USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Weston > Weston, a Puritan town > Part 16
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Weston: A Puritan Town
Isaac Hobbs, Jr., in 1790, married Mary Baldwin, daughter of Captain Samuel Baldwin. Besides serving in town offices, in 1828 he was appointed Deacon of the First Parish. His daughter, Mary Ann, in 1832, married Nathan Hagar, Jr., whose farm was also on the Lancaster Road, but when Deacon Isaac Hobbs, Jr., died in 1834, the young people sold the farm to Mr. Francis Hastings, moved to the house on the corner, and the Hobbs and Hagar business part- nership was formed. Known of old as the Hagar house, the estate is still in the family-Mrs. Harry Starr is a Hagar descendant.
Captain Matthew's son Henry, born in 1784, and a favorite nephew of Isaac Hobbs, Sr., added to the Tannery a carriage- making shop. Henry made for himself the first chaise owned in Weston; his license to use it cost three dollars and reads :- "A two- wheeled carriage called by him a chaise, to be drawn by one horse and to carry two people." As a town officer, Henry Hobbs served many years on the School Board for the Northeast District, was Selectman for five years from 1820, and finally chosen a Repre- sentative to the General Court.
The last of the family to live in the house built in 1758, was a grandnephew of Isaac Hobbs, Jr., General James F. B. Marshall, Commissary General for the United States during the Civil War, and later, a co-founder with General Samuel Armstrong of the Hampton Institute near Hampton, Virginia. Generall Marshall was a grand nephew of Colonel Thomas Marshall, and a grandson of Rev. Samuel Kendal, D.D.
Mid-Eighteenth Century
Not many rods from the Weston and Waltham line on Lexing- ton Street, is a noble structure on a farm for which Abraham Sanderson is taxed in 1761. The mansion house, as it is listed in the Inventory, stands on rising ground and faces south with lawns sloping to an orchard, while at the west are "fresh meadows," and a brook that widens into a lovely pool.
The house is as beautiful as the setting; the long front of the main part is covered by a pitch roof with overhanging eaves and wide gable ends, supported by decorated end posts and carved cornices. Windows with twelve panes, and sidelights at the front door make a cheerful interior. The two-storied ell running north has windows to west and to east.
In 1761, Abraham Sanderson married Sarah Wheeler, "both of Weston," and the following year they owned the Covenant in the ministry of Reverend Samuel Woodward. In Town Meeting of 1765, Abraham was chosen Surveyor of Highways for the North East District, an office that he held for years, adding at times that of Constable and of Tythingman.
Neither Abraham nor any of his six sons were of an age eligible to serve in the Revolutionary War, but there are several instances of his loaning money to the Town during the war years, one, "A note of hand, {90. Abraham Sanderson."
Amos Sanderson, born in 1774, succeeded Abraham and like his father, held several Town offices through the years. In 1800, he married Hannah Wheeler of Sudbury, and cared for the farm which has always been famous as a productive one. In 1813, his name was one of many on a petition to the Town to divide the Northeast School as there were one hundred fifteen children between the
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ages of four and eighteen, "forty-nine of whom live more than a mile from the present school-house, and twelve of whom live 11/2 mile and upwards." The petition was submitted to a special Com- mittee of six men who agreed, "that the Children in the Northeast District are too numerous for one school and that many of them in common with the children in other Districts suffer some incon- venience from the distance of the schoolhouse; but taking into consideration the large taxes assessed for building a School in the Southeast District, for the support of Paupers, and other purposes, and also the situation of the Country, your Committee are unani- mously of the opinion that no alteration of the School District so as to bring any extra expense upon the Town ought to take place at present." This was the year 1813; the Report was accepted at Town Meeting and there was never but one Northeast School- house.
In 1818, and for many years after, Amos Sanderson was voted to serve on the School Board for the Northeast District. The Inventory of 182 1 listed Amos as having besides the house and the barn, eight Acres in tillage, fifteen Acres in English mowing, ten Acres fresh meadow, twenty-five Acres in pasturage, ten Acres woodland, twenty bbls. Cider, one horse, two oxen, seven COWS.
About 1830, the farm and homestead became the property of a neighbor, John Warren Cutting born in 1800, the oldest son of John Cutting and Cynthia, his wife. From Watertown history: "William Cutting, aged twenty-six, and Richard Cutting aged eleven years, embarked in the Elizabeth at Ipswich, England for New England, April, 1634. Richard settled in Watertown; what became of William has not been ascertained."
