USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dedham > The record of the town meetings, and abstract of births, marriages, and deaths, in the town of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1887-1896 > Part 16
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52
Article One-John Bestwick was appointed and sworn by the Town Clerk a teller to aid the Town Clerk in receiving and counting votes cast for Moderator.
Erastus Worthington was chosen Moderator by written ballot, in receiving which the check list was used.
Article Two-Before the opening of the polls, the Selectmen, to wit :- at their meeting held February 26, 1891, appointed as ballot clerks, Frederick E. Smith and John E. Fisher, and they were sworn into said office by the Town Clerk before the ballots were delivered to them, and after said polls were opened, the Moderator also appointed William McK. Barbour as an additional ballot officer, and he was sworn by the Town Clerk before entering upon his duties as such. After the Moderator had been chosen as aforesaid, and before the opening of the polls, the Town Clerk delivered to said Ballot Clerks the bundle packed by him and sealed as required by law, containing 2100 official ballots and 150 special official ballots for women, together with the specimen ballots and cards of instruction, and the Town Clerk caused the cards of instruction to be posted in each of the twenty voting
1
177
compartments provided by the town and guarded as required by law, and the Town Clerk also caused three such cards and five specimen ballots to be posted about the polling room outside the guard rails, and a receipt for said ballots was given by the Ballot Clerks to the Town Clerk.
Upon the delivery of the ballots to the voters by the Ballot Clerks, the check list was used, and the name of each voter receiving a ballot was announced and checked thereon. The ballot, as delivered to each voter, was by such voter marked in the voting compartments, and deposited by the voter in the ballot boxes, called the Standard, furnished and certified to by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the ballots cast by the women being deposited in a separate box from those deposited by the men, and the name of each voter depositing a ballot in said boxes was announced in a loud and distinct tone of voice, and checked upon the voting list by the election officers in charge at said boxes and list.
The following persons were appointed and sworn by the Moderator as Tellers to aid him in receiving, sorting and counting the ballots cast at said meeting, viz :- Howard Colburn, John F. Reilly, George W. Weatherbee, Fred W. Murphy and J. Varnum Abbott.
All the ballots deposited in said boxes were sorted, counted, and declaration thereof made by the Moderator as follows, viz :
Whole number of ballots cast by the men voters was 916 ; whole numher of ballots cast by the women voters was 34. The two check lists used for the men voters each showed 916 names checked thereon, and the two check lists used for women voters each showed 34 names checked thereon. The number of ballots left at the close of the polls, deducted from the whole amount receipted for by the ballot clerks, showed 916 delivered to the men and 34 to the women.
For Town Clerk :
Don Gleason Hill, Willow street, had 714 And said Hill was declared elected, and was sworn into said office by the Moderator in open town meeting.
For Town Treasurer :
Lewis H. Kingsbury, Village avenue, had 696 And said Kingsbury was declared elected.
£
178
For Selectmen :
Alfred Hewins, Maple place, had 358
Joseph A. Laforme, High street, had
.
424
Thomas P. Murray, High street, had
430
.
Andrew J. Norris, Avery street, had ·
375
Henry Smith, High street, had
427
Winslow Warren, High street, had
395
. And said Laforme, Murray and Smith were declared elected.
For Surveyors of Highways :
Alfred Hewins, Maple place, had 358
Joseph A. Laforme, High street, had
412
.
Thomas P. Murray, High street, had
426
.
Andrew J. Norris, Avery street, had
364
Henry Smith, High street, had
403
Winslow Warren, High street, had
389
And said Laforme, Murray and Smith were declared elected.
For Assessors :
John Crowley, off Mt. Vernon street, had 429
Henry E. French, High street, had
399
.
Daniel A. Lynch, Needham street, had 352
Hugh H. McQuillen, Village avenue, had ·
267
Michael Smith, Elm View Place, had .
·
290
Alonzo B. Wentworth, East street, had · 500
And said Crowley, French and Wentworth were declared elected.
