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 18
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Episcopal services began to be held in Henry Hall in 1878, and were continued for some time at intervals. In 1885 regular sessions were begun in the Unitarian Chapel, under the charge of the Rev. John Gregson, of Wilkinsonville.
That part of the history of the town which I have un- dertaken to set forth closes with 1860. The remainder, from the beginning of the Civil War to the present time, is in charge of Mr. E. C. Bates. I have, however, at his request brought the sketch of ecclesiastical history down
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CONCLUSION.
to the present year. Nine years of personal acquaintance with the town in the last decade impressed me strongly with its thrifty and healthy growth and its wholesome char- acter. Events and persons are vividly before me of which it would be a pleasure to speak; but that is not within my present purpose. It is, however, not with the spirit of the antiquarian, but rather from a personal interest in the place and the people, that I have filched such time as I was able from the hours of a busy life to save the story of the earlier days from complete oblivion. If not a romantic story, it is an honorable one, and a good heritage to hold from the past as a stimulus to future achievement ; and my hope is that the telling of it, imperfect as it is, may encour- age the rising interest in the past history of the place, and stimulate others to develop that which is here begun.
THE LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
PREFACE TO PART II.
To the many persons who have aided me in the pleasant task of preparing the second part of the HIS- TORY OF WESTBOROUGH, I am deeply grateful. I am under special obligations to a valuable file of the " West- borough Chronotype" in the Public Library, and to the long and careful labors of the late Hon. SAMUEL M. GRIGGS, who, as town clerk of Westborough from 1856 to 1886, not only kept the records during that time in the most excellent manner, but made a valuable index of the records from the beginning.
EDWARD C. BATES.
WESTBOROUGH, November, 1890.
VIEW OF WESTBOROUGH FROM WHITNEY HILL.
THE
LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
CHAPTER I.
1860-1865.
THE CIVIL WAR. - ACTION OF THE TOWN. - IN THE FIELD. - SOLDIERS' SEWING SOCIETY.
T HE story of the growth and development of West- borough now turns from matters strictly local to her humble, though loyal and earnest, share in suppress- ing a great rebellion. At the outbreak of the war the town had increased to a population of about three thou- sand. Agriculture was still the main occupation of her people, though the manufacture of sleighs, and of boots and shoes, was to some extent carried on. It was a quiet village. The busy hum of machinery was little heard, and the era of "modern improvements " in buildings, highways, sidewalks, and the rest had not yet begun. But while the people of Westborough were quietly at- tentive to their various local interests, -their farms and shops, churches and schools, - stirring events were occur- ring in the great world outside. The cloud of Seces- sion, which had been lowering over the country for nearly half a century, was growing blacker and more threaten- ing. Slavery was the cause of the disturbance. As long as the cherished institution of the South had been
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
confined to its original boundaries, the indulgent North had made little protest. But with the rapid growth of the South in industrial importance and wealth, - follow- ing Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton-gin, which made cotton "king," and slave labor profitable, - the extension of slavery became the question of the day; and the extension of slavery into new territory aroused vigorous opposition. The solution of the troublesome question was delayed for a while by a series of hu- miliating compromises; but the increasing power of the slaveholders made each demand more bold, and more dangerous to grant. A sectional war was inevitable. The pecuniary interests of the South were too great to be voluntarily surrendered, and the moral judgment of the North could never sanction the growth of slav- ery as a national institution. The weak and vacillating administration of President Buchanan gave the South an opportunity to prepare for the approaching conflict. Arms and ammunition were sent to Southern forts; ships of war were despatched to distant parts of the world; the army was weakened and scattered; in fact, before the grand crisis arrived, every possible means had been taken to make secession an easier task.
In the Presidential election of 1860 the Republican party presented as its candidate Abraham Lincoln, and pledged itself to oppose the further encroachment of slavery. The Democratic party, which was more friendly toward the system, became hopelessly divided. The more moderate Democrats nominated Stephen A. Doug- las, while John C. Breckenridge represented the extreme slavery sentiment of the South. In the midst of the excitement, a party favoring conciliation and compro- mise nominated John Bell. On the 6th of November,
1
-
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THE CIVIL WAR.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President. His election was hailed with joy in the North, and with bitterness and rage throughout the South. The Slave States had boldly threatened that they would secede from the Union in case of Lincoln's election, and it was soon seen that their threats were more than idle bluster. On the 20th of December South Carolina passed her ordinance of secession; and before the inauguration of President Lin- coln, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas had followed her example.
