USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Warwick > Warwick, Massachusetts; biography of a town, 1763-1963 > Part 9
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In 1784 the town voted to hire a constable and tax collector, and Abraham Robarts was given the position at a consideration of $17.00, "sd Robarts to procure sufficient bondsmen to in- demnify the town." The following year it was voted to give the office of collector to the lowest bidder and this practice was con-
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tinued as a general rule until 1902. Competition occasionally was so keen that the successful candidate actually paid the town to have the job, the collector receiving his compensation in the fees and commissions allowed.
On May 31, 1786 the town voted to recommend to the Gov- ernor that he appoint John Goldsbury as a Justice of the Peace for the town. This action was considered by many as "uncon- stitutional and assuming upon authority and will not tend for the peace and happiness of the town" and 28 names were recorded in protest. Goldsbury had also shown Tory sympathies and it had not been completely forgotten.
During the preceding year a road had been laid out from the south county road to Northfield through the land of Mark Moore, north by the mill of Nathaniel Rich on the Northfield brook, and meeting the north county road to Northfield. Moore put in a claim for land damages and a committee of three prominent Northfield men were asked to investigate the claim and submit their recommendations. The report stated,
We do therefore after hearing the parties and the best in- formation we can obtain of the town and of the intentions of the Original Proprietors in having a sufficient quantity of land to each lot for roads which the town have a right to call for and lay out at any time when the convenience of the inhab- itants call for it. - Do give it as our opinion that the said town do not allow the said Moore anything for it but consider it as a privilege belonging to the town which they have an undoubted right to.
The original layout of lots as made by the proprietors shows the provision made for future roads, and the farsighted wisdom of these men had anticipated and settled the question of land damages for generations to come.
The town had long since outgrown the old meeting house. Since the incorporation of the Orthodox Congregational Society by the General Court in 1777 the only responsibilities accepted by the town were necessary repairs and the care of the building. It appeared that if a new building was to be erected it would
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have to be done by the Society. In September, 1786 a contract was given to Samuel Langley which called for erecting a meeting house
fifty-eight feet long by forty-two feet wide with a porch on the front of the house sufficient to contain convenient stairs to go up into the galleries. There is to be forty pews on the lower floor; there is to be galleries in the front and at each end of the house, fourteen feet wide from the wall, with pews on the back of said galleries five feet eight inches wide from the wall; the rest of the gallery to be seats with a convenient alley round. The seats in the front gallery to be for singers to sit in; the seats in the side galleries to be for persons to sit in as the Con- gregational Society shall direct.
The pews on the lower floor were to cost the owner an average of nine pounds each to be paid in the following manner: "Two pounds in cash for each pew when the meeting house is raised; two pounds more for each pew when they are finished off; the rest of the pay to be paid for in neat cattle, sheep, or flax seed at the currant price when the meeting house is completely fin- ished. ... The gallery pews to be five pounds each on the aver- age."
The meeting house was erected on the common approximately where the present schoolhouse stands. The front of the building with the porch was on the south side with the pews facing north. The Society cast lots for the choice of pews, which had been ar- ranged in a double row on each side of a broad aisle leading from the main entrance to the pulpit platform. Finally it was ready to occupy in the Fall of 1787, and the old meeting house was left to its memories of the many stirring scenes that had oc- curred within its walls. Two years later the town gave the old building to the church society to raze in return for the right to hold town meetings in the new one as they had done in the past.
The War of the Revolution was also now a memory, but the trouble-filled days were by no means a thing of the past. The poverty and exhaustion of the country in consequence of the war was complete. The depreciated currency remained a prob- lem. There were many questions to be met and solved in order
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to establish a government founded on the principles of equal jus- tice for all. Nearly everyone was deeply in debt, and taxes were heavy and pressing. The most important step to be taken was to place the country on a sound financial basis. Many divergent opinions as to the best remedy to correct the situation had to be reconciled before action could be taken by the General Court. This consumed time and the situation grew steadily worse. The legislature passed the "Tender Act" in 1782 which made neat cat- tle, livestock and other articles a legal tender to pay debts but it only increased the evil it was intended to cure. The inability of the legislature to correct the situation created a spirit of distrust and a lack of faith in this body and people began to think they must take affairs into their own hands. Artful demagogues stirred up the people of one class against another. The government of Massachusetts was held responsible for every evil and the peo- ple were so inflamed by these orators that many were willing to take up arms against the government.
