USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Warwick > Warwick, Massachusetts; biography of a town, 1763-1963 > Part 4
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The proprietors in their records showed no inclination to aban- don the settlement. An extension of time to May 1, 1755 was given Perry and Mason which must have amused them. Ap- parently subsequent events convinced the proprietors of the seriousness of the situation because the next meeting was not held until March 10, 1756.
In the meantime England decided to take the offensive. Four expeditions were planned to capture Fort Duquesne on the Ohio, Fort Niagara on Lake Ontario, Crown Point on Lake Champ- lain and Nova Scotia where the French inhabitants were a threat to the colonies. The first two expeditions were dismal failures. Colonel William Johnson was made a general and given com- mand of an army of colonial troops and his Indian allies assem- bled at Albany. His army reached the south end of Lake George in August, 1755, where they encountered a combined French and Indian army commanded by Baron Dieskau. The French were defeated and forced to retreat. Johnson was wounded and fearing an ambush decided not to press a pursuit. After building
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Fort William Henry at the end of Lake George he disbanded his army. The Nova Scotia expedition was partly successful and resulted in the deportation of the Acadians but no attempt was made to capture Louisburg.
In 1755 the French began constructing a fort at Ticonderoga at the lower end of Lake Champlain. This was strengthened and enlarged the following year by General Montcalm now in com- mand of the French forces. From here, in the summer of 1757, he led an army of 9,000 men, including 1,000 Indians, and be- sieged Fort William Henry. The fort with its garrison of about 2,400 men under Colonel Munroe was forced to surrender after a gallant defense. In the terms of surrender Montcalm agreed to allow the unarmed garrison to march south to Fort Edward. The drunken Indian allies fell upon the column of refugees, slaughtered many, and after taking many more prisoners deserted Montcalm and returned to Canada. Montcalm destroyed Fort William Henry and returned to Ticonderoga.
Captain John Burke and his company of rangers composed of men from Northfield and the neighboring towns were among the garrison, and the news of the disaster caused consternation in the valley.
Back in Roxbury the proprietors had seen another year pass by with nothing accomplished. Lieutenant Aspinwall, a mem- ber of the committee to build the meeting house, reported that the frame had finally been made ready, and a number of pro- prietors, settlers and the carpenters had assembled to raise it. The site that had been selected was at the southeast corner of the present cemetery, but now an argument arose as many opposed the spot chosen. As a result nothing was done. The proprietors voted to move the site not over 160 rods to the north at the "crotch" where the road from the pond (Hastings) met the road from Royalshire to Northfield.
Locke had made no more progress on the sawmill and asked for another extension of time. Nothing could be done but grant his request. Samuel Scott and Elijah Morse were employed to work on the roads already "cut and marked" and to assist the committee with the meeting house. The frame was successfully
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raised April 28, 1756 and it "came well together and appeared to be a good frame of proper dimensions and done workmanlike according to contract."
When Locke was threatened with prosecution for lack of pro- gress on the sawmill he reported that "he had been retarded by reason of the war and drove off when at work by means of the enemy approaching near said township and killing divers persons and captivating others. . . and since being greatly exercised with sickness in his family and burying his daughter and also having his name enlisted in his Majesty's service. . . has retarded his proceedings." He was given an extension of time.
Apparently the proprietors were convinced that under the pre- vailing conditions a halt must be made and they voted not to raise or spend any more money at that time. A number of the proprietors' rights had been declared delinquent for nonpayment of assessments and were offered for sale. But no one could be found to purchase any, so the sale was deferred.
Perhaps Locke was referring to an incident that had taken place June 7, 1756, only four miles north of Gardner's Canada in the township of Winchester. The heroic and self-sacrificing character of Josiah Foster deserves to be recorded. Moreover it illustrated the ever-present danger these sturdy settlers endured as they strove to build a home for their families in the wilderness. Foster had built his cabin on the side of a hill and on this day he had left his wife and two children to work on building a bridge across nearby Mirey brook. Suddenly he was aroused by the squealing of his pigs and looking toward his cabin he saw a cloud of feathers emerge from the window of the attic as if the feather bed was being ripped apart. He ran toward his house and as he came into the clearing he saw that a group of Indians had captured his family and were preparing to leave. Possibly he could have shot one but that would have meant the instant death of his family. To run and gather neighbors to help would be useless. The Indians would be gone, and if they were pursued, retarded by their captives, they would kill them before they could be overtaken. Experience had taught the settlers that the Indians valued their captives for their ransom value and if they did not
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become a burden to their captors, they had a good chance of being redeemed after reaching Canada.
