USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Duxbury > The story of Duxbury, 1637-1937 > Part 8
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At the meeting of June 13, Laurence Bradford was mustered in, the first man to be enrolled after the issue of the charter to the charter members. He presented a Bible to the post for its altar.
The year 1894 was important in the history of William Wadsworth Post. In that year, while the cadets of Partridge Academy participated in their ceremonies, members of the post decorated for the first time, the long-lost grave of Myles Standish. The Gershom Witherell barn was remodeled into Grand Army Hall and dedicated as the regular post headquarters on October 5, 1894.
On April 5, 1895, the Myles Standish Camp, Sons of Veterans, was formally organized. Little by little, the Sons of Veterans assumed the duties that were laid gradually aside by the aging mem- bers of the Wadsworth post; and finally, Febru- ary 5, 1915, the surviving men of the post asked the younger organization to relieve them of even
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the responsibility of conducting the Memorial Day observances.
Just ten years later-on November 6, 1925- the little group of surviving members of the post gave to the younger group the G.A.R. Hall and its fittings. The ranks of the old men had been so thinned by death that they recognized that there was no longer need for quarters; and the burden of the accumulating years had become so great that the surviving men wished to be relieved of the responsibilities entailed in the maintenance of a building.
Eighty-eight men had been enrolled in William Wadsworth Post. They included Lewis B. Abbott, Henry Alden, John Alden, John W. Alden, Thomas Alden, Edwin Atwell, George H. Bailey, Lewis M. Bailey, Henry Barstow, Samuel B. Beaman, Al- phonse Bowin, John R. Bradley, Laurence Brad- ford, Melzar Brewster, James K. Burgess, Benja- min G. Cahoon, William B. Campbell, Hiram O. Chandler, E. Edgar Chandler, Julius B. Chandler, Waldo Church, Charles J. Cox, Frederic O. Crocker, George P. Cushman, Otis Delano, Nathan Dorr, Hiram Foster, James Downey, Alfred Fowler, Enoch Freeman, LeBaron Goodwin, Albert M. Goulding, Thomas Gridley, Lebbeus Harris, John H. Haverstock, George L. Higgins, Charles W. Hunt, William F. Hunt, John E. Josselyn, Nathan Keen, James H. Killian, Rodney M. Leach, Henry H. Lewis, Joseph H. Mack, Thomas T. McNaught, Stephen S. Peterson, Leander B. Pierce, Charles
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The Story of Duxbury 1637-1937
R. M. Pratt, Frederick A. Pratt, Barden H. Prouty, Charles A. Rodgers, George F. Ryder, Gilbert M. Ryder, Edward Sampson, Isaac L. Sampson, Ben- jamin A. Sawyer, George W. W. Scott, Frederic P. Sherman, Joseph Sherman, Gideon Shurtleff, Jo- seph A. Soule, Marcellus Soule, Oscar H. Soule, Samuel P. Soule, Albert M. Thayer, Ira S. Thomas, William H. Thomas, Charles Tolman, William H. Tolman, George H. Torrey, John W. Tower, John F. Turner, Hamilton Wadsworth, Jabez P. Weston, James S. Weston, Charles T. Whitney, Henry O. Winsor, James H. Winsor, William Woodward, Wil- liam J. Wright.
Of these men, but four were living when Com- mander James Burgess called the last post meeting at his home on May 4, 1928. E. J. Sweetser, James Downey and Albert M. Goulding attended that last meeting. Parker B. Chandler of the Sons of Veterans, for some time had been acting as secretary of the post.
In January, 1929, Mr. Burgess died. Mr. Sweet- ser and Mr. Downey died in 1933, leaving Mr. Goulding the last living member of the once vigor- ous blue clad host who tramped bravely away in response to the call of Abraham Lincoln.
Comrade Goulding, who had served fourteen years as commander of William Wadsworth Post, died in February, 1935. On February 27, final honors were given him at the Unitarian Church. Participating in the funeral services were Thomas Ellis of East Boston Post, G.A.R., Harvey J. Rey-
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nolds of the Indian War Veterans, members of the Myles Standish Camp, Sons of Veterans, who con- ducted a ritualistic service, the American Legion, and auxiliary groups of both organizations. Rev. Ernest Thomas was the presiding clergyman. Rich- ard S. Glover was the bugler who played "Taps" at the grave of the last of Duxbury's two hun- dred thirty-six "boys in blue," seventy-four years after the first of them had been called to the colors.
