'/7// i AN Historical Address Delivered at Groton, Massachusetts, February 20, 1880, $g Repeat of the ©itteens, AT THE DEDICATION OF THREE MONUMENTS ERECTED BY THE TOWN. BY SAMUEL ABBOTT GREEN, A NATIVE OF THE TOWN. NEAR THIS SPOT STOOD THE FIRST MEETING HOUSE OF GROTON Built in 1666 AND BURNT BY THE INDIANS 13 March 1676 HERE DWELT WILLIAM AND DELIVERANCE LONGLEY WITH THEIR EIGHT CHILDREN. On the 27TH of July 1694 THE INDIANS KILLED THE FATHER AND MOTHER AND FIVE OF THE CHILDREN AND CARRIED INTO CAPTIVITY THE OTHER THREE. COLONEL WILLIAM PRESCOTT COMMANDER OF THE AMERICAN FORCES AT THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL Was born on the 20TH of February 1726 IN A HOUSE WHICH STOOD NEAR THIS SPOT u AN Historical Address Delivered at Groton, Massachusetts, February 20, i88o,j $tj Request of the dtitkens, AT THE DEDICATION OF THREE MONUMENTS ERECTED BY THE TOWN. BY SAMUEL ABBOTT GREEN, it A NATIVE OF THE TOWN. GROTON 1880. University Press : John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. TO QLi)c IHemorn of tl]e Glljilorctt CAPTURED DURING THE INDIAN WARS AND CARRIED OFF FROM GROTON, OF WHOM SOME MADE THEIR HOMES AND PASSED THEIR LIVES WITH THEIR CAPTORS, WHILE OTHERS CAME BACK TO THEIR NATIVE TOWN AND FILLED PLACES OF HONOR AND USEFULNESS, THIS ADDRESS IS INSCRIBED BY THE WRITER. HISTORICAL ADDRESS. IT is the duty of every community to commemorate the great deeds and to perpetuate the important events con- nected with its history. The town of Groton is perform- ing that duty when she erects the monuments which we dedicate to-day. These stones are set up to the pious mem- ory of the founders of the town, who worshipped God in that rude and humble meeting-house so soon to be destroyed by the Indians ; to the sad memory of that unfortunate family who on their own threshold were massacred by the savages ; and to the honored memory of a military commander, who was the ancestor as well as the descendant of a long line of dis- tinguished and useful families. There were not many places in the Massachusetts Colony settled earlier than this good old town ; but old as she is, she is yet too young to forget her children. With motherly affection she watches their career and notes their deeds. It matters not when they lived or when they died, their names are still remembered at the old home. It matters not whether they achieved distinction, as the world goes, or whether they pursued the even tenor of their way in quiet paths, — their memory is equally dear in the family circle. Connected with some of them are certain local incidents of historical interest which deserve to enter into the thoughts of future genera- tions. And I submit that it is sound public policy to mark the spots so closely associated with such events. It is an act in memory of the dead, for the benefit of the living. It is a debt due from the present to the past, and the town cheer- 8 fully recognizes the obligation. With us and those who fol- low us, these monuments will mean veneration for the virtues of the early settlers, sympathy for their misfortunes, and an appreciation of their noble deeds. The pioneer Puritans aimed at establishing a Christian Commonwealth on this continent; and the General Court, in granting plantations or townships, often required that there should be a sufficient number of settlers to support a minister. Every man was obliged to pay his share of the cost, and no one seemed inclined to question the right of such an obligation. Groton was incorporated as a town, May 25, 1655, and in the grant the General Court expressed the desire that it should be laid out " with all Convenient speede that so no Incourage- ment may be wanting to the Peticone r s for a speedy procuring of a godly minister amongst them." Various circumstances conspired to hinder the growth of the new settlement, and, much to the disappointment of the petitioners doubtless, it was some years before a minister was settled. The very first entry in the earliest book of town records — known as the " The Indian Roll" — refers to the building of a house for the min- ister and the place for the meeting-house. It is as follows : — " Att a generall towne meet[ing,] June. 23. 1662. " It was agreed vppon that the house for the Minister should be set vppon the place where it is now framinge. " Also that the meetinge house shall be sett vpon the right hand of the path by a small whit Oak, marked at the souwest side with two notches & a blaze " It is very likely that the minister's house was built about this time, as it was then in the framing ; but the meeting-house was not erected until four years afterward. The dwelling stood near the site of the present High School, and for several years the inhabitants met in it for worship on Sundays. It was a good-sized building ; for it was used as a town-hall and school-house as well as a meeting-house, and subsequently, at the outbreak of King Philip's War, as a garrison-house, when it was in the possession of Parson Willard. The exact spot where the meeting-house stood cannot now be ascertained, but its neighborhood is well known. The nearest clew to the site is found in the following entry in " The Indian Roll : " — "The Record of y e landes granted to M r gershom hubard at a ginrall town meeting June 29 1678 viz all the common land that lye neare the place wheir the old meeting house stood Dunstable hye way runing thorow it and the hye way Runing into the captains land wheir it may be Judged most convenient by them that are to lay it out " This record would place the site definitely on the North Common, and nowhere else. As the meeting-house was " sett on the right hand of the path," it must have stood on land now owned by Governor Boutwell. The principal roads met near this place, and it was the most convenient spot that could have been chosen. There were at that time probably not more than fifty families living in the town ; of these, perhaps fifteen were in the immediate neighborhood, and the others were scattered widely apart, mostly on the road to the Bay, as the road to Boston was called, and on the Lancaster highway. These were the two principal thoroughfares of that early period, and they converged to a point near the meeting- house. The circumstantial evidence in the case goes also to confirm this view in regard to the site. At a town meeting held March 5, 1665-66, it was voted that a pound should be built for the town's use, and be placed near the meeting-house. Un- fortunately, the leaf of the original record containing this vote is now lost ; but it was seen and examined by Mr. Butler, who quotes it in his History of the town (page 41). At this time the meeting-house was not