For Board of Health :
Francis L. Babcock, Walnut street, had . 698
Alonzo W. Cheever, Mt. Vernon street, had
658
George A. Southgate, Court street, had · 643 And said Babcock, Cheever and Southgate were declared elected.
For Auditors :
Frank M. Bailey, Milton street, had
.
624
Daniel A. Lynch, Needham street, had
630
Edward C. Paul, Worthington street, had
.
634
And said Bailey, Lynch and Paul were declared elected.
179
For School Committee for three years :
Elisha Greenhood, High street, had · 353 Charles F. Kimball, Winthrop street, had 502
John L. Wakefield, Court street, had . 587 And said Kimball and Wakefield were declared elected.
For School Committee for one year :
Willie W. Baker, High street, had 651
Julius H. Tuttle, Bullard street, had 617
And said Baker and Tuttle were declared elected.
For Trustees of the Public Library for three years :
Albert Hale, High street, had
588
Don Gleason Hill, Willow street, had .
645
Winslow Warren, High street, had
·
594
And said Hale, Hill and Warren were declared elected. For Trustee of Public Library for two years : Frederic J. Stimson, High street, had · 602
And said Stimson was declared elected.
For Collector of Taxes :
Thomas J. Baker, Court street, had 708
And said Baker was declared elected.
For Overseer of the Poor :
Henry Smith, High street, had
.
·
631
And said Smith was declared elected.
For Constables :
Martin J. Barrett, Bussey street, had . 656
John Dean, High street, had 533
Irving Donley, Winthrop street, had 509 William F. Drugan, Elm View Place, had 554
James R. Finn, Mt. Hope street, had 542
James J. Gaffney, Curve street, had 547
Martin Hanson, Walnut street, had . 578
Charles O. Haynes, off Westfield street, had 518 George E. Morse, Willow street, had 491
And all said persons were declared elected constables.
In answer to the question, Shall licenses for the sale of in- toxicating liquors be granted in the town, the town voted :
1
180
406
Yes, No,
392
By reason of some unknown defect in the Ballot Box, in which the ballots deposited by the men were cast, said box did not correctly register the number cast, but all said ballots were cast by the men voters in said box, and all were duly cancelled thereby.
.
The polls were closed on motion at forty minutes past four o'clock, after which the Moderator appointed as the com- mittee under the by-laws, to whom was referred the remaining articles of the warrant, the following persons : Winslow Warren, John;Crowley, Alonzo B. Wentworth, Alfred Hewins, F. F. Favor, William F. Macomber, Patrick A. Nolan, Jacob Lorio, Thomas Murphy, Ebenezer T. Paul, Daniel A. Lynch, Henry Onion, James M. Ellis, Joseph L. Fisher, Allen Colburn, Horatio G. Turner, William H. Matta, J. Varnum Abbott, who with Howard Colburn, Chairman of the Selectmen, Assessors and Overseers of the Poor, Frederick D. Ely, Chairman of the School Committee, and George A. Guild, Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, members ex-officiis, make the full Committee of Twenty-One.
Voted that all the remaining officers, not voted for by ballot, be appointed by the Selectmen.
Voted that when this meeting adjourns, it be to the first Monday of April, at this place, at 7 1-2 o'clock p. m.
After the declaration of the vote, all the ballots cast at said election were sealed up in an envelope, and indorsed thereon by the Moderator, and the check lists used were also sealed up, and also being so indorsed thereon, were all placed in the custody of the Town Clerk.
And on motion the meeting was adjourned to the first Mon- day of April next, at 7 1-2 o'clock, as aforesaid.
Attest :
DON GLEASON HILL, Town Clerk.
F. F. Favor having declined to act as a member of the Com- mittee of Twenty-One, the Moderator appointed Andrew J. Norris in his place.
Attest:
DON GLEASON HILL,
Town Clerk.
-
181
OFFICE OF SELECTMEN, DEDHAM, March 12, 1891. DON GLEASON HILL, EsQ., Town Clerk : Dear Sir :
At a meeting of the Board of Selectmen held this day, the following appointments were made :
Field Drivers.
