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CELEBRATION

ONE HUNDEEDTH ANNIVEESAEY
OF THE INCORPOKATION OF
WESTMINSTER, MASS.
CONTAINING AN
ADDRESS, BY HON. CHARLES HUDSON,
or LEXINGTON; A
POEM, BY MR. WILLIAM S. HEYWOOD,
OF MILFOBD;
AND THE OTHEE.
PROCEEDINGS AND EXERCISES CONNECTED WITH THE OCCASION.

BOSTON:
PRESS OF T. R. MARVIN & SON, 42 CONGRESS STREET.
1859.

Westmhister, November 25, 1859.
Hon. Charles Hudson :
Dear SiV,— Agreeably to a vote of the Inhabitants of the Town, passed at a
legal meeting, we respectfully request a copy of the Address prepared by you for our
Centennial Celebration, that it may be published for distribution among the inhabitants
of the town. Permit us to express the hope, that you will comply with our request.
Very respectfully, yours,
BENJAMIN WYMAN,
WILLIAM S. BRADBURY,
JOEL MERRIAM, Jr.,
Committee of Pitblication,

Lezitu/ton, December 1, 1869.
Gentlemen :
Your kind note of the 25fh ultimo has been received ; and I do not feel at
liberty to deny a request coming, as it does, from the Inhabitants of a Town with which
I am connected hy so many pleasant associations. But I wish to embrace this oppor
tunity to explain the character of the Address. I am sensible that it differs from most
Addresses on such occasions. I was fully aware that an Address, more popular in its
character, could be prepared with much less labor, and would be better adapted to the
mere convivialities ofthe day. But being apprised in advance that it would be printed,
and distributed among the Inhabitants of the Town, I chose to give it the character of
a History, rather than that of an Oration. Great attention is paid, at this day, to his
torical and genealogical research, in every part of the country ; and great efforts are
made to procure Town Histories, and thus preserve the perishing papers and fading
traditions connected with our early settlements. As no full History of your Town has
been written, and as many facts could now be collected which in a few years will be
irrevocably lost, I have purposely given to my Address a historical and genealogical
character, believing that that would be the most profitable in the end, though perhaps
less pleasing at the time. I have been more full in the genealogy of the early families
than of the later ; because the people now living can more easily supply the omissions
in the later families, than in the families of the earlier settlers.
I am, gentlemen, very respectfully,
Your obedient and hurable servant, CHARLES HUDSON.
Benjamin Wyman,
William S. BBADBtrRY,
Joel Mebbiam, Jr., Esqrs.,
Committee of PvblicaMon.

NOTE.
Westminster was incorporated as a District, October 20, 1759.
That day would have been selected for the Celebration, but the adjoining
town of Princeton was incorporated the same day, and it being under
stood that they would celebrate on that day, it was thought expedient
to select some other day, so as to avoid aU interference. Consequently,
the 6th of October was selected for the Celebration at Westminster.

ADDEE SS

We have met here to-day, not to honor the living, but to
revere the dead. And, though we rightfully rejoice in the present,
we glory in it as the result of the past. I stand here, to-day, to
speak for the past ,• and, in the name of that past, I welcome you
to these hills and vales, made fruitful by the toil of your fathers ;
to these rivulets, which watered and fertilized their meadows ; to
these delightful landscapes, which cheered and gladdened their
hearts ; to this Hill, where they knelt in devotion, and to yonder
valley, where their remains rest in peace.
I am certain that the joys of this day will be heightened by a
recurrence to days gone by, — by pleasant memories of the scenes of
your childhood, and by the fond recollections of the mothers who
bore, the fathers who protected, and the friends who surrounded
you. The present is but the offspring of the past ; and filial
gratitude requires that we should, at stated times, turn our atten
tion to what has gone before us. And surely it is not too much to
turn aside from the bustle and business of life once in a Century,
and contemplate our origin as individuals and as a community.
The causes which led to the settlement of New England, the
landing of the Puritans upon these shores, the sufferings they en
dured, and the fortitude with which they bore them — their love of
education, their attachment to civil liberty, and, above all, their
ardent devotion to the great principles of religion, " are known and
read of aU men," and need not be repeated here.
Two hundred years ago, this section of the Commonwealth had
been traversed only by the red men of the forest ; but they were
then friendly, and were in a manner under the protection of the

Massachusetts Colony. For, on the 8th of March, 1644, at a
Court held at Boston, Cutshamekin and Squaw-Sachem Masconomo,
together with Nashacowam and Wassamagoin, two Sachems near
the great Hill of the west, called AYachusett, came into the Court,
and, according to their former tender to the Governor, desired to be
received under the protection and govemment of the Colony.
The covenant then entered into included aU the Indians between
the Merrimack River and Taunton, and so embraced those who
had wandered about the Wachusett. The ceremony of receiving
them consisted in teaching them a few of the great principles of
the Christian religion and the ten commandments. When they
were told that they must not swear falsely, they answered, in their
simplicity, that they " never knew what swearing an oath was."
And when they were told that they must not work on the Lord's
day, they innocently said, " it was a small thing for them to rest on
that day, for they had not much to do on any day ; and therefore
they would forbear on that day." The Chiefs were received with
great and solemn parade. They presented the Court with twenty-
six fathom of wampum, and the Court gave each of them a coat
of two yards of cloth, a good dinner, and to each of them a cup
of sack at their departure ; so they went away joyfully.
But while they were in quiet possession of the country north of
the Wachusett, and manifested no unfriendly disposition, Philip,
the bold and daring Chief of the Wampanoags, was, in 1675, plot
ting the extermination of the English settlements. CaUing to his
aid various tribes, and being joined by the powerful Narragansets,
he became the terror of the Colonists. Massachusetts, Plymouth,
and the neighboring Colonies, in order to resist the formidable
force of this wily and daring Chief, ordered out most of the
effective men in their respective dominions. This war-, which
lasted only about a year, was one of a most fearful and sanguinary
character. Villages were bumed, famUies were massacred, and all
the barbarities of savage warfare were inflicted upon the inhabitants.
And, whUe the women and children were exposed to all the hor
rors of the tomahawk and scalping-knife, of immediate destruction,
or hopeless captivity, the poor soldiers in the field suffered incredi
ble hardships from a winter campaign in unexplored forests and
dismal swamps, exposed at all times to the midnight surprise or
secret ambush of an insidious foe, practiced in all the arts of guUe,
and in every species of cruelty and torture. This war cost New

England the loss of six hundred men, and about the same number
of dwellings laid in ashes by the ruthless savages.
Owing to the poverty of the Colonies, these soldiers, the brave
defenders of the English settlers, were, at the time, but poorly
rewarded for their services. After the lapse of more than half a
century, the surviving soldiers belonging to Massachusetts, and the
representatives of those who were sleeping with their fathers, peti
tioned the Legislature for further remuneration. Whereupon, the
General Court, on the 15th of June, 1728, Resolved,
" That Major Chandler, Mr. Edward Shove, Major Tileston
and Mr. John Hobson, be a Committee, fully authorized and
empowered to lay out two tracts of land for townships, of the
contents of six miles square each, in some of the unappropriated
land of the Province ; and that the said lands be granted and
disposed of to the persons, whether ofiicers or soldiers, belonging
to this Province, who were in the service of their country in the
Narraganset war, or to their lawful representatives, as a reward for
their public service ; and is in full satisfaction of the grant formerly
made them by the Great and General Court ; forasmuch as it is
the full intent and purpose of this Court, that every officer and
soldier who served in said War, shall have a compensation made
him over and above what wages and gratuities any of them have
already received :
" That public notice shall be given in the News Letters, and
advertisements be posted up in every town in the Province, notify
ing all persons that have served, and were in that fight, and the
legal representatives of those deceased, that they give or send a
list of their names and estates to this Court, at their next fall ses
sion ; and when such list is completed by a Committee then to be
appointed by this Court, the Grantees shall be obliged to assemble
in as short a time as they can conveniently, not exceeding four
months, and proceed to the choice of a Committee to regulate each
propriety, who shall pass such orders and rules as will effectually
oblige them to settle sixty families at least, in each township, with a
learned orthodox minister, within the space of seven years, from
the date of this grant : Provided nevertheless, if the said Grantees
shall not effectually settle said number of families in each township,
and also lay out a lot for said settled minister, one for the ministry,
and one for the schools in each of said townships, they shall have

8
no advantage, but forfeit their said grants ; any thing to the con
trary herein contained notwithstanding."
At the next session of the General Court, held in December,
1728, the Committee, by their Chairman, Major John Chandler,
submitted a " plan describing a tract of land containing 23,286
acres, 2 roods and 10 perches, without allowing for the pond,
which is supposed to contain at least 246 acres, 2 roods and 10
perches. The residue (being 23,040 acres) is the content of six
miles square, and laid out in as regular a figure as the land would
admit of, for one of the townships granted by the General Court at
their sesion held May 29, 1728, to the Narraganset soldiers ;
which land lies adjoining to the towns of Rutland and Lunenburg
Additional Grant, (now Fitchburg,) and elsewhere by Province
land." Upon this Report it was resolved, " That the land protracted
and described in the within plan, be and hereby is confirmed to the
officers and soldiers who served in the Narraganset war."
The list of claimants increasing, the Legislature at its session in
June, 1732, ordered that further townships be surveyed, so that
120 persons, whose claim shall be allowed within four months, shaU
be entitled to a township six miles square, under the aforemen
tioned regulations and restrictions. Though the tract which now
constitutes the town of Westminster, was surveyed, and by resolve
granted to the Narraganset soldiers in 1728, it was not specifically
confirmed to a particular company till 1732. Then it was resolved
that this grant should belong to 120 persons, on condition that
they should settle sixty families in seven years ; but this time was
subsequently extended two years further.
. A general raeeting of the Grantees was held by adjournment on
Boston Common, June 6, 1733. It was found that the whole
number of Grantees amounted to 840 ; whereupon it was agi-eed
that they be divided into seven separate societies, of 120 members
each — this being the number fixed upon by the Legislature for a
township. The Company which afterwards drew the township
north of Wachusett, was composed of 17 Grantees from Cam
bridge, 33 from Charlestown, 27 from Watertown, 5 from Weston,
1 1 from Sudbury, 7 from Newton, 3 from Medford, 6 from Mai
den, and 10 from Reading.* Of this number, only 19 were then
* As this list shows, in part, -who served in the Narraganset War, it may aid
some inquirer by inserting the names. See Appendix A.

9
alive who had served in person, the other claimants were the heirs
and representatives of those who perished in the war, or who had
died subsequently. This Company organized by choosing John
Cotting of Watertown, James Lowden of Charlestown, and Joseph
Bowman of Lexington, a Committee to manage their affairs.
At a general meeting of the Narraganset Grantees, held at Boston,
October 17, 1733, the townships were numbered ; and No. 1, on
Saco River, was assigned to Philip Dane and Company, from
Ipswich and vicinity. It is now known as the town of Buxton,
Maine. After disposing of No. 1, they agreed to dispose of the
others by lot ; but before casting lots, it was agreed that the Com
pany which should draw No. 2, near Wachusett, should assign 500
acres to His Excellency Gov. Belcher, for his honored father's right.
On casting lots, James Lowden, for the Company, from Cambridge,
&c., received No. 2, north of Wachusett.*
Thus far the Grantees of the different Companies met together,
and transacted their business in common. But having formed
separate Companies, and each received its own township, each
Company, in future, transacted its own business without any refer
ence to the others. The Proprietors of Narraganset No. 2, (for
this was the name by which the township was known, till it was
incorporated in 1769,) held their first meeting in Cambridge, De
cember 3, 1733, and organized by choosing Joseph Bowman,
Moderator, and William Willis of Medford, Clerk. At the same
meeting they chose Joseph Bowman, then and for many years a
prominent citizen of Lexington, John Cotting of Watertown, and
James Lowden of Charlestown, a Prudential Committee. Subse
quently, at an adjourned meeting, Benjamin Brown of Watertown,
William Brattle of Cambridge, Benjamin Pemberton and Edward
Jackson of Newton, John Hall of Medford, and Nathaniel Nor
cross of Weston, were admitted to the Committee.
At the same meeting they also made choice of a Committee to
divide and lay out their lands. This meeting was adjourned to
• No. 3, now Amherst, New Hampshire, but formerly known as Souhegan-
"West, was drawn by Richard Mower, for a Company from Salem and vicinity.
No. 4, at Amuckeag, or Quabbin, was drawn by Edward Shove. No. 5, at
Souhegan-East, now Bedford, New Hampshire, was drawn by Col. Thomas
Tileston. No. 6, in the County of Worcester, now Templeton, was drawn by
Samuel Chandler. The grant for this Company was at first in New Hampshire,
but not liking the location, another grant was substituted, viz., what is now
Templeton. No. 7, in Maine, was drawn by Col. Shubael Gorham.
2

10
the 17th, and then to the 24th of the same month. At these ad
journed meetings, they agreed to lay out their lands in lots of sixty
acres ; and the Dividing Committee was authorized and empowered
to add to this quantity where the soil was poor, so as to equalize,
as nearly as possible, the value of the lots. They were further
directed to omit all meadows and cedar swamps, if any there were.
At the same meetings, they authorized the Standing Committee to
tax the shares, and to apply to the Legislature for any additional
powers they might deem necessary, in the management of their
affairs. The Proprietors did not meet again till July.
In the interim, however, the Standing Committee held several
meetings at Capt. Bunker's in Charlestown. At their meeting,
December 28th, they directed the Dividing Committee to '-fix
upon a place for house lots. His Excellency's farm, and a proper
place for a meeting-house ; and then lay out land sufficient for a
meeting-house, training-field, and a burying-ground, not exceeding
ten acres ; then a lot for the first settled minister, a lot for the
ministry, another for schools, and then lots for the Proprietors."
The place selected for the meeting-house was on the Hill, where
the first two meeting-houses were erected. The Governor's farm
was located southwesterly from the meeting-house lot, and con
tained 500 acres, and 20 acres for roads.* It included the land on
which Capt. Knower, Messrs. James, John, and Joseph Sawin,
Mr. Aaron Darby, and Mr. Asa Holden, now reside.
In fixing upon house lots, the Committee first laid out the
" town street," where it now runs, through the Village and over
the Hill, and then laid out the lots in the form of a parallelogram,
one hundred and sixty rods by sixty, with one end bounded on the
street. This form was departed from, in a few instances, in the
first range of lots, and very frequently in other cases. At the same
meeting the Standing Committee, foreseeing that the seven years
allowed to settle sixty families in the township, would expire before
that number could be settled, agreed to petition the General Court
for an extension of the time. An application was accordingly
made, and in AprU, 1734, they obtained an extension of the time
tUl June 1, 1741.
The Standing Committee met again January 21, 1734. At that
* In laying out their lots, they generally specified a certain number of acres
for roads, so that if their lauds were subsequently taken to that amount, they
were not entitled to any damage.