The first act of open hostility took place on January 9, 1861, when the steamer "Star of the West," bearing supplies to the Federal garrison, was fired upon off Charleston harbor. On April 12, Fort Sumter, which was garrisoned by eighty men under Captain Anderson, was bombarded by South Carolina troops. Two days later -- Sunday, April 14-the fort surrendered. The next morning came President Lincoln's famous call for seventy-five thousand men for three months' service.
The attack on Sumter aroused the North as no event had done since the stirring days of 1775. The cold and unemotional New Englander again glowed with patriotic ardor. "The instant effect produced," says one histo- rian, "was that of solemn silence, - that silence which in the resolute man is the precursor of irrevocable de- termination; and then there arose all through the coun- try, from the Canadian frontier to where the Ohio, rolling his waters westwardly for a thousand miles, separates the lands of freedom from those of slavery, not the yell of defiance, but the deep-toned cheer."
The patriotism of the people of Westborough was stirred in unison with the general thrill. Slavery and secession found little sympathy. The sentiment of the
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
town was shown in the election of 1860, when two votes were cast for Breckenridge, forty-four for Bell, ninety- seven for Douglas, and three hundred and one for Lincoln. But the prompt and earnest action of the town in response to the President's appeal, and the spon- taneous and vigorous protest of the people against any sign of sympathy with the seceding States, are perhaps better evidence of the loyal spirit which animated the community. On Wednesday, April 17, - two days after the call for troops, - a warrant was issued by the se- lectmen, G. C. Sanborn, B. B. Nourse, and S. B. Howe, calling a town-meeting for April 25, "to see if the town will grant or appropriate any money toward rais- ing a military company in the town, or act anything in relation to the same." The excitement was intense, and warlike talk and preparations did not wait for the official sanction of the town. On the 19th of April the news of the attack on the Sixth Regiment in the streets of Baltimore added fuel to the flames. Patriotic enthu- siasm could no longer endure opposition or indiffer- ence. The postmaster, who had spoken rather too freely, it was thought, in expressing his sympathy for the South, was its most prominent victim. On the after- noon of the outrage in Baltimore a crowd of excited men appeared before the office, - at the corner of South and Main Streets, near where G. M. Tewksbury's jewelry store now is, - and presenting him with the flag of his country, demanded that he raise it at the office door. This he refused to do. Fifteen minutes were given him to change his mind; and when it was announced that the allotted time had nearly expired, a friend of the postmaster, with the excuse that "the easiest way is the best way," avoided further trouble by nailing the
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THE CIVIL WAR.
flag to the door-post. There it remained for months, until the wind and rain had reduced it to tatters, inspir- ing loyalty and rebuking indifference.
1 At the town-meeting held April 25, in accordance with the warrant mentioned above, T. A. Smith, C. P. Winslow, J. F. B. Marshall, Benjamin Boynton, and John Bowes were chosen a committee to consider the matter of raising a company, and to report the necessary ex- pense. They reported the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : -
" Resolved, - That the town appropriate five thousand dollars, to be expended in the purchase of uniforms, pay of men while drilling, and for pay in addition to the amount paid by the Government, when called into active service.
" Resolved, - That a committee of five be chosen, whose duty it shall be to attend to the expenditure and disbursement of all moneys hereby appropriated ; and no bills shall be contracted for or paid without the approbation and approval of said committee."
No petty bickering marred the unanimity with which the people of Westborough responded to the call of the President. After the unanimous adoption of the above resolutions, it was immediately voted that "the treas- urer be authorized to borrow $5,000, the selectmen issuing town script therefor, to fall due $1,000 per annum after the present issues; " and further, that the selectmen, -G. C. Sanborn, B. B. Nourse, and S. B. Howe, -with J. F. B. Marshall and Patrick Casey, be the committee called for in the second resolution.
The Military Committee, as it was called, having organ- ized by choosing B. B. Nourse chairman and J. F. B. Marshall secretary, immediately set about its task. A company was organized, known as the Westborough
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
Rifle Company, and was chartered on April 29 as Mas- sachusetts Volunteer Militia. It numbered seventy-nine men. But before the time of going into camp, the an- nouncement came that the Government could accept no more volunteers for three months' service. The com- pany was accordingly re-organized, with a view to enlisting for three years. It lost, in consequence, nearly half its members; but recruits kept joining from day to day, and before its departure the company contained one hundred and one men. Of the total number, Westborough fur- nished fifty-six men; Southborough, eighteen; Upton, nine; Shrewsbury, nine; Hopkinton, eight; and North- borough, one.
