ritf t^ \mn IPi;; .,h._ '; _ ■'• |.|.iiiii^^^ii£^£HIli':^:^^^'^^ .HoysE--^ i If or 'W 1 w m K?t-i4j><- .W^k,,>{ l!billj*i>!J»;<«: 1 /:* «^> IIENRY S. GRIFFITH lass Book E-Utl g & 2 i'ki:si;.\n;i) liv HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF CARVER MASSACHUSETTS Historical Review 1637 TO 1910 HENRY S. GRIFFITH NEW BEDFORD, MASS, E. ANTHONY & SONS, Inc., Printers 1913 Gjtft Author 1*" ■- i,* i PREFACE In the course of a conversation about three years ago I was urged to write the history of Carver. It was pointed out that the character of our population is rapidly changing, that among the new residents there are no ties reaching back to Old Colony ancestors, and that should any one undertake to write the story a few years hence there would be no sentiment among the people that would insure its publication. At the present time, too, there are descendants of Carver scat- tered between the two oceans and these might appreciate such a memento of their New England ancestors. And acting upon the above suggestion much of the data had been gathered when at the annual town meeting in 1912, Prank E. Barrows, Donald McFarlin and myself were delegated to arrange for its publication. One engaged in historical research appreciates the importance of comprehensive records. Our earliest society records are not complete. Many of them were first kept on loose leaves which later were copied in books, while our ancestors have scarcely left a mark concerning the incidents which so strongly appeal to our fancy. The earlier records were unsigned, in the case of churches they were kept by the ministers, and the 19th cen- tury was well under way when the practice of iii iv PREFACE making clerk signed records came into vogue. In some of the records double dating was not in- variably practiced, and where I have used single dates during that period the Julian calendar date is to be understood. Our town records are in a good state of pres- ervation, the older volumes having been preserved by the Emory process. The first books contain vital records copied from the records of Plymp- ton, but generally speaking our vital records be- gin with the year of the town's incorporation. We have duplicates of the first two volumes of the town records made by Ira Murdock. The Precinct records in the custody of the Con- gregationalist Church are not in good condition, and these with the records of the Proprietors of the South Meeting House and the first volume of the Baptist Society records, in consideration of their historical value, should be carefully pre- served. Unfortunately the church records of Eeverends Campbell and Howland of the first church are missing, and this removes from view the baptisms from 1732 to 1804 (the period of their greatest value) and doubtless other facts that would be of interest. The records of the Proprietors of the Congregationalist Church (1823) and of the Baptist Church (1824) are also missing with whatever of interest they may have contained. As there was no attempt at a systematic record of vital statistics previous to 1842, the gravestone inscriptions are important and the date of death of some who were not thus honored is lost. The PREFACE V writer, assisted by young friends, copied these inscriptions in 1900, and these transcribed in a book, form a valued record now in the possession of the town. A few mistakes were made in the process of copying, but in view of the fact that the inscriptions are fast becoming indecipherable on some of the older stones, this record will pre- serve some dates that otherwise might be lost. The compulsory return of vital statistics was not required until 1850, and to make up for the deficiency the State officials have entered upon a policy that will ultimately put the State Library in possession of copies of the older records and also insure their publication. The writer fur- nished the State with a copy of the vital records of Carver, and this copy, with additions from the cemetery record above referred to and from pri- vate records, has been published, thus relieving this work of anything in the line of genealogy. In a work of this kind mistakes are easy to make. To take the imperfect records and evolve a complete story without an omission, a repetition or a contradiction requires a mind more proficient in the art of deduction, and with more patience than the writer happens to possess. The his- torian of a community rich in traditional legends who in the course of his researches becomes ac- quainted with the social and industrial past, and who is thus in a position to compare the painted picture with the barren field of history, must feel a sense of dissatisfaction with his work. Espe- cially is this true when we attempt to picture the ■social conditions of the first settlers. We know vi PREFACE their experiences as pioneers were replete with dangers and romances, the simple narration of which would make a thrilling story, but when we ask of departed time a revelation of her secrets our question re-echoes across a barren waste. I fancy I see the smiles of satisfaction — if not of vanity — on the faces of the residents of the first half of the eighteenth century as they review the progress they had made not only in material' things, but in the realm of civil and religious lib- erty. And if we compare that record with that of some of their European contemporaries we may concede their right to boast over their achieve- ments. And when I review the progress made in the Colony from the ascension of William a7id Mary to the middle of the succeeding century I am forced to hold the opinion that we gained more in the cause of liberty by the English than we did by the American Eevolution. Unfortunately local records are silent regard- ing the personnel of the Eevolutionary Army and the only glimpse we get of the individual records of our patriotic sires is in the more or less con- flicting rolls on file in the Archive Department at the State House. These rolls have been classi- fied, indexed and published, and anyone seeking the record of an ancestor is referred to these vol- umes. In this story I have only sought to give a general idea of what our mother town did in the cause of national independence. My list is so unsatisfactory that I feel like apologizing for it, and the danger of doing an injustice to some enthusiastic patriot impels me to refer to the pub- PREFACE vii lication mentioned above as an appeal from my efforts. There was no dividing line between the two Precincts so far as the Eevolution is con- cerned, and it would be an endless genealogical task to make a separate list of the soldiers who resided in the South Precinct, so I have made a list of all who served to the credit of the town of Plympton. In the enthusiastic march to dislodge the enemy from the town of Marshfield, fruitless except as an indication of the unanimous senti- ment of the town, those militia men who served under Captains William Atwood and Nathaniel Shaw were mainly from the South Precinct. I suspect the soldier who appears on the rolls as Swanzea Murdock may have been a negro known locally as Swanzea. He was employed by Bartlett Murdock, and with only one name of his own his posterity will excuse him for borrowing that of his employer in such a patriotic cause. The vari- ous ways of spelling names as they appear on the rolls is a handicap, and I have followed the mod- ern way of spelling. At t]ie time this is written there appears no way of obtaining a reliable list of the soldiers who served in the second war with Great Britain, in consequence of which those veterans are denied their place in this story. The State has begun the task of rescuing these names from their tomb in the War Department ai Washington, and while the Adjutant General of the State has completed his part the publication will not be made before this work is published. viii PREFACE In my list of volunteers of the Civil War I have included two names who, while residents of the town, did not fill a quota of Carver. Albert T. Shurtleff, the first to enlist, joined a Ehode Island regiment, and Ezra Pearsons enlisted to the credit of the State of Maine. I express gratitude to the memory of the late Lewis Pratt, who gave me so much from a good memory relating to the old time furnaces; also to the late William T. Davis, an authority on Old Colony history. In my story of the natural con- ditions of the town I give credit to Miss Helena McFarlin, who furnished me with a list of the birds and wild flowers. H. S. G. South Carver, June 19, 1913. CONTENTS Page Natural Conditions 1 Indians 13 The First Speculators 19 A Few Early Laws 31 The First Separation 43 Early Settlers 51 The South Precinct of Plympton .... 65 Plympton in the Revolution 91 The Congregationalist Church .... Ill The South Meeting House 121 The Second Separation 135 The Temperance Movement 155 The Baptist Church . 163 The Methodist Church 175 The Advent Christian Church .... 181 The Union Society ........ 185 Furnaces and Foundries 191 The Cranberry Industry . . . . . . * 217 Military History 223 Carver in the Rebellion 231 War of 1812-14 ^. ... 241 ix X HISTORY OF CARVER Page Post Offices 243 Small Pox 244 Cemeteries 245 Population 250 Miscellaneous Industries 251 Chronological Events 257 Landmarks 265 Biographical Sketches 271 Precinct Officers 293 Parish Officers 302 Church Members 305 State and County Officers 326 Town Officers 328 Index of Names 341 ILLUSTEATIONS Facing Page The South Meeting Rouse . Frontispiece A View of Sampsons Pond viii A View of East Head Woods .... 8 Barretts Pond 16 A Corner on Hemlock Island .... 24 The Shurtleff Homestead 26 The Sturtevant House ....... 30 Residence of Finney Brothers 32 The Griffith Homestead 40 The Waterman House 48 The Carver Primary Schoolhouse . . . 50 The Wenham Schoolhouse 54 The Popes Point Schoolhouse .... 58 The Bates Pond Schoolhouse ... .62 The South Carver Schoolhouse .... 72 Benjamin W. Bobbins 80 The Second Church 88 The Congregational Church 96 Hon. Benjamin Ellis 106 Huit McFarlin 110 Henry Sherman 112 xi xii HISTORY OF CARVER Facing Page The Town Rail 120 The North Carver Schoolhouse ..... 122 The High School Building ...... 126 Thomas Hammond, Jr 136 The Baptist Church 144 The Hammond Homestead 152 The Methodist Church ^. . 160 The Methodist Chapel 168 The Advent Christian Church .... 176 The Union Church 178 Lewis Pratt, Jr 182 The Charlotte Furnace Building .... 186 Hon. Peleg McFarlin 190 Hon, Jesse Murdoch 200 Eben D. Shaw 208 Federal Screen House 210 Section of Federal Village 214 A Section of the Wankinco Bog .... 218 Albert T. Shurtleff 222 Capt. William S. McFarlin 224 Maj. Thomas B. Griffith ...... 232 The Soldiers Monument 234 Thomas Southworth 238 Lakenham Cemetery 248 ILLUSTRATIONS xiii Facing Page Harrison G. Cole 256 George P. Bowers 264 Horatio A. Lucas 272 A Section of East Head Game Preserve . 274 Andrew Griffith 278 William Savery 280 Mrs. Rosa A. Cole .. 288 Dea. Thomas Cobh 296 John Maxim, Jr 304 Mrs. Priscilla Jane Barrows ..... 