John Crowley, John E. Kelly, William Eagan and Dennis Haley.
Fence Viewers.
Ebenezer Gay, Thomas Murphy, Eben T. Paul.
Surveyors of Lumber.
Hiram Hinckley, Thomas Coleman, Francis Turner.
Measurers of Wood and Bark.
Frank M. Bailey, P. O'Sullivan, E. W. Bonnemort, Charles H. Ellis, George P. Goding, Nathaniel Morse, John F. Shine. Weighers of Hay and Coal.
Frank M. Bailey, Thomas Coleman, Charles Russell, George F. Curtis, George A. French, Waldo Chase.
Sealer of Weights and Measures.
John Bestwick.
Per Order.
GEO. W. WEATHERBEE, Clerk.
The following persons were sworn by the Town Clerk into the offices to which they had been elected at the March Town Meeting, 1891, or to which they had been appointed by the Selectmen, viz : March 2, 1891, William F. Drugan, Martin J. Barrett and Irving Donley, as Constables ; March 3, 1891, Charles O. Haynes and John Dean, as Constables ; Lewis H. Kingsbury, as Treasurer, and Edward C. Paul, as Auditor ; John Crowley and Alonzo B. Wentworth, as Assessors (by statute oath), and Thomas P. Murray, as Selectman and Surveyor of Highways; March 5, 1891, Joseph A. Laforme and Henry Smith, as Selectmen and Surveyors of Highways, and said Smith also as Overseer of the Poor ; March 6, 1891, George E. Morse, as Constable, and Henry E. French, as Assessor (statute oath) ; March 14, 1891, George P. Goding and Elijah W. Bonnemort, as Surveyors of Wood and Bark, and George A. French, as Weigher of Coal and Hay ;
182
March 16, 1891, George F. Curtis, as Weigher of Hay and Coal ; March 17, 1891, Frank M. Bailey, as Auditor and Measurer of Wood and Bark; March 19, 1891, Waldo Chase and Charles Russell, as Weighers of Hay and Coal ; March 20, 1891, Thomas Murphy and Eben T. Paul, as Fence Viewers ; March 23, 1891, Thomas Coleman, as Weigher of Hay and Coal and Measurer of Lumber, and Ebenezer Gay, as Fence Viewer ; March 25, 1891, Charles H. Ellis, as Measurer of Wood and Bark ; March 31, 1891, James J. Gaffney, as Constable ; April 18, 1891, Nathaniel Morse, as Measurer of Wood and Bark, May 12, 1891, Thomas J. Baker, as Collector of Taxes ; May 19, 1891, Hiram Hinckley, as Sur- veyor of Lumber ; June 22, 1891, James R. Finn, as Constable.
- - -
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Norfolk, ss.
At a meeting of the inhabitants of the Town of Dedham, qualified to vote in town affairs, held in Memorial Hall in said Dedham, on the first Monday of April, (being the sixth day of said month,) A. D. 1891, by adjournment from the second day of March, 1891, the meeting was called to order at half-past seven o'clock in the afternoon, by Erastus Worthington, the Moderator, and the business of the meeting proceeded as follows :-
Article Three-Voted to accept the report of the Auditors of the Treasurer's and Collector's account.
Article Four-Voted to accept the list of Jurors as prepared by the Selectmen and posted according to law-the names of Francis S. Dyer, James M. Ellis, Henry D. Humphrey, Hugh H. McQuillen, Ebenezer T. Paul, Charles Russell and Henry S. Talbot having first, by vote, been stricken from the list.
Article Five-Voted to authorize the Collector of Taxes to use the same means as Town Treasurer may use when acting as Collector.
Article Six-The report of the Committee on the distribu- tion of the interest of the Damon and Draper donations was pre- sented, showing the sum of Fifty and 9-100 dollars received and disbursed during the year, and it was voted that said report be accepted ; also the town chose Dr. John W. Chase and Willie W.
183
Baker as the Committee to distribute the interest of said funds the ensuing year.