11
time no settlement was made, or house erected, in the township.
The Committee contracted with Edward Jackson of Newton, and
Zechariah Smith of Watertown, for ninety dollars, to " erect a
house in the township, twenty-two feet long, sixteen feet wide, and
seven feet studs, to be built of square timber, framed roof, covered
with long shingles, and having a good stone chimney." This
dwellmg was erected early in the season of that year ; for at their
meeting in July, 1734, the Proprietors voted "that the house erected
on lot No. 1, be for the use of the Proprietors for seven years, and
after that shall belong to the person who shall own the lot." This
was the first building erected in the township. It was built of
square timbers, laid one upon another, after the manner of building
log-houses. It was situated a little west of the present Baptist
meeting-house, and was unoccupied, except occasionally by survey
ors, committees, «&:c. who visited the township, tUl 1737, when it
became, for a short time, the residence of Capt. Moore, the first
settler in the town.
In July, 1734, the Proprietors met at Watertown, and voted
that lot No. 8, be assigned to the first settled minister, and No. 95,
be the ministerial lot. After disposing of these, they proceeded to
draw their lots. These lots contained about sixty acres, and were
caUed First Division Lots. The rest of the land remained undi
vided, and was owned in common by the Proprietors.
Though the Proprietors had several meetings, nothing of moment
was transacted till, at their meeting in May, 1735, they contracted
with Maj. William Brattle, of Cambridge, to build a good saw-mill
in the township, and keep it in repair twenty years, in consideration
of twelve acres of "meadow swamp," to be set off to him by the
Proprietors ; and the privilege of flowing aU the meadows above his
lot, from the last of September to the tenth of April, from year to
year. This mill was erected and completed early in 1736. This
was the second building erected in the town. It was located at the
head of the " Narrows," where Mr. Wyman's dam now stands.
The erection of this mill must have exerted a very considerable
influence upon the early settlement of the place ; as it afforded
faciUties for buUding, which were much needed in this wilderness.
Timber was abundant, and with a mill to convert it into suitable
forms for building, one of the great evils of a frontier settlement
was overcome.
As yet no settlement had been made. The Proprietors were not

12
very desirous of leaving the comforts of civilized life, near the
metropolis, and of settling in a wilderness, made vocal by the
howling of wild beasts. At that time the whole township was a
dense and almost impenetrable forest. Save the surveyors and
a few land speculators who visited the place, these fields had never
been traversed but by the roving savage. These rivulets which
now contribute to works of art and to the comforts of civilized
life, then meandered through the thickets or glided down their
rocky beds unseen by the white man. The lofty pine and the
stately hemlock bowed in the breeze and sang their mournful
requiem to none but the red men of the forest. No wonder there
fore, that our fathers were not over solicitous to take up their abode
in a trackless waste, and to exile themselves from the comforts of
life, and from the social and religious privileges of older settlements.
At their meeting in May, 1735, the Proprietors offered a bounty
of forty dollars each to the first fifteen families which would
settle in the township before the 30th of September, 1736. This
proving ineffectual, at their meeting in June, 1736, the Proprie
tors offered a bounty of thirty-three dollars to each of the first
sixty families, which would settle in the township within two years.
At the same meeting, they levied a tax of sixteen dollars and sixty-
seven cents upon each Proprietor, to enable them to hold out these
inducements to settlers. The bounty above mentioned was offered
on condition that each settler should enter into bonds to clear,
fence, and prepare for cultivation, three acres of land, erect a framed
house, and continue in the place a certain length of time ; each
family to settle on a separate lot. Though they required each set
tler to erect a framed house, it will not be considered a very ex
travagant demand, when it is known that the house need be only
eighteen by sixteen feet — barely enough for one good-sized room.
No settlement, however, was effected till the next spring.
We come now to the most difficult part of our narrative. To
fix the dates at which the different families came to the place, is no
easy task. Here the Proprietors' records afford us but little assist
ance. The settlement was not sufficiently early to be connected
with scenes of Indian warfare, and so have the dates written in
blood, in the annals of savage massacre ; and, at the same time it
was so remote, that accurate records were not kept. Nor will the
recollections of the oldest inhabitant reach back to the period
when the first settlers came to the place. Some, and perhaps

13
most of the settlers who had families, were in the place a portion
of one or two seasons before they removed their families. If,
therefore, all the particulars were known, it would be difficult to say
when certain persons became permanent inhabitants ; and it is more
difficult now, when most of the facts are lost.
Captain Faikbanks Moore, from Lancaster, was the first who
removed his family into the place. He came to Narraganset in
March, 1737. He at first took up his abode in the house erected
by the Proprietors on lot No. 1. This, however, was not the lot on
which Captain Moore settled. He simply took up his residence in
the Proprietors' house, till he could erect a dwelling upon his own
farm, which he did in the course of the season. It was a framed
house, and was situated at the north-east end of the Pond, near the
spot where Mr. Solon Raymond now resides. Here, if we may
believe tradition, the first birth and the first death occurred — both
children of Captain Moore. No record of this birth or death has
been found ; but there is a rough stone in the old part of the burial
ground, marked, "A. M. 1742," said to have been erected for
Abner Moore, a lad twelve or fifteen years of age. This is un
doubtedly the oldest stone in the yard. Captain Moore was an
active and enterprising citizen. As early as 1740 or '41, he
opened a pubhc house, which was the first opened in the town
ship. He was engaged, like many others in his day, in land specula
tions. Nor did he confine his operations to Narraganset ; but ex
tended them to the unsettled townships on Connecticut River. He
left this place probably about 1746, and went to Fort Dummer,
now Brattleborough, Vermont, where one of his sons had fixed
his abode. While at that place, he was on a visit at his son's
house, about two miles from the Fort, when the Indians attacked
the house in the night time. Moore and his son fought desperately,
but were overpowered by numbers, and both massacred.*
* Stephen Greenleaf, Esq., of Brattleborough, Vermont, in answer to a letter
addressed to him on this subject in 1831, says : " In my early days I lived two
years on a farm then called ' Arm's Meadows,' where the remains of Fairbaioks
Moore lie interred in the barn-yard. I have in recollection what Colonel John
Sargeant (the first white person born in Vermont) many times repeated in my
hearing, that Fairbanks Moore was on a visit at his son's house (something
more than two miles from the then Fort Dummer ); that while he was there, the
house was beset by the Indians, and a bloody scene ensued ; that Moore and his
son fought bravely, were overpowered and killed in the conflict, and eventually

14
Deacon Joseph Holden was the second settler in the town. He
came to the place in March, 1737, and commenced clearing his
land. He soon returned to Watertown, and, on the 13th of June,
he left that place for the wilds of Narraganset. He arrived at
Lancaster the next day, where he left his wife and two young
daughters, together with his son Abner, a lad fourteen years of age,
while he and his son Joseph, then just of age, came on to the town
ship, where they arrived, June 15th. His son Stephen, a young
man of twenty, soon joined them, and they commenced erecting a
house. We have already said that Captain Moore built him a house
that season. The houses of Deacon Holden and of Captain Moore
were both raised the same day, and were the first framed houses in
the place. Deacon Holden's house was situated on or near the
spot where Deacon Joel Merriam now resides, a few rods west of
the Baptist meeting-house.
Having put his house in a comfortable condition, his wife and
children came from Lancaster during the autumn, and took up their
abode in this howling wilderness. On this lot Deacon Holden
resided till his death, which occurred November 30, 1768, in the
eighty-sixth year of his age. During his thirty-one years' residence
in Narraganset, he enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his feUow-
citizens. He was elected the first Deacon of the Church which was
gathered in 1742, and filled various offices of honor and trust.
His son Abner, of whom we have already spoken, became one of
the most popular and influential citizens in the town. Called early
to pubhc life, he became acquainted with public business, and, for
a long series of years, sustained some of the most important offices
in the gift of the people of the place. He filled the office of Dis
trict and Town Clerk, served in the capacity of Selectman, and
Delegate to the Provincial Congress, and was for yeai's the prin
cipal Magistrate in the place. Some of these offices he sustained
till the close of his life.
He married Ehzabeth Darby, February 25, 1752. His children
were, Joseph, born August 2, 1753 ; Ruth, born December 10,
1754 ; EUzabeth, born January 17, 1757 ; Rehef, born October 18,
1758 ; Abner, born June 29, 1760 ; Phebe, born July 30, 1762 ;
buried in said barn-yard. The grave is monumented only with a solitary stone,
placed horizontally upon it, unhewn and uninscribed, and is passed over as
heedlessly by the trampling of feet and the rattling of wheels, as any other ma
terial in the cart's way."

15
Ezra, born December 5, 1764 ; Abigail, born April 25, 1767 ,- and
Lucy, born February 25, 1770.
It was the fortune of Abner Holden, Esq., to witness all the
difficulties and dangers through which the infant settlement had
to pass ; and to behold it at last permanently established, enjoying
peace and prosperity. He died October 22, 1805, aged eighty-
thi'ee, after a residence in the place fifty-eight years.
Joseph Holden, the oldest son of Deacon Joseph, came into the
place with his father in 1737. He died unmarried, September 14,
1774. He filled almost every office of honor and trust in the Dis
trict, the duties of which he fulfilled with fidelity, and died sud
denly, greatly lamented, in the fifty-eighth year of his age.
Stephen Holden, the second son of the Deacon, and who came
into the place the same season, settled on the lot where Mr. Jonas
Cutler now resides. His wife's name was AbigaU, by whom he
had Samuel, born January 1, 1752, died June 8, 1788 ; Stephen,
born May 16, 1755 ; AbigaU, born March 23, 1757 ,¦ Elias, born
May 28, 1758 ; Levi, born December 2, 1762 ; Ehzabeth, born
October 30, 1766. Stephen Holden died September 15, 1794,
aged seventy-six.
Deacon Holden's family consisted of himself and wife, three
sons, and two daughters ; Captain Moore's, of himself and wife,
and six children. These two families, consisting of fifteen persons,
were the first to take up their abode in this desert. Here they
spent their first winter, without any other family in the township.
It is impossible for us to enter into the feelings which must have
actuated the first settlers. The prospect of converting a wilderness
into a fruitful field, and making the desert rejoice and blossom as
the rose, must have cheered and gladdened their hearts. But, on
the other hand, dangers were to be encountered, and hardships
were to be endured. Exiled from the abodes of civilized men,
they found themselves joint-tenants of the forest with savages and
wild beasts. When the settlement first commenced, there were no
inhabitants within twelve or fifteen miles. Rutland and Lunenburg
were the nearest settlements, and these were about twelve miles
distant, through a trackless wilderness. Lancaster, though fifteen
or sixteen miles distant from Narraganset, may be considered the
nearest settlement ; for it was through this place that all the early
settlers came, and to Lancaster they resorted for those necessaries
of life which the wilderness did not afford them. One of the early

16
settlers* thus describes the condition of the place, and its first
inhabitants :
" A howling wilderness it was, where no man dwelt ; the hid
eous yells of wolves, the shrieks of owls, the gobbling of turkeys,
and the barking of foxes, was all the music we enjoyed ; no friend
to visit, no soul in the adjoining towns — aU a dreary waste, exposed
to a thousand difficulties."
In addition to the privations and hardships mentioned above,
the winter of 1738-9 was unusually severe, but less so than the
one that followed. The snow, during both of these winters, was
at least four feet deep, for months in succession. No winters,
during the past century, save the memorable winter of 1779-80,
can compare with them for depth of snow and severity of cold.
Thus cut off from the mill at Lancaster, to which place they
usually carried their grain, the inhabitants were reduced to the
necessity of adopting the Indian custom of pounding their grain in
a mortar. Bread prepared in this manner, and game from the
forest, constituted their principal food during the long, inclement
season ; and of this the quantity was small, and the supply scanty.
Such, and many other privations, difficulties and dangers, beset
the early settlers of the place — privations and difficulties fr-om
which the poorest and most destitute at this day are exempt.
Deacon Joseph Holden being the first permanent resident in
Narraganset, and his family the most controlling and influential for
half a century, it seems proper to give a more detailed account of
the family.
Justinian Holden embarked at Ipswich, England, for America,
in April, 1634. He was one of the Proprietors of Watertown, in
1642, and was made a freeman, May 6, 1657. In 1653, then of
Watertown, he purchased a farm in Cambridge, consisting of two
hundred and ninety-four acres, with a dwelling-house and barn
upon the same, bounded by Fresh Pond and the Watertown line.
His wife died 1672, without issue, and he married Mary, daughter
of John Rutter, of Sudbury, who was born in 1647, and was
thirty-four years younger than himself. By his second wife he had
four sons and three daughters.
Joseph, his youngest son, was born September 6, 1683, when
his father was seventy years of age. Joseph, the early settler in
Westminster, was consequently of the first generation of Holdens
* Abner Holden, Esq.