The remaining patriotic organizations continue the annual observance of Memorial Day at the Dux- bury cemeteries and at Bluefish River Bridge, where flowers dedicated to the sailor dead are strewn on the water.
The Sons of Union Veterans and the Duxbury Post, Number 223, American Legion, take charge of the ceremonies, assisted by their auxiliaries, by details from the National Sailors' Home and the local troops of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. The graves which they decorate run the whole gamut of military history in Duxbury, from the first mili- tary commander, Myles Standish, to veterans of the World War.
After the close of the Civil War, the town turned again to the normal activities of commerce and industry.
There was much talk of bringing the cable from France to the Duxbury shore. Then, to the in- tense satisfaction of the townspeople, the talk de- veloped into a definite plan. At the town meet-
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ing of September 17, 1868, it was voted, on the motion of Stephen N. Gifford, "that the selectmen be authorized to sell and convey to the Atlantic Telegraph Company all rights and title the town has in Rouse's Hummock, on such terms and conditions as shall seem equitable and just to all parties con- cerned."
The landing of the cable took place in the follow- ing year, marking a drastic reduction of the bar- riers between this nation and Europe.
At about this same time, a struggle was taking place between those who wished to erect on Cap- tain's Hill a monument to Captain Myles Standish, and those who opposed the proposal. Charges and countercharges featured the debates.
At the town meeting of May 18, 1872, it was voted ". . . that the thanks of the town are due George Bradford, Stephen N. Gifford, Stephen M. Allen, John S. Loring and the selectmen, together with Josiah Peterson, our representative, for their successful efforts in obtaining a charter for the Standish Monument, against the unjust and jealous opposition of the enemies of the town and its public improvements; that we have full confidence, not only in the character and ability, but in the entire disinterestedness of the officials and members of the association who are active in securing the erection of the monument upon Captain's Hill, as the proper and most fitting place for the memorial for the honor of the sterling character of the Pilgrim captain, as well as for the benefit of the town, and as a point of
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observation for navigators along the coast for vessels entering Plymouth or Massachusetts Bays.
"That as a town we earnestly invite the co-oper- ation of the citizens of New England and the United States to join in aiding us in the erection of this memorial to the memory of Captain Myles Standish, the first and earliest long-tried captain of the mili- tary forces of the New World."
When it was completed, the monument which commands one of the most impressive views to be found anywhere, was placed in the care of the Stan- dish Monument Association.
The town turned also to assisting the Ladies' Monument Association in erecting in Mayflower Cemetery a memorial to the men who had died in service. At the town meeting of May 14, 1870, it was voted ". .. to bear the balance of the ex- penses of the soldiers' monument, to finish grading the lot, providing the means of the Duxbury Ladies' Monument Association should prove insufficient, the sum to be expended by the town not to exceed $250. . . . "
The memorial monument now standing in May- flower Cemetery resulted from this co-operative action between the association and the town.
The period between that time and 1886 was marked by the completion of the Duxbury & Co- hasset Railroad through Duxbury, and the con- sequent opening of the town to its first substantial number of summer vacationists.
In 1886, Laurence Bradford was designated by
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the town to assemble a committee of his own choos- ing for the purpose of deciding whether to celebrate the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of the incor- poration of the town. At the annual town meeting of April 4, 1887, the celebration was decided upon, and a committee selected to make and execute plans for the occasion. Members of the committee in- cluded Laurence Bradford, chairman, William J. Alden, Jr., George Bradford, Benjamin G. Cahoon, Josephus Dawes, LeBaron Goodwin, Samuel Loring, Frederick N. Knapp, Levi P. Simmons, Hambleton E. Smith, Joshua W. Swift, William J. Wright, John B. Hollis, Jr., Josiah Peterson, Albert M. Thayer and John W. Tower.
The celebration was held on June 17, 1887, a date set by the annual town meeting in April of that year. June 17, it will be recalled, was the exact date of the original incorporation of Duxbury as an inde- pendent town.
William J. Wright was chosen president of the day. Justin Winsor, then librarian of Harvard Col- lege, was invited to be the orator of the day.
Under clear skies, Grand Army posts from Dux- bury, Kingston and Plymouth assembled on June seventeenth at the South Duxbury railroad sta- tion, and marched to Soule's corner for a review. The American Band of South Weymouth supplied martial music.
At 10.30 that morning, the celebration committee and the various fraternal and patriotic organiza- tions received Governor Oliver Ames and a party
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of notables at the Duxbury railroad station. The Governor's salute of seventeen guns was fired.