Sentiment had been aroused to such an extent that many of the towns had formed local committees which followed the pat- tern set by the Committees of Safety and Correspondence during the war. Joint meetings were held between the committees of various towns, and finally a convention was arranged for repre- sentatives of all the towns in Hampshire County (which included Franklin), to be held in Hatfield, August 29, 1786. An article was put in the warrant for a special town meeting to see if War- wick would send a delegate to this meeting. As a result Jacob Packard (a comparative unknown) was chosen delegate and John Goldsbury, Josiah Cobb and Thomas Rich were a com- mittee to instruct the delegate as to his recommendations. The convention drew up a list of grievances as did similar conventions in the other western counties.
Emboldened by the enthusiasm and support given the con- ventions, these discontented people who called themselves "Reg- ulators" began to assemble in mobs and prevented the courts from holding their sessions. Now the patience of Governor Bowdoin was exhausted, and the legislature was finally persuaded to pass a law against riots and unlawful assemblies. At the same
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time several measures were passed designed to alleviate conditions, and a pardon was offered to all who would take an oath of al- legiance by January 1.
But it was now too late to threaten or conciliate the "Regu- lators." Daniel Shays, the leader of the Regulators in this sec- tion of the State, sent a circular letter to the selectmen of the towns asking them to assemble the people of the town and see that they were properly armed. In Warwick two of the selectmen, Thomas Rich and Josiah Cobb, called a meeting to be held Jan- uary 1, 1787 to see if the town would choose a delegate to a new convention to be held at Hatfield on the first Tuesday in January, and to see if the town would "allow the Selectmen to deliver out the town's stock of ammunition upon any emergency." As a result of this meeting Thomas Rich was elected as delegate, but it was voted to "pass over" the article regarding the town's ammunition.
This second Hatfield convention again drew up a list of griev- ances and at a town meeting at Warwick, January 16, it was voted that the town would send a petition to the General Court in support of the convention. Two weeks later another meeting was held to see if the town would vote "to dismiss their represen- tative to the General Court from further service or give him instructions as they see fitt." The town voted that their represen- tative "should not attend unless he receive further instructions from his constituents." Lieutenant Rich, Nathaniel G. Stevens and Levi Cheney were chosen to instruct him.
During this month of January Shays and his army of some 1,100 men had marched to Springfield with the intention of seizing the Springfield arsenal and securing arms for the men. General Benjamin Lincoln was in command of an army of militia who were pursuing Shays to prevent him from succeeding. General Shepard, defending the arsenal, was forced to fire on Shays's men, killing three. Shays's army retreated to Amherst and then to Petersham, pursued by Lincoln's militia. Marching through New Salem in a howling blizzard they surprised Shays, resting in Petersham. Shays with about 100 men escaped to Warwick where they spent the next night at the taverns owned
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by Colonel James Goldsbury and Asa Conant. Goldsbury's tav- ern was located at the southeast corner of the Rum Brook road and the old Winchester road. Asa Conant's tavern was one mile north on the old Winchester road. The following day, February 6, Shays and the remnant of his army reached Winchester, New Hampshire, where they were safely over the State line.
The minutes of the annual town meeting in March, 1787 re- veal that a disturbed situation existed. Doctor Medad Pomeroy had regained all of his former town offices the preceding year: selectman, moderator, treasurer, assessor and his bid to collect the taxes for seven pounds was accepted, thus giving him the office of constable and collector. He had become a heavy land owner and probably was now the most prosperous man in town. To have received these offices he must have been generally popu- lar and respected, but as the poverty of the inhabitants increased his popularity decreased. He was the only selectman to uphold the State government and had not signed the warrants with the other two selectmen that called the special town meetings to act on the rebellion. The doctor's views had become obnoxious, and a rude hint was given to him to show him it would be wise to muzzle his tongue. One morning the doctor opened his door only to have a coffin which had been left leaning against it tum- ble in upon him. In the coffin he found a paper with these words:
Now I come and you must die, And in my bowels you must lie. Where you go I cannot tell; Whether it be to Heaven or to Hell.
