A REVIEW 
 
 OF THE 
 
 FIRST FOURTEEN YEARS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 M, MIMAL HlSIOm Al LIBRAlll 
 
 OF 
 
 SOUTH Natick, Mass. 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 FIELD-DAY PROCEEDINGS 
 
 OF 
 1881 — 1882— 1883. 
 
X. 
 
 A REVIEW 
 
 OF THE 
 
 FIRST FOURTEEN YEARS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 IIPJCAL miAL Hl^IOflI Al LIEFiARI SOCIEH 
 
 OF 
 
 SOUTH Natick, Mass. 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 FIELD-DAY PROCEEDINGS 
 
 OF 
 
 I88I — 1882— 1883. 
 
 SOUTH NATICK, MASS.: 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. 
 1884. 
 

 OFFICERS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 (II, imwH 
 
 U 
 
 ilirarj Sodetj of Wi 
 
 1884. 
 
 President, George J. Townsend, M. D. 
 
 llee-Presidejit, .... Gu.sT.\vus Smith. 
 
 Recording Secretary, . . Herbert L. Morse. 
 
 Corj'esponding Secretary, . Rev. Joseph P. Sheaee, Jr. 
 
 Treasurer, ...... M. V. B. Bartlett. 
 
 Custodian, William Edwards. 
 
 Librarian, Amos P. Cheney. 
 
 Curator of Natural History, Amorv L. Babcock. 
 
 Board of Directors : 
 P'irst five t)fticers, ex officHs, with 
 Elijah Perrt. Esq. Mrs. O. Augusta Cheney. 
 
 Almond Bailey. Joshua Parmenter. 
 
 Amory L. Babcock. 
 
PREFATORY. 
 
 The first field meeting of this Society, for historical work, 
 was held April 30th, 1881. The success attending this ex- 
 periment led to a second meeting the following year, and the 
 third meeting was held on May-Day, 1883. 
 
 The historical matter presented at these meetings was 
 considerable in amount and both interesting and valuable. 
 
 A desire was expressed that the proceedings be published 
 in book form, and this being made practicable by the liber- 
 ality of one of the honorary members, they are here given, 
 with some additional matter, together with a sketch of the 
 origin and work of the Society. 
 
A REVIEW 
 
 OF THK 
 
 FIRST FOURTEEN YEARS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 fiisloiical, Mural listoii' iiiiJ Liliran' Mti of M\ Mi 
 
 BY AMOS P. CHENEY, 
 
 South Natick is famous in history as the place where Rev. 
 John Eliot, the "Apostle to the Indians," founded his first 
 town of "praying Indians ;" the place where he did much of 
 the work of translating the Bible into the Indian language ; 
 and the place where that Bible was first used. It is also 
 worthy of note because it contains the only monument 
 erected to honor his memory. 
 
 With such an origin and such a record, it is natural to ex- 
 pect that among its people there should exist a strong desire 
 that some means be adopted for the collection and preserva- 
 tion of whatever material there was obtainable, that could be 
 of use in recording or illustrating the history of the village 
 and its vicinity, including not only all of the present town of 
 Natick, but those portions of Sherborn, Dover and Needham 
 which were formerly within its limits. 
 
 No doubt there was such a desire ; but during the long in- 
 terval from 165 I to 1869, only incHvidual effort was made in 
 this direction, except that in 185 1, as the bi-centennial of 
 Eliot's coming drew near, some of the more active citizens, 
 feeling that it would be discreditable to allow that day to pass 
 without some recognition, succeeded in arranging a public de- 
 
6 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 raonstration, including an address, a dinner, and speeches, 
 with music, which program was carried out. 
 
 This meteoric outburst of patriotism seemed to exhaust 
 the sentiment. It made a little history, but did very little 
 toward preserving history. 
 
 The results of the individual effort already mentioned were 
 a few historical discourses delivered by resident ministers 
 and afterwards published ; next, a pamphlet history of the 
 town, by William Biglow, published in 1830 ; and last, a more 
 pretentious history of the town, by Oliver N. Bacon, pub- 
 lished in 1856, Messrs. Biglow and Bacon being natives of 
 the town. 
 
 In 1869, there became manifest a desire for organization 
 for work in this field, those most in earnest making it their 
 leading subject of thought and conversation. But their num- 
 ber was small, and that was a great obstacle in the way. 
 
 Finally it was suggested that, as there were many in the 
 neighborhood strongly interested in natural history, it might 
 be practicable, by combining the forces of history and natur- 
 al history, to form a society with a membership large enough 
 to sustain it. 
 
 This idea was adopted ; and arrangements for a preliminary 
 meeting being* made, it was held January 26, 1870, at the 
 house of Rev. Horatio Alger, with whom there were present 
 Messrs. Oliver Bacon, Elijah Perry, Josiah F. Leach, Austin 
 Bacon, Wm. Edwards, Joseph Dowe and Amos P. Cheney. 
 
 Two other meetings were held, February 15, and February 
 22, in which Henry S. Edwards, Elijah Edwards, Rev. G. D. 
 Abbot, LL.D. ; M. V. B. Bartlett, John B. Fairbanks and 
 Dr. Geo. C. Lincoln took part. Others had also signified 
 their intention to join. 
 
 At the last meeting there were adopted, a name, a consti- 
 tution and by-laws, and the organization was completed by 
 electing the following list of officers of "The Historical and 
 Natural History Society of South Natick and Vicinity " : 
 President, Rev. Horatio Alger ; Vice-President, Rev. Gorham 
 
A Review of the First Fourteen Years. 7 
 
 D. Abbot, LL.D. ; Recording Secretary, Joseph Dowe ; 
 Corresponding Secretary, Rev. Stephen C. Strong ; Treas- 
 urer, \Vm. Edwards. These five, ex officiis, with Dr. G. J. 
 Townsend, Dr. G. C. Lincohi, Elijah Perry, Esq., C. B. Dana 
 and A. L. Babcock, constituted the first Board of Directors. 
 Historical Curator, Rev. H. Alger; Natural History Curator, 
 \Vm. Edwards. 
 
 The constitution provided that quarterly meetings should 
 be held in January, April, July and October ; that of January 
 being the annual meeting. 
 
 At the next meeting, the April quarterly, Dr. Abbot read 
 a paper upon " The Value of Societies like This of Ours," and 
 urged the young people, especially, to join as active members, 
 stating that such connection w(juld be of incalculable benefit 
 to them. 
 
 A paper entitled " Reminiscenses of Natick " was read by 
 Mrs. Dowe. 
 
 The proceedings at the quarterly riieeting in July included 
 an address by the president, upon the " Importance of His- 
 torical and Genealogical Research," and recommended that 
 the Society take up the work of preparing a complete history 
 of the town from the first settlement, there being no reliable 
 one e.xtant. 
 
 A paper upon "Humming Birds" was next given by Mr. 
 A. L. Babcock, of Sherborn. 
 
 The Curator of the Natural History department, Mr. W. 
 P^dwards, reported, showing that a good collection of speci- 
 mens was already made. This collection had been placed in 
 the chambers over his store, in Mr. I. B. Clark's block, the 
 use of which he presented to the Society. This rcjiort called 
 forth a vote of thanks to that officer, for the efficiency and 
 zeal with which he had conducted his work. 
 
 The directors decided to have a course of lectures in the 
 latter part of this year, and completed the arrangements in 
 season to have the first given September 26, when Professor 
 Calvin E. Stowe, a native of this village, spoke upon " New 
 
8 Historical, Nat. Hist, ajid Lib. Socy of Sotitk Natick. 
 
 England's place in history." Eight other lectures were de- 
 livered in the course, which closed December 28. The sub- 
 jects treated included history, travels, natural history and 
 philosophy, and were much enjoyed. 
 
 The first annual meeting was held January 4, 1871. The 
 reports of the officers afforded a gratifying view of the first 
 year's work, not onl)^ in the number and character of the 
 meetings, the variety, amount and quality of the collections 
 in the several departments, but also in the increase in active 
 membership, and the number and standing of the honorary 
 members. Of the latter many had responded, acknowledg- 
 ing the compliment, some offering words of counsel and en- 
 couragement, and some contributing more or less to the 
 collections and to the treasury. 
 
 The election of officers resulted in the retention of nearly 
 all of the first Board, but some of them changed places. 
 
 In 1 87 1, besides the quarterly meetings, at two of which 
 addresses were made by members, a course of eight lectures 
 was given, the first, by Rev. Dr. Gilbert Haven, upon " To- 
 day and To-morrow," October 18, and the last by Dr. Geo. 
 B. Loring, upon "American Society," delivered December 12. 
 
 At the second annual meeting, held January 3, 1872, the 
 official reports were satisfactory ; there had been a healthy 
 growth in numerical strength, and the collections had increased 
 to such an extent that the rooms provided by Mr. Edwards 
 could not properly accommodate them ; therefore the directors 
 had secured from Mr. Clark another room, next to the others. 
 This added space made possible a re-arrangement of the whole, 
 so that all parts could be easily seen and studied. 
 
 Among the relics were the sounding-board under which 
 the Rev. Oliver Peabody preached, the bridal robe and slip- 
 pers worn by the bride of Mr. Badger, a portion of the paper- 
 hangings which once graced a room in the old mansion of Sir 
 Harry Frankland in the present town of Hopkinton, speci- 
 mens of the pottery work of the Natick Indians, and many 
 other articles having historical associations which rendered 
 them precious. 
 
A Review of the First Fourteen Years. 9 
 
 In the bird collection were many specimens of native but 
 not common varieties, also several from foreign countries. 
 So also, the insects represented distant lands as well as 
 America. 
 
 The library, which was almost wholly given by members 
 and friends, included books of history, relating in part to this 
 locality, also some works upon sc\cral branches of natural 
 history. 
 
 The officers elected at this meeting were, with two or three 
 exceptions, the same as of the preceding year. 
 
 In the belief that by the incorporation of tl]e society, some 
 greater benefits might be secured, Rev. Horatio Alger, Hon. 
 J. \V. Bacon and Rev. G. D. Abbot, were chosen a committee 
 to apply to the Legislature for a charter. 
 
 At this meeting also, notices were given of motions to a- 
 mend the constitution and by-laws. 
 
 But fortune's smiles were not to be continuous. Marly on 
 the morning of March 2, 1872, a fii-e was discovered in the 
 basement of the building in which the Society's collections 
 were kept, and before the sun rose, the whole edifice, with all 
 its contents was reduced to aslies. The old tavern, then 
 called the " Eliot House," and several other buildings, includ- 
 ing nearly all the business portion of the village, were des- 
 troyed in the same conflagration. 
 
 But the Society did not suffer a total loss, for, although 
 money could not replace the lost relics, nor the record book 
 of donations to the library and museum, which were burned, 
 a policy for •*?5oo had been secured through the wise thought- 
 fulness of the secretary, Elijah Perry, Esq. ; and with this 
 money in hand the work of gathering a new collection was 
 begun. 
 
 The name of the postoffice and village having been changed 
 to " Elict," the name of the* Society wr.s, at the April quar- 
 terly meeting, changed correspondingly. 
 
 The committee on procuring a charter of incorporation, 
 reported at this meeting "that a general law had been 
 
10 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 enacted under which such corporations could be formed 
 without special legislation." 
 
 The vice-president then offered the following : " Moved, 
 that a committee be appointed to prepare and report all the 
 papers necessary to complete our organization under the 
 statute providing for the same, and to report such accessory 
 papers as may be convenient and desirable for the due presen- 
 tation of the state and claims of our Society upon sister 
 societies at home or abroad, and to individuals whose co-op- 
 eration and aid may be valuable in our future proceedings, 
 and to report thereon." 
 
 This motion was adopted without debate, and the mover. 
 Rev. Gorham D. Abbot, L.L.D., was chosen that committee, 
 but later, Wm. Edwards, Esq., was chosen an additional 
 member. 
 
 At an adjourned meeting, held one week later. Art. Ill of 
 the constitution was amended by adding a clause providing 
 for life membership. 
 
 As the collections made since the fire of March 2 had 
 become quite large, Messrs. William Edwards, C. B. Dana 
 and Henry S. Edwards were, at the July quarterly meeting, 
 chosen a committee to procure and fit up a suitable place in 
 which to arrange them. 
 
 When the October meeting was held, Mr. A. L. Babcock 
 of Sherborn, a member of the board of directors, gave the 
 synopsis of apian of a visit to British Guiana, contemplated by 
 himself and wife, for the purpose of studying the natural his- 
 tory of the valley of the Demarara river and adjacent country, 
 and procuring specimens. He proposed that the society 
 advance a sum of money toward the expenses of the trip, and 
 receive therefor an equivalent in the form of specimens cf 
 natural history from the collections he would bring home 
 with him ; and his proposition was accepted. 
 
 Another course of lectures was given this season, opened 
 October 16, by Rev. John S. C. Abbott, a brother of the vice- 
 president ; and closed by H. H. Lincoln, Esq., one of the 
 leading teachers of Boston. 
 
A Review of the First Fourteen Years. 11 
 
 This was the third course of lectures given under the 
 auspices of the Society. As all the talent employed came 
 from a distance, there were expenses incurred for each lec- 
 ture, even if the lecturer made no charge for his services, 
 which was the case in several instances. 
 
 One of the honorary members, H. H. Ilunnewcll, Esq., 
 knowing and appreciating the matter of expense, and taking 
 a lively interest in the work and success of the organization, 
 very kindly presented to the directors a check covering the 
 entire cost of each course. 
 
 The third annual meeting was held January i, 1873, and, 
 continued by- adjournment, on the seventh. The reports of 
 the treasurer, librarian and curator showed the affairs of 
 the Society to be in a flourishing condition. 
 
 In view of expected incorporation, some changes were 
 made in the constitution and by-laws, after which, the elec- 
 tion of officers and committees on the several departments of 
 the museum, was in order. 
 
 It soon becoming apparent that all efforts thus far made to 
 procure the incorporation of the Society had proved abortive, 
 a fresh movement was begun toward the end of January, 
 1873, this time under instructions from the State commis- 
 sioner of corporations. 
 
 The subscribers to the agreement of association, which 
 was dated February i, 1883, met, upon due notice, April 11, 
 and again by adjournment, April 14, at which meetings a 
 constitution and by-laws were adopted, and a board of officers 
 elected, after which, Messrs. Jackson Bigelow, Amos P. 
 Cheney and Thomas E. Barry, were chosen a committee to 
 present the necessary papers to the commissioner of corpor- 
 ations and procure the much desired charter. 
 
 The committee attended to their duty, and in due time the 
 certificate of incorporation of the " Historical, Natural 
 History and Library Society of South Natick," was received, 
 bearing date, April 26, 1873. 
 
 This corporation, although composed of members of the 
 
12 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 old Society, and designed to take the place of that organiza- 
 tion, was, in fact, a new and distinct society, with its own 
 constitution, by-laws, ofFxCers and members. 
 
 In May two meetings were held, at which, beside other 
 business, a resolution was adopted in relation to the transfer 
 of the books, collections and other property of the old 
 Society to the new corporation, and it was 
 
 " Voted, That any member of the ' Historical and Natural 
 History Society of Eliot and vicinity,' who shall have paid all 
 dues to that Society up to April i, 1873, may become a mem- 
 ber of this Society by signing its constitution." 
 
 On the second of June following, the Historical and 
 Natural History Society of Eliot and vicinity 
 
 ''Voted, To transfer the cases, books, collections in natural 
 history, together with all other property belonging to this 
 Society, to the ' Historical, Natural History and Library 
 Society of South Natick,' provided, said Society will assume 
 any and all debts and liabilities which this Society may have." 
 
 The new Society held a meeting on the same date, at 
 which the above transfer was accepted, whereupon the old 
 organization was, by vote, dissolved. 
 
 The first bequest left to the Society was received in the 
 summer of this year, from the estate of Prof. John L. Russell, 
 late of Salem. 
 
 This accession included about five thousand botanical 
 specimens, representing the most of the orders of plants ex- 
 cepting ferns, but the collection of mosses, lichens and fungi 
 w^ere very large in proportion, and were particularly valuable 
 acquisitions, as the donor was a specialist in cryptogamous 
 plants, and is still esteemed as an authority upon questions 
 in that department of botany. He gave also some six hun- 
 dred shells, which formed the chief part of the Society's col- 
 lection in that department until 1881. About two hundred 
 and fifty specimens of minerals of very choice varieties 
 were also included in the gift from Prof. Russell. 
 
 During the summer a "seal" was procured. This seal bears 
 
A Rcvieiu of the First Fourteen Years. 1 3 
 
 a design representing the apostle Eliot presenting the Bible 
 to a group of Indians, while all stand beneath the spreading 
 branches of the "Eliot Oak." Below the picture the word 
 and date, "Incorporated 1873," are inscribed, and around 
 the whole is the name, "Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Soc. 
 of So. Natick." 
 
 On November 11, a special meeting was held, at which 
 IMr. A. L. Babcock read a paj^er giving a graphic account of 
 his experiences during " Six months in South America." 
 
 The annual meeting, the next one held, took place, by 
 adjournment, January 21, 1874. 
 
 After the reports of the officers had been rendered and ac- 
 cepted, thirty-one honorary members were elected, being the 
 same persons who had held that relation to the original 
 Society. 
 
 During the year there was greater activity than ever before. 
 Nineteen meetings were held, of which twelve were devoted 
 to lectures, two were public readings, one was for discussion 
 and the others were the regular business meetings. 
 
 The library and museum received considerable accessions, 
 among which were books from public departments at Wash- 
 ington, many valuable public documents from Hon. Henry 
 Wilson, and single volumes from other individuals, beside 
 pamphlets and manuscripts, some of which were rare and 
 valuable. Some choice birds were presented by Brewster & 
 Co. of Boston, two large cases of birds were sent by II. H. 
 Hunnewell, Esq. ; and in return for the money advanced to 
 Mr. A. L. Babcock, before he went to Jiritish Guiana, he 
 brought a large and varied, yet choice collection, including 
 mammals, birds, fishes, reptiles, insects, shells, botanical and 
 mineralogical specimens, also various utensils and ornaments 
 of the native inhabitants of that country. 
 
 In the last quarter of this year, there was received a valu- 
 able donation from Judge G. W. Clinton of Buffalo, N. Y., 
 who sent four hundred and fifty specimens of fungi, carefully 
 put up in little packets. This gift was acknowleged by elect- 
 
14 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 ing the donor an honorary member, at the next meeting. 
 Beside these, there were received beads and other ornaments, 
 some domestic utensils and also two skulls and other bones, 
 with some locks of hair, which are relics of the Natick In- 
 dians. They were found in the trench opened through the 
 village for the pipes of the Natick water w^orks. Alto- 
 gether, the additions were larger this year than during any 
 preceding one. 
 
 The year 1875 was a more quiet one than the preceding, in 
 the annals of the Society. Beside the quarterly meetings, 
 there was a spelling match, — held as an entertainment, April 
 27, to raise funds, — which was successful in all respects. 
 During the last quarter of the year a course of seven lectures 
 and a public reading were given. 
 
 At the close of the year it was found there were five hun- 
 dred and twenty bound volumes, and more than one hundred 
 unbound volumes and pamphlets, with some manuscripts, in 
 the library. There were five hundred and fifteen mounted 
 birds and a good assortment of mammals and other classes 
 of animal forms in that department of the collections. 
 
 The next annual meeting was held, by adjournment, Jan- 
 uary 17, 1876. 
 
 The reports upon the library and museum showed that 
 the collections had become so large as to require additional 
 room : therefore the directors were instructed to procure 
 better accommodations, and also to have five hundred dollars 
 additional insurance placed upon the property of the Society, 
 making the total qne thousand dollars. 
 
 Early in January, an entertainment was given, under the 
 name of " Centennial Hob-Nob," at which a leading feature 
 was the presence of quite a company, representing characters 
 of Mrs. Stowe's book, " Oldtown Folks," who amused those 
 present by rehearsing dialogues, speeches and stories taken 
 from that famous book, the scene of which lies mostly in this 
 village. This entertainment brought into the Society's treas- 
 ury a net profit of more than one hundred and twenty 
 dollars. 
 
A Revteiv of the First Fourteen Years. \h 
 
 The construction of the new Boston water works through 
 the town brought to this place several trained engineers, 
 who, taking a strong interest in this Society and its work, 
 prepared papers upon a variety of scientific subjects, which 
 they read at the meetings, thereby contributing much to 
 make them attractive and profitable to all who attended. 
 
 Five special, beside the regular quarterly, meetings, were 
 held during the year. 
 
 There were two hundred and ten bound volumes, and some 
 twenty-five unbound and pamphlets, added to the library ; 
 among the latter were some rare old historical discourses 
 and documents. The relic and natural history departments 
 received some choice and valuable additions. 
 
 There were eight meetings of the society in the year 1877, 
 at which eleven papers were read, two of them on local his- 
 tory, the others upon the arts and sciences. 
 
 On two occasions there were receptions of c[uite large 
 l^arties of visitors, by appointment. One of these, number- 
 ing about thirty persons, came from the Normal School at 
 Framingham, expressly to inspect the collections made by 
 the Society, and did so with a great deal of interest. The 
 other party included about one hundred and ten members of 
 the Rhode Island Historical Society, from Providence, who, 
 beside visiting the rooms of the Society, went about the vil- 
 lage to see the old homesteads of the early days, and other 
 historic objects, which are still in existence. 
 
 Since this visit, many contributions to library and cabinets 
 have been received from members of the party, as well as 
 from the Rhode Island Historical Society. Indeed, the lat- 
 ter has been a constant, and not infrequent, contributor to 
 the library ever since that time. 
 
 Eighty-one bound volumes, forty-one unbound, and twenty 
 pamphlets, beside files of the local papers, were added to the 
 library during the year 1877. The growth of the other de- 
 partments was in fair proportion. 
 
 The year 1878 was a comparatively quiet one, there being 
 
16 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Soc'y of South Natick. 
 
 but five meetings of the Society. Five papers were read at 
 these meetings. 
 
 In March, an entertainment was given on two successive 
 evenings, and proved so popular as to return a net profit of 
 several dollars to the treasur}^ 
 
 Each department of the museum had more or less acces- 
 sions. Several relics were held to be valuable as memorials 
 of the very early days of this village. One of these was 
 a hand-made wooden mill for grinding the petals of roses, in 
 preparing " rose conserve," a favorite sweet-meat in colonial 
 times. This mill is believed to be two hundred years old. 
 
 The library had grown to eight hundred and seventy-four 
 bound, and one hundred and ninety-four unbound volumes 
 and pamphlets ; also the local papers. 
 
 Among the books were a set of Vice-Pres. Henry Wilson's 
 "Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America " ; also six 
 volumes of " Mass. Colonial Records," presented by Mrs. 
 Barden of Newton. 
 
 In 1879 there were five meetings, but only four papers 
 were read before the Society. 
 
 Early in January notice was received of the death of James 
 Watson Robbins, M.D., of Uxbridge, Mass., and that, in his 
 will, he had directed that certain books from his library, and 
 a portion of his collections in natural history, should be de- 
 livered to this Society, if acceptable. 
 
 The bequest was accepted, and on the loth of May it was 
 received. It included a small collection of choice minerals, 
 about seventy volumes of valuable botanical books, a large 
 number of pamphlets upon special topics of botany, and an 
 herbarium comprising thousands of specimens, representing 
 the flora of nearly all parts of our country and some portions 
 of foreign lands. 
 
 This botanical collection was macie largely in personal visits 
 to the places where they grew, as Dr. Robbins made a tour 
 of New England, and resided at times in Eastern Virginia, 
 in the vicinity of Lake Superior, and in the Gulf States. 
 
A Rivic^v of the First Fourteen Years. 17 
 
 The other portion was ol)tainecl by exchanges with fellow 
 botanists, resident in districts he conld not visit, but with 
 whom he had extensive correspondence. This acquisition 
 raised the botanical department of the Society's museum 
 to the rank of some much older organizations, both in 
 amount, variety and quality. 
 
 Beside the foregoing, some donations of birds were re- 
 ceived, not only of the species common in our own State, but 
 also some from Florida. From Mr. Josiah F. Leach came a 
 fine specimen of the fallow deer, from Barnstable County, 
 Mass., where a small number still exist in the wild state, 
 and from another friend, a life-size bust of Hon. Henry 
 Wilson, late Vice-President of the U. S. 
 
 At the April quarterly meeting Mr. E. M. Marshall of 
 Natick, read a paper upon " Light and Color," with stereop- 
 ticon illustrations by Mr. E. S. Hayes, also of Natick. 
 
 The following action was taken at the July quarterly meet- 
 ing : 
 
 " /Li!\w/7'r<'/, That in the opinion of this Society, the cen- 
 tennial of Natick's incorporation should be observed by 
 appropriate ceremonies, and that this Society will co- 
 operate with the town for that purpose." 
 
 This year was an eventful one in the history of the 
 Society, but it is necessary to go back a little in order to 
 properly state the facts. 
 
 Oliver Bacon, Esq., died, April 3, 1878, at the advanced 
 age of eighty one years and six months. He was a native 
 and life-long resident of this village, was one of the founders 
 and the oldest member of this Society, in the objects and suc- 
 cess of which he had ever manifested a deep interest. By his 
 will, after giving certain legacies to his several heirs-at-law, 
 he gave "all the rest and residue" of his estate, both real 
 and personal, to five persons named, but in trust. These trus- 
 tees were to erect in South Natick, upon a lot of land assigned 
 for the purpose, a fireproof building, at a cost not to exceed 
 fifteen thousand dollars, to be called "The Bacon Free 
 
18 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of Soutli Natick. 
 
 Library." This building was to be of such design as to ac- 
 commodate the proposed free public library, — for the pur- 
 chase, increase, maintenance and care of which, provision 
 was made, — and beside that the trustees were instructed to 
 assign and fit up, in said building, suitable rooms for the use 
 of the Historical, Natural History and Library Society of 
 South Natick. 
 
 By this noble bequest, Mr. Bacon provided for the Society 
 a permanent home, where its collections could be properly 
 arranged both for preservation and examination, and not 
 only rent free, but also without cost of money or care in its 
 erection, or maintenance, thus enabling the Society to apply 
 its entire income to the legitimate objects of its organization. 
 
 But the will was made seven years previous to its publica- 
 tion, and of the five trustees named, but two survived the 
 testator, and one of these being in Europe, declined the trust. 
 A year passed before a full board was organized. Then, as 
 the building must be fire-proof, it required about eighteen 
 months time to erect it, and it was August, i8So, before the 
 work of fitting up the rooms could be commenced. 
 
 The collections of the Society had been arranged in nice, 
 glazed, hard-wood cabinets, which had been procured at an 
 expense of several hundred dollars, to meet which money was 
 borrowed. This debt had been increased by the expenses 
 attending the necessary preparation and care of the rapidly 
 gathered department of natural history. When the rooms 
 in the building were ready to be fitted up, a committee of the 
 Society conferred with the trustees, and an appraisal of the 
 Society's cabinets was had, the amount of which was paid 
 into the Society's treasury. With the money thus obtained 
 the Society was able to nearly pay off its debt, and as the 
 remainder was furnished at. a reduced rate of interest, the 
 prospects seemed bright for the future. 
 
 The new home of the Society was ready for occupancy 
 about the first of December, 1880, and the transfer of the col- 
 lections was commenced. This work was done by the cus- 
 
A Rcviciv of tin- First Foiirti-cit Years. 19 
 
 tdclian and the curator of natural history, and it kept them 
 busy several weeks. 
 
 On the evening of April twenty-seventh, 1881, the " Bacon 
 F'ree Library" building, including both the Library and those 
 portions occupied by this Society, was thrown open for 
 public inspection, and appropriate exercises of dedication 
 were held in the Eliot Unitarian church. 
 
