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 AN 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH 
 
 OP 
 
 STURBRIDGE, MASS. 
 
 FROM ITS SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
 
 By JOSEPH S. CLARK, 
 
 Pastor of the Congregational Church in Sturbridge. 
 
 
 "I have considered the d^jfg of old the years of ancient times." 
 
 ^ €<iv f^it^ i^*" x'' Psalms, Ixxvii. 3. 
 
 * 1 
 
 BROOlCFlAiD : 
 E. AND L, MERRilAf,, PRINTERS. 
 
\%[^ 
 
 NOTIC:)^^ 
 
 The first part of the following sketch, embracing the civil history of the town, is the substance 
 of a centennial address delivered to the citizens of Sturbridge, July 4, 1838, ten days after the 
 one hundredth anniversary of its incorporation as a town. The spirit of the day on which 
 it was delivered, was thought, at the time, to be a sufficient apology for lingering so long 
 on the period of the Revolutionary war. The remaining part, which is a simple narrative of 
 Ecclesiastical affairs, was chiefly embodied in a sermon, and preached on the Sabbath follow- 
 ing. The author received from his fellow citizens, by their committee, a polite request for 
 its publication, immediately after its delivery. Feeble health and absence from home ren- 
 dered it impossible for him at that time to give it such a revision as he desired. And although 
 many important facts have since been added, he regrets that he has been unable to pursue 
 his investigations to the extent which he intended. The history, such as it is, he affection- 
 ately tenders to the inhabitants of Sturbridge and that part of Southbridge originally includ- 
 ed within its limits, — fully aware that it can awaken but little interest amongst any others. 
 
 The sources from which the facts have been drawn, are the Town and Church Records, 
 the reminiscences of the aged, and such traditions as could be easily authenticated. The au- 
 thor takes pleasure in acknowledging his obligations to the many friends who have assisted 
 his enquiries, especially to Moses Plimpton, Esq. of Southbridge, for many important items 
 respecting the first settlers, which, with a commendable zeal, he has saved from oblivion, and 
 kindly furnished for this sketch. 
 
 '.'» v^ . i 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 ' Sturbridge was originally settled by a company of emigrants, 
 chiefly from Medfield and a few other towns in that vicinity. In 
 their petition to the General Court for a grant, the contemplated 
 township is described as " a tract of land lying between Oxford, 
 Brookfield, Brimfield, and the Province line," and was then called 
 Dumer, 
 
 The settlement was undertaken in much the same spirit which 
 actuated the Pilgrims of New England, and was attended with diffi- 
 culties which bear some resemblance to theirs. The company very 
 generally were in low circumstances of property, " many of whom," 
 say they in their petition, " are destitute of settlements for themselves, 
 and not well able to purchase necessary accommodations in towns 
 already settled ; and the other of the petitioners being in want of 
 lands for their descendants." Three times they petitioned the Ge- 
 neral Court before their request was granted ; — first in Nov. 1727, 
 then in April 1729, and finally in Sept. the same year. 
 
 We know not for what reason their prayer was so long refused, 
 unless it was, as the petitioners themselves remark in their last appeal, 
 " probably for that the Honourable Council might judge that the tract 
 of land prayed for is not capable of making a totcnship." Indeed, 
 this will appear not far from the true reason, if it be considered that 
 the Committee sent out by the General Court to view the land, re- 
 ported its value at only £U)00. Paternal kindness forbade the 
 thought of permitting a colony of loyal subjects thus to throw them- 
 selves away in a fruitless attempt to erect a town on such an unpropi- 
 tious spot. The judgment of the company, however, on this subject, 
 differed very materially from that of his Majesty's " Honourable Coun- 
 cil." In reply to this supposed objection, they say, " Your petition- 
 ers humbly beg leave to inform this honourable Court, that although 
 there is indeed much poor land contained therein, yet there is also a 
 
considerable quantity of good land fit for settlement ; and in our 
 humble opinion a sufficiency to enable your petitioners, hy the bless- 
 ing of God, in concurrence with diligence and industry, to support 
 the ordinary charges of a township." 
 
 At length, on the 3d of Sept. 1729, the grant was made, on con- 
 ditions, however, which show that the Government was still doubting 
 how the experiment would end. Nothing was required for the land, 
 although the petitioners had expressed their willingness to pay its es- 
 timated value. Instead of exacting this, the General Court put them 
 under the following obligations : — " In seven years' time from this 
 date to settle and have actually on the spot 50 families, each of 
 which to build an house of 18 feet square at least. — To break up, 
 and bring to, fit for ploughing and mowing (and what is not fit for 
 ploughing to be well stocked with English grass) seven acres of land. 
 — To settle an orthodox minister, and lay out to him an home lot, 
 equal to the other home lots ; which lot shall draw the fiftieth part of 
 the Province land now granted, and to be accounted as one of the 50 
 that are to be settled." 
 
 In addition to these terms it was also required that no one of the 
 company should " sell, alienate, or dispose of his lot, or right, or any 
 part thereof" during the seven years, unless to an actual settler, " in 
 penalty of forfeiting the same to the Province." William Ward, 
 Esq. one of the petitioners, was " empowered and directed to assem- 
 ble the grantees and act as moderator" of that meeting. Their whole 
 number was 42, and their names stand on the Proprietors' Records 
 in the following order ; — 
 
 Melatiah Bourn Esq. Timothy Hament 
 
 William Ward Esq. William Plimpton 
 
 Ezra Bourn Ephriam Partridge 
 
 Shuball Goram Abraham Harding 
 
 Thomas Learned Moses Harding 
 
 Nathan Fiske Josiah Ellis 
 
 Henry Fiske Peter Balch 
 
 Capt. Ebenezer Learned Ezra Clark 
 
 Nahum Ward Samuel Ellis 
 
 Gersham Keyes David Ellis 
 
 Zerobabel Eager Francis Moquet 
 
 John Sherman Henry Adams 
 
 Joseph Baker Ichabod Harding 
 
 Jonas Haughton John Plimpton 
 
Thomas Gleason .Tosiah Cheney 
 
 Moses Gleason Capl. John Dwight 
 
 Jonas Gleason Capt. Jonathan Boyden 
 
 Josliua Morse Capt. Joseph Clark 
 
 Joseph Plimpton Nathaniel Morse 
 
 Nathafniel Smith James Denison 
 
 Solomon Clark Joseph Marsh. 
 
 Some others were admitted into partnership with these soon after 
 the grant was obtained, among whom were Nehemiah Allen, Moses 
 Allen, Seth Wight, David Morse, Moses Marcy, David Shumway, 
 and John Harding. 
 
 Their first meeting as Proprietors of this soil was held at the Inn 
 of Joshua Morse in Medfield, and, with only two or three exceptions, 
 all their subsequent meetings for public business during the first 
 seven years were held at the same place. The settlement soon be- 
 gan to be called New-Medfield, and Dumer became an obsolete name. 
 Abraham Harding was appointed Clerk of the Company ; an office 
 which he sustained without intermission till the town was incorporat- 
 ed. The records which remain in his hand-writing, exhibit a neat- 
 ness and accuracy seldom to be found among the archives of that 
 age. 
 
 Their first business was to lay out 50 home lots, corresponding to 
 the number of families that must be settled within seven years. 
 Owing to the great inequalities of soil in the different parts of the 
 township, it was no easy matter to make a perfectly equitable distri- 
 bution. The method which they finally adopted, seems as free from 
 difficulties as any that we can imagine, and certainly shows an ho- 
 nest aim at impartial justice. A committee was appointed with the 
 following instructions : — " To lay out 100 lots in the best of our 
 land, adding to the poorest lots a quantity of acres (according to the 
 best of their judgment) to make tlicin as equal in value to the best 
 as they can, none of the aforesaid 100 lots to be less than 50 acres; 
 and when they ^lave so done, then to couple two lots together, and 
 make them as equal, each couple or pair, as ihey can, and fit for 
 draught for the aforesaid associates, grantees." On the 9th of July 
 1730, the lots were drawn, and each proprietor was at liberty to enter 
 upon the arduous task of clearing away the forest, building him a 
 house, and improving his land. 
 
 It is not to be understood, however, that they all actually removed 
 to this place. Some, as before observed, enlisted in the undertaking 
 
for the purpose of obtaining a settlement for their children. Others 
 joined in the petition merely to aid those who were more directly in- 
 terested, and siiortly after sold their right in whole or in part, to such 
 as were willing to settle here on the terms prescribed by the General 
 Court. It nevertheless appears to be a fact, that the first settlers of 
 this town, with but few exceptions, were cither its original proprietors, 
 or the children of those who were. 
 
 These hardy pioneers, if tradition tell the truth, came chiefly on 
 foot and alone into an almost unbroken forest, with each a good axe 
 on his shoulder, and a pack to his back containing whatever provi- 
 sions and utensils would best enable him to grapple with rude nature 
 in single combat. The wolf and the wild-cat had never yet been 
 driven from this their ancient dominion, and the timid deer bounded 
 across the footman's path and hid himself in the impenetrable thicket. 
 At length the resounding axe began to be heard from one hill and 
 answered from another. Openings appeared in the dense forest, and 
 the curling smoke might be seen ascending frpm here and there a 
 hut. 
 
 It is not easy, at this distant day, to form any adequate idea of the 
 solitary, self-denying circumstances in which these first comers found 
 themselves placed. The following facts may shed some light on this 
 part of their history. 
 
 Henry Fiske, one of the original proprietors, and his brother 
 Daniel, pitched their tent near the top of the hill which has ever 
 since borne their name. They had been at work for some time with- 
 out knowing which way they must look for their nearest neighbor, 
 or whether indeed they had a neighbor nearer than one of the adja- 
 cent towns. At length on a clear afternoon they heard the sound of 
 an axe far off in a southerly direction, and went in pursuit of it. 
 The individual whose solitary axe they heard, had also been attracted 
 by the sound of their's, and was advancing towards them on the 
 same errand. They came in sight of one another, on opposite sides 
 of the Quinebaug river. By felling two trees into the stream, one 
 from each bank, a bridge was constructed on which they were able 
 to meet and exchange salutations. The unknown man of the axe 
 was found to be James Denison, one of the proprietors, who in the 
 absence of a better home had taken lodgings in a cave, which is still 
 to be seen not far from Westvill. In that lonely den he continued 
 his abode, it is said, till a neighboring wolf, who probably had a prior 
 
claim to the premises, signified a wish to take possession, when Mr. 
 Denison peaceably withdrew and built him a house of his own.* 
 
 For some time after the work of clearing the forest had been un- 
 ■dertaken, no one had ventured to spend the winter in a place so deso- 
 late, and distant from the track of man. The proprietors, or whom- 
 soever they employed, usually came in the spring, and returned to 
 their respective towns in the autumn. Joseph Smith, with no other 
 companion than his faithful dog, was the first who encountered the 
 rigors of winter in Sturbridge. Alexander Selkirk was not more se- 
 cluded from human society on the island of Juan Fernandez, than 
 Mr. Smith was in this place during four months, having neither seen, 
 nor heard from, a human being in all that time. The cellar which 
 protected his frugal store from the frosts of that dreary winter, may 
 still be seen on the farm of Jabez Harding Esq. not far from an aged 
 Pear-tree, which Mr. Smith is said to have planted soon after he 
 came. 
 
 On the 29th of Nov. 1733 the company made a second division of 
 land, at which time it was voted that " Moses Marcy have a 50 acre 
 lot granted him, if he will build a grist-mill on the Q,uinebaug river 
 at the dam where the said Marcy hath built a saw-mill" — to be com- 
 pleted before the last of Sept. 1736. I conclude, therefore, that 
 whoever in this town had occasion to "go to mill" before the last of 
 Sept. 1736, went either to Brimfield, Brookfield, Oxford or into Con- 
 necticut. Perhaps, however, they had no occasion to go ; for it is 
 reported by some of the oldest of their descendants now living, that 
 their principal diet at first was boiled beans. These they usually pre- 
 pared on the evening of one day in sufficient quantities for the break- 
 fast and dinner of the next. So that cookery, which with us has be- 
 
 * Mr. Denison was a native of Scotland. His parents both dying whon he was yount;, 
 he went to live with an aunt. When ho was about 16 years of age, he was enticed from 
 home, and cmbarited on board a vessel bound for Now England. On his arrival in this coun- 
 try, having no other means of paying for his passage, he bound himself to the service of tl;c 
 Captain. His master disposed of him to a farmer living in Medfield, whom the youthful ad- 
 venturer served for the space of four years and eight months. When he became of age, his 
 only earthly estate, besides the clothes on his back, consisted of hventy-five cents, which he 
 obtained for the skins of two Muskrats that he had trapped. Being a young man of indus- 
 trious habits, he was admitted into partnership wilh the company which was ihcn forming in 
 that town and vicinity for the settlement of Sturbridge. Mr. Denison married his wife in 
 Medfield, and removed her to this town in May 1732. She was probably the first woman 
 that ever shared the toils, or enjoyed the bliss of domestic life in Stinbridge. On the 31 si ol 
 August following, she becamo the mother of Experience Denison, the first child that was 
 born in the town, and subsequently the wife of Capt. Ralph Wheclock, from whom a nume- 
 merous and respectable family have descended. 
 
8 
 
 come such a difficult and engrossing part of household care, they de- 
 spatched with great ease and in little time.* On the whole it ap- 
 pears, that the honoured fathers of this town were men of hardihood, 
 resolution, self-denial ; and that they found sufficient scope for the 
 exercise of these gifts during the first few years of their residence 
 here. 
 
 The work of settlement went on with increasing rapidity in defi- 
 ance of all obstacles, till at the end of seven years this little commu- 
 nity of New-Medfield could number " 50 families" with each " an 
 house of 18 feet square at least," surrounded by " seven acres of land 
 broke up and brought to, fit for ploughing and mov/ing," and had 
 " settled an orthodox minister." Having thus fulfilled the conditions 
 of the grant, on the 24th of June 1738, they were incorporated into 
 a town, and the name of Sturbridge took the place of New-Medfield, 
 as that had formerly supplanted Dumer. 
 
