USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Westborough > The history of Westborough, Massachusetts. Part I. The early history. By Heman Packard De Forest. Part II. The later history. By Edward Craig Bates > Part 12
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(signed) JONATHAN BOND,
To FRANCIS WHIPPLE, Representative.
Moderator.
The temper of these instructions is admirable. No sub- mission to unjust oppression, no surrender of the rights of free-born Englishmen; but, on the other hand, no mob- law, no rioting, nor - with a fine distinction - any paying for damages occurring through the riotous acts of others in which, whether sorry for them or not, the people of the town had no share.
In November the church held a fast on account of the
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distress in the Colonies. The prospect was not cheering. Every one felt the pressure of the time. The next few months were heavy with foreboding. But on the 17th of May, 1766, just after the division between Westborough and Northborough was accomplished, the welcome news reached town that the detested Act was repealed, and there was great rejoicing.
There are no important records of the town relating to the affairs of the Province for the next six years, except that on the call for a convention of Massachusetts towns in Faneuil Hall in 1768, after Boston had refused to import any more British goods on account of newly imposed duties, Westborough responded promptly, and sent her leading man as delegate, - Capt. Stephen Maynard, afterward foremost in all military affairs ; and that not far from the same time the ministerial association of this vicinity held a fast in Westborough on account of the civil troubles. The next four years passed in com- parative quiet. .
Meantime the town was growing and prosperous. Not- withstanding the loss of the north precinct, the new meet- ing-house was already becoming too small. In September, 1768, the town took measures to increase the seating capacity, "to make more room especially for the men, who are very much crowded." Think of that, in these days when from two thirds to three fourths of the attend- ants at church are women! On the 14th of November the committee appointed made their report, which is worth preserving: -
They are of opinion that ye Body of seats below be moved one foot forward, and that all ye seats Except ye foreseat be made three inches narrower, & take one foot out of ye alley behind ye Pews, either forward or Backward, that is before ye
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EARLY HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
alley as ye owners shall chuse ; that taking the hind seat there will be Room for 4 pews more in ye Body of ye house, and that their be a pew built over ye stairs in ye men's side wide enough for 3 seats ; or as wide as a workman shall think will not dis- commode ye passing up and down ye stairs ; & that ye parting in ye front gallery be Removed into ye women's end so far as there may be Room for 3 persons to set in each seat.
WESTBOROUGH, Oct" ye 10th, 1768.
FRANCIS WHIPPLE,
JONA FAY,
JONA BOND, the comm.
TIMOTHY WARRIN,
Ye above report was accepted.
This was ingenious enough; but it indicated that there had been some lack of foresight when the meeting-house was built, only ten years before, or it would not have been already crowded to its utmost capacity. In the April following, the measures proposed by the committee were carried out; but the town continued to grow, and five years later more radical plans of enlargement were necessary. In 1772 a little relief was gained by the pro- vision " that ye women's front Gallery should be for ye men to sit in Except ye Front Pue, and to remove ye partition between ye men and women's seats to ye east end of ye women's seats." But this, though apparently leaving very little room for the women, was a very tem- porary relief; and the following year, in the midst of much public excitement concerning the affairs of the Province, the town chose "a Committy to Vue sum meeting houses that hav ben Cut in two & a pece put in ye meedel." The committee reporting favorably, “ye Town voted to split ye meeting house & put in 14 feet." It was farther voted to build three porches, and to
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repair where needful. In April the work was so far on foot as to require the usual vote that the committee "should provide the necessary drink for the workmen and those that assist when they move and raise those parts of the meeting house which are to be moved and raised, & provide liquor for the carpenters and workmen when they shall work at the meeting-house." Certain vain persons appear to have aspired to a steeple; but that extravagance was rebuked by a very decided vote in June " not to build a steeple; " and when those who desired it offered to be responsible for the expense, a still more emphatic answer was recorded in August that they would not have a steeple built free of cost to the town. The steeple was to come, but not till twenty- eight years afterward, when a bell was presented to them, and they must needs have a place to hang it.1
There is a way-mark of progress in the introduction, in 1771, of a change in the service of song in the house of the Lord. On the 24th of February the church voted, " by a great majority, to use that Version of ye Psalms which was set forth by Dr. Brady and Nahum Tate, Esq., with the Addition of as many of Dr. Watts' Hymns as can conveniently be obtained." Only three members of the church failed to vote on this occasion, - two, because they wished to wait and see what the congre- gation would say; and one, because "he knew nothing about it, having never seen one of them in his Life." On the 12th of May the congregation was informed of the
1 The three porches built at this time, though long ago removed from the building, are still in existence. One of them was transformed into the house now occupied by Mrs. Wilson, on Boardman Street ; another into the house of Mr. Arnold, on Heath Street; and the third into the small house on the grounds of the " Blake Place," on West Main Street.
