USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Royalston > The history of the town of Royalston, Massachusetts > Part 2
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Hapgood's Grant consisted of two hundred acres granted to Thomas Hapgood, Nov. 26, 1742, and signed by Governor Shirley Dec. 1, 1742. This was laid out by Abner Lee, sur- veyor, who says, "we began at a stake and stones on ye North line of Poquaig, at a corner of Canady township, then ran North, etc.," 244 rods, and bounded northerly and easterly "on Province land." This was ordered in "consideration of services in the war with the eastern Indians and his sufferings by reason of wounds received from them, whereby in his ad- vanced age he was disabled from labor for the support of him- self and family."
Probably the earliest grant of what are now Royalston lands was one made Dec. 15, 1737, to Benoni Moore, Joseph Petty and Robert Cooper, which was afterwards assigned to Samuel Hunt of Northfield and others. This consisted of 600 acres and was located between what is now Athol and the province line-"to be laid out 480 rods long on the eastern line of what is now Warwick, and 200 rods wide from west to east, and no more." This grant was made in consideration of services ren-
3
EARLY LAND GRANTS
dered by the grantees in burying the bleached bones of certain soldiers, who, led by Capt. Beers, were marching from the river below to the assistance of Northfield, but fell into an ambus- cade and were slaughtered by the Indians.
The sale of Royalston lands which we have mentioned, was in accordance with a vote approved by the council in June, 1752, ordering a sale of the lands north of Pequoig, now called Athol, and onward to the province line. Evidently the purpose was not so much to replenish the public treasury, as to settle this then waste corner of the public domain, and clear the map, and so effectually was this accomplished that the Surveyor's chain swept in a strip of several miles in length lying along the whole Northern boundary of Winchendon, separating it from the Province line, which had inadvertantly been omitted in the survey of that town, and this was afterwards called the Royals- ton Leg. This proved an incumbrance and the leg was ampu- tated in 1780 and transferred to Winchendon.
When the new town started off as an incorporated township, her area amounted to 30,577 acres, the private grants included. The changes that have been made since that time have affected the area of the township as follows: The Royalston Leg set off to Winchendon was estimated at about 2000 acres. In 1783 several thousand acres were appropriated to Orange when that town was incorporated. In 1799 three hundred or four hundred acres were added from Atliol and Gerry, now Phillipston. In 1803 several hundred acres were added from Athol and in 1837 not far from two hundred acres were taken from Phillipston and annexed to Royalston. In 1860 the Assessors reported the whole number of acres from the survey of 1831-including the additions since made-as 26,882 acres.
That the Proprietors and Founders of Royalston had strong religious principles and were men of moral and mental worth is shown in the wise and liberal measures they devised for settling their lands. By the conditions of the sale they were required to locate sixty families, each with a clearing and a bouse, build a meeting house for their use, provide adequate mill facilities and devote one sixty-third part of their entire purchase to each of the following objects: A settlement for the first ordained minister, for the ministerial support, and for a public school.
The records designate two divisions of these lands. The
4
HISTORY OF ROYALSTON
first consisted of seventeen two hundred acre lots appropriated for the settlement of the sixty families and the public lots re- quired by the conditions of the sale and called the "settler's di- vision" or "first division." In the second "division," called also "the Proprietor's part" or "division" the residue of the land was also laid out in two hundred acre lots, where it could be done, and in other cases the contents of the smaller lots were expressed. The meadow lands, however, were laid out in ten acre lots so far as the committee judged them worth the expense of surveying ; and a special committee was chosen to "qualify" the lots, by so "coupling a good lot and a poorer lot together that justice be done to each proprietor in the drawing of the lots."
FIRST SETTLERS
Although the first possession of this soil by your ancestors dates from 1752, the settlement was delayed because oi the French war of 1756, so that the active settlement of this town did not commence until 1762, when six families moved in. This war which was the greatest contest on this continent prior to the Revolution had stopped all labors of peaceful enterprise, and during the seven years of this conflict it is stated that Mas- sachusetts alone sent thirty-five thousand of her sons to the field, and the call to arms had reached every nook and corner of the province.