Then, while the townspeople and visitors from surrounding communities lined the usually quiet streets, the entire assemblage paraded through Hall's Corner, Washington Street and St. George Street to the grounds near the home of George W. Wright.
At the head of the procession rode Chief Marshal James Downey, accompanied by his aides, Samuel Atwell, Jr., James H. Killian, John H. Haverstock, and George B. Wright. The Silver Fife and Drum Corps of Plymouth, and Collingwood Post, Num- ber 76, G.A.R., of Plymouth, commanded by A. O. Brown, preceded the carriages in which rode the president of the day, William J. Wright, and the in- vited guests-Governor Ames and his staff; Jus- tin Winsor, H. J. Boardman, president of the Mas- sachuetts Senate, Charles J. Noyes, speaker of the House of Representatives, Adjutant-General Sam- uel Dalton, Henry B. Pierce, secretary of the Com- monwealth, George B. Loring, John D. Long, Mel- len Chamberlain, librarian of the Boston Public Library; William T. David, Benjamin W. Harris, Stephen M. Allen, Charles Levi Woodbury, Rev. Frederick N. Knapp, Rev. George M. Bodge, Cap- tain J. B. G. Adams, sergeant at arms; L. Myles Standish, and Charles Deane.
The American Band of South Weymouth set the beat for the members of Duxbury's William Wads- worth Post, Number 165, G.A.R., commanded by
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John W. Tower, and the Martha Sever Post, Num- ber 154, of Kingston, commanded by George E. Owens. Gaily uniformed bands from Plymouth and Randolph led the way for four lodges of Odd Fel- lows-Grand Canton Bunker Hill of Charlestown, headed by Major E. W. Brown, Sagamore Encamp- ment, Number 54, of Plymouth, commanded by Major S. H. Doten, and the Adams Lodge and Mat- takeeset Lodge of Kingston and Duxbury respec- tively.
Citizens comprised the last division of the parade.
In a huge tent on the grounds of George W. Wright, the formal exercises were held in the pres- ence of a capacity throng. William J. Wright in- troduced Rev. Frederick N. Knapp of Plymouth who offered prayer. To the tune of "Duke Street," the assembly sang the anniversary hymn which had been written by Rev. George M. Bodge, pastor of the First Church of Duxbury.
In his oration, Justin Winsor described the prob- lems of the Pilgrims from the time of their landing from the Mayflower to their appearance before the Court to argue for separation from the parent town and church of Plymouth, and of their beginning of the settlement of Duxbury as an independent town.
Governor Ames brought the greetings of the State, and the celebration was concluded with fes- tivities in various homes of the town.
The year 1889 was notable for two particular reasons-the beginning of the effort to develop Duxbury Beach and the building of the Free Li-
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Gathering of elderly people. Duxbury, August 7, 8, 9, 1900.
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Photograph of Elderly People at Loan Exhibit held in Duxbury, aug. 7,8,9, 1900. Taken in front of Brooks house, on Point road which leads to alten Westous
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1903 Min Caroline W. Bradford ..
89 March 1904 Mrs. Eden Winsor Soule" 94 bet. This Winea Wes. Eaton, summer resident um. Chavales 1903
in front Mrs. abigail Chandler " 81 Betsey Hammond 86 · 7b. 26, 1904
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tro. Sylvia Church father " The Rey Parker) Mrs. Silvanus Smith ( Judith W.) 78 yrs. 9 mos Mis Lucia A. Knapp of Plymouth Bartlett -
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On the piazza of Mr. Frederic B. Knapp Right
Mrs. Charles 7. Stetson Mrs. I Granville Sampson Min Magee S. Sampson Min Ella Soule and others
Jamelia Hathaway is standing re the ground
near Mrs. Station du the piazza Daniel Webster's Family Coach, owned by Mr. Walton Hall owner of Webster Place, with his coachman and Lucius Soule standing near The coach was loaned to bring these elderly ladies to the Loan Institute of Technology Exhibit. Footman Franck Friend, autant, of Dux bury. above adapted from list made by Mr. Ruth a. Bradford.
John Hathaway .. " 82 - april 30, 1902 Win Softonic Peterson Bosworth) Mr Thomas Hathaway 84 ". april 26, 1902 .. July 1901
Un. Horace Soule
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brary. William J. Wright was the chief proponent of the beach development. He sold building lots and urged the building of homes on the beach. The town expended money for building the roadways necessary to these proposed new buildings.