17
born in this country. He married, Februai-y 17, 1714, Abigail
Shattuck, and had Joseph, born June 30, 1716 ; Stephen, born
October 21, 1717 ; AbigaU, born October 19, 1719 ; Abner, born
November 2, 1722 ; Jonathan, born June 6, 1725 ; and Ehzabeth,
baptized April 26, 1730. He resided in Watertown, where he
was a Constable, in 1732, and from this place came to Narraganset,
as before stated.
The Holdens were not only a prominent and numerous family,
but by intermarriages became connected with most of the other
families in the place.
When the settlement was commenced, there was not even a
" marked road " to the township. The first families wended their
way from Lancaster, through the trackless desert, to Narraganset
No. 2, as best they could. But in November of 1737, the Pro
prietors, at their meeting in Cambridge, chose a Committee, of
which Joseph Holden was one, to look out and mark a road from
Lancaster to Narraganset No. 2, and through said township to the
Meeting-house Lot ; the said road to be laid out and mended,
where it will best accommodate the whole town. This road was
located over Gerry Hill, in the northerly part of Sterling, and con
tinued to be the main traveled road to Lancaster and Boston for a
great number of years. At the same meeting, it was agreed that
a meeting-house in the township should be commenced the next
season. In 1738, Philip Bemis, of Cambridge, removed his family to
the township. He was the third settler in the plantation. He
located himself on what is now known as the old Turnpike, below
the burying-yard, near where Mr. Benjamin F. Battles now resides.
His family consisted of six or seven persons, among which was an
infant, by the name of Daniel Muntjoy, who died in 1835, in
the one hundredth year of his age. We find no record of Philip
Bemis's family. It is supposed, however, that William Bemis,
who married first, Rosiner, and second, Abigail Annis, and
who died November 8, 1801, aged seventy-five, was one of his
sons who came with him to No. 2 ; and that Captain Edmund
Bemis, who commanded a Company in the Revolutionary service,
was another son of PhUip. Captain Edmund married, 1760,
Elizabeth Rand, and had Elijah, Edmund, Samuel, Ebenezer, and
three daughters. He died December 1, 1807, aged seventy-five
years. David Bemis was also a son of PhUip.

18
Thomas Bemis came to Narraganset soon after his brother
Philip, and settled on or near the spot where Mr. Timothy Brown
now resides. His family consisted only of himself and wife, who
died 1798, aged one hundred years. Anna, their first child, born
April 22, 1741, if we may believe tradition, was the first female
child born in No. 2.. She married John Estabrook, at the age of
fifteen, was the mother of fourteen chUdren, and died February
26, 1832, aged ninety-two. The Bemises were probably the de
scendants of Joseph Bemis, of Cambridge, who served in the Nar
raganset war. The Bemises in Westminster were at one time quite
numerous, and by marriage became connected with many other
families. During the same year, the Proprietors were taking measures to
settle the township. At a meeting held January, 1738, they agreed
to divide their meadow lands, which were omitted in the first
division. The Proprietors met again in September. At this time
four famUies had settled on the plantation, and the building of, the
Meeting-house would naturally call people to the place, temporarily
at least. To meet their wants, and to induce others to settle, the
Proprietors, at this meeting, granted one hundred dollars for the
support of the Gospel in the township. In December, of the same
year, another hundred dollars was added; and the sum of two
hundred dollars a year was continued, till a clergyman was settled
among them.
June 6, 1739, the Proprietors met for the first time in the town
ship. The Meeting-house being completed on the outside, it was
that day publicly dedicated. The sermon was preached by Rev.
Isaac Richardson, of Woburn, from Haggai ii. 9. This house was
forty-five feet long and thirty-five feet wide, with twenty feet
posts. It was situated on the Meeting-house Lot on the Hill, which
is still kept open as a Public Common. This lot was at first laid
out in a square form, and contained about six acres. It has since
beeu reduced to nearly three acres. This house stood a few feet
in front of the house which succeeded it, and remained till the
erection of the new house in 1788, when it was moved off and
converted into a barn, by Mr. Rice, then the pastor of the Parish.
In this humble capacity, the old church stood till about 1837
when Mr. Abraham Wood, who had succeeded to the estate, beino-
desirous of a more commodious barn, demolished the old Meetino-
house. But even then, out of respect to its past services and the

19
soundness of the frame, a portion of the large timbers were used
in the new frame, where they bid fair to remain another generation,
and will perhaps complete their second century.
In 1740, Thomas Steaens, from Watertown, came to the town
ship, and located himself at or near where Mr. Job Seaver now
resides. He was a descendant of the second generation from Isaac
Stearns, who came to America in 1630, in the same ship with Gov
ernor Winthrop and Sir Richard Saltonstall, and settled In Water-
town. Thomas was a son of John Stearns, of Watertown, and
was born October 8, 1711. He married after he came to Narra
ganset, August 9, 1744, Hannah Clarke, of Newton. He died April
29, 1785, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. He was a man
of character and standing in the town and church, being a Deacon
in the church, and filling Important offices in the town. He was
a brother of Rev. David Stearns, of Lunenburg.
The Proprietors, at a meeting in September, 1740, granted
thirty-three dollars to make and mend the roads in the township.
At the same meeting they contracted with Mr. Seth Walker, to
build a Grist MiU. This mill was situated at the outlet of West
minster Pond, where Mr. Walker fixed his residence.
The subject of a Corn Mill had been agitated by the Proprietors,
for two or three years, but not till this time was any efficient meas
ure adopted to create this necessary appendage to every settlement.
This mill was erected the following year, and of course was the
first building of the kind In the township. The erection of this
mill would obviate one great objection to settling In the place, as
it furnished the means of preparing food, both for man and beast.
Captain Daniel Hoae may be considered as the next settler.
We find him In the place as early as 1739, employed on a Commit
tee for building a Grist Mill. But it is probable it was not tlU the
latter end ofthe next year, or the commencement of 1741, that he
became a permanent resident in No. 2. He first commenced on a
lot in the southerly part of the town, and built him a cabin on the
margin of " Beaver Swamp," so called, about one hundred rods
southerly of the present residence of Mr. Jonas Miller. But being
dissatisfied with the location, he left that lot, and commenced per
manently on the lot where Allen's tavern-house now stands. He
erected a house on the north-westerly part of the lot, near the
present burial ground. Here he remained till his death, which
occurred December 4, 1782. The Hoar family of Massachusetts,

20
dates back to the early settlement of the Colony. According to
tradition, the ancestor of this family came over early, and died at
Boston, soon after his arrival, leaving among other children, John,
who resided first at Scituate, and afterward at Concord, where he
died, 1704, leaving two daughters and a son, Daniel, born 1650.
Daniel married and reared a numerous family, among whom was a
son bearing his own name. This latter Daniel, born 1680, mar
ried Sarah Jones, December 20, 1705. He resided in Concord,
where he died February 8, 1773. His second son, Jonathan, was
graduated at Harvard College, 1740, was an officer in the French
and Indian wars, and after the peace of 1763, went to England,
and was appointed Governor of Newfoundland and the neighboring
Province, but died on his passage thither. Daniel, his third son,
entered Harvard College, 1730, but did not graduate. He came
to Narraganset, as we have already said, in 1740 or '41. He mar
ried, November 2, 1743, Rebecca Brooks, of Concord, and had
Daniel, born October 19, 1744, and died In his twentieth year;
Sarah, born January 5, 1749; Rebecca, born June 23, 1754;
Stephen Brooks, bom July 15, 1758 ; Charles, born September 5,
1761, died young; Samuel, born August 24, 1763, married
Deborah Bigelow, and had Daniel, George A., Samuel, Francis A.;
and Charles B. Charles B., who has taken the name of Hoard,
resides at Watertown, New York, and represents that District
In Congress. As Daniel Hoar was one of the first settlers, so
he became one of the first citizens, of Westminster. He was one
of the Selectmen on the incorporation of the District, to which
office he was often re-elected. He filled other civil offices, and
was honored with the command of a Company of MUitia, when
that post Implied more than it does at present.
Seth Walker became an Inhabitant of the place in 1741. He
had been in the township the preceding year, and had contracted
to build the mill of which we have before spoken. Mr. Walker's
dwelling was near the present residence of Mr. John K. Larnard.
He was from Sudbury.
If we place Deacon Joseph Millee, next in order of time
among the settlers, it cannot be far from the truth. He came from
Newton. He was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (ChUd) MiUer,
aud was born July 29, 1716. His father was Selectman in Newton
1743, and died in Worcester, 1759, aged eighty-one. In 1740
Joseph Miller purchased his land, and the same year we find him

21
in the township. He probably married about the time he came
to Narraganset. By his wife Mary, he had eleven chUdren :
viz. Joseph, born July 27, 1741 ; Mary, born March 16, 1743 ;
Ephraim, born September 16, 1744; Martha, bom September 11,
1746 ; David, born August 8, 1748 ; John, born August, and
died August 8, 1750; Samuel, born July 20, 1751 ; Isaac, born
March 31, 1754 ; Esther, bom March 9, 1756 ; Ehzabeth, bom
March 16, 1758 ; John, born September 22, 1762. Esther died
October 17, 1850, at the advanced age of ninety-four years, four
months and three days.
He fixed his residence a little in the rear of the present resi
dence of Mr. Jonas Miller, his great-grandson. He was chosen
one of the Deacons, at the first organization of the church In 1742,
and became one of the most prominent citizens, both in the district
and in the town. He performed a good deal of public business,
and his papers, many of which were preserved, show that he did
business carefully and correctly. Under the district organization,
he was chosen Clerk, Assessor and Treasurer, and for many years,
both under the district and town organizations, he served on the
board of Selectmen. In the trying days of the Revolution, when
the people would naturally fall back upon their most reliable men.
Deacon Miller was called to act as Selectman, Treasurer, and
Representative. Deacon Miller's descendants In Westminster,
have been numerous. His son Joseph, married Lucy Walker, and
had James, John, Isaac, Joseph, and four daughters. Ephraim
married Beulah Wheeler, and had Asa, Ezra, John, and three
daughters. Samuel married Lydia Cutting, and had Joseph,
Samuel, John C, David, Aumas, and two daughters. Isaac mar
ried Sarah Bennett, and had Joseph, Isaac, Benjamin, and three
daughters. Joseph Lynde, from Maiden, was another of the early settlers.
He came to the place in 1741, and fixed his residence about one
hundred rods from the Common. The remains of the cellar are
StiU to be seen, on the north side of the road, half way from the
Common to the residence of Mr. Horatio Eagar.
Benjamin Garfield, from Waltham, came to No. 2, in 1741,
and commenced on the lot where widow Maria Baker now lives.
He cleared the land in some degree, and erected a house and barn.
In January, 1743, he sold his lot, with the buildings thereon, to
Richaed Geaves, then of Sudbury. Mr. Graves moved to the

22
township in the spring of that year, and was of course one of the
early settlers. He married and had one child, before he came to
Narraganset. His wife's name was Patience. His children were
Patience, born in Sudbury, June 9, 1742 ; Lucy, born September
7, 1743 ; Peter, born November 25, 1745 ; PiiscUla, bom March
9, 1748 ; Richard, born April 17, 1750 ; Jonathan, born July 2,
1752; Levi, born July 11, 1754; and Abigail, born November
17, 1756. Richard Graves became an influential citizen, filled
several Important town offices, and was dignified with the title
of Ensign. He died March 28, 1798, aged eighty-eight; and his
wife died February 1, 1800, aged eighty-seven. Benjamin Garfield,
the first owner of the lot, remained In the place, and filled many
subordinate town offices.
We cannot arrange the families In the exact order in which they
settled, but will do it as far as it is practicable. In June, 1742,
Eliezer Bigelow moved his family to Narraganset, and settled
on the lot, on which the late John Bigelow resided, — ^though his
house was sixty or seventy rods westerly of the residence of John,
his grandson. He was a son of Joshua Bigelow, of Watertown,
who was wounded In King Philip's war. Joshua was a son of
John Bigelow, of Watertown, who was early in that place, and
was the ancestor of most of the name in New England. Joshua
Bigelow was the only soldier who served in the Narraganset war,
that ever settled on the grant. He died February 21, 1745, and
is said to have been the first adult person who died in the
township. Eliezer Bigelow married, November 24, 1724, Mary Fiske, of
Watertown, by whom he had seven children, all born before- he
came to Narraganset. His sons were Benjamin, bom October 13,
1726, who moved to Portsmouth ; Elisha, bom January 11, 1728,
married, 1757, Sarah Cooledge, and had Ephraim, Elisha, and
Abijah, and three daughters ; Abijah graduated at Dartmouth
College, 1795, studied law, settled In Worcester, was Clerk of
the Court, and represented the District in Congress; he Is still
hving, in his eighty-fifth year. Joshua, born AprU 12, 1733,
moved to Genesee; and Jabez, horn December 19, 1736, mar
ried 1761, Deborah Knowlton, of Shrewsbury, and had eight
sons — John, born June 27, 1762 ; Jabez, bom March 26, 1764 ;
Benjamin, bom August 6, 1765 ; Abraham, bom December 21,
1768 ; Ezekiel, bom AprU 4, 1772 ; Luke, bom AprU 26, 1774,