312 Ellis H. Cornish, M. D 320 History of Carver HISTORY OF CARVER NATURAL CONDITIONS Tlie town of. Carver, comprising about tweuty- fonr thousand acres, is located midway between tidewater in Plymouth and tidewater in Ware- ham. The centre of the town would fall near 41 degrees 52 minutes north latitude while a meridian 70%. degrees west from Greenwich would intersect the parallel near the centre of the town. The Weweantic river separates a short section in the southwest from Middleboro, the Wankinco about the same distance of the southeastern border from Plymouth, otherwise the town has no natural boundaries. Generally speaking the town is bounded on the north by Plympton, on the east by Kingston and Plymouth, on the south by Ply- mouth and Wareham, and on the west by Ware- ham and Middleboro. The northern and southern sections are rolling interspersed with ponds and swamps with the central section mainly level. Several thousand acres in the southeastern section is made up of barren hills, sterile except for scattering scrub oaks and pines and occasional fertile spots. The 1 2 HISTORY OF CARVER conditions surrounding the swamps are peculiarly adapted to cranberry culture, and the upland, worthless in a commercial sense, is noted for its scenic beauty. The most desirable land for agri- cultural purposes is in the north section where the earliest settlements were made. While the town is generally noted for its sandy soil, there are marks of a glacial drift and occa- sional spots of rich deposits. Stretching across the central section in a southeasterly course a windrow of boulders separates the better soil of the north from the sandy soil of the south. The widest deviation in this windrow is in the terri- tory from Sampson's pond to Cedar brook, which is made up of bowlders. One extension which has acquired the sobriquet of The Ridge protrudes from the main drift in a southerly direction and separates the pond from the large cedar swamp which appears to be in the same depression. Tillson's brook, which unites the cedar swamp with the pond, makes its connection around the southerly end of the ridge. Three streams, dignified in local history by the name of rivers, form the basis of the town's drainage system, viz. : The Winatuxet, the Wewe- antic and the Wankinquoah. Lakenham brook, running northerly from its source in Lakenham pond, in its junction with Mahutchett brook, gives rise to the Winatuxet. This river is also fed by Annasnapet brook, which flows westerly across the north end of the town. In turn this brook is swelled by two smaller streams, Huntinghouse brook and another to the east, both running north- NATURAL CONDITIONS 3 erly and emptying their contents into Annasnapet brook. The Weweantic rising at Swan Hold and flowing across the town in a southwesterly course, with its great tributary, the Crane brook, drains the larger half of the town. Wenham brook, which flows from Wenham pond southerly; Horseneck brook, flowing from the Centre swamp easterly; Causeway brook, flowing from a swamp on the Wenham road southerly ; Beaver Dam brook, flow- ing from Beaver Dam pond westerly ; Cedar brook, running westerly from the cedar swamp; two brooks flowing out of New Meadows westerly; a blind brook flowing westerly from No-Bottom pond, and Atwood brook, flowing southwesterly from Bates' pond, all add to the majesty of the Weweantic. With the exception of East Head, West Head and the swamps on the Wareham-Carver town line, the Crane brook drains the territory south of the cedar swamp, including the southerly sec- tion of the swamp itself. This stream flows from Federal ponds southwesterly, pouring its accu- mulated waters into the Weweantic just before it leaves the town. Dunham's pond sends its sur- plus water down the Crane brook either directly through a short brook that connects its easterly shore, or indirectly through Tillson's brook, which flows from the cedar swamp southwesterly into Sampson's pond. This pond also receives water from the New Meadows country through a brook that crosses Eochester road east of Union church, and sends its surplus to the Crane brook through its southerly outlet, Sampson's brook. 4 HISTORY OF CARVER Cedar pond and Clear pond are closely related and connect with Crane brook through the west- erly outlet, more or less blind, that makes through the swamp southwesterly. Indian brook, rising in Indian swamp and running southerly, fed itself by a brook running from near the southwesterly point of Sampson's pond, adds to the waters of the Crane brook. East Head brook, running from East Head and West Head brook, running from White springs, give rise to the Wankinquoah, which drains the swamps in that region and empties its waters in Tihonet pond. The swamps in the ex- treme southerly section of the town also drain into Tihonet pond through Mosquito brook. Eose brook has its source in these swamps, but drains but a small part of them. Cooper's, John's, Triangle, Gould's Bottom and Barrett's ponds have no outlets. The large area of the town, sparsely populated, with numerous ponds, streams and jungles, unite to make the territory a favored breeding ground of the fish, animals and birds that thrive in this latitude. Fish formed a staple article of food for the earlier settlers and in the days of the first resi- dents the industry developed three fish weirs. Sampson's and Doty's ponds were breeding places for herrings until their egress and ingress was closed by the development of manufacturing along the Weweantic river. These ponds were also stocked with white perch, a valued food fish until the species became land locked, since which it has NATURAL CONDITIONS 5 so far degenerated as to become nearly worthless. During the latter half of the 19th century some of the ponds were stocked with black bass and that species has become the most valuable for food. The list of fresh water fish that have always thrived would include pickerel, red perch, shiners, white fish, roaches, hornpouts and brook trout. Deer, the largest of our wild animals, find fa- vorable conditions. Through persistent hunting they were exterminated in the latter half of the 19th century but under the protection of the law they regained a foot hold and the opening days of the 20th century found them so numerous as to be actually depredations. The first settlers found beavers and wolves in abundance. The former were highly prized for commercial reasons and quickly exterminated while war was declared on the latter also for well known reasons and they too disappeared. Foxes and skunks have ever been regarded with suspic- ion and while they have never had the protection of the law they still thrive. Being valued for their furs there is a double motive for destroying them and the persistency in which they hold their own is creditable to their cunning. Other animals which are valued for their furs, but which ap- pear to be disappearing are otters, minks, rac- coons, muskrats and weasels. The woods once teemed with hare and rabbits, but these are liable to be extinct. The destruction of their breeding places in the process of cran- berry bog construction is the main cause of the extermination of this game, with increasing popu- 6 HISTORY OF CARVER lation, forest fires and persistent hunting as con- tributing factors. Gray squirrels, red squirrels, and chipmunks are undiminished. The first settlers declared war on crows, crow blackbirds and red birds (brown thrashers) in the interests of their corn fields, but in spite of these inconveniences the birds are with us yet and as we get better acquainted with them we rejoice that they have not been exterminated. Following is a list of the birds of the town: Land American cross bills Blue birds Blue jays Bobolinks Brown creepers Brown thrashers Cat birds Cedar waxwings Chats Chebecs Chewinks (tohee) Chickadees Chimney swifts Cow birds Crows Cuckoos Doves Gold finches (yellow birds) Golden crowned kinglets Grackles (purple and bronze) Birds Hawks Humming birds Indigo birds Juncos King birds King fishers Martins Maryland yellowthroat Meadow larks Night Hawks Nut hatches (red breasted and white breasted) Orioles Ospreys Ovenbirds Owls Pewees Phebe birds Purple finches (linnets) Quails Rails Red winged blackbirds NATURAL CONDITIONS Redstarts Swallows Robins Thrushes Rose breasted grosbecks Vieros Ruffed grouse Warblers (myrtle, chest- Sand pipers nut sided, etc.) Scarlet tanagers Whip-poor-wills Shrikes (butcher birds) Woodpeckers Snow buntings Wrens Sparrows Waders Bitterns Snipe Plovers Yellow legs Blue herons Water Birds Black ducks Mallard ducks Grebes Wood ducks Loons Being located on the line between Labrador and the South, and having ample resting and feeding places in the lakes, we are annually visited by migrating birds. When a storm is approaching from the northeast myriads of gulls retreat in- land and our lakes are made lively by these play- ful habitants of the deep. The list of birds which we can claim only as transient \dsitors in addition to gulls and terns, would include : Blue wing teal Brant Coots Cormorants (shags) Gadwalls (gray duck) Geese Golden eye (whistlers) Green wing teal Mergansers Pintail Red head ducks Shelldrakes South Southerlys Squaws) Spoonbills Widgeon (Old 8 HISTORY OF CAEVER Crows, blue jays, juncos, meadow larks, quails, ruffed grouse, chickadees, woodpeckers, bald eagles, tree sparrows and occasional robins are year around birds. The town is noted for its growth of lumber, soft pine, cedar and oak being staple products down to the 20th century, and it is evident this growth must have been gigantic before its settle- ment. In digging ditches in the process of bog construction charcoal has been found imbedded three feet below the surface, indicating the growth of timber and also the prevalence of forest fires in pre-historic times. In point of commercial value the oak takes third place being preceded only by white pine and cedar. South Meadow cedar swamp comprising about one thousand acres ; Doty 's swamp, New Meadows swamp and other smaller patches were dense with a virgin growth in memory of those now living, while many acres of original growth of white pine has been cut in the memory of the present generation. The early records mention large whitewood trees, but this species, if it has prevailed in the past, has become extinct. The following species have been and are now thriving: White pine, cedar, oaks, pitch pine, maples, hem- lock, white birch, black birch, hornbeam, poplar, cherry, locust, sassafras, elm, willow and beech. The attractions of nature are perpetual. No snow so deep that the pines and cedars do not wave their green branches above it; no winter so bleak as to hide the beauties of the holly, the laurels and winterberries. The scrub-oak hills of -y^t^ H S o NATURAL CONDITIONS sand are famous for trailing arbutus that appears even before the snow has left the valleys, and in no clime or soil do the water lilies, sabbatias, goldenrods and asters reach a more perfect state of development. In the season the swamps are fragrant with the blossoms of the honeysuckle and sweet pepper bush, and the variegated autumn leaves clothe the driveways and hills with in- describable beauty. That this town has its share of the decorations that give inspiration to country scenery, the fol- lowing list, still incomplete, may testify : White Alder (smooth) Arrowhead (sagittaria) Arrow woods Asters Baneberry Bayberry Bearberry (mountain cranberry) Beech plum Black alder (winterberry) Blackberry Black huckleberry Blueberry Bunchberry Button bush Cat brier Checkerberry (winter- green) Choke berry Cinquefoil Clover Creeping snowberry Dangleberry Dodder Elderberry Evening lychris False Solomon's seal False spikenard Floating heart Gall of the earth Gold thread Goldenrod Holly Indian pipe Inkberry Lady's tobacco Lady's tresses Leather leaf Mayweed Meadow rue Meadow sweet Mountain holly 10 HISTORY OF CARVER