USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Sudbury > The history of Sudbury, Massachusetts, 1638-1889 > Part 44
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CAPT. SAMUEL WADSWORTH, OF MILTON ; CAPT. BROCKLEBANK, OF ROWLEY ; LIEUT. SHARP, OF BROOKLINE ;
and twenty six others, men of their command, who fell near this spot, on the 18th of April, 1676, while defending the frontier settlements against the allied Indian forces of Philip of Pokanoket.
1852.
(The date of the fight as above given is incorrect : see page 218.)
In front of the monument is the slate stone which stood at the head of the old grave. "There is, in the rooms of a Boston Society, a broken slab, which is an exact fac-simile of the lower part of this stone, and is claimed by some to be the original erected by President Wadsworth over the remains of his dead father and the men who fell with him. But
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there are no records or traditions to identify it, and the only mode of accounting for its existence is by supposing that a slab, first made, was accidentally broken in the stone-yard in Boston, and that the broken piece found its way into the collection, while another was made and sent to Sudbury where it has ever since remained." This monument is firmly set upon a foundation of split stone, six feet thick, five feet of which are covered with earth. At the foot of the monu- ment, in front, was an aperture through which the remains of the ancient martyrs, which had been disinterred, were deposited in the tomb, after which it was hermetically sealed. The monument is surrounded by a handsome iron railing twenty feet square, durably and strongly set. The whole cost of monument, fence, and grading was one thousand and fifty dollars. The foregoing quotations concerning the mon- ument, and the following account of the dedication, are taken from a Report, published by the town in 1853: -
" This new tribute to the memory of our fathers was dedi- cated on the 23d of November, A.D., 1852. There would, probably, have been a very full attendance had it not been for a steady, continued snow-storm through the day.
" A number of military companies had been expected, and had the day been pleasant the ceremony would have been imposing. As it was, the affair went off well.
" At a little after ten o'clock a procession was formed at the Town Hall, under the marshalship of Col. Drury Fair- bank, in the following order : -
"Sudbury Brass Band, Marshall Eaton, leader; Sudbury Wadsworth Rifle Guards, in grey uniform and full numbers, commanded by Capt. Ephraim Moore ; this corps marched and looked well, and the band attached performed excellently, although it has been formed scarcely a year; carriages con- taining His Excellency George S. Boutwell, Governor of this Commonwealth, and the invited guests; citizens on foot. The procession moved over the road to Saxonville, south- ward, and within a mile of the Town Hall, turned to the left, where, in the rear of a newly located burying-ground, appeared a neat granite column. It was in this vicinity that
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the event which the ceremonies of the day commemorated took place; the scalped and mangled bodies of Captain Wadsworth and his command having been found scattered over a small space of ground in the brushwood. After marching around the monument, the procession moved back to the Town Hall, the upper floor of which was soon thronged with many hundred guests, nearly one-half of whom were ladies. The remains of the ancient dead were then brought in, and the six boxes containing them deposited in the hall near the door. These remains are in a remarkable state of preservation, many teeth being perfect, and the skulls and other bones of several bear the marks of the Indian bullet and the Indian tomahawk, the evidence of blows that fell one hundred and seventy-four years ago.
" The medical gentlemen who have had the care of these bones since their disinterment are Dr. O. O. Johnson of Mill Village, Sudbury, and Dr. Goodnough ; they find twenty- seven pairs of thigh bones and fragments of two pairs more, corresponding to the number of men that are mentioned by history as having been slain. In one skull there is a hole half an inch wide and several inches long, directly over the temple in the left side of the top of the head, answering exactly to the size of a tomahawk blade; in another, the lower jaw shows a similar aperture below the teeth where the weapon has crushed in sideways. But the most remark- able thing is the completeness of the teeth ; and in the left side of the lower jaw of one skull two of the teeth are worn down, as if by the constant use of a pipe, making a semi- circular cavity, the surface of which is perfectly smooth. The jaw indicated an aged man. One of the skulls was, evidently, that of a young man, the wisdom teeth not having been cut, but the majority were all of middle age, and the size of the bones of all gave evidence that, if they were not picked men, the trials of a colonist's life and the rough training of the early settlers was calculated to develop the physical nature of our ancestors in high perfection.
