USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Marlborough > Topographical and historical sketches of the town of Northborough, with the early history of Marlborough, in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, furnished for the Worcester magazine > Part 4
USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Northborough > Topographical and historical sketches of the town of Northborough, with the early history of Marlborough, in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, furnished for the Worcester magazine > Part 4
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THOMAS HOW SAMUEL BRIGHAM ISAAC AMSDEN ELEAZER HOW DANIEL HOW JOHN BOUKER JONATHAN JOHNSON NATHANIEL JOSLIN PETER RICE JOHN MAINARD JOHN BARRETT
COMMITTEE."
NATHAN BRIGHAM'S GARISON. Joseph Stratten Henry Bartlett Ellicksander Steward.
JOHN NEWTON Jr's GARISON. Eliazer Bellows John Bellows James Eager James Newton
JOSEPH MORSE'S GARISON. Thomas Biglo Samuel Biglo Samuel Mors
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HISTORY OF NORTHBOROUGH.
of the inhabitants of what is now Westborough, while at work in the field ; killed Nahor, a son of Mr. Edmund Rice, on the spot, seized and carried into captivity two other sons, Silas and Timo- , thy ; also Ashur and Adonijah, two sons of Mr. Thomas Rice. Ashur was redeemed by his father, and returned in about four years. He afterwards settled in Spencer. Adonijah remained in Canada, cultivated a farm in the vicinity of Montreal. His Indian name was Asaunaugooton. The other two lived among the Indians, married Indian wives, acquired their habits, and lost all knowledge of the English language. The puritanical names of Silas and Timothy were changed into the heathenish, but not unmusical ones of Too- kanowras and Oughtsorongoughton. The latter is said to have been the third of the six chiefs of the Cagnawaga tribe, and the one who made the speech to Gen. Gage, in behalf of his tribe, soon after the reduction of Montreal. This chief, in the year 1740, thirty six years after his captivity, visited his relations in Westbo- rough, and retained, it is said, a distinct recollection of the circum- stances of his captivity, and of several aged persons then living. Mr. Seth Rice, father of the late Deac. Seth Rice, and who died in 1796, aged 91, was a brother, and Thankful, wife of the late Mr. Josiah Rice, was a sister, of the above named Silas and Timothy.
In the preceding month, (July) two of the inhabitants of Marl- borough, viz. Abraham How and Benjamin Hutchins, were slain by the Indians at Lancaster."
On the 15th of October, 1705, Mr. John Biglow, of Marlborough, being then at Lancaster, at the garrison house of Mr. Thomas Saw- yer, was, with Mr. Sawyer and his son Elias, taken by the Indians, and conveyed to Canada. They obtained their release in the fol- lowing manner: Both of them were ingenious mechanics, one, (Sawyer) a blacksmith, the other, (Biglow) a carpenter. While they were at Montreal, they proposed to the French Governor, who resided in that city, that, in case he would procure their ransom, they would erect for him a saw mill, there being none at that time in all Canada. The offer was readily accepted ; they fulfilled their engagement, and, after some delays, were permitted to return to their friends, with whom they lived to a good old age. Mr. Big- low, in token of his gratitude for his remarkable deliverance from captivity, called his daughter, born soon after his return, " Free- dom ;" and a second, born some time afterwards, he called " Com- fort," as expressive of the happiness and peace he then enjoyed, contrasted with the hardships and fears of a state of captivity.
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HISTORY OF NORTHBOROUGH.
Comfort was married to Joseph Brigham, the father of Mr. Jonah Brigham, of this town, who, when a child, often listened to the ac- count given by his grandfather Biglow, of the circumstances of his captivity and escape.
In 1707, August 18th, the following tragical event occurred in what is now the easterly part of Northborough. There was .at this time a garrison house standing on the south side of the road, near the brook, known by the name of Stirrup Brook, which cros- ses the great road between the farms of Messrs. Jonas and Gill Bartlett, then in the possession of Samuel Goodenow. As Mary Goodenow, daughter of Samuel, and Mrs. Mary Fay, wife of Ger- shom Fay, were gathering herbs in the adjoining meadow, a party of Indians, twenty four in number, all of whom are said to have been stout warriors, were seen issuing from the woods and making towards them. Mrs. Fay succeeded in effecting her escape. She was closely pursued by a party of the enemy ; but before they came up, had time to enter the garrison, and to fasten the gate of the enclosure. There fortunately happened to be one man then within, the rest of the men belonging to the garrison being in the fields at work. Their savage invaders attempted in vain to break through the enclosure. These heroic defenders, by dint of great exertion, maintained the unequal conflict, till a party of friends, alarmed by the report of the muskets, came to their relief, when the enemy betook themselves to flight .*
The other unfortunate young woman, Miss Goodenow, being re- tarded in her flight by lameness, was seized by her merciless pur- suers, dragged across the brook to the side of the hill, a little south of the road, where she was killed and scalped, and where her man- gled body was afterwards found and buried, and where her grave is shown at this day.