built, but the place for it had been selected. There is no reason to suppose that the site of the pound was ever changed until comparatively modern times ; and there are many in this audience who remember the identical spot where it stood, which was near the North Common. IO Shortly after the re-settlement of the town, subsequent to its burning by the Indians, the usual discussion took place about choosing the site of the meeting-house, which always occurs in every small community. It was not peculiar to this town nor to that time, but is common to-day, here and else- where. On June 8, 1680, — "it was voted that the meetinghouse shall stand wheir the other meetinghouse or some wheir their about." This second meeting-house is known to have stood on the Middle Common, near the Chaplin School-house ; and this would be in accordance with the vote that it should be on the old site, or " some wheir their about." The next allusion to church affairs, found in the public records, is the following: — "Atagenerall Towne meeting. March 18. 1663. It was gener- ally] agreed, as folloeth "first. That M- Millar is by the Consent of the Towne ma[ni]- fested by vote to be desired if God moue his hart there unto to continve still with vs for our further edificat[ion.] Richard Blood desents from this in regard of the time of o r desiring him. w c he would have to be after the gen : Court. " 2 Iy That M' Miller shall haue a Twenty Acar lot layd out to him acording to the Townes grant to him " This vote gives the name of the first minister of Groton, and contains the only reference to him that is made in the town records. The inhabitants little thought at the time that he would be called upon so soon to render the account of his stewardship on earth. In three short months after the town had invited him to continue with them as their friend and pastor, his labors ceased, and he went to take his reward. In the first return of deaths, made by the town clerk of Groton to the clerk of the courts, the record of his death is thus given : — "M r Jn.° Miller minister of Gods holy word died. June 12 th 1663." 1 1 In the church records of Roxbury, kept at that time by the Reverend Samuel Danforth, and containing references to events throughout New England, it is written that — "June. 14. [1663.] M r John Miller Preacher of y e Gospell at Groyton, somtime Pastor to y e church at Yarmouth rested fro his labours." It will be seen that the date of his death in these two rec- ords differs by two days, but the one given by the town clerk is probably correct. As the pioneer preacher of the town when it was yet a wilderness, Mr. Miller deserves more than a passing notice. The Reverend John Miller graduated at Gonvil and Caius College, Cambridge, England, in the year 1627, and came to this country in 1637. He lived for a short time in Roxbury, where he was one of the elders in Eliot's church. He was settled in the ministry at Rowley, from the year 1639 to 1641, and perhaps later, as an assistant to the Reverend Ezekiel Rogers ; and during this time he filled the office of town clerk. He was made a freeman of Massachusetts, May 22, 1639. In the autumn of 1641, he was waited on by messengers from Woburn, who desired his services for their church ; but they found " Mr. Roggers loth to part with him." Johnson, in his " Wonder- Working Providence of Sion's Saviour, in New England," refers to him both in prose and in verse. The following is a specimen of the poetry : — " With courage bold Miller through Seas doth venter, To toyl it out in the great Western wast, Thy stature low one object high doth center ; Higher than Heaven thy faith on Christ is plaft:" (Chap. XL p. 131.) In the year 1642, letters were received from Virginia setting forth the great need of ministers in that distant colony. The communications were treated with much formality and gravity, and were read publicly on a lecture-day. In view of the state- ments made in the letters, the elders appointed a time for their special consideration ; and the legislature voted that, if the 12 churches consent, the magistrates would recommend the mis- sionaries to the government of Virginia. After careful delib- eration, Mr. Miller was appointed with two other ministers ; but he was forced to decline the invitation, on account of bodily infirmities. Mr. Miller's name appears in the list of grantees of New- bury, December 7, 1642. A lot of land in Rowley was granted him in January, 1643-44, which indicates that his ministry may have still continued in that town. From Rowley he moved to Yarmouth, where he was the settled minister, though the exact date of his removal is not known. His daughter, Susannah, was born at Yarmouth, May 2, 1647; and he un- doubtedly was living there at this time. He was probably the Mr. John Miller who was made a freeman of Plymouth Colony, June 1, 1658. In the summer of 1662, he was a member of the council that convened at Barnstable to consider the case of John Smith and others who had seceded from the Barnstable church. It is not known exactly when Mr. Miller came to Groton ; but probably some time during 1662, as in that year the town voted to build a house for the minister. His wife, Lydia, had previously died in Boston, August 7, 1658, leaving a large family of children, one of whom, John, was born in England. Mr. Miller was a man of decided liter- ary attainments, and a devoted servant of Christ. In less than ten days after Mr. Miller's death, the town voted to invite the Reverend Samuel Willard to be their min- ister. The vote was as follows : — " [Ju]ne 21 [i6]63 Its agreed by the Towne & manifested by vote that M r Willard if he accept of it shall be their minester as long as he lives \v c M r Willard accepts Except a manifest providenc of God apears to take him off " These persons folloing doe desent from this former vot. Rich- ard. Sawtell. Samuell Woods. James Parker : John Nutting James ffiske " Its agreed by the major part of the Towne that M r Willard shall haue their interest in the house &. lands that was devoted by the Towne for the minestry successively, provided they may meete in 13 the house on the lords day &. vpon other ocasions of the Towne on metings : And these persons ffollowing desent from their act " James Parker Ric. Sawtell Willia'" Longley John nutting Tho. Tarbole. Jun. " Richard Blood and John Clary att present "James ffiske. John longley. Joh laran[ce] Joseph laranc." It was then the custom throughout New England to settle a minister for life ; and it was not supposed that a town could prosper without a regular pastor, which accounts for the promptness in choosing Mr. Willard. He was a recent grad- uate of Harvard College, and