The war had so far spent its fury by 1761 that the proprietors of this township had granted deeds to twenty-one settlers, and in the next year the ten acres which includes what is now your Common was solemnly consecrated for the meeting house, the training field and the burial ground. The place for the mills was selected on the Lawrence stream near one of its beautiful falls, and in 1763 a meeting house was contracted for, which was completed in 1764, and the work of building up a new town had commenced in earnest.
The six families of 1762 were soon followed by others, and so rapid was the incoming of these new settlers that almost as soo 1 as the French war had closed as many as seventy-five heads of families had become established here. They had come
5
FIRST SETTLERS
from the towns of the southern and eastern part of the State, some of the best blood of the Colony, and planted here on the heights of Northern Worcester, in the mountain air, surrounded by some of the most beautiful and picturesque scenery of the State, a township whose history during the years was to be studded with patriotic associations, and where religion and ed- ucation were recognized as the foundation of true living, a bright star in the constellation of Worcester County and the State.
We are not certain who the first six families of 1762 were, but it is safe to say Obadiah Walker, William Town, Jonah Hill and Nathan Cutting were among that number.
Obadiah Walker came from Douglas. He married Nancy McCulloch of Barre, and brought up a large family. He died in Croydon, N. H., in 1810, at the age of ninety.
William Town located just north of the Lawrence meadows. He brought up a large family, embodied with the Congrega- tional church in 1766, and was a prominent and respected citi- zen, being one of the first Assessors and one of the early Town Treasurers. He died in 1811 at the age of eighty.
Jonah Hill from Douglas located north of the Common. The Royalston Memorial says that his house stood near the southeast corner of Joseph Estabrook's pasture. His daughter, Abigail, is claimed as the first-born of Royalston, the records giving the date of her birth as March 27, 1764. She married Elijah Walker, son of Obadiah Walker. Her brother, Ephraim Hill, married Martha Walker, daughter of Obadiah, and Jonah Hill settled both his son and son-in law on a 200 acre lot in the west part of the town. Jonah Hill died in 1806 at the age of sixty-nine.
Nathan Cutting settled near what is now the William H. Leathe farm. He spent the winter of 1762-63 quite alone, in a house or place, sunk partly into the hill, looking out upon the meadows. He "embodied" with the Congregational church in 1766. He died in 1821 at the age of eighty.
Lieut. Jonas Allen, formerly written Alliene, was a very early settler. He settled west of the Nathan Cutting place, at the corner of the roads beyond the Bowker farm. He built a saw-mill north of his house where the Lyman Stone mill stands. He was a prominent man and at the head of an interesting
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HISTORY OF ROYALSTON
family. He was one of the first Assessors and also one of the Selectmen for five years between 1770 and 1780. He died in 1822 at the age of ninety-three.
Silas Cutting settled north of the Allen mill. He was one of the first who "embodied" with the First Congregational church in 1766. He died while abroad in the war in 1777.
Lieut. Nathan Wheeler settled west of William Clement, and he and his wife organized with the Congregational church in 1766. They removed to Lincoln, N. H., about 1792.
Henry, Isaac and William Nichols from Sutton all had early settlements in town. Their families are more fully described in the Old Royalston Families in another chapter.
Michael Grant must also have been a very early settler, for his son Stephen is the first person whose death appears on the records, Sept. 4, 1764. He settled north of the Capt. Isaac Metcalf place.
Aaron Grant settled the place next south of Michael's, and it is probable that this family has the honor of having the first wedding in Royalston, the record stating that Aaron Grant and Mrs. Mary Town of Sutton were married Feb. 20, 1771. He married for his second wife widow Sarah Morse, daughter of Capt. Jonas Parker, of Lexington and Revolutionary memory. He is said to have been a good farmer, but that he persisted in wearing "small clothes," dispensing with the long stockings, knee-buckles and shoes, through all but the winter months.
Capt. Jonathan Sibley from Sutton was one of the early set- tlers. In 1763 he bought and prepared his farm for settlement. This was situated on the road leading directly South from the Common by the east side of the schoolhouse. He would clear a piece of woodland here, go back to look after hay-making in Sutton, and return in time to sow a rye field in Royalston. The next year after he purchased the farm he brought on his wife, two cows and a pair of steers. The wild beasts soon made way with one of the steers. He became a substantial farmer and valuable citizen, being one of the early Selectmen, Town Treasurer for twenty-seven years, from 1781 to 1808 inclusive, and was Representative to the Legislature in 1786. He died in 1810 at the age of seventy.