Mountain laurel Night flowering catch fly Ox-eyed daisy Partridge vine Pearl everlasting Plantain Queen Anne's lace Rattlesnake plantain Rattlesnake root Shad bush (wild pear) Shinleaf Snapwood Spotted wintergreen Star flower Swamp honeysuckle (azalia) Swamp huckleberry Sweet everlasting Sweet fern Sweet gale Sweet pepper bush Thoroughwort Trillium (painted) Turtle head Viburnum Virgin's bower Water cress Water lily White fringed orchis White violet Wild lily of the valley Wild sarsaparilla Wild strawberry Wind flower (anemone) Wintergreen (pipsissiwa) Withwood Yarrow Yellow Bellwort Black eyed Susan Butter and Eggs Buttercup Cinquefoil Common St. John's wort Cynthia (dwarf dande- lion) Dandelion Fall Dandelion Evening primrose Gerardia Golden aster Golden ragwort Goldenrod Hawk weed Hedge hyssop Horned bladderwort Indian cucumberroot Jewel weed Loose strife Marsh marigold Moth mullein Mullein Mustard Poverty grass Purslane Stick tight Sundrop Tansy NATUEAL CONDITIONS 11 Toad flax Wild indigo "Wild parsnip Wild sunflower Wild yellow wood sorrel (oxalis) Witch hazel Yellow clover Yellow eyed grass Yellow pond lily Yellow Star grass Amphibeous knot weed Arbutus Arethusia Bouncing Bet Burdock Bush clover Calopogon Clover Common milkweed Cranberry Dogbane Fireweed Hog peanut Joe-pye-weed Knotweed (polyganella) Lions heart Marsh St. Johnswort Meadow Beauty Milkwort Pinh Moccasin flower Motherwort Musk Mallow Coreopsis Fleabane Pogonia Purple geradia Khodora Round leaved mallow Sabbatia (sea pink) Sheep laurel Steeple bush Sundew Sweet briar rose Swamp loose strife Tick trefoil Wild rose Yarrow Aster Bird-foot violet Blue curls Blue eyed grass Bluets Blue flag (Iris) Blue or Purple Blue toad flax Blue Vervain (verbena) Catnip Common speedwell Cow vetch Common violet 12 HISTORY OF CARVER Gill-over-the-ground Indian tobacco Iron weed Lobelia (water) Lupine Mad dog's skull cap Meadow violet Pennyroyal Peppermint Pickerel weed Robin's plantain Self heal Sheep's bit Spider wort Thistle Venus' looking srlass Red Cardinal flower Pitcher plant Wood lily Green or Greenish White Cow wheat Dock Grape (wild) Horse radish Poison sumach Weeds : Carpet weed Chick weed Ground cherry Goosefoot Pig weed Pin weed Poison ivy Staghorn Virginia creeper bine) Pipewort Sandwort Trumble weed Velvet weed Wild pepper grass ( wood- Butterfly weed Cypress spurge Cat-tail Ground nut Hoary pea Jack-in-the-pulpit Lousewort Miscellaneo'us Liveforever Rabbits foot clover Scouring rush Sweet flag Skunk cabbage South Sea water bubble Trumpet honeysuckle INDIANS Unfortunately our main source of knowledge of our predecessors on this soil is founded on tra- dition, which is often a libelous story, for the human mind is not apt to minimize an event that struck terror to its infant conceptions. No voice of the Pawtuxets comes down to us in litera- ture, none of their architecture stands as a monu- ment to their art, yet we have many silent re- minders of their handiwork. A walk around the shores of our lakes, or across some newly plowed field, is frequently rewarded by some arrow head, pestle or war club upturned from its resting place. Thousands of these mementos are scattered through our homes and too often perhaps not fully appreciated for these are the only tokens that link our civilization with the lives of the children of nature that once inhabited this region. And wlien we read of the cruelties of the Indians it is well to remember that this is the white man's story. The red man is silent. And lest we be unduly impressed with our own case we may recall that in 1698 the white man placed a bounty of fifty pounds on the scalp of an adult Indian and ten pounds on the scalp of a child under ten. Five years later the sport of hunting and scalp- ing children was abolished, while the practice of capturing them alive and selling them as slaves 13 14 HISTORY OF CARVER was substituted. Thus was the process of ex- terminating an inferior race turned to a source of profit to its superiors. There were no Indians permanently located in the limits of the future town of Carver in 1620 or thereafter although roving bands strolled through the region occasionally. This rendered settlements hazardous and one Ephraim Tinkham who had squatted near Lakenham in 1650 was warned that unless he returned within the danger line he could expect no protection from the Colony. After the close of King Philip's war Indians who settled here, with certain exceptions, enjoyed the rights conferred upon the whites, and their rights were looked after by Commissioners ap- pointed by the Governor. In 1702-03 the town of Plymouth voted a grant of land to Samuel Sonnett, an Indian, and his wife, Dorothy. This land, forming the basis of the Indian lands in Carver, was located on the southerly side of Sampson's pond, and bounds and measurements not being definite, it must have included consid- erably more than the area named, for it took in all the land between the Casey swamp and the pond, and extended from the Indian lot, so-called, to Sampson's brook. The bounds were more definitely established two years later by Surveyor "William Shurtleff. The only incumbrance was the general law providing that land of Indians should not be sold without a permit from the General Court. Under the conditions of the vote the grantee and his heirs were guaranteed the INDIANS 15 right to fish in the ponds and streams and to gather tar and turpentine on the common lands. The Seipets appear in town a few years later, possibly marrying into the Sonnett family. Bartlett Murdock, who had inherited the farm on the east side of the pond, employed one of these Seipet boys, who seems to have been endowed with the traditional cunning of his race. Among the anecdotes that illustrate the character of the boy is one that concerns the time when the South Meet- ing house was erected. The building had been framed and raised, when Murdock was horrified one early morning on beholding his Indian boy climbing carelessly over the skeleton. Ascending to the plate by the ladder, he walked up one of the outside rafters, thence the entire length of the ridge-pole, and down another rafter to the plate, from which he skipped nimbly to the ground. On another occasion young Seipet was sent out on an early morning to bring in a yoke of oxen for the day's work. His return was not expected promptly, for cattle ran at large and often strayed a long ways from the clearing ; but not returning late in the afternoon, Murdock be- came alarmed and started out on horseback to learn the fate of his trusted employee. After covering a long distance he met Seipet returning with his cattle and with a good excuse for his tardiness. He had traced the oxen as far as Cranebrook pond, a distance of five miles, and as the ground was crossed and counter-crossed by cattle tracks, the master asked how he had fol- lowed the track, for in Murdock 's eye there was 16 HISTORY OF CARVER no difference between the tracks of his own oxen and those of his neighbors. Seipet expressed sur- prise at the ignorance of his employer, as he replied : ^ ' You think Seipet not know his own ox tracks?" In 1780 this land was owned solely by the Seipets, and the Plymouth County Commissioners were authorized to sell as much of it as was necessary to pay the debts and give a comfortable support to Desire Seipet in her old age. The sale, effected in 1783, transferred a large part of the tract, and that on which the village of South Carver now stands, to Lieut. Thomas Drew. In 1810 Launa Seipet, also an aged woman, resided on the reservation. By special act of the General Court she was placed in the care of tbe Selectmen of Carver, and for her support another section of the Son- nett land was sold to Benjamin Ellis, This sale included what was left of the Indian land north of Bodfish Bridge road. It would appear that she was the last survivor of the family, and re- siding with her were two daughters, Betsey and Hannah. Betsey married, but died childless. Hannah married Augustus Casey, with whom she lived on the old clearing, where were born and reared Frank, Thomas, William, John, Joseph Young, Augustus Green, Hannah (married Turner), Betsey (married Phillips), and Sarah (married Jackson). Joseph and Thomas en- listed and saw service in the navy in the Civil war. For the aid of some of the Casey heirs other tracts have been sold from the Sonnett land, until INDIANS 17 about forty acres remain, and that now known as ''The Casey Place," On the name our predecessors gave this region we can only speculate, for students and inter- preters of Indian language ditfer. By one it is given as Warkinguag; by another as Mahootset. While we have a few Indian monuments in the way of landmarks, their meaning is veiled in mystery, and our efforts towards an interpreta- tion of them leaves us still unrewarded regarding the individual experiences of the red men who tilled these grounds before us. Weweantic is in- terpreted as a wandering stream; Winatuxett, the new found meadows; Quitiquas, the island place; Annasnapet, the small shell brook; Swan Hold, possibly a corruption of Sowhanohke, meaning the South land; Polypody, a place of brakes; Mahutchett, the place on the trail. There are also many other names suggestive of history or mythology. King Philip's spring comes down to us with a bloody pedigree; the Pokanet field sings the fame of Pokanet, who prospered as the slave of the Shurtleffs, and whose camp was near the river in the field that now bears his name; Wigwam swamp; Indian burying ground; Indian brook, and Sampson's pond are suggestive names. THE FIRST SPECULATORS To comprehend the ground work of our present structure it is necessary to go back to the begin- ning and note through what various processes our ancestors came into possession of their land. The authority of the body that granted it is not in question, and who owned it previous to the white man's assumption has no place in the calculation. And so in our own language our history begins in the year 1620. The first land system of the Colonists consisted in parceling out the land at the opening of the season, but this method so soon gave rise to dis- satisfaction that in 1624 permanent grants began to be made, and as the Colony grew the home- seekers began to branch out into the wilderness. While the town of Plymouth was never formally incorporated, its corporate life dates from 1636, and the region now within the limits of the town of Carver, being in the jurisdiction of the Pil- grim town, all land grants of this territory were made by the town of Plymouth. Connecting the Indian village of Pawtuxet with Agawam and Nemasket were the two trails, Aga- wam path and Nemasket path. The former lead- ing over barren hills offered no attractions to the home-seekers, but the latter leading through fertile valleys, over running brooks and waving 19 20 HISTORY OF CARVER meadows, early caught the eye of the hardy souls that were crowded out of the settlement. Begin- ning in 1637 and ending with the incorporation of the town of Plympton, all of the land now in Plympton and Carver was granted by the mother town. The marsh meadows were the chief attraction, and many of the grants were of the meadows alone, the grantees holding their residences in Plymouth. These grants were located at South Meadows,* Doty's meadows, Six-Mile brook, Mahutchett, Swan Hold, Beaver Dam brook, and Crane brook. By the end of the period sev- eral settlements had been