23
StUl living ; Reuben, born November 22, 1775 ; and Asa, born
August 19, 1779.
Eliezer Bigelow, the first settler, died February 24, 1762, aged
fifty-seven years. His descendants became numerous and influen
tial in Westminster.
The Bigelows, or Baguleys, as they were originally called,
(taking the name of the place where they resided,) were an ancient
family In England, and have been traced back to the reign of
Henry III., when Richard was lord of Baguley. In the reign of
Henry VII., Ralph de Baguley was lord of OUerton Hall, and died
1540, leaving Randall and Nicholas. Randall died 1556, and his
sons, Philip and Robert, divided his estate. Robert died 1582,
leaving Randall and John, both of whom moved to Suffolk.
Randall died 1626, leaving two sons, Francis and John. Francis
died 1657, and gave by will a portion of his property to his
brother John, then in New England. John was baptized In
England, February 16, 1617 ; he came early to Watertown, where
he married, October 30, 1642, Mary Warren, also born in England.
He was father of Joshua, who was born November 5, 1655. The
name in Watertown Records, is variously written, Bigulah, Biglo,
and Biglow.
In 1741, or '42, Samuel Whitney, from Weston, came to the
place and located himself near the present residence of Mr. Hart-
well, — the old cellar Is still visible. He was a son of William
Whitney, of Weston, and descended from John Whitney, who
came from England to this country In 1635, and settled In Water-
town. Samuel Whitney, the early settler in Narraganset, was born
May 23, 1719, and married, October 20, 1741, Abigail Fletcher.
He came to this place about the time of his marriage, and like most
of the early settlers, had a large family of chUdren. His children
numbered thirteen : Abigail, born August 27, 1742 ; Mary, born
May 29, 1744; Samuel, born February 11, 1746, married 1783 to
Mrs. Thankful Wilder, and had Plyney, Smyrna, and Moses ;
Abner, born May 18, 1748, married first. May 14, 1770, Elizabeth
Glazier, and had Oliver, John and Levi ; married second, Lovina
Ward, and had Jonas, Joseph, Abel, and two daughters ; Achsa,
born September 30, 1750 ; Silas, born October 20, 1752 ; Martha,
born November 26, 1755 ; Elisha, born July 2, 1757, married,
1781, Eunice Seaver, and had Joseph and Norman S., and four
daughters ; Alpheus, born February 25, 1759 ; Phinehas, born

24
January 16, 1761, married, 1788, Elizabeth Rand, and had John
and Thomas, and three daughters ; Hannah, born December 18,
1762 ; Martha, born September 18, 1764 ; Susanna, born Febru
ary 9, 1767.
Lieutenant Samuel Whitney not only contributed his full share to
people the town, but he filled some of the first offices in the place —
being Selectman, &c. a number of years. He died January 1,
1782, aged sixty-three.
About the same time (1742) John Hadley came to Narraganset,
and settled on lot No. 5. His house was situated a little north of
Mrs. Esty's barn. He was probably the ancestor of the Hadleys
which were afterwards In Westminster.
William Baldwin settled on lot No. 14. His residence was a
few rods south of Mr. Horatio Eagar's.
David Dunstee, of Cambridge, settled about the same time.
He was a descendant of Henry Dunster, the first President of Har
vard College, but the family was never prominent in this place,
and they have left a very imperfect record.
Samuel Smith was In the place before 1745, but, like his name
sake John, is not easily traced.
About the same time Daniel Walkee, of Sudbury, became a
settler, and fixed his residence where Mr. Isaac Seaver now resides.
He had a wife and two children. His wife, who was a sister of
Deacon Nathan Wood, and one child, died in 1756 ; and he died
the year following.
Joseph Hoesley was an early settler. He had a wife, and four
sons and three daughters, born between 1745 and 1761.
Isaac Stedman was also an early settler. By his wife, Huldah,
he had nine children, bom between 1738 and 1756, seven of which
died before 1764. He died 1757. Of the last five settlers, but
little is known.
The seven years aUowed in the grant for setthng sixty famihes,
expired June 1, 1741, when not one sixth of that number had
settled. The Proprietors, fearing that they should be deprived of
the grant, met at Cambridge, the day following, and levied a tax
of thirty-three dollars upon each share, to enable them to offer a
generous bounty to settlers. At this meeting they raised the
bounty to ninety-eight dollars, and allowed the same to those who
had already settled. This bounty was at first offered to those who
should settle in one year, but was subsequently extended to ten
years.

25
The settlers, on the fourth of August, 1742, made choice of
Mr. Elisha Marsh for their minister. This choice was concurred
in by the Proprietors, In September of the same year. They fixed
his salary at one hundred and fifty dollars, in addition to the land
to which he was entitled by the grant. On the 20th of October,
1742, Rev. Mr. Marsh was publicly ordained to the work of the
ministry In this place. One of the first settlers,* in a family
record, with which we have been favored, says : " After the ordina
tion of Mr. Mai'sh, the church proceeded to organize itself, and
chose Joseph Holden first, and Joseph Miller second Deacon, who
served in their offices till death put an end to their services."
Mr. Marsh appears to have been a man of considerable talent,
but of much eccentricity of character, not comporting with what
was then regarded as ministerial dignity. Soon after his settlement,
an unpleasant controversy arose between him and his people, which
ended In his dismission, in 1757. During a large part of this
period, their relations were any thing but happy. His conduct
and sayings were laid before the Association, and before Councils,
which were induced at last to sunder the ties which bound him to
the Parish. Some of these charges were characteristic of the times.
One of them was for " stumping one of his church members to
swop powder-horn strings with him." It was also thought that he
was heretical ; and hence he was arraigned for being unsound in
the faith. We find the following charges preferred against him :
" For saying, that obedience is the condition of salvation."
" For saying, that he would as soon worship the devU, as wor
ship such a being as requires more of his creatures than they are
able to perform ; and for saying, in the presence of the church,
that he did not worship such a being ; for it was the devil which
required more of his creatures than they were able to perform."
" For saying, that if all that was required of a man, was to
believe, then the condition of salvation was easy and pleasant to
fools." Whether they faUed to prove these serious charges, or whether
the Association at Lancaster, before which they were "brought,
failed to see heresy In them, is uncertain ; but one thing Is sure ;
they did not dismiss him In 1747, when these charges were pre
ferred. After Mr. Marsh was dismissed from his pastoral office, he re-
* Abner Holden, Esq,

26
mained some years in the township, and filled several secular
offices. He at length removed to Cheshire County, New Hamp
shire, and became Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He
died in Lancaster, when on a journey.
From the first settlement of the township, some fears were ap
prehended from the Indians, who, in small numbers, were occa
sionally seen lurking about the place. But It was not till 1742, or
'43, that they gave the settlers much uneasiness. Instigated by the
French, in Canada, these children of the forest began to assume a
hostile attitude. About 1743, the General Court granted thirteen
hundred dollars to enable the settlers to erect such fortifications as
would secure them against the savages. Ten forts were accord
ingly erected. These were placed around the dwellings, In differ
ent parts of the town, so as to secure, if not every dweULng, at
least every neighborhood. They were constructed of wood —
some of them of square timbers, laid one upon another, after the
manner of a log house, and locked together at the angles ; and
others were built with stockades, that is, with timbers standing
perpendicularly, with one end planted in the earth.
The fortifications, or garrisons, as they were generaUy caUed,
were distributed about the town as follows : One inclosed Captain
Hoar's dwelling ; one the house of Rev. Mr. Marsh, which was a
few rods easterly from the present residence of Mr. George Gibbs ;
one at Deacon Holden's ; one at Richard Graves's ; one at Seth
Walker's ; one at Deacon Miller's ; one at Thomas Stearns's ; one
at Philip Bemis's ; one at the place now known as the WiswaU
place, then owned by Samuel Hagar, and occupied by a tenant by
the name of Flagg ; and one at the house of Joseph Gibbs, who
came early into the town from Sudbury, and located himself in the
south-easterly part of the town, about half a mile easterly of the
house now occupied by Mr. Wheeler Benjamin. Besides these,
there were a few temporary forts, in other pai'ts of the town, some
to guard dwellings, and some for the protection of laborers, when
at work far from their houses.
A few soldiers were sent by the government, and a portion of
the inhabitants were put under pay as a town scout. A sentinel
was posted at each fort in the night time, and the soldiers alter
nately patrolled the township by day, whenever the enemy were
supposed to be lurking within their borders. From 1744 to 1749
the settlers experienced many discouragements. Savages were fre-

27
quently seen prowling about in the woods. At night, the inhabi
tants repaired to the garrisons for safety, leaving their own dwell
ings to the mercy of the savage foe. By day, the laborers repaired
to their fields with their muskets, to guard themselves against the
insidious savage who might ambush their path.
It Is Impossible for us, at this day, to enter fully into the feelings
of people thus circumstanced. If immediate destruction, or what
is worse, a death by torture, or hopeless captivity, did not actually
take place, it was constantly haunting their imaginations. Painful
indeed must be the situation, where the laborer Is liable to be
captured In the field, and his famUy massacred and scalped in his
absence ; and where the hours of darkness and repose may invite
the enemy, and his slumbers may be broken by the sound of the
war-whoop, and the darkness of night be dispelled by the blaze of
his dwelling.
But although the savages gave the settlers much anxiety, no
one ever fell a prey to the mercUess enemy, nor were any battles
ever fought between them. The only weU authenticated incident
that has come to my knowledge, occurred in 1748 or '49. WU
liam Bowman, from Lexington, who had been in the township
five or six years, and who garrisoned, if not resided, with Captain
Hoar, was one day mowing in the field, near the present residence
of Mr. George Miles, when he discovered some Indians In the ad
joining woods. They had placed themselves In such a position as
to cut him off from his fort, and no doubt felt sure of their victim.
Bowman very adroitly concealed his agitation of mind, and as
though he had made no discovery of the enemy, kept at work, but
moving at the same time from his fort and his insidious enemy,
untU he had gained the declivity of the hUl, when he dropped his
scythe, and made for Graves's fort with such speed as to elude the
grasp of his fleet-footed pursuers. When he arrived at Graves's
fort, an alarm was immediately flred, which was answered through
the settlement, and called every man to his post. The alarm being
given, messengers were dispatched, which brought troops from
Lancaster and Rutland.
The savages, finding that they were discovered, and that prepara
tion was making to give them a warm reception, quietly and stealth
ily left the place, and so permitted the troops to return to their
quarters, and the citizens to their employment. Bowman, soon
after this occurrence, left the place, having no desire to continue

28
his hand with adversaries trained to every art of guile, and every
method of torture. This was one of the last incursions of the
savages. A treaty of peace between France and England, In
October, 1748, gave rest to the infant settlement. And though
the war was renewed in 1754, there was but little apprehension
from the Indians during this last war — the field of action being for
the most part transferred to the Lakes and the borders of Canada,
where the Indians acted under the direction of the French officers.
There were a few incursions into some of the towns on the north,
but I find no account of their having penetrated as far as West
minster. On the contrary, some of the citizens of the district
were detailed for the frontier, and served at the Lakes, as we
shall have occasion to mention hereafter.
From 1743 to 1749, the settlement went on slowly. Though a
bounty of about one hundred dollars was offered by the Proprietors,
only about nineteen families had settled at the beginning of 1750 ;
and of these, most had settled before 1743. There were but few
who came to the place while apprehensions were entertained of
attacks from the Indians.
In 1745 or '46, Joshua Child, from Waltham, came to the
place, and located himself on the farm where Captain Harrington
now lives. In 1750, the meetings of the Proprietors were trans
ferred to the township, where they were ever afterward held. At
their first meeting, Andrew Darby, then of the place, was chosen
Proprietor's Clerk — an office which he held for years.
The halcyon days of peace gave a new spring to their affairs,
and the settlement went on with considerable rapidity. In 1750,
as near as can be estimated, the population was a little short of one
hundred souls. In a petition presented to the Legislature, in
1759, they say they have nearly sixty famUies. From a fuU view
of the subject, it Is highly probable that the population in 1760
would not vary materially from three hundred. Hence there must
have been a considerable accession to the settlers during this decen
nial period.
I shall not attempt to state the order in which they came to the
place, but will mention some of the principal famihes. I cannot
better enumerate the substantial men of the district in 1759, than
to give the names of the citizens who petitioned for the Incorpora
tion, together with those who constituted the first jury. These
were the prominent citizens who figured through the Revolution-

29
ary period, and who gave tone and character to the place ; and
the descendants of these families constitute a considerable propor
tion of the population of Westminster at this day. The petition
ers are as follows :
Abner Holden,* Samuel Whitney,
John Wheeler, Andrew Darby,
John Brooks,* Elijah Gibbs,
Richard Baker,* Nathan Wood,*
Daniel Walker,* John Stearns,
Nathan Whitney,* Joseph Holden, Jr.,
Jonas Whitney,* William Edgell,*
Nathan Poore, Richard Graves,
Seth Harrington,* Joshua Bigelow,
James Cowee, Josiah Jackson,
John Rand,* John Woodward,*
Joseph Holden, . Josiah Cutting,*
Thomas Stearns,* James Winship,*
David Bemis, Ebenezer Taylor,
Joseph Miller, Nathaniel Wheeler,
James Taylor, Benjamin Horsley.
If we add to this list those who were selected in 1760 to fill the
fii'st jury-box, we shaU have a list of the principal men in the dis
trict at that time. Those petitioners whose names are marked with
a star, (*) and the following gentlemen, comprise that list. Thomas
Conant, Nicholas Dike, James Walker, Reuben Miles, John Miles,
Noah Miles, Philip Bemis, Benjamin Butterfield, Stephen Holden,
Elisha Bigelow, William Bemis, John Estabrook.
Andeew Daeby, who was several years Selectman and Clerk,
under the district organization, came from Acton, about 1749 or
'50. He was probably the father of Andrew Darby, Jr., who
married, December 20, 1763, Elizabeth Sawin, and had Abijah,
Isaac, Asaph, Aaron, Moses, and three daughters, born before
1787 ; and of John Darby, who married. May 1, 1766, Hannah
Garey, of Lancaster, and had William, John, Joseph, Abel, An
drew, and two daughters, and died 1818 ; and of Nathan Darby,
who married, March 30, 1762, Abigail Pierce, of Lexington, and
had Jonas, Ezra, Joel, Abraham, Levi, and six daughters. Andrew
Darby was probably the ancestor of all the Darbys in Westminster.
He died March 23, 1783, In his seventy-seventh year.
Josiah Cutting came to No. 2 from Waltham, where he mar
ried, March 27, 1755, Lydia Merriam, of Lexington. He was

