USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Weston > Weston, a Puritan town > Part 13
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The oldest son, Samuel, Jr., born in 1790, married in 1819,
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Martha, daughter of neighbor Isaac Stratton, and some years later built on the upland to the east, the comfortable house with many of the same lines as his birthplace. Samuel Jr.'s son, Nahum, born in 1825, married Susan Daggett, lovely niece of neighbor Seth Babcock who lived in the house now owned by John Bishop. Susan came down from Manchester, New Hampshire, to attend school in Weston, lived with the Babcocks and the two young people walked the miles to a private school in the ballroom of Smith Tavern. The High School in Weston came later, 1854. Nahum Smith served as a member of the School Board from 1879 until 1894; the care and foresight of these years brought the excellence of Weston schools today. Nahum Smith's grand- children and great grandchildren live in the house built by Samuel, Jr. while the Colonial landmark is the home of the Robert E. French family.
The Stratton land grant extending northeast from the Smith line, into Lincoln, was the largest in the neighborhood. Jonathan Stratton, son of Joseph, was born in 1714, married Dinah Bemis in 1738, and lived in the house now owned by Albert Speare. Be- sides the usual property tax, Jonathan carried a Faculty Tax of £10 Ios a year, as he was a crack carpenter of his day. He re- paired the Colonial Church in 1761, built and repaired school- houses, and in 1773 was given, "Liberty to build himself a Slay- house, Northwesterly of the Meetinghouse." He was Field Driver, was Selectman for several years and was on the School Board for District Number Three; he was also Lieutenant of the Train- band. In 1783, with a Committee of Five, he was, "To wait upon Mr. Samuel Kendal and inform him that the Town are now ready to receive his Answer." In 1784, "Voted that Major Lamson, Mr. Thomas Rand and Lieut. Jonathan Stratton provide Reverend Samuel Kendal with his firewood."
Elisha Stratton born in 1753, second son of Jonathan inherited the homestead with many acres of the Stratton land and the name held there until the heirs of Elisha's grandson, George Hurd Stratton, sold the property in the early 1900's.
John Stratton, younger brother of Elisha, also shared in the
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The Northwest Neighborhood
original grant. In 1783, he married Abigail, daughter of Thomas Russell who lived on the North Road near the Lincoln line, and built a house on the crest of the hill known to old-timers as Dunn's Hill. John Stratton died at the early age of forty-two; his daughter Abigail married David Viles in 1821, and a new member was added to the friendly neighborhood. David was son of John Viles, an early settler in the Northeast District, and a younger brother of Jesse Viles, great grandfather of J. Sumner Viles, who served Weston so long and so ably as Constable and as Chief of Police. J. Sumner's sister, Margery Viles, married Olney Washburn; both are active and leading members of the First Parish to which the family has always been faithful.
Abigail Isabella, daughter of David Viles and Abigail his wife, in 1849, married an ardent young member of the Baptist Society. George W. Dunn had come from Westminster in the early 1840's and was a vital force in Church and in Town affairs for many years. He served as Road Commissioner, as a member of the School Board, now reduced to three, and as Selectman, sometimes holding more than one office. His family united in working for the Baptist Society. Mr. Dunn was a Deacon for fifteen years and church treasurer for ten, while his wife and daughters were active in the Ladies' Aid Society. The name of Dunn is no longer in Town Records, but George W. Dunn's great-grandchildren, Bev- erly Shepherd and Parker Hastings live on Wellesley Street.