 By an order of General Court accompanying the Act of Incorpo- 
 ration, Moses Marcy, who is therein styled " one of the principal 
 inhabitants,"! was " authorized and empowered to assemble the free- 
 
 * The office of cook, however, even in those days of simple fare, was not entirely free from 
 perplexity. Their household conveniences were by no means the best. It is said that Mes- 
 srs. Henry and Daniel Fiske on one occasion lost their supper, and with it the principal part 
 of their culinary apparatus, by the unlucky fall of a stone from the top of their chimney, which 
 dashed in pieces the iron pot while the beans were boiling. 
 
 t Col. Marcy was born in Woodstock, Ct. where, in 1723 he married Miss Prudence Mor- 
 ris. The humble rank which he held in society at that time may be inferred from the fact, 
 that his first overtures to Miss Prudence were sternly disallowed by her parents. The more 
 effectually to prevent what they deemed an unequal match, it is reported that they even con- 
 fined their daughter to her chamber, and forbade her lover's visits to the house. Notwith- 
 standing these precautions, he found means of bringing the young lady to a secret parley one 
 night from her chamber window. During this stolen interview it was agreed between them, 
 that he should secretly repair to a place at some distance called Pamlico, and that she should 
 obtain her parents' leave to visit a relative of her's who lived in that place. The careful pa- 
 rents could make no objection to their daughter's proposal, and as it would seem to place 
 her beyond the reach of all aimoyance from the unwelcome suitor, they sent her away. Here 
 the acquaintance between Mr. Marcy and Miss Morris was renewed, and their mutual at- 
 tachment strengthened till at length it resulted in matrimony. — They removed to this town 
 in 1732 with a family o{ five children, which was afterwards increased to eleven. Coi. 
 Marcy soon became not only " one of the principal inhabitants," as he is here styled, but in 
 the opinion of his fellow townsmen, the principal one. He was the first citizen who received 
 the appointment of Justice of the Peace, and was the first Representative which the town sent 
 to the General Court. He held the office of Moderator in seventy town-meetings, having 
 been called to the chair at every annual meeting, and at most of the intervening ones, for 
 twenty-four successive years. He was on the Board of Select Men thirty-one years. Town 
 Clerk eighteen, and Town Treasurer eight, — not unfrequently filling all these offices at once. 
 During the old French War ho repeatedly fitted out soldiers for the array on his own respon- 
 sibility, and from his own jirivate resources, for which he was afterwards remunerated by 
 
9 
 
 holders and other qualified voters," for tli(> purpose of choosing town 
 officers. That meetiiiir was held Sept. 18, 1738, at which, Moses 
 Marcy was chosen Moderator; Daniel Fiske, Town-Clerk; Daniel 
 Fiske, Moses Marcy, Henry Fiske, Select Men ; and Joseph Smith, 
 Constable : to which were added the usual complement of Fence 
 Viewers, Surveyors of the Highways, Hog-reeves, Deer-reeves, and 
 a Clerk of the Market. Tt is rather difficult for us now to compre- 
 hend the duties of this last named office, as there appears to have 
 been nothing yet in the. markd , unless it were wood and wild land. 
 These officers were to hold their appointment only " till the anniver- 
 sary meeting in March," when the public business of the town com- 
 menced in due form. 
 
 On the 13th of Feb. 1730 the Select Men of Sturbridge issued 
 their first warrant for a town-meeting, which, as it gives an insight 
 into the extent of their municipal affairs at that early day, I will here 
 insert. It is as follows : — 
 
 " Worcester, ss. To Joseph Smith, Constable of Sturbridge. — 
 In his Majesty's name you are required forthwith to warn all the free- 
 holders and other inhabitants of the said town, to convene at the 
 Meetinghouse in Sturbridge aforesaid, on Monday the 5th day of 
 March next, at 9 of the clock in the forenoon, then and there to elect 
 and depute Select Men, Constable, and other town officers (as the 
 law directs) to serve this town for the year ensuing : — to furnish Mr. 
 Rice's Desk with a cushion : — and to agree upon the granting such 
 sum or sums of money as shall be judged needful for the benefit of, 
 and defraying all necessary charges arising within, the said town : — 
 and to agree and conclude upon any other matter or things, which 
 shall be thought needful to promote the benefit and welfare thereof." 
 
 So far from attending to " any other matter or things" at that 
 meeting, it does not appear from the records that all the matters were 
 despatched which arc here specified. There is no account of any mo- 
 ney granted, or " cushion" furnished. In their next meeting, however, 
 which came a month later, they granted the minister's salary, hired 
 a man to procure his wood, and " voted that i^25 (about $11,10) ht^ 
 put into the treasury for the town's use f" If this seems to us a mo- 
 derate sum for " defraying all necessary charges arising within the 
 town" throughout the year, it siiould be remembered that, as yet, 
 
 th« town. He diod Oct. 9, 1779, at llie age of 72, leaving an lioiiouraljli! niinic, a lar^e es- 
 tate, and a numerous posterity. The present Gov. Marcy of New York is a gryat gtandson 
 of his. 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 there were no schools to provide for, nor any paupers to support, 
 while the Highway tax, which was by far the largest item of public 
 expenditure, was paid in labor and teams. It may also be remarked 
 in this place, that the price of labor, which is usually an index to the 
 prices of other things, was 6 shillings Old Tenor, or about 14 cents, 
 per day. 
 
 The subject of Education was brought into town meeting for the 
 first time, Oct. 6, 1740. In the warrant for that meeting there was 
 an article, " To see if the town [will] come into any measures to 
 provide a school." It passed in the negative, and I can find no evi- 
 dence of any farther action on this important subject for a year and 
 six months !* At length in March, 1742, " the question was put, 
 whether the town would grant ^20 for schooling of the children in 
 this town, and that the Select Men should dispose of the same for 
 that purpose; and it passed in the affirmative." The Select Men 
 divided this sum, giving <£10 lOs. for the support of two schools in 
 the " South East part of the town," and .£9 10s. for the support of 
 two in the " North West part." So that the first step towards the 
 advancement of Common Education in this place, was the establish- 
 ment of four schools at the average expense of <£5 per school. 
 These were kept only in the summer season ; and the names of the 
 four teachers who had the honor of laying the foundation of learning 
 among us (peace to their venerated dust!) were Margaret Manning, 
 Mary Hoar, the wife of Jeremiah Streeter, and the wife of John Stacy. 
 
 The next year the town voted .£30 for the same object, which was 
 divided in the same way, and the year following they increased it to 
 c£40, one half to be expended in the summer, and the rest in the win- 
 ter " to instruct children to write." A question afterwards arose in 
 town meeting, whether the money for this winter school should be 
 
 * Probably there is not a circumstance in the early history of this town which the present 
 and future generations will review with less satisfaction. — It had been a law of the Province 
 for almost an hundred years, " that every township within this jurisdiction, after the Lord 
 hath increased them to the number of fifiy householders, shall then forthwith appoint one within 
 their towns to teach all such children as shall resort to him, to write and read." This ancient 
 law was substantially re-enacted with a penalty of £10 about fifty years before this town 
 was settled, which penalty in 1702 was increased to £20. As the citizens of Slurbridge do 
 not appear to have incurred this penalty, while they were thus neglecting to provide a pub- 
 lic school, we are permitted to hope that there was some sufficient reason, which we cannot 
 now discover, for that neglect. But to us, with only the facts which we have, it certainly ap- 
 pears unaccountable, that while the swine, the cattle, and even the wild deer of the forest 
 came mto remembrance at every annua! meeting, and secured public favor, the children were 
 thus forgotten. 
 
11 
 
 laid out. it was finally left undecided by the town, but probably was 
 not laid out, for in the next March meeting a grant of only £20 was 
 made, accompanied by a vote, " that the school should be kept in 
 four places in the town, and to choose four men to provide the dames." 
 The appointment of this School Committee, or " four men to provide 
 the dames," was quite an advance upon any thing before known in 
 the system of Common Education, and has has long since passed into 
 a standing law. 
 
 As yet there was not a school-house in town. The children usu- 
 ally assembled in some private dwelling, though occasionally in a 
 bam till the haying season came and the building was wanted for 
 other purposes. At length, in 1753, the town voted to build three 
 school-houses. One was located in the South Eastern section, within 
 the present limits of Southbridge ; another in the North Western ; 
 and the remaining one in the centre. The next year a Committee 
 was appointed to locate a school-house in the North Eastern part. 
 
 In the warrant for their annual meeting, 1754, I find the following 
 article touching schools, viz. " To see if the town will grant a sum, 
 of money for schooling children, or employ Ichabod Sparrow Paine 
 in that employment." Their action on this article is recorded thus : 
 " It was put to vote whether the town would proceed to hire Sparrow 
 Paine lo keep school in town ; and it passed in the affirmative." 
 From the formal manner in which this gentleman is introduced to 
 our notice, and the still more formal way in which his services arc 
 secured, I conclude that Ichabod Sparrow Paine was the first School- 
 maslcr that was ever employed in this town. Mr. Comfort Johnson, 
 who has passed his ninctirth year, and is the oldest man now living 
 among us, was one of his scholars. From him I learn that Mr. 
 Paine was hired by the year to instruct all the youth in town ; which 
 he did by going in a circuit from one school-house to another, at 
 stated periods, and receiving at each place all who could make it 
 convenient to come, without regard to district or distance. The 
 usual course of instruction at that time was something like the fol- 
 lowing. The child was first taken through the New England Primer, 
 and Dilworth's Spelling-Book, excepting such portions as the teach- 
 er foresaw would be of no practical use. Then came the Psalter, 
 which was the principal reading book ; but, in order to give the 
 youthful powers of elocution their finishing touch, they were exercis- 
 ed on the first book of Chronicles, or the tenth chapter of Nehcmiah, 
 or wherever else the tencher could find a page of pure Hcbrcv names. 
 
 ¥ 
 
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 ^■^ 
 
 ■^w* 
 
12 
 
 In Arithmetic the " Golden Rule of Three" was the utmost limit 
 which the boys were expected to reach ; the girls having no occasion 
 for figures could be better employed in some other way. As for 
 Grammar and Geography, the former was supposed to be of no use 
 to common people, and the latter had not been heard of at this dis- 
 tance in the country. 
 
 The annual appropriation of money for schooling at this time was 
 70 or 80 pounds Old Tenor, amounting to 30 or 35 dollars. The 
 sum was slowly increased till 17()1, when a new impulse was given 
 to the cause of education. Near the beginning of that year, " after 
 some debate upon the situation of the schools, it was put to vote to 
 see whether the town would choose a committee out of cvcrxj cor- 
 ner, to take into consideration the circumstances of said affair ; and 
 voted in the affirmative." In pursuance of this vote ten of the princi- 
 pal inhabitants were constituted a Committee, with instructions to 
 " report to the town as speedily as may be." The most essential 
 part of their report was, " that each school district should draw 
 out of the treasury as much money as they pay to the school rate ;" 
 which report was adopted by the town. This important measure 
 rendered it necessary to establish school districts tcith definite boun- 
 daries, — a thing which had never yet been done. The school law 
 then in force contemplated nothing more than the maintainance of 
 " a school" in every such town. But where could a single school be 
 kept, that would accommodate any considerable part of a population 
 scattered over a territory ten or twelve miles square? To remedy 
 this difficulty the people had already divided their school money be- 
 tween the Northern and Southern sections of the town, which divi- 
 sions had again been subdivided between several schools. But the 
 remedy was incomplete till the whole town was parcelled out into 
 regularly defined districts, and the inhabitants of each district had 
 the privilege and the responsibility of expending their own share of 
 the school money, in supporting a school in their own district. Such 
 indeed is the present law of this Commonwealth : but the plan was 
 devised and adopted by the citizens of this town long before our 
 law-makers had suggested such a thought. The committee who 
 were appointed to divide the town into school districts, reported j/i't"c, 
 viz. " The Middle," including the centre village ; " The Southerly," 
 embracing what is now Southbridge ; "The South West;" "The 
 North West ;" and " The North East." The same year the town 
 raised <^25 Lawful Money, or $110, for school instruction, and adopt- 
 
Hi 
 
 ed the rule, which has ever since been followed, of expending three 
 quarters of the money in the winter, and the remainder in the sum- 
 mer. Other districts have been added from time to time, and the 
 amount of appropriations increased, till there are now 18 school dis- 
 tricts on the territory which was then included within the limits of 
 Sturbridge, and about .$2000 annually raised by the inhabitants of 
 these districts for the support of common schools. 
 
 The first notice that I can find of a town pauper in Sturbridge, is 
 contamed in the warrant for a town meeting to be held in May 17G5. 
 In that warrant is the following article, viz. " To see if the town will 
 do any thing whereby the Old Frenchman who lives at Col. Marcy's 
 Mills may be enabled to support his family, and pay his rent." The 
 action of the town upon this article is recorded thus : " Doct. 
 Erasmus Babbit brought his account of 19 shillings, 11 pence, Law- 
 ful Money, for doctoring the old Frenchman, his wife and child ; 
 w'hich was allowed him by a vote of the town." It is certainly an 
 intelligible and interesting comment on the early industry and thrift 
 of this place, that the first call for pecuniary assistance from the town 
 was not made till more than thirty years after its settlement com- 
 menced, and even then by a sick and disabled foreigner ! We al- 
 ready begin to see that his Majesty's " Honorable Council" had mis- 
 taken either the quality of the soil, or the character of its settlers, 
 in judging that the tract of land prayed for was not capable of mak- 
 ing a toionship. It was some years after this first application for aid, 
 before another was presented, and a much longer time before any 
 one stood in need of permanent assistance from the town. 
 