30
married as " of Narraganset." They had John, Josiah, Nathan,
Asa, Abraham, and three daughters. Abraham Cutting married
Phebe Howard, and settled in Princeton, where he died. His
sons returned to Westminster, and settled. Among them was
Flavel, who was a practicing physician in the place for more than
twenty years.
There were several families of MUeses, who settled in West
minster before 1759. They came from Concord. John Miles was
In Concord as early as 1640. He had two sons, John and Samuel.
John married Mary Prescott, and had among other children, John,
who married Elizabeth Brooks, and had John, Noah, and Abner,
all of whom settled in Narraganset.
John Miles, born 1727, married Martha Warren, a widow, and
had Levi, John, Isaac, Thomas, and two daughters. He was a
surveyor, and was often in public office. He died April 30, 1808,
aged eighty-one. She died April 26, 1808, aged eighty-three.
Their son John, bom in 1765, was for many years a settled clergy
man in Grafton, and the father of Rev. Henry A. MUes, D. D., of
Boston. Captain Noah Miles, by his wife Huldah, had Noah, Stephen,
Joel, Ephraim, and Oliver. He died October 21, 1811, aged
eighty-one ; and she died March 10, 1809, aged eighty.
Abnee Miles married, 1769, Margaret Trowbridge, of New
ton, and had Trowbridge, and three daughters. He died of small
pox, July 23, 1778.
Reuben Miles, though from the same stock, was of another
family. We have already said that John Miles, the original settler
In Concord, had two sons, John and Samuel. Samuel married,
1706, Sarah Foster, of Littleton, and had among other children,
Reuben, who settled in Westminster, and by his wife, Anne Rice,
had Nathan, Reuben, Jonas, Asa, and five daughters. Asa, bom
July 11, 1760, graduated at Dartmouth College, studied medicine,
and married Elizabeth C. Rice, daughter of Rev. Asaph Rice, of
Westminster. Dr. Miles practiced in this town. His wife died
1796, and he married Ruth Henshaw, of Leicester, February 14,
1804. He died April, 1805, in his forty-fifth year, and his widow
married, in 1806, Rev. Ezekiel L. Bascom, of Phllllpston. Dr.
Miles had but one child, Clough Rice, born May 31, 1796. He
graduated at Harvard College in 1817, read law, and estabhshed
himself at Millbuiy, where he now resides.

31
The MUeses in town were quite numerous and influential, for a
long period.
Deacon Nathan Wood came into the place in June, 1756,
His ancestor, WiUiam Wood, emigrated from England, 1638, and
settled at Concord. He died 1671, leaving an only son, Michael,
who died thi-ee years after his father; and left, among other
sons, Abraham, who removed into Sudbury, where he died In
1742 or '47.* He had Samuel, Cornelius, Hannah who mar
ried Daniel Walker and settled in Narraganset, Rebecca, Ruth,
Abigail who married Deacon James Walker and settled In Nar
raganset, and Nathan. Nathan, the youngest son of Abraham,
was born in Concord, March 24, 1723, where his father resided till
about 1729, when he removed to Sudbury. Nathan Wood, then
of Sudbury, married, March 2, 1750, Rebecca, daughter of Ahljah
Haynes, of that place. Soon after his marriage, he settled at
Stow, where he resided till 1756, when he removed to this place
with his famUy, consisting at that time, of one daughter and three
sons. He had fifteen children, all of whom were living at the time
of his death, June 17, 1777, and able to follow him to the grave.
After his death, in his fifty-fifth year, his widow married Nathan
Howard, with whom she lived more than forty years, and died
March 20, 1819, aged eighty-seven. The size, longevity and
prominence of this family, will justify the following full account of
them. 1. Lucy, born AprU 10, 1751 ; married, January 6, 1774, Benjamin
Barnard, and died, aged 98.
2. Nathan, born November 7, 1752 ; was twice married, and died
January 1, 1841, aged 88.
3. Ahijah, born February 15, 1754 ; was twice married, had eleven
chfldren, and died July 24, 1840, aged 86.
4. Abel, born December 27, 1755 ; married, November 21, 1780,
Phebe Holden, and had nine children. He was a prominent citizen, filled
various town offices, and was many years a Justice of the Peace. He
died March 23, 1846, aged 90.
5. Eebecca, born December 5, 1757; married, December 26, 1780,
Levi Graves, and died May 8, 1795, aged 37.
6. Hannah, born April 4, 1759 ; married, 1780, Stephen Hoar, and
died October 24, 1831, aged 72.
7. Samuel, born January 26, 1761 ; died October 28, 1828, aged 67.
* There were two Abraham "Woods, that died in Sudbury ; one in 1742, and
the other in 1747.

32
8 Moses i ^°^^ October 18, 1763, drowned December 11,
i twins, 1777, aged 15.
9. Aaron, j born October 19, 1763, died July 4, 1815, aged 53.
10. Abraham, born August 2, 1764 ; died December 8, 1812, aged 48.
11. Israel, bom March 15, 1766, died September 26, 1846, aged 80.
12. Ruth, born June 1, 1768, died February 2, 1820, aged 52.
13. Abigail, born June 9, 1770, now living and insane, aged 90.
14. Ezekiel, born November 25, 1772 ; died May 30, 1812, aged 40.
15. Nahum, born April 5, 1776 ; died July 3, 1825, aged 49.
This family, remarkable for numbers, were also remarkable for
age. The aggregate age of the famUy, including the parents,
is 1,106 years. The Wood family have been one of the most
influential and popular In the place, both In church and state.
John Estabeook was In Narraganset In 1755. He married
about that time, and by his wife, Anna Bemis, who died in
Westminster, 1832, aged ninety-two, he had fourteen children;
John, Joseph, Isaac, Samuel (killed by lightning), Thomas, Joseph,
Isaac, Samuel, and six daughters. Their first Joseph and Isaac
died in 1772. John was the ancestor of the Westminster Esta-
brooks. The original emigrant, Joseph Estabrook, came to the
country in 1660, was settled as a clergyman in Concord, 1667.
His son Joseph settled in Hingham, and removed to Lexington
about 1709. He had a son John, born 1690, who married Pru
dence Harrington. John, who settled in Westminster, was their
oldest son, and was born October 20, 1729.
John Rand was In Narraganset In 1753. His first wife,
Elizabeth, died December 14, 1756, and he married, 1766, widow
Tabitha Stedman. He had Zachariah, John, Thomas, William,
Samuel, and four daughters. He was the ancestor of those of the
name in Westminster. He sustained Important town offices, and
rose to the rank of Colonel in the militia. He also served as
Colonel in the Revolution. He died December 11, 1789, in the
sixty-seventh year of his age. The stone erected to his first wife
and two children, who died about the same time, is among the
oldest in the grave-yard.
Hananiah Rand was in Westminster about the same time.
He is said to have been a brother of John. He came to West
minster from Lancaster.
John Woodwaed was in the place, 1754. It appears by the
record of his family, that John and Nathaniel, his two oldest chil-

33
dren, were born 1741, and 1743, In Tewksbury ; the two next in
Nottingham ; and his fifth child was born In Narraganset, In 1753.
From this fact it appears that he came to this place from Notting
ham. From Nathaniel, the Westminster families descended. John
Woodward was Adjutant in Colonel Doohttle's regiment of eight
months' men, in the Revolution.
James and Ebenezee Tayloe were in town about the same
time, but they have left no record of their families. It is probable
that Asa Taylor, who married, 1768, Sarah Williams, and had
John W., Charles, Ebenezer, and Asa ; and Joseph, Samuel, and
Ezra Taylor, were their descendants.
Thomas Conant came to the township about the same time,
and probably had a family, as we find in due time Thomas Conant,
Jr. ; but he has left no famUy record.
Nicholas Dike came to the place probably about the same time.
According to the record, he had but three children born in Narra
ganset ; Mary, born 1757 ; Nicholas, bom 1760 ; and Samuel,
born 1763. He died July 29, 1812, aged ninety, and hence was
born 1722. He was for a long period among the prominent and
infiuential men of the place, filling, for a number of years, the first
offices in the gift of the people. He was also one of the principal
magistrates of the town, and held a commission as Colonel. He
came from Beverly.
Richakd Bakee was in the place as a citizen before 1759. By
his wife Mary, he had Jonadab, born 1759; Thomas, born 1761;
Joanna, born 1763 ; Manasseh, born 1765 ; Bezaleel, bom 1768 ;
John, bom 1770 ; Luke, born 1772 ; Judith, born 1774, and Joel,
born 1777. He died December 13, 1808, aged eighty, and she
died August 1, 1813, aged seventy-eight. He was a member of the
first hst of Jurors In the District. He came from Lancaster. His
wife was Mary Sawyer, grand-daughter of Thomas Sawyer, who
was- captured by the Indians, 1705, and carried to Canada, where
he built the first Saw Mill in that country, and so obtained his
freedom. William Edgell was in the place in 1759, and petitioned for
the Act of Incorporation. By his wife Eleanor, he had Joseph,
Wilham, and Samuel, and two daughters, born between 1754 and
1762. Wilham Edgell was frequently elected to tovm office, and
commanded a company in the Revolutionary service, in Colonel
Stearns's regiment. 5

34
John Edgell, probably brother to WUliam, married, in 1762,
Rebecca Winship, of Lexington, and had Ephraim, John, Levi,
and two daughters.
Josiah Jackson was In Narraganset before 1759, and by the
record, had Oliver and Isaac, and five daughters, born before 1772.
He was born April 23, 1730, and his brothers were born, Elisha,
February 12, 1737, and Edward, September 3, 1739, both of
whom settled in Westminster. Elisha had Sullivan, Elisha, Josiah,
and Ebenezer ; and Edwaed had John, Oliver, Edward, Joseph,
and Josiah. They were sons of Isaac Jackson, of Newton, who by
Will, in 1765, gave them land in Westminster. Isaac was son of
Edward, who was son of Sabus, (or Seaborn,) who It was said was
born on the passage from England, about 1644.
Nathan Whitney, born March 12, 1727, and Jonas, bora
June 25, 1733, sons of Ensign David Whitney, of Waltham, and
distant relatives of Lieutenant Samuel Whitney, who previously
settled here, came to No. 2, before 1756. Nathan, by his wife,
Tabitha Merriam, of Lexington, had Nathan, David, and John,
born In 1765, 1767, and 1769, beside six other children who died
young. Of these, Nathan married, 1786, Eunice Puffer, and
had Nathan, Leonard, and other sons who died young. Nathan
first, died August 10, 1803, aged seventy-seven, Nathan second,
died February 14, 1851, aged eighty-seven, and Nathan third,
died December 10, 1831, aged forty. David married, November
25, 1791, Ehzabeth Barnes, of Princeton, and had David, Aaron,
Reuben P., Isaac, Calvin, and five daughters. John married,
1793, Elizabeth Stearns, and had John, born 1797.
Jonas Whitney married, September 27, 1757, Sarah Whitte
more, of Lexington, and had Jonas, Joel, Benjamin, and one daugh
ter. Jonas married, 1785, Ehzabeth Raymond, of Princeton, and
had Joseph, Charles, Jonas, Harrison G., and six daughters. Joel
married, first, Lucy Holden, and second, widow AbigaU Merriam,
daughter of Abner Holden, and had Joseph H., Horace, Theodore,
and four daughters. The Whitneys in Westminster have been
quite influential, and so numerous, and so attached to the mUitary,
that it has been said, sportively, that It would be safe for a stranger
coming into town to salute every third man he met, with the title
and name of " Captain Whitney."
Seth Haeeington was probably son of George Harrington, and
was born June, 1725. He married, first, Abigail  , who died

35
1759 ; and second, 1760, Priscilla Houghton, of Lancaster, and
had Elisha, born 1754 ; Seth, born 1756 ; Daniel, born 1758 ;
Benjamin, born 1769 ; and four daughters. Seth Harrington was
probably the ancestor of most. If not all the Harringtons ia West
minster. John Beooks, by his wife Eunice, had John, Levi, Asa. Sam
uel, who mai-rled Huldah Miles, had Oliver, and died 1810 ;
Ezea, who married Rebecca Temple, had Ezra, John, Charles, Asa,
and five daughters, and died Sept. 14, 1843, aged seventy-five.
Jonas Winship came from Cambridge, and was a descendant of
Lieutenant Edward Winship, one of the first settlers of Cambridge,
and the ancestor of most. If not aU of that name in New England.
Jonas Winship, by his wife Mary, had ten children, six daughters
and four sons, among whom were Jonas and Cyrus, both of whom
settled in Westminster, and had large families.
James Cohee, by his wife Mary, had John, David, James, Na
than, Joel, Pearson, and five daughters, born between 1758 and
1776. He was the ancestor of the families in Westminster which
bore his name. He came from Ireland when a lad of fifteen or
sixteen, and sold himself (as was not very uncommon at that day)
for a hmited period, to pay his passage over.
James Walkee, from Sudbury, was here as early as 1755.
He married Abigail Wood, sister of Deacon Nathan Wood, and
had eight chUdren, most of whom died young. He was a Deacon
of the church, and somewhat prominent in the town.
In 1756-7, an epidemic prevaUed in the place, and proved very
fatal, especially among chUdren.
On the 20th of October, 1759, Narraganset No. 2 was incor
porated Into a District, by the name of Westminster. At their
first meeting, held on the 19th of November of that year, Deacon
Joseph MUler was chosen Clerk ; Joseph Miller, Captain Daniel
Hoar, Andrew Darby, Ensign Richard Graves, and Lieutenant
Samuel Whitney, Selectmen ; Daniel Hoar, Joseph Miller, and
Andrew Darby, Assessors ; Joseph Holden, Jr., Treasurer ; and
WUliam Bemis, Thomas Conant, and Josiah Cutting, Tythingmen.
The place being incorporated as a District, with all the powers
of a Town, except that of sending a Representative to the General
Court, the people entered at once upon the consideration of what
were then regarded as the essential institutions of every town — a
School House, a Pound, Stocks, and a supply of ammunition.