was just entering upon his chosen profession. At the outset there was some opposi- tion to him on the part of a few men, but this subsequently disappeared. It reached its height in the course of a few weeks, when there was much asking of mutual forgiveness, as may be inferred from the records, which are in part destroyed, though enough remains to show this fact. The imperfect rec- ords read thus : — [Date torn off.] "... to exercise am ... all Edification in the ways . . . glory & o r owne everlasting goo . . . vs And further desiring y e Lord to . . . what hath been herein any way offensive] vnto him and to help euery one of vs to forg[et] & forgiue what hath been any way offensiue [to] each other as we desire the Lord to forgiue vs " The opposers, to whom the dissension was due, may have thought that he was too young and ill-suited to lead a flock amid the dangers and hardships of frontier life. Their fears, however, proved groundless : he showed himself on all occa- sions to be equal to the emergency, and in after-life attained a high degree of distinction. At the next meeting his salary was agreed upon as follows : — " [Sept.] 10 i: It is agreed by y e Consent of the Towne & mani- fested by vote that Mf Willard shall haue for this year forty pounds and if God be pleased so to despose of his & our hearts to continue together after the expiration of the yeare (w[e] hope) by o r aproving of him & he of vs we shall we shall [j/V]*be willing to ad vnto his maintenanc as [God] shall blesse vs. expecting allso that he shall render vnto our pouerty if God shall please to deny a blessing vpon our labours 14 " 2. It is agreed & voted his yeare shall begin the first day of July last past." It would seem from this vote that Mr. Willard entered upon the cares and duties of his ministerial life on the first day of July, 1663, only three weeks after Mr. Miller's death. It is probable that the minister's house at this time was finished, and Mr. Willard living in it, and preaching there on Sun- days. Not unlikely in pleasant weather he would stand in the doorway and exhort his hearers outside, and when it was stormy they would crowd within, listening with the same attention. We can imagine how it would try the patience of a good house- keeper to do the necessary cleaning after such a promiscuous gathering. At that time Mr. Willard had not entered upon those matrimonial relations which he took upon himself soon afterward, and there was consequently no Mrs. Willard to look after the minister's house and keep it in order. In this emer- gency the town passed the following vote : — "Sep. 21: 63 It is agreed by y e Town w th John Nuttin & voted that he the said John shall keepe cleane the meeting house this ye[ar] or cause it to be kept cleene & for his labour he is to h[ave] fourteen shillings " In the mean time, Mr. Willard was giving satisfaction to the town, all opposition to him having apparently ceased. Al- though there had been preaching here for two years, it would seem from an entry in the Roxbury church records, that a church had not been regularly established. It is as follows: — "July. 13. [1664.] A church gathered at Groyton & Mr Willard ordained " The distinction is purely technical, and relates solely to mat- ters of ecclesiastical government and congregational polity. The Puritans laid great stress on questions of this kind, and until a church was gathered the seals or sacraments could not be administered. During these two years of preaching, the Lord's Supper was never celebrated, and children were taken elsewhere to be baptized. This would make July 13, 1664, the date of the organization of the first church at Groton, as well as of the first ordination. A few weeks after this time, Mr. Willard took a young wife, 15 Abigail Sherman by name, the daughter of the Reverend John Sherman, who was the minister of Watertown. She lightened the labors of her husband, and made herself useful and beloved in the neighborhood. In the summer of 1665, — the exact date of the record being torn off, — Mr. Willard's salary was increased by ten pounds, which was a heavy tax at that time. The record reads thus : — "It was . . . of M r Willard our . . . declared by voate y' our time of . . . yerly so longe as god shall please to . . . gether shall begine and ende vpon the 29 [d]ay of September "It is furthermor agreed and decleared by voate y f M. r Willerde shall be alowed in consideration of his labours amonstevs this next yere Inseui[ng] the full p'p'osion of fifteye pounds to be payd by euery Inhabitant acordinge to his p'p'osion and as nere as may be in y' which his ne^sety requir[es] and furthermor in consideration of the tim being betwene the furste of July laste past and y e last of September next we Do herby agree and promise vnto him y f we will paye him twentey pounds for the first thirde parte of tim at or befor the last of September next and twentey pounds mor at or befor the furste of May next and twentey too pounds and 10 shilings more at or before the last of September next after which will be in y e yere 1666." The visible church in the wilderness was now beginning to prosper. It was outgrowing the accommodations furnished by the minister's house, and something larger than an ordinary habitation was needed. For a long time it must have been a matter of much thought, and the great question of the day among all classes of this little community. Finally the mat- ter culminated in the following vote : — "At a town metting vpon The 21 of the 7 mo ,h 1665 It was this Day agred and voated y' they will haue a metting house bult forth- with.] " It was this day agreed and by voate declard y' Sargent James Parker and Richard Blood shall make the couenenant with the car- penders for the caring one the worke p'uided y l noe other pay shall be Requrd of any man prouided he will pay his proposon in his labour giufig the carpendars a wekes warfig " A few weeks later, we find in the records the following con- i6 tract, made between the town and Mr. Willard, and duly signed by the different persons whose names are affixed : — " 16 of the io mo th 1665 It was this Day agreed and by a vnanams voatte Declared y l for as much as god by his p'uidanc haue setteled Mr Willard our Rauerante Pastor by sole[mn] Ingeagment amunst vs we do therf [ore] frely giue him y* acomadatione formerle stated to the minestry to gether with the house and all other apartanances apertayni[ng] ther vnto to him and his for eur from this day forth p'uided he do contineue with vs from this day forth till seaue[n] yere be xpired. But in cause he shall se cause to remoue from vs be for the seauen yere be xpired it is ag[reed] by our Rauerant paster