" As soon as the Chief Marshal had arranged the audi- ence and obtained silence, Nahum Thompson, the President of the Day, arose and said: Fellow Citizens, - we have
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assembled upon this interesting occasion to recall to our minds the services and sufferings of our forefathers, those devoted men, who sacrificed their lives that they might be- come, as it were, stepping-stones to the attainment of those innumerable and inestimable blessings and privileges, both civil and religious, which we their descendants are permitted to enjoy, and to dedicate to their memory yonder monument, that Granite Pillar, durable as the names of Wadsworth, Brocklebank and Sharp are imperishable; in doing this, it becometh us to acknowledge Him whose superintending providence has continually been over us; I would therefore introduce to ou the Rev. Linus H. Shaw, who will address the Throne of Grace that God's mercy still rest upon us. The reverend gentleman made a very appropriate prayer; a hymn was then read by Rev. C. V. Spear and sung by all present to the tune of ' Old Hundred.'
" His Excellency George S. Boutwell was then introduced, and made an address."
The proceedings which followed the address are thus de- scribed in the published account of the exercises : -
" The company then adjourned to the lower room of the Hall, where dinner had been prepared by Mr. Wright, at which a blessing was invoked by the Rev. Mr. Spear and thanks returned by Rev. Mr. Lee. The entertainment was good, though the guests were not numerous and no speeches were made. It had been originally intended to have the dinner near the monument in Mr. Wright's tent, which had been erected ; but early in the morning, after everything had been prepared for the reception of fifteen hundred guests, the irons which fastened the upper part of the canvas to the masts suddenly unbent, in consequence of the immense weight of snow which had covered the tent, and the awning, with its superincumbent weight of snow, fell upon and cov- ered the tables. No damage will accrue, except the breaking of a small quantity of crockery and glass ware.
" The dinner being over, all present reascended to the upper hall, where the bones were exhibited to the multitude, after which the boxes were removed, and the regular toasts of
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the day were read by Nahum Thompson, Esq., and responded to by the band, so that all present were entertained with a succession of military pieces, well played, for the space of over an hour. At half-past four o'clock the Governor with- drew and returned to Boston. After the regular toasts had been read and volunteer sentiments had been called for, Col. Winthrop E. Faulkner of Acton, having stated some facts respecting the action that resulted in the death of Captain Wadsworth and his company, gave the following sentiment:
"' The sons of Sudbury. - May they be as marked for martial courage, for prompt and vigorous action and true republican principles, as were those whose remains have just been removed to their last resting-place.'
" To this, Colonel Fairbanks, the Marshal of the day, responded.
" The clergyman of the Orthodox Society in town, Rev. Mr. Spear, then - having alluded to the unique character and great interest of the occasion, as the dedication of a monu- ment commemorating an event, the earliest in our history thus commemorated, and having referrred to the interesting character of Governor Boutwell's Address - gave the fol- lowing : 'The Orator of the day. - He deserves our warmest thanks for his lucid and deeply interesting sketches of the times and the scenes passed through, the causes of alienation which operated, and the characters developed and exhibited, during the progress of King Philip's War.'
"Mr. S. D. Hunt of Concord then, by a well-timed classic allusion, complimenting the band which had contributed so much to the interest of the occasion, gave, as the closing sentiment, the following :-
"' The Sudbury Brass Band. - May their shadow never be less.'
" The occasion went off well, under the care of the follow- ing gentlemen : -
"Committee of Arrangements. - Asahel Balcom, Lyman Howe, Abel B. Jones, Ephraim Stone, John P. Allen, in addition to the Building Committee: Nahum Thompson, Drury Fairbanks, Enoch Kidder, Ephraim Moore and Jona- than R. Vose.
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" Pall Bearers. - Tilly Smith, William Brigham, Israel Haynes, David Lincoln, Charles Gerry, Asa Jones, Jonas Tower, Jonathan Fairbanks.
" After the closing sentiment, the audience, which through- out the exercises had given the most fixed attention, quietly dispersed."
" The entire lot left by the proprietors for the Wadsworth monument consists of a parallelogram ten rods by four." An old deed mentions " the monument," meaning the old mound, as being " marked out in an oblong or square just about the centre of the farm." This was the Israel How Brown farm. When the committee decided not to erect the monument on the site of the old mound, but a little to one side (see page 250), they procured a piece of land of Mr. Brown, a portion of which was taken for the enclosure that contains the monu- ment. The avenue leading to it was opened about the same time, and was a part of the same farm. In 1855, the select- men were instructed " to plant trees around the monument and on the avenue leading to it, the trees to be set at a dis- tance of not more than thirty feet apart." A few years ago a large white pine-tree stood within the enclosure easterly of the monument, but it was struck by lightning and afterwards cut down. The town expended over nine hundred and fifty dollars, besides what was received from the State, in erecting the monument and enclosing it with an iron fence.