Article Seven-Alfred Hewins, Chairman of the Committee of Twenty-one, recommended the following appropriations under this article, namely :
Town Clerk $150
Town Treasurer
350
Board of Health . 150
Registrar of Voters
200
Cemetery Commissioners
100
Overseers of the Poor .
400
Assessors
1,000
Selectmen
800
Superintendent of Streets, a sum not exceeding 1,600 Abatement of taxes
.
1,200
Police .
. 2,700
Printing, advertising and stationery
800
Poor in the almshouse . 1,350 .
Poor out of the almshouse 4,500
Insane and Reform school
. 1,700
Lock-up, salary and supplies
700
Fire Department
. 3,500
Electric Lights
. 5,240
Water .
. 5,200
High school debt and interest
. 3,480
Miscellaneous
1,000
Removing snow
700
$36,820
And on motion it was voted to raise and appropriate the sum of thirty-six thousand eight hundred and twenty dollars for the purposes mentioned in said report.
Article Eight-Voted to raise and appropriate the sum of two hundred dollars for the decoration of soldiers' graves.
Article Nine-Voted to appropriate the sum of two thousand two hundred and fifty dollars for the Dedham Public Library, of which sum ten hundred fifty-two 71-100 dollars is to be taken from the money now in the Town treasury, received last year from the dog taxes, and the balance of eleven hundred ninety-
184
seven 29-100 dollars to be raised by taxation as recommended by the Committee of Twenty-One.
Article Ten-Voted to raise and appropriate the sum of fifteen hundred fifty dollars, to be expended as follows : One thousand dollars for Brookdale Cemetery ; four hundred dollars for the old cemetery in Dedham Village; and one hundred and fifty dollars for the Cemetery in West Dedham.
Article Eleven-Voted to authorize the Collector of Taxes to charge six per cent. on all taxes not paid Nov. 1, 1891.
Article Twelve-The Chairman of the Committee of Twenty- One made the following motion under this article, viz .: That the town appropriate for the payment of the salaries of the school teachers and Superintendent of Schools twenty-seven thousand one hundred fifty dollars, of which sum $7150 to be taken from the money now in the treasury, and the balance of $20,000 to be raised by taxation, and pending the consideration of this motion, at 10 o'clock the meeting was adjourned to next Monday evening at 7 1-2 o'clock.
Attest :
DON GLEASON HILL, Town Clerk.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Norfolk, ss.
At a meeting of the inhabitants of the Town of Dedham qualified to vote in town affairs, held at Memorial Hall, in said Dedham, on Monday, the thirteenth day of April, A.D. 1891, by adjournment from April 6th, 1891. The meeting was called to order at half-past seven o'clock, p. m., by Erastus Worthington, the Moderator, Article Twelfth being under consideration. The discussion of said Article proceeded until ten o'clock, when it was voted that the town appropriate for the payment of the sal- aries of the school teachers and superintendent of schools twenty- seven thousand one hundred and fifty dollars ($27,150) of which sum seven thousand one hundred and fifty dollars shall be taken from the money now in the treasury, and the balance of twenty thousand dollars shall be raised by taxation, and in a verification of said vote, it was found that 225 persons voted in the affirma- tive, and 32 persons voted in the negative; and the same was declared as passed in the affirmative.
185
A motion was then made to reconsider the vote just passed, and the town voted not to reconsider the same.
And on motion the meeting was adjourned to next Monday evening at this place, at 7 1-2 o'olock.
Attest : DON GLEASON HILL,
Town Clerk.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Norfolk, ss.
At a meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Dedham, in said County, qualified to vote in town affairs, held at Memorial Hall in said town, on Monday, the twentieth day of April, 1891, by adjournment from the thirteenth day of said month. The meeting was called to order at half-past seven o'clock in the afternoon, by Erastus Worthington, the moderator, and the busi- ness proceeded as follows :
It was voted that debate be limited on each question to not more than ten minutes to each speaker.