On the following day, the enemy were pursued by a company of about thirty men, from Marlborough and Lancaster, and over-
* Mrs. Fay, it is said, discovered great presence of mind during this as- sault, being constantly employed in loading and reloading the muskets be- longing to the garrison, and handing them to her companion, who by this means was able to keep up a constant fire upon the invaders, No wonder . that she was brave, for she had much at stake. She was then the mother of two young children, one four, and the other two years old. Gershom, fath- er of the late Thaddeus Fay, and Mary, afterwards married to George Smith. Her third, called Susanna, who was born on the 18th of the following Novem- ber, was subject to a constant nervous trembling, caused, it is supposed, by the mother's fright, received at this time. At her father's death, Nov. 24, 1720, she was left to the care of her brother, the late Timothy Fay, with whom she lived till her decease.
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HISTORY OF NORTHBOROUGH.
taken in what is now Sterling, where a hard conflict ensued, in which nine of their number, and two of our men were slain. In one of their packs was found the scalp of the unfortunate Miss Goodenow, which was the first intimation that was obtained of her melancholy fate.
Nothing worthy of record is preserved of what took place be- tween this period* and the incorporation of the westerly part of Marlborough, then called Chauncey Village, and including what is now Westborough and Northborough. The act of incorporation is dated November 19, 1717, O. S. or, in our present reckoning, No- vember 30.
In the fall of 1718, the first meeting house was raised, which stood near the northern limits of Westborough, not far from the public house kept by Mr. Silas Wesson. It was not, however, till October 28, 1724, or nearly seven years after the town was incor- porated, that a church was gathered, and the Rev. Mr. Parkman, the first minister of Westborough, was ordained.
It was at this house that our fathers, the first settlers of North- borough, worshipped for more than twenty years, some of them being accustomed to walk every Sabbath the distance of five or six miles.
At length, October 20, 1744, the town of Westborough, consist- ing at that time of one hundred and twenty five families, was di- vided into two precincts ; the north part, to use the words of Rev. Mr. Parkman, "being indeed very small."t The number of families , set off to the north precinct was only thirty eight ; while eighty seven families remained attached to the old society. Nor was the separation effected without much opposition, and mutual recrimina- .
tion, the unhappy effects of which lasted many years.
Having arrived at that period of our history, when Northbo- rough became a separate precinct, we proceed to give some ac- count of its boundaries, dimensions, face of the soil, &c.
. * I find, from a record kept by Col. Williams, of Marlborough, that Jon- athan Johnson was slain by the Indians, October 12, 1708, but at what place, and under what circumstances, I have not been able to ascertain.
t The act of the General Court, setting off the north part of Westbo- rough as a separate precinct, provides, "that the Inhabitants of said north part should give security to Rev. Mr. Parkman, their present pastor, to give him £100, lawful money, settlement, and £50, like money, per annum, in case he should incline to settle with them, agreeably to what they now prom- ise ; or otherwise, £12, 10s. like money, if he chooses to continue in the south part." It is unnecessary to add, that Rev. Mr. Parkman chose to remain the minister of the old parish. He died Dec. 9, 1782, in the 80th year of his age, and the 59th of his ministry.
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HISTORY OF NORTHBOROUGH.
BOUNDARIES, &c .- A plan of the town was made in 1795, by Mr. Silas Keyes, surveyor, then an inhabitant of the place. According to this plan, Northborough contained 10096 acres, including ponds and roads. Since that date, that is, Feb. 15, 1806, the dividing line between this town and Berlin, was by mutual consent, altered so as to bring both towns into a better shape ; and in June 20, 1807, the line between Northborough and Marlborough was altered, so as to include the farm of Deac. Jonas Bartlett, within the limits of this town. In its present state, the town contains about 10,150 acres.