made. The fir^t to take the Nemasket path was John Derby, who in 1637 took up a claim of sixty acres at Mounts hill, near the little lake that later be- came known as Derby pond. The following year he was joined by Thurston Clark, Edward Doty and George Moore, while Stephen Hopkins went still further into the woods and took a grant at Six-Mile brook. It is probable that this grant of Doty's was the first grant of land within the municipal limits of Carver, although the grant of one hundred and fifty acres in 1637-38 to John Jenney on either side of the brook was the germ of this town in the woods. By the terms of this *The term South Meadows originally included all of the meadow land on the Weweantic river from Swan Holt to Rochester, the lower meadows being referred to as the Lower South Meadows. The name was afterwards applied to the village of Centre Carver, which was known by no other name up to the time of the Civil war. / THE FIRST SPECULATORS 21 g-rant it was constituted a farm within the juris- diction of Plymouth and to be known as Laken- ham. The bounds of Plymouth were not definitely located until after the end of this period. A court order of 1640 adjusting the bounds between Plymouth and Sandwich provided that "the bounds should extend so far up into the woodland as to include the South Meadows towards Agawam, lately discovered, and the convenient upland thereto." For many years the western bounds were in dispute, and various conferences with the Proprietors of South Purchase were necessary before the dividing line was definitely established. Nor were the individual grants definitely lo- cated and described. The records are evidence of the fact that many of the grants included a much larger area than their terms would indicate, and also of the frequent disputes among individ- ual grantees over ranges. In the latter part of the period town surveyors were annually elected, who were kept busy making surveys of earlier grants and placing their surveys on record. It would be difficult to resurvey some of these grants from the recorded descriptions. The heap of stones and the red oak tree have long since passed from the stage, but out of these humble I)eginnings has grown our more exact method, and petty disputes, though not unknown, are not as frequent as of old. The main grants before the year 1640, in addi- tion to those previously mentioned, were to John 22 HISTORY OF CARVEE Pratt, at Wenham; Bridget Fuller, at Doty's; John Barnes, at Six-Mile brook (including up- land) ; John Dunham, at Swan Hold (including upland) ; Eichard Sparrow and John Atwood, at Lakenham ; and Goodman Watson, George Bonum and Andrew Ring, at South Meadows. During the succeeding forty years grants of various dimensions were made along the South Meadow river to Andrew Ring, Abraham Jack- son, Jonathan Shaw, "William Nelson, George Bonum, Ephraim Tinkham, Lieut. Morton, William Harlow, Nathaniel Morton, Hugh Cole^ Joseph Bartlett, John Cole, Daniel Dunham, John Fflallowel, Samuel Doty, John Lucas, John Jourdan, John Waterman, John Barrows, Na- thaniel Wood, William Ring, Jonathan Barnes, Benony Lucas, Samuel Harlow, Richard Cooper, Ephraim Tillson, Thomas Pope and George Wat- son; at Lakenham to John Rickard, James Cole, Jonathan Shaw, Robert Ransom, George Watson, Daniel Ramsden and Benejah Pratt; at Doty's to Thomas Lettuce, John Rickard, Gyles Rickard, Jr., and John Pratt; at Mahutchett to Ephraim Tillson, William Haskins and Peter Risse; at John's pond to Samuel Savery; at Beaver Dam brook to George Watson ; and at Wenham to John Dunham. By the dawn of the 18th century the pioneers had a well established system of farms; grants were enlarged to take in nearly all of the upland, and the tide of population set in. Before 1705 grants at Swan Hold were made to Joseph Dunham, John Pratt, Nathaniel Dun- THE FIRST SPECULATORS 23 ham, Micager Dunham, Benejah Pratt, Jeduthen Eobbins, Eleazer Pratt, Joseph Pratt, Joseph Dunham, Sr,, and Abial Shurtleff. These grantees were also given authority to construct a dam for flowing their meadows. Small tracts were granted at Popes Point to Joseph Churchill, George Morton and Edmund Tillson, while land formerly of George Watson was better described for the benefit of his grandson, Jonathan Shaw. Land that had been .granted to Abraham Jackson, William Harlow and George Morton in New Meadows in 1698 was also more definitely de- scribed. As these years mark the end of the individual grants by the town of Plymouth, and the grantees had reached the point where they would break away from the parent town of the Old Colony, it is well to note how their destinies were swayed by two important events of the first century. The first settlers of Plymouth were kept within a lim- ited area on account of marauding bands of In- dians, but after the spirit of the natives had been broken by the disastrous ending of King Philip 's war, the drawback from that source was ended. And a few years later when the dethronement of James II. disposed of their twin enemy, Sir Edmond Andros, the Colonists rapidly increased under their new charter, meeting-houses sprung up in the forests, and New England entered en- thusiastically upon its remarkable career. It is also well to remember in considering these twin enemies of the early colonists, that the white man and the red man broke even. 24 HISTORY OF CARVER The indivadual grants, mostly of which have been named, with two general grants made before Plympton was incorporated, left the new town without any common land in its jurisdiction. The proprietors of the cedar swamp, as also the pro- prietors of the rest of the common land, hence- forth had jurisdiction in the division of these lands. A large portion of this common tract was located in the future town of Carver, consisting of the cedar swamp and the land south of it as far west as the easterly shore of Sampson's pond. It included about one-fourth of the modern town's area. At a town meeting in Plymouth in 1701-02 an ordinance was passed dividing the cedar swamp,* and Jacob Thompson was chosen surveyor to make the division with John Bradford and Samuel Sturtevant as assistants. Under the provisions of the ordinance every freeholder was to have a share; every male child born in the town who had reached the age of twenty-one and who re- sided in town one-half of a share; any resident who succeeded an original proprietor, one share, unless said proprietor left a son ; children to in- herit a share if the father was entitled to one; but under no conditions should anyone hold more than one share. Non-residents, except children as above noted, were prohibited from holding *This vote included all of the cedar swamp in the town of Plymouth, which at that time embraced the future towns of Plympton, Halifax and Carver. Only the South Meadow and Doty swamps were in the future Carver, which accounts for the omission of Great Lots 19, 20 and 21 in this story. A CORNER ON HEMLOCK ISLAND THE FIRST SPECULATORS 25 shares unless being the owner of at least one hun- dred acres of tillage land occupied by a tenant. As this tract had so long been utilized as common property, this vote to end the custom provoked a contest that could not be avoided by a town vote. Committees were named to watch poachers; any proprietor convicted of cutting cedars pending the division for- feited his claim; and any poacher not being a proprietor was to pay a fine of twenty shillings for each tree. While the plan looked well on paper, the surveyor was in a sea of con- stant commotion. Some lots were better located than others ; some had a superior growth ; every proprietor had a choice ; and it was several years before the division was made among the proprie- tors, while the disputes had not ended two cen- turies later. Under the Thompson plan the swamp was di- vided into eighteen Great Lots, and these Great Lots subdivided in the process of division among the proprietors. Great Lots were intended to contain forty acres each, but they were not symmetrical in shape. Some began at a common point and extended in long triangles across the swamp; some were generally rectangular, and others cannot be described in geometrical terms. It would seem to a modern engineer that the swamp could have been divided with more regu- larity, but the ragged general form of the tract without including upland presented a problem that taxed the civil engineering of the times. 26 HISTORY OF CARVER There was still a greater disparity in the shape and size of the subdivisions. It is apparent that the surveyor placed a broad interpretation on the terms of his instructions and undertook to equalize the disparity in values by varying the size and form of the lots. In 1828 Sylvanus Bourne resurveyed the swamp and pointed out inconsistencies in the Thompson plan, and filed a plan of his own. Modern sur- veyors consult both plans as a basis of surveys. Doty's Cedar Swamp, situate in the Northerly section of the town, also came under the general grant, although independent of the large swamp. This was known as Great Lot No. 22 in the di- vision. The original owners were John Gray, John Holmes, Samuel Rickard and Josiah Rickard. At a town meeting in Plymouth, February 9, 1701-02, the following ordinance was adopted : ''That every freeholder That hath ben soe for six years last past That hath not had 30 ackers of land Granted to them by the Inhabitants of the Town within 20 years last past shall have 30 acrees of land laid forth to them out of the Com- mons belonging to sd Town (by the persons here- after Named that are the Towns Committy or Trustees to act in ye Affare) or soe much land as to Make it up 30 acrees with what they have al- ready had Granted to them sience sd Tirme of years & its further voted That all Town born Children now Inhabitants in sd Town that have been Rated towards defray publick Charg in sd Town for 14 years last past shall have 30 acres O * a Eh 'tS !