 We come now to a period in the history of Sturbridge fraught with 
 events of peculiar interest. I refer to the period of the American 
 Revolution — a period which gave birth to an influence that has gone 
 out from these shores to every land, and will be felt in every age till 
 the last stroke of departing time. If we could ever admit the truth 
 of that ancient maxim, *' vox pojjuli vox Dei," — The voice of the 
 people is the voice of God, — we might easily believe that there was 
 something divine in the voice which summoned these colonies to that 
 struggle, for it was certainly tltr voice of the people. I see nothing 
 in the transactions of that eventful day more jtruly surprising, than 
 that plain men, who had spent their days in subduing wild land, and 
 making new roads among these hills, should take it upon them to 
 settle questions touching the prerogatives of kings and tlie rights of 
 nations. Yet such was the business in whicii the citizens of this 
 
14 
 
 town seem to have been chiefly engaged for several years. Nor were 
 the decisions to which they came on these points any thing like those 
 windy, vaporing speculations which will sometimes procure for a man 
 the name of a patriot and politician. They were such decisions as 
 men form when they feel that they shall be called to support them at 
 the hazard of fortune and life ; they were such as their posterity, af- 
 ter more than half a century of reflection, still approve. 
 
 In the warrant for a town meeting, which was held Oct. 17, 1765, 
 a leading article was, " To see if the town will give their representa- 
 tive some instructions respecting the Stamp Act coming in force, im- 
 posing a tax upon these Colonies." Their action upon this article is 
 recorded thus ; — " After some considerable debate in the meeting 
 about the said Stamp Act, and after reading considerable part of said 
 Act, the town proceeded to give their representative the following 
 instructions, viz. that the town look upon the duty of the Stamp Act 
 to be insupportable, and do instruct and desire their representative to 
 use the utmost of his endeavors consistent with loyally, that said 
 Stamp Act may be repealed." The representative that year was Col. 
 Moses Marcy, who was also chairman of the Select Men. 
 
 Their next instructions to their representative show less tenderness 
 of conscience on the subject of loyalty. The Lieut. Governor, and 
 some other of his Majesty's faithful servants in Boston, had sus- 
 tained a considerable loss of property in the riot which was occa- 
 sioned there by the odious Stamp Act ; and the question which came 
 before the people of this town at their meeting, Sept. 12, 1706 was, 
 " whether the town will give their representative any instruction what 
 the mind of the town is, and what the town would have the General 
 Court do about making up that loss ?" Their views were expressed 
 in the following rather remarkable words : " Voted, that our repre- 
 sentative use his endeavor in the General Court, that the loss, which 
 the Lieut. Governor sustained last year by the mob or riot respecting 
 the Stamp Act, be made up to him with as much credit, and as lit- 
 tle charge to the Province, as may be;" — which was afterwards ex- 
 plained as meaning that they would have the General Court do no- 
 thing about it. 
 
 The increasing burdens which Great Britain imposed on the Colo- 
 nies increased the strength of their determination to throw then] off. 
 In this town a special meeting of the citizens was called by the Se- 
 lect Men, June 27, 1774, " to consider of some measures proper to 
 be adopted for the safety and defence of the Province in this distress- 
 
ed condition by reason of several late acts of the British Parliament." 
 The Select Men at this time were Daniel Fiske, Nathaniel Walker, 
 James Johnson, Jolni Tarbcll and Samuel Ellis. " After solemn pray- 
 er to God for direction," they chose one of their number to officiate as 
 "Speaker;" and having discussed the public grievances for several 
 hours, the united voice of the town, as expressed by formal vote, was, 
 not to purchase any goods which should be imported from England 
 after a certain specified time. They even entered into solemn co- 
 'veRant with each other to at^de by this vote, and signed their names. 
 On the 25th of the next August another meeting was called for the 
 ■purpose of acting upon the following proposition, which seems to 
 have come from some other quarter, and was probably sent to all the 
 towns in the County, viz. " That, considering the present alarming 
 situation of our public affairs by reason of several late acts of the Bri- 
 tish Parliament, altering the course of justice and annihilating our 
 once free Constitution and Government, a Committee be chosen in 
 each town in the County to meet at Worcester, or some other suitable 
 place, to consult and advise what is necessary and prudent to be done 
 by the inhabitants of this County." After a free discussion the pro- 
 potition was carried unanimously, and a Committee appointed, con- 
 sialing of Moses Weld, Timothy Newell,* William McKinstry, John 
 
 ♦ 'I'lie Hon. Tiinoiliy Nowcll, E-f]. was bnin at Needliam, in 1742. He removed to Stiir- 
 brid:^e, ayouns nicclianic, without property or patrons, and eslablished himself in the manu- 
 aclure of spinning-wheels, chairs, and rakes, about the year 1763. In this humble, but ho- 
 iiesiicalling he labored for many years. By industry and economy he was at lenfilh enabled 
 to o(«in a small store, which was gradually enlarged till he found himself engaged extensively 
 in trade, and the owner of a handsome estate — one of the most considerable in town. His 
 ■early education was quite limited, but by reading, observation, and thinkin<;, he became fami- 
 liar with many of the sciences — especially inalbcmE.tics and mechanism — to which he also 
 addeti an extensive knowledge of history and politics. 
 
 His natural and acquired talents prepared him to exert an influence in society, and soon 
 brouglit him into public life. At the commencement of the revolutionary war he entered the 
 ■army as Brigade Major, and when he left |he service he held the rank of Colonel. He was 
 ■one of the firemost in resisting the mutinous spirit which at length broke out in Shays' rebel- 
 lion, and was ne.xt to General Lincoln in command of the troops sent by the Government to 
 ■<|uell it. Either before or immediately after this event he was promoted to the rank of Maj. 
 <ieneral of the division of militia in this County. As a civilian he was not less distinguished 
 than as a soldier, having been called more than once to a seat in the Governor's Honorable 
 ■Coinicil. 
 
 While Gen. Nivvcil was in the army he became ac(|uainted with the religious speculations 
 of the French philosophers, and perhaps, like many others at that time, secretly adopted them 
 as his own. But he made no attempts to influence the minds of others, nor even withheld his 
 support from the religious society in town. On the contrary he took a leading part in adding 
 a steeple to the Meetinghouse, in which he also placed a town-clock at his own expense. 
 He died Feb. 5, 1S19, aged 76 years. His grave-stone bears the following honorable testi- 
 
16 
 
 Salmon, and Benjamin Freeman. The convention was held soor 
 Bfter, and a report of their proceedings, " being read twice distinctly'" 
 to the assembled citizens of this town, was approved by vote. 
 
 Hitherto the people of these Colonies had employed no other wea- 
 pons in the sacred cause of liberty than those of argument and en- 
 treaty. Ten years had already elapsed since the controversy began,, 
 and no deliverance had been wrought, no wrong redressed; nor wa& 
 there any prospect of better success by a continuance of the same 
 pacific measures. On the contrary new.burdens had been imposed, 
 and others still were threatened. They were thinking, therefore, witk 
 painful interest, of a resort to arms. The citizens of Sturbridge were 
 not behind the foremost of their fellow countrymen in giving expres- 
 sion to these sentiments. - In a regular town meeting, Sept. 28, 1774, 
 it was voted, "to provide four half barrels of powder, 5 cwt, of lead, 
 and 500 flints." Timothy Newell and Erasmus Babbit stepped for- 
 ward and generously offered to furnish one half barrel of powder at 
 their own expense ; which was received with applause. A committee 
 of seven were then chosen " to make provision for the men of this 
 town in case they should be called away upon any sudden emergen- 
 cy," and a vote was passed " by a great majority", to pay the men 
 who should thus be called away. At the same meeting they appoint- 
 ed Capt. Timothy Parker a delegate to the Provincial Congress to be 
 convened soon after at Concord. 
 
 In the month of November following, another town meeting was 
 held in which the Select Men were authorized to provide still more 
 ammunition. On this occasion the Rev. Joshua Paine, who was then 
 Pastor of the Congregational Church, proposed to pay for one cask of 
 powder himself, if the town would be at the trouble of procuring it ; 
 whereupon Lieut. Henry Fiske, one of the principal members of the 
 Baptist Church offered to give 1 cwt. of lead to go with it. 
 
 From such expressions of individual feeling we may easily conjec- 
 ture what was the general feeling in the community. But we have 
 something more decisive than mere conjecture. That they might 
 know the real spirit that prevailed in the town, and the precise state 
 of their military affairs, they adjourned the meeting till the first Mon- 
 day in Dec. at 10 o'clock A. M. with a request, " that all the men in 
 
 mony, — " Distinguished for his xoisdom in counsel, and his valor in defending the liberty 
 of his count)-y.'' — His wife was Miriam, the daughter of Col. Moses Marcy. Of their 9' 
 children only 2 remain — Mrs. Allen of Worcester, and a sister residing in Salem, N. Y. 
 
town, from 10 years old and upward, then moot at the Mectinghouso 
 ia Sturbridge with arms and ammunition in order for reviewing." 
 
 That<meeting must have been one of extraordinary interest. Ten 
 o'clock A. M. the 1st Monday in Dec. 1774 found this Common a 
 military camp. It had never presented such a spectacle before, and 
 probably it never will again. Here stood the elders of the town form- 
 ed into a company of " Alarm men." There the gallant Capt. Par- 
 ker was marshaling the active and athletic youth into a band of " Mi- 
 nute men." The brave Capt. Newell with his company of Grena- 
 diers were drawn up in another part of the field ; while a body of Ca- 
 valry under Capt. Craft occupied still another. Almost every male 
 citizen over 16 years of age had become a soldier. All things being 
 properly arranged, they marched into the Church in military order. 
 The rest I will relate in the language of the town records. — " After 
 solemn prayer to God, and singing, the Rev. Joshua Paine preached 
 a sermon from Psalms .* After the exercise was over, the ad- 
 journment of the town meeting was read and the remaining part of 
 the articles which had not been acted upon. Proposed by the 
 town to call over the list of the Alarm men first, the number of which 
 was 103, some 60, — some more than 70 years old. Most of them were 
 deficient as to arms or ammunition, and some as to both. The Clerks 
 of the other companies returned to the town that the men were gene- 
 rally present, and generally equipped, or would be soc>n, and if there 
 were any not likely to be, their names would be returned to the town. 
 Capt. Ebenezar Craft for the troop in this town returned an account 
 of every one in particular, that they were well equipped and all pre- 
 pared." 
 
 There happened to be a few men in town, who did not make their 
 appearance on this occasion ; and the Select Men, with two other cit- 
 izens were, appointed a Committee " to go to them and take an exact 
 account of their preparations as to arms and ammunitions," and make 
 report at the next meeting. When that report was made, the town 
 passed the following spirited vote : " that it is the sense of this town, 
 that every man in town able to furnish himself with arms and ammuni- 
 tion do forthwith fix himself complete ; and be it further recommend- 
 
 * Tho preachor's text is not rccord'jd ; b'l' if lie .si;lectod the ono most accordant with the 
 real spirit ofthnt occasion, we may conjecliirc that he took tho 1st vorso of the 144th Psalm ; 
 — " Thou teachcst my hands to war and my finyers to fiyht." It is a faot, that very soon after 
 this discourse was preached, there was an article in the warrant for a town meeting, " To soe 
 if the town will allow the company of minute men, so called, any cimsideration for their en- 
 couragement to learn the art of war." 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 ed in the strongest terms to all in town unprepared to defend our 
 just rights and privileges and all that is dear to us, in this time of 
 great danger and distress, to exert themselves to the utmost to be 
 prepared immediately." A committee of one from each school 
 district was also employed to obtain the signature of every individu- 
 al in town to a written pledge " for the strict observance of all the 
 resolves of the Continental Congress, in particular that part called 
 the Association." 
 
 Such was the spirit which reigned in this town at the beginning 
 of the year 1775. Nor was it for the protection of their own fami- 
 lies and firesides alone that these energetic measures were adopted. 
 Their views were broad. Their patriotism was comprehensive and 
 impartial, taking its rise beyond the narrow sphere of private interest, 
 and encircling the whole body politic. Many recorded facts might 
 be stated in illustration of this remark. 
 
 On the 29th of May, 1775, the following instructions were given 
 to the delegate whom they were about sending to a Provincial Con- 
 gress in Watertown : " 1. Respecting civil government (in case the 
 petition or address to his Majesty should be rejected) we think it 
 highly necessary to assume government, by and with the advice of 
 our sister Colonies, as soon as may be. 2. Respecting the demands 
 of the Grand Congress, we advise thai the whole of their expenses 
 be paid ; and as to their wages, we think that 13 shillings and 6 
 pence per day is too much, and we advise our delegate to j^lcad in 
 behalf of the Province, that things may be carried on with as little 
 expense as possible in this day of trouble and distress." 
 
 The citizens of Sturbridge had already borrowed money on interest 
 to redeem the pledge which they had given to support the common 
 cause. They had made great sacrifices, and stood prepared to make 
 still greater. A vote which was passed at one town meeting to raise 
 .£100 for the purpose of repairing roads, was promptly reconsidered 
 at the next, because in their judgment political oppression was worse 
 than bad roads. They had been contemplating the erection of a new 
 Meetinghouse, but even this, though greatly needed, they cheerfully 
 put aside, till they should get through the present struggle for liberty. 
 Such men had a i-ight to recommend economy in the management of 
 public affairs. And if on this point they were even rigid, it was the 
 result not oi parsimony, but of i^atriotism. It was " in behalf of the 
 Province," and not of themselves, that they were pleading. 
 
 It is truly surprising to observe the alacrity with which they conti- 
 
19 
 
 nued to draw upon their scanty resources to meet their country's de- 
 mands. The following document which the Rev. Mr. Paine sent 
 into the town meeting about this time, may be taken as a fair speci- 
 men of the general feeling. 
 