Several weeks were spent in drilling and equipping the company, during which it made marches to several of the surrounding towns. "Sumptuous dinners, patriotic speeches by town magnates, and the blessings of the fathers and mothers," in the words of one of their num- ber, " were everywhere showered upon the volunteers.". Calvin Chamberlain, a resident of California, but a native of Westborough, showed his interest in their welfare by presenting each man with a dagger; and on the company's visit to Upton, each member was presented with a drinking- tube by the Hon. William Knowlton.
The work of preparing uniforms was undertaken by the women. On April 26, the day following the town- meeting at which it was voted to raise a military company, a meeting was held in the Town Hall to organize a Soldiers' Sewing Society. After prayer by the Rev. Mr. Cummings, of the Unitarian Church, J. F. B. Marshall explained the objects of the meeting. It was voted to organize a society, and the following officers were chosen: president, Mrs. E. M. Phillips; secretary,
سسات
-
A
THE TOWN HALL AND THE BAPTIST CHURCH.
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THE CIVIL WAR.
Miss M. J. Marshall; directors, Mrs. J. F. B. Marshall, Mrs. S. B. Lakin, Mrs. A. N. Arnold, Mrs. J. A. Fayer- weather, and Mrs. Salmon Comstock. There was plenty of work awaiting the society; and in accordance with a notice read in all the churches on the previous Sunday, two hundred ladies, with their needles and thimbles, met at the Town Hall Tuesday morning, April 30, at ten o'clock. After prayer by the Rev. Dr. Arnold, of the Baptist Church, and the singing of a hymn, the different garments, "consisting of four dozen blue-flannel shirts and four dozen pairs gray-flannel drawers," were dis- tributed. The work progressed steadily for four or five hours, until the allotted task was completed. This work was for the State. Subsequent meetings for preparing uniforms for the Westborough company were frequently held until the 20th of June. The result was the thor- ough equipment of the company (the town furnishing the material, and J. A. Trowbridge, who then had a tailor's shop, attending to the cutting) with uniform, fatigue-suit, havelock, thread-bag, towels, handkerchief, soap, and comb for each soldier.
After weeks of preparation, on the 29th of June the Rifle Company departed to Fort Independence, Boston Harbor, and on the 16th of July was mustered into ser- vice for three years as Company K, Thirteenth Regi- ment, Mass. Vols. The following Westborough men were in the ranks: -
William P. Blackmer, Captain. William B. Kimball, First Sergeant. Abner R. Greenwood, Sergeant. William W. Fay, William R. Warner, Augustus Allen, Corporal.
John Jones, Corporal. William H. Sibley, ". Alfred L. Sanborn, Melzar G. Turner, Sidney Barstow.
Isaiah H. Beals.
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
Charles R. Brigham.
William H. Forbush.
Harrison M. Brigham.
John Glidden.
Francis A. Brigham.
George C. Haraden.
Emory Bullard.
Frank A. Harrington.
John S. Burnap.
Lyman Haskell.
Thomas Copeland.
Hiram G. Hodgkins.
John Copeland.
John Lackey.
John H. Crowley.
Edward Lee.
Wallace H. Cushman.
Alden Lovell.
Ira L. Donovan.
Michael Lynch.
George R. Douglas.
Chandler Robbins.
Charles Drayton.
Harvey C. Ross.
George F. Emery.
John W. Sanderson.
Joseph H. Fairbanks.
James Slattery.
Hollis H. Fairbanks.
Frank L. Stone.
Henry A. Fairbanks.
Melvin H. Walker.
Charles M. Fay.
Stephen Warren.
John Fly.
Charles H. Williams.
In Company C.
Spencer Chamberlain. George B. Searles.
In Company E. John Burns.
At the time of its organization the company had made choice of the following officers, who had been duly com- missioned by Governor Andrew; captain, William P. Blackmer, the pastor of the Methodist Church ; first lieutenant, Charles P. Winslow; second lieutenant, Ethan Bullard; third lieutenant, John W. Sanderson; fourth lieu- tenant, Abner R. Greenwood. As only two lieutenants were allowed in the United States service, changes in the roll of officers soon became necessary. Captain Blackmer retained his commission, but resigned Octo- ber 16, and was succeeded by Captain Charles H. Hovey. The positions of first and second lieutenants were given
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THE CIVIL WAR.
respectively to William B. Bacon, of Worcester, and Charles B. Fox, of Dorchester. Lieutenants Winslow and Bullard withdrew temporarily from the service; Lieu- tenant Sanderson enlisted in Company C of the same (thirteenth) regiment, was appointed orderly sergeant, and afterwards was promoted to first lieutenant; and Lieutenant Greenwood remained as second sergeant in Company K.