>. g ^ 5 |2i W ^ 5rt S II o ^ ffl THE FIRST SPECULATORS 27 apece of land laid out to them out of sd Town Comons as abovesd & that None shall Take np aney Meadow ground or sedor swamps by vertue of this Grant and it further voted that every man May take up his share abovesd as ner to his own land as may be: and noe man shall take up sd land agnst an other mans Land until the owner of sd land doth Eefuseth it & if two men doe pitch on one pece of land the Committy have hereby power to determine whose it shall be." The Committee chosen at the meeting to effect the division was composed of Capt. John Brad- ford, Capt. James Warren, Left. Shurtlef, Left. Nath; Southworth, Insign: Nath: Morton and Samuel Sturtivant. Before the town committee had progressed far with the division, the town of Plympton was in- corporated and the common lands located in the two towns passed to the control of the Proprie- tors, two hundred and one, who organized by the choice of a clerk and adopted the style of The Proprietors of Plymouth and Plympton Com- mons. Thomas Faunce was the first clerk, and those who served in that position before the Pro- prietors' work was finished in 1790 were Samuel Bartlett, John Cotton and Rossiter Cotton. At a general meeting of the proprietors, Capt. Warren, Benjamin Warren, Lieut. Shurtleff and Samuel Lucas were chosen as surveyors to make the division. The tract was located in the Eastern section of the present town of Carver and the Southern section of Plymouth. Under the plan of operations as devised by the surveyors it was 28 HISTORY OF CARVER first divided into ten Great Lots, and these sub- divided. The first Great Lot was cut up into 21 small parcels, the second into 22, the third into 22, the fourth into 21, the fifth into 20, the sixth into 20, the seventh into 19, the eighth into 18, the ninth into 18, and the tenth into 20. These total 201 parcels to be divided among the proprietors. The next step in the division was to assign the freeholders to the several Great Lots. This was no small task, as each proprietor had a choice of position. And after the Great Lots had been as- signed to the individual owners the question of alloting the parcels to the individuals was taken up for solution, and another perplexing problem faced the surveyors. The proprietors of each Great Lot held meetings by themselves to draw for their parcels. The subdivisions were num- bered and each proprietor drew a number which in theory was to be the number of his lot. The drawings were not altogether satisfactory, and time was extended for the proprietors to trade, and it was upwards of eighty years before the work of the proprietors was finished. The first Great line was described as follows : *' Beginning at two pine trees marked numbered 1-2 standing at ye going over between ye Great West pond and a little pond at ye head of it rainging East South East 180 rods from two pine trees marked with a heap of stones between them at Cobb hill by South Meadow path and from the trees first mentioned the line extendeth South 15 Westerly by a rainge of trees to a maple tree marked numbered 1-2 standing at Pratts meadow THE FIRST SPECULATORS 29 and from tlience the same course to ye town line thence beginning at the trees first numbered the line extends North 15 Easterly so far as to take in all the common land belonging to the Proprie- tors and all ye common lands lying to the west- ward of sd line to belong to ye first lot there being twenty one shares in the lot." . This was the line between the first and second Great Lots, the first lot comprising all of the com- mon land west of the line. The western line of the first great lot was naturally irregular ac- cording to the ranges of former grants. The pre- vious grants bordering the first lot on the west were those at South Meadows, George Barrows, Sampson's pond, and the land of Samuel Sonnett. The final owners of the first division of the first great lot were Samuel Lucas, Caleb Loring, Elisha Bradford, Thomas Holmes, William Harlow, John Andros, Benj. Eaton, Sr., Mr. John Rickard, Eleazer Pratt, Nathaniel Harlow, Nathaniel Jackson, John Pratt, Mecager Dunham, John Jackson, Nathaniel Dunham, Joshua Ransom, Elkaneth Cushman, John Carnes, John Bryant, Left. William Shurtleff and Mr. John Murdock. The second lot fell to (?), Isaac King, Joseph King, Ephraim Cole, Ebenezer Eaton, Samuel Bryant, John Sturtevant, Samuel Rickard, Jo- seph Bradford, Nathaniel Howland, Joshua Pratt's children, Giles Rickard, John Curtice, Elisha Cobb, John Doty, Richard Everson, Adam Write, John Wood, James Cole, Daniel Dunham, George Barrows and Samuel Wing. L_ O .: M o r^ CO A FEW EARLY LAWS It is not the purpose of this work to deal in general history, but there are some timbers in the general structure so closely related to local development that a brief review is justifiable. Our starting point in civil government was in the compact signed on board of the Mayflower in Provincetown harbor. In the wave of en- thusiasm in which the Pilgrims left their native country they made no calculation on the cost of the venture, but before landing they adjudged it prudent to make an agreement as a safeguard against a clashing of authority that might jeop- ardize the peace of the Colony, and on the wisdom of such a course their posterity has recorded the verdict ''they builded better than they knew." And in our own day these words may be accepted as the basis of all just governments : * ' In ye name of God amen. We whose names are under-writ- ten, the loyall subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord, King James, by ye grace of God, of Great Britaine, Franc, Ireland king, defender of ye faith, &c., haveing undertaken, for ye glorie of God and advancemente of ye Christian faith, and honor of our king and countrie, a voyage to plant ye first colonie in ye Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly and mutualy in ye presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine our selves togeather into a civill body 31 32 HISTORY OF CARVER politick, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of ye ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equall laws, ordinances, acts, constitu- tions, and officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meete and convenient for ye generall good of ye colonic, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience." Such was the con- stitution of the Plymouth Colony, and on this basis was made the laws that governed our ances- tors until the union of the colonies in 1690. The leading town officers under the compact were selectmen or townsmen, a town clerk, constables^ raters, jurjmien, tithingmen and surveyors. Much of the land of the future towns of Plymp- ton and Carver was granted under the Old Colony although but little of it was occupied. A few scattering farms dotted the tract, and respectable clusters of residences appear at Colchester, Lakenham and Wenham, but the residents were all freeholders of the old town whence they journeyed on town meeting days, holidays, court days and sabbaths. It is not probable that any thought of establishing a new town had its incep- tion before the union. The charter of William and Mary was granted as a basis for the government of the united New England colonies, and as this charter was the foundation for all laws preceding the constitution of the United States, it is a document worthy of consideration. In considering the charter no comparison should be made with modern theories, but in comparison ^2 A M W F^ 1— 1 a; H O ^ fS K^- !^ r^ Oj ^H % )— 4 > ^ ■^ Ph o O T!j 1^ &J -tj p M rf2 s W ^ M O A FEW EARLY LAWS 33 with contemporary governments it will be found to be liberal. And when we notice that liberty of conscience was guaranteed to all sects except Papists, we may compare it with the chronological edicts of Louis XIV. ; and perhaps our judgment would be tempered by recalling that the charter was granted by a king and queen who had just ascended the throne through a revolution and the passions engendered had not abated. Even at that moment the exiled Stuart was intriguing to worm his way back to the throne from which he had been ejected by the uprising of his subjects. Under this instrument, the executive authority was vested in a Governor and a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the crown, advised and assisted by twenty-eight councillors or assistants. The law making power was vested in the Gov- ernor and Council, and two representatives from each town elected by the property holding free- holders. To this legislative body was given the name of the Great and General Court, and after its organization it was vested with authority for the annual election of the twenty-eight council- lors, also of regulating the number of repre- sentatives to which each County, Town or place should be entitled. Sheriffs, provost marshals, Justices of the Peace, Judges of Oyer and Terminer, were ap- pointed by the Governor by and with the consent of the Council; probate matters, including the appointment of executors and administrators, were left with the Governor and Council. The acts of incorporation of towns and parishes under 34 HISTORY OF CARVER preceding governments, with certain limitations, were confirmed, and the adoption of laws govern- ing local affairs rested with the General Court. Appeals conld be had from the judgments of the courts, and also from the decrees of the Governor, to the crown. The Governor held the power of proroguing the General Court at any time, and the Court could not legally adjourn for more than two days at a time, without his consent. The crown held the veto power over both the Governor and the General Court. The authority of the Governor to prorogue the General Court, and the veto power held by the crown, were the cause of no little clashing of authority in after years, but under the charter the colonies developed rapidly, both in numbers and prerogatives, and when they reached 'the point of abolishing the veto power the tie that held them to the mother country was represented by a brittle cord. And even after the rebellious colonies had won the right to legislate for them- selves, unhampered by any veto power from across the sea, they founded their liberties in the forms, regulations and theories that had grown up under the charter. The democratic theory of permitting each locality to control its domestic affairs was recog- nized by the charter and the adoption of laws regulating local affairs was the subject of the constant consideration of the General Court. The recognition of this theory eventually led to the Revolution, for as each colony added to its prerogatives it became jealous of outside interfer- A FEW EARLY LAWS 35 ence, and bound together by this theory, they combated for the principle in war. In November, 1692, before providing for town governments, the General Court made provision for ministers and school masters, making it com- pulsory upon towns to provide themselves with *'an able, learned orthodox minister of good con- versation to dispense the word of God to them," also a school master to ^ ' teach children and youth to read and write," both to be supported by a town tax. The same month the New England town meeting was confirmed, each town being re- quired to hold an annual town meeting in the month of March for the election of town officers and the transaction of town affairs. The neces- sary officers consisted of a board of three, five, seven or nine selectmen or townsmen, a town clerk, constables, surveyors of highways, tithing- men, fence viewers, clerk of the market, and a sealer of leather. The Selectmen served as over- seers of the poor unless a separate board was chosen, also as assessors. Their warrant was committed to a constable and required him to col- lect and pay to the Selectmen or their agent. In order to be eligible for a place on the Board of Selectmen the candidate must ''be able and discreet, of good conversation," and a freeholder must have property to the amount of twenty pounds to entitle him to vote. The duty of a clerk of the market required him to visit, at least once a week, the bakeshops to guard against the selling of short weight loaves. The price of wheat was regulated by the Selectmen, and the size of 36 HISTORY OF CARVER the loaf accordingly. The sealer or searcher of leather was a busy officer under compulsion to in- spect and seal all leather tanned in his jurisdic- tion. Towns were authorized to make by-laws regu- lating their affairs and subject to the approval of the court in quarter sessions ; they must perambu- late their town lines once in three years; Select- men must see that there were no loafers in town, and if any child or other person was found mis- spending his time he must be sent to the House of Correction there to receive ten lashes on the bare back; the Selectmen were vested with authority to "bind out" minors; and anyone enjoying the hospitality of the town three months unquestioned, obtained