one one par[t] and the town one the other y l he shall leaue the holle acomadations to the town and be aloued what it shall be judged by Indaferant men mutally ch[osen] on both parteys and so the hous and lan[d] to remayn the towns to despose of hauing aloued as afor- sayd for what improument he haue made vpon it T3ut if it shall pleas god to take him by death then the house and land ... to his eayers frely for euer and Hervnto we do enterchangebly sett to our hands the day and yer aboue wretten " Sam ll Willard James Parker William Lakin James knop " In the name and with the consent of the towne." In the summer of 1666, Mr. Willard's salary was again in- creased ; and at the same meeting several votes are recorded in relation to the meeting-house. "at a generall town meeting held 26 [probably 5th month, 1666.] ... It was agreed and declared by vote that our re[verand] Pastor M r Willard should haue sixty pounds al[lowed] him for this year Ensuing: beginning at the 29 of Semptember 1666: "And also euery inhabited, is hereby ingaged to pay vnto our reuerent Pastor the third pt. of his pption in merchantable corne at price currant and also to cutt and Car[t] to his house and there to Cord for him the aforesaid 30 cord of wood at hue shilling p cord, betwixt this & the 25th 10 "» " Att the same meetinge, Nathaniell Lawrenc and Samuell W r oods now agreed with to lay the planks vpon the meeting and to Do them sufficiently, and they are to haue 4 s 6 : d p 000 alowed them the meeting rat 17 " Att the same meeting, James Knapp & Ellis [Barron] were agreed with to make 2 doores for the meeting house & to male 2 p of stares for i £ and to lay the vpper floure for 4 s 6 "At the same meating Will Greene and Joshua Whittney where cohosen, to he[lp] the Glassiar Goodm[anJ Grant to bring vp his glasse and to be allowed for their tim in the meeting house rate " In December, 1666, "a true account" in detail of the cost of the meeting-house was rendered, giving the sum total of the expense up to that time. In modern phrase, we should say that the building committee made a report, giving the items of the cost, — although it was not signed by any of the members. It is as follows : — " A true account of all the pticuler soms of all the work clone to the meeting house frame and other charges as nailes hookes &: hinges glasse and pulpit et : Inpr for Thatch It to John morsse for thathing and asetting withs It for wages for those did attend the thatcher It carting clay & stones for Dawing the wall & under pinning It the Dawbing of meeting house walls It Laths and nailing on It for nailes It for nailling on the clap bords It for getting the sleepers and Laying of them It for planks 600 & halfe It fo seanson bords 700 & 5 foot It for laying of the lower flore at 4 s 6 d p 000 It making Doores and two payres of stares It for laying 40382 of bords on the gallery floors It for shutts for the windows and making p'uison for M r Willard to preach till we haue a pulpitt It making a pulpitt It for glass for the windows It for 200 of bords and more nails and more work done by carting & laying seats &c 50 16 10" The meeting-house was now built and ready for use. I doubt if there was a person in the town who rejoiced more at 3 5 " - 1 x 3 5 14 8 3 4 12 s 6 2 3 12 3 7 10 8 1 4 2 18 6 2 12 10 1 8 2 1 2 10 3 3 5 1 8 i8 this result than Mrs. Willard ; and her congratulations to the minister and brethren must have been hearty and sincere. In housewifely language, homely but expressive, there was to be no more tracking in of mud on Sundays, and no more clean- ing, after a hard day's washing, on Mondays. There was no dedication of the building, for this would have been contrary to the usages of the Puritans. They never indulged in such ceremonies ; and if the town had then erected these historical monuments, they never would have had the exercises of this afternoon. Perhaps some of you may think that it would have been wiser if this generation had acted in the same way. It is not unlikely, however, that Mr. Willard took a suggestive text and preached an appropriate sermon on the first Sunday that the building was used ; but of this there is no record. I hold in my hand, however, a little volume* containing three sermons which were preached there by Mr. Willard at other times. It is entitled, — VSEFVL INSTRVCTIONS for a prof effing People in Times of great SECURITY AND DEGENERACY: Delivered in feveral SERMONS on Solemn Occafions : By Mr. Samuel Willard Paftor of the Church of Chrift at Grot on. CAMBRIDGE: Printed by Samuel Green. 1673. * This copy has an especial interest for me, as it once belonged to a reverend ancestor of mine, and bears his autograph signature on the title-page. It came into my possession very lately, after being out of the family for more than one hundred and eighty years. T 9 It is a book of great rarity, — only three copies are known to be in existence, — -and it forms the only relic which time has spared of the first meeting-house of Groton. It suggests many a contrast between that dreary and unfinished building where our fathers met for worship, and this spacious and com- modious hall where we are now assembled. Like all meeting-houses of that period of which we have any record, this structure was probably square or nearly so, and, as we have reason to suppose, measured about forty feet each way. It was two stories in height, and had two doors. The roof was thatched, and probably a steep one. The front gallery was on the north side of the house, so that the build- ing must have been on the south side of the road, and faced the north. This confirms the theory that it stood on Mr. Boutwell's land. There were also galleries on the east and west sides of the building, and the pulpit was placed in the south end. The window-panes were small, and probably of diamond shape. There was, we may suppose, an hour-glass near the pulpit, which Goodman Allen, the sexton, watched and turned when the sands had run out. There was no ponderous Bible on the preacher's desk, as the reading of the Scriptures formed no part of the regular worship. With this exception, the order of services on the Lord's day was about the same as it is at the present time. The prayers were of an almost inter- minable length ; and the singing, doubtless from the Bay Psalm Book, was done by the congregation. The only instrument used was the pitch-pipe of the leader, who lined off the psalms to be sung by the singers. What was wanting in harmony was made up by fervent devotion. The Groton Musical As- sociation, I fear, would find much to criticise in the musical method of that clay. However much it may have fallen short of scientific tests, it inspired