36
The Schools were provided for, the Pound was constructed, but
the Stocks were, for the time being, Ignored. Their attention was
early called to the laying out of highways, to accommodate the
inhabitants. But in the multiplicity of their cares, they did not
neglect matters of dignity and taste. At a meeting held June 7,
1762, Richard Graves, Nathan Wood, and John Rand, were
chosen a Committee to perform what was at that day regarded as a
very important, but rather delicate duty, viz., " to dignify and seat
the Meeting-house, according to rate and age." The Meeting
house having been seated, according to the prescribed rules, the
people agreed to sustain this dignity by providing Stocks for the
punishment of offenders.
In 1764, the district was visited by one of the most fatal epi
demics which had ever afflicted the place. Ahnost every family
was called to mourning. Mr. Isaac Stedman lost three chUdren ;
Captain Nathan Whitney, four ; Mr. Stephen Calf, four ; and
Deacon James Walker, two. The disease was the scarlatina, or
canker-rash, and was peculiarly fatal among children. This sick
ness, and that which prevailed in 1756, were the most alarming
of any that ever afflicted the township. But such diseases are
incident to all new countries. The clearing up of new lands, and
the letting In of the sun upon decayed vegetable matter, generally
fill the atmosphere with a miasma which is deleterious to health.
From the dismission of Mr. Marsh, in 1757, to the settlement
of Mr. Rice, in 1765, the church and society were in a broken and
distracted state. They had preaching the greater part of the time,
but they were troubled with divisions. In 1760, they extended a
caU to Mr. Samuel Dix, but he declining it, a call was subsequently
extended to Messrs. Peter T. Smith, Samuel French, and John
Wythe. Each in his turn declined the office, though Mr. Wythe
supplied the desk for some time. The feeble state of the society,
and the unfortunate controversies with Mr. Marsh, which continued
after his dismission, undoubtedly had their infiuence in inducing
these gentlemen to dechne a settlement. At length, at a meetmg
held July 19, 1765, the Parish voted to concur with the Church in
extending an invitation to Rev. Asaph Rice, to become their pas
tor. Mr. Rice having accepted the caU, the 16th of October of the
same year was fixed upon for his ordination, when he took upon
himself the solemn duties of Pastor of the Church of Christ in
Westmmster. The district gave him £133 6s. 8d. as a settlement

37
£66 13s. 4d., with thirty cords of wood, as an annual salary. Rev.
Eh Forbes, of Brookfield, preached the sermon, from 1 Cor. ii. 2.
Mr. Rice was son of Beriah Rice, of Westborough, a descendant
of Edmund Rice, an original emigrant, who settled first at Sud
bury, and afterwards at Marlborough. He was born May 9,
1733, and was graduated at Harvard College, 1752. He studied
medicine and practiced a short time in Brookfield ; but having
his right wrist broken by his horse falling with him, he was In
duced to quit his profession, and qualify himself for the ministry.
Before his settlement in Westminster, he had spent about two years
as a missionary among the' Indians at the Oneida Plantations, on
the Susquehanna. Losing his right hand, he was compelled to
write ¦with his left ; and specimens of his penmanship show that he
acquired considerable skill in writing in that manner.
Mr. Rice married, December 26, 1765, Mary Morse, of Boyls
ton, daughter of Rev. Ebenezer Morse. She died In childbed. In
1766, in her twentieth year, and he married Lucy Clough. She
died, and he married as his third wife, Lucy Shattuck, widow of
Benjamin Shattuck, physician, of Templeton. She survived her
last husband about flve years, and died at Templeton, 1821. His
chUdren were,
1. Persis, born November, 1766; married Silas Beaman.
2. Elizabeth C, born 1771 ; married Doctor Asa Miles.
3. Thomas, bom 1774 ; married Mary Eames, of Boston. He was a
merchant in Boston for some years, and then removed to Galena, Illinois.
4. Asaph, born 1775 ; died in infancy.
5. Asaph, born Febraary 17, 1777 ; entered Harvard College, 1798 ;
left, 1799 ; married Abigail Sawyer, of Bolton, and settled first at Thet
ford, Vermont, moved to Orford, New Hampshire, then to Lewiston,
Illinois. 6. Mary, bom June, 1778 ; married Jacob Sawyer.
7. Thankful, born 1780 ; married Farwell Jones.
Mr. Rice continued his relation with the church and society till
the close of his life. He died March 31, 1816, in the eighty-third
year of his age, and the flfty-first of his ministry.
Nothing of special moment transpired whUe the place remained
under the district organization. The last French war gave the
people no great uneasiness ; and being but a small settlement, just
emerging from a state of danger, they did not furnish many troops

38
to prosecute the war upon the frontier. There Is, however, a
tradition to the following effect.
In the call for men in 1758, Richard Baker, William Edgell,
Thomas Dunster, and perhaps others, entered the service for one
year. They marched first to Albany, then to Lake George. At
the expiration of their term, the officer in command refused to
discharge them. Whereupon they resolved to return home,
regardless of consequences. It was in the midst of winter, and
the ground was covered with snow to a great depth. They made
themselves snow-shoes, with strips of hide from the dead horses,
and made other preparations for their departure. A councU of
officers was held, which decided that the Company thus resolved to
leave, should the next day, be put under guard. This decision of
the council having been privately made known to them, they were
determined to avoid that humUiation, and before roll-call the next
morning, they took their departure, ¦with such provisions as they
could lay their hands upon, to return to Massachusetts. Their
way lay through a trackless waste, and over the Green Mountain
range. They lost their way In the forest, but at length found one
of the head branches of Deerfield river, which they followed, and
on the ninth day arrived at Coleraine. The party consisted of
nearly a whole company, from Westminster and other tovms.
During this march, they suffered almost Incredibly from the
depth of the snow, the severity of the weather, and the want of
provisions. For days they were without food. Falhng in with
a dog, they killed him, which served them for a meal. It was
said that, at one time, they resolved to cast lots to see who should
be slain, to save the rest from starvation. But some fortunate
circumstance saved them from that dire necessity, and the whole
party at length got safely to Massachusetts.
The population, from 1760 to 1770, increased with considerable
rapidity. Most of those who came into the place between 1750
and 1770, had families, and the natural increase was very consid--
erable ; besides, several famihes came into the town during this
decade. Jonathan Brown from Lancaster, the father of Jonathan, Benja
min, Joseph and John ; Josiah Puffer from Sudbury, the father of
Samuel and Asahel ; John FosJcett, the ancestor of those of that
name in town, from Bolton ; Timothy Fessenden from Lexington,
the father of a numerous family ; Joseph Spaulding from Chelms-

39
ford, the father of Jesse, MIrari, Joseph and Zebina ; Joshua Everett
from Attleborough, and Pelatiah Everett from Wrentham ; Ste
phen Sawin from Worcester, with his sons, Jonathan, David, Sam
uel, Reuben, and James then an Infant, who died 1859, aged
ninety-eight ; Nathaniel Sawyer from Reading, and Jonathan
Sawyer, probably from the same place ; Thomas Merriam from Lex
ington, the father of Asa and others ; Samuel Merriam from the
same place, brother of Thomas, and father of Nathan and others ;
Nathan Pierce from Lexington, ancestor of the Pierces ; Jonathan
Raymond from Lexington, father of Jonathan, John, Joseph, Isaac,
Ebenezer, and Nathan ; Nathan Howard from Maiden, father of
Nathan and Joseph; Dr. Zachariah Harvey from Princeton,
Michael Gill, and several other families, came to the place, so that
the population in the period of ten years more than doubled —
bringing it up to about 680 in 1770.
A prospect more flattering than they had before enjoyed, now
opened upon them, and comparative prosperity ensued. The
troublesome question " of dignifying and seating the Meeting
house," which was before the people In 1762, came up subse
quently, and a Committee was appointed to do It, " according to
real and personal estates, and having reference to age and honor."
In 1768, a Resolve was passed unanimously, which shows the
spirit of the times, and reflects honor upon the memory of our
fathers — a Resolve which, abating the grammar, might with great
propriety be re-resolved in these days of idleness and extravagance.
We ¦will give it verbatim.
"The District of Westminster, taking into consideration the
sinking state of the Province, arising through the manifold extrav
agances of the inhabitants ; in the great neglect of industry, and the
still greater increase of our misery In the extravagant expense of
its inhabitants, in the purchase of superfluities ; and are fully sensi
ble of the absolute necessity of industry and frugality. In order to
save us from impending woe, to save our wealth, and to place us
in a state of independency ; do cheerfully and unanimously vote
and resolve, that from and after the first day of April next, we will
not purchase any superfluities, and that we will take every proper
method within our power to encourage industry and manufactory
within the District ; for we are fully sensible that idleness has a
natural tendency to Impoverish any community, and when attended
with extravagancy, brings immediate ruin, will therefore by all

40
possible and lawful means, take every method within our power to
encourage industry among ourselves, and take this opportunity to
give it In direction to our Selectmen, to take special care that all
Idle persons among us, be kept to some lawful business, and that
the laws of the Province in that regard be duly observed."
We may smile at the simplicity of our fathers, but such Resolu
tions as the above did a great deal toward producing a controlling
public sentiment of economy and self-sacrifice, which enabled the
Colonies to carry on the war which they had reason to fear was
approaching. In 1770, on the 26th of April, the District of Westminster was
erected into a Town, by an Act of the Legislature. We now
arrive at a period in which the encroachments of Great Britain
became the absorbing theme. And though we could not expect
that a small town in the Interior, would take a leading part in the
controversies of that day, we find that they were ready to respond
to any call made upon them. On the Ilth of February, 1773, In
response to the call of the Committee of Correspondence of Bos
ton, they say, " We shall at all times heartily join "with them,
(the people of Boston,) In all legal constitutional measures for the
recovery of those Inestimable rights and privUeges wrested from us,
and for securing those that remain ; for we are sensible, that should
we renounce our hberty, we should renounce the quality of men,
the rights of humanity, and even our duty to God and man."
In December, 1774, they passed a vote forbidding the Constables
to pay the money collected on the Province tax to the royal Treas
urer appointed by the Governor, and directing them to pay It over
to the Treasurer appointed by the Provincial Congress. They also
voted that they would adopt the recommendations of the Conti
nental and Provincial Congresses, and thus put themselves In a
position to maintain and defend their rights. They subsequently
voted that they would support their due proportion of the poor of
Boston, who were reduced to penury by the shutting up of that
port. In the mean time, the people of Westminster were careful to be
represented in the Provincial Congresses by some of their best,
most patriotic, and rehable men. Deacon Nathan Wood, and
Abner Holden, Esq., were elected to the first Provincial Con
gress, and Deacon Wood to the second and third.
On the 10th of June, 1776, at a meeting called for that purpose.