a settlement. In the case of an undesirable citizen the constable ordered the person out of town, and in the event of a refusal to move, the person was taken by force to the place of last abode. Every male resident between the age of sixteen and sixty, with certain exceptions was forced into the militia, and under statute compulsion to attend all musters and exercises of his company. All persons liable were subject to being called to duty in times of danger and they were expected to have their equipment ready at all times. The equip- ment which every one liable to military duty was under compulsion to provide for himself, con- sisted of a firelock musket with the barrel not less than three and one-half feet in length, a snapsack, a colar with twelve bandeleers or cartouch box, one pound of good powder, twenty bullets, twelve A FEW EAELY LAWS 37 flints, a sword or cutlass and a worm and prim- ing wire. Eegimental musters were required once in three years, and company musters four days in each year, while the Captain of a company must can- vass twice a year to see that the regulations were complied with. Towns must keep their military stores based upon one barrel of powder, two hun- dred pounds of bullets and three hundred flints for each sixteen persons in town subject to military duty. A system of alarm for calling out the militia in times of sudden danger: three guns called out the militia and a penalty awaited anyone who neglected to report promptly at the training green when the alarm was sounded. As a safeguard against oppression no Captain should quarter a soldier or seaman on a private resident without the resident's consent under penalty; and the militia could not be sent out of the Colony with- out their consent, or the consent of the General Court. The lower court was called the Court of Com- mon Pleas, and made up of at least three of the Justice of the Peace for the County. The next higher court consisting of all of the Justices of the Peace for the County, was known as the Court of Quarter Sessions, or Sessions of the Peace. Appeals from these courts were to the Superior Court of Judicature with jurisdiction over all the province and made up of one Chief Justice and four associate Justices appointed by the Governor and Council. 38 HISTORY OF CARVER The reckless method of granting and staking out land — perhaps mainly through the unscientific method of surveys — called for legislation. The first act for the quieting of possessions provided that the possession dating previous to October 19, 1652, and not questioned before May 20, 1662^ should be sufficient title; while three years un- questioned possession from October 1, 1692, should constitute a sufficient warranty. An exception clause gave infants, persons non compos mentis, and those in prison or captivity three years extra in which to prove a claim; while persons beyond the seas had seven years of grace. The privy council objected to this act for the reasons that the rights of the crown were not protected and further that the time of three years was insuf- ficient. To meet these objections, the act was amended saving the rights of the crown and requiring unquestioned possession from October 1 , 1692, to October 1, 1704, necessary to guarantee possession to the holder or those claiming under him. Statutes were enacted in 1692 and 1693. Establishing and guaranteeing trial by jury. Establishing weights and measures. Eequiring intentions of marriage to be posted in some conspicuous place at least two weeks before the event. Establishing habeas corpus proceedings. Establishing 6 per cent, as the legal rate, con- tracts calling for a larger rate to be void. Establishing post office rules. Establishing systems of highway improvements. A FEW EARLY LAWS 39 Thanksgiving custom reaffirmed. Hogs running at large to be yoked from April 1st to October 15th, and ringed all the year. Sheep not to run at large unaccompanied by a shepherd. No strong liquor to be sold or given an Indian. Idiots and lunatics must be cared for by the Selectmen, In these same years : There were thirteen crimes punishable by death. Laws against witchcraft were adopted. The exportation of raw hides was forbidden. The cord of marketable wood must be cut in four feet lengths, and when piled must be eight feet long and four feet high. If a delivery did not come up to these regulations, the injured party must sue, and in case of conviction the wood was forfeited, one-half to the complainant and one-half for the use of the town's poor. The penalty for one offence compelled the con- victed party to sit upon the gallows with a rope tied around the neck and the other end thrown over the gallows. On the march from the gallows to the jail, he should be given not less than forty lashes, and forever after he must wear the letter A two inches in length cut from cloth of a different color than the clothing either on an arm, the back or some conspicuous place about the person. Con- viction of a neglect in wearing the letter was punishable with fifteen lashes. Inn holders were licensed, and regulations governing them adopted : Lodgings and a supply of refreshments must be constantly on hand. 40 HISTORY OF CARVER An apprentice, servant or negro should not be entertained without an order from his master. No one should be permitted to remain in the inn above one hour, except travellers. No one should be permitted to drink to excess. No one admitted Sundays except travellers. For any conviction, one-half of the fine went to the informant, and one-half to the use of the Town's poor. Inn holders were required to furnish bonds with sureties for the keeping of the regulations. And as a further guarantee Selectmen were burdened with the duty of seeing that Tythingmen were annually elected and qualified. The duty of the Tythingman was to inspect the taverns and inform on all violations of the laws ; also to inform on all idlers, disorderly persons, profane swearers^ Sabbath breakers and law breakers in general. The legal badge adopted for the Tythingman was a black staff two feet in length with a three inch brass tip on one end. Anyone convicted of receiving stolen goods from an Indian, was to restore the goods to the rightful owner with an equal amount in value of specie, or if the goods had been disposed of, double the value in specie. This brief resume covers only the starting of legislation under the charter, and from these beginnings was built up and perfected, by repeals, amendments and additions, the social system that was in vogue when the Colonies banded themselves together for the purpose of moving the veto power from London to some point on the American con- P ^ rb Q ^ cc <«1 '72 2 o .S h-i ex rTT i-H p ^ W '^ « H K OJ (^ ^ s 1—1 M K o 0) H rJ^ Q O H > ^ H O m A FEW EAKLY LAWS 41 tinent. If some of these statutes seem imaccount- able to lis, perhaps if we compare these laws of the pioneers, with some of the legislation which we propose to meet modern conditions, and with two centuries of experience and education to our debit, the comparison, after all may not be very damaging to the first dreamers in the world of civil liberty. James I. was on the throne of Great Britain when the Pilgrims sailed and the following monarchs reigned during our colonial life, the year named being the time they ascended the throne : 1625 Charles I. 1648 The Commonwealth, or Oliver Cromwell. 1660 Charles II. 1685 James II. 1689 William and Mary. 1694 William III. 1702 Anne. 1714 George I. 1727 George II. 1760 George III. THE FIEST SEPARATION Isaac Cushman, grand son of Robert the Pilgrim, was Plympton's god-father. Thomas, son of Robert and father of Isaac, had long been the noted Ruling Elder of the Pilgrim church when he died in 1691, and Isaac was slated as his successor. To be a Ruling Elder in the Plymouth church was only the second ambition of Isaac Cushman — perhaps the third — *and he kicked over the slate. Residing in the west end of the town where two groups of settlements had begun to flourish, Col- chester and Lakenham, Cushman 's heart was with his neighbors and eight miles from the old church had begotten notions in their heads that the proper step under the circumstances would be to have a church of their own and to have their neighbor and friend for a minister. Such was the dream that laid the foundation for the ^' upper society. ' ' But there were obstacles to overcome before the new society could legally have the minister of its choice : there were dead branches to lop off *In addition to the call of Isaac Cushman to settle over the new church, he was wanted as successor to Eev. Mr. Fuller of the First Church of Middleboro. But the bond of sympathy between him and the residents of the new society could not be broken by the more tempting offers from the larger parishes. 43 44 HISTORY OF CARVER before the tree would relinquish the sprig. Chief among these was the church rule, that a man must serve the church as Ruling Elder before he could be ordained as a minister. Isaac had never served in such a capacity, but he declined the offer and began his ministry over the new society without an ordination. Of course this meant three years of agitation in church circles, but Cushman con- tinued to preach until the church receded and gave him the regular ordination in October, 1698. The Precinct was incorporated in November, 1695. The fact that Cushman continued in that capacity as long as his health would permit, and that he was pensioned by his grateful people in his last days, is sufficient evidence of his head and heart. Thus called together in the duties and services of the church, the fellow workers in the woods soon conceived the idea of a separate town and in less than twelve years the town of Plympton was born. The new Precinct included Lakenham, but not South Meadows, but when Plympton was in- corporated the new town extended over all of the territory covered by the future town of Carver. The following comprise the voters of Plympton for 1708-09: Group A* Isaac Cushman Ensign Elkanah Cushman Thomas Cushman Frances Cook Dea. John Waterman * Lieut. John Bryant *Group A includes the residents of Plympton, and group B those of the future town of Carver. The division may not be strictly accurate, but it is fairly correct. THE FIRST SEPARATION 45 Jonathan Bryant John Ever son Richardson Everson Benjamin Eaton John Bryant John Bryant James Bryant Peter West Samuel Bryant Joseph Phinney James Bearce Samuel Sturtevant Robert Waterman Benjamin Curtice David Bosworth Nehemiah Sturtevant Samuel Sturtevant, Jr. Ebenezer Standish William Sturtevant Joseph King Peter Thompson Job Simmons Isaac King William Churchill Isaac Cushman, Jr. George Sampson Group B Lieut. William Shurtleff Edmund Weston Joseph King, Jr. John Wright Adam Wright Isaac Sampson Benjamin Soule Nathaniel Harlow Samuel Fuller Dea. John Rickard Eleazur Rickard Josiah Rickard John Pratt Jeduthen Robbins Jabez Eddy Henry Rickard Edmund Tillson John Doten Robert Ransom Samuel Waterman Ephraim Tillson John Tillson Jonathan Shaw Benoni Shaw John Cole John Carver George Bonum Benoni Lucas John Barrows Dea. Nathaniel Wood Eleazer King Thomas Shurtleff Abial Shurtleff Caleb Loring 46 HISTORY OF CARVER Regardless of the provisions of its charter, the new town stepped immediately into the enjoyment of the immunities and the sufferance of the re- sponsibilities of a pioneer settlement. Expecting to eke their subsistence from the soil, they imme- diately