The company remained at Fort Independence until July 29, when it was ordered to the scene of war. The train containing the regiment passed through Westbor- ough; and as it rolled slowly past the station, hundreds of citizens were in waiting to catch a last look of their friends and cheer them on their way.
The regiment proceeded to Williamsport, Md., and re- mained in that vicinity during the remainder of the year. Death twice visited the camp. John S. Burnap died of exposure December 10, and George C. Haraden of heart-disease December 22. Their remains were for- warded to their friends at home, and their funeral ser- vices, under the charge of the selectmen, were conducted by clergymen of the different churches, and attended by a large number of citizens. Places of business were closed, and every mark of respect was shown to the memory of the first soldiers of Westborough who during the Civil War died in their country's service.
In sending to the field its first military company, the work of the town had just begun. It was found that the citizens had acted without authority in the meeting of April 25, and another meeting was held July 27, at which the following resolution was adopted : -
"In consequence of the illegality of the proceedings relative to raising money for military purposes at a town meeting held
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
the 25th day of April last ; and whereas since that meeting the Legislature having passed an Act authorizing towns to raise money to defray expenses already then incurred, and to fulfil existing contracts to a certain extent with members of the volun- teer militia of this State, - It is therefore Resolved, That this town do now raise, by the issue of town-scrip, the sum of thirty- five hundred dollars to defray the expenses already incurred, and in carrying out any contracts already made in raising and fitting out the military company in this town known as the Westborough Rifle Company, composed of citizens of this and adjoining towns."
It was further "voted unanimously that the Military Committee be authorized to carry out any contracts which they have made with any members of the Westborough Rifle Company to the extent of the provisions of the law." And in order that the families of volunteers should suffer no hardship, it was voted " that the select- men be authorized and directed to aid the families of the inhabitants of Westborough who, as members of the volunteer militia of this State, may have been mustered into or enlisted in the service of the United States, - to each wife, parent, or child, dependent on such inhabitant for support, the sum of one dollar per week, provided the whole sum given to the family of any one person so enlisted shall not exceed the sum of twelve dollars per month; and the selectmen are authorized to render such further aid to the families of volunteers enlisted as afore- said as they shall deem necessary for their support, and that this additional aid shall be charged to the military account; " and to carry out the provisions of this vote the treasurer was authorized to borrow $1,500.
In accordance with votes of the town, the Military Committee expended, in providing the company with uni- forms, and in equipping officers, $1,647.66; in pay to
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THE CIVIL WAR.
men while drilling, $1,057.55; in one month's additional pay to forty members, $400; and in incidental expenses for music, drill-master, rent, etc., $290.39: making a total expenditure in 1861 of $3,395.60. Of this sum West- borough actually expended $2,814.20, the balance being made good by Southborough, Upton, and Shrewsbury. The selectmen, during the year 1861, aided families of volunteers to the extent of $1,238.
In addition to those already named, the close of the year found many Westborough men in the army. The Twenty-second Regiment Band, mustered in October, contained eight, as follows: -
John S. Bond.
Marshall S. Pike.
William Dee.
Solomon J. Taft.
Frederick W. Kimball.
Austin Wallace.
Charles C. Nichols.
Salem T. Weld.
In other regiments mustered during the first months of the war were, -
Charles W. Blanchard.
Charles Greenwood.
Charles B. Burgess.
Henry A. Harris.
Jackson Donovan.
John W. Haraden.
Thomas B. Dyer.
Abner W. Haskell.
Edward S. Esty.
Charles L. Harrington.
John W. Fairbanks.
Daniel B. Miller.
George J. Fayerweather.
Edward Roberts.
William Fisher.
George H. Stone.
James H. Sullivan.
The first year of the war came to a gloomy close. The prophecies of those who believed in a speedy end- ing of the conflict were as false as the croakings of those who regarded success as hopeless. Little had yet been done toward crushing the great uprising. In the few con- tests that had taken place, the Union army had suffered
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
severely. Bull Run had filled the North with humiliation and rage that was far from soothed by the monotonous report of "all quiet along the Potomac." The country clamored for an advance; and in March, 1862, General McClellan began his famous "Peninsular Campaign," which reduced the magnificent army of one hundred and sixty thousand men to a discouraged band of fifty thousand.