a religious zeal, and added a pious fervor to the exercises. It was the custom in the early days of New England life to choose a committee " to seat the meeting-house," as it was called; which meant to assign the seats to the congregation during a certain length of time. This was done every year or 20 two, to meet the changes that would naturally take place from death or other causes. The seats consisted of long benches with backs, capable of accommodating six or eight persons. The men were placed on one side of the house, and the women on the other ; and sometimes the young folks had special places given to them. Separate pews for families had not yet come into use. The seating committee was considered an im- portant one, but their decisions were not always satisfactory. The seats in the Groton meeting-house, however, were allotted by the town ; although in the record of the meeting of No- vember ii, 1667, there is a reference to a seating committee. Two public meetings, only one week apart, were held when they were assigned, " according to a rulle of proportion," as the expression was at a subsequent meeting. In the second Groton meeting-house, built but not finished in the year 1680, the seats were assigned, first, according to station or "ofis ;" secondly, according to age ; and, thirdly, wealth or " money." The votes at these two meetings were as follows: — "Att a Town mee[tin]g held 24 io m [1666.] " It was agreed & by vote Declared v' all the Lower seates in the new meeting house that now is : should be deuided six for men & six for women, And also the two front seats of the Gallery : the best prouision that the town can prouide both for the Minister and also for the people to sit upon, against the next Lords Day come seauenight and euery one to be placed in their places as they shall continue for the future " "Att a Generall Town meeting held 31 th io m 1666 fifor better gceeding in setling seates for the women as well as for men It was agreed & by vote Declared that the ffront Gallery on the north side of the meeting house should be devided in the midle ; and the mens that shall be placed there ; their wiues are to be placed by their husbands as they are below " It appears from the following entry that Mr. Willard's salary was continued during another year. A part of it was to be paid in "country pay," according to the custom of that time, and the prices for the different articles of food seem to be fair. They are based on the silver money of that period, paper currency not yet having come into circulation. 21 " Att a generall Towns meetting held 10 th 9™ 1667 It was agreed and by vote Declarded to giue vnto Mr. Willard our pastor for his maintenance for this present yeare beginning the 29 th 7™ should haue sixty pounds, to be paid at two payments the one halfe to be paid into to him, betwixt this and the Last of March next: and the other half of the pay to be paid vnto him by the Last of September next after the date here[of.] And for quality, the major r/ of the Towne agreed y £ one third p ( each inhabitant shloud pay his third p' of his proportion, in wheat at 5 s p bushell or porke 3 pence p pound or butter at 6 pence p pound fo . . . thirds in Indian corne at 3 s p bushelle : or other ... at the price currant as it passeth be- twixt . . . amongst ourseleues." This meeting seems to have been adjourned ; at any rate, another meeting was held the next day. Timothy Allen, the sexton, lived near to the meeting-house, which was, perhaps, one reason why he was chosen to the office. " Att a generall Towns meetting held n th Q mth ^67 The towne agreed with Thimothy Allen to swe[ep] the meetinge house & to puide water ffor the babtizing of the towns children from time to time, for this yeare ensuing, and the s d Thimothy alien is to haue twenty shillings allowed him for his labor in the next townes rate " At the same meettinge it was agreed that the seats in the meet- inge should be mad in a plaine and desent and comly manner, and euery seuerall company (that ar now present inhabitants and as they are now placed by the towne and the Committey formerly chosen,) they should build their seates at their owne charge, And all the fronteers both aboue and below, shall be at the Charge of the laying the foundation sills for the seates that are behind them ; And what euer any maior p' of any company that are placed to- gether in any seat shall agree to build their seats the minor are hereby inioyned to pay with their neighbors and it was further agreed that whereas the seates are larger than the present inhabi- tants do fill vp then when any shall placed hereafter in any seate or seates y' then they are hereby enioyned to pay an equall pportion to be & with those that haue laid down the pay for the building of the seates " In order to keep complete the historical chain of facts, I make the following extracts from the town records, which com- 22 prise every thing found there relating to the minister or the meeting-house, from this time to the destruction of the town : "The : 8 of the 10 moth [1668.] It was this day voted by the majior part of the towne that the minist[er have] sixty fiue pounds for this yeare beginning the twenty nine of September 68 shall shall [sic] be Raysed the one halfe vpon the Accomdations and the other halfe vpon all the visible estat of the towne will longley Richard blood and sum others declaring the Contrarie by voyt [1669.] "it was voted that our pastors maintenance should be Raysed the one halfe vpon the Acomidations and the other halfe vpon the visible estat of the towne and the sum to be sixtie fiue pounds as followeth first to pay 30 pounds in Come and tenn pounds in provision and what is wanting in provision to be payd in Corne and . . . twenty fiue pounds to be payd in . . . seasonnablelye or otherwayes in Corne [December 15, 1669.] " [At] the Same meeting were chosen [John P]age and John Nut- ting by the [town] to see that Mr Willard haue maintenance duly and truly payd him and that they bring the towne a generall acquit- ance : "Agreed with Timothy Allen for the keeping the meeting house cleane for twenty shillings and to be payd in his town charges " "At a generall towne meeting 12 of the 11 th month 1669 agreed vpon voted and agreed vpon that all publik charges excepting the ministers shold be raised vpon the accomedations till the towne see good to repeall it " "At a generall towne meeting Novem 1 [i]67o It is this day agreed vpon and voted that Mr. Willards maintenance and all other Towne charges shalbe raised for this present yeare the one halfe vpon accomodations and the other halfe vpon visible estate " At the same^meeting agreed vpon that Mr. Willard should haue sixty five pound for this present yeare and a sixth pt shalbe payd in flesh provision that is to say in merchentable pork beef butter and cheese betwixt this and chrismas merchentable wheat five shill per bush barley 4s per bush rye 4s pease 4s and Indian cor[n] flesh meat to be payd . . . per pound and butter at 6 . . . 