declared war on crows and blackbirds, and every householder must either produce two of the former or six of the latter between March 15th and June 15th under penalty of having two shillings added to their tax bills. There was hustling among the householders to get the quota of ebony birds, for coy as the crow is, he was easier to get in those early days than two shilling bits. Hogs enjoyed the freedom of the town, provided they were ringed and yoked according to law, and hogreaves were annually chosen to see that the law was complied with. To guarantee the abstinence from work and play on the Sabbath, tythingmen were also chosen and sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties. The Sunday morning beats of these officials, armed with the badge of their authority, rendered it injudicious for anyone to trifle with the law. The tythingman was not a popular officer, and the position not generally desired. The records show that these officers seldom succeeded themselves. Not the least of the town's perplexing problems concerned wildcats, deer, and undesirable citizens. The former, because so depredations between 1720 and 1740 that the war against them was en- couraged by a town bounty. Sportsmen spurred on perhaps by the necessities of the table, were such destroyers of deer that the question was THE FIRST SEPARATION 47 taken up by the town and the law invoked for their protection. Undesirable citizens were warned out of town according to law. In 1711 the Selectmen exercised their jurisdiction for the first time, when the board issued its warrant to John Coal, requiring him to warn Marcy Donham to depart said town. The nature of Marcy 's offence does not appear, but she evidently did not meet with the approval of the town fathers. The town in compliance with the statutes, started its school system in 1708 through an ordnance instructing the Selectmen to employ a school master. This was the limit of the town's duties in the matter, and after the master had been employed, the place for holding the school was left with its patrons. Many of the young obtained their education in their own homes from books provided by themselves, while the master was present as a guide and guest. Human nature was the same in those days as we find it in the dawn of the twentieth century, but methods of controlling it have changed. Young people were obliged to attend church Sundays under penalty of a poke from the tythingman, but once in the Meeting House they were young folks still and the town occasionally found it necessary to choose a committee to occupy seats among them in church and watch their conduct, to insure the minister an undisturbed opportunity. But, the question that furnished the voters with their constant agitation, was the continual efforts to divide the town. The town of Plympton was 48 HISTORY OF CAEVER not well established as a municipality when an unrest manifested itself, and the new town may be said to have been ushered into existence with a sectional line as a birth mark. The Meeting House was the heart of the town, and at the outset there were freeholders with so remote a residence that they never felt the pulse. From the Plympton meeting house to the Wareham line, is upwards of twelve miles, and with the travelling facilities of the times even the South Precinct found it advisable at times to exempt the residents of the Tihonet region from the rates on condition that the exempted pay their taxes to the Wareham authorities. Lakenham, and more especially South Meadows, early started an agitation for the division of the town, that was not ended until the division came three-quarters of a century later. These move- ments were resisted at first and when they could no longer be held back, a compromise was effected by the incorporation of the South Precinct. Still the agitation continued, and time after time, the town voted against ** setting the Precinct off as a separate town." In the spirit of compromise many town rights were conferred upon the rebel- lious Precinct, and when the town was born it stepped among its sisters well trained in its duties. There appears no striking evil over which the Precinct complained, and it is probable that the residents of Lakenham stood with the old town against division. But the South Precinct em- braced the larger part of the territory of Plymp- ton and naturally, the South Precinct enjoyed the X' 5 < p -ii pq THE FIRST SEPARATION 49 larger per cent of the increase in population. And as every new settler was in the remote section, every new settler added one to the forces of dis- content, hence the inevitable could only be post- poned. EAELY SETTLEES It is easy to see, why the struggiing farmers of Plymouth placed such a high valuation on the fresh meadows, in the days before the cultivation of fine top, clover and timothy; equally as plain why the luxurious meadows found in the limits of the future town of Carver, should receive the name of the South Meadows. In the earliest coloniza- tion of this region, the grants of land were made and the first settlers located in relation to these meadows. Thus, in our earliest history, we find our pioneers at South Meadows, Lakenham (adjacent to Winatuxett Meadows), Mahutchett Meadows, Cranebrook Meadows, Doty's Meadows, Fresh Meadows and New Meadows. There were large landowners — promoters in the true sense— among the early settlers. The Shaws, Eansoms, Watsons and Coles at Lakenham; the Cobbs at Mahutchett; the Eickards and Water- mans at Snappit; the Dunhams and Pratts at Wenham ; the Shurtleffs, Lucases and Tillsons at South Meadows; the Barrows and Murdocks around Sampson's pond, and the Atwoods at Fresh Meadows. The dangers and privations that always follow the pioneers of a new country, gave romance to the lives of our first settlers. The unsanitary state of the country made up of hills and un- 51 52 HISTORY OF CARVER drained swamps, and the exposures on account of insufficient housing, rendered them susceptible to disease, while their distance from the doctors of the settlements left them to battle for themselves. The first houses were located in the valleys, with the barns from one hundred to three hundred yards away according to drainage. The houses were thus located, in order to be near water and for a protection against the elements during the "Winter months. These houses were built under disadvantages and consequently of the simplest design. While lumber was in abundance, the means of turning it to boards were lacking. Furniture, cooking utensils, farm implements and wearing apparel must be mostly of the home made order, while communication with the settlement at Plymouth and with neighbors, was carried on through Indian trails, which in later years were adopted as the highways and improved. And when we consider the situation of even the most favored ones, we must admire the faith and hardihood of a race that suffered and braved so much to make the world what it is. In the struggle to sustain themselves from the land, they faced natural enemies that baffled their wits and developed their sporting instincts. Crows, blackbirds and red birds dug their corn after it had been planted, while wolves, foxes, wild cats and other carnivorous animals skulked after their fowl. For more than a century, bounties were paid for the heads of crows, blackbirds and red birds, while wolves and wild cats were ex- EARLY SETTLERS 53 terminated in this manner. Beaver were plentiful in the earliest days, but they were exterminated on account of the value of their furs. But while birds and animals diminished the means of sub- sistence, there were counter advantages of no little consideration. The ponds teemed with jfish, Samp- son 's, Doty's and probably Clear being breeding grounds for herring, and this was a large item on their bill of fare. The woods were full of deer, rabbits and edible birds and this went far towards supplying the farmers with meat. The only species that diminished under free hunting and trapping were deer, and laws to protect them were early enacted. Such in brief were the conditions, that confronted the farmer settlers in the year 1700. But a wonderful advance was on the slate for the new century, little foreseen by the lonely farmers who witnessed its dawn and, perhaps, not fully appreciated by their descendants who, having won their independence, battled with its vexatious problems in the century's closing twilight. Still wonderful as we now behold it was the century that transformed our community from a few scat- tered farmers, living upon their crops and warring on blackbirds, to a town of social and industrial enthusiasm. Saw mills and grist mills, two meet- ing houses, three iron manufactories, forges, acres of tillage lands, taverns, school houses, stage lines, a new precinct and a new town, were the local achievements, while in the larger field, we were transformed from a group of struggling colonies sleeping on their arms in constant fear of Indian 54 HISTORY OF CAEVER massacres and trembling for the next move of the monarch three thousand miles away, to a nation of independent people with full faith in their ability to sustain their rights. And while we contemplate the glory of their achievements, it is inspiring to review the pleasures and hardships of those lives devoted to the cause of human progress. Essential to the building of better homes, and to the wants of a people who must live from their land, were saw mills and grist mills, and to the establishment of these the early settlers devoted their energies. These mills might seem slow in the eyes of the fast operators of today, but like their builders, they did their work. Their construction was simple. A dam to hold a pond for the power was the first essential. A low building open on one side, with a long, low extension into which pro- jected the long log as the saw worked its way through, was located on declining ground in order for the better handling of the heavy logs. Most of the machinery was of wood, and the long saw shot up and down at every revolution of the water wheel, hence the name — The Up and Down mill. Most of these mills were company enterprises, the owners dividing the time when each should operate it in lieu of the modern method of divid- ing the profits. Grist mills were located on the same dam, and forges for doing iron work became a necessity in every community and they, too, were located near the mills. In the winter months, these mills became the centres of activity and society for the male m P O o o K m 1^ (^ <1 W J?; W H EARLY SETTLERS 55 population. Even the millers were not rushed, and many stories could be told while the saw was plowing its way slowly but surely along and the manufacture of boards was a pleasure and a process that often entertained the farmer's wife and children. On a Winter day when the snow precluded any other duty, the farmer shouldered his bag of grain and started for the mill. He carried no orders to hurry back, for his wife attended to the milking, while the boys had been trained to do their part. There appeared to be no reason why he could not properly loaf around the mills and forge all day, picking up bits of news and gossip for the amuse- ment of his family when he returned. And many were the debates around the mills on questions that related to their farms, their church, their neighborhood, or their rights so nobly conferred upon them by the charter of good King William. Practical jokes had their