Foster's wife was in poor health and he knew her chances of survival would not be good. There was only one course open to him if he would save his family. He surrendered to the Indians and through the help he was able to give his family they suc- ceeded in reaching Canada, were eventually redeemed and re- turned to their home on the hillside.
On July 6, 1757 the proprietors met and apparently decided to proceed. Though there were only 13 shillings in the treasury and bills owed amounted to over 13 pounds, they voted to give a bounty of 20 shillings to the first 20 settlers who should appear and settle in the next six months. Four pounds were alloted for the purpose of enclosing the naked skeleton of the meeting house and eight pounds authorized to "fortify Mr. Samuel Scott's house by making a good picketed fort encompassing the same four rods square for the safety of the inhabitants."
The following May, 1758 Joseph Mayo and Ebenezer Seaver were sent to the township to observe the progress made on the meeting house and the fort. They reported that the fort was not sufficient to stand off an enemy and Scott was given until Christ- mas to complete it. No mention is made in the records regarding the meeting house, probably because there was nothing done.
The plan of the English campaign in 1758 included the con- quest of Fort Louisburg and expeditions against Ticonderoga and Fort Duquesne. The first and the last were successful but the second, under General Abercrombie, was a disastrous failure. Blundering "Nabbycrombie" as the colonial troops called him led an army of 15,000 men against Montcalm at Ticonderoga who had only 3,600 men in his command. It was a brilliant vic- tory for France, and colonial hopes were dashed to the ground. This defeat in itself was enough to discourage the progress at- tempted in little Gardner's Canada, so the proprietors found the same situation on January 10, 1759 as had persisted for 18 months. Locke now turned over his land, his privileges and un- finished sawmill to a Matthias Stone who appears to become Locke's partner in completing the sawmill.
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By the following May the progress of the war definitely had turned for the better. Lord Jeffrey Amherst and General James Wolfe had been successful in capturing Louisburg, thus placing a stranglehold on the throat of Canada, the St. Lawrence River. Amherst now was leading an army up the Hudson River valley to capture Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Wolfe was to assault and capture Quebec which he accomplished September 13, 1759. Major Rogers destroyed the Indian nest at St. Francis from which so many raids on the Connecticut valley had originated. Amherst captured Montreal the following year, and France was forced to give up Canada to England. Back in Massachusetts a grateful people named a town in honor of "the soldier of the King" and Amherst College men still sing his praises.
With the way now cleared, the settlement of Gardner's Canada began to make progress once more. The building of a "corn" or grist mill was voted and Joseph Williams, Joseph Mayo and Samuel Scott were sent to the township to pick the spot for the mill, expedite the enclosing of the meeting house and perambu- late the township's lines. On January 9, 1760 the meeting of the proprietors of Roxbury Canada, as it was now called, was held at the Inn of Thomas Bell in Roxbury. The committee had decided the "corn" mill should be built near Scott's sawmill. The mill- pond still remains just south of the Rum Brook road, fifty rods west of the Richmond road. The millstones were removed and placed in the town park in front of the library in 1927.
The meeting house now having been enclosed it was voted on May 21, 1760 to "procure preaching" and 18 pounds was raised for this good cause. Messrs. Israel Omsted, David Ayres and Joshua Bailey "be ye committee." Eight pounds was "allowed out of ye treasury to Mr. Samuel Scott to defray the charge of building ye fort ... and in consideration of his having been very serviceable in bringing settlers on said township."