The boundaries according to the plan made in 1795, are as fol- lows* :- Beginning at the southwest corner, at a heap of stones on Shrewsbury line, it thence runs east, nineteen degrees north, four hundred and eighty nine rods, to a stake by the river Assabeth ; thence, in a northeasterly direction, as the river runs, one hundred and seventy six rods, to the County road, near the dwelling house of Phineas Davis, Esq .; thence, by said river, one hundred and ninety four rods, to a stake and stones ; thence east, twenty degrees north, eight hundred and sixty four rods, to a stake and stones on Southborough line. (The above are the boundaries between Northborough and Westborough.) From the last mentioned bounds, the line runs north, thirty two degrees west, one hundred and forty rods by Southborough, to a stake and stones at the corner of Marl- borough. (The above are the boundaries between Northborough and Southborough.) From Marlborough corner the line ran, ac- cording to the plan of Mr. Keyes, north, thirty degrees forty five minutes west, one hundred and eighty seven rods, to a stake and stones; thence north, forty degrees thirty minutes west, one hun- dred and ten rods, to do .; thence north, twenty two degrees thirty minutes west, one hundred and forty eight rods, to do .; thence north, thirty two degrees west, forty rods, to a swamp white oak; thence north, twenty nine degrees west, seventy two rods, to a stake and stones ; thence north, thirty degrees west, sixty four rods, to do. by the County road; thence north, thirty one degrees forty minutes west, seventy seven rods, to do .; thence north, twenty eight degrees fifteen minutes west, one hundred and twenty eight rods, to a walnut tree by the river ; thence north, thirty three de- grees thirty minutes west, sixty eight rods, to a large oak tree marked; thence north, twenty seven degrees west, forty seven
* For the alterations referred to above, see Massachusetts Special Laws, Vol. IV. p. 3 and 112.
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HISTORY OF NORTHBOROUGH.
rods, to a pine tree marked; thence north, thirty one degrees thir- ty minutes west, one hundred and twenty nine rods, to a stake and stones by Berlin line or corner. (The above were the former bounds between Northborough and Marlborough ; for the alteration see note.) From Berlin corner, the line ran north, thirty degrees west, one hundred and forty eight rods, to a heap of stones ; thence east, thirty two degrees north, ninety rods, to the Long Stone, so called ; thence west, sixteen degrees north, eight hundred and ten rods, to a heap of stones on BoyIston line. (These were the for- mer bounds between Northborough and Berlin ; for the alteration
see note.) Thence south, sixteen degrees west, eight hundred and sixty eight rods, to a heap of stones at Shrewsbury corner. (This is the line between Northborough and Boylston.) Thence south, sixteen degrees west, one hundred and forty nine rods, to a heap of stones. (This is supposed to be on or near the old Marl- borough line, which extended thence in one direction to the north- west corner of Marlborough.) Thence south, twenty four degrees east, one hundred and eighty two rods, to a great oak ; thence south, twenty one degrees east, one hundred and fifty rods, to a heap of stones ; thence south, one degree east, twenty rods to the County road; thence, in the same direction, three hundred and seventeen rods, to a red oak ; thence south, twenty eight degrees thirty five minutes east, one hundred and ninety four rods, to where it began. (These are the bounds between Northborough and Shrewsbury.)
Besides what was originally a part of Marlborough, this town includes a large triangular tract, lying north of the old Marlborough line, (of which the Coram Farm and the Brown Farm made a part) and containing, as has been estimated, between two and three thou- sand acres. This tract, with several others now in the westerly part of Westborough, was surveyed in January and February, 1715-16, by Wm. Ward, and annexed to Chauncey Village by a grant of the General Court, before the latter was separated from Marlborough.
In March and April, 1721, this tract was again surveyed by James Keyes; and a committee, consisting of John Sherman, Da- vid Brigham, and Joseph Wheeler, was appointed to lay it out in forty five shares, according to the number of the proprietors, which shares were afterwards divided among them by lot.
Besides the above tract, the principal part of the farm of Deac.
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1805025 HISTORY OF NORTHBOROUGH.
Caleb Rice, of Marlborough,* which lay without the original boun- daries of the town, with another tract nearly as large, adjoining the former, falls within the limits of Northborough, forming the south- west angle of the town.
Northborough is of an irregular form, its average length being about five miles, and its average breadth somewhat more than three miles,
SURFACE, SOIL, &c .- The principal part of the town consists of a valley, environed by the hills of Marlborough on the east, Berlin on the north, and Boylston and Shrewsbury on the west, and open- ing into Westborough on the south, which town is an extension of the same low grounds. The surface of this valley is, however, di- versified by numerous hills, some of which are so considerable as to be distinguished by names. The northwest corner of the town, comprehending five or six good farms, and more than 1000 acres of land, forms part of the ridge of high land, running from Berlin, through Boylston and Shrewsbury, and is commonly called Ball's Hill.t
Liquor Hill is a beautiful eminence, rising with a gentle decliv- ity from the great road, nearly opposite to the church, skirted with forest trees, while its summit and its northern and southern declivi- ties are open to the view and form a rich and pleasing prospect. Edmund Hill, about a mile ,in the northerly direction from the church, and Cedar Hill, in the southeastern part of the town, are similar in form to Liquor Hill, but less open to observation.