The doctor appeared to make light of the prank but there were many who hoped he had been firmly impressed with the feeling that had risen against him. ("The Trial of Col. Goldsbury," by his son Rev. John Goldsbury, Athol Chronicle, 1883)
When the annual meeting assembled Ezra Conant was chosen moderator and town clerk, and then it was proposed and voted that the meeting stand adjourned to the first Monday in April at eight o'clock in the forenoon. No reason for this startling action is given but the maneuver gave time for the troubled waters to
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settle. Colonel James Goldsbury had been arrested and charged with harboring Shays and his men. The date of his trial is not known, but it is possible that the meeting was postponed pending the outcome of the trial. He was found not guilty, his defense being that the men had paid their bills and were only guests.
When the meeting reassembled Pomeroy once more lost all his town offices and James Goldsbury was elected selectman in his place. His father, John Goldsbury, became treasurer. A note at the end of the minutes stated that the chosen officers "in general" had taken the required oath of allegiance to the State govern- ment.
Though Shays and his band had been dispersed there were several other bands of Regulators still active. In the general cleanup of these remaining groups some blood was shed as the leaders were arrested. In an attempt to seize Jason Parmenter of Bernardston one of the soldiers was killed. Parmenter was subsequently arrested and with several other leaders was tried, found guilty and sentenced to be hung at Northampton in May.
The approaching execution of the men aroused the sympathy of many and great pressure was brought to bear on the Governor to pardon them. In order to force the Governor to do this, friends of the condemned men seized Doctor Pomeroy and Joseph Met- calf of Orange and took them to a hiding place in Vermont as hostages for the lives of the men.
The details pertaining to the kidnaping and imprisonment of the two men are unknown. The town seethed with excitement and accusations and charges flew thick and fast. The selectmen (now all well known as sympathizers with, if not active, Regula- tors) were arrested upon suspicion of having some part in the affair.
The condemned men were actually standing on the scaffold with the noose dangling before their faces when a sheriff read a reprieve from the Governor. The rebellion had by now been effectually crushed and because there was much justification and widespread sympathy for it, all wanted to bring the tragic farce to an end. The men were pardoned, Pomeroy and Metcalf were allowed to escape, and the selectmen were released.
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The following October the selectmen placed Article 4 in a town warrant "to see if the Town will assist the Selectmen in their being taken and imprisoned in May last for acting in their office and to prosecute those persons that took them or act any- thing on that matter that the town think proper and chuse at- torney or attornies to prosecute the same as the Town shall think fitt." The town spoke quite eloquently when they voted to pass over Article 4.
But the doctor had received more abuse than he could bear. He sold his farm and moved back to his old home town of North- field. Here he once more established himself in his profession and took a leading part in town affairs, although he never accepted another town office. Time heals all wounds and after twenty years he returned to Warwick to spend his declining years with his son. He died in 1819, age 83, esteemed, respected and mourned by all who had known him.
8 A TOWN COMES OF AGE, 1788-1800
THE FINAL CURTAIN had descended on the last scene of Shays's Rebellion and with its close Warwick lost a man who had played a prominent role in its part in the sorry affair. Lieutenant Thomas Rich had been a leading citizen in town affairs from 1761, serving many years as selectman, a soldier in the Revolu- tion, Representative to the General Court and to many Conven- tions. His father, Elisha, had been a proprietor in 1753, owning Lot 45 in the first division, but Thomas is shown to have occupied it. His three brothers, Nathan, Caleb and Jacob, all settled in Warwick before 1771, and all were prominent citizens with large families. Nathan and Thomas owned and operated sawmills in several locations. Caleb became a Universalist minister and is considered one of the founders of the denomination. Jacob set- tled along Mirey Brook on the main Winchester Road.