Of the eighth generation from Richard Cutting, John Warren, in 1823, married Cynda Lane of Ashburnham. They were the great-grandparents of Elizabeth Cutting Kenney, who was born in Weston and brought up in its schools and the First Parish; she is a devoted member of the Benevolent-Alliance, the First Parish charitable society.
In 1825, John Warren Cutting's name is listed as Field Driver,
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Mid-Eighteenth Century
later as Tythingman, as Surveyor of Highways and as a member of the School Board for the Northeast District. His wife Cynda died in 1854; two of his daughters, Susan Ann and Emily, married Weston men and had their houses at the center of town. Although John Warren married a second wife, Hannah Hawes Maxfield, she died in the late winter of 1873, and he was alone at the homestead except for the farm people. His death came suddenly of a heart ail- ment in March of the same year, late one afternoon as he entered the house after a long drive home from Boston. A few years later, the estate was sold to Sidney E. Tyler whose family owned land in Waltham.
Beginning in the 1800's farms within twenty miles or more of Boston were providing the City with fresh fruits and vegetables; the Tyler farm was famous for its excellent harvests of sweet corn, taken over the old Lancaster Road in big horse-drawn wagons to the Boston Market. The oldest son, Herbert E. Tyler, in 1912, became one of the Selectmen; born in Weston and educated in its excellent schools, he was returned to office year after year, until his retirement in 1948-a service of thirty-six years.
In 1955, when the farm was to be sold, fortunately the historic place came into the possession of Frederic C. Dumaine, Jr., who has restored the beauty of the two-hundred-year-old structure.
A United States Naval officer, Captain Thomas C. Schaible is living there now with his wife and their three children; they add to the friendly hospitality of one of the most distinguished houses in Weston.
The John Warren Homestead
From the History of Watertown by Henry Bond: "John War- ren came to America in 1630, aged forty-five; settled in Water- town; admitted freeman, 1631; Selectman, 1636-1640; In 1635, he and Abraham Browne were appointed to lay out all the high- ways and to see that they were kept repaired. Owned about 176 Acres, Kings Grant. March 14, 1658, he was to be warned for not attending public worship, but "old Warren is not to be found in town." In 1661, the homes of "old Warren and Goodman Hammond were ordered to be searched for Quakers. He died in 1667, aged eighty-four leaving his property to four children prob- ably all born in England."
Of the fourth generation from the stout-hearted settler John Warren, Ensign John Warren in March, 1683, married Mary Browne of Watertown and built for his bride on the Kings Grant the house that is now the home of Walter A. Vittum and his family, lineal descendants of the original proprietor. On an early map of Weston from the survey of the Township in 1794, are three Warren houses not far apart and all on the Kings Grant to the first John Warren.
At the corner of North Avenue and Lexington Street the white house standing there was the home of Thomas Warren and prob- ably built at the time of his marriage with Tabetha Livermore in 1786. His short life ended in 1796, when he died at the age of thirty-nine, leaving his widow Tabetha with two children, Uriah and Amelia. This pleasant dwelling, largely unchanged, is now the property of Mrs. Joseph Snow.
Nearby on the southerly side of Lexington Street, built in 1743, was the home of Nathaniel Warren, an uncle of Thomas; this was a Colonial of which there are photographs, but the house was burned completely in the early 1900's. On the 1794 map the old Lexington Road curved to the right at Nathaniel Warren's farm- house; the lane is still traceable and shows that the John Warren
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The John Warren Homestead
house, the first to be built on the Kings Grant, faced southeasterly on rising ground overlooking lovely meadows and woodlands. The view is still enchanting and at one end of the wide valley is the present Cambridge School ball ground.
The southerly approach to this residence was terraced from the roadway to the hospitable front door and the great fieldstone entrance step. The interior is fascinating: with the unusual length of the house and the uncommon width, there are six large rooms and two hallways, front and back, on the first floor. The stairs have wide treads, low lifts and classic balustrades; there are fireplaces in every room, panelled mantels, closets in the huge chimney, while the kitchen has the customary brick oven and the great crane still holds pothooks and hangers of Colonial days.
In the Farmers' Burying Place, engraved upon the first stone erected there is the inscription: "Here lyes ye body of Ensign John Warrin Aged 38 years Died July y II. 1703." The home- stead descended to his oldest son John, Jr., later an Ensign, born in March, 1684-85. In 1704, he married Sarah Jones of Weston, daughter of Captain Josiah Jones, one of the first Deacons of the Parish Church chosen in 1709. Sarah's short life ended in 1706 and the Ensign later married Abigail Livermore, also of Weston.