 "To the inhabitants of the town of Sturbridge. 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " While yott are preparing arms and ammunition to defend 
 our just rights aiid privileges, occasioned by the alarming tidings 
 from Parliament, I feel it my duty to engage in the common cause of 
 liberty, believing that he is unjust to God who can tamely submit to 
 tyranny. I proposed [at a former meeting] to pay for a barrel of 
 powder, or a cask, provided you would be at the trouble of procur- 
 ing it. But as I understand you have been unable so to do, neither 
 does it appear to me worth your while at this time. Still I find 
 it my duty to bear my part in the calamities that are common to us 
 all. Not to rest in words, I propose to make a present to the town 
 of ^100 Old Tenor, to be reducted out of my next assessment ; i. e. 
 to assess but £5'^ ; and, to oblige, I propose, if the town will give 
 me security for what then shall be due in June, that I will wait one 
 year for it, and longer, unless mortality or something extraordinary 
 shall prevent." 
 
 One hundred pounds Old Tenor was equal to .£13 65. 8^/. Lawful 
 money, or $44,44, which was about onejifth of Mr. Paine's annual 
 salary. This sum he gave; and then, "to oblige," ic ait cd four 
 years for the remaining o£'53.* 
 
 I have said that this generous sacrifice of the minister, in sustain- 
 ing his suffering country, may be taken as a fiiir specimen of the 
 general feeling at that time. And whoever will take the trouble to 
 review the records of this town during that period, and examine 
 the sums of money that were raised for bounty to ihe soldiers, for 
 
 * So i;reat were the fluctuatiotis in tlie currency al that lime, lliat during those lour years 
 money had depreciated in the proportion oC 20 to I ; in other words, the sum of JC'20 in 1779, 
 was worth no more in procuring the necessaries of life, than £1 was in 1775. This was the 
 report of a Committee consisting! of Aaron Allen, Ebenezar Craft, and Timothy Newell, who 
 had been appointed to make an estimate of the anioimt which should be paid to Air. Paine. 
 So that the £o3 of his salary wliicli he had permitted the town to keep in tlicir hands during 
 four years of distress, had sunk to the small value of £2 13s. when the time of payment came. 
 But those noble minded men who were themselves engaged in a struggle Cor Justice, had too 
 keen a sense of justice to think of paying any thing less than the value received, la making 
 settlement, therefore, with Mr. Paine, they generously voted "lo grant him money suflicicnt 
 lo purchase the nncossary articles of ronsumplion which Jt^3 would in the year 1775;"' and 
 accordingly paid JCIOGO as an cipuvalcnl tor the JC53 which thry luul borrowed. 
 
20 
 
 ammunition, arms, provisions, and for other military purposes, will 
 see that it was indeed, "like priest, like people.'' Money, however, 
 was not the most costly offering which they laid on the altar of free- 
 dom. I have obtained the names of 2139 men, all from this town, 
 who at different times went out and joined themeslves to the armies 
 which fought the battles of liberty during the Revolutionary struggle. 
 Among this number there was one Colonel, one Major, eight Cap- 
 tains, eight Lieutenants, and two Ensigns, besides the Rev. Joshua 
 Paine, who officiated two months as Chaplain in the neighborhood of 
 Sing Sing, N. Y. 
 
 Such facts as these show wherein consisted that invincible strength 
 by which these infant Colonies were able to resist the will of Great 
 Britain : — it consisted in the bones and sinews of their lion-hearted 
 yeomanry. And it will appear not improbable to a reflecting mind, 
 that the reason why these revolted Colonies did not fall into the 
 hands of some aspiring Dictator, as it was confidently foretold that 
 they would, if they left the Mother Country, was not so much because 
 there was no one here to dictate, as because there were none to be 
 dictated. 
 
 This strong repellency to every thing in the form of dictation, the 
 citizens of Sturbridge discovered, not only in throwing off an old form 
 of government, but also in adopting a new one. After the Declara- 
 tion of Independence had been published to the world, and the peo- 
 ple of this town in a special meeting for that purpose had solemnly 
 " engaged to support it with their lives and fortunes," and had actu- 
 ally transcribed it entire in the book of their town records, a circular 
 was sent throughout the Commonwealth, the object of which was to 
 ascertain whether the people would consent that their Representatives 
 then in session should frame and ratify such a Constitution and form 
 of government for the State as they might judge best. When that 
 proposal came before the citizens of Sturbridge in public meeting 
 Oct. 14, 1776, it passed in the negative with but one dissenting voice ; 
 and a Committee, consisting of Dea. Daniel Fiske, Dea. Moses Weld, 
 Col. Daniel Plimpton, Mr. John Holbrook, and Lieut. Henry Fiske, 
 were appointed to draw up the reasons for this vote. The principal 
 one was the following, which contains perhaps as much sound politi- 
 cal truth as was ever thrown into so small a compass. " As the end 
 of government is the happiness and safety of the people, so the sole 
 right and power of forming and establishing a plan thereof is in the 
 people ; consequently w^e think it unadvisable and irrational to con- 
 
21 
 
 «enl that any set of men should form and ratify a Constitution of 
 government for us before we know what it is." It was approved by 
 vote of the town, and sent to their representative for his instruction. 
 
 The result was according to their wishes. The new Constitution 
 and form of government having been drawn up by a special conven- 
 tion chosen for that purpose, came forth to the people for their sanc- 
 tion. And as a further illustration of the independent spirit which 
 then reigned in this town, and the deep, inquisitorial scrutiny which 
 plain men bestowed on the great affairs of State, I beg leave to in- 
 sert here an extract from the records of the town meeting in which 
 the inhabitants of Sturbridge acted upon these important documents. 
 
 " At a town meeting in Sturbridge, May 1st, 1780, legally assem- 
 bled, the meeting being opened, Dea. Moses Weld was chosen Mode- 
 rator. Then it was proposed and agreed, in acting upon the New 
 ^Constitution and Form of Government, that the Bill of Ricrhts be 
 read first, and then the Form of Government, and last the address 
 accompanying the same ; which was done accordingly. Then by a 
 vote of the town the meeting was adjourned to Monday next week, at 
 12 of the clock on said day. — Then met according to adjournment. 
 The question was put, whether the town approved of the two first 
 articles in the Declaration of Rights. Passed in the affirmative to a 
 man, 111 voted. After some debate on the 3d article, the question 
 was put by yeas and nays ; 120 voted — yeas 73, nays 47. Then the 
 question was put, whether the town approved of all the articles in the 
 Bill of Rights excepting the 3d. Passed in the affirmative to a man ; 
 Gl voted. Then by a vote of the town the meeting was adjourned to 
 the 22d instant at 7 of the clock in the morning. — Then met accord- 
 ing to adjournment. Then put to vote, whether it was the mind of 
 tlie town to vote upon the Form of Government together [i. e. as a 
 whole]. Passed in the negative. Then the question, whether it was 
 the mind of the town to read one chapter or section at a time and 
 then put it to vote whether the town approved of them, passed in the 
 affirmative. Then the question was put whether the town approv- 
 ed of the 1st section in the Form of Government. Yeas 50, 
 Nays 8 ; 58 voted. — Section 2d. The question was put whether the 
 town approved of that : 50 voted; all yeas. — Section 3d. Question 
 put. Yeas 32, Nays 15 ; 47 voted. Chapter 2d, Section 1st. Ques- 
 tion put by dividing the house, whether the town approve thereof. 
 Yeas 14, Nays 34 ; 48 voted. — Section 2. Approved by all voting ; 
 59. — Section 3d. Question put by dividing the house. Yeas 6, Nays 
 
22 
 
 36; 42 voted. — Section 4th. Approved by all voting; 43." And 
 so on, through every chapter and section. At the close of this scru- 
 tinizing process, Henry Fiske, Timothy Parker and Joshua Harding 
 were appointed a committee to arrange and state the objections of 
 the town to these articles, which passed in the negative. Of these 
 objections it may in general be said, that they indicate a forecast, 
 and a maturity of political wisdom to which our legislators have 
 been gradually approximating ever since ; for the most important 
 changes which have subsequently been made in our Constitution and 
 Bill of Rights have been in accordance with the views here expressed. 
 
 It could not have been expected that a people, so accustomed to 
 think for themselves on whatever subject came before them, and to 
 act according to their own individual judgment, would be entirely 
 unanimous in their opinions touching those great changes in the go- 
 vernment and laws which were then taking place. But it is a re- 
 markable fact, that when the town had taken special pains to have 
 the names of such persons laid before them as were suspected of 
 being unfriendly to the Revolution, only thrac could be found ! 
 
 On the whole I think it may safely be affirmed, that the town of 
 Sturbridge was not at all behind the spirit of '76 when that eventful 
 year arrived. Perhaps it may be said, that they were even in advance 
 of it ; for, if we enquire into the origin of that spirit, we shall find 
 that it was just such action as theirs which gave it birth. They are 
 usually small streams, starting out from here and there a mountain's 
 side, and combining their separate waters in one channel, which make 
 the broad and deep river, whose augmenting force at length spurns all 
 resistance. Such, in fact, was the origin and progress of those 
 mighty movements which resulted in American Independence, and 
 to which this town contributed a rill of influence that we can trace 
 up to a point of time more than ten years back of that result. 
 
 If, in sketching the history of Sturbridge through this illustrious 
 period, I have said but little of other things than those which pertain 
 to the Revolutionary struggle, my apology is, that the records of its 
 civil affairs show that little else was done. Almost every other sub- 
 ject seems to have been either laid aside entirely, or brought into 
 such intimate alliance with this, as not to be capable of a separate 
 notice. And for a long time after the war had terminated, and the 
 current of public business had once more found its regular channel, 
 there was a spirit pervading the municipal aff'airs of the town, that 
 ivould convince even a stranger, that there must have been some 
 
23 
 
 great and recent movement among the people in the military line. 
 The citizens had the air of soldiers, and seemed to delight in trans- 
 acting their f /I'lV afi'airs, as far as possible, in a soldier-like way. For 
 example ; the subject of fencing the burying ground came into town 
 meeting May 12, 1794, and a Committee was chosen to report in 
 what manner it should be done. Their report was as follows, viz. : 
 " Tliat it be done by a free donation ; that the commissioned officers 
 of each company of militia in this town be a Committee to inspect 
 and see to the work ; that they give notice to all persons within 
 the limits of their respective companies to attend with teams and 
 tools sufficient to wall said ground on the 16th, 17th and 18th days 
 of June next. The town adopted this report unanimously, and then 
 voted, " that Capt. Samuel Hooker come on with his company on 
 Monday the 16th, Capt. Corey with his Company on Tuesday the 
 17th, and Capt. Marcy with his Company on Wednesday the 18th 
 of June next." 
 
 The town of Sturbridge at this time contained a population of 
 about 1800 souls, scattered over a surface of more than 56 square 
 miles. By actual survey there were 28,929 acres of land within its 
 limits ; and the people, being chiefly agriculturalists, had distributed 
 themselves pretty evenly over the whole of this wide territory. What- 
 ever spot, therefore, they might select as a common centre for pub- 
 lic worship and town-meetings, it must, of necessity, be at an incon- 
 venient distance from many of the inhabitants. This circumstance, 
 as the population increased, would naturally suggest the idea of a 
 division, especially if any fit occasion should offer. Accordingly in 
 the year 1783, when a new Meetinghouse was being erected, an at- 
 tempt was made by some who were not satisfied with its location, to 
 divide the town into " three Districts, or Precincts;" which, however, 
 was voted down "by a great majority." The next year a petition 
 signed by Dea. Moses Weld and others residing in the North Eastern 
 part of the town, praying for leave to be set off from Sturbridge for 
 the purpose of forming a new town with a part of Brookfield, Spen- 
 cer and Charlton, was at first granted without much discussion, but 
 was afterwards reconsidered and refused. 
 
 No farther attempt was made to divide the town, or in any way to 
 disturb its original boundaries, till 1796, when Joshua Harding Jr. 
 and others inhabiting the South Eastern section made request to be 
 erected into a separate town with a part of Charlton and Dudley. 
 Their petition was referred to a special Committee, with the expecta- 
 
24 
 
 tion that they would report at a subsequent niectincr. But when the 
 article in the warrant was read, " to see if the town will hear the 
 Report of their Committee," &.c. it was " voted that this article sub- 
 side ",* and it does not appear that it ever rose again. The feelmgs, 
 however, of the petitioners could not be so easily put in a quiescent 
 state. They entered immediately into arrangements for building a 
 Meetinghouse in that part of the town, and petitioned the General 
 Court that they might be incorporated as a Poll Parish ; which was 
 granted in 1801. The number of the names enrolled in this Act was 
 ninety. These ninety persons, together with their families and es- 
 tates, though not separated from the surrounding world by any geo- 
 graphical lines, nevertheless formed a distinct community, which was 
 known for many years by the name of Honest-toimi* 
 
 On the 25th of November, 1811, by request of several of their num- 
 ber a special meeting was called by the parish assessors, " to see if 
 the said parish will petition the next General Court to be set off from 
 the several towns of which they are composed, to be a town by them- 
 selves, by the name of ." The proposal was approved by the 
 
 parish, and a committee was chosen " to take charge of a petition to 
 be sent to the General Court.'' That petition was destined to en- 
 counter no small opposition from the several towns concerned, but 
 especially from Sturbridge, to which by far the largest part of the 
 petitioners belonged. The consequence was, a refusal of their prayer 
 by the General Court. The attempt was renewed at the next ses- 
 sion of the legislature, but with no better success. Not discouraged 
 by repeated failures, though having just cause for impatience at the 
 
 * In a manuscript lecture delivered before the Southbridge Lyceum in 1636 by Moses 
 Plimpton. Esq. of that town, and which has been kindly placed in my hands by its obliging 
 author, to whom I am indebted for many important facts in this part of the sketch, I find ihe 
 following pleasant remarks on the origin and application of this name. — "It may have been 
 attached to us by some one in the older towns'from which we had separated, in a moment of 
 resentment at our obstinacy in not being satisfied to go seven miles to meeting ; it may have 
 come from some wag, or bar-room joker, over bis mug of flip ; or possibly from some one of 
 our own really honest inhabitants, who firmly believed that there was more true, genuine ho- 
 nesty here, than in any other place in this part of the country. Be all these things as they 
 may, it is certain that this place, now Southbridge, for twenty years or more before we be- 
 came a town, was known, far and near, by tlie name of Honest-town ; and whether the term 
 was applied ironically, or in "sober earnest"; whether the character of our inhabitants for 
 fair dealing between man and man rose above, or fell below the common standard, the truth 
 would probably require us to admit, that, from "local situation" — to use the charitable expres- 
 sion of the amiable author of the report to which I have alluded — or from some other cause, 
 there was a general want of stability, a kind of freedom from wholesome restraint, whicji was 
 by no means favorable to the cause of good morals, virtue and religion." 
 