The house on rising ground with lawn sloping to Sudbury Road, now the home of Frank B. Dow, Jr., was built by John Bemis, brother of Dinah Bemis who married Jonathan Stratton. Of the fourth generation from Joseph Bemis who was in Watertown in 1640, John married Hannah Warren of Weston in 1731. His family numbered twelve children, of whom Daniel, the youngest, born in 1758, inherited farm and homestead and married Patty Winch of East Sudbury in 1784. After the death of his widow Patty (or Martha) in 1842, there were no direct heirs and the Bemis property was finally sold in the 1880's to Mr. Moses H. Fuller. Mr. Fuller, born in Weston, had lived for many years in St. Louis, Missouri, and was glad to return to the old New England
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town of his youth. His daughter, Nellie Celinda grew up in Weston schools and in the First Parish, married Roland B. Rand, Jr., and they both became of importance in the Church. Roland's perfect tenor for years was the leading voice in the Unitarian choir,-Nellie Celinda was a faithful worker in the charities of the Ladies' Benevolent Society. The granddaughter of Moses Fuller, Mrs. Helen Rand Dailey and his great-grandchildren are following family tradition in Town and in Parish.
The farm lying in the southerly portion of the neighborhood, or rather the sturdy, lean-to farmhouse shared in the spy story of April fifth, 1775. The owner, Dr. Jesse Wheaton, who was living there previous to 1740, was a Tory, closely watched by the Liberty Men, but he successfully secreted Sergeant Howe for one night, setting him on his way to Marlboro before daylight, the morning of April sixth. Later, the Doctor successfully eluded all vigilance, reached Boston with his family and from there sailed by packet boat to Nova Scotia, while the Town assumed ownership of his entire possessions. After peace was restored, two of the Wheaton sons returned to Weston and claimed the estate, but the Town in 1777, had sold it to Mr. Enoch Greenleaf of an old Newburyport family, a great-uncle of John Greenleaf Whittier.
Enoch Greenleaf was a man of property, ready and willing to aid the cause of Independence. In 1778, he loaned the Town {325, and in 1779 was one of a Committee of nine townsmen, "to Regulate the price of Sundery Articles as Recommended by the Concord Convention." He was one of the Council for the ordi- nation of Reverend Samuel Kendal in 1783.
The Diary of Judith, wife of Enoch, gives an interesting picture of the years between 1780 and 1790. With an earnest and deeply religious nature, she had possibly not the best of health. "Sabbath Mar. 7, 1781 this day detained from the House of the Lord the weather being very stormy." There were "Journeys" by chaise to Boston, to Hollis, to Brattleboro, Vermont, with once a visit of two weeks in Boston. "Sabbath Jan. 1, 1786 I have been detained at home through the extreme coldness of the weather." In Febru- ary, 1787, she prays for, "Grace to our Army who are gone to suppress the rebels in this Inclement Season." Shays Rebellion.
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The Northwest Neighborhood
There was the Boston Fire of April 20, 1787, "which destroyed over one Hundred Houses in which is my Brother's and many of my friends and particular Acquaintence." The hurricane of August 15, 1787, "O Lord enable us to praise Thy great name for pre- serving us from destruction and may our losses show us the vanity of depending upon any worldly goods." "Sabbath February 8, 1788 Last Tuesday Week Mr. Greenleaf fell on the ice and cracked his shoulder bone blessed be Thy name Father of Mercys that Thou hath so far recovered him as to be able this Day to attend Divine Service." "Sabbath April 23, 1790 this Day tarried at home the weather very dull and I not very well in body or mind."
There were no direct heirs; Judith Greenleaf died in 1802, Enoch in 1805, and the farm in 1809 was bought by Ira Draper, descendant of James Draper, "the Puritan." At first a farmer, Mr. Draper found invention more interesting than farming and turned to textile machinery, making improvements that have kept his name remembered. His sons George and Ira, Junior, cared for the farm. Eben E. Draper, grandson of George Draper was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts for three years, then Governor for two, in 1909 and 1910. The office then was held for one year. "As Governor, Mr. Draper gave the State an efficient and business- like administration which included forest conservation and harbor improvement."