Through the generosity of Henry Winsor of Phil- adelphia who made a gift of five thousand dol- lars for a free library in Duxbury, and of Mr. and Mrs. George W. Wright, who, in memory of their son George B. Wright, gave to the Winsor trustees the lot and present building, equipped, furnished and partially supplied with books, the town achieved a long-coveted ambition.
The appreciation of the town was expressed in an unanimous vote passed at the town meeting of April 1, 1889: "Resolved, that the Town of Dux- bury in town meeting assembled, would extend a hearty vote of thanks to Henry Winsor of Philadel- phia for his generous gift of $5000 for a free library for the benefit of Duxbury, and that the town clerk be requested to forward to him a copy of this vote." At the next meeting after the an- nouncement of the gift by the Wrights, the for- mal thanks of the town were given.
In 1892, an additional three thousand dollars was made available to the library when the town voted to transfer to the library trustees a bequest received from the estate of Henry Hathaway.
A work of historic value was performed in 1892 when, at the order of the town, George Etheridge copied and had printed and bound three hundred
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copies of town records dating from 1642 to 1770. The records were of necessity incomplete, for fire had destroyed many of them during the days when they were kept in the homes of the town clerks.
A jubilant note suggestive of the enthusiasm of chambers of commerce was recorded by George H. Stearns, town clerk, in his annual report: "There were living in Duxbury on the first day of Janu- ary, 1892, eighty-three persons over eighty years of age-forty-four men and thirty-nine women. Six of these were over ninety, and one was over one hundred years of age. We think this is a pretty good showing for a town of 1900 inhabitants."
In the meantime, repeated severe storms had been causing continuous damage on Duxbury Beach, prompting the selectmen to demand that the United States government take steps to repair the damage and perform such construction as would prevent further damage. But the government declined to undertake the task. The town wisely refused to build the roads which had once been authorized. At the meeting of March 5, 1894, it voted: ". . . that the town deems it inexpedient to make, at this time, an appropriation for building a road on the back side of the beach, from the bridge to the High Pines."
The great storm of 1898 in which the steamer Portland, which plied between Boston and Port- land, Maine, was sunk with all on board, caused such havoc on Duxbury Beach that the plans for building homes there was abandoned.
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The official seal of the Town of Duxbury first appeared on the town reports in 1901. Under the direction of the selectmen, a competition had been held. The design submitted by Laurence Bradford, featuring Captain Myles Standish in military dress, had been selected as the best and had been adopted as the official seal of the town.
The Australian ballot for town officers was used in Duxbury for the first time in 1903, in accordance with a favorable vote of one hundred twelve in fa- vor, as opposed to ten votes against.
In 1906 and 1907, there was much debate over methods and equipment for fire-fighting. Finally, an appropriation of eight hundred dollars was made for the construction and equipment of a house for "Engine 2" near Hall's Corner. Though the plans were not satisfactory to everybody, they were at least an improvement over the requirements of 1636, that each householder should have ". . . one sufficient ladder or ladders, at least, which will reach ye top of the dwelling."
The town was given the old library building in St. George Street in 1907; and since that time it has been used as the town offices. For her gift of a new library building, the town, at its annual meet- ing on March 7, 1910, passed resolutions thank- ing Mrs. Georgianna B. Wright.
Women's suffrage was a moot question in 1915. At the state election on November second of that year, Duxbury voted overwhelmingly against giving the franchise to women-two hundred eighteen to
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eighty-nine. But when the question was again put at the state election on November 4, 1924, Dux- bury reversed its verdict-two hundred sixty-seven to seventy-seven. Two hundred eighty-two people were so indifferent that they did not vote on the question at all.
In 1917, all questions were subordinated to the one major purpose of the nation-to prosecute to a successful conclusion the war against Germany. Duxbury's participation was typical of that of towns of her size; featured by the efforts to sell Liberty Bonds, War Savings stamps, collection of clothing and preparation of medical supplies by the Red Cross and the assembling of gift packages for the men in camp or overseas.