 When the April quarterly meeting took place, it was de- 
 termined to have a "field meeting" on the thirtieth of that 
 month, and Messrs. Klijah Perry, Joshua Parmenter, Rev. J. 
 P. Sheafe, jr.. Rev. Pearse Pinch and M. V. B. Bartlett were 
 chosen a committee of arrangements to prepare for it. An 
 account of the proceedings on that occasion is appended to 
 this sketch. At the October quarterly meeting, it was voted 
 to invite the "Veteran Musical Association of Natick," to 
 visit the museum of the society, and to hold a public "sing" 
 in the Eliot church. It was also voted to provide a collation 
 to be served in the vestry after the concert. The invitation 
 was accepted and the visit was paid on the first of November, 
 when the whole of the Bacon Eree Library building was 
 opened to the visitors, of whom seventy-six recorded their 
 names and ages in the Society's register. The weather be- 
 ing favorable there was a quite large attendance of the mem- 
 bers who all enjoyed the occasion very much. As is often 
 the case, however, there was cause for sadness at this time 
 for, during this meeting, resolutions of respect and con- 
 dolence were adopted upon the death of Charles Bigelow, 
 Esq., president of the association. The president of this 
 Society, Rev. Horatio Alger, was absent, also, from the meet- 
 ing, on account of the protracted sickness, from which he 
 had suffered for nearly a year. 
 
 President Alger died November 6th, 1881, which was the 
 seventy-fifth anniversary of his birth. He was the first pres- 
 ident of the Society and held the office by annual re-election, 
 until his death. His successor was Geo. J. Townsend, M.D., 
 who had been vice-president for several years. 
 
20 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 There were six meetings during the year 1882. Of the 
 two special meetings, one was held February 17th, when a 
 double entertainment was given. The first part was in the 
 museum, where eight microscopes of large power were in 
 position and a variety of objects were shown in each. The 
 second part was in Edward's Hall, Merchant's Block, when 
 Mr. E. S. Hayes of Natick with his large magic lantern and 
 oxy-calcium light, exhibited a large number of beautiful pic- 
 tures, including some objects of natural history and amusing 
 subjects, but mostly views of scenery in our own country 
 and in foreign lands. The second special meeting was a 
 May-day field meeting, the second of this kind held by the 
 Society. A full report of the proceedings will be found in 
 another part of this book. 
 
 A paper upon " The Inchan Grants from the Common 
 Lands in 1719," was read at the October quarterly meeting 
 by Mr. Horace Mann of Natick, who also displayed a map of 
 Natick, on which the location and area of the said grants 
 were depicted. 
 
 The additions to the museum during this year were not 
 large, but somewhat curious. A white specimen of the gan- 
 net, among the birds ; a frog-fish, captured near Peak's 
 Island, Portland harbor ; and some curious butterflies from 
 South America, were among those of the natural history de- 
 partment. A squash presser nearly one hundred years old, 
 a basket, made and ornamented with colors by " Old Patience 
 Pease," some fifty to sixty years ago, and sundry stone uten- 
 sils of Indian make were added to the relics. The library 
 was increased by forty-four bound volumes and thirty-four 
 pamphlets. 
 
 At the annual meeting held January 9th, 1883, it was de- 
 cided to hold another field meeting on the first of May, and 
 a committee of five were chosen to arrange a program and 
 carry it out. The third field meeting was accordingly held, 
 and although the day was windy and rough, there was a large 
 attendance, and the exercises passed off satisfactorily, as will 
 
A Reviczv of the First Fourtcoi Years. 21 
 
 be seen ]^\' the account subjoined. This was the only special 
 meeting of the Society held durinij the year ; and at the reg- 
 ular stated meetings no papers were read, and only routine 
 business transacted. 
 
 Our library contains some nine hundred bound volumes, 
 about one hundred unbound, and nearly seven hundred 
 pamphlets and manuscripts. Of ma])s and charts there are 
 about two dozen, of various sizes, qualities and value. There 
 are also nearly complete files of the Natick Bulletin and the 
 Natick Citizen, which have been donated by the publishers. 
 Of the Boston Daily Journal we have several years issues, 
 nearly complete from March, 1861, through 1865, with occa- 
 sional numbers of earlier and later dates. There is a file of 
 the Norfolk County Gazette, nearly complete through four or 
 five years, with less full additional volumes for three or four 
 years, all of the Gazettes being presented by Hon. Samuel B. 
 Noyes of Canton, Mass., one of our honorary members. 
 Beside these, we have many occasional publications, and 
 odd numbers of magazines, all of more or less historic value. 
 
 The museum comprises about sixty specimens of mammals, 
 and between five and six hundred birds, of which fully one- 
 half are from foreign countries. Of reptiles and batrachians 
 we have between eighty and ninety specimens, several of 
 very rare species. There are less than fifty specimens of 
 fishes, of which about one-half are in alcohol. Between two 
 and three hundred insects represent that class. The collec- 
 tion of shells is a choice one, numbering several hundred 
 specimens, of which nearly one-half are named types. Some 
 rare specimens of corals and sponges have also been secured. 
 In the botanical department the collection, as before stated, 
 is very large for so recently organized a society to possess ; 
 and it is specially rich in ferns, mosses and lichens. In 
 minerals the collection illustrates several departments of 
 geology, and includes fragments of stone from many noted 
 places in the Old World as well as yXmerica. Of relics and 
 curiosities there are many varieties ; but nearly all illustrate 
 
22 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 the daily life or the character of the persons or the commun- 
 ities by whom they were used. The entire collection is one 
 that cannot fail to interest every visitor. 
 
 The Society has had singular success as a collector ; and 
 its future usefulness can be largely augmented, not by the 
 exhibition of its treasures merely, but by using them as illus- 
 trations of instructive lectures or talks upon the departments 
 of study which they represent. 
 
FIRST FIELD-DAY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 i'al, lloi'il iista'i 1111(1 Libi'ii'j Mij i M\ MA. 
 
 BY REV. J. P. SHEAFE, JR. 
 
 The Society held its first field meeting May 2d, 1881. 
 The purpose of this meeting was to visit certain old Indian 
 sites in and about the village, and to note, as opportunity 
 might favor, some localities mentioned in Mrs. Stowe's book 
 of "Old Town Folks." 
 
 A party of about fifty persons assembled at 1.30 p. m., on 
 Pleasant street, near the grave of the Indian preacher, Daniel 
 Takawambpait. The inscription upon his gravestone is brief, 
 but our grateful memory recalls the fact that the Apostle 
 Eliot found him worthy and appointed him to continue the 
 good work when his own hand grew feeble and his eye dim. 
 A reference to Judge Sewall's Diary states that "Daniel 
 Takawambpait was ordained November, 1689, ye first Indian 
 minister." From this spot, where the dust of the Indian 
 preacher mingles with the earth under our feet, and the 
 Eliot monument close at hand speaks of a noble life conse- 
 crated to the cause of the red men — from this spot we start 
 in search of the places which were once the habitations of 
 the sons of the forest. 
 
 The route lay along Pleasant street toward the river ; and 
 the first locality of interest was a place where, if "Old Town 
 Folks" are to be credited, the Indians always found a warm 
 welcome. It was the site of Dea. Badger's' house, which 
 
 1 Keal name, Deacon William Bigelow. 
 
24 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 stood near the south-east corner of what is now the Library 
 grounds. The Indians never called in vain at the Deacon's 
 door : they always found some wholesome fare and the inevit- 
 able mug of cider. 
 
 The attention of the party was next called to the little island 
 which forms the centre of the dam, familiarly known as " Hor- 
 ace Holyoke'si study." A few steps farther bring us to the 
 canal bridge ; and here, only a few feet from the street, a small 
 stone monument is pointed out as marking the place where 
 Dea. Joseph Ephraim lived. Dea. Ephraim was an Indian of 
 estimable character and Christian virtues, who served the 
 church as one of its deacons during the ministry of Parson 
 Lothrop^ of " Old Town Folks." Continuing the route up 
 Glen street as far as the house of Mary Halpen, we noted the 
 spot where John Ephraim, brother of Dea. Ephraim, lived. 
 To the east of this site, and on the Hartwell estate, were 
 found the remains of three Indian cellar holes. Over one 
 of these the Hartwell house now stands. 
 
 The next halt was made near the rear of the house owned by 
 Mr. P. G. Branagan. In the immediate vicinity, Mr. Luther 
 Titus pointed out four Indian sites, he having assisted a few 
 years since in filling them up. A little farther on we reach 
 what is known as the Indian Farm, purchased some time 
 since by Mr. H. H. Hunnewell. Here are three Indian sites 
 indicated by their stone monuments. The first monument, 
 marked No. 2, shows us where Hannah Dexter, the far famed 
 Indian doctress, lived. In the early part of the present cen- 
 tury Hannah Dexter was a well-known character in all this 
 region, and was sent for far and near, as she had the reputa- 
 tion of effecting wonderful cures. She met a tragic death, 
 however, on the evening of December 6th, 1821, by being 
 pushed into the fire by her grandson, Joseph Purchase. 
 After much delay Purchase was sentenced December 6th, 
 1824, to three years in the State Prison. At the expiration 
 
 1 Real name, Prof. Calvin E. Slowe. 
 
 2 Real name, Rev. Stephen Badger. 
 
A Rcvi('7v of the First Fojtrtcoi Years. 25 
 
 of the sentence he returned. l)ut for some offence he was 
 again imprisoned and died shortly after. 
 
 Monument No. 3, at the eastern part of the farm, marks 
 a cellar hole still plainly to be seen, and monument No. 4, at 
 the western end, denotes a locality where the Indians lived 
 as recently as 1833. 
 
 Vxo\\\ the Intlian Farm we make our way to the residence 
 of Mr. James D. Draper. This house was built over the 
 cellar where once the home of Deborah Comeches stood. 
 There is an old pear tree still standing near the house ; and if 
 its whispering leaves could only find intelligible speech it 
 might tell us many a strange story of this race which, once 
 so numerous here, will soon know these scenes no more. 
 Mr. Draper has in his possession a rude earthern cup which 
 without doubt was used by the Indians. The cup was found 
 several years ago when removing some deposit from the 
 bottom of the well. 
 
 The next move of the party was toward Pegan Hill, where 
 several Indian sites and cellars were examined. Near the 
 summit of the hill we found the spot where lived the well- 
 known Thomas Pegan, from whom the hill derives its name. 
 
 After feasting the eyes with the far reaching, beautiful 
 views of hills and mountains, lakes and river, we begin the 
 return. Passing down Pegan lane we find on the way three 
 more of these Indian cellar holes, neglected, forsaken spots, 
 suggesting, in their melancholy silence, a fading and soon to 
 become extinct race. The last of the Indian localities vis- 
 ited by the party was near the house of Mr. W. L. Colburn. 
 The Indian who lived here was known as Chalcom. 
 
 The interest of the party was real and enthusiastic 
 throughout the trip, and returning to the place whence we 
 started it was found that nineteen Indian localities had been 
 visited. 
 
26 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 HOMES OF EARLY WHITE SETTLERS ON THE 
 ROUTE OF FIRST FIELD-DAY EXCURSION. 
 
 BY ELIJAH PERRY. 
 
 The Pegan Hill Farm, adjoining the Indian Farm on the 
 south-east, was owned and occupied by Thomas Ellis. We 
 find in the early records that Mr. Ellis was tything-man in 
 1733. He lived many years on this place and died here July 
 19th, 1749. 
 
 Enoch Draper came in possession of this farm in 1792, 
 at the time that the farm next south, now owned by John 
 Bachelder, was used as a small pox hospital. Mr. Draper 
 lived here until Jan. 24, 1822, when he died, aged 59 years. 
 Reuben Draper succeeded his father as owner of this farm, 
 and died here Sept. 6th, 1853, aged 64 years. His widow, 
 aged 91 years, is still living on one part of the farm.^ George 
 B. Hale, who now resides on it, came into possession April, 
 1857. 
 
 The Hanchett Farm, long known as the Morse Farm, was 
 originally purchased of the Indians, who probably lived on it 
 before they sold to David Morse in 1761. David Morse sold 
 to his son Joseph ; Joseph gave it in his will to his sons 
 Benjamin and Joseph, and they, in 1792, deeded it to their 
 brother William, who reared a family of five children and 
 June 4th, 1 8 16, sold to Elijah Perry. It remained in the 
 Perry family till 1856 (forty years), when it was sold to Wm. 
 T. Hanchett, who still occupies it. The first house, proba- 
 bly built by the Indians, stood a few rods north of the pres- 
 ent house, and near the garden walls. The well to this 
 house is yet in existence — covered with a flat stone, and 
 that with earth. The second house stood a few rods in front 
 of the first, was a one-story red Kouse with a large chimney 
 in the center. Mr. Hanchett put up an entire set of new, 
 commodious buildings, taking the old ones down. Descend- 
 
 1 She died Jan. 21, 1884, aged 91 years, 3 months and 6 days. 
 
A Reviciv of tJic First Foiirteoi Years. 27 
 
 ants of the Morse family who live in the vicinity take a live- 
 ly interest in their ancestral home. Three brothers of \Vm. 
 Morse in the early part of this century emigrated to central 
 New York, where they acquired not only wealth but an hon- 
 orable position in society. 
 
 The Wiggin Farm was originally owned by Nathaniel Bat- 
 tell previous to 1795, when it was sold by his heirs to Elijah 
 Perry, who lived upon it till 1845, when he died, making his 
 occupancy fifty years ; then by Calvin Perry ten years ; the 
 next ten years by Elijah Perry, Jr., who sold to H. S. Ed- 
 wards ; and Edwards sold to David Wiggin, who owned it in 
 1 88 1. Mr. Wiggin, taking down a good set of commodious 
 buildings, replaced them with more spacious and costly, 
 but not as convenient buildings. 
 
 The Asa Bacon Farm lies north of the Indian Farm and 
 was owned by Mr. Bacon a number of years in the i8th cen- 
 tury, and by his widow with two sons and a daughter up to 
 1829, when she died, and the sons and daughter emigrated to 
 Rutland, Vt. It has had various owners, but the buildings 
 and a portion of the land are now (in 1883) owned by Ernest 
 Wignot. This farm lay a half mile from any public way, 
 until 1856, when Glen street was built, and a public way was 
 made to Glenwood Cemetery, which was originally a part of 
 this farm. 
 
 The place now owned by the Flax Leather Board Co., and 
 occupied by George Foster, was long owned by Mr. Isaac 
 Bigelow. The house was a one-story gambrel-roof. In this 
 house a family of four sons and two daughters were reared. 
 In 1825 Mr. Bigelow took down the old house and built the 
 present one. On these same premises stood the house of 
 Dea. Joseph Ephraim, near the canal. Its site is now marked 
 by a small stone monument. John ICphraim lived where the 
 Halpen house now stands ; and for many years the house 
 was occupied by Iq)hraim Whitney — or "Uncle Eph," the 
 cobbler. 
 
SECOND FIELD-DAY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 )!] aiiJ Lilirarj Soeietj of Sootli Natid; 
 
 May I, 1882. 
 
 The Library and Museum of the Society, in their rooms 
 in the Bacon Free Library building, were open free to all 
 visitors from ten to 12 o'clock a. m. 
 
 At one o'clock p. m. the company assembled near the 
 Eliot Unitarian Church, to the number of about two hundred 
 persons. The president of the Society, Dr. George J. Town- 
 send, being unavoidably absent, the meeting was called to 
 order by .the chairman of the committee of arrangements, 
 Elijah Perry, Esq., who spoke as follows : 
 
 " Ladies and Gentlemen : We, the members of the Histori- 
 cal, Natural History and Library Society of South Natick, 
 with our many friends, have met on this our second annual 
 field-day, to look over the ancient ' Old Town ' localities, and 
 try to pick up a few scraps of history that may be of interest 
 to the present and future generations. There has long been 
 felt a desire that the localities named in Mrs. Stowe's book 
 of "Oldtown Folks" be pointed out : and this we intend to 
 do to-day, as far as we go. While there are a number of 
 persons living who remember persons and localities named 
 in the book, it is believed that there is but one person living 
 who is made to appear in it, viz. : Prof. Calvin E. Stowe (as 
 'Horace Holyoke'), who was born here and has known these 
 historic grounds. Friends, we heartily welcome you on this 
 beautiful day to our field-day party." 
 
 The several places described in the following pages were 
 visited in the same order as here arranged. 
 
Second Fit Id-Day. 29 
 
 THE INDIAN BURYING GROUND. 
 
 KEV. J. P. SHEAFE, JR. 
 
 In selecting a spot for the burial of the dead, it was a cus- 
 tom among the Indians to choose a warm, sunny slope ; and 
 whenever such a spot could be found on the shore of a lake, 
 or, still better, on the bank of a running stream, it was es- 
 pecially pleasing to the Indian mind. 
 
 It will readily appear that the place where we now stand 
 would meet most admirably the conditions of the ideal 
 Indian Burying Ground a southern slope where the river, 
 unobstructed by dam or fall, sang ever its low and soothing 
 melody. This place was chosen at a very early date, and 
 set apart as a place sacred to the memory of the dead. 
 Where the old town pump stood for so many years, and 
 where the drinking fountain now stands, is about the centre 
 of the burying ground ; and as far as the present sources of 
 information avail, the boundaries may be given as follows : 
 
 Beginning with the Eliot Oak, ^ at the east side of the 
 Unitarian Church, and extending in a straight line to a 
 point near the corner of the school yard, just in the rear of 
 the church, thence the bound sweeps round toward the far- 
 ther end of Merchants' Block, the residence of Mr. I. B. 
 Clark ; from this point we follow across the street in front of 
 the Bacon Free Library, and down over the green in the 
 rear of the building nearly to the south-east corner of the 
 enclosure, where, in times gone by, stood the residence of 
 the Old Town Deacon Badger. 
 
 From this point we run the line back again to the Eliot 
 Oak, from which we started, including on the way the grave 
 of Daniel Takavvambpait, the head-stone of which may be 
 seen in the edge of the side walk near the front of the resi- 
 dence of Mrs. White. The foot stone, with the name of the 
 Indian preacher inscribed, has been placed, with many other 
 historic stones, in the wall of the Bacon Free Library. 
 
 1 Sec the article upon tlie "Eliot Oal<," appeiulefl to '• Sfcoiid IMcId-Day " jiapers. 
 
30 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 Looking at this spot as it presents itself to-day, with its 
 wide and much-traveled highways centering here, there is 
 little to suggest the secluded quietness of an -Indian burial 
 place. The change which has come to the inhabitants of 
 this valley has transformed also the face of the earth. Civi- 
 lization has laid its hand upon this spot, and the word of an- 
 cient writ has been fulfilled, — " The valley has been exalted 
 and the hills made low." 
 
 Let the imagination picture what the memory fails to 
 grasp, and you shall see this place in 165 1, when the apostle 
 Eliot and the Indians located here — a smooth, rolling slope 
 from the heights of Carver Hill down to the bank of the 
 stream. When at length the roads were laid out, they were 
 not exactly as at present located. The street from Welles- 
 ley {or West Needham, as it was then called) did not extend 
 in front of the church as now, but turned toward the north, 
 passing at the rear of the church and on to the north part 
 of the town. 
 
 The Sherborn road, the ancient records inform us, lay 
 farther to the west, passing in the rear of what is now the 
 estate of Mr. John Robbins, back of the school-house as it 
 now stands, and meeting the West Needham road a short 
 distance beyond. 
 
 The place whereon we stand was holy ground ; and it is 
 only with the increase of business and traffic that the busy 
 feet and laboring wheels have made thoroughfares over these 
 sacred relics of a race almost though not entirely extinct. 
 
 To my knowledge there is but one Indian grave-stone now 
 standing in this place to mark the spot and record the name 
 of a son of the forest, whose dust reposes here. That one 
 stone which now remains was erected to the memory of 
 Daniel Takawambpait, an Indian preacher whom the apostle 
 Eliot ordained to assist him in the years of failing' strength 
 and to carry on the work when his departure was at hand. 
 
 This Indian preacher died Sept. 17, 1716, as the humble 
 slab relates ; and the stone may be seen by the fence near 
 
Second Fie I (/-Day. 31 
 
 the front of Mrs. White's residence. The Eliot monument 
 on the common betokens the grateful memory of the apos- 
 tle's labors here. 
 
 Had the record been preserved, we might to-day point 
 with a feeling of melancholy interest to the graves of such 
 as Thomas Waban and Thomas, Jr., Deacon and Joseph 
 Ephraim, one of the deacons of the church at the time the 
 Rev. Oliver Peabody was minister here. John Sj^een and 
 all his kindred lie here ; this was the Indian family who 
 formerly owned nearly all the land of the original town ; and 
 they gave it to the public interest here, that the praying 
 Indians might have a town. 
 
 The names of many others who have been conspicuous in 
 the early history of this town deserve honorable mention 
 here, such as Samuel and Andrew Abraham, Simon Ephraim, 
 Solomon Thomas, Benjamin Tray, Thomas Pegan (for whom 
 Pegan Hill was named), Joshua Bran, the Indian doctor : 
 these and many more have their names and deeds written in 
 the sacred dust of this consecrated spot. 
 
 When Mr. William Biglow, in 1830, wrote his excellent, 
 though brief, history of Natick, he states that within his 
 memory the remains of Indians were brought to this burying 
 ground and deposited beneath the green slope of yonder 
 common. 
 
 It is hardly possible to this day to remove the earth any- 
 where within the limits described without opening these 
 Indian graves. When the present face wall was built around 
 the church green, many of these graves were disturbed ; and 
 when the water pipes were laid through the street, from the 
 church to Merchants' Block, they passed directly over a 
 long row of Indian graves. 
 
 It is a well-known fact that the Indians have a custom of 
 burying various articles in the grave with the departed. 
 Many of these things have been found in the graves that 
 have been opened — articles such as beads, spoons, Indian 
 pipes, a glass bottle and Indian kettle. Many of these relics 
 
32 Histoi'ical, N'at. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 have been preserved, and may be seen in the historic collec- 
 tion of this villag:e. 
 
 THE OLD CEMETERY. 
 
 REV. J. P. SHEAFE, JR. 
 
 The burying ground commonly referred to by us as the Old 
 Cemetery, to distinguish it from the new one consecrated 
 but a few years ago, is a piece of land lying close to the 
 northern limit of the Indian burying ground. It was granted 
 by the Proprietors of Natick to the Rev. Oliver Peabody and 
 his successors June 22d, 1731, and for the use also of other 
 English inhabitants. It is an historic spot made memorable 
 as the resting place of many old and time-honored families 
 of this village. Such family names as Bigelow (spelled then 
 without the "e," Biglow), Bacon, Jones, Stowe, Sawin, Thayer 
 and Broad : these names, with others that might have hon- 
 orable mention, call up an ancestry of which the present 
 generation need not be ashamed. As this burying ground 
 was granted to Rev. Oliver Peabody, the English minister 
 who succeeded John Eliot in 1721, you would expect to find 
 his name among these who here, "Have laid them down to 
 their last sleep." You will not be disappointed. A very 
 plain and humble slab, mos's grown with more than a hun- 
 dred years, with its Latin inscription commemorates the vir- 
 tues, the wisdom and devoted labors of this Christian 
 minister. 
 
 His four children were buried here. On one of the stones 
 we find the name of David Morse, born in 1696, worthy of 
 note as being the third white settler in this place — John 
 Sawin being the first, and Jonathan Carver the second. 
 
 Many of the characters who were once conspicuous figures 
 in the life of this village have been immortalized in Mrs. 
 Stowe's "Old Town Folks." The names of some of these 
 characters who have found their resting place in this spot 
 
Second Ficld-Day. 33 
 
 shall have mention now. Having some slight prefLM-eiice for 
 the clergy, I begin with Parson I.othrop, whose real name 
 was Stephen Badger ; and an inscription upon his stone gives 
 the following statement, "As a tribute of affectionate respect 
 this stone is placed while memorv fond, each virtue shall 
 renew." 
 
 Lady Lothrop was not buried here, but you will note the 
 grave of Dr. Thayer, her family physician, and also of Anna 
 Moore, an attendant in the house. Call to your mind, also, 
 the character of Dea. Badger and wife, whose real names 
 were Dea. Wm. Biglow and wife. 
 
 In mentioning the name of good Parson Lothrop and wife, 
 we must not fail to remember one who, with a conscientious 
 fidelity and a uniform courtesy always acceptable, adminis- 
 tered the temporal affairs for Lady Lothrop in her declining 
 years. The name of John Atkins will ever remind us of a 
 pillar of strength in every good cause. 
 
 Remember, also. Uncle Bill, Dea. l^adger's son, who used 
 to come home from college and stir up the boys with all sorts 
 of stories and college frolics, and make Sunday afternoon a 
 little more cheerful than Aunt Lois thought was proper, 
 though even she did enjoy seeing his cheerful face and hear- 
 ing his merry laugh. 
 
 Uncle Bill, really the son of Dea. I^iglow, was the author 
 of the history of Natick before alluded to. Uncle Bill and 
 his sister, and Aunt Lois, also have their resting place re- 
 corded in this ancient cemetery. There are many other 
 names that might have honorable mention. Col. Jones, who 
 was John Jones, Esq., Maj. Broad, really Hezakiah Broad. 
 Not by any means the least, but the last to be mentioned, is 
 the father, mother and brother of Prof. Calvin E. Stowe, 
 who, as a boy and young man, is found as Horace Holyoke 
 in "Old Town l^\)lks." Though the father, mother and 
 brother here repose, thanks to a kindly jirovidence, the 
 illustrious Horace Holyoke is still among the living. I said 
 thj last, but when I mention the names of the illustrious 
 
34 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 and the faithful, I cannot omit one other name, whose face 
 and faithful labor are still fresh in memory, and I close this 
 sketch of the old cemetery with the name of Rev. Horatio 
 Alger, who with three of his family are resting here. 
 
 THE OLD MEETING HOUSES. 
 
 BY REV. J. P. SHEAFE, JR. 
 
 The first meeting house erected upon this spot was a 
 plain wooden house, 25x50 ft., of English style, and two 
 stories in height. 
 
 John Eliot went into the forest himself with the Indians 
 while they felled and squared the timber, and then the 
 Indians carried the timbers on their shoulders to the place 
 of building. One white carpenter assisted in raising the 
 building, and it was soon completed. That was in 165 1. 
 
 As this building was to serve the place of church and 
 schoolhouse, store and study, it must be a safe place, so they 
 surrounded it with a large handsome fort, circular in form, 
 and palisaded with the trees. This was the first meeting 
 house. 
 
 In 1699 the Indians petitioned the general court, saying, 
 " Our church is fallen down, and we wish to sell to John 
 Coller, Jr., carpenter, a small nook of our plantation, to pay 
 him for erecting a new meeting house." John Coller went 
 forward with the work, and was obliged, as he says, to expose 
 his own estate for sale to meet the expense of building the 
 house, and in 1702 the General Court granted him the land 
 upon which he was already living, as pay for building the 
 meeting house. 
 
 This was the second house on this spot built about 1700. 
 The evidence for this you will find in the files at the State 
 house. 
 
 A new minister, Mr. Oliver Peabody, comes in 1721 to 
 live and labor in this Indian settlement. It is a great event. 
 
Second Fiild-Day. 36 
 
 and great enthusiasm prevails. As a matter of course, the 
 Coller meeting house is only 21 years old, but a new minis- 
 ter must have a new meeting house. On the old records we 
 read that in 1720 a meeting of the people was called to con- 
 sider the plan of a new meeting house. A committee was 
 chosen and empowered to have the new house built near the 
 spot where the old one stood. Surely they would not em- 
 power the committee to build a new house near where the 
 old one stood, if they meant by it that the committee were 
 to repair and refit the old house as some have supposed. 
 But it is evident that the work of building the new house 
 was carried forward at once, for on the 13th of September, 
 1721, the record says, a meeting of the proprietors was 
 properly named, at which time they granted unto Moses 
 Smith, of Needham, 40 acres of land on the southerly side 
 of Pegan Hill, said land to pay for finishing the meeting 
 house. 
 
 This was the Peabody meeting house, and the third on 
 this spot ; and when the people went in and out on Sunday, 
 they used to step across the ditch which surrounded the 
 circular fort in the days of Eliot. 
 
 The fourth meeting house is the Badger house, or the Par- 
 son Lothrop church, which was raised on June 8, 1749; and 
 John Jones, deacon of the church, made the record at the 
 time. But affairs were in a troublous state. The Indians 
 and the English interests were divided, and the Badger 
 meeting house was not entirely finished till 1767. This 
 house remained standing, though in a sorry condition, until 
 1812, when the young men in an election frolic pulled it 
 down and distributed it upon the neighboring wood piles. 
 