About 1820, the farm passed from Ira Draper to Willard Goldthwaite, and in 1840 to John Carter of Lincoln who in that year married Clarissa Brown of Weston. Their son William, one of the 26th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, died in the battle at Winchester, Virginia in 1864, aged twenty-three. In 1878, Mr. Carter a widower, his children married and away, sold the property to Francis B. Ripley a native of Paris, Maine. Being in Boston at the time of President Lincoln's call for men in April, 1861, Francis not yet twenty-one, had joined the 13th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers. After recovering from wounds re- ceived at Gettysburg in 1863, he returned to Boston where he found business interests that held him for a few years; however, his longing for country life led him to this Farmers' Town of Weston.
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Weston: A Puritan Town
The Ripley property joined the Babcock-Child farm which had been bought in 1874, by Louis E. Roberts of the early Weston family. As the two young men married the sisters Laura and Emma Ritner of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, the footpath at the left of the Roberts' orchard and through a small wood lot came into its own again. The second son of Francis B. Ripley and Laura his wife, Edward Pearson, served his Town long and well in many offices; for forty-one years, until his retirement in 1953, he was Chairman of the Board of Assessors. A granddaughter of Louis E. Roberts, Mrs. Ruth Roberts Beamish lives in a house recently built on a portion of the Roberts farm.
Reginald B. Elwell and John H. Bishop now own the two estates and one tradition holds-again two sisters are living in these historic houses of the ancient Northwest Neighborhood.
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Elm and Law Office &
The Elm and the Law Office
On the left of the Post Road opposite Fiske Lane is one of the beauty spots of Weston, historic as well as picturesque. The lofty elm at the edge of the peat meadows with clear running Three Mile Brook, drew the attention of General Glover of the Con- tinental Army one afternoon in late October, 1777; here he halted his weary and footsore charge of prisoners taken at Bennington on August 16, 1777, who were marched to Boston after General Bur- goyne's surrender at Saratoga, October 17, 1777. Although couriers had warned the town of the approach of the detachment, what must have been the surprise and alarm to learn of these overnight guests, some of whom might not be too weary to wander here and there. Nothing serious happened, according to all accounts, but after the departure on the following morning, several days elapsed before order and cleanliness were restored in the town.
Nearby the historic elm, to complete the picture is the elegant but sturdy little law office built in the early 1800's by Isaac Fiske, Esq. The interior is well-lighted by small-paned windows, while the fireplace is adequate for the coldest days; even without the heat of the arguments unleashed before the accomplished lawyer.
Born in 1778, son of Jonathan Fiske and Abigail his wife, Isaac, in 1798, graduated from Harvard; in 1802, he married Sukey Hobbs, daughter of Ebenezer Hobbs, Esq., who lived on the North County Road at Hobbs Corner, and by 1805 had built for his home, the square house on the right of the Post Road, long the property of the Field family, now owned by Mr. Saurwein.
Although Isaac Fiske had wide success as a lawyer in and around Boston, it was his service to his native town that has made his name a notable one in Weston. In 1803, at Town Meeting he was,
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"appointed agent to the Supreme Court to a summons served upon the inhabitants of the Town of Weston relating to the highway from East Sudbury to Waltham." The voters in 1804 chose him to be Town Clerk, an office that he held for twenty-four years, until 1828.
Mr. Fiske, also a Justice of the Peace, served as Town Treasurer, was Selectman from 1808 until 1815, and was generally Moderator at Town Meetings. In 1811, he was one of a Committee of three, Ebenezer Hobbs, Esq., Isaac Fiske, Esq., and Deacon Nathan War- ren, "to paint the Meetinghouse." The 1722 landmark was still the Town Church. Frequently he was one of the three members of the School Board for the West Central District, where his children went to school, while at times he was Surveyor of Highways be- tween 1830 and 1850, when the Boston Post Road was being widened and straightened.
