Columbia's own, is dead. * *
* *
Comrades of the Grand Republic ! Gray-haired men, once boys in blue, White-winged Peace holds yon Potomac, Grant joins in the Grand Review.
Mustered out by Orders General, From the ranks of flesh and pain ; Present at the Call Eternal, Grant is mustered in again.
Great Commander ! God of Goodness ! Subjects we of sovereign will, Trusting to undying mercies : Grant is at Headquarters, still.
A pleasant event in the history of this organization took place July 6, 1886, when a very handsome "Grand Army
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MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
Memorial Record," bound in full Turkey morocco, was pre- sented to the Post, bearing the following inscription:
Memorial Record, Presented to U. S. Grant Post, No. 4, Depart- ment of Massachusetts, by Joseph D. Wilde, Nathaniel P. Jones, Daniel W. Gooch, Samuel E. Sewall, Elbridge H. Goss, Albert D, Holmes, Sidney H. Buttrick, Daniel Russell, Charles H. Isburgh, George L. Morse, John W. Farwell, John Larrabee. 1886. Grand Army of the Republic.
The presentation speech was made by the late Hon. Daniel W. Gooch, duly responded to by the then Commander Edwin C. Gould. The volume contains an elaborate heading on every page, comprising the Grand Army badge, with the words: "In Memoriam. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is Death." Each page contains two columns; one for each Comrade's war history, the other, resolutions passed by the Post.
The Post is officered at the present time as follows : Commander, Frank T. Palmer; Senior Vice Commander, Louis A. Young; Junior Vice Commander, Albert A. Carlton; Adjutant, Charles A. Patch; Quartermaster, Alfred Hocking; Surgeon, Edwin P. Holmes; Chaplain, John E. Marshall; Officer of the Day, Horatio S. Libby; Officer of the Guard, John S. Larrabee ; Sergeant Major, Corne- lius Casey; Quartermaster Sergeant, Thomas J. Munn.
Present number of members, eighty. Only fourteen of these were citizens of Melrose during the war, serving on her various quotas. have become residents since that era.
For many years the Town, at its annual March meeting, made an appropriation of $200 "for keeping in repair and dec- orating the graves of soldiers and sailors on Memorial Day;" and this custom has been continued by the city administration. This amount has always been expended under the auspices of the Post. Each year, on that day, the members of the U. S. Grant Post 4, and William F. Barry Camp 79, Sons of Veter- ans, accompanied by barges for the members of the Woman's Relief Corps, march in procession, with appropriate music. from the G. A. R. Hall on Main Street, to the Wyoming Ceme- tery. There, after services, at a given signal, the graves of all
G. A. R. BADGE All the others
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HISTORY OF MELROSE.
those who have "marched on" --- ever increasing in number year by year-are strewn with flowers. A miniature flag is placed at each grave, which has now a standard marker. On the last Memorial Day, May 30, 1902, one hundred and thirty-one graves were thus decorated; four of which were those of Revo- lutionary heroes, William Emerson, Asa Hart, John Edmunds and William Upham, two of those who fought in the war of 1812, Thomas Brintnall and J. S. Francis, and one civil war nurse, Miss C. M. Kimball.
On the evening of that day, for many years, public com- memorative services were held in the city hall, with music, vocal and instrumental, and a eulogy by some townsman, or orator from abroad. For the past three years these services have been omitted; but on the Sunday previous to Memorial Day it is the custom of some one of the pastors of the local churches, to invite the Post and Camp to be present, when a sermon appropriate to the occasion is delivered.
Closely connected with the history of this Post, is the action taken at the Annual Meeting, March 19, 1895, in behalf of a number of the veteran soldiers who served on the quota of Melrose, relative to the bounty voted them May 6, 1861, as follows: It was
Voted, that the sum of $15.00 per month be paid to those persons having families, and the sum of $10.00 per month to those who were single men, during their term of service in the war.
There was paid to those who enlisted the sum of about $18,000; but there were many who did not apply for this bounty until many years afterwards when it was found that the town records had been destroyed by the fire of August 20, 1870. After more or less agitation the following committee was appointed at the above meeting, to consider the subject and report at the November meeting: William E. Barrett, John Larrabee, John E. Marshall, Alfred Hocking, Frank E. Orcutt, Francis S. Hesseltine, Charles C. Barry, Joseph W. Spaulding, Stephen F. Keyes and Frank H. Merrill.