41
it was voted unanimously, that if the Continental Congress should
declare the Colonies independent of Great Britain, " they would
stand by and support them in the measure with their lives and
fortunes." Such was the spirit which actuated the inhabitants of this town
during that eventful struggle. It may appear small for a town like
Westminster, at that period, to pass resolves on subjects of a na
tional character ; but it was In fact In these little Republics, that
the seeds of liberty were sown.
The Importance of Town Meetings, at that time, cannot be over
rated. In the darkest day of the period immediately preceding the
breaking out of hostUities, when the Royal Governor had prorogued
the Legislature, and refused to order a new election ; when an
armed force was stationed in Boston, to overawe the patriots, and
the people had no organized medium of communication with each
other ; that master spirit of liberty, Samuel Adams, who did more
to organize the American Revolution than any other man, called
upon the good people of Boston to assemble In Town Meeting, to
consult upon all they held dear as citizens. And It was In a Boston
Town Meeting, that Committees of Correspondence were suggested,
and organized. In pursuance of this proposed organization, the
towns throughout the Colony held their public meetings, at which
Committees of Correspondence were chosen, patriotic Resolutions
passed, and mutual pledges interchanged, which produced unity of
action, created and embodied public sentiment, and fitted the people
for the great struggle which was Impending.
No one measure contributed more to warm the patriot • heart, or
nerve the patriot arm, than these primary meetings of the people.
The effect was felt and acknowledged by the Colonists. The influ
ence thus exerted, was so great and controlling, that the British
ministry became alarmed, and Parliament passed a solemn Act for
bidding all Town Meetings, except the annual meeting for the
choice of town officers. But such was the devotion of the people
to these primary meetings, that in the interior they paid no atten
tion to the law, and In some of the larger towns, they evaded
it, by adjourning their annual meetings, from time to time, so that
they might be prepared, at almost any moment, to come together
to consult upon matters of public safety. Conceiving the privilege
of assembling to deliberate In this manner so Important, they
actuaUy made the Act prohibiting Town Meetings, one of the

42
prominent charges against Great Britain, and urged it as one of the
causes for resorting to arms. If there is any one thing which has
given to Faneuil Hall its notoriety, and has secured to it the glori
ous appellation of " The Cradle of Liberty," it Is the fact, that here
the patriots of Boston met in Town Meeting, and adopted measures,
and passed resolutions in defence of their liberties — measures and
resolutions which enkindled the fires of patriotism in America and
shook the kingdom of Great Britain to Its very centre. Let no one
then speak disparagingly of these little democratic gatherings,
where the pure and unsophisticated sentiments of freemen were
faithfully expressed, and where the true sentiments of the people
were fully reflected.
The history of those times shows, that these resolutions, adopted
by the towns, were not empty boasts. Westminster assured Sam
uel Adams, then and always the leader of the Boston Committee
of Correspondence, that they would join them in defence of their
hberties, whenever an occasion should present itself. And on the
19th of April, 1775, on hearing of the march of the British troops,
and of their outrage at Lexington, the Westminster companies,
commanded by Captain Elisha Jackson, Captain John Estabrook,
and Captain Noah Miles, Immediately marched for the scene of
action, with more than fifty men. And though from their distance,
they did not arrive in season to join In the affairs of that day, they
marched to Cambridge, which was at once made the head-quarters
of the Provincial troops, where they remained eight or ten days,
till the alarm had subsided.
The following is the list of Captain Jackson's men, who marched
to Cambridge on that occasion :
Elisha Jackson, Captain.. Jonathan Bancroft,
John Hoar, Lieutenant. Joseph Holland,
Amariah Rand, Sergeant. John Matthews,
Joshua Everett, " Andrew Darby,
John Glazier, " Elisha Bigelow,
Joseph Beard, Corporal. Ebenezer Eaton,
Isaac Williams, " Darius Sawyer,
Nath. Eaton, Paul Sawyer,
John Pierce, Reuben Miles,
Asa Taft, John Bigelow, '
Jonathan Child, Zachariah Willis,
James Bowers, Amos Spring.
Samuel Foster,

43

The following is a list of Captain Estabrook's men, who also
marched to Cambridge :

John Estabrook, Captain.
William Edgell, Lieutenant.
Nathan Howard,
Jabez Bigelow,
John Brown,
James Cooper,
Nathaniel Wheeler,
David Child,
Thomas Bemis,
David Pratt,
Edmund Wilson,
Moses Seaver,
Barron Brown,

Edward Jackson,
Asa Ray,
Samuel Warren,
Silas Whitney,
John Goodale,
Lovell Brooks,
Nathaniel Kezor,
John Cowry,
Josiah Wheeler, Jr.,
Elias Stearns,
Nathan Pierce,
Joshua Millins,
Eli Keyes.

The foUowing is a list of Captain Noah Miles's Company, which
also marched to Cambridge :

Noah Miles, Captain.
Samuel Sawin, Lieutenant.
James Clark, Ensign.
Norman Seaver, Sergeant.
William Bickford, «
Josiah Puffer, "
Ephraim Miller, "
Edward Beaman, Corporal.
Bezaleel Holt, "
Silas Holt, Fifer.
Josiah Jackson,
Nathan Davis,
David Bemis,
Benjamin Barnard,
Zaccheus Bemis,
John Ball,
Jonathan Graves,
Samuel Whitney,
Samuel Houghton,
Isaac Russell,

Solomon Garfield,
Peter Graves,
Josiah Hadley,
William Howley,
Jonathan Hager,
Noah Miles, Jr.,
Nathan Miles,
Levi Miles,
William Murdock,
Jonas Sawin,
Ahijah Wood,
Nathan Wood, Jr.,
Ephraim Wetherbee,
John White,
Andrew Beard,
Joel Miles,
John Darby,
Elijah Hadley,
Aaron Bolton.

More or less of the Westminster men were in each and every
campaign during the war. From the imperfect rolls, I have been
able to glean a partial list, which I think will compare well with
other towns of its size. Few towns of eight hundred inhabitants
furnished, I venture to say, more men in the Revolution.

44

Though the companies which turned out on the Lexington
alarm, did not, as such, enhst into the army, Westminster fur
nished a goodly number who enlisted into the eight months' ser
vice, immediately after ; as the following roll wUl show :

Edmund Bemis, Captain.
John Hoar, Lieutenant.
David Foster, 2d "
Jedediah Tucker, Sergeant.
Jacob Walton, "
Ephraim Hall, «
Isaac Williams, "
Abraham Stone, Corporal.
Thomas Knower, "
Ebenezer Bolton, "
William Houghton, "
Joel Adams,
Joseph Beard,
Barron Brown,
Abner Bemis,
James Bowers,
Thomas Farnsworth,
John Bears,
Samuel Child,
Jonathan Child,
Paul Sawyer,
Israel Walton,
Edward Wilson,
Nehemiah Bowers,
John Brown,
Joseph Corrender,
Aaron Cleveland,
Henry J. Dunster,

William Everett,
John Fessenden,
Peletiah Everett,
Zachariah Harvey,
Aaron Hill,
Eli Keyes,
Reuben Miles {died in service),
Alpheus Newton,
Ziphron Newton,
William Parker,
Nathan Peirce,
William Putnam,
Joel Miles,
Zachariah Rand,
Samuel Seaver,
Charles Reed,
Elijah Simonds,
Benjamin Seaver,
John Snow,
Amos Spring,
Ahijah Wood,
Zachariah Willis,
Joseph Robbins,
John Wells,
John Bemis,
Isaac Child,
Isaac Miller.

There were also, in the eight months' service from Westminster,
in Capt. Wood's company. Col. Sargeant's regiment :

Nathaniel Doubleday, Lieutenant.
Uriah Carpenter, Sergeant.
William Crook,
James Croford,
Nehemiah Chase,
Abner Wise,

Levi Fuller,
James Ide,
Seth Rowe,
Zachariah Tarbell,
Zachariah Tarbell, Jr.,
Joshua Wells.

At the alarm at the Bennington fight, in August, 1777, the fol
lowing men marched from Westminster, and were in service ten
days:

45

Elisha Jackson, Captain.
Samuel Sawin, Lieutenant.
Jabez Bigelow, "
Edward Bacon, Sergeant.
Jonathan Sa'wyer, "
Josiah Wheeler, "
Stephen Calf,
Nathan Wetherbee,
Stephen Moor,
Thomas Knower,
Zachariah Rand,
David Bemis,
Joshua Bigelow,
Zachariah Bemis,
John Hoar,
Ephraim Hall,
Silas Holt,
Josiah Jackson,
Edward Jackson,
Noah Miles,
Nathan MUes,
Asa Ray,
Reuben Sawin,
Asa Taylor,
Nathan Wood,

Jonathan Brown,
Isaac Brooks,
Thomas Bemis,
Ebenezer Bolton,
Levi Brooks,
Ephraim Bigelow,
James Clark,
David Come,
Jedediah Cooper,
John Edgell,
Samuel Foster,
Amos Gates,
John Glazier,
Peter Graves,
Jonathan Hager,
Joseph Holden,
Stephen Holden,
Isaac Miller,
Joel Miles,
Samuel Merriam,
Joseph Perry,
Elijah Simonds,
Jude Sawyer,
Abel Wood.

To reinforce the army at Bennington, in September, 1777,
Westminster sent the following, who were out twenty-seven days :

Elisha Jackson, Captain.
Samuel Sawin, Lieutenant.
Jabez Bigelow, "
Edward Bacon, Sergeant.
William Bickford, "
Hannaniah Rand, "
Edmund Beaman, Corporal.
Stephen Miles, "
John Edgell,
Solomon Garfield, "
Levi Graves, "
Joshua Bigelow,
Levi Brooks,
Joshua Bemis,
Josiah Puifer,
Nathan Parmeter,
Nathaniel Wilson,
Abel Wood,

James Clark,
Stephen Calf,
Amos Conant,
Josiah Conant,
John Cutting,
Nathan Darby,
Andrew Darby,
Samuel Fessenden,
Josiah Hadley,
Stephen Holden,
Edward Jackson,
Thomas Laws,
Abner Miles,
Jonathan Raymond,
Abner Sawin,
James Webber,
Isaac Williams,
Samuel Wood.

46
The several lists which follow, are very imperfect ; they have
been selected from dilapidated rolls, and some names, undoubtedly,
have been overlooked. Many of the rolls do not give the tovm to
which the soldier belonged ; and hence some must have been
omitted in these lists.
The foUowing men from Westminster, were in service in Rhode
Island, In 1777 :
Hannaniah Rand, Elisha Whitney,
Moses Seaver, Nathaniel Wheeler,
Phinehas Whitney, Ephraim Miles,
Joel Miles, Jonas Whitney.
Men from Westminster, raised for one year from January 1,
1778, and served in Captain Elisha Jackson's company :
Benjamin Treadway, Elijah Bemis, (died in service,)
Zachariah Harvey, Nathan Lewis,
Men in three months' service, 1779, Captain Pratt's company :
Samuel Brooks, Abner Sawin.
Men in the expedition to Rhode Island, 1779 :
Asa Brooks, Isaac Seaver.
The six months' men from Westminster, raised to reinforce the
Continental Army under a Resolve passed June, 1780 :
Abel Pearce, Richard Everett,
George Stone, Charles Hendrick,
Nicholas Dike, Jr., Jonas Darby,
Isaac Puffer, Samuel Gibbs,
William Sartcher, Isaac Seaver.
In the nine months' men in 1780, from this town, were Josiah
Bliss, in the tenth Massachusetts regiment, and Ebenezer Putnam,
in the seventh Massachusetts regiment.
In Captain Sibley's company, raised under the Act of June 30,
1781, Westminster furnished:
Jonadab Baker, Richard Everett,
Samuel Hoar, Isaac Dupee,
John Cohee, George Stone.
James Cohee,

47
In the three years' men raised under Resolve of December 2,
1780, were :
Silas Holt, • Isaiah Taylor,
Savage Taylor, Amos Kimball,
Samuel Merrifield, Grant Powers,
Jonathan Harvey, John Atwell,
Jonathan Stedman, Benjarain Treadway,
Elijah Gibbs, Nathaniel Pattin.
In the regulai- army were the foUowing, who served the periods
set against their names In months :

James Bowers,

36 mo.

Barron Brown,

46 mo,

John Ball,

36

Joseph Bailey,

15

Abel Pierce,

36

Timothy Crystal,

12

George Stone,

36

Peletiah Everett,

4

Gideon Stanby,

36

Nathan Green,

36

Asa Wesson,

36

Samuel Hunt,

20

Eli Keyes,

47

Nathan Pierce,

37

Zipron Newton,

37

Amos Spring,

4

William Putnam,

36

Nathan Woodward,

36

Daniel Smith,

14

Henry Talburst, deser

ted, 30

Besides this long and formidable list, there were. In different
regiments and companies, the following Westminster men : Norman
Seaver and Moses Seaver, stationed in Rhode Island twelve months,
Jonathan W. Smith, Joshua Mellen, John Abby.
John Woodward was Adjutant in Colonel Doohttle's regiment
of eight months' men.
Colonel John Rand was in service three months, in command of
a regiment from Worcester County.*
WhUe engaged in the Revolutionary struggle, the people of
Massachusetts felt the necessity of forming a Constitution of Gov
ernment, for the better managing of their own affairs. In 1778,
a Constitution was formed, and submitted to the people for their
acceptance or rejection. The citizens of Westminster voted unani
mously against it. It seems due to their memories to state some of
the principal exceptions which they took to this proposed Constitu
tion. " It is our opinion," they say, " that no Constitution what
ever ought to be established, tiU previously thereto a BUl of Rights
be set forth ; and the Constitution be framed therefrom — so that
* I have generally adopted the orthography of the names as I find them on
the rolls.

48
the lowest capacity may be able to determine his natural rights, and
judge of the equitableness of the Constitution thereby."
" And as to the Constitution itself, the following appears to us
exceptionable, viz., the fifth article, which deprives a part of the
human race of their natural rights on account of their color ; which,
in our opinion, no power on earth has a just right to do."
They also objected to the Constitution before them, because it
deprived the people of the choice of many of their officers ; and
they supported this position by the foUo^svIng truly democratic rea
soning. " Where can the power be lodged so safely as in the
hands of the people ; and who can delegate it so well as they 1 Or
who has the boldness to say without blushing, that the people are
not suitable to put in their own officers ? If so, why do ¦we waste
our blood and treasure to obtain that which, when obtained, we
are not fit to enjoy ? "
The Constitution in question was not only rejected by the good
people of this Town, but by the good people of the State ; and its
rejection led to the formation of another, and a better one, which
was adopted.
The history of Westminster, as of other towns during the Revo
lution, exhibits one continued, persevering struggle with difficulties,
to which we are strangers. The duty of furnishing a certain quota
of troops and supplies for the army, the poverty and destitution of
the people, the depreciated and fiuctuating state of paper money —
these were embarrassments which, though unknown to us, pressed
heavily upon the people at that day. Some idea of the depreciated
state of paper money, and the consequent increase of prices, may
be formed by the fact that the wood furnished to Rev. Mr. Rice, in
1786, was procured at auction for fifty-nine and sixty dollars per
cord. The state of things that followed the Revolution was, if possible,
more distressing. The return of the soldiers without pay, the
habits of the camp which they brought with them, the general in
debtedness of thfe Nation, the State, and the Town, and the inabil
ity of the people to meet their private debts, together with the
grasping and extortionary spirit of the few moneyed men to exact
the last farthing, — these contributed to bring upon the people an
embarrassment and perplexity as great as was felt during the war,
without any of that foreign pressure which awakened and kept
alive their patriotism, before their independence was acknowledged.