Northborough is well supplied with streams of water. The principal stream is the river Assabeth, which, rising in Grafton, and crossing an angle of Westborough, flows diagonally in a northeast- ern direction, through this town, crossing the great road, about half a mile east of the church, and furnishing several valuable wa- ter privileges.
Cold Harbour Brook rises in Shrewsbury, crosses the southeast · corner of Boylston, and enters this town. Having received a small
/
* Deac. Caleb Rice was the father of the late Josiah Rice, of this town, who died 1792, aged 92, and who came into possession of the farm abovemen- tioned, and was one of the greatest landholders in the town. That farm alone contained above five hundred acres, besides which, he owned several hundred acres in other parts of the town.
t So called from two brothers, James and Nathan Ball, from Watertown, who settled there about the year 1720, and where some of their descendants still live. James, the father of the late Doct. Stephen Ball, and grandfather of the present Doct. Stephen Ball. Sen. died 1756, aged 62. Nathan, father of Nathan Ball, died 1768, aged 73.
5
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HISTORY OF NORTHBOROUGH.
tributary stream from Rocky Pond, in Boylston, and supplying wa- ter for a Grist and Saw Mill, it flows in a very circuitous route through a tract of rich intervales and extensive meadows, crossing the road at Cold Harbour bridge, a few rods south of the church, and having received another small stream from the west, on which a Saw Mill is erected, it falls into the Assabeth, a little below where the latter crosses the great road.
In the easterly part of the town, a small stream, called Stirrup Brook, issuing from Little Chauncey Pond, furnishes a supply of water for a Saw Mill, and is bordered by a rich intervale and meadows.
Another small stream, called Hop Brook, from the abundance of wild hops which formerly grew on its banks, rises in Shrews- bury, crosses the southwest angle of this town, furnishing water for two Saw Mills and one Grist Mill, and falls into the Assabeth, soon after that river enters the town. It appears, therefore, that all the waters of Northborough fall into the Assabeth, which con- veys them to the Merrimack between Chelmsford and Tewksbury.
The two principal ponds in Northborough are the Little Chaun- cey, in the southeastern part of the town, containing sixty five acres, and Solomon's Pond, in the northeastern part, containing twenty six acres. Little Chauncey takes its name from Great Chauncey, in „Westborough, with which it is connected by a small stream. It is a beautiful sheet of water, well stored with fish, its borders in part fringed with woods, while to the east, it opens towards cultivated fields. Solomon's Pond, so named from Solomon, an Indian, who was drowned in it, is not destitute of beauty, and is encompassed by a tract of excellent land.
The soil is in general rich and productive, the poorest being, as Whitney justly observes, that " which appears as we travel the great road." In the northern part of the town, the land is rocky and hard, though it produces good crops of hay and grain. In the middle and southern parts the land is more level, and if not more productive, is cultivated with much less labor and expense.
ROADS, &c .- The principal road is the old Worcester Post road, which passes through the middle of the town, about forty rods south of the Meeting House. The distance to Boston from this town is 34 miles ; to Worcester 10 miles. Four Stages, furnishing a daily Mail from the east and from the west, pass on this road every day, Sundays excepted.
The old County road from Framingham to Worcester, also leads
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HISTORY OF NORTHBOROUGH.
through the south part of the town ; and the Worcester Turnpike crosses the southwest angle, passing one house only in Northbo- rough. The roads from Lancaster to this place, one of which pas- ses the Meeting House in Berlin, and that from Boylston, are much travelled. The distance to Lancaster is 10 miles ; to Boylston 6; to Westborough 42 miles.
The highways are kept in repair by an annual tax of from $500 to $800.
MILLS, MANUFACTORIES, &c .- Northborough contains at present four Grist Mills, five Saw Mills, two Carding Machines, a manufac- tory for Hoes and Scythes ; large and commodious works recently established by Capt. Thomas W. Lyon, for manufacturing Cotton Machinery ; an extensive Tannery owned by Phinehas and Joseph Davis, Esquires, whose annual sales of leather amount to $20,000. There are also six Coopers, four Blacksmiths, one Saddle and Har- ness Maker, one Book Binder, three Wheelwrights, eight or ten Shoemakers, who, besides supplying the wants of the town, manu- facture about 4000 pairs of shoes annually for a foreign market. The Cotton Factory, built in 1814, by the Northborough Manufac- turing Company, at an expense of about $30,000, was lately sold at auction, and is now in the possession of Rogerson & Co. of Boston, and Isaac Davis, Esq. and Mr. Asaph Rice, of this town. It stands on the river Assabeth, which furnishes a sufficient supply of water during the principal part of the season ; and contains over 700 spin- dles for Cotton, and 100 for Woollen, 10 looms, a fulling mill, card- ing machine, &c. and manufactures 80,000 yards of cloth annually.