This committee reported the total amount due as per above vote of the Town, May 6, 1861, as aggregating $44,739.49. Of this, the sum of $18, 114.50 had been paid, leaving still unpaid a balance of $27,459.16; and recommended that application be made to the Legislature by the Selectmen, for an act to be passed authorizing the State to pay the whole or a part of said
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MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
balance, as had been done in other cases of a similar nature. This was successfully done. A resolve for the relief of the ve erans was enacted, and the sum of $8.391.17 was voted for the twenty-two veterans, or their legal heirs, by the following:
Resolved, That there be paid out of the treasury of the Common- wealth to the following named persons, or their heirs or legal repre- sentatives, the sums placed after their names respectively; said per- sons being veterans or heirs or legal representatives of veterans who served in the United States army in the war for the suppression of the rebellion to the credit of the town of Melrose, the within claim arising from a vote of said town passed on the sixth day of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-one.
This gave to them the amounts originally voted by the Town, without interest; nevertheless the amounts were welcomed by the beneficiaries, which were as follows:
Andrews, Edwin A., Corporal in Second Massachusetts Battery, $360.00
Barron, Henry, Wagoner in Twenty-second Massachusetts Regiment, by Elizabeth J. Barron and Bertha M. Arm- strong, heirs at law, 547.50
Batchelder, George W., Sergeant Twenty-second Regiment, by Eldora Batchelder and William B. Batchelder, heirs at law,
434.00
Chandler, Roswell W., First Massachusetts Cavalry, by Abbie A. Chandler, Frank A. Chandler, Herbert W. Chandler and Henry I. Chandler, heirs at law,
180.00
Ellis, Jacob M., Lieutenant in Second Battery,
457.50
Grover, John C., Seventeenth Regiment,
356.00
Jones, Henry H., Corporal in Thirteenth Regiment, .
360.00
Littlefield, Cushing W., Twenty-fourth Regiment, 1 86.00
Lynde, Sherman, Corporal in First Cavalry,
558.00
Macey, James, Thirteenth Regiment, .
363.00
Morse, George J., Thirteenth Regiment, by Horace E. Morse, heir at law, 535.00
Munn, Thomas J., Thirteenth Regiment, 360.00
Peabody, Torrey, Jr., Seventeenth Regiment,
532.50
Pratt, Daniel S., First Cavalry, 360.00
Shelton, Albert F., Thirteenth Regiment, 179.00
Simonds, Joseph R., Captain Seventeenth Regiment, by Hannah G. Simonds, heir at law, 540.00
Sprague, Samuel, Jr., Twelfth Regiment, Corporal, 372.00
Stantial, Thomas B., Artificer Fifth Battery, 149.00
Stilphen, John E., Second Battery, by Sarah E. Stilphen,
Eva F. Crosby and Florence A. Lawrence, heirs at law, 564.00
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HISTORY OF MELROSE.
Tainter, George A., Thirteenth Regiment, . $310.00
Whitney, Edward H., Sergeant Thirteenth Regiment, 361.00
Wyman, William, Twenty-fourth Regiment, 326.67
Total,
$8,391.17
By some oversight a few names of veterans were omitted from the list given by the act to whom the bounty rightfully belonged; among them the late F. Edward Howe, William H. Eastman, and perhaps others.
U. S. GRANT WOMAN'S RELIEF CORPS, NO. 16, AUXILIARY TO U. S. GRANT POST 4. G. A. R. This body of women, the wives and daughters of the war veterans, was organized January 6, 1881. Present membership eighty-six. It is officered as follows: President, Senior Vice President, Junior Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chaplain, Conductor, Guard, Assistant Conductor, Assistant Guard, First Color Bearer, Second, Third, Fourth, and Pianist.
WILLIAM FRANCIS BARRY CAMP, NO. 79, SONS OF VETERANS. This was organized May 27, 1887, and was named after one of the youngest of the "Boys in Blue," that went from Melrose, and who was killed at the " Battle of Antietam, September, 17, 1862. He was a brother of Royal P. and Charles C. Barry. The Camp now numbers forty-seven members, and has officers as follows: Captain, First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, Chaplain, First Sergeant, Second Sergeant, Color Sergeant, and Musician.
THE LADIES' AID SOCIETY, No. 23, auxiliary to William Francis Barry Camp, No. 79, was organized May 9, 1893. It has twenty-one members, and has officers as follows: President, Vice President, Past President, Chaplain, Secretary, Treasurer, Guide, and Judge Advocate.
SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL. The Town of Melrose has recognized the services of her citizen soldiers in the Civil War, by the purchasing of two hundred and twenty-six copies of the Melrose Memorial, and giving a copy to each one that served on her quota;3 and, also, by the placing of an " American Flag
3 At a Town Meeting held Nov. 3, 1868, Hon. Sammel E. Sewall of- fered the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted :
" That the Selectmen be authorized to subscribe and pay for a sufficient number of copies of Mr. Elbridge HI. Goss' work, entitled, The Mel-
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MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
Window," in " memory of those soldiers who gave their lives for their country," in the new Baptist Church on Franklin Street, at the Highlands, in 1895.