ECCLESIASTICAL EVENTS.
During the third period of the century several changes took place in the Evangelical Union Church. March 15, 1852, the society voted to concur with Mr. Ballard in calling a council for his dismission, and his pastorate in Sudbury soon after ceased. During the latter part of his ministry here he lived at the present George Parmenter place, which was then owned by several persons and leased for a par- sonage. The following is a brief sketch of his life : -
REV. JOSIAH BALLARD.
Josiah Ballard was born at Peterboro, N. H., April 14, 1806. He learned the mason's trade, and worked at it for
-
g. Ballard
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some years. He fitted for college, completing his studies at Munson Academy, and graduated at Yale in 1833. He studied theology two years with Dr. Whiton of Antrim, N.H., and was licensed to preach in 1835. The same year he married Elizabeth D., daughter of Rev. John Whiton, D.D. He was settled at Chesterfield, N. H., then at Nelson, N. H. He was installed at Sudbury, March 3, 1841, and dismissed April, 1852. He was afterwards settled at New Ipswich, N. H., and at Carlisle, Mass., at which latter place he died, Dec. 12, 1863, aged fifty-seven. He had two children, - Edward O. and Catherine E., both born at Nelson, N. H. Mr. Ballard and his wife were buried at Carlisle, but were afterwards removed, and laid, in accordance with their desire, in the New Maplewood Cemetery at South Antrim, N. H., occupying one of the five family lots joining each other. Mr. Ballard was much esteemed in Sudbury. His influence was widely felt, and the remembrance of him was fondly cherished for many years after he left town. He was a re- served, dignified man, rather grave in manner and a hard worker.
July 26, 1852, the society voted to extend a call to Rev. Charles V. Spear, at a salary of $650; and October 27 of the same year he was ordained and installed. The minis- ters who composed the council were as follows: Revs. John Todd, D.D., of Pittsfield, E. Russell of East Randolph, J. C. Bodwell of Framingham, Henry Allen of Wayland, W. C. Jackson of Lincoln, L. H. Angier of Concord, J. Ballard of New Ipswich, N. H., J. C. Woodbridge of Auburndale, and B. G. Northrup of Saxonville. The sermon was by Dr. Todd. Sept. 18, 1855, Mr. Spear was dismissed on account of ill health ; and May 14, 1856, Rev. Erastus Dickinson was called as his successor at a salary of $800. The council of installation was as follows: Revs. R. S. Storrs, D.D., of Braintree, Henry Allen of Wayland, Marcus Ames of Westminster, Levi A. Fields of Marlboro, and C. V. Spear of Pittsfield. The sermon was by Dr. Storrs. Mr. Dickinson remained in the pastorate of the church till June 30, 1868, when he was dismissed. He was born at Plainfield, Mass., and graduated at Amherst College in 1832. He
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studied theology at Auburn Theological Seminary, and was ordained at Canton, where he preached a year. Subse- quently he was settled at Chaplin and at Colchester, Ct., and Sudbury. While at the latter place he was sent as Repre- sentative to the Legislature. On leaving Sudbury, his health being somewhat impaired, he went to Lakewood, N. J., where he was postmaster fifteen years. He died Sept. 4, 1888, at the age of eighty-two.
From the time of Mr. Dickinson's dismission the pulpit was most of the time supplied by Rev. Webster Patterson, until the settlement of Rev. Philander Thurston, Feb. 1, 1870. The salary of Mr. Thurston was $1200. The install- ing council was composed of the Revs. T. D. P. Stone of Assabet, M. J. Savage of Framingham, C. H. Williams of Concord, A. S. Hudson of Burlington, E. R. Drake of Way- land, G. G. Phipps of Wellesley, and H. J. Richardson of Lincoln. The sermon was by Dr. J. M. Manning of Boston. Rev. Mr. Thurston was dismissed Sept. 22, 1874. Shortly after the close of this pastorate, Rev. George A. Oviatt became acting pastor of the church, and continued to serve in that capacity for a period of eight years. As a pastor he was kind and sympathetic, and one of those men who never grow old. Jan. 1, 1883, being enfeebled by sickness, he asked to be released from his charge, and the request was reluctantly granted. He had been a preacher for half a cen- tury, and had held five pastorates, - at Belchertown and Chicopee, Somers and Talcottville, Conn., and Sudbury. He was one year Secretary of the American Sunday-School Union, and three years engaged in mission work in Boston. The Shawmut Church, Boston, was organized as the result of his labors. In the War of the Rebellion he went to Louisiana in the division of General Banks, as chaplain of the 25th Connecticut Regiment. In that service he lost his health and it was never fully regained. He died at Sudbury, June 1, 1883, aged seventy-six, and was buried at Mount Auburn.