The committee "to procure preaching" lost no time. During the summer of 1760 Lemuel Hedge, a young man of 27, a native of the town of Hardwick who had graduated from Harvard Col- lege in the class of 1759, began to preach on probation. His ser- vices met with general approval and apparently he was satisfied
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with the future prospects for a career as minister to this new settlement. At the end of the summer the proprietors met and voted to extend to him a call to the ministry. It was voted to give Mr. Hedge a settlement of 80 pounds and an annual salary of 60 pounds for the next five years. Nine pounds was granted to "defrey the expenses of ye ordination entertainment." David Ayres, Moses Evans, Israel Omsted, Ebenezer Prescott and Amzi Doolittle were chosen a committee of five to "further treat with Mr. Hedge respecting his settlement and to do all that may be needful for the final consumation of his ordination and settlement in case he shall accept." Then it was further voted "they would grant liberty to Mr. Hedge to lay out 100 acres of common land in one piece near the meeting house as he shall choose in lieu of 100 acres of after (second) division land belonging to the first minister's right in said township."
At the same time the committee, with the addition of Joshua Bailey, was to "lay out a tract of land forty rods square around the meeting house for a burying ground, training field and other public uses." As a result of this wise and far-seeing action the citizens of Warwick still own and, we trust, always will retain the Town Common. Today this 40 rod square is about equally divided by the Orange road (Route 78). The eastern half con- tains the schoolhouse, Fellows Memorial playground and the fire station. The western half contains the Unitarian Church near the north edge and the remainder is wood land. The site of the first cemetery was in the extreme northwest corner.
Reverend Hedge's letter of acceptance was brief, businesslike, and to the point. After accepting the proprietors' offer he adds: "the inhabitants of said township having by subscription made an addition to my settlement and ingaged to find me annually thirty five cords of wood." To "find" meant to supply and de- liver to the door. This was a customary procedure in colonial days, but it often became a bone of contention between the mini- ster and his parish. Both the quality and the measurement of the wood usually was vehemently debated by a minister and his sup- plier with the minister invariably receiving the short end of the bargain. Thirty-five cords of wood today might seem a tremen-
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dous amount to consume in one winter, but in those days the open fireplaces in almost every room had voracious appetites and 75 percent of the heat went up the chimney.
The minister chose the 100 acre lot granted to him with good judgment. It very nearly enclosed the town common (just pre- viously laid out) on the north, east and west sides. Today this land contains the heart of the village of Warwick. The store, town park, town hall, Warwick Inn, Congregational Chapel, and the Goldsbury homestead are all below its northern boundary. It included the land on which now are the residences of Howard Anderson, Mrs. Rena Stevens, Maurice Underwood, George Cook, Ralph Holbrook, J. Arthur Francis and extended south nearly to Hastings Pond. It is generally believed that the Francis homestead was built by Reverend Lemuel Hedge shortly after his settlement, but the exact date has not been determined. After the death of Reverend Hedge it became the home of the second minister, Reverend Samuel Reed, and it remained in the Reed family until 1925.
Lemuel Hedge was formally ordained as pastor and the church was organized December 3, 1760, with 26 male members signing the convenant. The list of members consisted of Reverend Lemu- el Hedge, Deacon Charles Woods, Deacon Silas Town, David Ayres, Ebenezer Davis, Ephraim Perry, Ebenezer Prescott, David Burnett, John Farrar, Asa Robbins, James Ball, Jeduthan Morse and Amzi Doolittle.
The small meeting house stood on the common close to the south boundary, and at the time was only a shell. Temporary seats were set up for the ordination and served for two years. In the spring of 1761 the building committee was instructed to build a "ministerial pew on either side of the pulpit as the minister shall choose." Apparently they were requested also to secure an appraisal of the cost of completing the building because in the fall of the year 72 pounds was voted for this purpose. Two years after the ordination the proprietors agreed "they would give lib- erty to any suitable number of persons to build pews and would sell the room that may be needful therefor to the highest bidder." The pews must be built within six months from the time the house
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was sealed with boards to the galleries or forfeit the room sold to the successful bidder. The proceeds from this sale went into the proprietory treasury. The proprietors' records indicate that all the money voted to complete the building was not made available. The subject was frequently discussed but it is apparent that when these records end in 1772 the meeting house was still uncom- pleted. By this time the town had outgrown the building and a new one was built in 1787.