The sudden death of Dr. Samuel Kendal on February 16, 1814, brought a loss to the town not only of an inspired preacher and pastor, but of a civic leader as well; Church and Town would consider carefully in choosing his successor. At Town Meeting of March 7, 1814: "Article 7: Voted to choose a Committee to supply the Pulpit until further order of the Town relative thereto; Isaac Fiske, Esq., Deacon Nathan Warren, Ebenezer Hobbs, Esq., Deacon Thomas Bigelow, and Captain Isaac Hobbs were chosen." Several candidates were considered and the Parish finally invited young Mr. Joseph Field, Jr., to supply the pulpit for a few Sundays in succession. The result was that a legal Town Meeting held December 27, 1814, at which Isaac Fiske, Esq. was Moderator, Town Clerk, and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee, voted, "To give Mr. Joseph Field, Jr. an invitation to settle in the Gospel Ministry in the Town of Weston."
Mr. Fiske wrote a marvelous and compelling invitation; this was accepted and to quote an early writer, "The two became next door neighbors and life-long friends and companions." In the First Parish Room in the Jones House is a picture of the one hundred fifty-five year mansion with the two old friends sitting in great content before the door.
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The Elm and the Law Office
When Mr. Field was first settled here, he found a pleasant home with Mrs. Miranda Kendal, who lived not far from the meeting- house, but when in 1816 he married Miss Charlotte Leatham, the beautiful 1805 Colonial was made available for him, while Isaac Fiske lived a few rods away in the Captain Samuel Baldwin mansion which he had bought in 1811.
When Town Meeting in March 1825 made no appropriation for the First Parish, the Congregational Society was thrown upon its own resources, both for support of the minister, and for mainte- nance of the meetinghouse, no longer the Town Church. On April 29, 1825, the Parish reorganized, with Ebenezer Hobbs, Esq., as Moderator of the Meeting. Chosen were a Parish Clerk, a Treasurer, three Assessors, a Collector, and a three-member Parish Committee; under the guidance of Isaac Fiske, Esq., Deacon Isaac Hobbs, and Deacon Nathan Warren, together with the young minister, Rev. Joseph Field, Jr., the ancient First Parish in Weston began a new, vigorous life.
Some years later, at an adjourned Parish Meeting on May 1I, 1840, a Committee of eleven persons was chosen, "authorized and empowered to take down the old Meetinghouse and to build a new one." Again, the names are interesting: Isaac Fiske, Samuel Hobbs, Abijah Coburn, Jonas Cutter, Jesse Viles, William Spring, Ben- jamin Peirce, Samuel F. H. Bingham, Nathan Warren, Jr., Adolphus Brown and Leonard W. Cushing.
There was a real Parish stir in 1857, when Mr. David Lane, "Made application to the Parish to move at his own expense their Church edifice across the road running Northerly thereof, and place the same on a line with the Town House." In those days there was no Church Street, the Common bordered the Town House steps, and "the road running Northerly," was the old County Road at the east side of the Common. Finally the Parish agreed to Mr. Lane's plan, letters passed between him and the Parish Committee, but no meeting could be arranged. On April 26, 1859, Parish Meeting voted: "To add three to the Parish Com- mittee, Messrs. Isaac Fiske, Benjamin Peirce, and George W. Cutting to meet with Mr. Lane at the Church, on Thursday next."
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Again Mr. Lane was not available and the matter was evidently tacitly dropped, as the Church edifice was not moved.
In the Historical Rooms at the Jones House is the quaint and interesting tall desk from the law office of Isaac Fiske, Esq .; it resembles a Dickens illustration, an appeal to the imagination for the days of long ago. In the same room is an oil painting of a "gentleman of the old school" with steady, kindly eyes-the simple plate recording, "Isaac Fiske, Esq., 1778-1861. A Lawyer of Weston."
ELH.