Amos Jones, who settled north of the Jonas Allen mill, came in during 1763. A good moose story is told of him. He was
7
FIRST SETTLERS
out looking up his cattle and hearing a crashing among the un- derbrush supposed the cattle were near at hand; but instead of his cattle a huge moose came forth and confronted him ; whose hide he afterwards converted into a pair of leather breeches and a side-saddle. The breeches he wore himself; but upon the side-saddle he persuaded one Lydia Woolley to ride home with him, and take permanent possession of the saddle, and his do- mestic affairs. He died in 1826 at the age of eighty-four.
Timothy Richardson from Wrentham settled where Benj. W. Upham formerly lived. He and his wife were original mem- bers of the First Congregational Church, and he was one of the first selectmen.
The town contributing the largest number of the early Roy- alston settlers was Sutton, Mass., from which more than twenty families came. Another town sending a liberal contribution was Rehobath, in Bristol County, from which came more than a dozen families, including the Bullock, Bliss and Peck fami- lies. Other towns from which the settlers came were Douglas, Upton, Rutland, Harvard, Shrewsbury, Brookfield and Grafton in Worcester County and Wrentham, Reading, Sudbury, Abington, Attleboro, Acton and Stow in the eastern part of the State.
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CHAPTER II
NAMING THE TOWN
The proprietors held meetings from 1753 over a period of thirty-four years until 1787, when their records were closed and sealed. Their meetings were held in Boston , "at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern," and at the first meeting it was "motioned that the land aforesaid be called Royal-shire, and they unani- mously agreed thereto, whereupon the Hon. Isaac Royal, gen- erously gave his word to give the partners £25 sterling towards building a meeting house for said town." Here we first find the name of the town which it bore until the act of Incorpora- tion in February; 1765, gave it the name of Royalston.
The Hon. Isaac Royal, from whom the town oi Royalston received its name, was a citizen of Medford, Mass., a gentle- man of great spirit for public enterprise, devoted in admiration for his king, and generous and munificent for his time. From 1743 to 1752 he served as deputy to the General Court and regu- larly returned his salary to the treasury of the town of Charles- town. For sixteen years he was chairman of the Board of Selectmen in Charlestown, and when his estate was set off to Medford he served there in the same offices. He was modera- tor of town meeting wlien resolutions against the Stamp Act were passed and used his influence toward the repeal of the law. From 1752 to 1774, he was a member of the Governor's Council. He gave generously for the benefit of church and schools in Charlestown and when Harvard Hall was burned in 1764, and with it the entire college library, he contributed a large sum to make good the loss. He also gave two thousand acres of land, a large part of which was in the town of Royalston, to found a professorship of law in Harvard University, which was known as the Royall Professorship of, and which was followed later by the Harvard Law School.
In addition to his gift of twenty-five pounds sterling to the town of Royalston towards building a meeting house, a pulpit Bible which was used in the First Congregational Church for
SUMMER HOUSE
ROYALL HOUSE AND SLAVE QUARTERS Original house built previous to 1640
ROYALL MEDALLION
FRONT PARLOR
KITCHEN
NAMING THE TOWN
seventy-five years, was a gift from him, and by his will he also gave the town two hundred acres for school purposes, and promised to give a full lot of land in the township to the first male child that should be born in town, but as several girls took the precedence of birth, and the breaking out of the Rev- olution, Royal Chase, who was named after him, came too late on the stage, and died too early to avail himself of the offer.
The clouds which had been gathering for several years, broke, the Revolution opened, and Isaac Royall, the friend and benefactor of Royalston, who could not be disloyal to his king, sailed for England in 1776, leaving his home, said to be "one of the grandest estates in North America," never to return1. Let- ters written by him in 1779 indicated a yearning desire to return to Massachusetts and to make his last bed beside his relatives and friends. But that was not to be, and he died in Kensing- ton, England, in 1781.