25 
 
 many embarrassments that were thrown in their way, th&y drafted a 
 new petition in 1814, and sent another agent with instructions " to 
 act and transact any thing and every thing necessary and relative to- 
 wards carrying into effect the prayer of said petition, in his power." 
 But all was to no purpose ; the prayer was still rejected. By conti- 
 nued importunity, however, the legislature were, at length, induced 
 to send out an Examining Committee, whose Report was decidedly 
 favorable to the petitioners ; and on the 15th of February 1816, 
 there was passed " An Act to incorporate the town of Southhridge." 
 
 The whole number of ratable polls in Sturbridge, at the tim&of this 
 separation, was 476, and the whole valuation of property f 325,233; 
 of which, 151 ratable polls, and $83,783 of its valuation, were set off 
 to the new town ; — that is, a little less than one ^/mv/ of the polls, 
 and a little more than one fuurtk of the property, fell withiii the limits 
 of Southbridge. 
 
 Nothing has occurred in the secular affairs of the town, since thafe 
 event, of sufficient importance to deserve a detailed account in this 
 brief sketch. With a diminished territory it has steadily advanced in 
 population and wealth, till it has risen to a rank considerably higher 
 than it held before Southbridge was taken from it; while the increase 
 of that town has been in a ratio, still greater, and promises at nO' 
 distant day to surpass either of the towns from which it was taken. 
 The population of Sturbridge, as given in the census of 1837, was 
 2004. Its valuation at the same time was 8461,700. Its piineipal 
 source of income has been its soil — that same rough and rocky soil, 
 which the General Court, an hundred years ago, judged unworthy of 
 sale and hardly fit to give away, as being " not capable of snaking a 
 township!" The result has' shown, that the first settlers of this town 
 in placing their chief reliance on "the blessing of God, in concur- 
 rence with diligence and industry," rested on a firm basis. 
 
 Next in importance to the agricultural interests of Sturbridge, are 
 its manufactories. The Q,uinebaug river, which passes through the 
 centre of the town, furnishes many excellent water privileges. Three 
 of these are already occupied with Cotton Mills, which run about 
 10,960 spindles and 300 looms, consuming annually 315,416 pounds 
 of Cotton, and manufacturing 1,882,500 yards of cloth, valued at 
 8170,325. The number of persons employed in these three mills is 
 244. On the same river and its tributaries, there are also 3 Batting 
 Mills, 1 Pistol Manufactory, 3 Grist-Mills, and 9 Saw-Mills. If we 
 4 
 
26 
 
 follow this stream into Southbridge till we come to the original boun- 
 dary of Sturbridge on the East, we shall find one large Woolen, and 
 two Cotton Mills, besides several other smaller works, all propelled by 
 the same waters. In the Woolen Mill alone, there are 10 sets of 
 machinery, 300,000 pounds of wool consumed annually, and 125,000 
 yards of cloth manufactured, valued at $375,000, and about 250 
 persons employed. 
 
 The present number of public schools in Sturbridge is 13 ; and 
 the last returns that were made to the legislature showed the whole 
 number of scholars to be, 560 in the winter, and 429 in the summer. 
 The same year $950 were raised by taxes for the support of these 
 schools, to which were added $200 by voluntary contribution, and 
 $90 to sustain a Select school of 30 scholars three months — amount- 
 ing in all to $1200. Probably this sum is about the average of what 
 is expended in the town from year to year for the instruction of the 
 young. 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 
 
 It will be recollected by those who have perused the foregoing 
 sketch, that one of the conditions on which this tract of land was 
 granted to its original proprietors was, that within seven years from 
 the time of the grant, they should " settle an orthodox minister, and 
 lay out to him an home lot, equal to the other home lots; which lot," 
 it was also added, " shall draw the fiftieth part of the Province land 
 now granted, and be accounted as one of the fifty that are to be set- 
 tled." 
 
 None of the conditions which the General Court imposed were 
 more cheerfully acceded to, or more promptly fulfilled. The compa- 
 ny would have been far enough within the provisions of the Act to 
 avoid the danger of any forfeiture, if they had saved themselves this 
 expense till the last part of the seventh year. And in their circum- 
 stances, if in any, there would have been some show of reason for 
 adopting such a course. They were few in number, and feeble in 
 means. Their present expenditures were large, while their income 
 as yet consisted of little besides hope. But they seem to have been 
 men who really believed that " godliness is profitable unto all things," 
 even to the clearing of a forest, and the planting of a township ; for 
 at the proprietors' second meeting, which was less than a year from 
 the date of the grant, and which was called for the purpose of draw- 
 ing their respective lots of land, — even before that important busi- 
 ness was despatched, they discussed the <iuestion of building a Meet- 
 inghouse, and agreed upon a spot for its location. 
 
 There was a tract of land within their limits, known by the name 
 of" Gen. Saltenstall's Farm," though it appears to have been a forest, 
 Uke the rest of the township, and was then in possession of heirs 
 who lived at New-London, Ct. The spot which seemed to them 
 most convenient for a Church was on this tract of land, "near the 
 meeting of the roads, on the West Side of Sugar Brook ;" i. e. a 
 few rods South of the present Congregational place of worship. 
 
28 
 
 Measures were immediately taken to secure this spot, and a committee 
 was appointed to open a negociation with the heirs of Gen. SaUenstall. 
 
 When it is considered, that this subject came before that meeting, 
 and was thus disposed of while they had not yet drawn their home . 
 lots, and as the next business after they had voted to pay .£4 a-piece 
 to defray the expense of laying them out, it will certainly appear, that 
 the fathers of this town still retained the genuine spirit of the Pil- 
 grims. 
 
 Their negociation for a spot on which to place the house was soon 
 brought to a successful termination, and arrangements for building 
 were promptly commenced, as appears from the following votes, 
 which were passed at the proprietors' third meeting, Nov. 30, 1731, 
 viz. 
 
 "Voted, that Mr. Jonas Houghton shall have £S 14s. 2rf. for his 
 service in going to New-London and procuring a deed of the heirs 
 ■of Gen. SaUenstall, and the charge of recording in the County Re- 
 cords. 
 
 " Voted, that the proprietors will build a Meetinghouse as soon as 
 conveniently they can. 
 
 " Voted, that the Meetinghouse shall be 50 feet in length, and 40 
 feet in width, and 22 feet between the sills and plates. 
 
 " Voted, to finish the said house according to the articles drawn to 
 finish the Meetinghouse at Hassanamisco, (now Grafton.) 
 
 "Voted, to have the house built, covered, and enclosed in the 
 space of one year from this time, and finished in the space of two 
 years, according to the above said vote. < 
 
 "Voted, to choose three men to be a Committee to manage the 
 affair of building the said house ; and by vote, John Dwight, Jonas 
 Houghton, and Joseph Plimpton were chosen to be a Committee for 
 carrying on of the said work of building the Meetinghouse." 
 
 At the same meeting the proprietors made a grant of =£525 towards 
 the erection of the house, ichich tras the total sum of their receipts 
 hitherto for the sale of lands. They afterwards added £20 " for the 
 completing and finishing the Meetinghouse." It was dedicated to 
 the worship of God on the 19th of Sept. 1773, more than four years 
 before the town was incorporated. The Rev. Mr. Baxter of Medfield 
 preached the dedicatory sermon from Is. G3 : 5, " I looked and there 
 was none to help ; and I wondered that there was none to uphold : 
 therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me ; and my fury it 
 upheld me." 
 
29 
 
 But let it not be inferred tluit there was no public worship here till 
 after the Meetinghouse was opened, it is said that even during the 
 first season, James Denison from the South Eastern section of the 
 town, and Joseph Smith from the North Western, Henry and Daniel 
 Fiske from Fiske Hill, together with several others who had commenc- 
 ed " a clearing" in different parts of the township, as soon as they be- 
 came acquainted with each other's place of residence, were accus- 
 tomed to meet in the little cabin of one or the other, every Lord's 
 Day, and spend their time in prayer and praise. 
 
 No sooner had the company finished their Sanctuary than they 
 took measures to secure a suitable person to minister therein. 
 There was an article in the warrant for a proprietors' meeting, June 
 24, 1734, touching this subject. In their action upon it they " voted, 
 that there shall be 15 shillings levied, raised and collected upon each 
 right of the proprietors, (the minister's right exempted) to promote 
 preaching." The Rev. Mr. Cowell was employed as their first preach- 
 er. At their meeting in November following, a tax of 40 shillings 
 was levied " to promote preaching for the year ensuing ;" which, ac- 
 cording to the Committee's report at the end of the year, amounted to 
 .£95 10s. The next year they expended <£103 lis. 6d. for the same 
 purpose. 
 
 The first Monday in March 1736 was, by vote of the proprietors, 
 " set apart for prayer and fasting to seek direction for the making 
 choice of a gospel minister to settle" among them. The pastors of 
 four neighboring churches were invited to assist in the solemnities 
 of that occasion. The result was a unanimous choice of the Rev. 
 Caleb Rice to become their minister. 
 
 It must occur to every reflecting mind, that in respect to this 
 subject, viz. the choice of a pastor, customs have greatly changed 
 " since the fathers fell asleep ;" — and that too, not for the better, 
 either to pastors or people, but decidedly for the worse, to both. 
 What minister of Jesus Christ would not consider himself more 
 strongly bound to live, and labor, and die, among a people who had 
 thus deliberately and solemnly chosen him for that purpose ? And 
 what people would not pause and ask counsel of God. before they 
 broke asunder the bond which united them to a pastor whom they 
 had thus piously sought of Ilim ? 
 
 Mr. Rice was ordained to the work of the ministry on Wednesday 
 the 29th of Sept. 1736, at which time a Church was also organized, 
 consisting of fourteen male members, viz. 
 
no 
 
 Rev. Caleb Rice George Watkins 
 
 Henry Fiske Solomon Rood 
 
 Ezekiel Upham Daniel Fiske 
 
 Joseph Baker Jonathan Perry 
 
 Joseph Cheney Jonathan Fosket 
 
 Ebenezar Stearns , Moses Allen 
 
 Joseph Allen Daniel Thurston. 
 
 The office of Deacon was conferred on Daniel Fiske and Ebenezar 
 Stearns ; and Moses Allen was appointed to " set the Psalm in the 
 Congregation upon the Sabbath day."* 
 
 * There is reason to think that Church-Music was conducted by our fathers and mothers 
 with more " spirit," and less " understanding," than it is by us. The chorister, who was al- 
 ways appointed to that office by the suffrages of the Church, having " set the Psalm," any 
 of the worshippers, whose natural gifts would enable them to do it, were accuslomcd to sing 
 the praises of God — sitting or standing promiscuously about in the assembly. The singers 
 in this town first came into the practice of sitting by themselves in 1768. A petilion was 
 brought into town meeling that year, signed by " sundry of the inhabitants, requesting that they 
 may have the liberty of taking their seats in ihe' Meetinghouse in the front gallery, or where- 
 cver the town shall think proper, in order to carry on the duty of singing wiih more regularity, 
 decency, and good order." The town gave them leave to do so till the next May meeting, which 
 was about two months distant; and then voted that the same liberty "be continued to them 
 iduring the town's pleasure." Soon after this they did still more for the encouragement of 
 "regularity, decency, and good order" in the performance of this "duty;" — they voted the 
 sum of " £3 Lawful Money for the purpose of keeping a singing school, to be under the direc- 
 tion of the Selectmen." The new method of singing by rule, however, and especially the 
 7iew tunes which were introduced, created no small stir in the Congregation, and the Church 
 appointed a Committee of three to investigate the unhappy differences between the singers 
 and (he people, and propose some method of accommodation. Their report, which was 
 read from the desk on the Sabbath, is still preserved among the papers of the Church. Il sets 
 forth thr4^ grievances on the part of the singers. They complained, 1. That they were "not 
 properly encouraged, so many being opposed to singing by rule, and some people leaving the 
 Meelinuhouse." 2. " Their persons and characlers being injuriously treated." 3. "Their not 
 havinc liberty to sing once a-day without reading line by line." With a view to obviate these 
 difficulties and restore peace between the singers and the Congregation, the Committee gave 
 the foUowin-J advice, viz. — In respect to \he first complaint, they advised the disaffected among 
 the people ''to read the preface to Mr. Walter's Singing-Book," and consider " whether or 
 no it is even possible that a Congregation should join together in singing, and carry it on in 
 order, no one knowing any rule, and so none observing any." Respaeting the second, they re- 
 commended "a solemn regard to that golden rule of doing toothers as they would have others 
 do to them." Touching the third com|ilaint, after conceding to both parties "the right 
 of private judgment," the Committee add, for the consolation of tlie singers, " nothing is more 
 common than opposition and discouragement in a good work." The report concludes with 
 some sensible remarks to the choir, a general exhortation " to seek after the things which 
 make for peace, and whereby one may edify another," and a proposal " that Psalms be sung 
 once on the Sabbath days at the concluding of divine service, by reading one verse, or half 
 slave at once, for the space of four months next." The old way of conducting Church Music 
 probably went out of use ?it the expiration of these four months. And the numerous votes 
 to raise money for instruction in singing, which are scattered along throughout the town re. 
 cords from that time to this, furnish gratifying proof that this copimunity have known how 
 to appreciate .10 important a part of divine wo/ship. 
 