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Tavern of The Golden Ball
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The Tavern of the Golden Ball
The Jones name was an early one in this West Precinct; Captain Josiah Jones, son of Lewis Jones and Anna his wife, was born in Watertown in 1643. In 1665, he bought land in the Farmers' Precinct on the North side of Sudbury Road and in 1667, married Lydia, daughter of Nathaniel Treadway, much of whose land lay in the Stony Brook area. It was on this land that the third mill in Watertown was built in 1678, at the joint expense of John Liver- more and Richard Child of Watertown, Josiah Jones of Water- town Farms, and John Heyward of Concord.
Captain Josiah Jones was one of the eighteen men who organ- ized the First Parish Congregational Society in 1709, under Mr. William Williams, and became one of the first Deacons when he and John Parkhurst were elected to the office in 1710. When Captain Josiah died in 1714, his oldest son, Josiah, Jr., was elected successor to his father but he did not accept the honor.
Captain Josiah Jones had a younger brother, James, who married Sarah Moore of Weston; their son Isaac born in 1728, became an interesting citizen of the Town. Before his marriage in 1753 with Anna Cutler of Weston, Isaac had built on the Boston Post Road, in 1751, the house that he made famous as the Tavern of the Golden Ball, a substantial square building, the broad hip roof with deck finish giving a roomy attic. The wide front door opens into a hall of great beauty,-walls from floor to ceiling of lovely wainscot panelling painted creamy white, a wide stairway with carved balustrade,-this elegant entrance opens into bright rooms on either side. At the end of the hall is the dining room, windows to the south overlooking the peat meadows and Three Mile Brook. In all the rooms are large fireplaces with carved
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mantels and beautifully proportioned door and window frames. The Golden Ball, emblem of this famous Inn, is still to be seen.
In 1756, Captain Isaac Jones was elected Fence Viewer, and in 1757 :- "Voted that Isaac Jones shall have Liberty to Build a Pew over the Mens Stares in the Gallary of the Meetinghouse for him- self and for his Heirs." He was Selectman in 1772, and in 1773 :- "Given Liberty to Build a Shay House on the Towns Land North- westerly of the Meetinghouse."
When feelings were high during pre-Revolutionary years, Captain Isaac was considered a Tory. With the occupation of Boston by the British in 1770, the Tavern of the Golden Ball be- came a favorite place of entertainment; army officers with Tory gentlemen and their fair ladies, of Boston Town, drove or rode out for supper and an evening's entertainment. Both Smith Tavern and the Golden Ball had well-equipped halls for dancing. Rumor holds that even the high and mighty General Thomas Gage enjoyed the hospitality of Weston Taverns.
Then as the crisis drew near, there was the incident in early April, 1775, of the British spy, Sergeant John Howe, and the Liberty Men of Weston who met at the Golden Ball with tar and feathers for the intruder, the willing landlord aiding in the search. Well he knew that the spy was safe for a few hours at least, in the home of Dr. Jesse Wheaton, also a Tory, with the Doctor's two pretty daughters to entertain him.
Even at this time, Captain Isaac was a Selectman, while in 1778, he was chosen one of a "Committee of Nine Gentlemen to take under Consideration the Constitution and form of Government of the Commonwealth." The report was favorable and :- "At a Meet- ing of the Inhabitants on Monday ye 2nd day of August 1779, at one o'clock P.M .:- "Voted to send two members to the Con- vention at Concord for the Sole purpose of forming a new Consti- tution or Form of Government, Messirs Joseph Roberts and John Allen Chosen for the above Purpose."
As a result of the work of the Convention, in the Town Records of our cautious ancestors is this entry :- "On the 29th of May, 1780, at 12 o'clock P.M. the Inhabitants met and passed the follow-
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The Tavern of the Golden Ball
ing Vote Viz: Voted by sd. Town that they will accept the Constitution or Form of Government of the Commonwealth as it now stands but it is our oppinion that it should be revised within ten years and made Certain. Yeas 54, Nays 20."