 Thus ended the fourth meeting house ; and after the lapse 
 of si.xteen years, the present edifice was erected, and dedi- 
 cated November 20, 1828 — the fifth meeting house upon 
 this spot, and a lineal descendent of the VX\cA church, which 
 name it bears. 
 
36 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of Soiith Natick. 
 
 THE OLD ELIAKIM MORRILL TAVERN. 
 
 BY S. B. NOYES, OF CANTON. 
 (Grandson of Eliakim Morrill.) 
 
 On the 29th of April, 1782 (one hundred years ago), my 
 maternal Grandfather, Eliakim Morrill, made his first pur- 
 chase of two and one-quarter acres and thirty-three rods of 
 land of the heirs of Jonathan Carver, which land is now 
 occupied by this (Bailey's) hotel building, Mrs. Bailey's 
 dwelling, J. H. Robbin's dwelling, and the school-house 
 buildings and yard. 
 
 On this land he built a tavern which he kept for seven- 
 teen years, followed by Ebenezer Newell, David Dana, 
 Peter Twichell, Luther Dana, John Brown, Samuel Jones, 
 Calvin Shephard, Job Brooks, William Drake, Daniel Cham- 
 berlain, John Oilman, James Whittemore. Goin Bailey took 
 it in 1849 ^"^^ ^SP^ it tii^ ^"'is death in 1875. The tavern 
 which Eliakim Morrill built stood till March 2, 1872, when 
 it was destroyed by fire, and Mr. Bailey erected this hotel 
 on the old site in 1873. It has become famous, and is 
 known throughout the country and is visited by persons from 
 all parts of the United States ; not only for its salubrious 
 location and the historical renown of the town but also for 
 the picturesque and charming scenery of its neighborhood 
 and the excellence of its management. And yet probably it 
 does not so fill the public eye, nor is it so much a part of the 
 life of the people as was the humble, unpretentious Inn, 
 before which the sign board swung, in those first seventeen 
 years, when Eliakim Morrill, and Ruth (Russell) his wife, 
 dispensed its hospitality and entertained weary and hungry 
 travelers, sheltering man and beast from the storms of win- 
 ter ; when fires of hickory and oak wood blazed upon the 
 wide open hearth, in the low-studded " common room," and 
 the loggerheads were heating in the coals, and the fragrant 
 smell of the turkeys, or beef, or pork roasting on the spit 
 
Second Field- Day. 37 
 
 before the open fire place in the kitchen filled all the house. 
 There were no rail-roads and no stage-coaches then, and 
 nearly all the travel on this road between the cities of Bos- 
 ton and New York, was on horseback or in rude wagons. 
 
 Whatever idea of my grandfather may have been con- 
 ceived by the readers of the caricature of him in that re- 
 markable book, " Old Town Folks " (announced to be the 
 production of Harriet, daughter of the late Rev. Lyman 
 Beecher, D. D., who became the wife of a learned and dis- 
 tinguished Professor of Sacred Literature, born and bred in 
 this village, the incidents of whose early life are well known 
 to me) : this may be said of him, that he and his wife, Ruth 
 Russell, were praying christians ; and my mother, Elizabeth 
 Morrill, who was born in the front north-east chamber of 
 the old tavern in 1788, and her brother, Joseph Morrill, who 
 was born there two years later, were accustomed to attend 
 the family prayers in that room, which their father never 
 omitted, morning or evening, till his last sickness and death 
 in 1825, in the Dedham village. I can recall his manner of 
 conducting this devotional exercise in my early boyhood, 
 when he used to read a chapter in Scott's Family Bible, and 
 then pausing, he would say, " Practical Observations," and 
 read what those who are familiar with that Bible will recog- 
 nize. He was a good man, was born in Wilmington, Mass., 
 and was the son of Rev. Isaac Morrill, who was the son of 
 Abraham Morrill, of Salisbury, Mass., who came to New 
 England in 1632, was a member of the Ancient and Honor- 
 able Artillery in 1638, came to Salisbury in 1650, and there 
 died in 1682. 
 
 Jacob Morrill, his son, was the representative from Salis- 
 bury in 16S9. Rev. Isaac Morrill, son of Jacob, was born 
 at Salisbury May 20, 1718, was graduated at Harvard 
 College in 1737, settled in the ministry at Wilmington, 
 Mass., May 20, 1741, died August 17, 1793, leaving five 
 sons, Isaac, Eliakim, James, William and Nathaniel, and two 
 daughters, Nabby and Dolly. Isaac studied medicine and 
 
38 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 settled in that part of the town set off to Needham, and 
 died at the age of 93 in the village of Wellesley. James 
 became an opulent East India merchant, at the head of 
 India wharf, Boston, and was deacon of the First Church in 
 1825. Nathaniel lived on the homestead in Wilmington. 
 William was a physician in the western part of the State. 
 Eliakim was born in 1751, and was thirty-one years of age 
 when he built the Old Tavern. He removed from Natick 
 to Dedham about the year 1799. He and his household 
 were members of the ancient First Church of Dedham dur- 
 ing the pastorate of Rev. Joshua Bates. When Mr. Bates, 
 in 181 8, left the pastorate to become the President of 
 Middlesex College, Vt., and a successor was ordained by the 
 parish without the vote of the church, the majority of the 
 church seceded and formed a new society, known to-day as 
 the "Allen Church," having taken the name of the first 
 minister of the Dedham church, Rev. John Allen, in 1638? 
 He went with them and was a pillar in the new church to 
 the day of his death, in 1825. The late Rev. Ebenezer 
 Burgess, D. D., who was ordained first pastor of the new 
 society in 1821, in a note to a centennial discourse delivered 
 by him Nov. 8, 1838, mentions Eliakim Morrill as one of the 
 aged members of the church who had died within a few 
 years, "whose names are written in the book of life." He 
 could not have been of the frivolous character depicted in 
 "Old Town Folks." He died forty years before the book 
 was published. Calvin Stowe hardly ever saw him after he 
 left Natick for Dedham in 1799, and Harriet Beecher never 
 saw him. The traditions of Eliakim Morrill in the Bigelow 
 family, as related by the mother of Prof. Stowe, are too 
 shadowy, too much colored by the peculiar eccentric love of 
 mirth which characterized William Biglow and Calvin Stowe, 
 and William Stowe his brother, to be believed as truth. 
 Let us honor our ancestry by disbelieving it. But let that 
 pass. This old tavern stand will never cease to be an inter- 
 esting spot in this town. The old tavern was famous in its 
 
Second Field-Day. 39 
 
 clay and generation, like the Inns made famous in London 
 by Ben Johnson and Sir Walter Raleigh and Shakespeare, 
 Beaumont and Sam Johnson, Goldsmith, Cooper and Dick- 
 ens. I delight to dwell upon its picture as presided over 
 by my grandfather, — not as he was in his old age, when 
 he used to take me with him in a square-topped " one-horse 
 shay" from Dedluim to Boston, a distance of ten miles, and 
 back in the same day ; he, dressed in short clothes, black 
 silk stockings, silver knee buckles and shoe buckles ; we 
 stopped at every tavern on the road, — but as a younger man, 
 a host on hospitable thoughts intent, as he was always in his 
 later years. I associate his Inn with the Inn sung by the 
 polished muse of William Shenstone in the lines : 
 
 WRITTEN AT AN INN AT HENLEY. 
 
 To thee, fair Freedom! I retire 
 
 From flattery, card.s and dice, and din; 
 
 Nor art thou found in mansion.s liigher 
 Thau tlie low cot or huinl)Ie Inn. 
 
 'Tis here with boundless jiower I reign; 
 
 And every health which I begin 
 Converts dull i)ort to bright champagne: 
 
 Such freedom crowns it, at an Inii. 
 
 T fly from pomp, I fly from plate! 
 
 I fly from Falsehood's specious grin! 
 Freedom I love, and form I hate, 
 
 And choose my lodgings at an Inn. 
 
 Here, waiter! take my sordid ore, 
 
 Which lackeys else miglit hope to win; 
 
 It l)uys what courts have not in store — 
 It buys me freedom at an Inn. 
 
 Who'er has travelled life's dull round, 
 Where'er his stages may have been. 
 
 May sigh to think he still has found 
 The warmest welcome at an Inn. 
 
 The present keeper of this Inn, Almond Bailey, is a worthy 
 son of a worthy sire, and still maintains the good name of 
 the old tavern, !)uilt by Eliakim Morrill, in 1782. 
 
40 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 MERCHANT'S BLOCK. 
 
 BY WM. EDWARDS. 
 
 There is but little that can be said of this spot, except 
 that it was once owned by Samuel Stowe, who occupied it 
 as a dwelling and a bake shop. It was here that Prof. Stowe 
 was born. Isaac B. Clark, our well-known trader and citizen, 
 bought the land with a small building of a Mr. Milroy a 
 tailor, in 1842, since which it has been occupied by him and 
 myself. In i860 Mr. Clark moved off the old buildings and 
 built a new store, which was burned in 1872, and was the 
 same year replaced by this building. It may not be out of 
 place here to relate an anecdote that took place between two 
 rival families. Mr. G. kept a dry goods store, with groceries, 
 rum, gin, brandy, etc., on the north side, while Mr. E., with 
 the same kinds of goods, occupied the opposite side of the 
 street. Being opposite traders, it became very easy for 
 them to become opponents in trade. Once on a time rob- 
 bers broke into the store of Mr. G. These robbers took 
 down all the valuable goods, tied them in bundles, and then 
 went off and left them on the counter, which was a great 
 wonder to the people, till Mr. E. explained the mystery by 
 saying, " He has always marked his goods so high that even 
 his own friends wouldn't take them." 
 
 THE EBENEZER NEWELL HOUSE. 
 
 BY AMOS P. CHENEY. 
 
 Among the heirs at law of the estate of Jonathan Carver 
 of this town were two spinsters, the Misses Lydia and Abi- 
 gail Carver. In November, 1795, these ladies sold this lot of 
 land to Ebenezer Newell, a butcher, who probably built this 
 house soon after that date, and dwelt here about twenty-one 
 years. Mr. Newell's children, including two sons and six 
 
Sccoud Field-Day. 41 
 
 daughters, may be esteemed a remarkable family : for while 
 one son was content to follow his father's calling, the other 
 children were more ambitious. The son William became a 
 Doctor of Divinity, and his sisters, who, chiefly by their own 
 exertions, secured for themselves superior education, fitting 
 them to grace high social positions, became distinguished as 
 teachers ; and the husbands of those who were married were 
 eminent men in the church and other walks in life. 
 
 Mellen Battle, the next owner, bought the estate Novem- 
 ber i6, 1816. He was an ingenious mechanic, and invented 
 some improvement in wheels, or method of manufacturing 
 them, which led to the erection of a factory at the southerly 
 end of the dam in this village, for the purpose of supplying 
 the market with his goods. But this enterprise proved a 
 failure, and in consequence Mr. Battle's title to this house 
 and land passed into the hands of Mr. Warren White, who 
 sold to Calvin Shepherd in 1822. 
 
 Mr. Shepherd owned the adjoining estate, on which Mer- 
 chant's Block now stands, and was at different times a paper 
 maker, a trader, and also landlord of the tavern. He after- 
 ward removed to Framingham, and engaged in trade there ; 
 but becoming insolvent, his property was transferred to 
 Messrs. Macomber and Sawin, merchants in Boston, and by 
 that firm it was sold to Martin Broad. 
 
 Mr. Broad was a man of energy, and as a farmer and a 
 butcher he did a large business and gave employment to 
 quite a force of men during a long term of years. His 
 social standing was high, and his house, famed for its lavish 
 hospitality, was the frequent resort of the best society of 
 this and neighboring towns during the time he occupied it. 
 
 In 1850 or early in the following year, Messrs. J. and W. 
 Cleland purchased the estate, and Mr. John Cleland made it 
 his home until his removal to Natick village in 1852. 
 
 Since that time it has had several owners, among them 
 Albert Mann, who manufactured shoes here several years ; 
 also Aaron Claflin of Milford, bv whom it was sold at 
 
42 Historical, NaT. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 auction in 1865 or thereabout, Mr. Patrick Welch becoming 
 the owner. It has been a tenement house from that time to 
 the present. 
 
 SAMUEL LAWTON. 
 
 BY ELIJAH PERRY 
 
 Samuel Lawton (Lawson of " Old Town " notoriety) pur- 
 chased this land (deed dated June 6, 1798), and soon after 
 built the house as it now stands, except that it has been 
 moved back 16 feet. He used the basement for a black- 
 smith's shop. Lawton* occupied this place until 181 2, when 
 it was sold to Mr. Benjamin Bird, a blacksmith from Need- 
 ham, who resided here till his death, in 1836. His heirs 
 continued to occupy it till 1867, when they sold to the pres- 
 ent owner, Mr. William Selfe. Nearly opposite, in a north- 
 erly direction, stood a small house of one story, with base- 
 ment below the road, which had been occupied by Mr. 
 Thomas Holbrook, a gunsmith. On leaving his former resi- 
 dence, Lawton moved into this place, and here lived until 
 1828, when he moved to Lower Falls, Newton, and died 
 January 22, 1862, aged 88 years. 
 
 When Lawton left his basement shop, he had another 
 built for him near the large oak. The materials for that 
 building had previously formed part of the house of Coma- 
 cho, an Indian, on the site of Mr. James D. Draper's 
 house on Began Hill. When Lawton removed to Newton 
 Lower Falls, his shop was taken down and went with him. 
 
Sirof/(/ Ficld-Dav. 43 
 
 THE CARVf£R HOUSE AND FAAHLY. 
 
 BV MRS. MARV P. RICllAROS. 
 
 The Carver family was among the first settlers in this 
 place, and acconlini;- to the best liij^ht which we now have, it 
 was the second in order of time. 
 
 The Carver house, too, was one of the first frame houses 
 erected in this wilderness, at a period when red men consti- 
 tuted the principal population. It is situated on the south- 
 east slope of Carver Hill, which took the name which it now 
 bears from its first white proprietors. The descent of the 
 hill is gradual to Charles river, intersected by the Main 
 street ; and this slope, commanding views of variegated 
 scenery, with the river for its lowest point, and Pegan Hill 
 for its highest, furnished favorite building sites for both ab- 
 origines and Europeans. 
 
 Here lived, at this early period of civilization, Jonathan 
 Carver and Hannah Fiske, his wife, with their noted family 
 of si.x daughters. His nearest neighbor on his right was 
 Jacob Pratt, and in close pro.ximity the esteemed Indian, Dr. 
 Joshua I^rann. Report of the notable harmony and good will 
 that prevailed in this neighborhood of whites and Indians 
 has been handed down to our time. 
 
 The Carver homestead remained in the family a long time, 
 finally coming into the sole possession of Betty, the fifth 
 daughter. She was born March 2ist, 1737, and remained at 
 home, a spinster, until after middle life. She appears to have 
 been an energetic person, of large executive ability, and also 
 of a kindly nature, as she took home and supported a wid- 
 owed, childless sister. In 177 1-2 and 3 she pame before the 
 pul)lic as a teacher in the South Natick district school. 
 One of her bills for services stantls thus on the town 
 records : 
 
44 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 "Natick Septra. 5 1773 
 The Deestrict of Natick Dr. to Betty Carver for keppen scolle & 
 Boarden 10 weeks at four shillins & ten pence per weke £2, 8s, Od. 
 Errors excepted By me Betty Carver." 
 
 The selectman who accepted this bill was a Harvard grad- 
 uate, Samuel Welles, Esq., and the only error he noted was 
 that this lady was married during her term of service, and 
 he warns the treasurer not to pay unless her husband re- 
 ceipts the bill. 
 
 She was married in 1773, by the Rev. Stephen Badger of 
 Natick, to Joseph Day of Walpole, and died in Walpole July 
 26, 1837, aged 93 years. 
 
 Anecdotes of Betty Carver's bustling activity, of what 
 Betty said and did, of her ballad singing, keeping time on 
 the treadle of her flax spinning wheel, have amused family 
 circles through successive generations and we cannot but 
 regret our inability to hand down specimens of her songs 
 and ditties for the pleasure of those who may come after us. 
 
 The Carver house remained and was occupied by Daniel 
 Hartshorn, whose wife was Rebecca Morse, daughter of 
 David Morse. The new proprietor was a carpenter, and 
 soon transformed the humble one-story dwelling into a two 
 story square-roofed house. Under his agency the front-yard 
 was terraced, a face wall was built upon the street, and a 
 low picket fence placed upon the wall. Some twelve or 
 fourteen years passed, and the Hartshorns removed to Boyl- 
 ston, Mass. The property next passed to Dr. A. Thayer, 
 our new family physician, who, with his bride, Susan Bigelow 
 then settled here, and every thing flourished again. The 
 front yard was full of flowers, and the house beautified with 
 climbing roses and honeysuckle. During their residence in 
 this house three'children were born to them, one of whom 
 only is left — our worthy fellow townsman, Mr. Alexander 
 Wheelock Thayer. 
 
 The fourth occupant and his wife, proprietors of this his- 
 toric estate, merit honor which no passing words can indi- 
 
Second Field-Day. 45 
 
 cate. Their names are enrolled as benefactors of this neinh- 
 borhood. Oliver and Sarah G. Bacon began their wedded 
 life under this roof. Here, avoiding all show and ostentation, 
 clinging to the virtues of industry and honesty, they entered 
 upon a career of lasting usefulness and honor. Their mem- 
 ory will endure when the house in which they lived has 
 perished.^ 
 
 Carver Hill is the highest point of land in this neighbor- 
 hood, is convenient and easy of access to the numerous 
 population that are destined to live around its base ; on its 
 summit may be enjoyed a surpassingly beautiful landscape, 
 and breathed in an atmosphere that shall give health and 
 vigor to those who seek its beneficial effects. 
 
 We submit the proposition that the crown of this hill 
 should be a common or park, where all may enjoy the privi- 
 lege of its invigorating air. Then will this hill and village 
 have a crown worth wearing — a monument ever speaking 
 j^ood will to the multitudes below. 
 
 THE PRATT HOUSE. 
 
 BY AMOS P. CHENEY. 
 
 The Pratt House or Walker House. — Of this house, long 
 known as the " Pratt House," we have but little to say. It is 
 supposed to be about one hundred and twenty-five years old. 
 We find that in 1793 it was held by one Asa Adams, a phy- 
 sician, and that in the spring of the following year he sold it 
 to Jacob Pratt, in whose family the title has remained ever 
 since. 
 
 During a long period, while the owners were in New York, 
 this house was occupied by tenants, among whom was one 
 Lydia Ferritt, a spinster, who had been a servant in the 
 
 1 The plan of fouiifling the '• Bacon Free Library" was, doubtles.s, originated and 
 formulated by Mr. and Mrs. Baoon, jointly, she being even more interested than lier 
 husband in such matters. 
 
46 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of So2ith Natick. 
 
 Welles family a long time ; and she was supported by them 
 in her old age. She was noted for her belief in the existence 
 of witches, and that horseshoes were a sure protection from 
 their evil influences. She always kept a horseshoe with the 
 pot hooks and trammel upon the crane, and upon each of the 
 outer doors. Still, holding herself one of the wise virgins, 
 she kept faithful watch — not for the expected bridegroom, 
 but for any presumptuous witch who might ignore the armor 
 of horseshoes and attack her stronghold. She told many- 
 stories of her discoveries, made during these vigils. 
 
 The present owner is Mr.. Eliot Walker, whose wife is one 
 of the daughters of Jacob Pratt, from whom she inherited a 
 part ; and the remainder was afterward purchased by Mr. 
 Walker, who has now occupied it some fifteen years. 
 
 JOSHUA BRAND 
 
 Owned and occupied a small house which stood beside the 
 old well just beyond the Walker house. He was an Indian, 
 and one of the most noted of the physicians so numerous 
 among that people. He married a white woman, who was 
 spoken of as a "tidy wife." 
 
 Mr. Austin Bacon spoke in high terms of the doctor and 
 his family. 
 
 Dr. Brand and Jonathan Carver were contemporaries and 
 near neighbors ; and that the intercourse between the fami- 
 lies was most intimate and constant, the beaten path from 
 one house to the other amply proved. It was said the chil- 
 dren of each house were so warmly welcomed in the other 
 as to feel equally at home in both. The doctor died, and his 
 widow was long known as "Nurse Brand," which indicates 
 her vocation during her widowhood. One daughter was 
 married and went to Medfield, where she died about 1837. 
 The house passed away long ago, and only the well remains 
 to mark the spot which was once the home of Dr. Brand. 
 
Scccvid Ficld-Dav. 47 
 
 BADGER PLACE. 
 
 nv KF.V. J. p. SHEAFE, JR. 
 
 Thi.s is the Par.son Lothrop mansion of " Old Town "fame. 
 Thoui;h we have not the certainty \vc could wish, we may 
 say it was probably erected by Parson Lothrop about 1753. 
 Strong, substantial, tenacious of itself, it is a good type of 
 the character of the Parson. He was much endeared to 
 many of the Indians, as these beautiful elms testify. These 
 are the trees of friendship which the Indians brought on 
 their shoulders and planted here as a testimonial of their re- 
 gard to him who ministered unto them. This was the home 
 of Parson Lothrop until his death, and here Lady Lothrop 
 also lived till the close of her life, which took place within 
 the memory of many now living. After the death of Lady 
 Lothrop, the estate passed, by will, into the possession of 
 John Atkins, and successively, into the possession of Chester 
 Adams and John Bacon, then to his son Oliver Bacon, who 
 spent a large part of a long life here. By his will, it de- 
 scended to the heirs of Mr. William Hickox, and by sale, to 
 the hands of the present owner, Mr. Z. H. Stain, in whose 
 thrifty hands it has been greatly improved without and 
 within, both in comfort and appearance. 
 
 THE HEZEKIAH BROAD OR COOK HOUSE. 
 
 BY AMOS P. CHENEY. 
 
 In 1720, or about that time, a dam was built across the 
 Charles River, nearly opposite this house, and a mill erected 
 beside it by John Sawin, miller. But as the flowage brought 
 complaint from the settlers at Medfield, Mr. Sawin moved 
 his machinery to a new mill upon a stream near his house. 
 
 This Charles River property consisted of about an acre of 
 land l:)etween the river and the road, the dam already built 
 
48 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of So?it/i Natick. 
 
 across the river, the works upon the dam and land adjoining, 
 and all rights and privileges appertaining. 
 
 In July, 1733, Mr. Sawin sold this estate to one Hezekiah 
 Broad, a clothier of Needham, and in the same month Mr. 
 Broad bought other land of Rev. Oliver Peabody. Mr. 
 Broad probably removed to Natick soon after the date of 
 purchase, as he was elected to a town office March, 1734. 
 This was the home of this Hezekiah Broad until he died 
 May 18, 1752. He left a widow, a daughter Rebecca, and a 
 son Hezekiah, who was but one year old at the time. This 
 son became a man of marked character, and in 1787, when 
 36 years old, he was elected delegate to the State conven- 
 tion, which on Feb. 6th, 1788, ratified the newly-framed con- 
 stitution of the United States. Mr. Broad voted against the 
 ratification ; but when it became the supreme, organic law 
 of the land, he supported and defended it with the earnest- 
 ness and heartiness of true patriotism which always distin- 
 guished him. He lived to the age of J'^ years, and died 
 March 7, 1823. His son Hezekiah inherited the old home- 
 stead, and remained upon it till the year 1867, one hundred 
 and thirty-four years after his grandfather settled there. The 
 present house was erected by a family named Brown, who 
 occupied it several years, and were succeeded by Mr. Cook, 
 who now resides upon it. 
 
 REV. OLIVER PEABODY ESTATE. 
 
 BY ELIJAH PERRY. 
 
 This estate was conveyed to him by Thomas Waban (son 
 of Thomas Waban), Joseph Ephraim, Samuel Abraham, Solo- 
 mon Thomas and Benjamin Tray were a committee chosen 
 appointed by the commons or proprietors of Natick, by deed 
 dated April 8, 1723. Mr. Peobody built a house and resided 
 here until his death, Feb. 2, 1752 ; after which it was owned 
 and occupied by Captain Brown, a retired sea captain, but 
 
Sirou{/ Ficld-Day. 49 
 
 for what length of time we do not know. It eventually 
 passed into the ownership of Mr. John Bacon, and was suc- 
 cessively occupied by various parties till about 1826; after 
 which it stood unoccupied till 1867, when it was destroyed by 
 an incendiary fire. The place has not been inhabited till 
 the present house was built, which is owned by George B. 
 Damon. Over the little brook near the road for many years 
 stood a saw-mill. This place was selected by the Indians as 
 a pleasant locality for their minister, it being so situated 
 that from his study window he could see a goodly number of 
 his red parishioner's dwellings. 
 
 About the year 1635 an expedition started on foot from 
 Watertown for the Connecticut River, driving cattle, 
 through the thick woods, and, according to their minister's 
 diary, camped on this ground the first night. Tradition says, 
 his diary reads something in this wise : " We camped on the 
 high ground near a cleft rock by the side of a brook, which 
 empties into the Charles River a short distance below the 
 rock." Now, after nearly two hundred and fifty years, may be 
 seen the river, the brook, the rock, and the high grounds. 
 Just two hundred years ago, in 1682, the Sherborn road, now 
 Eliot street, was laid out by Edward West, John Coller, 
 John Livermore, Samuel Howe and Obediah Morse. 
 
 THE BACON HOUSE. 
 
 BY HORACE MANN. 
 
 This place is the ancestral estate of the branch of the 
 Bacon family that first settle. I upon the west bank of 
 Charles Riv^er. It was once in the possession of a Whitney 
 family, and was occupied a short time by Jeremiah Bacon, 
 who married Anne Whitney. The ne.xt owner was Oliver 
 Bacon, the son of John and Elizabeth Griggs Bacon, of Ded- 
 ham, born about 1724, and who married Sarah Haws, of 
 Needham, in 1749, and was the father of John, born about 
 
50 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 1 76 1, who married Mary Ryder, of Natick, about 1791, and 
 was the father of Oliver, John, Willard, Ira and Mary, and 
 possibly others. He had a second wife, Widow Vina (Morse) 
 Pratt, mother of a portion of these children. By purchase, 
 John Bacon acquired a large landed estate in Natick, upon both 
 sides of the Charles River, and on Carver Hill. It was op- 
 posite this house that the Indians had a foot bridge over the 
 river, the foundations of which are still visible. This house 
 was built before the Revolutionary war. During the Revo- 
 lution Oliver Bacon was influential in forwarding measures 
 to support and carry on the war, and several times furnished 
 loans to pay the Continental soldiers. He was an advocate 
 of a specie currency, and stipulated that all loans should be 
 repaid in "hard Spanish milled dollars." John Bacon was a 
 farmer and maker of wooden pumps. By the thrift and in- 
 dustry of this family, and the generosity of one of its mem- 
 bers, 1 the town is the recipient of a noble and bounteous 
 gift. The house, with its wide fire-place, its rough beams, 
 its hand-made clapboards, and wrought nails, is a specimen 
 of the skill and handicraft of a race who wrought earnestly 
 and well, and is a relic which should be preserved as an illus- 
 tration of the methods and modes of life a century ago. 
 
 S. B. SAWIN PLACE. 
 
 BY J. PARMENTER. 
 
 The first we know of this place, now owned and occupied 
 by S. B. Sawin, is that it was purchased by Eleazer Golding 
 from Mrs. Sarah Lovering,^ of Boston, in 1783. Eleazer 
 Goulding was the father of Curtis, and Curtis was the father 
 of the present Eleazer Golding, of South Framingham. The 
 mother of Deacon Wight, of Natick, was also daughter of 
 
 1 The late Oliver Bacon, Esqr., founder of the Bacon Free Library. 
 
 2 Daughter of John Bacon. 
 
Second Ficld-Day. 51 
 
 the former Elenzer (she was born in I7<S2), he being grand- 
 father of Deacon Wight. Mr. Gelding moved to Sherborn, 
 and probably rented this place. It passed into the hands of 
 John Mann, and from him to liis son Willard, then to a Mr. 
 War, and finally to S. B. Sawin. It was occupied in 1876 
 by Beckwith & Co., contractors on the Boston water works. 
 The ne.xt year the old house was taken down, and the pres- 
 ent one, which was built by Willard Mann for a shoe factory, 
 has since been moved and fixed up for a dwelling house. 
 