We believe the fathers of Royalston showed good judgment in not changing the name of their town, because of this act of their benefactor, as did other Massachusetts towns because of similar acts of those whose names they bore. An act of Legis- lature passed soon after the Declaration of Independence reads as follows : "An Act for discontinuing the name of a town in the County of Worcester lately incorporated by the name of Hutchinson, and call the same Barre." Governor Hutchinson, from whom the town was named, had become a Loyalist and hence this action of the town.
Governor Bullock in his address at the Centennial Anniver- sary of Royalston says in regard to this matter: "No town was more patriotic than this in the Revolution; but I rejoice that its citizen appear never for one moment to have thought of giving up their corporate name because their benefactor had es- tranged himself from their political opinions. The name of this town and the title of the Cambridge law professorship may honorably be retained in his remembrance."
The idea of preserving the old Royall House, the home of Isaac Royall, for the sake of its history and æsthetic worth, was first conceived in 1889 by the Sarah Bradlee Fulton Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution of Medford. In April, 1901, the Chapter rented the house and opened it for the benefit
10
HISTORY OF ROYALSTON
and pleasure of the public. Becoming convinced that a larger organization with more far-reaching acquaintance was neces- sary, the Chapter interested a group of patriotic men and women to form a corporation to purchase the building. As a result the Royall House Association was incorporated in 1905.
In April, 1907, an option upon the mansion, out buildings and about three-quarters of an acre of land was obtained, and the Association began raising money for the purchase. The fund grew until April 16, 1908, the one hundred thirty-third anniversary of the day when Colonel Isaac Royall left his beau- tiful residence never to return, the deed was obtained. It is a monument to its former proprietors and the times they repre-
sent. Few houses can boast such a succession of eminent owners, and few have stood for nearly two centuries with so few changes in architecture. It is bequeatlied to the people of Massachusetts by those who had a part in the making of our Commonwealth, and it becomes the duty as well as privilege of the men and women of today to preserve this grand old home- stead for future generations.
INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN
It was only three years after the active settlement of the town began that the conditions were such that the formation of a town was deemed desirable, and in response to a petition pre- sented to the General Court, the following act of incorporation was passed February 19, 1765 : An act for erecting a town in the County of Worcester by the name of Royalston : Whereas, the proprietors of the land lying north of Athol, within the County of Worcester, known by the name of Royalshire, have petitioned this Court that, for the reasons mentioned, said land may be incorporated into a town and vested with the powers and authority belonging to other towns, for the encouragement of said settlement.
Be it enacted by the Governor, Council and House of Rep- resentatives-
Sect. I. That said tract of land bounded and described as follows, viz., beginning at a pillar of stones on the province line, the northwest corner, and from thence running south by the east line of Warwick five miles and two hundred and ninety-
NEW HAMPSHIRE
RICHMOND
FITZWILLIAM
RINDGE
ROYALSTON LEG
WINCHENDON
ASHBURNHAM
ROYALSTON.
WARWICK
ATHOL
PHILLIPSTON TEMPLETON
ORIGINAL GRANT OF ROYALSTON
11
INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN
three rods to a pillar of stones the southwest corner; and from thence running east with the north line of Athol five miles and two hundred and sixty-five rods to a red oak and heap of stones, the northeast corner of Athol; and from thence south by the east line of Athol one mile and 190 rods to a stake and stones a corner of Templeton; and from thence east three degrees south one mile and eighty-six rods by said Templeton to the southeast corner; and from thence north twelve degrees east five miles and eighty rods on the west line of Winchendon to a heap of stones, the northwest corner of said Winchendon; and thence east twelve degrees south six miles and sixty rods by the north line of said Winchendon to the northeast corner thereof ; and from thence north twelve degrees east by the west line of Dorchester Canada two hundred and ninety-five rods to the province north bounds; and from thence by the province line fourteen miles and two hundred and eighty-five rods to the corner first mentioned, be and hereby is erected into a town by the name of Royalston ; and the inhabitants thereof shall have and enjoy all such immunities and privileges as other towns in this province have and do by law enjoy.
And be it further enacted-
Sect. 2. That Joshua Willard, Esq., be and hereby is, em- powered to issue his warrant to some principal inhabitant of said town of Royalston, requiring him, in his majesty's name, to warn and notify the said inhabitants qualified to vote in town affairs, to meet together at such time and place in said town as shall be appointed in said warrant to choose such offi- cers as the law directs, and may be necessary to manage the affairs of said town; and the inhabitants so met shall be, and are hereby, empowered to choose officers accordingly.