Rev. Calvin Fitts preached for a few months after Mr. Oviatt resigned, and died at Sudbury in the fall of 1883. Rev. David W. Goodale commenced preaching in June, 1884,
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and remained about three years. Rev. Warren Richardson, the present acting pastor, commenced his term of service in the fall of 1887.
The following persons have served as deacons in the Con- gregational Church : Gardner Hunt, Thomas L. Dakin, Thomas P. Hurlbut, Emory Hunt, Benjamin H. Richardson, Francis F. Walker. The last two are in service at the pres- ent time.
Aug. 10, 1874, the society voted to accept of one thousand dollars donated by Samuel Dana Hunt, for " the preaching of the Gospel essentially in its present doctrine or belief." If the church was ever removed to South Sudbury, or a new name given it, the gift was to remain.
In 1881, the society voted to accept of a bequest by Miss Emily Thompson. A gift was also received of Mrs. Abigail Smith of Sudbury, and one hundred dollars of Miss Ruth Carter.
EDUCATIONAL MATTERS.
Considerable change occurred in educational matters dur- ing this period. One important event was the establishment of Wadsworth Academy.
WADSWORTH ACADEMY.
In 1856, measures were taken to establish an academy at South Sudbury. A corporation was formed, the object of which was to hold property, consisting of a building, land, and suitable fixtures for educational and religious purposes. The design of the projectors of the enterprise was to erect a building, the upper part of which could be used for a school, and the lower part for social and religious services. There had been no hall at " Mill Villiage," as South Sudbury was then called, except one over the "old wheelwright's shop," where sometimes a meeting was held on Sabbath evenings, and occasionally a private school was kept, where the tuition was ninepence a week. This hall was low and dilapidated, and reached by a flight of stairs on the outside, and wholly unfit for public use. Besides the need of a hall was the need of a higher school than was provided by the town. To meet
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these needs a corporation was formed, the capital stock of which was three thousand dollars. The parties who com- posed it, and the number of shares taken by each were as follows : Samuel D. Hunt, three shares ; Dexter C. Jones, three; Gardner Hunt, one and one-half; Samuel Puffer, three ; A. B. Richardson, three ; Charles Hunt, three ; Joseph Richardson, three ; Walter Rogers, six; Samuel Rogers, three; Emory Hunt, three; George Parmenter, three ; Levi Goodenough, three ; Roland Cutler, six ; Eliza- beth Hunt, one and one-half ; Nancy J. Moore, three ; J. D. and C. A. Cutter, three ; Abigail B. Brown, three; Arthur Bowen, three.
The first meeting was held March 11, 1857, and the fol- lowing officers were elected : President, Dr. Levi Good- enough ; Directors, Roland Cutler, Samuel Puffer; Treas- urer, Samual D. Hunt. The land was purchased of Nichols B. Hunt, and the building was erected by Arthur Bowen of South Sudbury. It was two stories high, had a colonade in front and faced the west. It was named in honor of Captain Wadsworth. Among the studies pursued in the school were the higher mathematics, the classics, French, drawing and painting. The tuition varied with the studies taken. The first teacher was Erastus N. Fay, formerly teacher of the Wayland High School, and graduate of Dartmouth College. Then followed Mr. James Russell, a graduate of Amherst College, Miss Lydia R. Draper (Mrs. A. S. Hudson), a graduate of New Hampton Sem- inary, Miss S. Jennie Holden (Mrs. E. P. Tenney), Miss Gibbs, Mr. Charles Rogers, a graduate of Middleton Uni- versity, Conn., Mr. Edwin Hunt, a graduate of Amherst College, and Miss Sarah Russell. After a time the school ceased to exist as an academy. It had done its work of affording advanced educational privileges to a class of young men and women, some of whom had entered higher institu- tions of learning, others had become school teachers, and others still had entered upon the practical duties of life in the household, or on the farm, or in some branch of business or trade. The need of an academy having been met, the demand for its continuance ceased, and the rooms were used
THE WADSWORTH ACADEMY, South Sudbury. From an original sketch by A. S. Hudson.