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EARLY HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
vote of the church, and concurred "by a silential vote." It was then ordered that objections, if there were any, should be brought in before the next Sabbath or the Sab- bath after. On the 27th of June the church, " that we might have peace and harmony, . .. condescended that the Congregation, males of ye age of 21 years, might have liberty " to vote in the choice of leaders; and accordingly they proceeded to the radical step of electing four leaders to conduct the singing.
This is the second step, and an important one, in the history of the musical contest. The first was taken forty years before, and has been already mentioned. That was the adoption of the use of a greater variety of tunes, and of written music; since that time the psalm had been read, or "lined out," one line at a time, and the people had sung as best they could, but without much regard to time or melody. The present change was the enter- ing wedge of the much greater innovation which in due time introduced the choir. The adoption of the Tate and Brady version of the psalms, which had been pub- lished in England early in the century, but which a re- luctance to be indebted to English workmanship had kept out of use here hitherto, was an improvement in the quality of the psalmody ; and the introduction of some of Watts's hymns was a much greater step in ad- vance. But the most radical innovation of all was the appointment of four "leaders." It led in time to the disuse of the old custom of lining out, dear to the soul of many a deacon and clerk, and gallantly fought for in many a meeting-house in those days. The same step had been taken in Worcester the year before, and was part of a very general movement growing out of the increasing instruction and intelligence on the subject.
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These four men were to sit together and lead off in the singing. It was not long before they and some others grew extremely tired of waiting after the singing of every line for the clerk to read the next; so it came to pass that the next thing desired by the party of progress was the dispensing with the function of reader. It was achieved, however, as so many things are, by indirec- tion. It was seven years afterward that the first choir appeared in the Westborough meeting-house, and the innovation was indorsed by the following town-vote, re- commending " to those male persons who are disposed to sing the praises of God in publick to set as much together as they conveniently can, in ye men's front Gal- lery, without depriving those who usually set there of their places. And to those female persons who in like manner are disposed to sing, to set in ye women's front gallery for ye purpose aforesaid, and to Set there in a decent manner during ye town's pleasure."
This action of 1778 seems to have been well up to the stage of progress then possible, and the permission to women as well as men to sing in the choir was in ad- vance of the prevailing custom. So far as the record shows, there was no serious opposition to the change. In 1781 the west end of the men's gallery, as far as the alley, was appropriated " to those that were inclined to assist in the worship of singing on the Sabbath; " and thus the church was fairly committed to the innovation of a choir.
CHAPTER XII.
1772-1780.
IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
T HE year 1772 brought the affairs of the Colony to an alarming crisis. On the 2d of November Samuel Adams, in town-meeting in Boston, moved that a com- mittee of correspondence be appointed "to state the rights of the Colonists, and of the Province in particular, as men and Christians and as subjects; and to communicate and publish the same to the several towns and the world, as the sense of this town, with the infringements and viola- tions thereof which have been, or from time to time may be made." Two weeks later the committee, through James Otis, its chairman, reported in a clear and unequivocal document, the substance of which was issued in a circular letter to the towns, calling for an expression of their opinion and sentiments in regard to the common danger.
The response that came in from town after town was like the running fire of musketry. Suffolk, Essex, Middle- sex, Worcester, Cape Cod, and the West spoke unani- mously by all their towns. Westborough was not behind in patriotism, as the following record shows: -
At a Legal meeting of ye Freeholders & other Inhabitants of ye Town of Westborough, on Fryday, ye First Day of Januy, 1773, the following Vote passed (viz.), that a Committy of 7 men be chosen To take into Consideration ye Rights as Stated by ye Committee of Correspondence of ye Town of Boston, & ye
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Infringements and Violation of ye same, & to make Report at the Adjournment of this meeting (viz.), on Monday ye 4 Instant.