And be it further enacted-
Sect. 3. That all those persons that have already agreed for to settle in said township, and have given bonds to perform the same, shall be accounted as part and parcel of said inhabi- tants, and be allowed to vote in their town meetings in all town affairs, as fully as those who actually live upon their settlements in said town, and shall be accordingly taxed for the purposes aforesaid. In Council Jan. 13, 1765, read a first time. In Council Feb. 1. 1765, read a second time, and passed to be en- grossed. Sent down for concurrence, Jon. Cotton, D. Secre-
12
HISTORY OF ROYALSTON
tary. In the House of Representatives February 15, 1765. Read three several times and concurred.
S. WHITE, Speaker.
As we have already stated Royalston as far as the disposal of territory by grants and charters was concerned is the young- est of Worcester County towns; for although Athol and Tem- pleton were both incorporated, only about three years before Royalston, and Winchendon only a single year, yet the grants of lands and settlements of these towns had been made much earlier, varying from twenty to thirty years. The wave of occupation seemed to have paused below our border for some years, and when the settlement did commence there was but a brief period between the first planting and the municipal incor- poration, an interim of only three years, and as it has been said, "there was no infancy here; it was robust manhood from the start."
The inhabitants of that part of the town known as the Roy- alston Leg were not long satisfied with their allotment in the town of Royalston, and petitioned the General Court to be annexed to Winchendon. In compliance with their petition the following act was passed, June 17, 1780 :
Whereas, it appears that the inhabitants living in a strip of land belonging to Royalston in the County of Worcester, called Royalston Leg, about one mile wide, lying the whole length of the town of Winchendon, would be much accommodated by being set off from Royalston and annexed to the town of Win- chendon,-
Be it therefore enacted by the Council and House of Repre- sentatives in General Court assembled and by the authority of the same :-
Sect. I. That all that part of Royalston, called Royalston Leg, containing by estimation about two thousand acres, be- ginning at the northwest corner of Winchendon, then running northwardly a parallel line with Winchendon west line about one mile to the province line so-called; then eastwardly by the province line the length of the town of Winchendon, be and hereby is set off from Royalston and annexed to Winchendon: and the town of Winchendon is hereby extended so far north as the state line of New Hampshire and said land with the inhabi-
13
INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN
tants living therein shall forever, hereafter be considered as belonging to the town of Winchendon, provided nevertheless,-
Sect. 2. That the said inhabitants and non-residents shall pay all taxes which are already assessed and levied on the town of Royalston, anything in this act to the contrary notwithstand- ing
Provided also-
And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid.
Sect. 3. That the amount of the estates contained on and in said tract of land and the polls thereon returned by the Assessors of the town of Royalston in the valuation last taken as belonging to Royalston be deducted from the return of said Assessors and added to the return made by the Assessors of the town of Winchendon.
It seems that the Town of Winchendon was not willing to receive this strip of land without imposing certain conditions upon the inhabitants of that territory, for we find that at a town meeting held March 2, 1778, that it was "Voted to receive the strip of land lying between the north line of Winchendou and the Province line called "Royalston Leg" on to the town of Winchendon, upon the inhabitants of said Leg and several principal inhabitants in the north part of Winchendon promis- ing never to be instrumental in moving the meeting-house off of the meeting-house Common, so called."
CHAPTER III
TOWN MEETINGS
The true glory of Royalston, as of all New England towns, has been the town meeting. It has been said, and truly, I believe, that "No other practicable human institution has been devised or conceived to secure the just ends of local govern- ment, so felicitous as the town meetiag. It brought together the rich and the poor, the good and the bad, and gave charac- ter, eloquence and natural leadership full and free play."
It would be interesting if the records could give us some of the stirring speeches made on exciting occasions by our Royal- stor fathers, but enough can be gleaned from the language of the voters recorded, to show that the citizens of Royalston took a deep interest in the affairs of the Nation, State and Town.
The first Town Meeting of Royalston was called by Joshua Willard, a Justice of the Peace of Petersham, the Warrant for which reads as follows :
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