One of the Council for the ordination of young Mr. Williams in 1709, John Warren, Jr. was also a practical and energetic member of the Committee for building the Colonial Church of 1722, on Meetinghouse Common, the greatest undertaking of the still youth- ful Parish.
From the well kept records of Reverend William Williams: "Att a Chh Meeting of ye Breth" in Weston Sept" 2nd 1733, Ens" John Warren was chosen to serve as a Deacon in this Chh."
Attending church service in Weston in the 1700's, particularly in winter, was a difficult matter whether from the North Side or from the South Side of the Town. In 1742, the farmers along the Lancaster Turnpike petitioned the Town to have the Colonial Church moved from Meetinghouse Common to the North Road. The request was signed by the heads of forty-eight families, among them Deacon John Warren. In response came a counter- movement from the South Side carrying fifty-five names. This
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must have been effective as there is no record of any action by Town Meeting.
The will of Deacon John Warren dated March 23, 1744-45 mentions wife; sons John, Josiah, Elisha, Isaac and Ebenezer; drs. Mary, Lydia, Sarah, Prudence and Abigail; and to six grandchil- dren each {20. He appointed his eldest son John sole executor, assigned to him the homestead and required him to pay all legacies.
John Warren III, born in 1713, and by the will possessor of the homestead, in 1739, had married Sarah Harrington of Weston. His name is in the earliest printed Town Records in 1755, as Assessor whose duties then included: "Making the Ministers Rate at 2S.6p per day." This amounted to sixteen shillings for a year, so the sum was not to be despised. In 1758, elected Constable and in 1760, Selectman, he held these three offices until he retired in 1784. He lived until 1790.
His son, John IV, was in the Company that set out for Concord on April nineteenth, 1775; he was stationed at Dorchester Heights in 1776, and was one of the eighteen young men who marched to Canada in 1777. On his return with the title of Lieutenant, he married Abigail Wright of Weston and his name is listed among Town officers until 1788. As the Lieutenant had no son, the War- ren lands and the homestead at his death in 1806, became the inheritance of his oldest daughter Cynthia, born in 1781. With great beauty as well as intelligence and personal charm, Cynthia in 1799, married a neighbor, young John Cutting, Jr .- both are listed as pupils in District School Number IV on the North Road.
Cynthia's granddaughter, daughter of Marshall Cutting, Ellen Esther married a newcomer in Weston, Darius B. Vittum of an early family in Sandwich, New Hampshire; their son Walter is the present occupant of the historic house. The name Vittum has an interesting origin: William or Guillaume, the French Huguenot who settled at Hampton, New Hampshire about 1695, bore the surname Vitehomme, speedy or quick man; runners were important in early Colonial history, especially during the years of Indian Wars as well as pre-Revolutionary times. The John Warren landmark, one of the earliest houses in Weston, is well preserved and well cared for.
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The Whitney Tavern
The Whitney Tavern
John Whitney, who embarked from Ipswich, England, in 1635, on the Elizabeth was "the ancestor of all the Whitneys in New England and in other parts of the United States." As told in Henry Bond's Watertown history his record is interesting :- "Admitted freeman in 1636, he was Selectman of Watertown several years between 1638 and 1655, and Town Clerk from 1655 until his death in 1673. His early admission as a freeman and his early election as a town officer show that he held a respectable social position."
Nathaniel Whitney, 1642-1732, grandson of John, was in this West Precinct as early as 1694 and died in Weston, but the first property recorded is in the name of his son William, 1683-1720, who married Martha Peirce of Weston in 1706; in 1708, William carried a real estate tax upon this house on the Lancaster Road that has always been known as "ancient."
The quaint and simple front entrance gives no idea of the size of the rooms within. The hall is narrow so that the door swings back to give ready access to the large square room at the left, the taproom; there is also a door on the west side opening into this very important part of a wayside tavern. In all these rooms on the first floor, one at the right of the entrance and the long kitchen under the lean-to roof at the back, the walls are sheathed with pine panelling, lovely in grain and in color. Ceilings are low, floor boards are wide and fireplaces large; two have cranes with pothooks and hangers. Floor and wall closets on either side of the fireplaces are convenient as well as space conserving. The front stairway with carved pedestal and balustrade is curved to follow the line of the large central chimney and leads to rooms that are
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Weston: A Puritan Town
also pine panelled. The front door is topped with ancient window lights.