Duxbury men who were in the armed forces of the United States during the war were George E. Adams, Fisher Ames, Jr., Ernest Barrett, Charles Bittinger, Howard D. Blanchard, Joseph F. Bol- ton, Jr., Charles Boomer, Gershom Bradford, Philip B. Bradley, Ebenezer N. Briggs, Arthur C. Chand- ler, Earle M. Chandler, Ernest A. Chandler, Leland A. Chick, Wilfred M. Clare, Joseph F. Clark, Roy B. Clark, John S. Curtin, Earle S. Cushing, Paul H. Cushing, Robert A. Dawes, Ray Delano, Carrol A. Drew, John R. Edgar, Edwin T. Facey, William N. Ferrell, Ralph B. Ford, C. E. F. Fortescue, Cyrus R. Foster, Samuel Frizzell, Martin Gearin, Chand- ler Gifford, Robert G. Gifford, Eugene R. Glass, Warren M. Goodspeed, Howard D. Green, Ralph
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E. C. Turner, Photographer
Duxbury Free Library. (Erected in 1909, in memory of George B. Wright.)
Civic and Military Activities
B. Green, Edervene M. Grover, Frank A. Hayes, Roy A. Holmes, Lowell H. Holway, Glenn S. Hub- bard, Stuart Huckins, Cassius H. Hunt, Waldo Kennard, Frederic Leach, Francis Le Mosy, Paul McAuliffe, Robert S. Means, Frederic B. Merry, Hubert B. Needham, George J. Newitt, Alvin E. Nightingale, Edwin N. Noyes, Nathaniel K. Noyes, Richard S. Noyes, James T. O'Neil, Roy B. Parks, George T. Paulding, Elmer W. Peterson, Walter G. Prince, Albert F. Randall, Charles G. Randall, William T. Redmond, Darius D. Reynolds, Gladys D. Reynolds, Michael Scipione, James W. Seymour, Oscar B. Soule, Arthur R. Studley, George O. Thayer, William J. Turner, William P. Turner, Christopher Wadsworth, George W. Walter, Law- rence B. Whitney, Frank H. Williams, Arthur F. Winslow and Alfred B. York.
Of these men, Charles W. Boomer died of influ- enza while in service, September 25, 1918, as a member of 164 Company, 25 Battalion. In his honor, his neighbors and comrades gave the name "Boomer Square" to the area opposite the Town Hall, old Partridge Academy and the Unitarian Church. Here, on Memorial Day, 1924, they dedi- cated a monument bearing the names of those who had served in the armed forces of the United States during the World War.
The veterans of the war formed Duxbury Post, Number 223, American Legion, in November, 1919, and, through the generosity of the townspeople, ac-
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quired in 1927 an abandoned school building for use as post headquarters. Walter G. Prince is post commander at the present time.
Post-war debates at town meetings featured the need for economy. The report of selectmen for 1920 read as follows: "The World War is over, but its aftermath is with us and is very much in evidence in the form of extravagance. We have become infected with this germ disease, and the remedy which is painful and therefore dreaded, is sacrifice. Last year, appropriations were granted with a lavish hand, in utter disregard of the large number of tax-payers living on small fixed incomes who, owing to high prices, have been suffering in silence."
The voters followed the advice of their elected representatives, with the result that the selectmen were able to report in 1921: "By the good judg- ment of the voters at the annual meeting of 1921, the tax rate of Duxbury has been fifty per cent less than any of the adjoining towns, without practically any rise in valuation."
1922 marked a change in the order of the town meetings. Conforming to the plan of many other towns, the election of officers now is held on one day, while another day is devoted to action on the articles in the warrant. Adjournments may be voted as deemed necessary.
During this year, Elisha Peterson, for thirty years a member of the board of cemetery trustees, passed away.
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At the town meeting of March 6, 1926, a planning board was chosen, with Franklin Brett named as chairman, and Agnes E. Ellison, secretary. Other members chosen were B. F. Goodrich, Charles Bittinger, and Josephine Shaw.
Land on Mayflower Street was purchased for a town forest in 1929. In 1933, this was named "The Frederick B. Knapp Town Forest" in honor of the man who had been foremost in advocating conserva- tion of natural resources and beauties, and in pro- moting the development of the town's interests. The forest was dedicated in 1934.
In 1932, the entire community was saddened by the death of George H. Stearns, who had been town clerk for forty-two years. Mr. Stearns had held several town offices; and in all of them, the citizens found him pleasant, accommodating and efficient.
During these later years, the town has been the recipient of several generous gifts. In 1930, the Standish Monument Association gave to the town the shore lot known as the "cellar lot," containing the site of the house of Myles Standish; and in 1931, the association contributed some thirteen hundred dollars for the improvement and maintenance of the lot. The town has kept the plot carefully marked.
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