Beginning in 1760 the meetings of the proprietors began to be called in the name of Roxbury Canada although occasionally the name of Gardner was also used. Numerous meetings were held during the next two years. The principal actions taken con- cerned the building of the meeting house and settlement of the minister. This entailed heavy expenditures and all other sug- gested activities were voted down. Heavy assessments had been laid on the proprietors and many had lost their enthusiasm for the project. Rights that had been declared delinquent because the owner could not or would not pay the taxes levied upon them were offered for sale at public auction, but there were no bidders. Colonel Joseph Williams bought one right involving about 350 acres of land for four pounds five shillings and eight pence, or six cents an acre. That ended the attempt to sell land.
Frequent complaints were made that people were cutting tim- ber on the common lands, and at first this practice was forbidden. Later Samuel Scott and Israel Omsted were authorized to pros- ecute such persons. When this produced no results Moses Evans was added to the committee and told to excuse all who came forward and confessed their guilt with a promise to cease; others were to be prosecuted. This committee proved helpless and later another committee was appointed with doubtless no better suc- cess.
Two hundred pounds (old tenor) or 26 pounds 13 shillings and four pence (lawful money) had been voted previously to be given Captain David Ayres to build the corn mill on Black Brook. On May 20, 1761 he was given liberty to lay out a 50 acre lot at the site for "pondage and yard room" on condition that he would build the mill and "give bonds to keep the same
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in good repare for twenty years after the said mill is built and ready to go." The grist mill was completed during the year and 15 inhabitants certified to the fact "that it was a good mill and would answer the end." Now it was no longer necessary for the settlers to carry their corn and grain to Athol or Northfield to be ground into the all-important corn meal and flour. With two sawmills also in operation it was now possible to obtain sawed lumber and shingles to build more comfortable and pretentious houses.
On November 12, 1761 the proprietors recorded the names of 37 settlers who were occupying 44 rights, giving the numbers of the first division or home lots and the name of the owners. Only six of the settlers owned the lots on which they resided.
The General Court recently had imposed the first tax on the proprietors for the state treasury, and this additional burden was felt to be unjustified. A committee was chosen to petition the Court to abate this tax, stating the heavy expense they had to bear to bring forward the settlement. The committee consisted of the leaders among the proprietors: Colonel Joseph Williams, Lieutenant Thomas Aspinwall and Joseph Mayo. After a delay of three years the request was granted. (A&R, Vol. XVII, pp. 257, 274, 353)
The question of further dividing the remaining common land had been brought up and discussed at previous meetings but the majority felt the time had not arrived. Now however it was voted to authorize George Robbins, Elisha Rich, James Ball and Joshua Bailey to hire a surveyor to lay out two divisions, one (the third) consisting of 75 acre lots and the other to be determined by the number of acres remaining. As a result the fourth division con- tained 66 acres. The third and fourth divisions were made in 1762. There still remained small parcels of common land scat- tered all over the town, and a fifth division was made in 1769 averaging 14 acres. A final or sixth division of about two acres each was made in 1771 but no record has been preserved show- ing the location of the lots in either the fifth or sixth divisions.
The trail from the village to the top of Mount Grace passes through the center of lot 50 in the third division. Warwick has in its possession an old deed showing that this lot was once
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owned by the famous patriot doctor and general, Joseph War- ren. A close friend and classmate of Reverend Lemuel Hedge, he had bought the land after a visit with his friend in Warwick. President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and head of the powerful Committee of Safety and Correspondence, he had been elected Major General of Massachusetts forces by the Con- gress. Three days later he was killed while fighting as a private in the redoubt on Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.
These later divisions of land made it possible for the owners to use or sell the land as they wished and thus opened up large areas for settlement. Prior to this time no one could legally set- tle on this common land. We have records of the settlers on the home lots in 1761 but no mention is made of any on the second division of lots, though there could have been and probably were a few.