31 
 
 The pecuniary support whicli Mr. Rice received from his people 
 was truly liberal for that day, or indeed for any other, and shows 
 that the fathers of this town well understood the arrangement, which 
 an Apostle says "the Lord hath ordained;" viz. " that they which 
 preach the gospel should live of the gospel" — an arrangement which 
 has never been overlooked by their descendants. In addition to the 
 several allotments of land, laid out and reserved for the minister 
 according to the conditions of the grant, amounting in all to one 
 Jifticth part of the whole township, " to be his, his heirs, and 
 assigns," they voted as follows : — ".^'200 in Bills of Credit for settle- 
 ment and encouragement, to be paid him, viz. ,£100 by the first day 
 of May 1737, and =£100 by the first day of May 1738." Also, 
 ".£110 in Bills of Credit Annually for his salary, at the value of 25 
 shillings an ounce in silver money : And at the expiration of three 
 years after the said Mr. Rice's ordination, to add £10 to his salary,, 
 so as to make it ,£120, according to the aforesaid value of money 
 annually." 
 
 In his answer to their call, speaking of the proposed settlement 
 and salary, he says, " I esteem it to be handsome and generous, and 
 accordingly do now accept it as such ; yet, not being so thoroughly 
 acquainted with ihe charge and expenses of living, if in process of 
 time my circumstances should require and call for more, I should 
 depend and rely upon it, that, as I give myself wholly to the work of 
 the ministry, so I should receive a decent and handsome support ;" 
 — to which the people readily assented. In conclusion he added a 
 suggestion touching his " fire-wood," which they were pleased to call 
 " a reasonable proposal ;" and immediately voted to procure him 
 " such a quantity of fire-wood annually as shall be thought a necessary 
 and convenient supply." In pursuance of this vote they began with 
 forty cords a year, and paid a man o^l2 for bringing it. But soon 
 finding that this quantity was not " a necessary and convenient sup- 
 ply, they made it forty-Jive, and shortly after raised it to fifty cord.s 
 a year, " to be delivered at Mr. Rice's door of suitable length for 
 the fire."* 
 
 ♦ If we estimate silver at a dollar an ounce, which is a trifle below its real value, it will be 
 found that the support granted to the first minister in Slurbridgc w.is a settlement of "11160, 
 a salary of $96, and 50 cords of wood annuallv, besides a.farm of about 500 acres. The mo- 
 ney, at first sight, appears to be an inconsiderable sum ; but it should be remembered that 
 corn was ninepenoe per bushel and labor 14 cents per day ; so that a dollar at that time would 
 po as far in procuring the necessaries of lifn ti'.five or sii dollars will now ; and even farthi-r,. 
 if th« pricaii of other thmgs, a» ii usually the rasr, corresponded with lli'' prices of these. 
 
32 
 
 It were rational to suppose that a generation which had shown 
 such remarkable promptness and liberality in providing the means 
 of reliirious instruction, would not " forsake the assembling of 
 themselves together, as the manner of some is."' The only sources of 
 information that are open to us, touching this subject, are the recollec- 
 tions of the aged, and such oral traditions as have come down from 
 their fathers. From both these sources we have the most decisive 
 evidence, that the early inhabitants of this town were emphatically a 
 " Church-going people." 
 
 It is supposed, that during the first fifteen or twenty years from 
 the beginning of its settlement, there was not an individual in town, 
 of suitable age, who did not regularly attend on public worship, when 
 circumstances would allow ; and oftentimes when toe should think 
 they were absolutely forbidding. For example, those who lived si.x 
 or seven miles from the Sanctuary, as many did before the South 
 Eastern part of the town was formed into a separate parish, found in 
 that distance no sufficient reason for staying at home, although they 
 must travel all the way on foot, fording the duinebaug or crossing 
 it on a fallen tree in the summer, and on the ice in the winter. 
 When the snows were deep, the inhabitants of a neighborhood would 
 sometimes all assemble in one place and set off to church in a com- 
 pany, the men leading the way in single file and thus breaking a path 
 for the women and children. These appear to have been the pre- 
 vailing habits of the people till the beginning of the Revqlutionary 
 war. The consequence was, that the little Sanctuary which they had 
 erected 40 feet by 50, became crowded with worshippers as soon as 
 the population of the town was sufficiently numerous to crowd 
 it; nd the business of providing accommodations in the house 
 of God engrossed no small share of public attention in many a town 
 meeting. 
 
 The following transaction, while it illustrates the foregoing views, 
 is instructive in several other respects. — It appears that the house of 
 worship at first had no pews, but was fitted up with temporary seats, 
 each worshipper being at liberty to sit, or stand, wherever he could find 
 a convenient place. At length there was inserted in the warrant for a 
 town meeting to be holden Oct. 14, 1741, the following article, viz. 
 *' To see whether the town will lot out the room in the Meetinghouse 
 under the galleries, and come into some measures to do and accom- 
 plish the same," — an article which would be utterly unintelligible to 
 us, were it not for the record of what was done with it. From that 
 
33 
 
 record it seems, tliat " to lot out the. room," was neither more nor leas 
 than to divide it into squares of convenient size for pews. The town 
 readily came into the measure, and voted that these several lots, 
 should be assigned to as many heads of families ; that whoever re- 
 ceived a lot should have the privilege of building a pew thereon, and 
 of occupying it with his family during the time of his natural life; 
 that if he left a widow she should enjoy the same privilege ; and that 
 on her decease the pew should revert to the town, the town paying 
 the original cost of building it. The business of making the as- 
 signment was committed to three men with the following instruc- 
 tions ; — " to have due regard to age ; to the first beginning in town; 
 to their bearing charges in town, and to their usefulness; and to dis- 
 pose of the room for pews to sucli persons as they shall think fit." 
 The committee to whom was intrusted this delicate business — no less 
 delicate than to make out a scale of merit for the town — were Daniel 
 Fiske, Moses Marcy, and Isaac Newell. At the next March meeting 
 they made their report, stating that they had " planned, divided, and 
 numbered said room into 18 parts for IS pews," &.c. But the most mate- 
 rial circumstance in their report is the following; — " We, the said Com- 
 mittee, met on the 9th day of February, 1742, and did agree, that, ac- 
 cording to the instructions given us by the town, the following per- 
 sons ought to have the several pew-spots, and the liberty of pitching 
 in the following order, viz. Moses Marcy the 1st choice, — Henry 
 Fiske the 2d, — Dea. Isaac Newell the 3d, — James Denison the 4th, 
 — Roland Taylor the Sth, — Daniel Fiske the 6th, — Joseph Baker the 
 7th, — Joseph Cheney the 8th, — David Shumway the 9th, — David 
 Morse the 10th, — Moses Allen the 11th, — Joseph Allen the 12th, — 
 Joseph Smith the 13th, — Hinsdale Clark the 14th, — Ezekiel Upham 
 the loth, — John Harding the 16th, — Caleb Harding the 17th, — Ed- 
 ward Foster the 18th." This report was accepted by the town and 
 ordered to be put on record. 
 
 From this transaction I think we may learn, — 1. The high estima- 
 tion in which public worship was held at that time,— 2. The compa- 
 rative standing of at least eighteen of the jrrincipal inhabitants, — 3. 
 The quiet spirit which then prevailed throughout the community, /lo 
 one uttering a word of complaint at this assignment. It is impossi- 
 ble to conjecture what would be the fate of such a report, nn such a 
 subject, at the present day. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Rice closed his ministry and his life together nn 
 Lord's Day, Sept. 2d, 1759, in the 47tli year of his nno. He was a 
 5 
 
34 
 
 native o^ Hingham, was graduated at Harvard University, and was 
 Pastor of the Church in Sturbridge 23 years. In Whitney's History 
 of Worcester County his character is thus briefly sketched : " He 
 was a pastor after God's heart ; sound in faith ; a good preacher, en- 
 dued with excellent ministerial gifts, and very exemplary in life, as 
 well as social and benevolent in his deportment." He seems to 
 have retained a strong hold on the affections of his people. Five 
 times they increased the nominal amount of his salary, that they might 
 keep it equal to the real amount on which he was settled, graduating 
 it hy the prices of agricultural produce ; and at his death they voted 
 c£8 Lawful Money, or nearly $27, to defray the expense of his fune- 
 ral. The number gathered into the Church during his ministry, 
 including the fourteen with which it was organized, was 114. Fif- 
 teen of these, however, near the close of his ministry, separated from 
 what was called the " standing order," and established a meeting by 
 themselves. The circumstances of this aff'air deserve some notice, 
 not only as properly belonging to the Ecclesiastical history of that 
 period, but also as standing related to important events of subsequent 
 occurrence. 
 
 The original cause of this separation, (which took place in the 
 year 1747,) was a religious awakening that prevailed in many other 
 places at that time, the subjects of which were generally known by 
 the name of New Lights. In this town they were called Separates, 
 or Separatists, and had for their minister Mr. John Blunt, who was 
 afterwards killed in the French war, at the battle of Lake George. 
 They erected a small house of worship which stood within the pre- 
 sent limits of Southbridge, not far from, the Globe village. As was 
 very natural, they felt that it was enough for them to maintain their 
 own. minister, and therefore refused to be taxed for the support of any 
 other. But not being incorporated into a separate Society, the civil 
 law of that day refused to release them, and this brought the affair to 
 a most unhappy issue. 
 
 In the warrant for a town meeting May 22d, 1749, was the follow- 
 ing article : " To see whether the town will pass a vote to exempt 
 those people in this town that have separated themselves from the 
 public worship of God on the Lord's Day at our Meetinghouse, from 
 paying to the support of Mr. Rice." With our present feelings, and 
 customs, and laws touching religious freedom, it would be one of the 
 easiest things in the world to settle such a question. But if we throw 
 ourselves back, in imagination, to that day, and look at the question 
 in the light of usages and laws which then prevailed, we shall find the 
 
35 
 
 subject environed with difficulties. The legislative Act of 1092, 
 which was still in force, not only told every qualified voter that he 
 must pay his tax for the support of some " able, learned, orthodox 
 minister, of good conversation," but even went so far as to tell him 
 in pretty definite terms to whom he must pay it. After granting to 
 " each respective gathered Church in any town or place within this 
 Province the power, according to the directions given in the word of 
 God, to choose their own minister" the Act then proceeds as follows : 
 — " the person thus elected and approved, accepting thereof, settling 
 with them, shall be the minister, towards whose settlement and main- 
 tenance all the inhabitants and ratable estates lying within such town 
 or part of a town, or place limited by law for upholding the public 
 worship of God, shall be obliged to pay in proportion." 
 
 The wisdom of this Act has since been called in question, and the 
 whole code of laws touching religious worship, essentially modified. 
 But such was the law of the Province at that time. The case being 
 thus, it became a serious question between the two parties, what 
 should be done. The fact that there was public discussion and deli- 
 beration upon it in town meeting, shows that there was room, at least 
 for doubt, though at this distant day we may be unable to discover 
 what the precise difficulty was. At their first meeting no vote was 
 taken, though it appears from subsequent proceedings, that one party 
 still refused to pay the ministerial tax, and the other still continued to 
 enforce it by dint of law. 
 
 At length on the 18th of March 1752, the town held a special 
 meeting, " to see whether the town will come into some method of 
 agreement with the Separatists that were distrained upon for their 
 minister rates." Moses Marcy was called to the chair. The excel- 
 lent spirit which the venerable Moderator displayed on that occasion 
 is worthy of all praise, and must have satisfied all parties, that, who- 
 ever stood in the way of an amicable adjustment, he did not. lie re- 
 quested the Separatists to be seated on one side of the Meetinghouse 
 by themselves, and the rest of the citizens on the other. " The mo- 
 derator then desired that there might be a friendly conference, to see 
 if by some means or other we could not make up the difference be- 
 tween us, without going into the law : and after a long debate the 
 Separatists were asked whether, if the creatures and all the goods that 
 were taken from them by distress for their minister's rates in the year 
 1751 were returned, it would satisfy them, so that we might live to- 
 gether like Christian friends and neighbors? They answered, ii 
 
36 
 
 would satisfy them for that year, with reasonable satisfaction, and 
 no further. Then they were desired to bring in, in writing, what 
 would content them ; which they did." The amount of this writing 
 was, that they desired restitution to be made them from 1749, and 
 one individual from 1748. " It was then earnestly requested of the 
 Separatists, that, as we then did and do now believe we had a good 
 right to do as we did, yet for peace's sake, we might meet one another 
 and agree." 
 
 No agreement, however, was effected, and the meeting was brought 
 to a close, after Nathaniel Walker, James Denison, Joseph Baker, 
 John Tarbell and Moses Marcy had been appointed a Committee, 
 " to treat further with them." What success attended this negocia- 
 tion does not appear from any surviving record. A candid and care- 
 ful review of the whole subject, I think must convince any one, that, 
 although it usually happens, when two parties are contending, that 
 they are both in the wrong, these were both in the right ; one party 
 having the authority of km on their side, the other being supported 
 by the true and fundamental principles of religious freedom. 
 
 Twelve of those who separated from the Congregational Church, 
 having for some time sustained a preacher of the same denomination, 
 were at length baptized by immersion, together with their minister. 
 Infant baptism, however, was not yet excluded from their Society, and 
 open communion was still continued. A neic separation at length 
 was effected between them, and a regular Baptist Church was form- 
 ed — one of the oldest and most respectable in the County. Those 
 who still adhered to the peculiar views of the Separatists, held reli- 
 gious worship by themselves but a short time after this subdivision, 
 and then were disbanded ; some going to the Baptist Church, and 
 some returning to the Congregational. 
 