Article Thirteen-Voted to raise and appropriate for repairs and care of the School-houses, for fuel, grading of school grounds, and furniture, and supplies for the same, the sum of nine thousand and thirty-eight dollars, viz : for care of School-houses, grounds and janitors' supplies, $2.700 ; general repairs and grading school- house yards, $2,480 ; for fuel, $2,500 ; furniture, $1,000 ; gas, $50, and a further sum of $308 to meet an outstanding bill incurred in connection with the ventilation of school-houses.
The following resolutions were then presented by Elisha Greenhood, and the Town voted to adopt the same as follows :
Resolved-That in view of the showing made with respect to the amount of our school expenditures, as compared to other towns, the subject is deserving of careful investigation.
That a committee of three, composed of Alonzo B. Went- worth, Preston R. Mansfield and Frank M. Bailey, be and are hereby appointed, for the purpose of making a thorough investi- gation of the matter of school expeditures, and to report at the next annual meeting of the town, whether or not, consistently with the interests of the cause of education, any reduction can be made in such expenditures, and if so, how and where.
------
186
That they report in print as early as February 15, 1892.
That any expense they may incur in travel be paid out of the contingent school fund.
That the Moderator shall have power to fill any vacancies on said Committee.
Article Fourteen-Voted to raise and appropriate the sum of eighteen hundred dollars for school stationery and text books.
Article Fifteen-Voted to appropriate the amount received from other towns for scholars attending the Public school in Ded- ham for contingent expenses of the Public schools.
Article Sixteen-Voted to raise and appropriate for chemicals and physical apparatus and supplies for the High school, the sum of three hundred dollars.
Article Seventeen-Under this article Mr. Alfred Hewins, for the Committee of Twenty-one, recommended and moved that the town raise and appropriate eleven thousand five hundred dollars, to be expended as follows :- for general repairs of high- ways, nine thousand dollars (one thousand dollars of which to be applied to the repair of Bridge street) ; for incidental and extra repairs, one thousand dollars ; for general repairs of sidewalks. one thousand dollars ; and for lumber for bridges and railings, five hundred dollars.
Mr. C. C. Sanderson moved to amend this motion by changing the amount nine thousand to five thousand dollars, and Mr. Elisha Greenhood also moved to amend the original motion by changing said amount of nine thousand to seven thousand dollars, and by further changing the amount as to sidewalks from one thousand to three thousand dollars.
Voted that this article be laid on the table.
Article Eighteen-Voted to accept Quincy avenue between Winthrop street and Dale street, as laid out by the Selectmen, and raise and appropriate for the same the sum of one hundred dollars. [See report of laying out in Highway Book, p. 126.]
Article Nineteen-Voted not to accept a new street from Oak- dale avenue to River street, as laid out by the Selectmen.
A motion was then made to reconsider said vote, and the Town voted not to reconsider the same.
Article Twenty-Voted to accept a new street from Bussey street to the Avery school-house yard, as laid out by the Select-
187
men, and raise and appropriate for the same the sum of two hundred seventy-five dollars. (See report of laying out in High- way Book, p. 126.)
Articles Twenty-One and Twenty-Two-Voted that these articles be indefinitely postponed.
Article Twenty-Three-Voted to place an electric light on Thomas street, and raise and appropriate for the same the sum of sixteen dollars.
Article Twenty-Four-Voted to light High Rock street and Hartford street, between High and High Rock street, with ten electric lights, and raise and appropriate for the same the sum of one hundred and sixty dollars.
Article Twenty-Five-Voted to place an electric arc light on Oakland street, East Dedham, and raise and appropriate for the same the sum of seventy dollars. (See repeal of this vote and substitute, p. 153.)
Article Twenty-Six-Voted to extend the electric lighting on the street from the corner of High and Nahatan streets, through Nahatan street to the Unitarian Church, and raise and appropri- ate for the same the sum of one hundred twenty-eight dollars.