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In 1785 Nathan removed to Shoreham, Vermont, on the shore of Lake Champlain where he at once established a sawmill, and in 1787 Thomas was persuaded to join him. With Thomas went his oldest son Charles who had been born in Warwick in 1771. Charles returned to claim his bride, Molly Watts, and eventually became a member of Congress from Vermont. Caleb joined his brothers about 1800, leaving only Jacob, now the owner of 500 acres of land and a power to be reckoned with in Sunny Valley. Aside from his large farm he is mentioned as a tavernkeeper, owner of a grist mill and a gin mill, a sawmill and a clothing shop, active in any enterprise that would help him live up to the name of "Rich."
Another man who was lost to Warwick at this time was Lieu- tenant Colonel Samuel Williams, the son of another proprietor, Colonel Joseph Williams of Roxbury. He was the first represen- tative to the Provincial Congress in 1775, leader of the town's militia companies, second in command of his regiment and prom- inent in town and church affairs. He died suddenly in 1786 in the prime of life.
But there were other men able and willing to assume control of the town government. Josiah Cobb appears to have grasped the reins of leadership when he began 16 years of service as first selectman in 1780. James Goldsbury joined him in 1787 tc serve 11 years in all. The following year the board was increased to five members and Nathaniel Stevens, Jonathan Gale and Mark Moore joined Cobb and Goldsbury and these five annually resis- ted all attempts to replace them for six years. Then it appears the public decided it was time for a change and the number of selectmen was reduced to three, never to change again.
There were four Cobbs mentioned in the records as early as 1770, David, William, Josiah and Richard, possibly all brothers. William's sons, William and Samuel, were to be prominent for many years. William Cobb, the 2nd, owned the principal village store for over half a century and was the first postmaster from 1805 to his death in 1853. Aside from these activities he also served as town treasurer, at an annual salary of five dollars, for nearly fifty years and engaged in numerous business enterprises.
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Still he found time to leave behind him a notable contribution to this history in the diaries which he faithfully kept from 1794 to 1853, most of which were given to the town library by his grandson, George Burt Cobb. These diaries record many histori- cal facts and give invaluable information on customs and folklore. They will be quoted frequently as a reference.
Another group of brothers were the Mayos who were grand- sons of Captain Joseph Mayo, one of the original proprietors. His son became known as Colonel Joseph Mayo and was extremely active in the early settlement. It is doubtful if he ever resided permanently in the township; he died in Roxbury in 1776. His six sons, Joseph, Benjamin, Caleb, Samuel, Daniel and David, with their cousin John, all settled in Warwick. Joseph, the oldest brother, was a lieutenant during the Revolution, even- tually becoming also a colonel in the militia. He engaged in many enterprises and was a large property owner until he sold out his interests and returned to Roxbury about 1806. Benjamin, Caleb and David were the most prominent of the remaining brothers. Benjamin located in the village of South Warwick, now the vil- lage of North Orange. Caleb was to leave the most lasting im- pression on Warwick. He settled at Mayo's Four Corners in the eastern part of the town, where he was a merchant and a farmer besides engaging in civic and church affairs. Squire Mayo, as he was known, was famous as the father of eight very beautiful daughters who stimulated church attendance among eligible males by their presence. The Squire died in 1838 leaving two sons, Amory and Edward. Their descendants were to remain on the farm until near the close of the last century. David Mayo built the large tavern in the upper village in 1794 and conducted it until 1800 when he left Warwick.
Deacon James Ball who had played such a prominent role in town affairs died in 1797, but the name Ball was to remain active in Warwick for another century and a half. There were several other early settlers who bore that name and possibly were related to each other, but it seems impossible to verify this. Among these were Samuel, Elijah, Isaac, Nathan and John.
The Barber family still is represented in town today by Roy
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and his brother Ray. They are descendants of Joseph and Thomas, first mentioned in town records in 1771, and Zackeriah who appears in 1781. Deacon Hervey Barber and his son Rev. Stilman were also descendants.
There were also what appear to be six brothers, Andrew, Arch- ibald, Isaac, Henry, William and Robert Burnet, who settled as early as 1771 and all of whom signed their names in favor of independence in 1776. Their descendants were to be prominent in town, church and militia affairs until after the Civil War.