place in the exercises of the day, and whenever an extra large log must be rolled down upon the carriage, there were plenty of spare hands to give a lift just for the fun of it. And when night ended the fun around the mill, the farmer could shoulder his bag of flour — minus the toll — and wade home through the snow in the light of the rising moon. If the mill happened to be too far away, the horse could be utilized as a means of transportation. Think you, after such a vigorous day with little or no food, did the supper steaming on the crane or simmering in the coals, tempt the farmer to exclaim that he lived in the best days the world 56 HISTORY OF CARVER ever knew ? Yet a few years later what an advance in the facilities that catered to the wants of the people, for in this better day the housewife could burn a roaring fire for an hour in a large brick oven, rake out the ashes, insert her pot of beans, rye bread, pumpkin pies and fowl, and then while her cooking was going on she could go about her other work, stopping occasionally we may be sure to take a peek through the little aperture in the oven, to see her pies and beans gradually assum- ing their famous brown. The girls made their own dolls and doll's cloth- ing, and no little pleasure was found in learning to do the duties that fell to the lot of women. The boys were free to hunt and trap the game. They made their own boats and fishing poles, their cross bows, carts, sleds and cornstalk fiddles, and they told stories at night in the light of the open fire, while their older brothers and sisters gathered in the larger houses and taverns for social events, where the village fiddler sawed into immortal song the old ''kitchen spree." Another item of hallowed memory in the society of the times clustered around the swing. Every hamlet had its village swing located in some clump of gigantic trees, where on holidays and in the long summer twilights, the young gathered for social joys and there has always been a suspicion that Cupid had a perch in the branches of the same old trees. Of course there were disadvantages in those days, little inconveniences that in souls of fun and courage, only served to develop a rugged char- EARLY SETTLERS 57 acter. To get out of bed in an old farm house wlien the thermometer outside hovered around zero, go shivering down to the kitchen to find that the high wind had completely extinguished the fire, called into action no little sand and self- reliance, for an extinct fire could not easily be re- kindled. While the others remained in bed, one of the older boys must don his boots, still stiff and cold from the baptism of the preceding day, and in the face of the biting wind wade across the fields through snow that buried the fences, to borrow fire from a neighbor. And then to get the coals back through the gale with life enough in them to start a blaze, was no small test on the boy's in- genuity. Such in part was the training of the boys who left their beds in darkness to dig the trenches at Bunker Hill. While Edward Doty*, the hot tempered passen- ger of the Mayflower, may have been the first to till the soil of Carver, there is not satisfactory evidence that he resided on his possessions, and to Jonathan Shaw falls the honor of being the first permanent resident of the territory embraced in the present municipal limits of the town. Shaw had a house at Lakenham as early as 1660, and John Pratt, who had a residence south of Doty's pond in 1675, was a close second. The exact site of these houses may not go unquestioned, but there *E(lward Doty's farm was the land now owned and occupied by Finney Brothers. Thus the names was given to Doty's cedar swamp and Doty's pond, which later acquired the name of Wenham pond. 58 HISTORY OF CARVER are reasons for stating that Shaw's house stood on the site of the present Sturtevant house south of the Green. The present house was built as early as 1750 (possibly earlier), and a tradition says it was the third house built on that site. The Pratt house probably stood on the site of the pres- ent residence of AUerton L. Shurtleff. Early neighbors of Shaw and Pratt were John Dunham at Wenham, Benony Lucas at South Meadows and John Benson at Fresh Meadows. At that time the main traveled road from Ply- mouth to Middleboro, led through Annasnapet and Parting Ways, this road being referred to by old residents as ''the old way" as late as the last of the last century. The road through Darby was in use, however, at the same time. Shaw's residence stood about midway between Plymouth and Middleboro, Mahutchett was a mile to the south- west, Popes Point two miles to the south and South Meadows three miles to the southeast. Among those who joined the Lakenham settle- ment by the year 1700 or soon after were the Bonums, Watsons, Kings, Eobbins, Watermans, Eickards, Wrights and Eansoms. There was a boom in the settlement of this region at the time through the division of the common lands. The Shaws and Watsons held possessions in the west section where their descendants settled. Watson held land on Eocky Meadow brook, and Thomas Pope owning a grant at the junction of this brook with South Meadow river, gave the name of Popes Point to the land, which later became the local name of the village that grew up around the furnace. r \} EAKLY SETTLERS 59 The Eickards and Watermans located at Anna- snapet; the Kansoms owned the large tract be- tween the Doty farm and Lakenham brook; and the Pratts and Crookers the tract between Ply- mouth street and Wenham road. While the earlier settlers of Lakenham patron- ized the mills at Plympton, the settlers of this region soon had such facilities of their own and mills were in operation at Lakenham, South Meadows and probably Wenham. The industrial activities of the people were confined to agricul- tural pursuits until the decade 1730-40, when the Popes Point furnace was established and a re- markable impetus given to the social and indus- trial life of this region. The building of the first iron furnace, the first meeting house and the establishment of the first three school districts, marks this decade as a memorable one in the development of the settlement. The Shermans joined the Precinct before the Eevolution, purchasing a large tract from the Eansoms. John Sherman conducted a tavern on the site of the residence of James S. McKay*. Fresh Meadows was a thriving village before the Eevolution. Fifty years after Plymouth Eock, there was a bridge across the river near where the wide bridge is now located known as Benson's bridge. The Benson property must *The business of the tavern nas moved in 1815 to the John Shaw house, near the Green, now owned by Mrs. Horace C. Bobbins. In this tavern was located Sherman hall; where public meetings, balls, etc., were held. It was a lively center, especially on muster days, when the militia made it its headquarters. 60 HISTORY OF CARVER have included much of the land between the Ware- ham road and the river, the original homestead being a short distance back from the N. S. Gush- ing farm, where the spot is now located by straggling remnants of apple trees. The burying ground was on a hill easterly from the Gushing house, which is now marked by a lone headstone, the rest having been carried away by boys. The first saw mill was established early in the 18th century, about one-half mile above the pres- ent mill and where the rudiments of the dam may still be seen. A few years afterwards, the old mill was deserted and the dam built upon its present site. Joshua Benson was a thrifty inn keeper, whose tavern stood on the hill opposite the old mill. From the eminent position of the tavern, one could look over the mill and up the Plymouth road and the enterprising proprietor who may be presumed to have had a stock of Jamaica rum on hand, must have looked up this road with a busi- ness eye, as the well-to-do merchants journeyed between Pljnuouth and New Bedford. On a dusty day in summer, how refreshing to man and beast must have been a halt at the gay old tavern ; and when the cold blasts of winter chilled the travel- lers through and through, how inviting must have been the red logs that burned on the hearth and the stock in trade of the genial proprietor. On the dam beyond the mill looking from the tavern, was located the grist mill and the forge. With these thriving industries and with a gay and contented population. Fresh Meadows is a pleas- EARLY SETTLERS 61 ant dream. The swamps in that region were prolific with huckleberries which the residents turned to good account, the men, women and chil- dren gathering them for the markets of Plymouth and New Bedford. Coming to meet the stage from all directions, the point where they gathered at the junction of the Charlotte Furnace road with Eochester road, came to be known as Huckle- berry Corner. Nathaniel Atwood occupied his old homestead later known as the Bates Place on the west side of Bates* pond; Eli Thomas and Ephraim Griffith tilled their farms up the Popes Point road; Joel Shurtleff and Caleb Atwood farmed their clearings up the Rochester road; William Washburn lived on his farm opposite the M. E. Church of later times. Deacon Asaph Wash- burn established his home beyond the river near Benson's bridge. Eeckoned from the standpoint of continued in- fluence, George Barrows and John Murdock were the pioneers of South Carver. Through marital connections Caleb Cushman, (whose wife was a daughter of George Barrows), established the Cushman farm about 1740 ; and later the Saverys were settled in the village through the Barrows girls. The Barrows property skirted the west shore of the pond and John Murdock held the claim to the land on the east side. The pond itself was lightly regarded, except for the fish it yielded and the grassy coves for their hay giving and pasturage qualities. Grassy Island was also used *Bates' pond was called Atwood 's pond at that time. 62 HISTOEY OF CARVER as a pasture, being approached through a slough from the west shore. The old Barrows' home- stead stood at the junction of Mayflower road with Eochester road; the Murdock homestead was the farm on the east side of the pond, later known as the Israel Thomas farm; the Tillson farm was located about midway between Rochester road and Meadows road, in what is now known as New Meadows ; and it is probable that the main high- way at that time passed the Tillson house, the Silas Shaw house, the Barrows house and the Murdock house and so on to the fishery at the outlet of the pond. Rochester road as we travel it, was laid out in 1698, but it is probable that the main travel south was on the east side of the pond, and the old roads leading to Halfway ponds and Agawam, show signs of having once been main travelled roads. The success of Popes Point furnace, had fired the heart of Bartlett Murdock and through his agitation, operations towards the establishment of Charlotte Furnace were begun in 1760. The meadows south of the pond were dyked creating Furnace pond and flowing the coves and Grassy Island, for which annual damages were paid. There were but few residents south of the pond at that time. The Seipets living on the Indian farm, hunted and tilled the land on which the village of South Carver stands ; Bartlett Murdock moved further south and laid the foundation for the Island Farm ; David Shurtleff lived on his farm which proved to be his monument, going there- after by the name of The David Place ; the Cush- o « o ^ O '^ ■X'