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for one of the town's common schools. A few years later the building was destroyed by fire, and on its site was erected a Congregational chapel in 1880; but, though the old academy has passed away, there are some who trace their success and many of life's pleasant relations to their beginnings in that peaceful spot.
Important changes took place during this period in con- nection with the common schools. Old districts were di- vided, and new ones were formed ; old school-houses were moved and new ones built. A large share of the territory of the north-west district was taken from Sudbury by the incorporation of Maynard ; but in the districts that remained the schools and school-houses increased. The centre school- house, that had stood on the common, was moved to its present location south of the Methodist meeting-house, and after its removal was fitted up for the use of two schools, - a primary and grammar. In 1868, the Lanham school-house was moved from the road corners by the Coolidge place to its present location, north of the Boston and Worcester highway, on land that once belonged to the Goodnow farm. In 1869, eight hundred dollars was granted for repairs on the south- west school-house. In 1870, the town voted to build a new school-house in the north-east district, to be located at or near the junction of Puffer Lane and the north road. The building was erected at a cost of $2884.82. The same year measures were taken for the removal of the old Pantry school-house, and the result was that a new school-house was built in the southerly portion of the north-east district, and the Pantry school-house was moved and became the depot of the Framingham & Lowell Railroad. The new school-house was located near the house of Alfred Thompson, and cost $3825.23. About the same time the town voted to build a school-house in the west part of the town in a locality where, hitherto, there had been none. It was erected on the Bos- ton and Berlin road, near the house of John Coughlin, at a cost of $2508.77. The building committee rendered their report to the town March 4, 1872, and at the same meeting the committee appointed to number the school districts reported that plates had been procured, lettered and num-
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bered at a cost of $7.50, and that commeneing with the centre district, which they designated as number one, the committee next proceeded to the house in the south-west district, which they numbered two. Thence, passing to the right of the centre of the town, the remaining houses were numbered in their regular order, closing with the new house near the residence of John Coughlin, which was numbered six. The town opened a new school at South Sudbury, and March 1, 1875, "voted to allow the proprietors of Wadsworth Hall $100 for rent of said hall for school purposes."
In 1881, a school-house was built in the Wadsworth distriet by C. O. Parmenter, at a cost of $2560.61. It was placed on a lot containing a half acre of land, which was pur- chased of Walter Rogers, and situated on the south side of the Sudbury and Marlboro road, about midway between the Massachusetts Central and Old Colony Railroads.
THE GOODNOW LIBRARY.
In 1862, the town received the means of establishing a Public Library through the generosity of John Goodnow of Boston. The gift came in the form of a bequest, which was set forth in his will as follows : -
"First: I give, devise, and bequeath unto my native Town of Sudbury, in the County of Middlesex, the sum of Twenty Thousand Dollars, to be appropriated for the pur- pose of purchasing and keeping in order a Public Library, for the benefit of the inhabitants of that Town."
"Second: I also give, devise and bequeath to the said Town of Sudbury, three acres of land on the northerly part of the Sudbury Tavern Estate, adjoining the land of Howe Brown, beginning at the Meeting-house road, and running with equal width with Brown's line to the brook, for the purpose of erecting thereon a suitable building for a Library ; and the further sum of Twenty-five Hundred Dollars for the erection of such building ; and whatever portion of said land shall not be needed for the purposes of said Library building, the said Town of Sudbury shall have full power and
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authority to apply to any other Town purposes, but without any power of alienation."
" At a legal meeting held at Sudbury, on the seventh day of April, 1862, the Town voted to accept the bequest con- tained in the first and second clauses of the last Will and Testament of John Goodnow, late of Boston ; and Messrs. James Moore, John H. Dakin, and George Parmenter, Selectmen of the Town, were appointed and authorized to receive and receipt for the said bequests." At the same meeting it was voted to adopt the following resolution : " Resolved by the Inhabitants of Sudbury, in Town meet- ing assembled, That we accept with thankfulness the noble bequests given to the town by the late John Goodnow of Boston ; and that, as an evidence of our gratitude, we pledge ourselves to endeavor to the utmost of our ability, Honestly and Honorably to carry out the benevolent intentions of the Donor."
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