 THE ELIJAH ESTY PLACE. 
 
 BY ELIJAH PERKY. 
 
 An ancient locality, for many years owned by the late 
 Honorable John Welles, and his heirs, on the westerly side 
 of Eliot street, northerly of the residence of Mr. Rufus 
 Campbell ; was long owned by Elijah Esty, a worthy citizen, 
 and after his decease it passed into the possession of his son 
 Elijah, who resided at Sherborn, where he reared quite a 
 family of children. Coming into possession of this property 
 he removed to it, and with his wife Lydia and their daughter 
 Sarah (or Sally as she was familiarly called), lived there until 
 January, 1823, when Lydia died, aged 83 years. Mr. Esty 
 died September 14th, 1826, aged 88 years. Mr. Esty was 
 a worthy, high-minded citizen. In his later days he would 
 often express the wish to younger people that they might 
 not live to be as old and feeble as he was. He had been a 
 musician in the French and Re\-olutionary wars. The older 
 part of the house had become so worn out and decayed that 
 in the night after his death and while Sally, alone, was 
 watching over his lifeless remains, it fell with a crash into a 
 heap of ruins. 
 
 This was a one-story house with two rooms in front. The 
 newer part was probably built on by the son. The fire-places 
 
52 Historical, Nat. Hist, a) id Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 were large enough to take in eight-foot wood. Sally died 
 December, 1853, aged y^ years, and now rests with her re- 
 spected parents in the South Natick burial ground ; and we 
 who remember her, respect her especially for her devotion to 
 her aged parents. We doubt not that their spirits blend in 
 harmony in that better land. 
 
 THOMAS SAWIN AND DESCENDANTS. 
 
 BY HORACE MANN. 
 
 This estate was traversed in early times by the path which 
 led from Natick to Pocasset Hill in Sherborn, and from there 
 to Mendon and the Nipmuck region beyond, and was one of 
 the routes from Massachusetts to Connecticut. Eliot, 
 Gookin, Rawson and others who were interested in the In- 
 dian mission, often passed this way on their journeys to the 
 Nipmuck country. And by this path came Oneco, the son 
 of Uncas, with his fifty Mohicans, to join his English allies 
 at Boston in June, 1675, in the expedition against King 
 Philip. 
 
 "They came by the way of Natick, and were joined by two 
 Englishmen from there and by some of the Naticks," reads 
 the account of their arrival at Boston. 
 
 The Sawin estate borders upon the eight hundred acre 
 farm laid out to Simon Bradstreet in 165 1, and conveyed 
 by him to Daniel Morse, of Dedham, in 1652, and was known 
 in ancient deeds as Morse's Farm, and is still owned by de- 
 scendants of the original planter. 
 
 It was at the Bradstreet Farm that Morse built a bridge 
 over the .Charles River in 1658, taking his timber from the 
 Natick swamps, there being none near him, as he asserts in 
 his petition for the privilege. At the bounds of Morse's 
 Farm Eliot's praying Indians laid down a "wyer" to mark 
 the limit of the possessions they gave into the keeping of 
 the Apostle for the bettering of their souls. 
 
Scco/id Ficld-Day. 58 
 
 The first English owner of this estate was Lieut. Thomas 
 Sawin, a native of Watertown and son of John and Alice 
 (Manning) Sawin. He was born in 1657, served as a .soklier 
 in the Narragansett expedition in December, 1675, and in 
 1679 was accepted as one of the new settlers at Chestnut 
 l^rook, in Sherborn, where he built a mill, the site of which 
 is on the sourtherly side of Brush Hill, near the residence of 
 the late Isaac Cousins. A house lot was assigned him near 
 the lands of Edward West. He built the first meeting house 
 in Sherborn, and his account for finishing it was rendered 
 October 12th, 1682. 
 
 For a number of years he was a Representative of Sher- 
 born in the General Court, Selectmen, and often served upon 
 important town committees. In 1683 he married Deborah 
 Rice, of Sudbury. In 1686 he asks leave of the General 
 Court to purchase fifty acres of land in Natick, for the purpose 
 of building a corn mill for tjie use of the Indians ; and after 
 a delay of several years the purchase was confirmed. In 1702, 
 in company with Joseph Sherman of Watertown, Thomas 
 Waban and Peter Ephraim, he adjusts the boundary lines be- 
 tween the towns of Natick, Sherborn, Framingham, Sudbury 
 and Watertown. In 17 12 he was still called of Sherborn, and 
 was acting on a committee to settle the tenancy of the 
 Natick lands in the borders of Framingham. In 1714 he 
 was Representative of Sherborn. In 1716 he acts tor Sher- 
 born in a renewal of the bounds of Natick and Sherborn. In 
 1717a way that leads to the mill pond is referred to in a re- 
 newal of bounds. In 17 18 his house is referred to in a re- 
 newal ; and Lieut. Thomas was then called of Natick, and 
 had probably taken up his a1)ocle on this estate. 
 
 From the union with Daborah Rice there issued tour chil- 
 dren, one son and three daughters. The son was born in 1684, 
 and called Lieut. John ; married Joanna Lyon, of Milton, in 
 1 71 5, and removed to Natick with his father. His children, 
 recorded at Sherborn: Joanna, 1715 ; Thomas, 1718; Debo- 
 rah, 1719; John, 1721 ; Mary, 1722; Abigail, 1724. Prior 
 
54: Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Soc'y of South Natick. 
 
 to March, 1722, he had built a mill on Charles River near 
 lands of Rev. Oliver Peabody, and which is referred to in the 
 Proprietors' Records as the new mill of Lieut, John Sawin. 
 About 1730 he disposes of this privelege. In 1720, Lieut. 
 Thomas and his son John receive a deed of the flowage 
 rights and privileges of the brook which runs out of Little 
 Pond from David and Lydia (Morse) Stanford, the owners 
 thereof. This indicates that they were extending and im- 
 proving their privileges on that stream. Lieut. Thomas de- 
 ceased prior to 1733, and Lieut. John inherits the estate and 
 his father's rights in the Douglass grants and the Narragan- 
 sett division of lands in the towns of Westminster and 
 Princeton. 
 
 Thomas Sawin, 2d, the son of Lieut. John, born in 1721, 
 was also called Lieut. Thomas, and married Abigail Morse of 
 Sherborn in 1747, and inhabited the Natick estate of his 
 father. He was the father of five sons and five daughters. 
 He was a soldier of the French war, and commanded a de- 
 tachment of the Natick military on garrison service at 
 Springfield in 1757. His sons, Moses, Thomas, Ezekiel and 
 Pharez, inherited his estate. 
 
 Thomas, 3d, born in 1751, was called Ensign and Captain, 
 and built the house near the brook about 1770. He married 
 Abigail Bacon, of Dedham, in 1771, and was the father of 
 Thomas and Martha, the founders of the Sawin Academy at 
 Sherborn. He was a minute man in 1775 and a soldier in 
 the Canada expedition of 1776. It was to this house that 
 Abigail Bacon and her neice, Abigail Smith, came on the 
 night of the i8th of April, 1775, to warn the Sawins of the 
 marching of the British from Boston ; and this house was a 
 rendezvous of a portion of the Natick minute men. Abigail 
 became the wife of Thomas Sawin and was one of the sur- 
 viving pensioners of the Revolution living in Natick in 1840. 
 Abigail Smith married James Bayard Stafford, a Lieutenant 
 under Paul Jones in the engagement between the Bon 
 Homme Richard and the British ship Serapis in the Eng- 
 
Second Field-Day. 65 
 
 lish Channel in 1779. Captain Thomas was town treasurer 
 and collector, and also a school teacher in Natick. Moses 
 Sawin inhabited the ancestral homestead of his grandfather, 
 John, and one-half of the ancient mill privilege. 
 
 Ezekiel Sawin inherited the farm on the west side of the 
 mill pond, now owned by Sumner Goulding. Ezekiel was a 
 soldier of the Revolution and in the Canada Expedition of 
 1776. Joel and John Sawin, descendants of Lieut. John, 
 were also in the same expedition. Levi, Ebenezer and Eze- 
 kiel were in the campaign in Rhode Island in 1781. Pharez 
 Sawin inhabited the farm now owned by James Fisher Sawin. 
 Lieut. John, through the females of this family, is entitled to 
 consideration in this paper. 
 
 Abigail Sawin, daughter of Lieut. John, was born in 1724; 
 married Lieut. John Bacon, of Needham, who was killed by 
 the King's troops at West Cambridge, April 19, 1775. She 
 was the motlfer of John Bacon, a lieutenant at Cambridge in 
 
 1775, with Patterson's regiment at Chamblee in 1776, and a 
 captain in Thayer's regiment in Rhode Island in 1781. Her 
 sons, Timothy and Moses, were in the Canada Expedition of 
 
 1776, and Moses died on the return march. 
 
 Mrs. Bacon married 2d Lieut. Timothy Smith, a Revo- 
 lutionary soldier of 1775 and of the Rhode Island campaign 
 of 1781. 
 
 Deborah Sawin, born 17 19, married Elijah Goodnow, of 
 Natick, and was the mother of Deacon William Goodnow, 
 who was a soldier of the Rhode Island campaign of 1781. 
 
 Rebecca Sawin, the daughter of Lieut. Thomas, 2d, mar- 
 ried Richard Baxter, of Princeton, and was the grandmother 
 of Windsor Howe, the centenarian, who died at Bolton in 
 this State in 1881. 
 
 The students of local history and the lovers of antiquarian 
 lore can afford to linger at this place. Indian, Colonial, 
 Provincial and Revolutionary memories cluster around this 
 secluded and romantic spot. Its owners and occupants for 
 a century and a half performed a conspicuous part in the an- 
 
56 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 nals of New England, and of Natick ; and by yonder winding 
 river, and near this lake and rippling brook, industriously 
 plied their callings. The pen of the novelist has gilded 
 their traditions, and the poet's fancy here found a theme for 
 the exercise of its imagery. The artist, with pencil and 
 brush, has transferred the landscape to his canvas ; and it is 
 certainly appropriate for the antiquary to come, and by his 
 records epitomize the lives of those whose tenacious efforts, 
 won from these surroundings an honorable fame and the 
 blessings of long life and ample competence. 
 
 THE ELIOT OAK. 
 
 The identity of the Eliot Oak is a subject that has been 
 much discussed of late. To ascertain the facts and put the 
 question to rest, the Historical Society chose a committee 
 to make careful investigation and report at the next regular 
 meeting. The following is the substance of the report : 
 
 The earlier records or traditions of the village indicate 
 that there were three oak trees once, of considerable size, 
 near the site of the Eliot church, the third forming a triangle 
 with the two so well known, and located near the residence 
 of Mrs. White. This tree and the one which stood near the 
 site of the drinking fountain were red oaks, and the one now 
 standing a white oak. 
 
 The oak is a family of many different members. Its his- 
 tory has been very carefully studied, and the facts can be as- 
 certained by any one who will consult the standard works 
 on the subject. See "Emerson's Forest Trees." 
 
 The report of the committee, above mentioned, presented 
 the following facts, viz. : 
 
 The red oak is a tree of rapid growth. One of this spe- 
 cies examined by the committee showed seventy-seven years 
 growth, and measured three and one-half feet in diameter. 
 It was also noted that the thickness of growth for two con- 
 
Si'coi/d Fi lid- Da v. o7 
 
 sccutivc years was one-halt" inch each year, which wouUl give 
 an increase of six inches in circumference in two years. The 
 best authority on the oak states that the red oak requires 
 one hundred years to come to maturity, and one hundred 
 more for its decay — making the life of the red oak about 
 two hundred years. 
 
 The white oak is a tree of very slow growth, requiring 
 about three hundred years to reach its full growth, about 
 three hundred more for maturity, and a like period for decay. 
 This computation gives to the white oak a life of about nine 
 hundred years. 
 
 Let us now apply thc'^e facts to the trees in question. The 
 red oak, which stood where the drinking fountain now stands, 
 was a very large tree, and as long ago as elderly people can 
 remember, the tree was much decayed. Many people thought 
 the tree might have remained some years longer than it did ; 
 but in 1842, on the 25th of May, the tree was cut down, and 
 those who were responsible for the act claimed that it was 
 liable to fall at any time, and that it was dangerous for it to 
 stand any longer. Now, suppose the tree to have reached 
 its uttermost age of two hundred years : it is evident that 
 in 1642 it was just sprouting from the acorn. 
 
 Let us now apjily the facts to the white oak. The tree is 
 still standing, in^good condition, and promises to outlive 
 even the youngest inhabitant of tlic village. It is evident, 
 however, that it has passed its prime ; it has not increased 
 in size for many years, and it is stated that the tree meas- 
 ures less in circumference now than it did half a century 
 ago. The tree is in its decline, and those most competent 
 to judge believe it to be from five to eight hundred years 
 old. 
 
 These are the facts concerning these two trees, given as 
 accurately as careful study has revealed them. 
 
 When any one wishes to know which of the oaks was 
 really the Eliot Oak, he must apply the facts and answer the 
 question for himself. Wlicn the Apostle I'^liot came to this 
 
58 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 place in 1650, to Christianize the Indians, before the first 
 church was built, it is said he gathered the Indians under a 
 large oak tree and preached to them and taught them. If 
 the red oak be taken at its oldest estimate, it was just peep- 
 ing from the ground in 1642 ; and when the Apostle Eliot 
 gathered his Indian followers about him, this red oak in 
 question was a sapling of about eight years growth. 
 
 If we take the white oak at even the smallest estimate, 
 when the Apostle first came to this "place of hill" it was a 
 tree nearly three hundred years old. 
 
 In view of the facts,* it seems more than probable that the 
 Apostle would gather his hearers in the cool shade of those 
 branches, which had been reaching out and up for almost 
 three centuries, instead of calling them around a tiny tree of 
 eight summers, and whose shade would have been but a 
 slight protection even for the preacher alone. 
 
 Seventy-five years ago the red oak was much the larger 
 tree, and from its decayed condition appeared to be much 
 older than the white oak. It is, therefore, easy to under- 
 stand why many supposed the red oak to be the Eliot Oak. 
 
 In a matter of history it is not the opinions of traditions, 
 but the facts, which carry the weight of the argument. It 
 is easy to ascertain whether the above is a statement of 
 facts ; and if it be a correct statement, the unanswerable ar- 
 gument of facts points to the white oak, now standing, as the 
 Eliot Oak of history and of fame. 
 
THIRD FIELD-DAY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Seulli !i(ili(i. 
 
 The third annual field meeting of the Historical, Natural 
 History and Library Society was held Tuesday, May i, 1883. 
 The Society's museum and the library were open to the pub- 
 lic at ten o'clock a. m., and were not closed until nearly one 
 o'clock p. m., during which time there were many interested 
 visitors present. 
 
 Lunch was served to invited guests in Eliot Hall, at noon. 
 About fifty persons were present, among whom were D. T. 
 V. Huntoon, Esq., Fred Endicott, Esq., C. V. Sumner, Esq., 
 and others of the Canton Historical Society ; representatives 
 of the Dedham Historical Society ; Hon. Amos Perry and 
 Dr. Charles W. Parsons of the R. I. Historical Society, and 
 Wm. B. Trask, Esq., and Rev. S. D. Hosmer of the N. E. 
 Historic-Genealogical Society ; also, the venerable Seth 
 Davis, Esq., and ex-Gov. Wm. Claflin of Newton, Hon. S. H. 
 Noyes and Rev. W. H. Savory of Canton, Rev. H. Il Steb- 
 bins of South Boston, and others. 
 
 At one p. m. the company assembled in the Unitarian 
 church. Arranged in front of the pulpit were a number of 
 articles recently presented the H., N. H. and L. Society. 
 Among them were a set of astronomical instruments made 
 by Seth Davis fifty years ago and presented by liim ; a pair 
 of steel shoe buckles from Charles Woodworth ; a Latin 
 primer, published in 181 3, presented by Amos Perry; an 
 immense key that once unlocked No. 213 Washington 
 
60 Historical, NaT. Hist, and Lib. Soc'y of South Natick. 
 
 street, Boston — a perfect Jumbo; wire mask and silk 
 embroidery, presented by Mrs. Richards ; two odd silk slip- 
 pers, worn by Mrs. Eliot, later by Mrs. Captain Brown of 
 South Natick in 1768-80; elbow ornaments, piece of bed- 
 quilt, black silk brocade, etc., by Mrs. E. D. Hartwell ; alli- 
 gator skin from Louisiana, by Otis Chickering ; books from 
 Elijah Perry, etc. 
 
 Dr. G. J. Townsend, president of the society, called the 
 meeting to order, speaking in substance as follows : 
 Ladies and Gentlemen : 
 
 It is with great pleasure that I welcome you in behalf of 
 the Historical, Natural History and Library Society, to this, 
 our third field day ; and we hope to show you, before our 
 excursion is accomplished, that we have not yet exhausted 
 all the localities of historical interest in our vicinity. Our 
 course to-day will lead us into one place in Dover, which, 
 from its close proximity, seems to belong to us, and also 
 into Wellesley, as far as the outlet of Lake VVaban. This 
 outlet, once familiarly known as Saw-Mill Brook, was the 
 original boundary separating the towns of Natick and Ded- 
 ham, now Needham. The present boundaries were estab- 
 lished in 1797. Elijah Perry, Esq., as chairman of the com- 
 mittee of arrangements, will introduce to you the speakers 
 and readers. 
 
 Mr. Perry then introduced Rev. C. A. Staples of Lexing- 
 ton, who delivered the following address : 
 
 THE VILLAGES OF THE PRAYING INDIANS. 
 
 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Historical Society : 
 
 It is a singular fact that while the charter of the Massa- 
 chusetts Company declares that "the principal object of this 
 plantation is to Christianize the Indians," and while the 
 colony seal bears the figure of an Indian, with extended 
 arms, crying, "Come over and help us," no systematic 
 effort was made to accomplish this object until nearly twenty 
 
Third Fiil<f-Day. Gl 
 
 years after the first settlement. ICven then the work was 
 taken up and carried on by a single individual, almost un- 
 aided. To Rev. John Eliot belont^s the credit of inaugurat- 
 ing: this great enterprise. In the face of the sternest diffi- 
 culties, sometimes bitterest opposition, he steadily pursued 
 it for many years, without compensation and in addition to 
 his duties as pastor of the First Church in Roxbury. Before 
 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the In- 
 dians had been formed in England, which afterwards ren- 
 dered him such valuable assistance, Eliot was making him- 
 self master of their language and preaching the Gospel to 
 the Indians at Nonantum. He gave two years to the study 
 of their tongue, using for his teachers the brightest young 
 men among them, before attempting to preach. For more 
 than five years he continued this laborious and self-sacrific- 
 ing work, before establishing the first Indian village here in 
 165 1. At the wigwam of the Indian chief Waban, a little 
 way south of the falls on Charles river, at Watertown, in 
 October, 1646, Eliot gathered his first congregation of Indi- 
 ans, and preached his first sermon in their own language. 
 It must have been a strange and interesting scene — these 
 wild rovers of the wilderness gathered about him listening to 
 the simple truths of the Gospel, as they fell from the lips of 
 this loving and consecrated man, who, like the great apos- 
 tle to the Gentiles, could truly say, " I seek not yours, but 
 you." From that time until his death, nearly fifty years 
 afterwards, he never wavered in the confidence that these 
 benighted children of the forest were capable of becoming 
 enlightened an 1 worthy Christians, nor faltered in his devo- 
 tion to their material and spiritu U interests. All honor to 
 that heroic and noble soul ! Single handed and alone, trust- 
 ing in God and the power of his truth, impelled by a solemn 
 conviction of duty and in the spirit of Christ himself, Eliot 
 sought to win this people to the Christian faith and the joys 
 and comforts of civilized life. No mm in all our history has 
 left a record of loftier aims, of vaster achievements or of a 
 more beautiful Christian character. 
 
62 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of So?itk Natick. 
 
 One of the most unworldly and unselfish of men, he took 
 little interest in the common affairs of life ; thouo^ht nothing 
 apparently of his own comfort, or material advancement ; 
 knew so little about his own property that his cattle feeding 
 before his door, he supposed belonged to his neighbors ; 
 sometimes gave away so much of his little salary among the 
 poor that his family suffered for ordinary comforts and 
 would have been reduced to beggary had it not been for the 
 careful and sagacious management of his noble wife ; yet, in 
 whatever pertained to his work among the Indians, in the 
 cause of education among his own people, in plans affecting 
 the interests of the colony and the church, he was a man of 
 great practical wisdom. It may be fairly questioned, I think, 
 if his methods of dealing with this difficult matter of Indian 
 civilization and christianization were not as wise and effect- 
 ual as any that have been devised since his day. And, 
 indeed, looking at the plans which he pursued and the suc- 
 cess whioh he won, I am impressed by the fact that Eliot 
 worked out this problem two hundred and thirty years ago, 
 in the only rational and satisfactory way, and that if we are 
 now dealing with the matter more successfully than ever 
 before, it is because we have adopted more of Eliot's meth- 
 ods and are working more truly in his spirit. 
 
 Eliot's recipe for Christianizing an Indian was that of the 
 oft-quoted Mrs. Glass' for dressing a hare: "First catch 
 the hare." He believed it was a hopeless task until the 
 Indian was put into some kind of permanent dwelling, 
 brought into daily contact with his fellows in settled com- 
 munities, governed by English laws and customs, taught to 
 gain a living by tilling the soil or working at a trade, and in- 
 structed in the ideas and usages of civilized life. To use his 
 own language, " I find it absolutely necessary to carry on 
 civility with religion." That the Indians must be civilized 
 in order to be christianized, was a fundamental maxim with 
 him. One season of hunting, he said, undid all his mission- 
 ary work. Industry and cleanlrness, good order and good 
 
Third Field-Day. 63 
 
 government are the prime conditions, he maintained, of 
 moral and relij^ious i-)ro«^ress. Hence, the first step was to 
 gather the Indians into villages of their own, as far removed 
 as possible from the English settlements and under the i'n- 
 struction of wise teachers and faithful pastors. 
 
 Here, at Natick, he made the first experiment. A grant 
 of land was made by the General Court for this specific pur- 
 pose, embracing a tract four miles square and containing, by 
 estimation, 6,000 to 8,000 acres. Three streets were laid 
 out parallel to the river, two upon the north side and one 
 upon the south ; and the ground was divided into building 
 lots, with yards and gardens attached. A fort was built up- 
 on this very spot, I believe, where we are assembled, of a 
 circular form and pallisaded. Within the fort a large house 
 was erected, 50 feet in length and 25 feet in width, and two 
 stories in height ; the lower story, forming one large room, 
 was used for worship on Sundays and for a school on week 
 days. Above was a general storage room, where the Indians 
 hung their furs and other articles kept for sale ; and in one 
 corner a room was made for Eliott supplied with a bed and 
 bedstead, exclusively for his use when visiting them. This 
 building was erected by the Indians alone, excepting two 
 days work of an English carpenter. Along the streets their 
 houses were built, some after the English mode, some after 
 the Indian. They did not like the English houses, prefering 
 their own style of architecture as more convenient and com- 
 fortable. Between the north and south side of the river 
 they constructed a foot-bridge of timbers, in the form of an 
 arch and resting upon abutments of stone. This was so se- 
 curely built that it withstood the Spring freshets unharmed, 
 when the bridge at Medfield, built by the English, was 
 swept away : a fact highly gratifying to the pride of the 
 Indians. They cleared the forests and broke up the ground. 
 They built fences of stone and wood, enclosing their gardens 
 and fields. They planted orchards, raised good crops of 
 grain and hay, kept cattle, horses, swine and fowls. Several 
 
64 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 trades were represented among them, such as carpenters, 
 masons and blacksmiths. They made baskets, shingles and 
 clap-boards from the forests, and gathered furs of the fox 
 and the beaver, so that a considerable trade with the towns 
 below was carried on from this Indian village, and the peo- 
 ple lived in comparative comfort on the fruits of their toil. 
 Such is the industrial picture, as we find it in Capt. Daniel 
 Gookin's report of 1674, after the village had been planted 
 here for twenty-three years. At this time there were 29 
 families, numbering about 150 souls. Between 40 and 50 of 
 these were members of the Church or communicants. 
 Eliot was exceedingly cautious however, in admitting his 
 converts to church membership. He examined them very 
 carefully regarding their experience and their opinions. He 
 kept them a long time under probation, watching their con- 
 duct to see if they gave evidence of a real change of heart. 
 It was not without great hesitation that he finally organized 
 a church, nine years after the planting of the village, or in 
 1660, and admitted them, to full church fellowship. At first 
 he was the only preacher, and the Indians were unwilling to 
 hear anybody besides their loving and devoted friend. But 
 gradually he prepared young" men among themselves to fill 
 his place ; and ultimately all the teaching, preaching and pas- 
 toral care devolved upon Indians whom he had converted 
 and raised up for the work. The school and the church 
 were under their direction, subject to his oversight and con- 
 trol. Two religious services were held on Sunday, and a 
 service on lecture and fast days, much after the English or- 
 der. The Indians attended them faithfully and joined rever- 
 ently in the worship. They were permitted by Eliot to ask 
 any questions regarding the subject of the sermon, which 
 might occur to them : very curious and often very shrewd 
 and keen these questions were. 
 
 Once a week, in summer, Eliot lectured here on " Logic 
 and Theology," thus establishing, more than two centuries 
 ago, a sort of Indian School of Philosophy and Theology. 
 
Scfout/ Fiilii-J^ay. 65 
 
 He wanted to train their minds to the habit of elose and ex- 
 act thinking", so as to make this village a seminary to pre- 
 pare young men for teaching and preaching in other Indian 
 villages. Two Indian teachers were employed in the school 
 at the time of Gookin's report — Anthony and John Speen. 
 Two constables were chosen annually by the Indians them- 
 selves, to enfore the laws and preserve order. A marshal- 
 general, also an In.lian, — having jurisdiction over all the 
 praying villages, — was appointed by the Court. Waban was 
 justice of the peace : a person of great prudence and piety, 
 held in high esteem both by the Indians and the English. 
 Waban was not learned in the technicalities of law ; but he 
 had a very clear perception of justice, and executed it in a 
 summary and impartial way. The following is a copy of a 
 warrant issued by him for the arrest of a certain troublesome 
 offender : " You, you big Constable, quick you catch um 
 Jeremiah Offscow ; strong you hold um, safe you bring um 
 before me. Waban, Justice of the Peace." We have also 
 an interesting sentence of Waban's, in a case between some 
 drunken Indians of Nonantum : "Constable, tie um all up; 
 and whip um plaintiff, and whip um 'fendant, and whip um 
 witness" — a method of treating offences against the peace 
 and well-being of the community highly conducive to good 
 government. Such is the picture given us by Capt. Gookin 
 in his report to the Society for Propogating the Gospel 
 among the Indians in 1674. For more than twenty years 
 the experiment had then been carried on in this place, and it 
 had prin-ed eminently successful. A well-ordered and pros- 
 perous village had been established, with its varied industries. 
 A school and church were maintained under the care of na- 
 tive teachers and preachers. Many young men had been edu- 
 cated an.l trained up to fill places of usefulness in the work. 
 More than one-half of the adult population were church 
 members. All w^-re living in comfortable dwellings, kept in 
 a tidy condition. A larger proportion of the people could 
 rearl and write than in some European countries to-day. And 
 
66 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 though there were drunkenness and petty crimes among the 
 Indians gathered here, especially those who had not become 
 distinctively Christian ; still, for the most part, life was de- 
 cent in outward appearance, pure in morality, and externally 
 religious. The Bible was read in these humble homes, 
 morning and evening prayer was observed in them, and the 
 Sunday worship was engaged in faithfully and fervently. 
 Under the watchful eye and guiding hand of Eliot, a hu- 
 manizing and elevating influence had been established, which 
 gave promise of beneficent and far reaching results. 
 
 Nor was this work confined to the single Indian village 
 of Natick. Eliot had been constantly pushing it out farther 
 and farther into the wilderness, among the various tribes 
 within the Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies. The same 
 methods were pursued in other places, with the same results. 
 And though Natick was the oldest of these Indian villages, 
 and here, under the special and constant care of our great 
 Apostle, a higher and larger success was attained, still the 
 others deserve at least a brief mention. 
 