Mention was made earlier to Hathorn's Grant or Farm on Flower Hill, made prior to the Gardner's Canada grant. It had been suspected that the area claimed by the owners was far in excess of the acreage called for in the grant. The committee authorized to lay out the third and fourth divisions also were instructed to meet with agents of this grant and survey it to de- termine the exact size. Joshua Baylie, a member of the commit- tee, was found to be one of the owners of the grant and he was replaced by Asa Robbins. Baylie and Ephraim Brown then rep- resented the owners of Hathorn's Farm. It was found that the area claimed measured 1,985 acres instead of the 1,350 acres granted to them. Finally 635 acres were surrendered from the south end of the disputed territory and sold by the proprietors to Joseph Mayo for 50 pounds at what was called a public ven- due or auction. Mayo also was one of those who claimed part ownership in Hathorn's Farm, and seven of the proprietors regis- tered a protest against this action. On September 5, 1764 five of the proprietors of Hathorn's Farm, James Ball, Samuel Ball, Jeduthan Morse, Joseph Mayo and Daniel Bliss met in Warwick and divided the remaining 1,350 acres into nine equal lots to be numbered from the north end. Lot one fell to James Ball; Morse drew two; Samuel Ball, lot three; Daniel Bliss who owned three shares drew lots four, five and six; Simion Blood drew lot seven;
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Joseph Mayo, lot eight; and Mathew Wallis, lot nine. Joshua Baylie apparently had sold his claim. The Ball brothers and Jedu- than Morse were settled in the town, but not on the disputed territory. Joseph Mayo, first mentioned in the records of Gard- ner's Canada in 1753, had played a prominent role in its affairs. He became a very large landowner, but there is a question whether he ever settled here. He was the father of six sons and it was his wish that all his sons settle in the township on new land. These sons, Joseph, Benjamin, Caleb, Samuel, Daniel and David are all believed to have done so.
On December 17, 1762 the proprietors met again and voted that an annual tax of one penny an acre should be laid on all land in the proprietors' rights for the next three years in place of assessments previously made as need arose. If the inhabitants would agree to ask the General Court to continue this tax for the alloted time and would assume the obligations now the duty of the proprietors, they would join with the inhabitants in apply- ing to the General Court that they may be incorporated into a town, together with the several farms or grants lying within its boundaries. The farms referred to were the Hathorn, Field and Severance grants. Their owners had escaped the assessments levied on proprietors of Roxbury's Canada for the improvements made in the township which benefited all. Colonel Joseph Will- iams and Captain Caleb Dana were to join with the members chosen by the inhabitants to make the application for incorpora- tion.
4 A TOWN IS BORN, 1763
THE COMBINED EFFORTS of the proprietors' committee and the representatives of the inhabitants were successful on Febru- ary 17, 1763. The General Court passed an act stating:
Whereas the new plantation called and known by the name of Roxbury Canada together with sundry farms lying there
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in and a piece of land lying on the northerly side of said town- ship belonging to this province; the whole bounded west on Northfield, south partly on Ervingshire and partly on Athol, easterly on Royalshire, northerly on the province line, be and hereby is erected into a town by the name of Warwick; and said town be and hereby is invested with all the powers, pri- viledges and immunities that any of the towns in the province do or may enjoy.
A tax of one penny an acre was approved to be levied and assessed upon all lands that were private property for the ensuing three years on conditions "that said inhabitants shall speedily become oblidged to said reverend pastor for his support in the ministry." (A&R, Vol. IV, p. 604)
Seth Field, Esquire, of Northfield was directed to issue the first warrant calling the inhabitants to meet and choose all necessary town officers, "to manage the affairs of said town and to assess, levy and collect the afore said land tax."
How Warwick received its name cannot be definitely stated. The Honorable Jonathan Blake remarks in his history written in 1831 that its origin is not "now known." It would appear that the town had no voice in the matter and, as was often the case, the choice of the name was either given to or assumed by the governor of the province. It is generally believed that the intent here was to honor Guy, Earl of Warwick, England. He had played a prominent role in the early colonization of NewEngland.
It is well known that the city of Warwick, Rhode Island, was named in this manner. Another possibility might be found in the fact that Elisha Rich, a leading proprietor as early as 1753, was supposed to be descended from Lord Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick. Elisha's four sons, Thomas, Caleb, Nathaniel and Jacob were to be among the most prominent citizens of Warwick from as early as 1771. Whether this family had any connection with the choice of Warwick's name is questionable but quite possible.
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