Sd Committy Taking into consideration ye State of ye Colo- nists, and of this province in particular, & a List of ye Infringe- ments & Violations of those Rights, & a Letter of Correspondence Voted by ye Freeholders & other Inhabitants of ye Town of Boston att their late Publick Town meeting, & by their Com- mittee of Correspondence Transmitted to this Town, -
Having considered the Same, are of Opinion that the Rights of ye Colonists, & of this Province in perticuler, as men & as Subjects, are well Stated in sd List, as ye same are fully sup- ported & warranted by ye Laws of God & Nature & ye Royal Charter of this province. Under ye present critical and alarum- ing Situation of our publick affairs There is a loud call to Every one to awake from Security, & in Earnest strive to secure his Liberty, lest he politically perish. That as ye Oppressions com- plained of are of ye utmost consequence, & if not confronted will soon Termanate in ye Ruin of this Province, - Especially ye Extorting our moneys from us without our consent by our Selves or our Representative, & applying it to Uses which we Judge is determental to this Province, - it Appears Necessary that Every member of this Community, Quallified to vote in Town affairs, should at all times have a proper sense of them, more especially as ye Futer happiness of his Family, as well as him self, Depends Greatly on their being removed. For no Dought ware tyrany is Exercised, Opposition becoms a duty. As our fathers could, so can we plead our Loyalty ; we have been, and now are, Ready to spill our Dearest blood in Defence of our King, Religion, & Constitutional Laws. We cannot but look upon it a hard Trial, yea greater than we can bear, if we cannot [be said to] Give full proof of our Loyalty Otherwise than by sacrificing those Rights & Liberties which we prize beyond Life itself. Therefore ye Inhabitants of this Town do Declare it to the world that they are far from being Easy under ye many Infringements and In- tolarable Violations of those Rights and priveleges ; first, we Do therefore Instruct our Representitive, when in General Cort assembled, that he use his Influence in Soliciting his Excelancy, ye Governor of this province, that [he] Joyne unitedly with this
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EARLY HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
province, that my Lord Dartmouth and our most Gracious Sov- erring may be fully acquainted with ye Real Uneasiness which so justly fills ye minds of us his most Loyal people.
2ly, our Representitive is hereby instructed to unite in such measures as shall pleas ye Governor of this province & ye Judges of ye Superiour Corts of the province, upon a constitu- tional Basis, & make them a Sutable Provision for their support ; and that Nothing more seems Needfully by us to be Don, but to Leve ye Instructions given to ye prudant Manigment of our Representitive ; Reposing our confidence in him, that he will exert himself at all times, with ye other members of sd Court, in such measures as may have a Tendency to ye obtaining a Redress of all such Grevences as are Justly complained of, & ye Procuring to this Loyal people ye peceful Enjoyments of their Just Rights.
(Signed)
PHINEAS HARDY,
Chairman of ye Commity.
CAPT. BENJN FAY,
EBENR MAYNARD,
DAN- FORBES, ABIJH GALE,
HANANIAH PARKER, DR. JAMES HAWES.
In 1774 measures were set on foot which resulted in the first Congress of the Colonies at Philadelphia in September. The General Court of Massachusetts ap- pointed its delegates, and authorized the payment to them of £500 for expenses. This appropriation was of course vetoed by Governor Gage; whereupon the Gen- eral Court, assembled at Salem June 17, sent out an ap- peal to the towns for the money. The share which fell to Westborough, and which was promptly paid, was £1 9s. Id. Shortly afterward another appeal came from the people of Boston. Boston Harbor was blockaded, and the city in a state of siege. King George was trying "the heavy hand of power" to coerce the Colonies into obedience. The people appealed to their compatriots.
"You, gentlemen," they said, " our friends, countrymen, and benefactors, may possibly look towards us at this crisis. We
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IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
trust we shall not be left of Heaven to do any thing derogatory to our common liberties, unworthy the fame of our ancestors, or inconsistent with our former professions and conduct. Though surrounded with a large body of armed men, (who, having the sword, have also our blood on their hands,) we are yet undaunted : We trust in the God of our fathers, and we feel the animating support of a good cause ; but while suffering a Double weight of oppression, and exasperated by a military camp in the very bowels of our town, our minds are not more in a temper to delib- erate than our bodies in a situation to move, as the perils and exigencies of the times may probably demand.
"To you, gentlemen, our brethren and dear companions in the cause of God and our country, we apply ; from you we have received the countenance and aid which have strengthened our hands, and that bounty which hath occasioned smiles on the face of distress: To you, therefore, we look for that wisdom, advice, and example which, giving strength to our understand- ing, and vigor to our actions, shall, with the blessing of God, save us from destruction."