 The second of these experiments was tried at Pakemit or 
 Punkapog, now Canton. In 1674, Gookin reports this village 
 as containing 12 families, or 60 souls, having a grant of ter- 
 ritory nearly as large as Natick, or 6,000 acres, with its ruler 
 or justice of the peace, constable and schoolmaster. They 
 had their Sunday worship, but no organized church. Rev. 
 John Eliot, Jr., preached here on lecture days once a fort- 
 night for many years. At this time they had recently lost an 
 Indian teacher whom Gookin speaks of as " a very able and 
 knowing person, who spoke English well and was of genteel 
 appearance." Planting, keeping cattle and swine and fishing 
 were the principal occupations. A large cedar swamp near 
 the village was a source of considerable income. Here, he 
 says, they made " many a pound by getting out shingles and 
 clapboards and selling them in Boston." But the village of 
 Punkapog is not regarded as being in so hopeful a condition 
 as Natick ; indeed, we may plainly see that it was already 
 beginning to wane and decay. 
 
Third Field-Day. 67 
 
 Hassanamcsit, now Grafton, was the third of these pray- 
 ing towns. The name signifies a place of small stones. It 
 was situated in the Nipmuck country, two miles east of the 
 Nipmuck river, now the Blackstone, upon a great hill over- 
 looking the surrounding country. It contained about 12 
 families, or 60 souls, and " was not inferior," Gookin says, 
 "to any of the Indian plantations for rich land, plenty of 
 meadow, well tempered and well watered." They raised an 
 abundance of corn, grain and fruit. They had planted sev- 
 eral good orchards from which, alas, they drew a generous 
 supply of cider, affording means for beastly intoxication. 
 "They are so little used to spirituous drink of any kind, says 
 Gookin, that half a pint of cider quite overcomes and mad- 
 dens them. They have not the grace to use it with modera- 
 tion. On the whole, it is an apt place for cattle and swine. 
 Hassanamesit is the best provided with material comfort of 
 any village of its size." 
 
 Ana-weakin is their ruler ; Tack-uppa-willin, his brother, 
 is their teacher — a pious and able man. The father is dea- 
 con of the church, and another son is a press-man, employed 
 by Eliot on the Indian Bible. " The father, mother, brothers 
 and their wives are all reputed pious persons and the prin- 
 cipal studs of the town." They have a meeting house built 
 after the English fashion, and some other houses of the same 
 style. They live by keeping cattle and swine, and by other 
 husbandry, in which they excel all other Indians. The sec- 
 ond Indian church was gathered here in 1671 ; it has 16 
 men and women in full communion. Thus the plantation is 
 in a hopeful and prosperous condition. Such is the account 
 given of the third Indian village. It is sad to recall the fact 
 that the very next year, in King Philip's war, this fair prom- 
 ise was utterly destroyed : a night attack was made upon 
 the Indians here by a detachment of troops, sent up from 
 Mendon under St. Curtis, who was killed in the attack ; and 
 this is the last we hear of the praying Indians of Hassana- 
 mesit. 
 
68 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 The fourth of these villages was Ok-amma-kam-esit, now 
 Marlborough, containing lo families, or 50 souls. It is of 
 the same extent as the others already mentioned, having 
 6,000 acres. The land is fertile and yields large crops of 
 corn and is well husbanded. It is well watered and well 
 wooded and well supplied with meadow, making it a desira- 
 ble place for keeping stock. Several fine orchards have 
 been planted by the Indians, and it is a very good plantation. 
 It is near to the English settlement of Marlborough : and this 
 causes a great deal of trouble, the English being desirous of 
 obtaining some of the Indian lands. They are governed by a 
 justice, with a constable, and have their school and their 
 worship ; but nothing is said about a church organization, or 
 a church building. 
 
 Wamesit, the fifth of the praying towns, occupied a neck of 
 land where Concord river falls into the Merrimac, and con- 
 tained only 2,500 acres. This embraces apart of. the present 
 site of Lowell. Fifteen families were gathered here, num- 
 bering 70 or 80 people. It was a great place for fishing, and 
 in the height of the season drew together large numbers of 
 Indians, some of whom are represented as peculiarly the 
 minions of Satan. Eliot came each year with Gookin, who 
 held court here on the first of May, and " spread the net of 
 the Gospel to catch Indian souls." It was a great opportun- 
 ity, and most faithfully did the Apostle improve it ; but he 
 says the work was sadly hindered by the idle and improvi- 
 dent who hung around, Satan making use of them. The 
 place was noted for abundance of horses ; and, with fishing 
 and horse racing in the ascendant, little progress in civil- 
 izing and Christianizing the Indians seems to have been 
 made. Wannalancet was the Indian chief here, and Eliot 
 held meetings in his wigwam. He was "son of the great 
 Sachem, Passaconway. But while respectful and kind to- 
 wards Eliot, he was very shy of embracing his faith. At 
 last, after one of the good man's fervent appeals, Wannalan- 
 cet arose and said, " Hitherto I have rode on the great river 
 
Third Fie hi- Day. 69 
 
 in the old canoe, antl it seemed to me not wise to leave it for 
 a new one ; but now I have resolved to chan<;e and trust my- 
 self on the river in the new canoe." F'rom this time he be- 
 came a praying Indian and enrolled himself as one of Eliot's 
 converts. There remain two more of the old Indian villages 
 to speak of. The sixth was Nashobah, now Littleton, with 
 its lO families, and 50 souls, living by corn planting, fishing 
 and labor for the I^^nglish. Here, also, were extensive and 
 fruitful orchards yielding much cider, which proved sadly de- 
 moralizing to Indian virtue. It seems never to have attained 
 much prosperity ; but, like the others, it had its own govern- 
 ment, school and worship, and doubtless, like the others, was 
 a means of accomplishing some good. 
 
 Finally, we have Magunkook, now Hopkinton, the name 
 signifying a place of great trees. It was partly within the 
 bounds of Natick, and contained 3,000 acres, with 1 1 families 
 of 50 or 60 souls. It had an organised church of eight mem- 
 bers, and fifteen baptized persons. The Indians planted up- 
 on a great hill where the land was very fertile. They had an 
 abundance of corn, kept cattle, horses and swine and had a 
 prosperous plantation. Gookin says, this was the last set- 
 tling of the old Indian towns. But beyond these were seven 
 new praying toyvns, located in what is now Oxford, Dudley, 
 Uxbridge, Woodstock and Worcester, — Woodstock having 
 three villages, regarded as belonging to the Masschusetts 
 colony. In addition to these, there were two villages of 
 praying Indians partially formed in Brookfield. Making al- 
 together nine of these new praying towns in the Nipmuck 
 country. The entire population of the fourteen old and new 
 towns is estimated at eleven hunflred. In these there were 
 but two organized churches, viz., Natick and Ilassanamesit, 
 though services of worship were held with some degree of 
 regularity in all. 
 
 Having taken this hasty survey of the work inaugurated by 
 Flliot, at the time when it had reachetl its highest point of suc- 
 cess, it seems fitting, in conclusion, to say a few words touch- 
 
70 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 ing its interruption and decline. After King Philip's war, it 
 never regained its former prosperity. The English people 
 had very little confidence in the reality of Indian conver- 
 sions. They looked with suspicion and distrust upon Eliot's 
 work, and threw many obstacles in the way of its prosecu- 
 tion. Had it not been for the substantial aid which he re- 
 ceived from the Society in England, amounting in a single 
 year to more than X500, he could never have accomplished 
 anything like what he did, in the way of civilizing and 
 Christianizing the Indians, or in translating and publishing 
 the Bible in their tongue. 
 
 On the breaking out of that terrible war, which threat- 
 ened at one time the entire destruction of the English 
 settlements, and which was attended by the most horrible 
 outrages, the English distrust of the praying Indians was 
 greatly intensified. The worst reports about them were 
 credited ; they were believed to be in league with Philip, be- 
 traying the English and leading his movements. It was 
 said that some of them had been recognized lighting the 
 fires that destroyed the white man's dwelling, and brandish- 
 ing the tomahawk that butchered his family. And these 
 stories grew and multiplied as they were passed from mouth 
 to mouth while this devastation went on. The English were 
 panic stricken, and believed that every Indian was a barba- 
 rian and a fiend, to be shot with as little ceremony as a mad 
 dog. It was in vain that Eliot and Gookin plead for them, 
 showing that very few, if any, had left their villages to ally 
 themselves with the enemy. The people demanded their 
 immediate removal to a place of safety, where they could do 
 no harm. The villages were accordingly broken up, the In- 
 dians torn from their comfortable homes, their harvests and 
 their flocks, and placed upon a bleak island in Boston harbor, 
 where in "hunger and cold they were kept during the Winter 
 of 1675-6. It was a pitiful sight, these half clad, half starved 
 creatures huddled together there, with little shelter from 
 the driving storm and the bitter cold, hundreds sick and 
 
Third Ficld-Day. 71 
 
 many dyinji^ for the comforts of their homes. And yet, sub- 
 missive and uncomplaining under the cruel suspicion and 
 harsh treatment, showing the spirit of Christian patience and 
 forgiveness. And when, at last, the English reluctantly 
 called upon them for help, in that life and death struggle, 
 they sprang to their aid, and gave them the benefit of their 
 sagacity and cunning in dealing with the wily foe, and proved 
 faithful unto the end. It is said that it was this very ele- 
 ment in the bloody fight which turned the scale in favor of 
 the English, and saved their settlements from utter destruc- 
 tion ; that had it not been for the 3,000 praying Indians of 
 the Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies, thus withdrawn 
 from Philip's support and many of them turned actively 
 against him, it is not improbable that every Englishman 
 would have perished or been driven from these shores. 
 When we recall the suspicion and hostility with which 
 these poor souls were regarded and the brutal outrages com- 
 mitted upon them in their peaceful homes ; when we remem- 
 ber how strong must have been the craving of their nature 
 for the old savage life, and the ties which bound them to 
 their brothers and friends leading on the bloody fray, it is 
 amazing that they were not all drawn to Philip's side to be- 
 come his efficient and faithful allies. And yet, it is not cer- 
 tainly proved that one was ever detected in any outrage 
 against the English ; we know that nine-tenths of them were 
 utterly loyal to the English, and proved their most eflficient 
 aids, if not the salvation of their settlements in New 
 England. 
 
 After the war, the Indians were permitted to return to 
 their villages. The IZnglish now believed that Eliot's work 
 had been really effective in subduing and civilizing these 
 wild sons of the forest ; and they regarded them with new 
 interest and respect. But, alas, their homes were in ruins, 
 their fields and flocks had been well-nigh destroyed. Very 
 disheartening was the prospect before them ; and the memo- 
 ry of unprovoked outrages, and of harsh and cruel treatment, 
 
72 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 remained rankling in their bosoms. The work that seemed 
 so hopefully begun before the war, and gave such promise of 
 wide and permanent usefulness, was almost ruined ; and from 
 this time the villages of the praying Indians rapidly sunk 
 into neglect and oblivion. 
 
 In 1684, eight years after the war, Eliot says there were 
 but four villages left. And after his own death, in 1690, we 
 hear but little more of them. Rev. Grandal Rawson of 
 Mendon visited Natick in 1698, and reports that he found 
 here a small church of seven men and three women, of which 
 the Indian, Daniel Takawambpait, was the pastor. In the 
 village were living 59 men, 51 women and 70 children under 
 sixteen years of age — a larger population than at any time 
 during Eliot's life, so far as we know. And the lamentable 
 fact is also noted that there was no school here, and only 
 one child that could read. The village continued to exist as 
 an Indian village or town until 1763, a hundred and twelve 
 years from its organization, when it was reorganized as an 
 English town. At that time there were but 37 Indians in the 
 place; and thirty years later, or in 1792, but one Indian 
 family remained, containing five persons. Probably this 
 statement has reference to those of pure Indian blood. Has- 
 sanamesit, or Grafton, retained a few Indians down to the 
 same date ; but after this they quickly disappear, and the 
 last of the old praying Indian towns drops out of sight 
 forever. 
 
 In my childhood, I well remember that in a large tract of 
 woodland near my father's house, in Mendon, was a wigwam 
 which belonged to the Natick Indians. They appeared to 
 be of one family, and bore the name of Pease : a mother, 
 with several sons and their wives and children. They occu- 
 pied this wigwam during the Spring and Summer, but in the 
 early Autumn left it for their more permanent home in 
 Natick. They were of mixed Indian, Negro and English 
 blood, and lived a wild, roving life — hunting and fishing, 
 basket making and cultivating a garden around their wig- 
 
Third Ficld-Day. 73 
 
 warn. Evidently they had already adopted the now popular 
 custom of having a city and country residence ! As I recall 
 their besotted, filthy, wretched appearance, as they streamed 
 along the road, hatless and shoeless, followed by their hungry 
 dogs, the women bearing their packs of household goods, the 
 men carrying their fish poles, I say, surely this cannot be the 
 highest outcome of that noble enterprise which Eliot here 
 inaugurated and carried on for so many years ! It was con- 
 ceived in a holy sense of duty ; it was prosecuted in a spirit 
 of Christian sacrifice and love ; it recognized bonds of broth- 
 erhood between the red man and the white man, and sought 
 to lift up a poor, benighted race to the plane of civilized and 
 Christian life. No such work ever wholly fails : it has an 
 elevating and refining power upon those who are engaged in 
 it, and it contributes something of permanent worth to the 
 stream of helpful, saving influences bearing the world on to 
 nobler life. 
 
 ADDRESS BY REV. GEO. E. ELLIS, D. D. 
 
 I came here to-day, by your kind invitation, to attend 
 these exercises, backed by that of my esteemed friend, Mr. 
 Hunnewell, that I would be his guest on the occasion. But 
 neither invitation suggested or implied that I should be 
 called upon for any public utterance. Yet I cheerfully an- 
 swer to your request. How could I fail to do so.-* I could 
 not avow that I have nothing to say on a subject and upon a 
 scene which have for many years engaged my interest, my 
 thoughts and my historical researches. Here, near the site 
 of the Indian meeting house, amid the scenes and surround- 
 ings of the loving and consecrated labors of the Apostle 
 Eliot, I feel the spell of a power which gives me a theme 
 and utterance. The spot is an impressive one, for the noble 
 and holy work which was begun here amid incalculable per- 
 plexities and obstacles, for the auspices of promise and hap- 
 
74 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 py success which for a while cheered it, and also for the 
 melancholy and tragic shadows of disaster and catastrophe 
 which brought it all to nought. The address to which we 
 have so gratefully listened has told the story faithfully, elo- 
 quently and touchingly. 
 
 During the nearly four centuries which have passed since 
 the red man and the white man on this continent were first 
 brought to each other's knowledge, to the present time and 
 the present relations between the representatives of the two 
 races, two men have justly earned and nobly borne, — though 
 without having claimed or assumed the title, — the one, 
 "The Apostle to the Indies," the other, "The Apostle to 
 the Indians." The two differed in birth-time by more than 
 a century and a quarter of years. Far wider and more sig- 
 nificant was the division or distinction between them, as 
 representing the extremes of variance and conflict between 
 their Christian creeds, their views and beliefs as to the 
 methods and conditions of conversion, discipleship and sal- 
 vation. But such were the harmonies of soul and purpose, 
 of zeal and love, of toil and self-consecration, between , those 
 two men, that if they could have met and known each other, 
 it would have been as friends and brethren. One of them 
 was a Dominican monk, the other was an English Puritan of 
 the original and exemplary pattern. The one died at the age 
 of ninety-two, the other at the age of eighty-six, — in labors 
 more saddened for both of them than crowned with further 
 hope or success. 
 
 My studies have recently been engaging me in a thorough 
 inquiry into the life, the personal character, and the mission- 
 ary work of Father Bartholemi Las Casas, the Apostle to 
 the Indies. The annals and biographies of Christendom, in 
 all their compass, do not present to us a nobler or more de- 
 voted, more toiling, self-sacrificing, all-enduring man than 
 he. If the heavenly realms were to send down to us one 
 whom we should all love and revere, — seeing in him as a 
 spirit without earthly stain or guile, a ministry of grace and 
 
Third Field-Day. 75 
 
 help, — it might well be Las Casas. While he was a youth 
 at a Spanish university, his father was a companion of Co- 
 lumbus in his first voyage of discovery here. In 1498, at the 
 age of twenty-four, he came to Hispaniola with Columbus. 
 Fourteen times, in the perilous and uncomfortable naviga- 
 tion of those days, did he cross the ocean between Spain and 
 America, simply on errands of mercy. 
 
 At his first coming here, he was a witness of those atroc- 
 ities and fiendish cruelties and tortures so wanton in their 
 direful havoc, with which the Spanish invaders well-nigh de- 
 populated our islands and gulf regions of an innocent, gentle 
 and friendly race of native men and women, having in them 
 the least of a savage nature of any of our aborigines. We 
 owe to Las Casas our knowledge of these outrages and bar- 
 barities in all their revolting details, so hideous and blood- 
 curdling that it would be an offence to taste, humanity and 
 propriety to enter into a detail or relation of them. He saw 
 them as they showed themselves to his tender and tortured 
 spirit. Over and over again did he cross the seas to testify 
 and protest before the monarchs of Spain, at times with 
 hopefulness of restraining and redressing the foul wrong. 
 But rapacity, greed for gold and pearls, the mad rage for 
 conquest, and all the intrigues and entanglements of cun- 
 ning men and policy, baffled his purposes ; and when he had 
 secured authority from the sovereigns, who yielded to the 
 pathos of his indignation and appeals, he returned here only 
 to be thwarted in all efforts. Hut he was never disheartened, 
 never silenced. He dared the threats and grasp of the In- 
 quisition, for he had even priests and prelates against him. 
 He denied the right of the Pope to confer, and that of the 
 monarchs of Castile and Leon to accept and hold, the sover- 
 eignty of the New World, except on the condition and for 
 the purpose of bringing the natives into the Christian fold, 
 claiming for them the privileges of life and humanity, even 
 as heathen — yes, even if they were idolaters. His pen was 
 as busy as his spirit. Essays, arguments, exposures and ap- 
 
76 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 peals, all relating to the atrocities of Spanish cruelty, came 
 in a stream from him. These were surreptitiously printed, 
 and translated into all the languages of Europe, with engrav- 
 ings all too faithfully presenting the shuddering scenes 
 which the text described. It was only a few years ago that 
 the Spanish government allowed his full " History of the 
 Indies," so long secreted in manuscript, to appear in print. 
 
 I pass to that other Apostle, John Eliot, whose labors 
 amid these scenes have been so happily rehearsed to you. 
 Whenever I drive or walk through these regions, I love to 
 recall the image of that pure, child-like, intrepid and devoted 
 man. After he had lingeringly and patiently prepared the 
 stages of his fond experiment here, it was his habit about 
 once in a fortnight, intermitting his arduous duties to his 
 church in Roxbury, to ride up here on horseback to superin- 
 tend progress. He, himself, more than anyone else, opened 
 these roads. I can present him to my mind's eye, with a 
 huge pack behind his saddle, a wallet before him or hung 
 from his shoulder, and his pockets full of cakes and apples 
 for the pappooses. The huge pack contained a curious med- 
 ley. It was Eliot's custom — as what is selfishness in most 
 of us, was an importunate beggary for others in him — to 
 put all his friends, far and wide, and even strangers, under 
 contribution for his naked forest wards. So that pack con- 
 tained cast-off apparel of every kind, old horse blankets, and 
 pieces of sails, even rags, to invest with stages of decency 
 these decendants of Adam, for whom the Lord had not 
 " made breeches," as an old English version of the Bible 
 gives the text. In his private wallet was some frugal food 
 which the thrifty Mrs. Eliot always prepared for him, to be 
 eaten in his private room in the attic of the meeting house. 
 For his English — shall we say stomach ? but I think it was 
 something more delicate than that — made him shrink from 
 the cookery of Indian housewives. Blessed be, blessed is, 
 the memory of that good Christian man ! 
 
Thini I-ichi-Dny. 77 
 
 Mr. President, the society now keepint; its anniversary 
 here was formed none too soon for its grateful purpose. For 
 every successive year it will retain and increase its interest. 
 For we have begun to care for — to cherish — oiir local an- 
 tiquarian sites and objects of historic association, and to 
 identify and mark them. Strange, how forgetfulness and 
 oblivion creep over them ! I have been gravely told by one 
 person, that Eliot's body rests under yonder monument to 
 him in your green. And again, by another, that he was 
 buried under Nonantum Hill. The real place of deposit of 
 his dust has an interesting association connected with it. 
 It seems strange to remind ourselves of a time and a state 
 of things when our roving New Flngland adventurers on for- 
 eign seas were made captives and held as slaves for ransom 
 by the pirates of the Northern African coast. Hut so it was. 
 We read of collections taken in our meeting houses on Sun- 
 day, to ransom such white slaves — some of their own mem- 
 bers. A collection had been made in Ro.xbury for one of 
 Eliot's people, William Bowen by name, about 1686, to re- 
 lieve him from captivity by the Turks. Ikit he dying before 
 relief reached him, the money was used for building a tomb 
 for the ministers of the Ro.xbury church. Mrs. Eliot was its 
 first occupant. There the "Apostle" was laid, in May, 1690. 
 Several of his successors rest there. 
 
 Elijah Perry next introduced Seth Davis, Esq., of Newton, 
 who is in his 96th year, for 25 years master of the Davis 
 Academy. 
 
 Mr. Davis responded with very fitting remarks. He ques- 
 tioned if Mr. Perry " had ever called upon one of his age to 
 speak in public on the stage." Thirty odd years had passed 
 since he had taught the young idea how to shoot. Among 
 those of his scholars who have " made their mark," he num- 
 bered ex-Gov. Rice, T. B. Hager, and George Bemis. He 
 closed with a touching reference to his age and the proba- 
 bilitv that he never again would speak in public. 
 
78 Historical, NaT. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 The following letters were next presented by H. L. Morse 
 secretary of the committee : 
 
 April 25th, 1883. 
 My Dear Mr. Perry : — Since I saw you at the Massachu- 
 setts club I find that I am engaged at Mansfield on the first 
 of May and so cannot attend your Field day at South Natick. 
 I thank you for your courteous invitation and wish you a 
 very pleasant occasion. Truly yours, 
 
 John D. Long. 
 
 Dedham, April 24th, 1883. 
 Elijah Perry, Esq. : 
 
 My Dear Sir, — Many thanks for the card of invitation 
 from the Historical society of Natick to be present at their 
 meeting on May day. I should take great pleasure in being 
 present on the occasion, as it relates to subjects in which I 
 take a great interest, and if possible I shall attend. But I 
 much fear that my official duties on that day will detain me. 
 
 Very sincerely, yours, 
 
 E. Worthington. 
 
 Cincinnati, April 24th, 1883. 
 Mr. Elijah Perry : 
 
 Dear Sir, — I have this morning received the circular and 
 invitation of your committee to be present on the occasion 
 of the Field-Day of your Historical, Natural History and 
 Library Society. I cherish the hope of sometime finding 
 you and of traversing with you the scenes and events to be 
 commemorated on that day, although I can scarcely hope to 
 find an occasion which will be so interesting as to be with 
 you in carrying out the admirable programme of the Third 
 Annual Field-Day. I am sorry that my engagements will 
 not permit. I can only request you to accept and make 
 known to the other members of the committee my thanks 
 for the invitation. Four of the five names on your commit- 
 tee were, in my childhood in Vermont, familiar names of 
 neighbors and friends, viz. : Perry, Townsend, Cheney and 
 
Third Fuld-Dav. 79 
 
 Morse, all, I think, from Massachusetts. Whether any of 
 cither name can now be found in the same nei£;hborhood, 
 otherwise than upon tomb-stones and old records, I do not 
 know, except as I know that none of my name can. The 
 youngest and living branches of that Perry family are now to 
 be found in Connecticut, Maryland, District of Columbia, 
 Ohio, Illinois, Dakota and Old Mexico. 
 
 If I could be with the gentlemen of your committee, and 
 others likely to assemble with you on your h'ield-Day, the 
 occasion would, perhaps, be of even greater interest to me 
 than to you. When visiting the Tower of London one of the 
 wardens told me that he could generally distinguish Ameri- 
 cans from Englishmen, by reason of the lively interest shown 
 by Americans in historic events and places with which En- 
 glishmen were more familiar. 
 
 Very sincerely, yours, 
 
 Aarox F. Perrv. 
 Dorchester, April 24th, 1883. 
 
 Mv De.ar Mr. Perry: — I thank you most heartily for 
 your kind letter and the invitation to be present at the com- 
 ing anniversary of the Natick Historical Society, when I 
 should meet many old and loving friends with whom I have 
 labored in the past. 
 
 I feel a deep interest in your society and in all similar 
 institutions which have for their object the preservation of 
 the history of our beloved New England and the worthy 
 men who have gone before us ; and I know of no more grate- 
 ful duty than to preserve a record of their lives and their 
 descendants to the latest generation. There is no more 
 noble employment than that of preserving the deeds, princi- 
 ples and virtues of a noble ancestry. In this cause your so- 
 ciety are engaged. God bless you in your efforts. 
 
 As ever, yours, 
 
 M.\Rsn.\M. ['. W^ii.nEK. 
 
 P. S. With regret that my strength and health arw insuf- 
 ficient for the journey to South Natick. 
 
80 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of Sont/i Natick. 
 
 Newton Centre, April 27th, 1883. 
 My Dear Sir, — I thank you for your kind invitation to 
 join in your Field-Day, and it would give me great pleasure ; 
 but it will be impossible. I wish I had more time for such his- 
 torical occasions, and none would be more beneficial or en- 
 joyable than those at South Natick. 
 
 Yours, very truly, 
 
 Robert R. Bishop. 
 Elijah Perry, Esq. 
 
 106 Marlboro' Street, Boston, May i, 1883. 
 Dear Mr. Sheafe : — I am very sorry that an engagement 
 for this afternoon obliges me to decline your very kind and 
 attractive invitation, for which I heartily thank yourself and 
 committee. You have a most delightful day for the occa- 
 sion. My very kind regards to Mrs. Sheafe. 
 
 Always sincerely, yours, 
 
 RuFus Ellis. 
 
 AN ANCIENT DOCUMENT. 
 
 BY EDWIN C. MORSE. 
 
 The ancient records of events and personages in our town 
 are always interesting, as showing the habits, customs, and 
 characteristics of the early settlers, most of whom have left 
 more or less descendants now living in our borders. A cen- 
 tury and a half ago may have been "a day of small things " 
 in the eyes of the present dwellers in this old Indian town 
 of Natick ; but the stalwart oak has no right to look down 
 with contempt upon the diminutive acorn from which it 
 sprung and but for which the noble tree, lifting its wide- 
 spreading branches, could never have been. 
 
 In the olden times there were few men of education suffi- 
 cient to enable them to make a connected and permanent 
 record of events transpiring in their day, and a still smaller 
 number who were disposed to take the time and the pains 
 to do so. 
 
Third Fiild-Day. 81 
 
 Amonp; this small number the clergymen surely stood at 
 the head. They were men liberally educated and accustomed 
 to the use of the pen, and the parish and town records, the 
 journals and printed works they have left in a permanent 
 form constitute the chief sources of information concerning 
 the local events and the men of those days. They were the 
 authors of most of the important public documents, both ec- 
 clesiastical and civil, that required sound learning and good 
 judgment. To these faithful chroniclers we of this genera- 
 tion are greatly indebted, as were the fathers who looked to 
 them for advice and guidance, and \yho never looked in vain. 
 Perhaps if we of the present day were more generally dis- 
 posed to heed the counsels of our ministers it would be 
 better for us all. 
 
 Among the records of the First Church in Necdham, is 
 found the following entry in the handwriting of Rev. Jona- 
 than Townsend, the first minister of that town : 
 
 "April 14th, 1728. This day I preached at Natick. 
 Joseph Ephraim, Sr., Joseph Ephraim, Jr., Isaac Commachoo, 
 Sarah Commachoo, Deborah Abraham, Leah Thomas, and 
 Judith Ephraim (who made a public confession of her sin in 
 breaking the seventh commandment), took hold on God's 
 Covenant, and were baptized ; also, Ebenezer, John, Simon, 
 sons, Sarah and Deborah, daughters, of Joseph Ephraim, 
 Jr., baptized ; Daniel, son of Leah Thomas, and John, son of 
 Judith Ephraim, Eodetn Die. The following English child- 
 ren were baptized, viz. : Esther, daughter of Thomas Frost ; 
 Samuel, son of Samuel Frost ; Joseph, son of Samuel Morse ; 
 Beulah, daughter of John Goodenow ; Ezekiel, son of John 
 Sawin ; and Moses, son, and Mary, daughter, of Moses 
 Smith." 
 