23 [December 12, 1670.] "At the same meeting agreed with Timothy Allen to keep the meeting housse cleane for this following year for twenty shill — 1 00." "At a Generall towne meeting held October 16 167 1 This day agreed vpon by the towne and voted that Mr. Willard shall haue sixty five for this year ensueing and that he shall hau his wholl yeares pay by the latter end of december and the maner of his pay as followeth one third p' of his pay in prouision and english corne and those that cannot pay in prouision and in english corne they are to pay their Indian corne at two Shill and three pence the bushell soe as to answer that third pt of their pay which was to be payd in English corn and prouision and the rest of their pay they are to pay at prise currant (that is) their Indian corne — 3 s per bush wheat at 5' per bush e " — pease Rye barley at 4 s per bush and pork and beeffe at 3? per pond and for the maner of their payment to be raised as it was the last year the one half vpon the accommodations and the other vpon the estate "At the same meeting were chusen Sergent william lakin and nathaniell lawrance and that they shall se that Mr Willards pay shalbe brought in and faithfully payd to him according to the agree- ment of the towne" [February 27, 1670.] "Also agreed vpon at the same meeting that all thos seats that are yet to build in the meeting house shalbe built in a generall way also a commitee chussen to treat with thomas Boydon to build them (viz) Sergent James Parker corporall Knop John Pag Ellis Barron and Nathaniell lawrance" "At a towne meeting held Sept 16 1672 It was agreed vpon and by vote declared that there shalbe a committee chusen by the towne which committee shall haue power to seat euery man according to their best Discretion and that euery man shall pay to the value of the seat they sit in the seates also beeing valued according to their proportion and disproportion by this committee chussen and the committee chussen and the names of the men are these " Sergent Parker \ ( j ames knop j Sergent Lakin and - Tho : Tarball J I John Morsse " J 24 " Att a generall Towne meeting held Octo 14 1672 It was this day agreed vpon and by vote declared that Mr Willard shall haue for this present year eighty pound and the maner of his pay as fol- loweth a third part of his pay a follovveth In english corne and prouision wheat at five shil p bushell Rye barley and pease at four shill pe bushell pork and beefe at 3 d p pound and all such as can- not pay his third part of his pay in english corn and prouision they shall pay In Indian corne at 2 shill p bushell and the remainder of his pay In Indian Corn at 3 shill p bushell his fire wood also above his eighty pound " and furder these persons here set downe doe promise and Ingage to git Mr Willard hay mowing making and fetching home for eight shilling p load at a seasonable time (viz) in the midle of Jully " Sergent Parker Rich= Blood James ffiske Tho= Tarball Se Sergent Lakin Rich= holden and Timothy Allen Ellis Barron Thomas Smith John Morsse Joseph gilson Pelleg Lawrance " At the same meeting and by vote declared that Major Willard shalbe a fre commoner amongst vs for feed for cattell wood and timber " " At a generall towne meeting held The 7 th of the 9 th month 1672 It was this day agreed vpon and by vote declared that all Inhabitans in the towne shalbe seated in the meeting house according to a rulle of proportion impartially (by the towne or by a committee chussenby the towne) according to their best discretion and the seates to be valued and each man to pay according to the seat they sit in and they are to place in the seats below in the body of the meeting house sixe persons in a seate and to fill vp the first and second seat first and to sit fiv persons vnder the window and five persons in a seat in the front gallery and eight persons in a seat in the east and west gallery — the persons that are first to be seated are maried persons and also such single persons as may and ought according to a rulle of proportion be seated with them and the other young persons to be seated till they have filled vp all the seates that are already builded and all such persons as want seates after this done they have liberty granted to them by the towne at the sam meeting to build them them- 25 selves or their parents for them at their owne cost and charge in such a place or places as are thought most meete and convenient by the towne and those that are to build them and the towne have voted to submit to the coihitees order herein " and the commitee chussen by the towne at the same time the persons are as followethe " Sergent Parker j j ames Knop Richard Blood >-and Joseph Parker ) John Morsse " " At a Generall towne meeting held Nouember 13 1672 It was this day agreed vpon and by vote declared that the remainder of the pay that is still behind for the building the seates in the meeting house shalbe raised in a generall way notwithstanding all other actes done to the contrary either by towne or commitee " William Longley Seni descenting " " At a meeting of the select men no 13 72 A Towne rate made for the defraying of seuerall towne depts and put into the constables hand to gather (viz) for shuts for the windows of the meeting house 1 o o " " At a Generall towne meeting held J anevary 13 1672 This day agreed vpon and by vot declared that their shalbe a commit chossen for to seat the persons in the meeting house according to their best discretion and at the sam time a commitee chosen and their names are thess " Maior Willard -\ f Sergent Lakin Sergent Parker > and •< James fiske ) (John Lakin " " At a meeting of the sellect men febr 26 72 Agreed vpon by the sellect men that this division of land which is granted by the towne to the seuerall Inhabitants shalbe as followeth by proportion their shalbe one acre to one shill= disbursement in mr Willards Rat and we doe also agree that of this land that was prohibited shalbe only Indian hill and the hill behind Nath= Lawrances "and we doe furder agree that euery Inhabitant shall haue an equall proportion in these lands according to disbursements in mr Willard rat and for the rest of their proportion shalbe elsewheir wheir it is most convenient for them either Joyning to their medowes or of Oake land on this sid the Riuer 4 26 "only Mr Willard shall haue a proportion to a forty shilling