Three Conants appeared on the scene, one, Deacon Benjamin as early as 1760. In 1770 we find Doctor Ezra Conant, in 1775 Asa appears and in 1789 Josiah is mentioned for the first time. Three generations of Benjamins appear to be farmers, but Asa and later Asa, Jr. and his brother Jonas owned a tavern, a saw- mill and a grist mill on what is called Kidder Brook, near the junction of the old Winchester Road and Robbins Road. Josiah and his son Josiah, Jr. also owned a grist mill and a sawmill on what is now called Gale Road, at the pond and home now owned by Harry Earle.
The northeast section of the town is still called Kelton's Corner although the last of the Keltons have been long gone. Thomas, Barnard and James were the first of the Kelton brothers to settle there prior to the Revolution. The father, Enoch, followed with Aaron, Nathan and Rufus. Most of these remained and built homes in the section. Today only the house built by James Jr. still stands, but abandoned. In an area of approximately four square miles the only resident there in the years since the first World War has been Amos Alexander, a veteran of that war. He lives there alone, lord of all he surveys and content.
Samuel and Jonathan Moore were two brothers who appear during the Revolution. They sired large families which were active in town affairs and owned several sawmills and a grist mill in the western side of the town.
The name of Stearns was to be prominent in the early history of the town from about 1775 through most of the next century. Four brothers, Ebenezer, Nathaniel, Simeon and William came to Warwick from Northfield. They and their descendants were
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prominent citizens for several generations, related by marriage to many families including the Athertons and Leonards .*
The early records record the names of David Gale, 1765 and Daniel and his son Jonathan Gale in 1776. The latter two came from Weston. There is no relationship claimed between the fam- ilies of David and Daniel but both have many descendants in nearby towns today. No one however bears the Gale name in Warwick at the present time, although Mrs. Julia Green, age 92, is the daughter of Appleton Gale.
David Gale erected a grist mill as early as 1770 on the brook that bears his name. It ceased to be operated as a grist mill before 1830 though three more generations of Davids lived at the place until it was abandoned by William Gale, brother of the fourth David, about 1870. Appleton Gale, a brother of these two, mar- ried Mary Conant and operated the Conant saw and grist mills about a mile and a half northeast of the Gale mill on the present Gale Road until the turn of the century.
Daniel Gale located on the old Winchester Road in the north end of Warwick. His son Jonathan and grandson Amory esta- blished a blacksmith shop with a trip hammer on Mirey Brook and manufactured axes and tools. Both families were very prom- inent in town affairs and represented the town in the State legis- lature.
Captain John Gouldsbury and his son James came to Warwick from Franklin, Massachusetts, in 1771 and soon the father had established himself as a leading citizen. The letter "u" was soon dropped from the first part of the name. Captain John is believed to have acquired the saw and grist mills originally built by Scott and Ayres. He served as a selectman in 1772 but it is said he was inclined to be loyal to King George and it is not until after the Revolution that he again held town office. In 1783 he was returned to the office of selectman for three years and later he was sent as representative to the General Court.
His son, known as Colonel James (though how he acquired
*Beside Joseph Stevens, the only descendant of a Proprietor still connected with Warwick, so far as we can ascertain, is George A. Chaffee, Jr., a summer resident and descendant of Moses Leonard.
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the title we hear not), is known to fame as the proprietor of a tavern at the southeast corner of the junction of the Rum Brook Road and the old Winchester Road. He married the daughter of Colonel Samuel Williams and they had three sons, James, John and Samuel.
James and Samuel were both farmers. James held many town offices and lived to be 101 years old, dying in 1898. His son James went out west before the Civil War but his grandchildren, particularly Royal and Paul, retained an active interest in the Goldsbury homestead on the Athol Road. Doctor Paul returned here and made his home with an aunt. He spent most of the remainder of his life in Warwick, taking an active interest in town affairs. He was the Democratic nominee for state senator on two occasions, but his only elective town office was a member of the library trustees.
John Goldsbury the brother of James and Samuel, became a minister and an educator. He was the author of several text- books popular in the middle of the last century. He retired to his home in Warwick in the 1860's where he was active in church, school and library affairs until his death, age 95, in 1890.
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