Several efforts have been made by our citizens, at different times, looking towards the erection of a Monument, Memorial Hall, Tablets in the Town Hall, or in some other way recognize the war record of our " Boys in Blue." One was March 1, 1886, when Dr. Julius S. Clark offered a series of resolutions, which were unanimously adopted.
No further action was taken by the town at this time.
Again in 1896, a committee of fifteen from the U. S. Grant Post 4, G. A. R., was appointed to take into consideration the erection of a Memorial Hall. This committee asked for the cooperation of all the Churches, Masons, Odd Fellows, and other societies. These bodies appointed committees to repre- sent them, and a number of meetings and consultations took place in the G. A. R. Hall. It was then thought that a site for such a hall on the old Village Cemetery land, then disused, might be voted by the Town. When it was found that the school-house building committee had pre-empted the whole lot for the High School structure, all further effort ceased.
It is hoped that the day will come when something more will be done to honor our soldiers and sailors, and their ser- vices.
This sentence was written in 1899. May 6, 1901, a commu- nication to the Board of Aldermen was received from His Honor, Mayor Larrabee, enclosing a letter from the U. S. Grant Post 4, G. A. R., relative to a proposed soldiers' and sailors' monument to be erected on the "Soldiers' Lot" in Wyoming Cemetery, suggesting that a committee from the Board of Aldermen be appointed to meet a committee of the Post, and the Cemetery Committee, to take the matter into
rose Memorial: The Annals of Melrose, County of Middlesex, Mas- sachusetts, during the Great Rebel- lion of 1861-65, to furnish a copy to every inhabitant of this town who served as a soldier or sailor in the Rebellion, now living, and a copy to the family of each of said soldiers and sailors as have deceased ; also for twenty-five additional copies for the town, any of which may be
given to public libraries at the discretion of the Selectmen."
And on motion of Hon. Daniel W. Gooch, it was voted that the following inscription be embossed in gilt letters on the cover of each copy thus given :
Presented to- (name of soldier or sailor )-by the Town of Melrose, in recognition of his services during the Great Rebellion of IS61-5.
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HISTORY OF MELROSE.
consideration and report. Favorable action was taken, and President Robinson appointed the following committee: Alder- men Marshall, Page, Goss, Day and Barton. The members of the other committees were as follows: George P. Marsh, Al- fred Hocking and Frank T. Palmer of the Post, and John P. Deering, Oscar F. Frost and L. Henry Kunhardt, Cemetery Committee. Through the kindness of Hon. John D. Long. Secretary of the Navy, aided by Representative Ernest W. Roberts, the Post succeeded in obtaining from the United States Government, the permanent loan of three thirty-pound Parrott guns, and twelve twelve-inch shells.
With this material a handsome design for a monument, with granite base, was submitted to and adopted by the united com- mittees at a meeting held May 14, and by a unanimons vote. the Aldermanic Committee was requested to report to the Board of Aldermen, a recommendation that the design be adopted, and an appropriation of $250 be asked for, with which to prepare a suitable foundation on said "Soldiers' Lot," and that the monument be created thereon. This committee re- ported to the Board of Aldermen, and at a meeting held June 3. 1001, this sum of $750 was unanimously appropriated, by the following vote:
That for the purpose of commemorating the deeds of valor and self sacrifice of those who so unselfishly gave their lives or rendered loyal service for their country in the dark days of the Rebellion, it is hereby ordered that a monument. substantially in accordance with a plan nummbered 1. as submitted by l. S. Grant Post No. 4. G. A. R., be erected on the Soldiers' Lot in Wyoming Cemetery, and that the sum of seven hundred and fifty dollars (5-500 be and is hereby appropri- Med to pay for the cost and the erection of said monument, and for grading the lot thereof; the work to be done under the direction of His Honor the Mayor.
Ordered further that in order to provide for the foregoing appropri- ation the City Treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to borrow the sum of seven hundred and fifty dollars (-50) and issue the note or notes of the City therefor, payable within one year from date of issue, with interest not exceeding four (a) per cent. per annum.
This design as adopted was made by Virgil W. Fuller, upon the basis of a $550 appropriation. When he learned that the amount appropriated was $;50, he submitted a new and more elaborate design, which was the one finally adopted at a meeting of the various committees, with His Honor, Mayor
263
MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
Larrabee, in his office, August 7, 1901. Under his direction, bids were solicited, the contract awarded to Joss Brothers Company of Quincy, the lowest bidder, and the monument erected.
The base is of Quincy granite, and bears the date of the Great Rebellion, "1861-65." There is no other inscription.
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT.
The three Parrott Rifles, which form so unique a part of the monument, have a history closely connected with the war; one being in use on the U. S. S. "Sophronia," in the Potomac flotilla, one on the U. S. S. "Iuka," and one on the U. S. S. "Trefoil." They weigh respectively 3,510, 3,500 and 3,490 pounds; a total of 10,450 pounds. An account of the dedica- tory services is given under "Old Home Week" observances.