dis- bursement — the town consenting hereto" " At a Generall Towne meeting held no : 19 1673 This day agreed vpon and by vote declared that Mr Willard rat shalbe raised ptly by vissible estat and partly by accommodations whatsoeuer votes have past formerly to the contrary as also it was agreed vpon that euery man henceforward shall haue their draughts of land according to their disbursements and those y* haue them not shall haue them mad vp and that he shall haue eighty pound for this present yeare and a fourth part of this payment to be payd in money and the other sixty pound to be payd in all sorts of graine at price currant as the court haue determined and in prouision — and ten pound for his firewood which is to be payd in by tim preffixd and if not then to pay their proportion in corne or prouision and also agreed vpon that this twenty pound in money is to be payd in to Capt Parker and to Richard Blood by the last of August or the first of septem— next — as also henceforward he shall haue a quarter of his payment in money yearly " " At a Generall Town meeting held October 20 1675 Agreed vpon and by vote declared that our Reueraud Pastor shall haue eighty pound for this present year sixty 1 in Corne and prwisi [ons] and forty pound of it to be payd betwixt this and y twenty hue of December next ensuing and the other 20I to be payd in the spring of the yeare vnlesse god by some speciall prouidence Doe preuent and the other 20I to be payd in money the last of august or the first of September in the year 1676 " and 40 cord of wood to be proportioned according to euery mans proportion to be caryed in now presently " "At a Generall Towne meeting held no= 8 1675 It was this day agreed vpon and by vote declared that their should be a committe chussen to treat with Mr willard about sending down to the generall court to Enforme and supplicat to them that we may have payd to vs what is our due from the countrey and also that the Billit of the soul- diers may be vpon the countreys account and also agreed vpon that if this would not doe for to stand it out at law with them " and the commitee chussen was Cap* Parker Leiftenant Lakin William Longley seni= John Page " 27 Nearly one-and-twenty years had passed since the little set- tlement in the wilderness was begun, and it was fast approach- ing its majority. The new town had enjoyed a moderate share of prosperity, and was slowly working out its destiny. The founders were poor in this worlds goods, but rich in faith and courage. They had now tasted the hardships of frontier life, but not as yet felt the horrors of savage warfare. The distant thunders of a threatening storm were beginning to be heard, and the occasional flashes put the early settlers on their guard. King Philip's War had broken out, and the outlying settlements were exposed to new dangers. The inhabitants of this town took such precautions as seemed needful, and trusted in Providence for the rest. They were just beginning to pre- pare for the work of another season, when a small band of prowling Indians alarmed the town by pillaging eight or nine houses and driving off some cattle. This occurred on March 2, 1676, and probably was a sufficient warning to send the inhab- itants to the garrison-houses, whither they were wont to flee in time of danger. These places of refuge were usually houses surrounded by a strong wall of stone or timber built Up as high as the eaves, with a gate-way, and port-holes for the use of musketry. In Groton there were five such garrison-houses, and under their protection many a sleepless, anxious night was passed by the inmates. Four of these houses were very near each other, and the fifth was nearly a mile away. The sites of some of them are well known. One was Mr. Willard's house, which stood near the High School ; another was Captain Parker's house, which stood just north of the hall in which we are now assem- bled ; and a third was John Nutting's house, on the other side of James's Brook. The fourth was probably north of John Nutting's, but perhaps south of Mr. Willard's. There is a tra- dition that one stood near the house formerly owned and occu- pied by the late Eber Woods, which would make the fifth garrison-house " near a mile distant from the rest." It is recorded in the inventory of his estate, on file in the Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge, that Timothy 28 Cooper,* of Groton, was " Sleine by the Indeins the Second day of march 1675-6." Cooper was an Englishman by birth, and lived, probably, somewhere between the present site of the Baptist meeting-house and the beginning of Farmers' Row. It is not known that there was other loss of life at this time ; but the affair was serious enough to alarm the inhabitants. They sought refuge immediately in the garrison-houses, as the Indians were lurking in the neighborhood. On March 9, the savages again threatened the beleaguered town, and, by a cunningly contrived ambush, managed to entrap four men at work, of whom one was killed and one captured, while the other two escaped. This second assault must have produced great alarm and consternation among the people of the town. The final and principal attack, however, came on the 13th, when the enemy appeared in full body, thought to be not less than four hundred in number. The inhabitants at this time all were gathered into the several garrison-houses for protection. During the previous night the savages scattered throughout the town, and the first volley of shot on the morning of the 1 3th was the signal for the general burning of the town ; and in this conflagration the first meeting-house of Groton was de- stroyed. With its thatched roof it must have burned quickly. In a very short time nothing was left but a heap of smok- ing embers. Although it had never been formally dedicated to religious worship, it had been consecrated in spirit to the service of God by the prayers of the minister and the devo- tion of the congregation. In this assault John Nutting's gar- rison was taken by stratagem. The men defending it had been drawn out by two Indians apparently alone, when the savages in ambush arose, and killed one of the men, probably John Nutting himself, and wounded three others. At the same time the garrison-house, now defenceless, was attacked in the rear and the palisades pulled down, allowing the enemy to * John Cooper, of Weston Hall, England, in his will, written November 21, 1654, and proved the next year, mentions his "brother Timothy Cooper now in New England," with children. The will is on file in the Registry of Probate, London. 