Such was the condition of the Union army, July 2, 1862, when President Lincoln, almost heartbroken by the long series of failures, issued a call for three hundred thousand volunteers for three years' service. The quota assigned to Westborough was thirty-two. The grand en- thusiasm that had swept the country on the fall of Fort Sumter had subsided to a much calmer feeling. Men thought of the consequences before enlisting. It was found desirable, therefore, for the town to encourage enlistments by offering bounties. At a meeting held July 23, 1862, it was voted that "the selectmen be authorized to draw upon the treasurer for a sum sufficient to pay each recruit, who shall enlist from this town, the sum of one hundred dollars, which shall be paid as soon as he shall be mustered into the United States service; " and further, that the poll-taxes of volunteers be remitted. Under the stimulus of these inducements, thirty men enlisted for three years, each of them receiving the offered bounty. Of this number, twenty-two were enrolled in the Thirty- fourth Regiment, Mass. Vols., under Col. George D. Wells, of Boston, and were connected with Company C. Their names were as follows : -
Minot C. Adams. William M. Aldrich.
Charles W. Bacon.
William H. Blake.
Charles E. Brigham. Dexter P. Brigham.
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THE CIVIL WAR.
Charles S. Carter.
Francis E. Kemp.
George S. Chickering.
John Mockley.
Byron Donovan.
Michael Powers.
George A. Ferguson.
Amos Rice.
Henry C. Ferguson.
J. Frank Sweeney.
Charles P. Fisher.
Lyman S. Walker.
George F. Hale.
Cephas N. Walker.
Charles H. Hardy.
Frederick A. Wiswall.
Hardly a month had passed before another call (August 4) for three hundred thousand men for nine months' service was issued, and an enrolment of the militia was directed. In accordance with this order, all male citizens of the town between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, not visibly and permanently disabled, were enrolled, - a total of three hundred and ninety- eight men. The approximate number which Westbor- ough was required to raise in order to fill her quota was forty-one, and two men were still wanting to fill the quota under the previous call. The selectmen, who now attended to military affairs, had no difficulty in procur- ing enlistments. The volunteers received bounties to the amount of $8,200, - $200 to each man. As the town had no legal authority to raise money for paying bounties, although disposed to do so most cheerfully, four prominent citizens, - Abijah Wood, A. J. Burnap, J. A. Fayerweather, and Zebina Gleason, - loaned the town $10,000, a large number of citizens signing a bond to indemnify them in case the town should not be legally able to assume the debt.
In responding to the call of August 4, the following Westborough men were mustered in Company E of the Fifty-first Regiment: -
Charles P. Winslow, First Lieut. Dexter W. Bennet.
George T. Fayerweather, Sergt.
Festus Faulkner, Jr., Musician.
Francis A. Brigham. Martin Bullard.
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
Henry A. Burnap.
John W. Johnson.
Andrew P. Carter.
Robert S. Lackey.
Theodore L. Davis.
Charles E. Long.
Henry S. Foster.
Charles Q. Lowd.
John A. Foster.
Charles O. Parker.
Francis Harrington.
James F. Robinson.
Myron J. Horton.
Samuel O. Staples.
Edward Hudson.
George W. Warren.
William H. Johnson.
Edwin D. Wood.
In Company A, of the same regiment, John W. San- derson served as first lieutenant, and in Company C, Joseph G. Longley as corporal. In Company I of the Fiftieth Regiment, mustered late in September, were the following : -
James Burns.
Michael C. Hannon.
Thomas Cary.
Thomas Keevan.
Patrick Casey.
Thomas Martin.
John Dee. Thomas Murphy.
Michael Dolan.
Michael McCoy.
Bernard Fannon.
Patrick McCarthy.
In August, the names of the following Westborough men were added to the rolls of Company K, Thirteenth Regiment: -
Lorenzo A. Chapman. George E. Hartwell.
William H. Edmands. John M. Hill.
Alfred L. Trowbridge.
Owing to the fact that citizens enrolled in the militia did not manifest the same zeal as was shown in other places in securing exemption from service, the quota of West- borough was soon found to be sixty-seven instead of forty-one. But by securing the names of Westborough men who had been wrongly credited to other towns, the selectmen reduced the number to forty-nine. The pay-
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