In response to such appeals as this, a Committee of Cor- respondence was appointed, consisting of Jonathan Bond, Daniel Forbes, Hananiah Parker, Dr. James Hawes, Lieu- tenant Baker, Thomas Bond, and Joseph Harrington. At the same meeting, June 17, 1774, the committee was in- structed to confer with the committees of the towns of the county at Worcester, "in this dark and distressing time of perplexity."
Still more warlike was the appointment of committees to buy " a field-piece, a four-pounder," and four hundred weight of ball, with ten half-barrels of powder and five hundred weight of lead and flints; and of another com- mittee to provision troops in case of an alarm.
Then Capt. Stephen Maynard was appointed commander of all the soldiers in town in case of an alarm; the existing artillery companies were authorized, and their officers
-
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EARLY HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
recognized by reappointment in town meeting; recruits were called for, and ordered to be armed and equipped as the law directed. Subscriptions were requested in ad- vance for arms and ammunition, and the response was prompt. Captain Maynard led off with a subscription of £22 IOS. old tenor, and eight others followed on the spot with smaller sums. Dr. James Hawes, Jonathan Bond, and Capt. Stephen Maynard were appointed a committee to go to Concord and hear the report of the General Congress, - the rebel Congress, which General Gage could not disband, - and then the meeting adjourned.
The whole town forthwith was full of military ardor. The cannon and ammunition were purchased ; seven men were appointed to learn how to handle the field-piece " in a warlike manner, so that they may know how to conduct and behave themselves if they shall be wanted for our defence." The town refused to grant any extra bounty to minute-men, on the ground that no more was expected of them than of other men; every man was to be a minute man, and to do his utmost in the common peril, - they refused to make invidious distinctions. The old church was the rendezvous, and in due time, like the more famous Old South in Boston, witnessed the rallying of armed men within its walls, to march for the defence of liberty.
At length, on the 19th of April, 1775, the swift courier brings to town the call to arms. Lexington and Concord are attacked by British troops; the war has begun. There is no hesitation ; the minute-men are ready.
"Swift as their summons came they left The plough mid-furrow standing still, The half-ground corn grist in the mill, The spade in earth, the axe in cleft."
They are drawn up in array at the meeting-house; they receive their rations and arms, with a supply of powder,
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IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
bullets, flints, and hatchets, and are off and away, and ar- rive near Boston that same night by way of Lexington.
The following is the roll of the minute-company, as prepared by Edmund Brigham, captain, Nov. 27, 1775 :
Edmund Brigham, Captain.
Thomas Bond, first Lieut.
Moses Wheelock, second Lieut.
James Miller, Jr. Benjamin Ball. William Spring.
Daniel Adams, Jr. Joseph Chamberlain.
Asahel Bigelow. Henry Marble.
Samuel Williams.
Phineas Brigham.
Phineas Gleason, Jr.
Caleb Harrington, fourth
Joseph McCulloch.
James Gould, first drummer.
Richard Temple, second " Nathaniel Chamberlain, Fifer. Amasa Maynard.
Edward Brigham. Barnabas Brigham. Eli Harrington.
Thaddeus Warren.
Solomon Maynard.
Daniel Warren, Jr.
Samuel Thurston.
James Bellows.
Breck Parkman. Seth Brigham.
Joseph Bond.
Daniel Hardy, Jr.
Eleazer Wheelock.
Simeon Forbes.
Phineas Hardy, Jr.
Fortunatus Miller. -
Benjamin Whitney. John McCulloch.
The muster-roll in the State Records gives the same list, with one exception, - it substitutes the name of William Woods for that of James Miller, Jr. It also gives the following list of members of this minute-company who enlisted in the service of the United Colonies: -
Thos. Bond, First Lieut. Richard Temple, Drummer.
Moses Wheelock, Second do.
Jas. Godfrey, Searg.
James Bellows. William Spring.
Joshua Chamberlain, Henry Marble. / Edmund Entwishill, Corporals. James McCulloch, John Fay, Daniel Hardy, Jr.
Nathan Townsend, first Seargt. James Godfrey, second John Harrington, third John Ball, fourth Lieut. Joshua Chamberlain, first Corp. Edward Entwishill, second
John Fay, third 66
Samuel Bellows. Amsden Gale.