 Most of the above — the Indians excepted — have de- 
 scendants now living in this town ; but as these white fami- 
 lies resided in other portions of the town, special feference 
 to them will be postponed until the localities occupied by 
 them may be visited in future years. 
 
82 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. ' 
 
 Of the Indians mentioned, most if not all of the males 
 were freeholders as were their fathers before them ; and 
 some of the old deeds given by them to the white settlers 
 are still in existence. 
 
 Joseph Ephraim, Senior, was in after years appointed a 
 deacon in the church here, and officiated as such in Rev. 
 ■Mr. Badger's day. He was a worthy and exemplary man, 
 and his wife was noted for being a neat and tidy house- 
 keeper. His home was on Pleasant street near where the 
 canal crosses it, and a small stone monument erected by 
 Elijah Perry, Esq., marks the spot where his house stood. 
 
 At the time of the baptism referred to, the Rev. Oliver 
 Peabody was preaching at Natick, but had not been ordained 
 to the ministry and could not administer the rites of the 
 church. It is therefore probable that an exchange had been 
 arranged with Mr. Townsend, an authorized minister. 
 
 The first preacher here was of course Rev. John Eliot. 
 He was succeeded by one of his Indian converts, Daniel 
 Takawampbait, whom Eliot ordained Nov. 9th, 1689. Mr. 
 Peabody first preached in Natick, August 6th, 1721, and 
 died in 1752. He was followed by Rev. Stephen Badger, 
 who was ordained March 27th, 1753, and died Aug. 28, 1803, 
 making from the time of Eliot's commencement to the close 
 Mr. Badger's services about 150 years of almost continuous 
 preaching by four men, and two of these dying compara- 
 tively young. At the present day few ministers finish their 
 labors where they commence them, unless they are fortunate 
 enough to die young. We have on our south-westerly bor- 
 ders, however, a notable instance to the contrary, where the 
 beloved and honored pastor bids fair, in the words of Rip 
 Van Winkle's celebrated toast, to "live long and prosper" 
 in the ministry of his early love, honored equally in his own 
 and in other denominations. 
 
 I have indicated the fact that among those baptized by 
 Rev. Mr. Townsend there were several Indians who have 
 left no descendants. The descendants of the Red Men, who 
 
Third Field-Day. S8 
 
 two hundred years ago roamed over these hills, who built 
 their wigwams upon the banks of your beautiful Charles and 
 paddled the light canoe upon its limpid waters, who gath- 
 ered under the shade of oaken temples, the beauty of whose 
 architecture outrivalled the grandest cathedrals of the old 
 world — who listened with reverent mien to the teachings of 
 the great "Apostle," and who brought their children to the 
 baptismal font — have melted like the snows of Winter 
 when the Spring-time comes and have disappeared forever. 
 This is a sad commentary upon the civilization which the 
 white men brought to them. Their memory, a few frag- 
 ments of their history and their graves are all that is left of 
 them. All that we in this day can do for them is to some- 
 times recall their efforts to better their condition, and to 
 drop upon their graves the bitter tear of regret for a fate so 
 sad. 
 
 Mr. I'erry called attention to the recent donations to the 
 Society's museum, which were displayed in front of the pul- 
 l)it, and then read the following paper upon the 
 
 RARE SPECIMENS OF SILK EMBROIDERY. 
 
 In the old graveyard at South Xatick are three head- 
 stones, which read thus : 
 
 Sarah Eliot, daughter of Dea. John Eliot, of Boston, died 
 September 6th, 1787. Aged 62 years. 
 
 Silence Eliot, daughter of Dea. John ICliot, of Boston, died 
 August 2d, 1790. Aged 60 years. 
 
 Joseph Eliot, son of Dea. John Eliot, of Boston, died Sep- 
 tember 25th, 1782. Aged 54 years. 
 
 It has long been a question why these persons were i)uricd 
 here, and who was this Dea. John Eliot of Boston. It has 
 been ascertained that he was a grandson of Jacob I<21iot 
 of Boston, and that Jacob Eliot was a brother of John Eliot, 
 the apostle to the Indians. Dea. John i-:iiot married for his 
 third wife Mrs. Hannah, widow of Rev. Oliver I'eabodv, Oc- 
 
84 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of Soictli N^atick. 
 
 tober 7th, 1766, and died 1783. His widow, Hannah, died in 
 1796, aged 92. The two danghters of Dea. John EHot were 
 mutes, and probably came with their step-mother after the 
 death of their father, to the old Peabody home and busied 
 themselves in doing fine needlework, some of which has this 
 day been presented to this Society by Mrs. E. D. Hartwell 
 of North Grafton. The busy hands that wrought this very 
 fine needlework have been at rest some ninety years, but 
 this beautiful work remains as evidence of their skill. 
 
 The company then left the church, and. proceeding toward 
 Wellesley, made the first halt at the Rev. Thomas B. Gan- 
 nett place. Here the following paper upon the history of the 
 "David Morse Place" (now Asa Caswell's home) and the 
 " Pelatiah Morse Place " (Rev. T. B. Gannett estate) was 
 given : 
 
 DAVID MORSE PLACE AND PELATIAH MORSE PLACE. 
 
 BY HORACE MANN. 
 
 On the fourth day of May, 17 19, the Indian proprietors of 
 Natick assembled at the meeting house and voted a division 
 of a portion of their common lands. Three lots, 150 acres in 
 extent, north and east of the meeting house, fell to Samuel 
 Umpatowin, Benjamin Tray and Thomas Sooduck. 
 
 We are standing near the junction of these lots. A por- 
 tion of them were relinquished in favor of Rev. Oliver Pea- 
 body and William Rider, Jr., of Sherborn, who had been 
 chosen proprietor's clerk. Rider was also clerk for the Sher- 
 born proprietors. He did not improve the holdings here, but 
 in 1729 exchanged them with David Morse, of Sherborn, for 
 lands at the west part of that town. 
 
 David Morse, who succeeded Rider in the ownership, was 
 a native of Sherborn, and was born Dec. 31st, 1694. He 
 was the ninth child of Capt. Joseph Morse by his second 
 
 These are considered the oldest but two houses in Natick. 
 
Third Ficlcl-Day. 85 
 
 wife (Hannah Babcock), and was a f^rcat-<;rancl-.son of 
 Samuel Morse, one of the original planters of Dedhani, in 
 1636. David Morse, upon attaining his majority, was 
 chosen to the ofifices of Hog Reeve, Highway Surveyor and 
 one of the committee to divide the commons at Sherborn. 
 In 17JO his name appeared on a muster rc^ll of troojxM's com- 
 manded by Eleazer Rider, and in 1725 he served a term of 
 six weeks in Clark's company (of Framingham) in the Rut- 
 land Scouts. He married, in 17 19, Sarah Dyer, of Wey- 
 mouth, the daughter of Joseph and Hannah Dyer of that 
 town ; and there issifed from the union ten children — three 
 born in Sherborn, the others in Natick. 
 
 In 1732 David Morse and his wife Sarah were baptized by 
 Rev. Oliver Peabody and admitted to church membership at 
 Natick and this is probably the date of their arrival here. 1 
 am told that Morse built the house now owned by Asa Cas- 
 well ; but it has been repaired and remodeled many times 
 and retains but little of the original material. In 1732, 
 Morse was chosen town clerk of Natick and was on a com- 
 mittee to divide lands. With Rev. Oliver Peabody he was in- 
 terested in milling upon Charles river, and purchased lands 
 between Glen street and the river, of Samuel Abrahams, 
 Jeremiah Comacho and Joseph I'^phraim, for the conven- 
 ience of the mills. When a military company was formed he 
 was chosen its cajjtain, an office he retained until 1756. This 
 company was attached to a regiment commanded by Col. 
 John Jones, of Hopkinton, and afterwards by Col. Joseph 
 Buckminster of Framingham. Captain Morse acquired large 
 holdings of land at the Indian Farm, Saw-Mill pond. Pine and 
 Cedar swamps, Washamog pond and Lake Cochituate. The 
 Indian birth, marriage and death records were kept by him ; 
 he was an indifferent penman and a worse speller. In a long 
 controversy concerning the location of the meeting house, 
 Capt. Morse was the leader of the Southern army against the 
 assaults of the "Needham-Enders," and on a call of the "yeas" 
 and "noes," as the records have it, was sure of his following. 
 
86 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socj of South A^atick. 
 
 Surrounded by a population of English, Indians and Ne- 
 groes, engaged in a struggle for the possession of the soil, 
 Captain Morse exhibited abilities equal to the emergencies 
 of his position. He died in 1773, having for nearly forty 
 years held the position and prestige of a leader in the rough 
 work of peopling" and settling a new town, and leaving" behind 
 him an honorable and enviable reputation. 
 
 Of his children I will speak briefly : 
 
 Hannah, born at Sherborn, February, 1719-20, married 
 John Jones, of Dedham, the great-grandfather of Elijah 
 Perry of Natick. 
 
 Pelatiah, born in Sherborn, 1722, received a good educa- 
 tion, married Esther Allen of Dedham, and in 1748 built 
 this house, which for many years was known as Pelatiah's 
 tavern. He was also a school teacher, town clerk and town 
 treasurer, and an excellent penman. When the weather was 
 cold or the debates or disputants dry, the town meetings ad- 
 journed to " Pelatiah's " tavern, where they warmed them- 
 selves at his fireplace, quenched their thirst, mellowed the 
 asperities of their discussions with a mug of flip and then 
 voted that the swine might go at large another year and the 
 meeting house be located at Indian Thomas's and noivJicrc 
 else. In May, 1775, the provincial congress of Massachu- 
 setts sent to Natick, where he belonged, a negro named 
 Thomas Nichols, in custody of Captain Caleb Kingsbury of 
 Needham. Nichols was accused of aiding the British and 
 was confined at this house. Nichols was well guarded, and 
 guard and prisoner well entertained, says Morse, in his 
 petition for payment, which the congress and town had for- 
 gotten in the press of public matters, and we may rest as- 
 sured that " Pelatiah " was a cheerful dispenser of the good 
 things of this life. At the decease of Hezekiah Broad, in 
 1755, Morse purchased the grain, saw and fulling mills on 
 Charles River, and they passed to his son William and 
 thence to Samuel Mann, Abel Perry and Dea. William Bige- 
 low. Morse was twice married. By his first marriage there 
 
TJiird Ficld-Day. ST 
 
 were four children, I^sther, David, Mary and William ; by his 
 second wife (Lydia Glazier, of Lancaster), none. Parson 
 Badger's anathemas against taverners were too strong for 
 Pelatiah, and he withdrew from the Natick church to the 
 Old South of Boston. Later in life his views changed, and 
 he became a Baptist. Pelatiah died in iSio, aged 88 years. 
 
 Sarah Morse, born at Natick, 1734, married John Robert- 
 son, a soldier of the French war ot 1755 and a Continental 
 soldier from Natick in 1788. They lived at the Indian Farm 
 on lands inherited from Capt. David Morse. 
 
 Joseph Morse was born at Natick, 1739; received a good 
 education ; was chosen to many town offices ; was a captain 
 in the militia and on the committee of correspondence in 
 1775 ; was chosen selectman and resigned to take a cap- 
 taincy in the Massachusetts line ; arose to the rank of major 
 and served with the Northern army in 1779, where he con- 
 tracted a disease which terminated fatally on his return 
 home. Major Morse lived at the Indian Farm, on lands ac- 
 quired from Indian grantors by his father. Captain David. 
 He was twice married and left five children. Some of his 
 descendants are now living in Wellesley, and in the north 
 part of Natick. 
 
 The other children of Captain David died in infancy, or 
 before reaching their majority. 
 
 David Morse, Jr., the son of Pelatiah, entered Harvard 
 College, but did not complete the course. He was a captain 
 in the militia and a "forty days man" at Rhode Island, in 
 1780. He was a school teacher and farmer, and for many 
 years town clerk and treasurer, and a superior penman. He 
 was twice married, having three children by his first wife, 
 Jemima Wood, and none by his second, Deborah Draper. 
 
 Capt. David died in 1830, aged 74 years. Rebecca, his 
 daughter, married Daniel Hartshorn, of West Boylston ; his 
 daughter Esther married Capt. George Whitney, of Natick ; 
 Charles, his only son, also called Captain Charles, married 
 Lucy Winch, f)f I'^-amingham. 
 
88 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 The male descendants of Captain David, Jr., are not num- 
 erous. Hamilton Morse, of South Natick, is the only rep- 
 resentative of the name in the second generation. The de- 
 scendants of his daughter Esther are numerous at the cen- 
 ter of the town. 
 
 The motto of the Morse race is " In. Deo Nan Annis Fido,'' 
 "In God, not in arms, we trust. " This branch has amply sus- 
 tained their patents of nobility and have also borne arms in 
 the cause of liberty, right and justice. 
 
 There is a tradition that one acre of this estate was once 
 the property of the Apostle Eliot, the gift of an Indian to 
 him, but I have been unable to find any record to verify it. 
 
 In 1794, the old house and a portion of the David Morse 
 estate had passed to the Welles family, and Hon. John Welles 
 sold it to Capt. John Atkins of Truro. Atkins became a 
 leader in society at Natick, and held important town offices. 
 In the adjustment of " Lady Lothrop's " estate and the liti- 
 gation that attended it, he was a conspicuous party ; he is 
 also one of the stars of Mrs. Stowe's "Old Town Folks." 
 For a number of years he was one of the guardians of the 
 Natick Indians, and during his administration of their affairs 
 the last of their lands, the possessions of Hannah Thomas, 
 passed to white ownership. In 1847 John Atkins sold the 
 Morse estate to Hon. John Welles, and the so-called Eliot 
 acre was deeded to Atkins by Hon. Chester Adams. 
 
 The Pelatiah Morse estate was, after a time, sold to Rev. 
 Thomas B. Gannett, whose heirs now hold it. 
 
 The sons of Captain Atkins entered business houses in 
 Boston and accjuired wealth and distinction in their separate 
 careers. John Atkins, Jr., remained in Natick, and has 
 lately, at an advanced age, passed beyond the veil. The 
 family is now represented here by Mrs. Joseph Dow, who 
 resides in a dwelling across the way. 
 
 The English owners and occupants of the three Indian 
 lots have uniformly been honorable and useful citizens. Pos- 
 sibly Umpatowin, Tray and Sooduck were equally as honor- 
 
Tliird Fichi-Dav. 89 
 
 able and useful for their condition and time ; yet it is better 
 that the white men took their places and wrung from the 
 soil the conditions which won for them their wealth, their 
 honor and their fame. 
 
 R I'. CHENEY PLACr:. 
 
 RV REV. J. P. SHEAFE, [R. 
 
 This beautiful spot is situated on a broad upland plain 
 just in the bend of the river, and nearly surrounded by it. 
 This plain was high, dry, and healthful, commonly called 
 " Natick Plain," very desirable for habitation ; and early 
 settlers were soon attracted to the spot. 
 
 The deeds and conveyances of 150 years ago describe this 
 tract of land on and about the plain as having been originally 
 granted to Thomas Metcalf, Jonathan and John Fairbanks, 
 and Henry Chickering of Dedham, and John Allen. The 
 date of these original grants I have not been able to ascer- 
 tain, but hope that continued search may discover the time. 
 The earliest date of intlividual ownership is some time 
 previous to 1732. 
 
 It appears from deeds on record at Boston, that more than 
 a century and a half ago the major part of this estate was 
 owned by Thomas Fuller and Thomas I'uller, Jr., who were 
 weavers of Dedham. 
 
 "On the i8th of April, 1732, the fourth year of the reign 
 of George H.," so reads the deed, "Thomas Fuller, a weaver 
 of Dedham, sold to Hezekiah Fuller, husbandman, for ^131 
 lawful money, a tract of land containing 40 acres and 32 
 poles, be it more or less, part meadow and part upland, 
 situated in Dedham, near Natick, upon a plain commonly 
 called Natick Plain." This land was granted originally to 
 Jonathan and John I^'airbanks, and was bounded as follows : 
 On the north, b)' land granted to Thomas Metcalf ; south, 
 by land granted to John Allen : rhiirlcs Ri\i'r bounds it 
 
90 Historical y Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 on the east and part of the west ; and what is called the 
 " Westland " bounds it in part on the west. Thomas Fuller 
 declares himself as having full and clear title to this land, 
 and he, with his wife Esther, relinquish all right, title and 
 interest in the same to the purchaser, Hezekiah Fuller. 
 
 On the very same day, viz., April i8, 1732, this Hezekiah 
 Fuller, husbandman, bought of Thomas Fuller, Jr., who was 
 a weaver of Needham, a parcel of land, part upland and part 
 meadow, containing 20 1-2 acres and 10 poles, for the sum 
 of ^69 good and lawful money. 
 
 This land without doubt joined the tract just described, 
 being located in Dedham, near Natick, and on what was 
 called Natick Plain. This land was originally granted to 
 Henry Chickering of Dedham, and was bounded on the 
 north by land granted Thomas Metcalf, and by Charles 
 River on the other parts. 
 
 Mehitable, the wife of Thomas Fuller, Jr., also appeared 
 and signed to the purchaser her third part of interest in 
 the above land. "This," says the deed, "was in the fourth 
 year of the reign of George H., King of Great Britain, 
 France and Ireland." 
 
 This estate, with some additional, was owned and held 
 by Hezekiah Fuller of Dedham, county of Suffolk, until May 
 20, 1740, when he sold it to one John Jones, Jr., husband- 
 man, of Weston, county of Middlesex, for the sum of ^591. 
 
 The farm as conveyed to John Jones, Jr., is thus described 
 in the deed : " A tract of land lying on a neck of Charles 
 River, in the northerly part of Needham, near Natick, and 
 containing 72 acres, 24 rods, be it more or less, as described 
 in the records of said township of Needham." 
 
 The difficulty of identifying the ancient bounderies will 
 be apparent to all when I read, according to the deed given 
 to John Jones, Jr., that the farm was butted and bounded 
 as follows : " By the Charles River at the west end, and 
 running easterly from a scratched walnut-tree, and in a 
 straight line to a stake on the plain, thence to a small 
 
Third Ficld-Day. 91 
 
 black oak by the south side of a small pond-hole, from 
 thence in a straight line to a birch tree standing on the edge 
 of the river, bounded south mostly by Edmund Dewing's 
 land, and by Charles River round to first mark." 
 
 More than 140 years have sped away since then, taking 
 birch tree and stake, perhaps walnut and oak, so that the 
 bounderies remain known only as tlie memory of the occu- 
 pant transmits them to his successor. 
 
 Mr. Jones purchases also i 1-2 acres, 6 rods, adjoining his 
 original purchase, and bounded on the south by the Needham 
 school-land. Hezekiah Fuller declares himself to be the 
 true, sole and lawful owner of this estate, and the papers 
 are signed, sealed and delivered to John Jones, Jr., in the 
 presence of David Morse, John Janes and Hezekiah h^dler, 
 Jr. 
 
 We have now in the Jones family what may be called 
 permanent residents. The estate remained in the Jones 
 family sixty-four years ; and during this long period, in the 
 hands of father and son, tlie place was greatly improved, and 
 much increased by subsequent purchases. As an illustra- 
 tion of this improvement, we point with satisfaction to these 
 stately elms, which from their size and age must have been 
 planted by the Jones family, and still stand in the maturity 
 of their strength and beauty to tell of the thrift and enter- 
 prise of those long since passed away. This family was not 
 of that sort who selfishly spend all their efforts for their 
 private ends : they were public spirited and interested in the 
 general welfare of the town. 
 
 John Jones, Jr., was for many years Justice of the Peace, 
 lie was also one of. the deacons in Rev. Stephen Badger's 
 church (Parson Lothrop of Old Town Folks) ; and in this 
 office he served with Joseph Ephraim, an Indian who was 
 baptized with others, April 14th, 1728, by Rev. Jonathan 
 Townsend, first minister of Needham.' Not only in town 
 affairs do we remember the activities of this f imily, but the 
 
 ISl'O jiaper eiUitleil " An Am-ieiit Docuiik'hI," wliicli was icad in \\w cliurcli. 
 
92 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South N'atick. 
 
 service rendered to our country entitles them to a place 
 in grateful memory. 
 
 When the American Revolution called for men to defend 
 the sacred liberties of the people, this family was among the 
 first to respond ; and the eldest son, bearing his father's 
 name, took command of a company, as the ancient records 
 affirm, "in ye service of ye United American States, ye 19th 
 of April, 1775." 
 
 While serving with his company at Crown Point, he was 
 stricken down with small pox, and on the 4th of July, 1776, 
 the very day that the United Colonies signed that immortal 
 document, the Declaration of Independence, Capt. John 
 Jones breathed his last. He left a widow and four children 
 at Princeton ; and his youngest grandson, now a man of 
 80 years, resides in Illinois, and is greatly interested in our 
 proceedings to-day. 
 
 We come now to the next occupant of this place. On 
 May 3d, 1804, Adam Jones, the son of the former purchaser, 
 John Jones, Jr., together with his wife Rebecca, sold to 
 Israel Loring, a sea captain from Hingham, two parcels of 
 land in Natick and Dover, containing about 20 acres, border- 
 ing on land of Pelatiah Morse, Hezekiah Broad, Dexter and 
 David Dana, and on the county road, for the sum of $865. 
 Also, the same date, the homestead, consisting now of 102 
 acres, in the district of Dover and town of Needham. 
 
 The homestead, with buildings, was sold for -13,000. The 
 same deed included also i 1-2 acres meadow, bounded by the 
 Charles River and Needham school land, and 7 1-2 acres bor- 
 dering on a ridge hill, Charles River and a brook flowing into 
 the same. 
 
 Some little anecdotes which have come down to us show 
 Capt. Loring to have been a singular genius. He never in- 
 tended to owe anybody anything ; and, as the thought oc- 
 curred to him one day, he said : "No, I don't owe anybody in 
 this world one cent ; no, not one cent. But there's Lawton 
 (this was the well known Sam Lawton) — I owe him for 
 
Tliiiul Ficlii-Day. 93 
 
 shoeing my horse ; but, come to think, I paid him t'other 
 (lay. And there's Winch — I owe him for a pair of shoes ; 
 but I haven't spoken for them yet." 
 
 At one time the Captain was greatly distressed that so 
 large a quantity of dressing had accumulated on the farm ; so 
 much, he said, that he did not know what to do with it. A 
 happy idea came to his mind : " How lucky that the river 
 is so near ! I can tip a few loads in there." 
 
 The Captain used to attend church in West Needham, and 
 one Sunday, as he stood leaning upon the side of the pew 
 during prayer time, his wig fell off into the aisle, greatly to 
 the merrtment of the younger portion of the congregation. 
 
 Capt. Israel Loring retained possession of this place until 
 1832, when he deeded it to one Martin Broad — 102 acres. 
 In 1835 Martin Broad purchased 25 acres from John Welles 
 and 50 acres from James Durant. During the next thirty- 
 five years, the estate was subject to a multitude of minor 
 changes. A large number of names appear as purchasers of 
 small tracts and holders of sections of the estate ; but in 
 1870, the homestead, increased to 147 acres, was purchased 
 by Hon. Theodore Otis, one of the early mayors of Roxbury. 
 The place was somewhat improved, and large greenhouses 
 built. Mr. Otis lived here but a short time, never becoming 
 very closely identified with the interests of the village, and 
 his ownership marks no decided change. 
 
 In 1874, the estate, 147 acres, was sold to the present 
 owner, B. P. Cheney, a name widely known and spoken only 
 with respect. This transfer marks tlie era of very decided 
 changes. The old house, erected probably a century before 
 by John Jones, Esq., gave place to a new and commodious 
 residence, with every modern facility of convenience and 
 comfort. The old greenhouses have shared the same fate 
 as the old house, and the transformation is complete. 
 
 With the place in full view before you. I need not waste 
 your precious moments in description. " Beautiful for 
 situation " we may truly say, for here artistic refinement and 
 
94 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South iVatick. 
 
 a most liberal expenditure of means has beautified and 
 adorned those charms which Nature has bestowed with such 
 liberal and bountiful hand. 
 
 There is one thing more which should be said in reference 
 to this place. One might suppose from the records that this 
 estate for a century and a half had been a wanderer on the 
 face of the earth. The first record we have of it describes 
 it as situated in Dedham, in the county of Suffolk. 
 
 Next we find it in Needham, and are referred to the 
 records of the township of Needham for a description of 
 the estate and bounds of the same. Still later, we find that 
 the place is in the county of Suffolk, but in the district of 
 Dover, and finally as we see it before us to-day, it is situated 
 in Norfolk county and in the town of Dover. 
 
 The explanation is this : In the early times Dedham was 
 an exceedingly large township, and including a part of what 
 is now South Natick. While the Apostle Eliot was at work 
 with the Indians, an exchange was effected by which a part 
 of Dedham was transferred to Natick, and in exchange 
 Dedham took a portion of Indian lands in Deerfield. Later 
 on, viz. : in 171 1, the township of Needham was set off from 
 Dedham and incorporated as a separate town. The B. P. 
 Cheney place, which we have described, was included in the 
 portion which was set off in the township of Needham, all 
 still remaining in Suffolk county. 
 
 In 1784, the fourth district or Springfield parish was set 
 off as the district of Dover, and the estate in question was 
 then included in the Dover district of Suffolk county. In 
 1793 we find the registration of Norfolk county commenced 
 in Dedham. The estate may then be found in Norfolk 
 county in the district of Dover. 
 
 Finally, in 1836, the district of Dover was incorporated 
 as a town, and for the present, the owner may have the 
 satisfaction of knowing that the estate has been allowed 
 to rest in peace for nearly half a century in the county of 
 Norfolk and in the town of Dover. 
 
Third Fie Id- Day. 95 
 
 THE DANA HOMESTEAD. 
 
 BY REV. SAMUEL D. IIOSMKK. 
 
 April 14, 1 76 1, David Morse, who lived on the farm ad- 
 joining on the west, deeded this farm of 48 acres, with the 
 buildings, to his son, William Morse. This son William 
 died, and his widow, Lucretia Morse, sold to Charles Haynes 
 Se})t. 2d, 1770, who in turn sold to I'^phraim Dana, April 27, 
 1779. This Dana homestead is of unusual historic interest, 
 and it was nominally in the possession of the Dana family 
 from the above date until the death of Mrs. Tabitha Leach 
 in 1869. 
 
 Ephraim Dana was born Sept. 26, 1744. He was the son 
 of Nathaniel Dana, who was the son of Samuel, who was 
 three generations from Richard Dana, of Cambridge, in 1644. 
 Ephraim Dana was a blacksmith, and had his shop at the 
 corner of Leach's Lane. He was a man of character and in- 
 fluence, and patriotic also, answering to the call of the Lex- 
 ington alarm April 19th, 1775. 
 
 His first wife was Rebecca Leland, daugliter of Caleb 
 Leland of Sherborn. She was born June 10, 175 1. They 
 had three sons, David, Dexter ^nd liphraim, of whom the 
 last named died in infancy. Mrs. Dana died in 1777. 
 
 April 20th, 1780, Mr. Dana married Tabitha, daughter of 
 John Jones, Esq. By this marriage he had five children, 
 Rebecca, Ephraim and Tabitha, who were twins, Nathaniel 
 and Luther. Four of the brothers spent most of their lives 
 in Portland, Me., in mercantile pursuits ; but Ephraim, also a 
 merchant, resided in Boston. As a family, they bore an ex- 
 cellent character. 
 
 Ephraim Dana, Sr., died Nov. 19, 1792, and in April, 1801, 
 his widow was married to Jacob Homer, a retireil merchant 
 of Boston, who came to this homestead to reside, and died 
 here Oct. 15th, 18 15. 
 
96 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South A^atick. 
 
 Rebecca and Tabitha, daughters of Ephraim Dana, Sr., 
 built the eastern extension of the house for a store, where 
 they followed the dry and fancy goods business many years. 
 They also kept house, and in their family was their aged 
 grandmother Dana, and two orphan cousins. 
 