CHAPTER IX.
FIRST AND LAST TOWN MEETINGS.
M ELROSE was incorporated May 3, 1850. The first war- rant for a Town Meeting, dated May 6, 1850, was issued by Elbridge Green, Esq., Justice of the Peace, and was directed to Jonathan Cochran, Esq., another Justice of the Peace.
The inhabitants qualified to vote in elections and town affairs, were warned to assemble on May 10, 1850, in Academy Hall, which stood upon land which now forms the northeast corner of Grove and Berwick Streets. Sometime before the year 1857, this building was moved to Main Street, nearly opposite the present Post Office, became known as Lyceum Hall, and was destroyed in the destructive fire which occurred August 20, 1870, six days only before the Spot Pond water system was ready for use. This building had been extensively used for town purposes, and its destruction very essentially hastened the erection of our present City Hall.
This warrant had two articles, viz .: "To choose a Moderator; to choose all necessary Town Officers for the year ensuing." The following officers were chosen:
Henry Sprague, Moderator; Elbridge Green, Town Clerk; Jeremiah Martin, Isaac Emerson, Jr., Artemas Barrett, Select- men; Aaron Green, Shubael L. Taylor, William J. Farnsworth, Assessors; Isaac Emerson, Treasurer and Collector; Henry A. Norris, Caleb Howard, Elbridge Green, School Committee; James Howard, Highway Surveyor.
The salaries then voted were as follows:
Town Clerk, eight dollars per annum; in 1854, increased to Sto; Selectmen, four dollars each, per annum; in 1854 in- creased to $8; Assessors, $1.25 per day, each man ; in 1854 increased to $1.50; Collector, at first as determined by the Selectmen; then in 1854, it was made $25 per annum.
The first annual report is something of a curiosity; being a
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FIRST AND LAST TOWN MEETINGS.
broadside 10 X 12 inches. It is headed, Report of the Financial Concerns | of the | Town of Melrose, \ From May 20, 1850, to April 1, 1851, and is signed by Jonathan Cochran, Josiah W. Talbot and John Blake, Financial Committee. A few of the items on this first report are worthy of note. It was the day of small things and small expenses when compared with our present labors and outlays.
Jeremiah Martin, for Serv. as Selectman, $4-Running town lines, $10-Examining Dix Pond, Railing and Culverts, $2-
Cash paid for Printing. $14.25-Laying out Streets. $12-
Letting and Superintending Vinton Street, $4-Cash paid for Jury Box, and for Stationery, $5.90, . $52.15
Isaac Emerson, Jr., Services as Selectman, etc., 34.88
Artemas Barrett, Services as Selectman, etc .. 32.00 Elbridge Green, for Services as Town Clerk, Express Bills, etc., 9.50 Isaac Emerson, for Services as Treasurer, and for Blank Book, $9.13
Caleb Howard and Elbridge Green School Committee, were paid Sio, and $12, respectively.
Shubael L. Taylor, Aaron Green, and William J. Farnsworth, Assessors, were paid respectively, $13.75, $15, and $17.25.
The second annual report, from April 1, 1851, to March 24, 1852, formed quite a contrast to the first, being a pamphlet of sixteen pages. From year to year the annual report of the affairs of our city has been increasing in size, until for the year 1902, it took a volume of four hundred and forty-two pages.
The number of legal town meetings that have been held to January 1, 1900, is two hundred and fifteen, and there has been one hundred and five adjourned meetings. They have been held in the following places:
Vestry of Protestant Methodist Church, I
Congregational Meeting House,
Engine Hall, . 2
Academy, or Town Hall, 28
Vestry of Universalist Church, 20
Concert, or Good Templars' Hall, 22 Unity Hall, II
Lyceum Hall, 56
and after the Town Hall was erected in 1873, all Town Meet- ings were held therein.
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HISTORY OF MELROSE.
The family of the late D. Alvin Lynde, who died February 23, 1899, is the possessor of a broadside report showing Expenses | of the Town of Malden, \ for one Year, ending April Ist, 1826. One or two items of interest may be mentioned. The amount raised for the public schools for the whole town was $1,200. Isaac Emerson of the North End, was one of the Selectmen, also an Assessor; and he received $17.50 for his services. James Crane, as Town Treasurer, received $10; and instead of there being a town debt, the committee, Charles Hill and Gilbert Haven, reported a " Balance in favor of the Town, $1,336.67." Mr. Lynde also owned an Annual Report | of the | Financial Concerns | of the | Town of Malden | Mch. 1, 1844, six years before the incorporation of Melrose, when George Emerson of the North End, was one of the Selectmen, and several other names of citizens of the same section appear therein. That year $2,000 was the "Town Grant" for schools, of which sum $475.09 was spent for the "North District School." This report also shows a balance in favor of the Town, of $790.46.
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