 We now resume the history of the original Church, subjoined to 
 which will be found a sketch of the Baptists from this date. 
 
 After the death of the Rev. Mr. Rice, two years elapsed before his 
 successor in the pastoral office was settled. During this interval the 
 pulpit was regularly supplied with preachers, among whom were 
 Messrs. Storrs, Whitney, and Mills. On the 17th of July, 1760, the 
 Church held a fast, in which the Congregation also joined, " to seek 
 to God in Jesus Christ for light and direction in the settlement of a 
 gospel minister, and to the Head of the Church to fit and qualify one 
 with his gifts and graces for to be a minister of Jesus Christ for us ;" 
 .=^these are the words of the Church record. About six months af- 
 
37 
 
 ter tliis, another day was set apart for fasting and prayer, " in order 
 to give the Rev. Mr. Joshua Paine a call." 
 
 Thus it appears that their enquiries respecting a candidate were 
 directed, first of all to God, afterwards to those who were in a course 
 of preparation for the ministry ; and that the leading qualifications 
 for the pastoral office, in their view, were such ffifts and graces as 
 the Head of the Church bestows. When will the Churches again 
 " ask for this old path and walk therein?" It cannot be doubted, 
 that by so doing they would be in a fairer way to " find rest for their 
 souls," than by the hasty, if not the pi'ai/crless manner in which this 
 important affair is despatched at the present day. 
 
 Mr. I'aine was ordained June I7th, 1761. The settlement of a 
 pastor in those days was not that common occurrence which it has 
 now become. The contract between him and the people, like the 
 marriage covenant, was for life; and it was deemed just about as im- 
 proper and lawless in the one case as it was in the other, for the par- 
 ties to put each other away "for every cause." It seldom happened 
 that one generation witnessed two ordinations in the same place. 
 The Ecclesiastical Councils, therefore, were large,* and the con- 
 course of people immense. Mr. Paine was ordained on a platform 
 erected under the brow of the Meetinghouse hill, the house itself 
 being unable to contain the vast assembly that came together on that 
 occasion. 
 
 As to the Meetinghouse it may here be observed, that by this time it 
 poorly accommodated even the regular congregation on the Sabbath, 
 if we may judge from the frequent petitions sent into town meetings by 
 myi and women, t for leave to build pews here and there, above and 
 
 * In providing entertainment for the Council on this occasion the town voteJ £13 6*. 8d.' 
 Lawful Money, or %44,o0 — a sum, which at that time would purchase an eniertainment at 
 least three times as bountiful as can be furnished for the same money now. It was, in fad, 
 just equal to the amount raised lha.1 yea.r for the support of all the public schools in town! 
 
 t The following extract from the records of the March Meeting in 1762, is here given as a 
 specimen. — "Then there was a petition from Hannah Allen, Elizabeth Hooker, Rhoila Clark, 
 Dinah Allen, Abigail Mason, Susannah Solis, Lois Johnson, INlary Mason, Abigail Fay, 
 Elizabeth Allen, Abigail Allen, Deborah Faulkner, Hannah Chub, and Eli/.abeth Chickcring, 
 shewing that the hind seat in the women's sidc-^lery is so low that they cannot see the min- 
 ister, and the other seats are full and crowded, so that it is very uncomfortable sitting ; — pray- 
 ing favor of the town, that the town would grant ihcm liberty to build a pew where the hind 
 seat is" &c. — " The petition was read, and after some debate thereon,'' was granted. 
 
 Whatever ditference of opinion may exist in the community respecting the propriety qI 
 " women's petitions" to Congress, for the redress of national grievances, certainly no one in 
 Christendom can discourage the weaker sex from making known their request in a grievance 
 like this. 
 
38 
 
 below, wherever a nook or corner could be found for a pew to stand. 
 It is reported by those who remember that house, that even the galle- 
 ry stairs were seated from the bottom to the top with children and 
 youth. 
 
 The subject of a new Meetinghouse began to be agitated in town 
 meeting soon after Mr. Paine's ordination, and in 1773 there was a 
 " clear vote" taken to build one ; which vote, however, was afterwards 
 reconsidered, and the whole subject deferred, on account of the im- 
 pending contest with Great Britain. No sooner had the Revolution- 
 ary war been brought to a close, than the Meetinghouse came again 
 into remembrance. After v'&rious attempts and many long debates, 
 the work was undertaken, and the frame of the present Congrega- 
 tional Church was raised on the 29lh and 30th days of June, 1784. 
 It was not finished and dedicated to the worship of God till the expi- 
 ration of two years and six months, — many embarrassments having 
 been thrown in the way of the building committee by those who lived 
 in parts of the town remote from the centre. The inhabitants of 
 that part which is now included within the limits of Southbridge, in 
 particular, made strenuous opposition ; and not without reason ; for 
 many of them were obliged to travel from four, to seven miles, in 
 coming to Church. This inconvenience, however, Avas remedied be- 
 fore many years had elapsed by the erection of another house of wor- 
 ship in that section of the town, and the organization of a distinct 
 Society. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Paine, having served God in the ministry of his 
 Son for the space of 38 years, 6 months, and 11 days, rested from his 
 labors on the 28th of December, 1799, in the 65th year of his age. 
 He was a native of Pomfret, Ct. and a graduate of Yale College. 
 He is represented as " a man of highly respectable talents, an im- 
 pressive speaker, much esteemed by his people, and one who left be- 
 hind him a salutary and lasting influence." The period of his labors 
 in this place was one of peculiar discouragement to a minister. The 
 public mind was kept in a state of agitation during almost the whole 
 time — first, by the oppressive measures of Great Britain, then, by the 
 Revolutionary war, and afterwards, by the pecuniary embarrassments 
 consequent upon that exhausting struggle. So engrossing were the 
 political affairs of the day, that vital religion lost, in a great measure, 
 its power over the minds even of those who enjoyed the means of 
 grace ; while a large proportion of the young men, who constitute 
 the minister's brightest hope, were scattered through the land, as 
 
39 
 
 sheep without a shepherd, breathing the moral atmosphere of the 
 camp and the battle-field. 
 
 The whole number gathered into the church during Mr. Paine's 
 ministry cannot be definitely ascertained, as the records, embracing 
 a period of 30 years, have unfortunately been lost. During the first 
 7 years of his labors, however, the number of the names was 54. 
 There were found to be 112 resident members when his successor 
 was settled. 
 
 Mr. Paine's pecuniary support, as fixed at the time of his ordina- 
 tion, was a settlement of =£200 Lawful Money, equal to 8G66, and a 
 salary of <£66 135. 4c?. or $222. But the continual fluctuations in the 
 value of money, rendered it necessary, almost every year, to change 
 the nominal amount ; and amid all the distresses of the times, the 
 records of the town show a determination, on the part of the people, 
 to make good the value which they promised at first. They even 
 continued the regular salary one full year to the widow of their de- 
 ceased minister, besides raising money to supply the pulpit with stat- 
 ed preaching. During a part of the year following his decease, they 
 employed the Rev. Mr. Leonard, of the Baptist Church, and both 
 congregations met once more in the same house — a pleasing evidence 
 of kind feelings, at that time, between the two denominations, which 
 are not known to have been essentially interrupted since. 
 
 The Rev. Otis Lane, a native of Rowley, and a graduate of Har- 
 vard University, was ordained as successor to Mr. Paine, Dec. 10th, 
 1800. The ordaining Council consisted of 18 Pastors and 2G Dele- 
 gates — 44 in all. The sermon was preached by the Rev. Abiel 
 Holmes, D. D. of Cambridge, and was published soon after. 
 
 The conditions on which Mr. Lane was settled, left him at liberty 
 to ask for a dissolution of the coini)act at any time when he might 
 decin the reasons sufiicienl for doing it, — which reasons he was bound 
 to communicate in writing to the other party at least one year before 
 the final action thereon. The Society had liberty to do the same 
 whenever two thirds of the legal voters should request it. This was 
 the first instance in Sturbridge, and one of the first in the State, of 
 any provision being made, in the settlement of a pastor, for dis- 
 solving his connection with the people. It is now the common prac- 
 tice. And although there is some diversity of opinion among good 
 people respecting its utility, all must accede to the following proposi- 
 tions. — 1. There may be causes which shall not only justify but de- 
 mand a separation between the pastor and his flock. 2. When either 
 
40 
 
 party think that such causes exist, the separation will be effected, in 
 some way or other, whether the contract makes provision for it or 
 not. — 3. The more peaceably such an event can be brought to pass, 
 the better it is for both parties. The truth of these propositions be- 
 ing allowed, it seems to follow as a necessary inference, that there is 
 reason for the modern practice, even if no other reason can be found 
 than that which Christ has assigned for the Mosaic law of divorce, 
 — the hardness of their hearts. 
 
 On the 30th of August 1801, a colony, consisting of 20 persons, 
 took dismission from this church, for the purpose of being organized 
 into what has since become the Congregational Church in Southbridge. 
 I have already noticed the erection of a Meetinghouse in that part of 
 the town. That house was commenced in 1797, and dedicated in 
 1800. The next year an Act was passed in the Legislature, " setting 
 off a number of the inhabitants of the South East part of Sturbridge, 
 the South West part of Charlton, and the West part of Dudley, into 
 a Poll Parish, for the purpose of a Religious Society." These were 
 of several different denominations, but they all came into an agree- 
 ment, that each denomination should have their own minister a part 
 of the time proportioned to the amount of money subscribed by each 
 for the support of preaching. This arrangement continued for the 
 space of 16 years, during which time 74 (liferent ministers tvere em- 
 ployed, embracing Congregationalists, Baptists, Universalists and 
 Methodists. At length the Congregationalists, having sold their in- 
 heritance in the Meetinghouse to the Baptists, were incorporated in- 
 to a distinct Society, ordained a minister, and sustained public wor- 
 ship by themselves in a private dwelling, till 1821, when they erect- 
 ed the house in which they now worship God.* 
 
 The departure of this colony from the original Church in Stur- 
 bridge, was not the only, nor indeed the most material diminution of 
 strength which it experienced about this time. For a number of 
 years subsequent to 1800, the most noticeable circumstance which 
 
 * The Rev. Jason Park, their first minister, was ordained Dec. 18, 1816, and continued 
 in the office 16 years. He was dismissed Dec. 18, 1832, and soon after removed to Michi- 
 gan, where he still preaches a part of the time. His successor, the Rev. Henry J. Lamb, 
 was ordained June 6, 1833. After a short ministry he was dismissed, April 28, 1835, and has 
 subsequently been settled in Chelsea, where he still remains. Their present pastor, the 
 Rev. Eber Carpenter, was installed Dec. 1, 1835. He was graduated at Yale College, stu- 
 died Theology at Andover, and was a settled minister in the first parish of York, Me. for se- 
 veral years before his removal to Southbridge. The Church and Society are in a peace- 
 ful and prosperous state. The number belonging to the Church is about 120. 
 
41 
 
 the records present, is spiritual declension. Family worship was 
 much neglected ; brotherly love was growing cold ; roots of bitterness 
 were springing up. The recorded lamentations of the pastor over 
 the deserted ways of Zion and in view of the small numbers who 
 were joining themselves to the Lord, are truly affecting. But the 
 time to fiivor Zion was at hand. It arrived in 1810. That year wa.s 
 a sea.son of " refreshing from the presence of the Lord," in which 40 
 members were added to the Church. This may be considered the 
 greatest, if not indeed the first revival of religion which the town 
 had ever enjoyed, and formed a new era in the history of this Church, 
 An impulse was given to spiritual religion, which is probablv felt 
 to the present day. Mr. Lane was pastor of this Church about 18 
 years, in which time it was increased by the addition of OS members 
 — 84 by profession, and 14 by letter. His dismission took place, 
 Feb. 24, 1819. He was afterwards installed over the Church in Vol- 
 untown and Sterling, Ct. where he remained till the infirmities of 
 advancing age disqualified him for a longer continuance in the gospel 
 ministry. He now resides with his children, affectionately remember- 
 ed by the Church to whose service he gave the vigor of his life. 
 
 The Rev. Alvan Bond, a native of Sutton, and a graduate of Brown 
 University, who had recently completed his Theological studies at 
 Andover, came to this town in June 1819, as a temporary supply, and 
 was ordained to the pastoral office, Nov. 30th of the same year. Mr. 
 Bond's first business was the " delightful task" of gathering into the 
 Church the fruits of a religious revival which commenced during the 
 last year of his predecessor's ministry. The number added to the 
 Lord at that time was about 25. " Nothing of special interest," says 
 Mr. Bond in a note to the author of this sketch, " occurred for seve- 
 ral years. At length in the autumn of 1825 God visited that people 
 again with the outpouring of his Spirit. That work was preceded 
 by special efforts on the part of the pastor to awaken professed Chris- 
 tians to their duty. The measures pursued consisted mainly in suc- 
 cessive and continued appeals to the Church from the pulpit, follow- 
 ed by pastoral visitation and meetings for prayer. Never shall I for- 
 get the powerful interest of that time of refreshing." About 4(( were 
 gathered into the Church in 1826, and nearly 20 in the year follow- 
 ing, as the results of this gracious visitation. During the 12 years 
 of his ministry in this place 123 were added to the Church, vSabbath 
 Schools and Bible Classes were established in different parts of the 
 town, and a Temperance Society formed. The talents of Mr. Bond 
 6 
 
42 
 
 being equally well suited to another, and in some respects a more im- 
 portant sphere, he was called away from the pastoral office, Oct. 3, 
 1831, to the Professorship of Sacred Literature in the Theological 
 Seminary at Bangor, Me. After a residence in that Seminary for the 
 space of three years, he returned again to the ministry, and was in- 
 stalled over the second Congregational Church in Norwich, Ct. May 
 7th, 1835, where he still remains. 
 