2 9 take possession. The women and children, comprising those of five families, escaped to Captain Parker's house, situated just this side of the brook and north of this building. There is a tradition, which is entitled to credence, that John Nutting was killed while defending his log-house fort during King Philip's War. His wife's name appears a few months later in the Woburn town records as " Widow Nutting," which is confirmatory of the tradition. The Indians were a cowardly set, and never attacked in open field. They never charged on works in regular column, but depended rather on craft or cunning to defeat their adversary. The red " hellhounds " — as they were sometimes called by our pious forefathers — were always ready to attack women and children, but afraid to meet men. The inhabitants of the town were now safely and securely housed, and were masters of the situation. The enemy could do little more than to taunt and jeer them from time to time with insulting remarks. The main body of the savages passed the following night in " an adjacent valley," which cannot now be identified, but some of them lodged in the garrison-house which they had taken ; and the next morning, after firing two or three volleys at Captain Parker's house, they departed. They carried off a prisoner, — John Morse, the town-clerk, — who was ransomed a short time afterward. The following reference to him in an undated letter, written by the Reverend Thomas Cobbet to the Rev- erend Increase Mather, shows very nearly the time of his release : — " May y c 12th Good wife Diuens and Good wife Ketle vpon ransom paid, came into concord. & vpon like ransom presently [a]fter John Moss of Groton & lieftenant Carlors Daughter of Lancaster, were set at liberty & 9 more w'out ransom : " (Mather Manuscripts in the Prince Collection, at the Boston Public Library, Vol. i., No. 76.) The ransom for John Morse was paid by John Hubbard, of Boston, and amounted to " about five pounds." Morse's peti- tion to the Council to have Hubbard reimbursed is found in the Massachusetts Archives (lxix. 48) at the State House. 3Q The population of Groton at the time of its destruction was about three hundred inhabitants. The Reverend William Hubbard, in his Narrative, printed in the year 1677, esti- mates the number of families at sixty, and five persons to a family may be considered a fair average. The same authority says that there were forty dwelling-houses, besides other build- ings, burned in this assault, and only fourteen or fifteen houses left standing. Fortunately the loss of life or limb on the part of the inhabi- tants of the town was small, and it is not known that more than three persons were killed — of whom one was Timothy Cooper, and another, without doubt, John Nutting — and three wounded ; two were made prisoners, of whom one escaped from the savages and reached Lancaster, and the other, John Morse, was ransomed. The lot of these early settlers was, indeed, hard and bitter ; they had seen their houses destroyed and their cattle killed, leaving them nothing to live on. Their alternative now was to abandon the plantation, which they did with much sadness and sorrow. The settlement was broken up, and the inhabi- tants scattered in different directions among their friends and kindred. During the next autumn, John Monaco, — or one-eyed John, as he was sometimes called, — the chief leader in the assault, was brought to the gallows in Boston, where he suffered the extreme penalty of the law. In the early spring of 1678, just two years after the attack, the old settlers returned to re-establish the town. Undaunted by their bitter experience, they came back to begin life anew in the wilderness, with all its attendant hardships. It does not appear that the inhabitants were molested by the Indians dur- ing this period to any great degree, but they were by no means leading lives of ease or security. At times troops were sta- tioned here by the Colonial authorities for the protection of the town ; and the orders and counter-orders to the small gar- rison tell too well that danger was threatening. In the mean while, King William's War broke out ; and this time the enemy had material and sympathetic aid from the French in Canada. 3i The second attack on the town came in the summer of 1694, and the accounts of it I prefer to give in the words of contem- poraneous writers. Sometimes there are discrepancies in such accounts ; but, as a whole, they constitute the best authority. Cotton Mather, in his *' Magnalia," thus refers to it : — " Nor did the Storm go over so : Some Drops of it fell upon the Town of Groton, a Town that lay, one would think, far enough off the Place where was the last Scene of the Tragedy. "On yuly 27. [1694,] about break of Day Groton felt some sur- prizing Blows from the Indian Hatchets. They began their Attacks at the House of one Lieutenant Lakin, in the Out-skirts of the Town; but met with a Repulse there, and lost one of their Crew. Never- theless, in other Parts of that Plantation, (where the good People had been so tired out as to lay clown their Military Watch) there were more than Twenty Persons killed, and more than a Dozen car- ried away. Mr. Ger shorn Hobart, the Minister of the Place, with part of his Family, was Remarkably preserved from falling into their Hands, when they made themselves the Masters of his House ; though they Took Two of his Children, whereof the one was Killed, and the other some time after happily Rescued out of his Captivity." (Book vii. page 86.) Charlevoix, a French missionary in Canada, gives from his own standpoint another version, as follows : — "The Abenaqui chief was Taxous, already celebrated for many exploits, and commendable attachment to our interests. This brave man, not satisfied with what he had just so valiantly achieved, chose forty of his most active men, and, after three days' march, by mak- ing a long circuit, arrived at the foot of a fort [at Groton] near Boston, and attacked it in broad clay. The English made a better defence than they did at Pescadoue' [Piscataqua]. Taxous had two of his nephews killed by his side, and himself received more thun a dozen musket balls in his clothes, but he at last carried the place, and then continued his ravages to the very doors of the capital." (" History of New France," iv. 257, Shea's edition.) The following reference to the assault is found in the report, made October 26, 1694, by M. Champigny to the Minister Pontchartrain. The original document is in the Archives of 32 the Marine and Colonies at Paris ; and I am indebted to Mr. Francis Parkman, the distinguished historian, for the copy of it. " These Indians did not stop there ; four parties of them have since been detached, who have been within half a day's journey of Boston [/.