This interesting old house was the Whitney homestead for gen- erations, and as a rule the families were large. William, Jr., born in 1707, is listed in town records as Constable, an office that then included collection of taxes, as Selectman and as Surveyor of Highways for the Northeast District. In 1763, he married his fourth wife, Mrs. Sarah Davis, widow of the owner of the famous Punch Bowl Tavern in Brookline and probably succeeded as landlord there. For five years the Weston property is in the tax list in the name of Joseph Whitney, a nephew, but in 1768, William, Jr., returned and was the successful proprietor until his death in 1789.
The third of William Whitney Jr.'s ten children, Phinehas, born in 1740, graduated from Harvard College in 1759. He was or- dained in Shirley, Massachusetts, in June, 1762, the first settled minister there and continued as the Pastor for over fifty years.
The name and fame of the old Tavern after 1789 descended to Abijah Whitney, born in 1760, a grandnephew of William, Jr., and well able to carry on the family customs. Between 1782 and 1807, he filled the offices of Preserver of Dear, (sic), of Tything- man, of Surveyor of Highways for the Northwest District and of Assessor. He was a member of the Grand Jury at East Cambridge in 1808. From 1792 until 1801, Abijah served in the Weston In- dependent Light Infantry Company. He was Captain when the Town on January fourth, 1800, in grand and solemn ceremonial, mourned the death of General George Washington.
In 1815, when there was an allotment of new pews in the Colonial meetinghouse, "Abijah Whitney, Weston Gentleman, and his heirs and assigns forever," received "a Pew on the lower floor in said meetinghouse being numbered in figures, 'forty-five'."
Together with inns along the Post Road, the Whitney Tavern felt the coming of the railroads after 1830. When Abijah Jr. died in 1862, the Whitney heirs sold the farm and the "ancient hos- telry," to Mr. Kendal H. Stone; nearby on a knoll with a fine view over Stony Brook Valley to the hills beyond, Mr. Stone built the
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The Whitney Tavern
comfortable country house that seems to regard an oldtime neigh- bor, the friendly Tavern with a protecting air.
Fortunately in 1881, Tavern, country house and farm came into the ownership of Mr. Edward Coburn, a prominent citizen of the Town; in the same year he conveyed the estate to his son Thomas, whose descendants are keeping alive the reality that historically Weston was a farming community. Mr. and Mrs Howard Mac- Cleave, Jr. are living in the Tavern; both are interested in and devoting themselves to preserving and restoring the unique in- terior of one of the oldest houses in Weston.
The Hastings Tradition
Of the sixth generation from Thomas Hastings who sailed from Ipswich, England and came to Watertown in 1634, Jonas, born in Weston in 1784, son of Captain Josiah Hastings, was the grand- father of Mr. Francis Henry Hastings, one of the notable citizens of Weston.
In 1806, Jonas married Betsey, daughter of Jonathan Warren whose farm and homestead were on the Lancaster Road. For a year or two the young people lived in the Whitney house, but Jonas soon bought the Deacon Samuel Barrett estate and built the family mansion a short distance from the birthplace of his wife, Betsey Warren. When the hurricane of 1815, subject of The September Gale by Oliver Wendell Holmes, struck Weston, trees were uprooted, a shed housing a brand new chaise, the pride of Betsey and Jonas, blew over, and the wind increased to such velocity that Betsey, more and more frightened, took six-year-old Francis by the hand and set out for her former home, where at least there would be companionship. They could not stand in the terrible gusts but would crouch beside the wall until one blast lessened, then they would creep along until another overtook them. But-"The chaise never got a scratch!" There were only two such vehicles in the neighborhood.
Mr. Jonas Hastings was chosen year after year to serve the Northeast District on the School Board, as Surveyor of Highways and in other offices. His oldest son, Francis, the boy who weathered the hurricane and never forgot the experience, grew up in the family mansion and went to school in the Northeast District with his brothers and sisters. There were no Grammar or High Schools then, in Weston; the ages of the pupils ranged from four to eight-
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The Hastings Tradition
een years. Francis married Mary W. Cooley of the town of Dana in western Massachusetts; they lived in the homestead and their eldest son Francis Henry Hastings, born in 1836, was brought up in home and in town ways.