 In time, the grand-mother passed on to her rest, and the 
 orphan boys to the care of the Dana brothers, while the 
 sisters retired from the mercantile life, and entered upon 
 married life. 
 
 Rebecca married Rev. Jesse Fisher, who preached at Scot- 
 land, Conn., from his ordination, May 20th, 1811, until his 
 death in 1836. 
 
 Tabitha married Joseph Leach of Lancaster, Mass., where 
 she resided several years, but finally returned to the home- 
 stead to take care of her then aged and feeble mother, who 
 died in 1827. Mrs. Tabitha Leach's kindred ties were many 
 and varied. In her neighborhood she is remembered as a 
 devout, helpful and kindly woman, corresponding in character 
 to her scriptural namesake. None knew her but to honor 
 her. 
 
 The store, given up by the Dana sisters, was taken by 
 their cousins, the Misses Holbrook, with their mother, who 
 was the sister of Ephraim Dana, Sen. : and these ladies car- 
 ried on the business for a term of years. 
 
 The house has associations of loved relatives and congeni- 
 al friends, where the good and true have lived to brighten, 
 cheer and help. 
 
 In later years, we all knew the scholarly teacher, author 
 and preacher. Rev. Gorham D. Abbot, L.L.D. ; also the 
 quiet, cultivated and refined Mrs. Abbot, who was a step- 
 daughter of Mrs. Tabitha Leach, and who faithfully per- 
 formed her filial duties to her honored step-mother. Dr. 
 Abbot died here Aug. 30th, 1874. Mrs. Abbot died at Fair- 
 haven, Conn., in the Spring of 1876. 
 
 The present speaker succeeded Dr. Abbot in the ministry 
 in this place, and lived in this house several years. As he 
 
Third Ficld-Day. 97 
 
 bears the name of Samuel Dana, and is connected by an an- 
 cestral link with the line which occupied this homestead so 
 many years, he cherishes a family pride in the good char- 
 acter they bore in Natick. Perhaps, also, that was a reason 
 for assigning to him the duty of preparing the address about 
 this ancient dwellins;. 
 
 THE KIMBALL PLACE. 
 
 BY HERBERT L. MORSE. 
 
 The land upon which this house is situated was a part of 
 the grant to an Indian by the name of Obsco, according to 
 plan of Indian grants. 
 
 On the 13th of April, 1733, Samuel Abraham, Sr., an 
 Indian, sold to John Winn, a housewright, 12 acres for ;^48 ; 
 and on Dec. 24th of the same year Winn secured 10 acres 
 more from Thomas Pegan for ^42. Pegan had secured 
 these ten acres from Benjamin Tray, another Indian proprie- 
 tor, the same day, in exchange for ten acres elsewhere. 
 These ten acres were on the south-east side of the county 
 road. 
 
 Oliver Hastings, a tailor of Weston, bought, Jan. ist, 1765, 
 this place, which now consisted of 50 acres, " more or less," 
 with buildings thereon, for ;^ioo. 
 
 About six years afterward (May 6, 1771), it was purchased 
 by Ichabod Smith, of Natick, a farmer by occupation, for 
 ;^i82, 13s. 4d. Six years later (Aug. 29, 1777), it again 
 changed hands, and was sold for ^{^650, more than three 
 times its cost, to John Osborne, a painter, of Boston. 
 
 Richard Kimball, of Sherborn, bought this place in 1780 
 (Aug. i) for ;^244, 13s., 4d. ; and it remained in possession 
 of this family until April 30, 1807. 
 
 This Richard Kimball, from whom the place gets its 
 name, was a native of Hopkinton and a descendant, in the 
 fourth generation, of Richard of Ipswich, wlm came over 
 from England in 1634, in the ship Elizabeth 
 
98 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of Soiitli Natick. 
 
 Thirteen years before this he held property in Natick to 
 the vahie of <£59, i6s., whicli he purchased of Samuel 
 Welles. He died in 1805. His descendants still live in 
 this and neighboring towns. 
 
 A story is told of his wife which illustrates one of the cus- 
 toms of that day. One day Mrs. , a neighbor who lived 
 
 about a mile away, was doing up her morning's work when a 
 hurried rap was heard at the door. Before it could be 
 reached by her, it was opened by a little daughter of Mrs. 
 Kimball. She was all out of breath but managed to say, 
 "Mother's dy(e)ing and wants you to come right over," and 
 
 then she was off for home. Mrs. , startled by such news, 
 
 grabbed a shawl and started for the house of her dying neigh- 
 bor. Having arrived there, she pulls the latch-string and 
 enters, wondering if her friend is still alive. Imagine then 
 her surprise, when she sees before her Mrs. K. bending over 
 a tub containing a dark liquid and some yarn, for she was in- 
 deed dyeing yarn ; and in a neighborly way she had sent over 
 for her neighbor to come and have some of hers dyed at the 
 same time. 
 
 David Smith, Jr., bought the place in 1807, for '^2400. 
 During the year or two preceding, the house had been accu- 
 pied by Capt. Samuel Sanger, of Sherborn, who was followed 
 by Edward Kimball. A month later it was purchased by 
 Mary, wife of Dr. Isaac Morrill, who kept it until 181 1, when 
 it was sold to John Trench, who was associated with one 
 Otis Everett. 
 
 John Welles purchased it May 15, 1814, and from him it 
 descended to its present owner, H. H. Hunnewell. 
 
 It has had many occupants during the sixty-nine years it 
 has been held by these two persons. The present occupant 
 is Horace Obear. 
 
Third Ficld-Dav. 99 
 
 THE WELLES MANSION. 
 
 BY AMOS P. CHENEY. 
 
 Durini,^ the year 1737, Jonathan Richardson bought lands 
 in this portion of the town from the Natick Proprietors' 
 Committee, and later he bought from Indians and white peo- 
 ple up to 1750, at which time he held large possessions both 
 upon Ward's lane, or Pond road, and in other parts of the 
 town. 
 
 Mr. Richardson was an inn-holder, and appears to have 
 been highly esteemed by the Indians, as he was selected by 
 them to succeed Hon. Francis Fullam, when that gentleman 
 resigned the charge of Indian affairs. 
 
 Mr. Richardson probably built the first house on this spot ; 
 and the ell of the present mansion is, doubtless, a portion 
 of the original structure. 
 
 On the 3d of November, 1763, Jonathan Richardson, gen- 
 tleman, and his wife, with Jonathan Richardson, Jr., black- 
 smith, and his wife, joined in the sale to Samuel Welles, Jr., 
 of Boston, of about sixty-si.x acres of kind in five or six sepa- 
 rate parcels, including this lot with the buildings thereon ; 
 and, as stated in the deed, " also a pew in the meeting house 
 whereof the Rev. Stephen Badger is now pastor." The 
 price paid was three hundred and thirty-three jiounds, six 
 shillings and eight pence. 
 
 Samuel Welles, Jr., was the great great-grandson of Gov. 
 Thomas Welles, of Connecticut, and on his mother's side 
 was a descendant of Jacob, brother of the Apostle Eliot. 
 
 This was not the first purchase made by Mr. Welles in 
 Natick. He had owned lands here some ten years before, 
 and he continued to make such investments, so that in 1770, 
 he owned more land in the town than any other person. 
 
 hVom the first, he took a strong interest in town affairs. 
 He was moderator of the town meeting in 1758, served upon 
 important town committees, was a member of the board of 
 
100 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 selectmen in 1770 and 1773, and was manager of the town's 
 
 financial affairs during the Revolutionary war. His fitness 
 
 for these positions is seen when we note the fact that during 
 
 all this time he was one of the leading and most successful 
 
 merchants of Boston. 
 
 The school system of Natick, in those days, as well as Mr. 
 
 Welles' careful metliods of conducting the town business, 
 
 are shown in the following : 
 
 "Natick Septm. 5 1773. 
 The Deestrict of Natick Dr. to Betty Carver for keppen scolle & 
 Boarden 10 weeks at four shillms & ten pence per weke £2, 8s, Od. 
 Errors excepted t»y me Betty Carver." 
 
 Mr. Welles, as selectman, approved, the bill ; but, as the 
 lady was married during the school term, he warns the treas- 
 urer "not to pay the bill unless her husband also signs it." 
 
 Although Mr. Welles' largest interests were in Boston, 
 he so identified himself with the people and affairs of Natick 
 as to take part in its contributions to the armies of the 
 colonies. Among his servants, for in those days slavery 
 existed in Massachusetts, was a man named Caesar Thomp- 
 son, and when, in 1776, the quota for Natick was called for, 
 Mr. Welles sent this man, as one of the quota, to serve in 
 the expedition to Canada. This black soldier is named in 
 the town records at a later date, as follows : 
 
 "Boston, Feb. 18, 1783. 
 This may certify, to all whom it may concern, that I this day, fully 
 and freely give to Cfesar Thompson his freedom. 
 
 Witness my hand, Samuel Welles. 
 
 A true copy. Attest, Abijah Strattoist, 
 
 Town Clerk." 
 
 Mr. Welles not only bought real estate here, but sought 
 to make such investments profitable by building up the town. 
 He induced people who were skillful in the mechanical trades 
 to come here to settle. He sold small farms to them on easy 
 terms, and advanced money to enable them to make improve- 
 ments ; thus, while secnring the presence of skilled artizans 
 for the convenience of both himself and the community, 
 he enabled these workmen to acquire homes for themselves, 
 and at the same time enhanced the value of his remaining 
 lands. 
 
riiini Fie Id-Day. 101 
 
 Mr. Welles died in 1799, ^'""^^ when his estate was divided 
 among his heirs, in 1804, this portion was assigned to his 
 son Arnold in his share. 
 
 About the year 1825, or perhaps as late as 1830, the house 
 was cut in two, and one part moved away to a lot nearer 
 South Natick, and finished into a modest dwelling, while the 
 other portion remained and formed the ell of the new man- 
 sion then erected as we now see it. 
 
 At the division of the estate of Arnold Welles, in 1846, 
 his brother, Mr. Benjamin Welles, came into possession. 
 This gentleman was a banker in l-5oston, but occupied this 
 place during the summer months of each year until 1857, 
 when he sold it to James Gray, the well-known real estate 
 agent, who resides in Wellesley. 
 
 Late in the following year Mr. Gray disposed of the 
 property to Mr. John O. Bradford, who, removing to Norfolk, 
 Va., in i860, was succeeded by Jacob Wendell, Jr., a member 
 of the firm of J. C. Howe & Co., wholesale dry goods mer- 
 chants of Boston. 
 
 A few years later Messrs. J. C. Howe & Co., established 
 a branch house in New York city, and Mr. Wendell being 
 selected to take charge of that enterprise, had no further 
 use for this old home. 
 
 The ne.xt purchaser was Mrs. Sarah D. Lane, wife of Mr. 
 Jonathan A. Lane, a Boston merchant. 
 
 This family held it about si.x years, but in June, 1872, it 
 was bought by our valued neighbor H. H. Hunnewell, Esq., 
 who is the owner at the present time. 
 
102 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 DR. ISAAC MORRILL PLACE. 
 
 BY SAMUEL B. NOYES, OF CANTON. 
 
 Fifty years ago last November, being then a boy of seven- 
 teen summers, I went to bed one night in Dedham village, 
 full of anticipation of the pleasure which I was to experience 
 on the morrow when I was to come to this place with my 
 mother and sister and a younger brother. I was to be wak- 
 ened early, as I was to feed and harness the team which I 
 was to drive. But I needed no arousing. I hardly slept any, 
 and shortly after midnight began to wish for the dawning of 
 the day, and the time to arrive for me to get ready my horse. 
 So I looked, from time to time, impatient through the win- 
 dow of my chamber and suddenly was startled by a remarka- 
 ble exhibition in the heavens. There were others who wit- 
 nessed the same phenomena. In your bright and newsy 
 sheet, the Natick Citizen, to which I am a subscriber, and 
 which I and my .wife and sisters and daughters and sons and 
 grandsons, eagerly seek and read weekly, I find an interest- 
 ing allusion to the wonderful star shooting exhibition of that 
 morning, by my maternal cousin, Alexander Wheel ock 
 Thayer. 
 
 "On the morning of the 13th of November," says he, 
 " about three o'clock, I was awakened by a candle flashing 
 in my eyes, which, as they opened, beheld Travis' pale face, 
 while the ears heard words to this effect : 
 
 " ' Wheelock, get up, the Judgment day has come ; the 
 stars are all falling.' These may not be the exact words, 
 but fifty years have passed since I heard them. Three 
 weeks before, I had completed my sixteenth year. Half 
 a dozen years previously, one of my school books had been 
 a little, thin volume on Astronomy, prepared by Wilkins, 
 later of the firm of Wilkins & Carter. Towards its end was 
 a short extract from Humboldt and Bonpland's travels in 
 South America, describing a wonderful meteoric shower, 
 
Third I'iild-Dav. 103 
 
 observed by them (exactly thirty-four years before) at 
 Cumana. The words ' the stars are falling ' had hardly been 
 spoken when it flashed into my mind this might be what 
 Humboldt saw. I uttered a loud exclamation of delight, 
 which somewhat reassured Travis, as my relation of the 
 Humboldt story did the others, and I sprang to the head 
 
 of the outside stairs above mentioned. What I saw has 
 
 « 
 
 been described a hundred times, but no description gives 
 any adequate conception of the beauty and grandeur of the 
 spectacle." 
 
 Thayer was afterward with me at Phillips Academy, An- 
 dover, and at Harvard, and was then remarkable for his 
 power of keen observation. Him we met at South Natick 
 that day, and his mother and sister Susan, alas ! not now 
 living on the earth ; and his mother's sisters, the late Mrs. 
 Adams and Miss Bigelow and Mrs. Stowe, mother of the 
 now living and learned Professor Calvin E. Stowe, whose 
 wife, Harriet Beecher Stowe, has woven the incidents of the 
 every day life of the people and families of the Old Town 
 into a novel whose characters will always be famous, and 
 whose descriptions and narratives of New England life, as it 
 was a century ago, have rarely been equalled and never been 
 surpassed. 
 
 What a day was that! and what a drive from Dedham vil- 
 lage to Dover, by Dr. Sanger's, crossing the bridge from east 
 to west, and alighting at the old Bigelow house, which stood 
 on the lot now enclosed in the Eliot Square. After dinner 
 at Natick, we drove to this house. Here then was living Dr. 
 Isaac Morrill. He was born in Wilmington, in 1748, and was 
 the eldest son of Rev. Isaac Morrill, and three years the sen- 
 ior brother of Eliakim Morrill, my maternal grandfather, of 
 whom I had the honor to speak on an occasion similar to 
 this, one year ago to-day. 
 
 Dr. Isaac Morrill came from Wilmington to Natick (Old 
 Town) in the year 1771, being then a young man of twenty- 
 three years ; and here, Oct. 2, 1774, he wedded Mary, eldest 
 
104 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 child and daughter of Nathaniel Mann of Needham, whose 
 wife was Mary, daughter of Rev. Jonathan Townsend, the 
 first minister of the town of Needham, and who moved into 
 Natick between 1761 and 1763, had a farm at the north part 
 of the town, which he bought of Abel Perry and one Metcalf, 
 and had three children born in Needham — Mary, Ebenezer, 
 Samuel. 
 
 Nathaniel Mann was a descendant of Rev. Samuel Mann 
 of Wrentham (H. U. 1665), a classmate of Benjamin Eliot 
 and Caleb Cheeshahteaumuk, the only Indian graduate of 
 Harvard College. Among his descendants was the late 
 Horace Mann (B. U.), who died Aug. 2, 1853. 
 
 It is pretty well established that an Indian named Obsco 
 was once the owner of the greater part of Dr. Morrill's land, 
 who bought it of his wife's father, and built a home in 1775 
 a few feet in front of this spot, the frame of which was 
 moved back in 1852 and built over into the present style. 
 
 Fifty years ago I sat at the table of my granduncle in this 
 old house, of which he was still the owner, and in which he 
 had then lived fifty-seven years with Mary, his wife, who had 
 ■ died Dec. 23, 1831, aged 82. Thayer and I (then at Phillips 
 Academy, Andover) visited the venerable doctor again in 
 the Summer of 1838. He then talked of the life he had 
 lived, of his experience as a physician, of the multitude of 
 children who had been born in the town within his intimate 
 knowledge, and of other matters which he thought might in- 
 terest young men. 
 
 Turning to my diary which I kept in the year 1838, I find 
 the following : 
 
 " Wednesday, Aug. 22. — Went to Needham and Natick. 
 Spent the forenoon in Needham, with Dr. Morrill and Mrs. 
 Walker and Phoebe Morrill. Visited the church — very 
 pretty.'! And then follow these words : "Dr. Isaac Morrill 
 is 90 years of age, and retains his faculties to a wonderful 
 degree. He practiced physic till he was 80 years of age, but 
 he is now childish, yet manly. It is the way to die, to go 
 
riiird Ficld-Day. 105 
 
 cUnvn to the j;"ravc as a shock of corn rijK' for the sickle. 
 Went to Natick in the afternoon, etc." I never saw him 
 again alive. He (.lied the followini;" Sjiring, May 5th, 1839, 
 aged 91 years. 
 
 In this house were born his daughter Mary, who married 
 
 Walker and died Mar. 8th, 1870, aged 87 ; Phoebe, who 
 
 died Mar. 3d, aged 85, and his son Samuel, who died in 
 Brookfield, date unknown. His widow died in Brookfield, 
 Feb. 5th, 1882, aged 92. These and two of Mrs. Walker's 
 and two of Samuel's sons, all who died in middle life, 
 were buried in the Morrill tomb in the old graveyard by the 
 church in soil hallowed by the tread of the Apostle John 
 Eliot, and John, his son, and that beloved contemporary and 
 historian, Daniel Gookin, — father of Rev. Daniel Gookin, 
 (H. U. 1669) of Sherborn — who was the first English 
 magistrate chosen to be ruler over the praying Indians 
 in 1656 and governing the Indians subject to us, especially 
 those of Natick, Ponkapoag etc., in the time of the " High 
 and mighty Prince Charles II. by the grace of God, King 
 of England, Scotland, PVance and Ireland, Defender of the 
 P'aith, etc." 
 
 This whole territory is historical. " Sacred to the memory 
 of " seems written on every wall and aged tree, and field and 
 hill and grove and rock and river, from Nonantum to Sher- 
 born, and it is well to pause here by the spot where once 
 dwelt that good physician who, for more than half a century 
 immediately succeeding the commencement of its civiliza- 
 tion, ministered to the aflflicted. 
 
 Dr. Isaac Morrill sold this place to Nahum Cutter, April 
 1st, 1836: recorded in Middlesex Deeds (should have been 
 Norfolk), book 350, page 457. From Cutter it passed to 
 John Welles, April 20th, 1836: recorded in Norfolk Deeds, 
 lib. 137, page 177. PVom John Welles to Mrs. Isabella P 
 Hunnewell, April ist, 1846: recorded with Norfolk Deeds, 
 lib. 159, page 317. From her it passed into H. H. Hun- 
 newell's hands. H. H. Hunnewell's house does not stand 
 on Dr. Morrill's land. 
 
106 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 Walter Hunnewell built -his present house in 1875, on the 
 Dr. Morrill land. In 1852, the old house was moved back 
 its width or a little more, newly covered, enlarged and 
 finished up as it now stands. It now belongs to Mrs. Sar- 
 gent, Mr. Hunnewell's youngest daughter. The land was 
 originally very poor. It bordered on what was in olden 
 time called Saw-Mill Pond, later on Bullard's Pond, now 
 Lake Waban ; and he used to say of his estate that he had feed, 
 and water enough for one hundred head of cattle. The Doc- 
 tor, as I remember him, was a pleasant old gentleman, a 
 welcome visitor in a sick room, but strenuous against cold 
 water as a drink in fevers. He always rode horseback with 
 saddle-bags of medicine under him. When he stopped to 
 visit a patient the saddle-bags were carried on his arm. He 
 always had a little riding stick in his hand, such as he might 
 pick up or break from some tree or bush. It happened one 
 day that he broke off a willow, and when he got home he 
 stuck it into the bank by his house to have it handy to take 
 again ; but it was left there, took root and grew till it got to 
 be more than two feet through, and was cut down in 1852 
 to make room for moving the house back. 
 
 West of the doctor's house, opposite his land, stands a 
 mile-stone. The distance from Boston is now about 14 
 miles. It very likely may have been here when the doctor 
 first came. This part of Needham, to Saw-Mill Brook, was 
 Natick up to 1797. 
 
 "WELLESLEY" — THE COUNTRY-SEAT OF 
 H. H. HUNNEWELL, ESQ. 
 
 , [The paper from which the following was prepared was written by 
 Dr. G. J. Townsend, of South Natick, president of the South Natick 
 Historical, Natural History and Library Society.] 
 
 One hundred and fifty years ago, the lands now included 
 
 in this estate were held by Indian proprietors, Coochuck, 
 
 Nehemiah, Pittomee and Waban owning that portion be- 
 
Third Ficlil-Dav. 107 
 
 tvvcen the Shorborn roatl and the river, while Bowman, 
 Chalcom, Comecho and Obsco held that between the high- 
 way and the lake. 
 
 These Indians seem to have had little desire to possess a 
 home, and, in many cases, no sooner did they reocive the ti- 
 tle to a share of the " common lands," at the stated divi- 
 sions, than they were ready to trade it away, even if they re- 
 ceived only a " right " to a like allotment in the next divis- 
 ion, although they preferred to be paid some certain amount 
 of money, which was quite often squandered very soon. 
 
 It is difficult and often impossible to trace the ownership 
 of those lands, as many deeds were never recorded, and the 
 only clue to some such transactions is the incidental mention 
 of certain owners in other deeds. 
 
 One of these Indian deeds was enclosed in the sealed 
 copper box which was placed under the corner-stone of Mr. 
 Hunnewell's mansion ; but as that deed was not recorded, 
 and no copy of it was made, we do not know even the name 
 of the Indian who sold nor that of the purchaser. 
 
 In the case of those lands next the river, it is more than 
 probable that these Indian proprietors sold their lands to 
 Jonathan Richardson, a blacksmith, who was the builder 
 of the original Welles mansion, near by, and at a later date 
 was appointed guardian of the Indians. 
 
 It is also probable that Mr. Richardson sold directly to 
 Samuel Welles, Jr., of Boston, whose son Arnold inherited 
 it in 1804, and from him it descended to Messrs. Henry W. 
 and John T. W. Sargent in 1846. A few years later these 
 gentlemen sold out to Mr. Hunnewell. 
 
 That portion of " Wellesley " lying between the highway 
 and the lake, was doubtless purchased from the Indian propri- 
 etors, by Isaac Bullard or by some of his heirs, members 
 of the family by whom was founded and made famous the 
 old Bullard tavern, formerly standing near the present stone 
 lodge at the entrance to the Wellesley College grounds. 
 
108 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 In 1816 (May 23), Nathaniel Bullard sold to Aaron Smith 
 two parcels of land, in all seventeen acres, lying between 
 Sherborn road and the lake, then called Bullard 's pond, and 
 by this purchase Mr. Smith became owner of all the lands 
 bordering on the lake, from near Saw-Mill Brook up to Dr. 
 Isaac Morrill's homestead. 
 
 May 5th, 1843, Emily K. Smith and Eunice Smith, heirs 
 of Aaron Smith, sold to Hon. John Welles twenty-one acres 
 and seventeen rods, which included the above purchase 
 of 1 8 16. This lot of land passed from Mr. Welles to his 
 daughter, Mrs. Hunnewell, and was transferred by her to 
 her husband. 
 
 About 1 85 1, another portion of the Smith estate was 
 bought by Mr. Hunnewell, and within the past year he has 
 succeeded in acquiring the remainder : so that now the 
 domain, including the Dr. Morrill place, extends from Pond 
 road to the estate of the late Henry F. Durant, Esq. 
 
 The mansion of " Wellesley " was erected during the year 
 1852, and the name was given to the estate at or near that 
 time. Mrs. Shaw's house was built in 1870, that of Arthur 
 Hunnewell in 1872, and in 1875 the home of Walter 
 Hunnewell. 
 
 There may be many estates in our land which include 
 larger areas, with more of the picturesque, the beautiful and 
 the grand, in its natural features ; but one will have to go 
 very far to find one where the liberal expenditure of money 
 has been under the^ direction of more exquisite taste, or with 
 more consummate skill. 
 
 As one rambles about over the lawn, through the 
 various gardens, in the wood, through the shrubbery and 
 over the rocks, he has glimpses of English parks, the gardens 
 of Versailles, the walks of Schonbrunn, the parterres and 
 terraces of Italy ; in short, all lands have contributed of 
 their natural productions and of their best ideas, to render 
 this not only a beautiful home, but a very charming spot 
 to visit, for both recreation and education. 
 
Third Fi eld-Day. 109 
 
 Of the methods adopted and means employed to eonvert 
 a rather barren pitch pine plain into a fine lawn, and the 
 seemingly unpromising declivities, covered with brambly 
 thickets, into charming gardens, the following account, from 
 Sargent's edition of Downing's " Landscape Gardening," 
 gives the clearest and best idea. The reader must bear 
 in mind that this account was written in 185S, and that 
 it gives an imperfect idea of the extent and beauty of the 
 grounds of to-day : 
 
 "The whole estate at ' Wellesley ' consists, we believe, of 
 two hundred acres, being an unimproved portion of an old 
 family place of many hundred acres. 
 
 "The part selected by Mr. Hunnewell for the ornamental 
 improvement of his grounds comprises about forty acres, or- 
 iginally a flat, sandy, arid plain, which, when he took it in 
 hand, in 185 1, only seven years since, was more or less cov- 
 ered with a tangled growth of dwarf pitch pine, scrub oak 
 and birch, all of which were cut down and the ground 
 ploughed up. 
 
 "The first thing done was to trench over and thoroughly 
 prepare with composted muck an acre or more for a nursery, 
 which was planted with large quantities of Norway spruce, 
 white pines, balsams, Austrian pines, Scotch firs, larch, 
 beech, oaks, elms, maples, etc., mostly imported from Eng- 
 land, not over twelve to fifteen inches high, with some few 
 native trees of greater age, previously prepared. The lawn 
 was then graded, subsoiled, and a large portion trenched by 
 spade ; and after being very heavily manured and enriched 
 with compost, was for several years cultivated in order to 
 ameliorate and subdue the soil. The boundaries of the 
 place, especially on the exposed part towanl the public road, 
 were then trenched over twenty to fifty feet broad, heavily 
 composted and planted with a judicious mixture of ever,- 
 greens and ornamental trees. The border, however, for 
 many years, until the trees were fifteen to twenty feet high, 
 and in many cases touched each other, was annually enriched 
 
110 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Soc'y of South Natick. 
 
 and planted in potatoes, the crop being some remuneration 
 for the expense. 
 
 " The next step after deciding upon the situation of the 
 house, was to form the avenues and plant them ; the one 
 from the Boston entrance, with alternating Pinus excelsa, 
 and Magnolia tripetala at one end, and with large masses of 
 rhododendrons, Kalmia latifolia, Mahonias, and other rare 
 evergreen shrubs, as a frontage to a back-ground of Norway 
 spruces at the other ; until the road reaches the Italian gar- 
 den, with a view of the lake on one side, and the house and 
 lawn on the other, when the avenue effect of the planting 
 ceases — the groups, masses, and single specimens, and the 
 ornamental arrangement commences. 
 
 "The other avenue, from the Natick entrance, is planted 
 with rows of white pine and larch, now perhaps, twenty to 
 twenty-five feet high, and being all fine trees, the effect is 
 already very marked. 
 
 " The next step was to plant the lawn, of about eight acres, 
 with the best specimens selected from the nurseries or bor- 
 der plantations. This has been most cleverly and success- 
 fully done, much of it in the winter with frozen balls and 
 with the most ornamental and choice trees ; in some cases 
 large specimens twenty to thirty feet high were brought 
 twenty miles ; but even after the clumps, masses and single 
 specimens on the lawn were arranged and planted, it was 
 still annually enriched and cultivated, and the ground 
 around each tree and mass of trees is, even to this day, kept 
 clean to a circle following the drip of the branches. 
 