Article Twenty-Seven-Voted that the twenty arc lights be burned all night, and that seventy-nine incandescent lights, ex- tending from the Baptist Church in West Dedham, through High street and Washington street to Boston line, be burned till two o'clock in the morning, and that the sum of eleven hundred eighty- five 12-100 dollars be raised and appropriated for the same.
Articles Twenty-Eight and Twenty-Nine-Voted that these articles be indefinitely postponed.
Voted that this meeting be adjourned to next Monday even- ing, at 7.30 o'clock, to this place.
Attest :
DON GLEASON HILL, Town Clerk.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Norfolk, ss.
At a meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Dedham in said County, qualified to vote in town affairs, held at Memorial Hall in said Town, on Monday, the twenty-seventh day of April, 1891, by adjournment from the twentieth day of said month. The
188
meeting was called to order at half-past seven by Erastus Wor- thington, the moderator, and the business proceeded as follows:
Article Twenty-Five-The Town voted to reconsider its action taken on this article last Monday night, and it was there- upon voted that the incandescent light now on Oakland street, near its junction with Lewis lane, Emmet avenue, and Mill lane, be moved on said Oakland street nearer Hyde Park, and that an arc light be placed at said junction, and that seventy (70) dollars be raised and appropriated therefor.
Article Thirty-Voted that the subject matter of this article be referred to a committee, consisting of Howard Colburn, George C. Stearns and Thomas T. Robinson, to report in print ten days before the next annual town meeting.
Article Thirty-one-Voted to cause a hydrant to be set on Whiting avenue, East Dedham, as recommended by the Board of Engineers, and raise and appropriate for the same the sum of thirty-five dollars.
Article Thirty-Two-Voted to purchase a Hose Wagon to be located in East Dedham, in house of Niagara, No. 3, as recom- mended by the Board of Engineers, and raise and appropriate for the same the sum of three hundred and sixty-five dollars.
Article Thirty-Three-Voted to adopt the provisions of Chap- ter 58 of the Public Statutes, empowering Selectmen of towns to appoint one or more persons to be inspectors of provisions and of animals intended for slaughter.
Article Thirty-Four-Voted to adopt the amendments made by the Cemetory Commissioners to the rules and regulations respecting the conveyance of burial lots in Brookdale Cemetery, and printed in the last Town Report, page 70.
Article Thirty-Five-Voted that the Town hereby determines,. . under the provisions of Chapter 386 of the Acts of 1890, as amended by Chapter 10 of the Acts of 1891, that for all future elections the number and terms of such Town officers as are now required by the laws of this Commonwealth to be chosen by ballot shall be as follows, viz :- one Town Clerk, one Town Treasurer, one Collector of Taxes, five Selectmen, three Assessors, three Auditors and nine Constables, all for one year each ; six School Committee, two of whom shall be chosen each year to hold for- the term of three years each ; nine Trustees of the Public Library,.
189
three of whom shall be chosen each year to hold for the term of three years each ; and that the Town also hereby determines that it shall also annually choose by ballot the following, not now required by the laws of said Commonwealth to be so chosen, to wit :- three Overseers of the Poor, and three members of the Board of Health, all for one year.
Article Thirty-Six and Article Seventeen-Voted to take Article Seventeen from the table. Mr. Greenhood, with general consent, withdrew the amendment proposed by him under said article, and it was voted that the town raise and appropriate eleven thousand five hundred dollars, to be expended as follows : For general repairs of highways, nine thousand dollars (one thousand of which is to be applied to the repair of Bridge street) ; for incidental and extra repairs, one thousand dollars ; for general repairs of sidewalks, one thousand dollars ; for lumber for bridges and railings, five hundred dollars ; and the larger amount having been adopted, the Moderator ruled no action could be taken on amendment offered by Mr. Sanderson. Under Article Thirty- Six it was voted that the sum of ten thousand dollars be taken from money now in the treasury, to be expended in the perma- nent improvement of sidewalks and street crossings, at the discretion and under the direction of the Selectmen.
Voted, that in doing the work under the above vote, prefer- ence be given to inhabitants of Dedham.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.