In 1784, Captain Isaac was one of a Committee of five, the Chair- man being Colonel Thomas Marshall, "to examine into the griev- ances of the Baptist Denomination as to paying the Minister's tax and toward the Minister's firewood." He served as Assessor, was often Moderator at Town Meeting, was active in Church affairs and was one of the School Board for the West Center District where his eight daughters and two sons were promising pupils. For three years, from 1787 until 1791, he represented Weston at the General Court.
When Captain Isaac Jones died in 1813, he left the Tavern property to his oldest son, Isaac Jr., who in 1778 had married lovely Abigail Hobbs, only daughter of Deacon Isaac, of Hobbs Corner. For well over two hundred years this historic landmark, Golden Ball Tavern, has kept intact its original beauty and is still in the possession of descendants of the gallant Captain.
The Bigelow Mansion
In Watertown Records that begin with the year 1630, the earliest marriage is listed in 1642, when John Bigelow married Mary, daughter of John Warren, both young people living in Watertown.
Of the fourth generation from John Bigelow the settler, Josiah, born in 1749, married Mary, daughter of Jonas Harrington and settled in Weston. On Concord Road he built the family home- stead, a fine Colonial lean-to that was taken down in the early 1900's, a needless sacrifice to modern ideas. Josiah was a brother of Abraham Bigelow who bought the mills at Stony Brook and in 1735, built there the gambrel-roofed house that is still standing.
Alpheus Bigelow, son of Josiah, born in the house on Concord Road in 1757, at the age of eighteen was one of the young men who set out for Concord on the morning of April nineteenth, 1775, with Captain Israel Whittemore, and served throughout the War. He was on picket duty when General Burgoyne surrendered to General Gates at Saratoga, October 17, 1777.
In 1783, Captain Alpheus Bigelow and Eunice Mixer of Waltham were married there by the Reverend Jacob Cushing of the First Parish Church; the young people lived in the homestead. The name of Captain Alpheus is constant in Weston Records: he was Tythingman, Surveyor of Highways and Selectman year after year, but his longest service was on the School Board. In 1799, from Town Records :- "Art. 9 voted that the following persons be Committees to Provide masters and firewood for the School Districts to which they respectively belong." For the Northwest District, Number III was Alpheus Bigelow, Esq .; he served for thirty years.
In the Weston Independent Light Infantry established in 1787,
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The Bigelow Wing
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Captain Alpheus, already of Revolutionary fame, served suc- cessively as Ensign, as Lieutenant and as Captain until 1800, when he resigned,-"Having for some time past enjoyed a state of health which has unfitted me for performing the duties of a military life." In 1802, Captain Alpheus was one of five men, "To Conduct the expenditure of the Money that was voted for the encouragement of Singing in the Town."
Both the Captain and his wife were members of the First Parish; he served on Committees for the sale of pews and for repairing and painting the meetinghouse, while Eunice Bigelow was of the group of one hundred twenty-eight women who signed the Con- stitution of the Cent Society in 1818. The following is an interest- ing comment :- "Mrs. Alpheus Bigelow was one of the beautiful ladies of the old school." The two celebrated their Golden Wed- ding anniversary in 1833, entertaining the townspeople and celeb- rities from away. Mrs. Eunice Bigelow died in 1834, but the Captain lived until his ninetieth year, 1847.
Alpheus Bigelow, Jr., born in the house on Concord Road in 1784, graduated from Harvard in 1810, a promising young lawyer. In 1811, he married Mary Ann Hubbard Townsend, daughter of Thomas Hubbard Townsend, the man whose initials T.H.T. are engraved on one of the tankards in the Communion Silver of the First Parish Church.
The Townsend homestead of late 17th and early 18th century design, a large, two-storied gambrel-roofed house with an ell, stood on the right of the Post Road near the corner where the old High- way turned north to Sudbury and the Wayside Inn,-this is now Plain Road in Wayland. In the early 1800's, the main house was moved over the fields to a location on the present Rice Road, but it burned completely, many years ago.
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