At the age of nineteen, Francis Henry entered the service of the Hook Brothers in their organ factory in Boston where he soon became a partner with the firm of Hook and Hastings. In 1888, Mr. Hastings, only representative of the famous firm, re- turned to his native town, built a large factory on land which was a part of the family estate, and moved the business from Boston. Besides providing excellent new homes for his workmen and restoring several forgotten houses, he built a clubhouse and hall with reading rooms to be used by people of the town. Lectures, musicals, dances, suppers through the year, also were for anyone in Weston.
Most interesting were the historical tours of old Boston that he made possible for the High School Senior classes in United States History. Not only did Mr. Hastings assume the expense of every trip but he provided a competent guide to meet the classes at the North Station, to show them the historic marvels of the old Puri- tan Town, and to return them for the late afternoon train to Weston.
His own residence of late nineteenth century architecture stands nearly opposite the old homestead. Following in the foot- steps of his forebears, Mr. Hastings was an active member of the First Parish; a liberal contributor to the Parish Treasury; he made possible for many, conveyance for Church services and for other Parish activities. He entertained frequently at his home and his marriage with Miss Anna Coburn of Weston gave a charming hostess to an already friendly house.
Francis H. Hastings, an able and kindly citizen and neighbor, died in 1916. A lasting memorial in his honor is the great organ in the First Parish Church given by his widow, Anna Coburn Hastings.
The Mystery Mansion
On the southwest corner of Conant Road where it joins North Avenue, partly hidden by a dense and long-lived lilac hedge, stands a house, the oldest part of which was built in 1740, by Bradyll Smith, son of William Smith and Mary his wife, who were among the early settlers of Watertown Farms. Here are the distinguishing features of many Colonial dwellings,-large square rooms, panelled walls, a central chimney with wide fireplaces, high panelled mantels, chimney closets on either side, and deep seated windows.
Bradyll Smith, born in 1715, became a citizen of whom Weston was justly proud. Chosen Assessor in 1750, he became Town Treasurer in 1757, Town Clerk the following year and in 1759, a Selectman. In 1771, he held all these offices except that of Town Clerk; this position was ably filled by his younger brother, Josiah, of Smith Tavern fame.
In 1751 was held a Special Town Meeting, "att one o'clock in the afternoon, there and then," with Captain Bradyll Smith as Moderator, to consider chiefly :- "Article IV. The Pitetion of Mr. John Hastings and Others Praying that the Town would choose a Committee to Servey said Town sofar as is necessary to find the Senter thereof: and if the Senter shall be found any Considerable Distance from where the Meetinghouse now Standeth that it may be removed thereto." No record was made of the discussion, but this entry follows :- "Art. IV. It was put to vote to know the minds of the Town whether they would grant the Prayer of the Petition of John Hastings and Others and it passed in the Negative."
Before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Captain Bradyll Smith was voted a member of the Committee, "to join neighboring towns with Committees of Correspondence;" historians consider
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The Mystery Mansion
that these Committees were a great power in the final success of the American Colonists. In 1773 and 1774, Captain Bradyll repre- sented Weston in the General Court, in the Provincial Congress at Concord in 1775 and in 1776 when it met at Watertown as Boston was still occupied by the English Army under Sir William Howe. In 1776, also, he was Captain of the Weston Company of Minute Men, and was made Colonel of Militia in 1777.
After the death of Colonel Bradyll Smith in 1780, his oldest son, Nathan, sold the farm and buildings to Joseph Hickson who was taxed for the property until 1796, when it was bought by a retired sea captain who belonged to an early and prominent Boston family. Probably Captain Robert Calef merely wished to live a quiet life, but as he and his wife Sarah did not mingle socially with their neighbors, the good people of Weston drew their own conclusions. That he had been a pirate became a rumor greatly strengthened when at dusk one bleak November day, there was seen to enter the Calef yard, a foreign looking man in seaman's clothes with the usual bundle on a stick, and wearing earrings. He knocked at the door, it opened and he stepped inside. Whether he brought treasure or bad news was never known and he was never seen again, but for years a certain mound near a stone wall was supposed to hold a wealth of gold and silver.
Gradually the incident became legend; Captain Calef paid his taxes, had but one slave, (Bradyll Smith owned two), and suc- cessfully opposed the straightening of the highway which would have deprived him of a few rods of land. The time-worn retaining wall still holds, as does the rounded corner. Captain Robert Calef died in 1814 at the age of eighty-four-his widow Sarah lived there until 1834, when she died, aged ninety-six. Both are buried in the Central Burying Ground.
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