There are in the town, two stores, furnished with a good as- sortment of English and West India Goods, the one kept by Gale & Davis; the other by Rice, Farnsworth, & Co.
POPULATION, DEATHS, &C .- At the time of the ordination of Rev. Mr. Martyn, (1746) there were 40 families in the place ; the num- ber had increased to 82 families at the ordination of Rev. Mr. Whit- ney, (1767); and, in 1796, to more than 110 families. By the cen- sus of 1810, the number of inhabitants was 794; by that of 1820, 1018, making an increase of 224 in ten years. By a census taken the last winter, however, and which it is believed is very nearly accurate, the whole number of inhabitants was only 946, of whom 488 were males, and 458 females.
In the autumn of 1746, the year that Rev. Mr. Martyn was or- dained, and for several following years, particularly in 1749 and 1750, this society was visited by a very mortal sickness among
.
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HISTORY OF NORTHBOROUGH.
children, by which the growth of the society must have been very . sensibly checked, and which must have been attended with circum- stances of peculiar distress .*
Sixty children, out of a population which could not have much exceeded three hundred, fell victims to the desolating pestilence ; and, with the exception of one adult, (Benjamin Rugg, a stranger,) were the first persons that were buried in the new church yard.t
This was the last sweeping, mortal sickness, with which this place has been visited.
Since the great sicknesss, in the years 1749 and 1750, no town in this vicinity has been more exempt from wasting, mortal distem- pers. The number of deaths from 1780, to 1800, including a peri- od of twenty years, amounted to only 146, averaging a little more than 7 in a year. During the first twenty five years of the present century, the number was 282. The average number for the last ten years has been about 11} annually, in a population of nearly a thousand souls. The whole number of deaths from 1780, to the present date, (June, 1826) is 450; of whom seventy eight were 70 years and upwards ; forty three, 80 years and upwards ; seventeen, 90 years and upwards; one (Wid. Hannah Fay}) in her hundredth year; and one (Deac. Jonathan Livermore§) one hundred years and seven months. There are now living in this town, five or six
* The sickness which prevailed in 1746, Capt. Timothy Brigham informs me, was the dysentery, then called, " the fever and flux." Capt. B. then a child of 10 years old, lost a sister, and was himself sick of the disease. He thinks that as many as 30 children died that year, in this place. He recol- lects being attended in his sickness by Doct. Benjamin Gott, of Marlborough. The sickness of 1749 and 1750, was the " throat distemper," as it was termed, which, for many years after its first appearance in New England, proved such a desolating scourge.
* The old burying ground, in which many of the first settlers of North- borough were interred, is east of the road leading to Westborough, a little south of the dwelling house of Mr. William Maynard. It is now overgrown with trees and brush.
# Widow Hannah Fay was a daughter of Nathaniel Oaks, was married to Gershom Fay, father of the late Thaddeus Fay, and died, March 8, 1806, aged 100.
§ Deac. Livermore came from Watertown about A. D. 1720, and settled on the Brown farm, so called, where David Dinsmore now lives. He was the first Parish Clerk in this place, which office he held many years. He died April 26, 1801, aged 101. A short time after he was 100 years old, he rode on horseback from his house to a military review, near the middle of the town, the distance of three miles, and returned without fatigue. He posses- sed uncommon learning for his time, was an accurate surveyor, and an excel- lent penman, owing to which circumstance, the early records of the town ap- pear in a remarkably fine state.
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HISTORY OF NORTHBOROUGHI.
persons over eighty years ; and one, (Capt. Timothy Brigham,*) in his ninety first year. One couple (Capt. Amos Ricet and his wife) still survive, who were joined in marriage before the death of Rev. Mr. Martyn, who baptised their first child. They were married May 8th, 1766, and have lived together more than sixty years.
The average number of births for a year, has been, of late, about thirty ; which, deducting the deaths, will give an annual increase of from fifteen to twenty souls.
CIVIL HISTORY .- Nothing has been found on record relating to the part which this town bore in the old French wars, as we have been accustomed to hear them called by our aged fathers. We learn, however, from the few who survive of the generation then on the stage of active life, that this small district was not backward in furnishing men to join the several expiditions, which were under- taken for the conquest of the French in Canada.
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