 The present pastor of this Church, a native of Plymouth, and a 
 graduate of Amherst College, preached his first sermon here Oct. 2d, 
 1831, — the next Sabbath after he had completed his Theological 
 course at Andover, and the day before his predecessor was dismissed. 
 He was ordained on the 21st of December following. With his 
 ministry the Society commenced their present method of supporting' 
 the gospel by voluntary subscription. The facility and promptness 
 with which it has uniformly been effected in this way, have removed 
 all thoughts of returning to the ancient method of taxation. 
 
 The wonders which divine grace has wrought in behalf of this 
 Church, since the time of my connexion with it, are too many to be 
 recounted in this brief sketch ; and yet they are too striking to be 
 wholly overlooked. In coming to this part of the Lord's vineyard 
 seven years ago, I came to a field " white already to harvest." A 
 deep religious interest, which began to pervade this town near the 
 close of Mr. Bond's ministry, continued with but little or no abate- 
 ment through the first year and a half of my own. Indeed, some 
 were admitted to the Church at .every communion season, with a 
 single exception, for more than two years. And often has the Spirit 
 of God since that time aroused this community, in a greater or less 
 degree, to the care of the soul. During these seven years the Lord 
 has added to this Church 203 by profession, and 56 by letters of re- 
 commendation, 251) in all. The whole number now connected with 
 it is 335. In the same period of time this Church and religious 
 Society have contributed to various objects of Christain charity about 
 $4,000, besides furnishing occasional aid to several young men of 
 this town in their preparation for the sacred ministry. 
 
 In 1835 the interior of the Meetinghouse was entirely remodeled, 
 on a plan which furnishes many more and much better seats, than it 
 supplied before. An example, so worthy of imitation, has since been 
 followed in at least six of the neighboring towns. 
 
 The followinor are the names of those who have sustained the office 
 of Deacon in the Congregational Church since its organization. 
 
43 
 
 The date indicates the year in which they were elected. A chasm 
 of 30 years in the Records of Mr. Paine's ministry, renders it im- 
 possible to assign a date to those who were appointed to office 
 durincf that interval. The four last named brethren still officiate. 
 
 1736, Daniel Fiske 
 1736, Ebenezar Stearns 
 1741, Isaac Newell 
 1747, Joseph Baker 
 1749, Edward Foster 
 1764, Moses Weld 
 
 Joshua Harding 
 Job Hamant 
 
 Roland Clark 
 Eleazar Hcbbard 
 1807, Joel Plimpton 
 180S, Daniel Plimpton 
 1826, Zenas Dunton 
 1826, George Davis 
 1832, Ephraim M. Lyon 
 1832, James Chapin. 
 
 THE BAPTIST CHURCH.* 
 
 The Baptist Church in this town is one of the oldest in the County 
 of Worcester. It was organized about the year 1750. Its original 
 members withdrew from the Congregational Church under the care 
 of Mr. Caleb Rice, several years earlier, but did not enter into a se- 
 parate organization. Their first place of worship was a school house, 
 situated not far from the spot where their first Meetinghouse after- 
 wards stood. 
 
 Rev. William Ewing was their first Minister. He is represented 
 as a pious and devoted man. , He had been a soldier in the French 
 war before he enlisted as a " soldier of the Cross.'* He served in 
 General Braddock's army, and was in the battle, called " Braddock's 
 fight." After a short ministry in this town he removed to another 
 part of the Lord's vineyard, and the Church was left without a pastor 
 for many years. In 1784 they erected a Meetinghouse on Fiske Hill, 
 by voluntary contribution, and on the 27th of Oct. the same year, the 
 Rev. Jordon Dodge was ordained their pastor. The Church was 
 
 * It is witli unfeigned renrcl. that I lincl inysuiriinaliU^ to give a moro cxti-udeil a>'ci)tmi of 
 this Church. Its records for the lir^t 30 ye;:rs are lost ; and sonn! important dociiincnts of 
 later date, which wore supposed to Ix; cxlanl,have utterly eluded the most diligent search. 
 It is only by the hope that thcsc_/ipio facts may ho of service to some other one in cgQipiiicu,' a 
 more complete li istory, that 1 am in luced to iiisc r I this imperfect ski'tcli. 
 
44 
 
 -* . . 
 greatly prospered during the first three years of his ministry. He is 
 
 said to have been a fervent, energetic speaker, having unusual com- 
 mand over the feelings of his audience. But his moral character at 
 length falling under censure, he was dismissed from his pastoral office 
 in 1788, and silenced from preaching soon after. Various attempts 
 were made to procure a success.or, and a number of ministers were 
 employed to supply the pulpit, among whom were Messrs. Baldwin, 
 Rathbun and Root. But no permanent teacher was obtained till 
 1794, when the Rev. Zenas L. Leonard, a native of Bridgewater, 
 and a graduate of Brown University, came to this place. After sup- 
 plying the pulpit statedly about two years, he was ordained as their 
 pastor, Sept. 15, 1796. During his ministry the Church enjoyed 
 several precious seasons of revival, and important additions were made, 
 especially in the years 1810, 18, 25, and 31. It is supposed that 
 during Mr. Leonard's whole ministry he baptized, in this, and the sur- 
 rounding towns, more than 200 persons. 
 
 In 1817, 22 members of his Church were dismissed, for the pur- 
 pose of forming a Church in Southbridge. The same year 14 per- 
 sons living in Brookfield were admitted as a branch of the Church in 
 this town, and received a share of ministerial labor. A few years 
 after this, a Colony of about 20 members were dismissed from Mr. 
 Leonard's charge and organized into a Baptist Church in Holland. 
 
 On the 13th of Oct. 1832, Mr. Leonard was compelled, by the 
 growing infirmities of age, to resign the pastoral office, having served 
 God in the gospel ministry for the space of 38 years. The Rev. 
 Abiel Fisher, formerly of Bellingham, supplied his place during the 
 last year of this period. 
 
 Their first Meetinghouse, by this time was going to decay; and as 
 it stood at an inconvenient distance from many of the Society, in 
 1832 they erected a new and far more commodious one, in the centre 
 village, on a corner of the old Burying-ground. It was dedicated Jan, 
 8, 1833, and the Rev. Addison Parker installed in the pastoral office 
 the same day. Mr. Parker was graduated at Middlebury College, 
 was afterwards a Tutor in Waterville, and had been settled over the 
 Baptist Church in Southbridge five years and a half when he was in- 
 vited to this town. He continued with this people till Dec, 12, 1835, 
 when he accepted a call to settle in Methuen, and was dismissed from 
 his charge in Sturbndge. The Rev. Isaac Merriam, formerly a min- 
 ister in Maine, was recognized as his successor in August 1836, and 
 took dismission the following year. 
 
45 
 
 The present pastor of the Church is the Rev. O. O. Steams, a 
 graduate of Brown University. His ordination took place Sept. 25, 
 1837. It is impossible to determine, with any accuracy, the number 
 admitted to this Church since its organization. Its present number 
 is not far from 130. 
 
 The Baptist Society have just completed the removal of their Meet- 
 inghouse to Fiskdale village, about 2 miles from its former location. 
 As this arrangement brings the Sanctuary to the doors of many who 
 have hitherto found it inconvenient to attend Church statedly, it is 
 presumed that they will hereafter avail themselves of that privilege. 
 
 The following are the names of those who have held the office of 
 Deacon in this Church since its organization, viz. 
 
 Daniel Fiske John Phillips 
 
 John Newell Jonathan Lyon 
 
 Jonathan Phillips Moses Fiske 
 
 Henry Fiske Prince Bracket. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 List of Graduates. 
 
 H. U. denotes Harvard University, Y. C. Yale College, B. U. 
 Brown University, D. C. Dartmouth College, and A. C. Amherst 
 College. The following mark, (*) indicates those who belonged to 
 that part of the town which is now included within the limits of 
 Southbridge. 
 
 Caleb Rice, H. U. 1764. Son of the Rev. Caleb Rice, the first 
 minister in Sturbridge. 
 
 Nathan Rice, H. U. 1773. Son of the same. He was Colonel 
 in the U. States Army which was stationed at Oxford during the 
 winter of 1798-9, and afterwards removed to Burlington, Vt. where 
 he died a few years since. 
 
 Joshua Paine, H. U. 1784, Son of the Rev. Joshua Paine. 
 Having completed his Theological studies, he was ordained Pastor of 
 the first Church in Charlestown, June 10, 1787, and was the first 
 minister settled there after the conflagration of the town by the Bri- 
 tish in 1775. He died Feb. 27, 1788, after a short ministry of less 
 than two years. 
 
 Thomas Babbit, H. U. 1784. Physician. He pursued his profes- 
 sional studies with the elder Dr. Warren of Boston, commenced the 
 practice of medicine in Gloucester, returned to Sturbridge in 1790, 
 and removed to Brookfield in 1803, where he died in 1813, having 
 acquired a distinguished reputation, especially as a surgeon. He 
 was a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, and accompa- 
 nied Gen. Eaton as Surgeon in his expedition against Tripoli. 
 
 Ephraim Allen, H. U. 1789. Physician. He studied with Dr. 
 Erasmus Babbit of this town, and settled in Salem, N. Y. where he 
 remained till his death. 
 
 Erasmus Babbit, H. U. 1790. Lawyer. He was also Captain in 
 the Oxford army. 
 
 Samuel C. Crafts, H. U. 1790. For some time Governor of the 
 State of Vermont. 
 
 Grosvenor Tarbell, Y. C. 1793. Physician. He pursued his me- 
 dical studies with Dr. Thomas Babbit, and settled in Lincoln. 
 
.] 
 
 4() 
 
 Alpheus Cheney, D. C. 1795. 
 
 John Paine, H. U. 1799. Lawyer. He' was son of the Rev. 
 Joshua Paine, studied law with the Hon. Jabez Upham of Brook- 
 field, and practised law in this town till his death. 
 
 Timothy Newell, H. U. 1802. He was the only son of Gen. Timo- 
 thy Newell, and died in Salem, N. Y. soon after he left College. 
 
 * Samuel Bacon, H. U. 1808. Mr. Bacon read law with W. C. 
 White, Esq. of Rutland, and Hon. I,evi Lincoln of Worcester, 
 While in this latter place he also edited the National ^Egis. Soon 
 after he left, he commenced the editing of the Hive, a political pa- 
 per, published in Lancaster, Pa. In 1812 he became an officer of 
 Marines in the U. States' service ; afterwards an attorney at law in 
 the State of Pennsylvania ; subsequently a Minister of the Episcopal 
 Church; and finally the principal Agent of the American Govern- 
 ment for persons liberated from slave-ships, on the coast of Africa, 
 whefe he terminated his valuable life, May 2, 1820. 
 
 Benjamin Rice, B. U. 1808. He pursued Theological studies at 
 Andover, and is now settled in Buxton, Maine. 
 
 Josiah J. Fiske, B. U. 1808. Lawyer. He commenced the study 
 of law in the office of the late Nathaniel Searl, L. L. D., of Provi- 
 dence, R. I. and completed it with Timothy Bigelow, Esq. of Boston, 
 after which he entered into the practice of law in Wrentham, where 
 his office became a favorite resort for students of the legal profession. 
 For several years he was Senator in the State Legislature, and for 
 some time a member of the Executive Council. During the latter 
 years of his life he became deeply interested in the manufacturing 
 enterprise at Fiskedale village, Sturbridge, where he departed this life, 
 Aug. 15, 1838. 
 
 * William L. Marcy, B. U. 1808. He pursued the study of law in 
 the city of Troy, N. Y., — settled in Albany, — soon rose to distinc- 
 tion in his profession, and is now Governor of the State of N. York. 
 
 Jacob Corey, B. U. 1808. Physician in Sturbridge. 
 
 * Daniel F. Harding, B. U. 1809. 
 
 David W. Fiske, B. U. 1825. Lawyer in Detroit, Michigan. 
 
 Calvin P. Fiske, B. U. 1826. Physician in Sturbridge. 
 
 Henry F. Leonard, B. U. 1826. Son of Rev. Z. L. Leonard, and 
 died at the house of his father soon after he left College. 
 
 David T. Lane, A. C. 1829. He had just completed a course of 
 Theological studies at Andover, and received a commission from the 
 A. B. C. F. M. with the intention of devoting himself to the Mis- 
 sionary cause, when his promising life terminated at the house of his 
 
LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 
 
 48 
 
 014 079 877 
 
 father, the Rev. Otis Lane, who at that time was settled in the minis- 
 try at Sterling, Ct. 
 
 William H. Taylor, B. U. 1837. A teacher at the South. 
 
 AbijaJi S. Lyon, B. U. 1837. Pastor of the Baptist Church in 
 Oxford. 
 
 Benjamin F. Broohs, A. C. 1837. Student at law in Cambridge. 
 
 Chester W. Carpenter. Member of Amherst College. 
 
 John B. Allen. Member of Union College. 
 
 Darius Gore. Member of Amherst College. 
 
 Alfred Belknap. Member of Amherst College. 
 
 Merrick Lyon. Member of Brown University. 
 
 Besides Clergymen, the following Professional men have pursued 
 the business of their respective professions in Sturbridge. Those 
 whose names are marked thus, (f ) still remain in the same occupa- 
 
 tion. 
 
 Physicians. 
 
 Meshech Remington 
 
 Erasmus Babbit 
 
 Jacob Corey, M. M. S. 
 
 Thomas Babbit, M. D. & M. M. S, 
 
 Mattathias Rice 
 
 t Abishai Howard, M. M. S. 
 
 Ephraim M. Lyon 
 
 t Jacob Corey Jr. 
 
 t Daniel Mason 
 
 Hosea Wheeler, M. D. 
 
 t Calvin P. Fiske, M. D. 
 
 Orson Parker 
 
 Cyrus Hutchins 
 
 t William S. Saunders, M. D. 
 
 Lawyers. 
 
 Erasmus Babbit Jr. 
 
 John Paine 
 
 t Georgs Davis. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 llllMllllilll 
 
 014 079 877 •