 " The house was then built, having among other fine fea- 
 tures, a hall of 54x18 feet running through it ; on one side, 
 the fine extent of simple and dignified lawn, and on the other 
 side is a French parterre or architectural garden with foun- 
 tains, bordered by heavy balustrades, surmounted at inter- 
 vals by vases, with steps leading through a series of terraces 
 to the lake, a fine sheet of water of about a mile in extent, 
 having a peculiarly varied and beautiful outline. From this 
 
Third Fie Id- Day. Ill 
 
 French parterre, stretches off on the right the ornamental or 
 English pleasure grounds, a part of the same view, showing 
 the summer-house very artistically rusticated, with colored 
 glass windows, producing very curious effects of contrast by 
 the stained glass. 
 
 " From this we pass along the lake to the Italian garden, 
 which is the most successful, if not the only one, as yet in 
 this country. The effect, especially by moonlight, of the 
 lake seen through the balustrades of the parapet, and among 
 the vases and statues which surmount it — with the splash- 
 ing of the fountain, and the very unique features, at least in 
 this country, of the formally clipped trees and other topiary 
 work, quite lead us to suppose we are on the lake of Como. 
 
 "To Mr. Hunnewell, we believe, is due the merit of having 
 first attempted to clip our white pine, and the result shows 
 that it bears the shears quite as well as the hemlock or yew ; 
 though in the garden are equally successful specimens of 
 clipped Norways, balsams, arbor vit?e, the English maple, 
 the beech and Scotch firs. 
 
 " From the Italian garden we cross the avenue into a 
 wood, through which winds a walk planted on either side 
 with a very extensive and satisfactory pinetum, containing 
 all the rarest and newest conifers and evergreen shrubs, and 
 which with the slight protection from the winter's sun, 
 seem to thrive exceedingly well. 
 
 " Among other features of this place, and accomplished 
 like everything else, within seven years, are various vistas 
 through different avenues planted for this purpose — some 
 of purple beech, others of white pine — all of which will in 
 a few years become very interesting and effective. 
 
 " If to the above we add the extensive and well conducted 
 vegetable and fruit gardens surrounded by most admirably 
 kept hedges, an abundance of well trained fruit trees, peach, 
 grape, and green-houses, and a steam engine for forcing 
 water into a reservoir, from which distributing pipes conduct 
 it over all the gardens, we shall, we think, conclude a 
 
112 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South N^atick. 
 
 description of a place almost unequalled in this country, con- 
 sidering the few years only it has existed. 
 
 " Mr. Hun-newell's success has been attributable in the 
 first place, to working on a plan — making no or few mis- 
 takes — having little or nothing to undo, and lastly, having 
 the taste and ability to do everything thoroughly and well, 
 always keeping up what has been done, so that neither tree 
 or flower, or lawn, is ever permitted to flag." 
 
 It was an expression of the public consciousness of obliga- 
 tion to Mr. Hunnewell that the name of the post-office, and 
 of the railroad station at West Needham was changed to 
 Wellesley, and later, that this name was adopted for the 
 new town. 
 
 NEWPORT GREEN. 
 
 BY HORACE MANN. 
 
 During the last half of the i8th century there were fifty 
 families of African descent recorded in Natick. A few of 
 these people held a fee in the soil ; the rest were clinging 
 to the remnant of the Indian clan, or ekeing out existence 
 in a state of half servitude to the whites ; while some, like 
 the Diggos, Thompson, Ferrits, Jonah, Vitto, Pero and Cudjo, 
 performed meritorious service in the French and Revolution- 
 ary Wars. The native Africans and the military heroes 
 formed the aristocracy of this colored democracy ; the mulat- 
 toes, freeborn, and the transients were the commoners. And 
 the transients were numerous : for Natick was a city of refuge 
 for the waifs and estrays of other boroughs. 
 
 Newport Green, who once dwelt on this spot, came to 
 Natick in 1778. He hailed from Medfield, and was called 
 a nailor. Mr. Tilden, the historian of Medfield, has afforded 
 the following concerning him while living there. He was 
 believed to have been a native African, and was once a slave 
 owned by Uriah Morse of Medway, who sold him April 6th, 
 
Third Fie Id- Day. 113 
 
 1763, to Moses Hartshorn of Medfiekl, for the sum of sixty 
 pounds. The bill of sale hangs on the walls of the Medfiekl 
 public library, and describes Green as " My negro boy, New- 
 port." The price paid indicates that he had then acquired 
 a trade, for farm and house servants did not command so 
 large a price at that period. Hartshorn proved to be a 
 tyrannical master, and his treatment of Newport aroused the 
 sympathy of some benevolent persons, who purchased and 
 gave him his freedom, giving bonds to the town of Medfield 
 that he should not become a public charge. He took the 
 name of Green by living with another negro named Varrick 
 Green, and both were "nailors " by occupation. 
 
 The presence of a large negro population and need of 
 employment, were two considerations that caused him to 
 visit Natick. There was another attraction, however, rnore 
 potent than either of them. On the west side of Ward's 
 lane, or the Pond road, dwelt the Kings and Fudees, rich in the 
 possession of a land lease and the prestige of having been 
 slaves to wealthy families. They were native Africans, 
 and the elite of Natick's colored society. 
 
 The Fudees had a daughter, and tradition affirms that she 
 was fair and comely to behold; and Newport became a devo- 
 tee at the shrine of this dusky belle of the Pond road, and 
 was rewarded for his pains with the heart, hand and fortune 
 of the charming Phillis Fudee. 
 
 Their intentions were filed July ist, 1784, and Parson 
 Badger tied the knot Nov. nth of the same year ; and, with 
 his blessing, Newport and Phillis were launched upon the sea 
 of matrimonial and domestic felicity. 
 
 Newport took his bride to Medfiekl, where he had ac- 
 quired a small fee in the soil. They returned to Natick 
 again in 1793, bringing with them William, born in 1785, 
 and leaving in the churchyard, where the messenger of death 
 had carried them, Benjamin, born in 1788, and Parmelia, 
 born in 1789. 
 
114 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 The Natick authorities greeted them with a "warning out 
 and to depart, and tarry no longer here ;" but they remained. 
 
 In 1794, Phillis presented her husband with another 
 daughter, Parmelia by name ; and Newport provided for this 
 dispensation by laboring at his calling as a nailor, and the 
 public necessity commanded his skill in making 1,500 nails 
 for the West schoolhouse, then building, rewarding him with 
 £,\ I2S. 6d. 
 
 Then, for a year or two, he dispensed the public charity 
 to a half dozen Indians and negroes, called the State pau- 
 pers, living meanwhile in the poor hut of blind Obsco, one 
 of the last of Natick's Indian proprietors. Cato Fair, 
 another negro, shared the honors of the town's almoner with 
 Newport ; and a few years later, Cato and Jenny Fair and 
 Diilah Fudee and her children were the town's guests at 
 Newport's residence. Those were the palmy days of New- 
 port Green's life, and he was the soul of the yearly festivity 
 accorded by our grandfathers to the negro population, when 
 they might feast, sing and dance on the village green, or in 
 their habitations, to their full satisfaction. If a noise was 
 heard among the negroes at other times, Uncle Eliakim 
 Morrill, and the rest of the valiants, took down the old 
 " Queen's Arms " and marched to quell the expected insur- 
 rection. 
 
 Soon the clouds of adversity began to overshadow New- 
 port's brief prosperity. The fortune Phillis brought him and 
 his own slight additions to it had been expended in keeping 
 the wolf of hunger from their door and in polishing and 
 preserving their family jewels, those little black diamonds 
 who were the sparkling pledges of their mutual loves. The 
 revolutions of time and ideas developed the cut nail, and 
 Newport's calling became a relic of the past. He struggled 
 awhile against the tide of innovation, and about the year 
 181 1 returned to Medfield, where, at a locality called 
 "Guinea," he shuffled off his mortal coil June 13th, 18 16, 
 his wife, Phillis, having died a few years before. 
 
Third Ficl,i-Day. 116 
 
 This nei^ro possessed the love of the marvellous, the gar- 
 rulous, inventive faculty and sanguine temperament peculiar 
 to his race ; and when adversity had overwhelmed him, his 
 hope and ambition remained. Me thought there was a 
 better and brighter day in store for him here, and that he 
 should greet the glory of its sunrise and revel in its noon- 
 tide rays ; but the dreams his fancy painted were as evanes- 
 cent as the morning dew. 
 
 There are some anecdotes concerning him extant ; one, 
 which has been published, I borrow to illuminate the dark- 
 ness of this tale. One day, while at his labors, and adversity 
 was approaching him, he dropped his hammer and exclaimed, 
 " Oh ! if I had only forty dollars, how I would make old 
 Natick shine ! " It was a sum he never succeeded in 
 getting ; but he had found the talisman which helps to 
 smooth the rough spots on nature's surface, make sunshine 
 in the forest, and the wayside pleasant with flowers. 
 
 AARON SMITH AND THE INDIAN MILL. 
 
 BY HORACE MANN. 
 
 This estate was laid out in 1730, by the Indian Proprietors 
 of Natick, to Mrs. Sarah Orgills, of Needham, in the rights 
 of her husband, Richard Orgills, deceased. It was bounded 
 east and south upon the Saw-Mill brook and pond, south- 
 westerly on heirs of James Coochuck, Indian, and all other 
 parts by the Saw-Mill pond and brook. The tract was called a 
 freeholder's right, and carried the privilege of taking one 
 hundred acres in the common and undivided lands of Natick. 
 Mrs. Orgills was the daughter of one Thomas Knapp, of 
 Watertown, who died beyond the seas prior to 1703, and a 
 grand-daughter of Capt. John Grout, a noted settler of Sud- 
 bury. Her husband, Richard Orgills, was a settler of Med- 
 ford and a tailor by trade ; and they had a homestead lot in 
 the Needham Hundreds Division, near the dwelling-place of 
 
116 Historical y Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of Soutli iVatick. 
 
 the late William Gray, at the north-east corner of the college 
 grounds. 
 
 Their Natick estate passed to the heirs of Nathaniel Bul- 
 lard, as did also a portion of the Coochuck lot, and thence to 
 the heirs of Jonathan Smith ; and, in 1761, was conveyed to 
 Aaron Smith by his brother David, with two acres purchased 
 of Jonas Obsco, Indian, and Joseph Ephraim, Indian, who 
 consented to the transfer. Other conveyances were made by 
 Ephraim Bullard, who purchased Indian lands now comprised 
 in the Hunnewell estate. 
 
 The Smith family, who have been owners until the present 
 time, are descendants of Christopher and Martha (Metcalf) 
 Smith, of Dedham, in 1644; and the Wellesley College 
 grounds may be termed the hive of the Needham and Natick 
 branches of the Smith family. Christopher and Martha 
 Smith were the parents of nine children. A son, John, born 
 Nov. 19, 1655, married Abigail Day, Dec. 21, 1677. From 
 this marriage issued nine children. Their son, Jonathan, 
 born Feb. 11, 1686, married — Jan. 7, 1713 — Martha Smith, 
 of Needham. "There is luck in odd numbers," says the old 
 song ; and this couple were blessed with four daughters and 
 five sons — Ralph, Timothy, David, Jonathan and Aaron. 
 Timothy, born July 3d, 1725, married Esther Dewing, of 
 Needham, and settled on the Indian Stone Fort Farm, at 
 Natick, near East Central street, about three-fourths of a 
 mile from the centre, and was conspicuous in civil and 
 military affairs. He was on Capt. Morse's muster roll in 
 1755, and a lieutenant on Capt. James Morse's muster roll 
 (Col. Samuel Bullard's regiment) at the Bunker Hill alarm ; 
 served six months in New York in 1776, and forty days in 
 Rhode Island in 1780. His sons, Henry and Timothy, 
 were also in the Revolutionary service. 
 
 Lieut. Timothy married, 1780, a second wife — Abigail 
 Sawin Bacon, widow of Lieut. John Bacon of Needham, who 
 was slain by the King's troops at West Cambridge, April 
 19. 1775- 
 
Third Fie Id- Day. 117 
 
 Lieut. Timothy died at Natick in 1S03, and there are none 
 of his descendants of the Smith name living;. 
 
 Aaron Smith, the grantee of this estate, was born in 1730; 
 and he had a homestead farm on the opposite side of the 
 Saw-Mill Brook, purchased of Jeremiah Dewing- in 1665 and 
 lately owned by Fuller Smith, deceased. He acquired large 
 holdings of land in Needham and Natick and was prominent 
 in public affairs. He was a captain of the West company 
 of Needham minute men at the battle of Lexington, attached 
 to Heath's regiment ; and his brothers David and Jonathan 
 and his son Aaron were also in that engagement. The 
 Smiths were numerous at the Lexington alarm, the names 
 of fourteen from Needham and six from Natick appearing 
 on the minute rolls. Throughout the war the family were 
 present with their persons and their substance to aid the 
 cause of liberty. 
 
 Capt. Aaron died in 1796, aged 66 years, and Aaron, Jr., 
 became the owner of this estate. This house was built prior 
 to 1778, as it appears, on Barachis Mason's plan of the town 
 made in that year. Aaron, Jr., married Lydia Pratt in 1784, 
 and their children recorded at Natick arc Lydia (1785), 
 Martha (1790), Priscilla (1791), Susanna (1794), Lydia 
 (1796). 
 
 Aaron Smith had, for a second wife, Susanna Duval. He 
 died in 1833, aged '^i years. His daughter Lydia, the wi- 
 dow of Reuben Ware of Newton Lower P'alls, is still living, 
 aged 87 years. The Natick and Needham Smiths have uni- 
 formly been found on the side of liberty and freedom of con- 
 science, and the names of Capt. Aaron and his sons, 
 and Ichabod, John, Jeremiah, Jonathan and Abiel appear in 
 the records as petitioners for religious privileges, which 
 were not always accorded them by our orthodox ancestors. 
 The descendants of Christopher and Martha Smith, wher- 
 ever their lot has fallL-n, have left their im])ress upon the 
 surroundings ; and this branch, as Christians, soldiers and 
 yeomen, have prayed, fought and wrought successfully in 
 the battle and turmoil of life. 
 
118 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 THE INDIAN MILL. 
 
 BY HORACE MANN. 
 
 "Conveniency for mills" is a line that often occurs in the 
 early records of our New England towns, and our forefathers 
 were always going to meeting or to mill. Following in their 
 footsteps and treading in the beaten path where their foot- 
 steps trod, we, this afternoon, have been coming to the mill. 
 
 The Natick Indian saw-mill possesses peculiar interest, 
 for when it was built there was not a saw-mill in all England. 
 The Dutch built one near Albany in 1633, and the English 
 at Dorchester and Watertown prior to 1636. These were 
 the earliest mills in America. A Dutchman attempted 
 to build one near London in 1663, but the English sawyers 
 destroyed it, and their opposition prevented their general 
 adoption until near the close of that century. 
 
 It is a historic mill, and for the reason that it serves to 
 show that Rev. John Eliot and his assistants were able to 
 influence the red man to attempt an innovation that the 
 conservatism of the English sawyers rejected. Again, this 
 mill ante-dates, in time of its erection, any attempt of the 
 Dedham planters at a similar construction north of Charles 
 River. Abraham Shaw built a mill below the Great Plain 
 in 1664, and Daniel and Joshua Fisher built one near Charles 
 River Village after King Phillips' war. The timber and 
 boards for the Indian meeting house were sawed in pits 
 by two Indians — Anthony and Job; and by the 4th day 
 of July, 1 65 1, they sawed enough to complete the meeting 
 house. Anthony had his skull fractured and his jaw-bone 
 broken by the fall of a piece of timber while sawing. 
 
 Anthony had not recovered in October, 1651 : and when 
 Gov. Endicott visited the plantation, in October, 165 1, the 
 subject of building a mill the following year was discussed. 
 After dining, the company went out to view a site for it. It 
 is quite likely that they came to this locality, for the Eng- 
 
Third Field- Day. 11 1» 
 
 lish themselves had not then attempted to buihl dams across 
 the larger streams. There were many delays, and the mill 
 was not built until 1658, then it was nearly completed ; and 
 it being found that it stood on Dedham land, the Dedham 
 planters voted to extend the grant to the Natick Indians to 
 include the mill, with liberty to use the adjacent land for 
 carting timber, and liberty to cut pine and cedar timber, and 
 also white oak timber, to' complete the mill, providing it was 
 cut on common land. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Haven, in his centennial sermon, stated that 
 the mill was never completed ; but it is evident that he sup- 
 posed the record to refer to a mill nearer the Indian meet- 
 ing house and on Charles river. The mill was tangible 
 enough, however, to fasten the name of Saw-Mill brook upon 
 the stream, and Saw-Mill pond upon the sheet of water 
 above it. 
 
 In 1659, the Dedham planters laid out a division of corn 
 land called the Natick Divident, and ten grants were made 
 at Natick Saw-Mill brook — to Peter Woodward, John 
 Aldis, Rev. John Allen, Thomas Metcalf, Theophilus I-^rary, 
 Michael Metcalf, Andrew Dewing, James Draper, Richard 
 Wheeler and the church in Dedham. The lands of Wood- 
 ward and John Allen are the Needham school land, and the 
 estate of B. P. Cheney on the south of the river, and the 
 other grants are south-east of the brook. In the settling of 
 the plantation boundaries in 1663, the Saw-Mill brook was 
 made the boundary line of Dedham at this point and this 
 line was adhered to in the after adjustment of 1700, and for 
 a century and a half the Saw-Mill brook and pond are refer- 
 red to in the conveyances of land in this direction. I am 
 told the mill stood where the remains of an old dam can be 
 seen a few rods down the stream. 
 
 In the spring of 1671, one Mattoonas, a Nipmuck Indian, 
 killed one of the Smith family, Zachary by name, in Dedham 
 woods, for which murder he was hung on Boston Common 
 and his head set on a pole. The remains of young Smith 
 
120 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 were found near the saw-mill. Suspicions were cast upon 
 the Praying Indians for this murder, but under the direction 
 of Major Gookin, the Natick Indians sought out the 
 murderer and he was brought to justice. An account of 
 this murder can be found in Hubbard's History, and the 
 diaries of that time, and Drake in the Indian Chronicle 
 relates it in detail. Mr. Eliot referred to it in a letter to 
 Boyle, dated the i6th of the 4th month, 1671. These 
 references and the fact that the Smith family were settlers 
 north of the river, lead to the conclusion that the Indian 
 saw-mill was the locality where the murder was committed. 
 
 The Indian mill was destroyed during King Phillip's War ; 
 and after that eventful period the Natick Indians were too 
 demoralized to attempt its rebuilding. It is not known that 
 the English used this stream for milling purposes. The Bul- 
 lards, who occupied lands adjacent, were interested in mills 
 at Weston prior to their removal here ; but we are unable to 
 find evidence of their having used this stream for milling 
 purposes. 
 
 In Eliot's time this place was a pine and cedar swamp, and 
 probably the place where the material for the Indian meet- 
 ing-house was procured, and the scene of some of the Apos- 
 tle's manual toil, and along this way he came on his visits 
 to them to perform the duties of his pastorate. 
 
 It is not ccKtainly known that Eliot ever owned an acre 
 of the soil of Natick. The Frary, Smith and Aldis families, 
 who were among the grantees at Saw-Mill Brook, were con- 
 nected by marriage ties with the daughters of Eliot's 
 brothers, and from Wellesley church to the site of the 
 meeting house, a large portion of the land has once been 
 owned by their descendants, the Peabody and Welles families, 
 and a large territory between Lake Waban and the river 
 is now in the possession of their descendants. 
 
 Thus although the forms of Eliot and his brothers have 
 disappeared from the earth, yet the spirits and the blood 
 of the race are still potent in the plantation. The old Indian 
 
Third Ficld-Day. 121 
 
 mill was probably a crude affair ami wn)U};ht slowly. The 
 planters moved in a corresponding decree, yet they wrouj^ht 
 with the surety that has at last polished in a measure the 
 rough surroundings of Eliot's day. 
 
 The Saw-Mill pond has become a lake in name, and a new 
 missionary has come and gone and left upon its banks the 
 institutions that are to create new forces for the polishing 
 processes of progressing time. Where Waban and his 
 brethren had their wigwams, the villas of the white man 
 may be seen, and the red man's cornfields are transformed in- 
 to the gardens and lawns of civilization. Night approaches 
 and we will leave the Saw-Mill brook to future gleaners in 
 historic fields. 
 
 The Apostle and his kindred, his converts, the grantors 
 and grantees, Indian and English alike, have long since 
 passed to their everlasting sleep. There are no more logs 
 in the cedar swamp, the mill and the dam are gone, and the 
 power of the stream goes down toward the sea, and the 
 thoughts and words of our Field-Day excursion have begun 
 their journey of fading out in the mist of the coming future. 
 
122 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 A LIST OF THE 
 
 OFFICES OF THE ORIGINAL SOCIETY, 
 
 From Feb. 22. 1870, to June 2, 1873, 
 
 And the names of those who have filled them, with the 
 dates of such service. 
 
 President : 
 Rev. Horatio Alger. Whole term. 
 
 Vice-President : 
 Rev. Gorham D. Abbot, L.L.D. Whole time. 
 
 Recording- Secretary : 
 Joseph Dowe. 1870 to 1871. 
 
 Elijah Perry, Esq. 1871 to 1873. 
 
 Rev. Gorham D. Abbot, L.L.D. Jan. 7 to June 2, 1873. 
 
 Corresponding Secretary : 
 Rev. Stephen C. Strong. 1870 to Oct. 4, 1871. 
 
 Geo. J. Townsend, M.D. Oct. 4, '71, to June 2, '73. 
 
 Treasurer : 
 William Edwards, Esq. 1870 to 1873. 
 
 Jackson Bigelow, Esq. Jan. 7 to June 2, 1873. 
 
 Librarian : 
 Joseph Dowe. 1871 to June 2, 1873. 
 
 Historical Curator : 
 Rev. Horatio Alger. 1870 to 1871. 
 
 Joseph Dowe. 1871 to 1873. 
 
 Rev. Horatio Alger. Jan. 7 to June 2, 1873. 
 
 Natural History Curator : 
 William Edwards, Esq. 1870 to June 2, 1873. 
 
Offices and Officers. 123 
 
 Board of Directors : 
 President, ^ 
 
 Vice-President, 
 
 Recording Secretary, / ex officiis. 
 
 Corresponding Secretary, 
 Treasurer, ) 
 
 With five additional members, elected annually. 
 
 Geo. J. Townsend, M. D. 1 870-1 871. 
 
 Geo. C. Lincoln, M. D. 1 870-1-2. 
 
 Elijah Perry, Esq. 1870. 
 
 Charles B. Dana. 1 870-1. 
 
 Amory L. Babcock. 1 870-1-2-3 to June 2, '73- 
 
 Joseph Dowe. 1871. 
 
 Jackson Bigelow. 187 1-2. 
 
 Perley M. Ladd. 1872. 
 
 Theodore C. Otis. 1872. 
 
 Wm. Edwards, Esq. 1873, till June 2, 1873. 
 
 Amos P. Cheney. 1873, " 
 
 Joshua Parmenter. 1873, " " " 
 
 Elliot Perry. 1873, " 
 
124 Historical, Nat. Hist, and Lib. Soc'y of South Natick. 
 
 THE OFFICES AND THE OFFICERS OF THE 
 INCORPORATED 
 
 HISTORICAL, NATURAL HISTORY AND LIBRARY SOC'Y 
 
 OF SOUTH NATICK. 
 
 President : 
 Rev. Horatio Alger. April 14, 'jt,, to Nov. 6, '81. 
 
 Geo. J. Townsend, M. D. 1882-3-4. 
 
 Vice-President : 
 Henry S. Edwards. April 14, 1873, to 1874. 
 
 Geo. J. Townsend, M. D. 1874 to 1882. 
 
 Gustavus Smith, Esq. 1882-3-4. 
 
 Recording Secretary : 
 Elijah Perry, Esq. April 14, 1873, to 1875. 
 
 Thomas E. Barry, Esq. 1875 to 1876. 
 
 Leander V. N. Peck. 1876 to 1884. . 
 
 Herbert L. Morse. 1874. 
 
 Corresponding Secretary : 
 Geo. J. Townsend, M. D. April 14, 1873 to 1874. 
 
 Elliot Perry. 1874 to 1875. 
 
 William Edwards, Esq. 1875 to 1877. 
 
 Rev. Joseph P. Sheafe, Jr. 1877 to present. 
 
 Treasurer : 
 Jackson Bigelow, Esq. April 14, 1873, to 1875. 
 
 Joshua Parmenter. 1875 to 1877. 
 
 Morton V. B. Bartlett. 1877 to present. 
 
 Custodian : 
 William Edwards, Esq. April 14, 1873, to present. 
 
Offices and Officers. 
 
 125 
 
 Elliot Perry. 
 Joshua Parmenter. 
 Rev. Samuel D. Hosmer 
 Rev. Pearse Pinch. 
 Gustavus Smith, Esq. 
 Amos P. Cheney. 
 
 Librarian : 
 
 April 14, 1873, to 1874. 
 
 1874 to 1875. 
 
 1875 to 1880. 
 
 1880 to October, 1881. 
 October, 1881, to 1882. 
 1882 to present. 
 
 Historical Curator : 
 Thomas E. Barry, Esq. April 14, 1873, to 1874. 
 
 Joshua Parmenter. 
 Elijah Perry, Esq. 
 Rev. Samuel D. Hosmer. 
 Rev. Pearse Pinch. 
 Gustavus Smith, Esq. 
 
 1874 to 1875. 
 
 1875 to 1877. 
 1877 to 1880. 
 
 1880 to October, 1881. 
 October, 1881, to 1882. 
 
 Curator of Natural History Dcpartuient : 
 
 Elijah Edwards. 
 Amory L. Babcock. 
 
 Elliot Perry. Esq. 
 
 April 14, 1873, to 1874. 
 1874 to present. 
 
 Auditor : 
 
 1875-7-8, 1 880- 1. 
 
 Board of Directors : 
 \ 
 
 President, 
 
 Vice-President, 
 
 Recording Secretary, )■ ex-officiis. 
 
 Corresponding Secretary, ) 
 
 Treasurer, / 
 
 With five others elected as such. 
 
 Joshua Parmenter. 
 Amos P. Cheney. 
 Gustavus Smith. 
 E. P. Plummer. 
 William Edwards. 
 Amory L. Babcock. 
 Frank Sawin. 
 
 Apr. 14, 1 873-4-9-80- 1-2-3-4. 
 Apr. 14, 1873-4-5-82. 
 " 1873. 
 
 " 1873. 
 
 " 1 873-4-7-8-80- 1 -2-3. 
 
 1874-9-84. 
 
 1874. 
 
126 Historical, Nar. Hist, and Lib. Socy of South Natick. 
 
 Elijah Perry. 1 875-6-7-8-80-1-3-4. 
 
 Jackson Bigelow. 1875. 
 
 Abel F. Stevens. i875- 
 
 Isaac S. Sewall. i875- 
 
 Rev. Joseph P. Sheafe, Jr. 1876. 
 
 Miss Amanda Miles. 1876. 
 
 Miss Anna F. Clark. 1876-7-8-9. 
 
 Miss Mary E. Kingsbury. 1 876-7-8-9-80-1. 
 
 H. M. Wood worth. 1877-8. 
 
 Herbert L. Morse. 1879-80-1-3. 
 
 Mrs. O. Augusta Cheney. 1882-3-4. 
 
 Joseph E. Selfe. 1882. 
 
 Almond Bailey. 1884. 
 
 Fie Id- Day Cominittces of Arrangements : 
 ( Elijah Perry, Esq., 
 
 1 88 1. < Joshua Parmenter, Rev. Joseph P. Sheafe, Jr., 
 
 ( Rev. Pearse Pinch, Dea. M. V. B. Bartlett. 
 
 S Elijah Perry, Esq., 
 
 Rev. Joseph P. Sheafe, Jr., Amos P. Cheney, 
 William Edwards, Esq., Joshua Parmenter. 
 
 i Elijah Perry, Esq., 
 
 1883. < Rev. Joseph P. Sheafe, Jr., George J. Townsend, M.D. 
 ( Amos P. Cheney, Herbert L. Morse. 
 
 /