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EARLY HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
Fortunatus Miller. William Woods.
Phineas Brigham.
Edward Brigham.
Benj. Ball. Asahel Bigelow.
Eleazar Wheelock.
John McCulloch.
The shock of April 19 woke up the country, as at a later day did the firing on Fort Sumter. Within twelve days New England put twenty thousand men around Bos- ton, shutting the British within the town; and the Thir- teen Colonies were awake and ready for war. Some of the Westborough men were at Bunker Hill. Thirty-two en- listed under Capt. Moses Wheelock for eight months, and went to Cambridge and Dorchester. Seventeen more went with Capt. Seth Morse, in December, for two months ; and eighteen, in January, 1776, with Lieut. James Godfrey. They were in the gallant army that surrounded Boston in the ensuing March, and saw from the earthworks on Dorchester Heights the evacuation of the city.
The British, driven from Boston, went by an indirect route to New York. General Washington was there to receive them; and in his army was Lieut. James Godfrey, of Westborough, with twenty-two fellow-townsmen. It can hardly be otherwise than that in the defeat of the 27th of August some of them laid down their lives; but there are no records left to tell the tale.
Meantime great events were happening. Massachusetts had already declared " that the happiness of the people is the sole end of government; and the consent of the peo- ple is the only foundation of it in reason, morality, and the natural fitness of things. And therefore, every act of government, every exercise of sovereignty, against or with- out the consent of the People, is injustice, usurpation, and Tyranny." In accordance with this declaration, the Province had renounced allegiance to the Crown, and
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IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
established a government of its own, consisting of repre- sentatives elected by the people, and a council chosen by the assembly; which though only a temporary expedient, adopted " until a Governor of his Majesty's appointment will consent to govern the colony according to its charter," was a step toward the final separation.
The Virginia Convention, in June, 1776, declared : " All men are by nature equally free, and have inherent rights. . .
. All power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people. . . . Government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit and security." When, therefore, the Continental Congress came to the question of inde- pendence, it had only to follow in the line already marked out by the separate Colonies. It was inevitable that the step should be taken by all, having been taken by each in reality already. It was taken, and the Colonies cut loose from the Throne.
Westborough had stood shoulder to shoulder with the other towns. It issued its last town-meeting warrant in His Majesty's name Feb. 13, 1776; the next, of May 13, was "in the name of the Government and People of Massachusetts Bay." On May 24 it instructed its repre- sentative to the Provincial Congress, Capt. Stephen May- nard, to conform to a resolve of the House concerning "Independentcy," in case the Honorable Congress should judge it most expedient for the safety and welfare of the Colonies. The people knew that such a course meant war to the bitter end, but they did not flinch. On July 2, 1776, a vote was passed that "every man should pay his just proportion in supporting the war from April ye 19, 1775, and so forward." They would have no shirks. The demands were coming in, too, as fast as they could meet them with the help of every one. There were bounties to
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EARLY HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
pay to every enlisted soldier, ranging from f1 to f10. In April, as we have seen, they had purchased a cannon and munitions of war, and sent provisions to Lexington and Cambridge. In May requisition was made for breadstuffs, and twice in the same month for blankets. In June the Provincial Congress called for thirteen thousand coats, o which Westborough's proportion was forty-eight. In Jan- uary, 1776, came another call for blankets, which in those days were not turned off by the hundred in shoddy mills, but spun and woven by the women. These continued calls strained the endurance of the people to the utmost. The payment of bounties soon became very onerous. Dec. 30, 1776, the town voted, in a fit of desperation, "to stop raising soldiers by a tax; and to receive back money from any who chose to return it." And evidently there were some who did so; for in the following March, when the continued demand forced the town to levy another bounty tax, and a bounty of £30 was voted to three years men, those who had before paid back their money received it again.
There were also special calls from time to time, of which we have a hint in the taking of a collection in church, May 18, 1777, "for Samuel Goodnow, of Elizabeth town, in ye Jersies, driven out of his home by Regulars; " and another in April, 1778, " for John Forbes, driven off by ye enemy at Otter Creek." In September, 1779, there was a call for relief for Boston, asking for beef, cattle, sheep, butter, cheese, and rye, and Indian meal; but the largest demand recorded at any one time came in January, 1778, when the town voted to pay its share of $400,000, to be put on loan by the State, which amounted to £1,204.
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