49
The population of Westminster, between 1770 and 1780, not-
¦withstanding the check produced by the Revolutionary war, in
creased about forty-six per cent, bringing the population at the
latter period up to about 990. Within this period, several families
came into town. I shall not attempt to arrange them in the
order of their settlement, nor attempt to trace them to their origin.
The following, among others, settled within this period ; and their
families have been more or less numerous and influential in the
town : Joseph Fhnt, William Bickford, Simon Gates, Asa Ray,
Edmund Barnard from Waltham, Nathaniel Tothingham, who
married Esther Brown of Lexington, Jonathan Hager from Wal
tham, Aaron Bolton, Norman Seaver, Timothy Damon from
Reading, Jedediah Cooper, Isaac Williams from Newton, Nathan
Wetherbee from Marlborough, Thomas and James Laws, Zacha
riah Whitman from Stow, (who had fourteen children, among
whom were Jonathan, Zachariah, and Joseph,) Thomas Knower
from Maiden, Wilham Murdock, Samuel Gerrish from Sterling,
Timothy Heywood from Sterling, Isaac Dupee from Reading,
Nathan Eaton from Reading, and Jonathan Minott from West
ford. Three of the above families I have been able to trace back to the
early emigrant. John Whitman came to this country early, and
settled in Weymouth before 1638. In 1645, he was appointed
Ensign, and a Magistrate to " end small controversies." He was
also a Deacon of the church. His youngest son, Zachariah, was
a clergyman, and settled at Nantasket, 1670. John, his second
son, settled in Stow, where he was a Magistrate and a Deacon.
He had, among other sons, Zachariah, who was the father of the
Zachariah who came to Westminster.
Timothy Heywood was a descendant of George Heywood of
Concord, who was one of the first settlers there, died 1671. He
had a son and a grandson by the name of John ; the latter was a
Deacon, and had Phinehas, born in 1707, who settled in Shrews
bury, where Timothy was born, February 12, 1740. Timothy
settled first in Sterling, and then moved to Westminster, where
he died August 14, 1825. He had eleven children.
Jonathan Minott was born August 23, 1749, and married, Sept.
3, 1771, Hannah Eastman of Westford. He was one of the gal
lant men who marched to Lexington, April 19, 1775. George
Minott, son of Thomas Minott, Esq., of Essex, England, was
7

50
bom 1594, came to this country early, aud settled In Dorchester.
He was the ancestor of Jonathan. George Minott was an Elder
in the church, and was cotemporary with Elder Humphrey. They
were both held In high esteem, as appears by the attempt to confer
immortality upon them by Epitaph :
" Here lie the bodies of Unite Humphrey and Shining Minott ;
Such names as these, they never die not."
One remarkable fact concerning several of these families is,
that when they came to the place, they were, in the language of
that day, "warned out of town." This was true of some men
who afterwards became wealthy, respectable, and infiuential. This
precaution was taken, lest the new-comers, or some of their
family, should become paupers, and chargeable to the town. It
would cause a smile to be told that one -half of the men who
have filled the principal offices in the town, for the last fifty
years, such as Selectmen, Town Clerk, Representative, and Jus
tice of the Peace, have been warned out of town, either in their
own persons, or in that of their ancestors. And yet this is the
fact with reference to this, and most of the towns in the Common
wealth. In 1785, a tract, consisting of seven or eight thousand acres, in
the north-westerly part of the to'wn, was set off from Westminster,
to form a part of a new town, by the name of Gardner.
In 1786, a vote was passed In town-meeting, to build a new
Meeting-house. This house was finished in 1788, and was dedi
cated January 1, 1789. It was located on the Common, north of
the present traveled road. It was a two-story building, with gal
leries, and was finished, ultimately, with square pews, a sounding-
board, and all the usual accommodations of that period. It re
mained as the place of worship till 1837, when it was superseded
by the new house now standing upon the Street. The old house
was then disposed of, and the frame, somewhat reduced in height,
was removed to another part of the village, and converted into a
mUl, and a pail and chair factory. It Is now generally kno^wn as
the Red MUl.
Next to the church and a minister, our fathers generally pro
vided for schools and the schoolmaster. It is probable that some
thing was done by private individuals before that period ; but the
first appropriation we find, was one of twenty dollars, in 1759.

51
Two years afterwards, the grant was Increased to twenty-six dollars,
and In 1763, to forty-four dollars. This money was expended in
what was denominated a moving school, which was kept In private
houses, in different parts of the town. In 1765 or '66, the dis
trict was fined for not supporting schools according to law. This
acting as a stimulus, in 1767 the inhabitants erected a school-house
twenty feet square, and appropriated one hundred dollars for the
support of schools. This school-house was situated on the Com
mon, easterly of the Meeting-house. The same year, the district
voted to support a school for four months, in the centre of the
town. In 1771, one hundred and eighty dollars were appropri
ated for schools, and in 1772, the inhabitants voted to divide the
to^wn Into five districts, and to erect a school-house in each, eighteen
feet square. From that period to the present, the schools have been
improving. The number of public schools at this day is thirteen ;
the aggregate number of months those schools are kept, yearly, is
about seventy ; the number of scholars between the ages of five
and fifteen is a little rising four hundred ; and the amount of money
raised for the support of schools Is fifteen hundred dollars, or about
three dollars and sixty-eight cents for each scholar between the
ages of five and fifteen years.
Besides the public schools. In 1829, there was an academy
established In the place, which, for a long period, was well patron
ized ; but owing to the numerous high schools in the adjoining
toAvns, the interest in this and other academies has declined.
On the organization of the district Into a town, in 1770, they
neglected to elect a Representative to the General Court, for which
neglect a fine was imposed. Owing to the deranged state of polit
ical affairs, no Representative was elected till 1776, when Deacon
Nathan Wood, who had represented the town in the three Pro
vincial Congresses, was elected. In the following years, during
the Revolution, Deacon MUler and Abner Holden represented the
town. After passing through the trials of the Revolution, and recover
ing from the state of depression and pecuniary embarrassment,
attendant upon that exhausting war, the town became comparatively
prosperous, and its population and wealth gradually increased.
Several famihes came Into the place before the year 1800, of
whom I have taken no notice heretofore. I will mention a few ,of
them, and especially those who have left descendants. Edward

52

Bacon from Newton, Thaddeus Bond from Sudbury, Francis Barnes
from Acton, Silas Beaman from Princeton, Samuel Fessenden from
Lexington, Ephraim Fenno from Boston, Phinehas and Amos
Gates from Stow, Edward Kendall from Leominster, Samuel Mose-
man from Princeton, Benjamin Nichols from Reading, several by
the name of Smith from Sudbury, Jeduthan Warren from Chelms
ford, James White from Lancaster, several of the name of Stone
from Groton, several of the name of Taylor from Stow, Moses
Thurston from Newbury, Abisha Shumway fr-om Oxford, David
Wyman frora Pelham, New Hampshire.
As the population of the town Is a pretty sure exponent of Its
wealth and prosperity, I will give the population In each decennial
period, from the first settlement to the present day.

Year. Population.
1810  1,419
1820  1,634
1830  1,695
1840  1,645
1850,  1,914
1855,  1,979

Year.

Population

1740, .

... 25

1750, . .

. . .^ 95

1760, . .

... 300

1770, . .

... 680

1780, . .

... 990

1790, . .

. . . 1,176

1800, . .

. . . 1,368

From 1740 to 1780, Inclusive, the population as above stated, is
unofficial, though I am persuaded that It Is a close approximation to
the true amount. From 1790 to 1850, inclusive, the population Is
taken from the United States census, and the population of 1855,
is taken from the State census.
Ha^ving given the inhabitants at different periods, I will give the
polls and dwelling-houses, as far as I can obtain them officially. In
an old document, signed by Thomas Brigden, WUliam Edgell,
and Nathan Wood, Assessors, dated 1771, I find the resources of
the town set forth as follows : — poUs taxed, 182 ; not taxed, 15 ;
houses, 122 ; shops, not connected with dwelhngs, 4 ; grist, fiiU-
ing and saw mills, 6 ; slaves, 3 ; horses, 75 ; oxen, four years'
old and over, 178 ; cows, three years old and upward, 374 ; grain
of all kinds, 4,659 bushels.
In 1830, Westminster stood in the State valuation, at $339,006,
and paid $1.85 on every $1,000 State tax. Number of dwelling-
houses, 257 ; of barns, 253 ; of oxen, 330 ; of cows, 800 ; of
horses, 228; of young cattle, 538 ; of sheep, 846 ; of swine, 302;

53

of saw mills, 8 ; of grist mills, 5 ; of factories, 1 ; of carding
machines, 1 ; of clothier's works, 1 ; of turning lathes, 5 ; of tan
neries, 3 ; and of stores, 6.
In 1830, Westminster stood m the valuation, at $339,006
« 1840, « " " 457,983
And in 1850, In the valuation, at . . . 732,784
Showing an increase in twenty years, of . . 393,778
In a tabular form, this kind of information will stand thus :

Year.
1771
1785 17911801 1811 1821
1831 18411851

Polls. 197
271318334 384
421 433468 519

Dwelling'-Houses. 122153166189212 220257 282305

The valuation taken in 1798, as the basis of the direct tax
imposed by the United States, casts considerable light upon the
condition of the town at that time, by showing the value of the
houses, the number of families, and the owners or occupants of
the homestead, and the value put upon the respective houses.
There were other smaller tenements, of less value. The first col
umn shows the name of the o'wner or occupant ; the second, the value
of the house, including the lot, not exceeding forty square rods.

John Adams, . . .

. $102

Silas Beaman, . . .

$200

Jabez Bigelow, . .

. 750

Benjamin Bigelow, .

. 103

Ephraim Bigelow, .

. 380

Thaddeus Bond, . .

. 500

Elisha Bigelow, . .

. 790

Samuel Brooks, . .

. 175.

Daniel Bartlett, . .

. 580

Isaac Brooks, . . .

. 410

Luke Bigelow, . . .

. 150

Jonathan Brown, . .

. 420

Aaron Bolton, . . .

. 150

David Child, . . .

. 110

Edward Bacon, . .

. 101

Thomas Conant, Jr., .

. 110

Edmund Barnard, . .

. 500

Jedediah Cooper, . .

. 540

Richard Baker, . . .

. 350

James Cohee, . . .

. 575

Edward Bemis, . .

. 300

Andrew Darby, . .

. 260

Thomas Bemis, . .

. 103

John Damon, . . .

. 300

Zaccheus Bemis, . .

. 220

Timothy  , . .

. 320

Joseph Bemis, . . .

. 400

Ezra Darby, . . .

. 150

54

Nathan Darby, .

$200

Ephraim Robbins,

. $175

John Darby, . .

. 350
Daniel Sawin, . . .
. . 101
Nicholas Dike, . .
. 150
Silas Smith, . . .
. . 115
Nathan Eaton, . .
. 103
Charles Smith, . . .
. . 400
William Edgell, .
. 600
Thaddeus Smith, . .
. . 300
John Estabrook, .
. 400
Abishai Shumway, .
. . 290
Peletiah Everett, .
. 480
Joseph Sawin, . . .
. . 200
Benjamin Flint, .
. 300
Abraham Sampson, .
. . 300
John Fessenden, .
. 140
Jonathan Sawin, . .
. . 110
Daniel Foskett, .
. 105
James Sawin, . . .
. . 200
Stephen Hoar, . .
. 870
Samuel Sawin, . .
. . 320
John Hoar, . . .
. 580
Joseph Spaulding, .
• . 150
Stephen Holden, .
. 110
Zebina Spaulding, .
. . 105
Seth Harrington, .
. 400
Benjamin Seaver,
. . 102
Timothy Heywood
•
. 103
David Sawin, . . .
. . 400
Jonathan Hager, .
. 480
Jonathan Sawyer,
. . 740
Abner Holden, . .
. 560
Eli Sawyer, . . .
. . 230
Abner Holden, Jr.,
. 240
Asa Taft 
. . 101
John Brown, . .
. 480
Moses Thurston, . .
. . 320
Levi Holden, . .
. 400
Asa Taylor, . . .
. . 465
Nathan Howard,
. 260
Nathan Tottingham, .
. . 220
Oliver Jackson,
. 160
Samuel Taylor, . .
. . 105
Edward Jackson,
. 598
Nathan Whitney, . .
. . 520
Silas Jackson, .
. 220
John Woodward, . .
. . 103
Thomas Johnson,
. 150
Nathan Woodward, .
. . 180
Edward Kendall,
. 375
Thomas Wetherbee, .
. . 105
Thomas Knower,
. 150
Joel Wilder, . . .
. . 480
Abel Moseman,
. 102
Ephraim Wetherbee, .
. . 200
Thomas Lows, .
. 120
Zachariah Whitman,
. . 780
James Lows, Jr.,
. 120
Jeduthan Warren,
. . 101
Jonathan Minott,
. 500
Thomas Wheeler,
. . 103
Noah Miles,
. 320
James Winship, . .
. . 200
Samuel Miller, .
. 220
James Winship, Jr., .
. . 102
Samuel Moseman,
. 600
Cyrus Winship, . .
. . 250
Isaac Miller, .
. 101
Josiah Wheeler, . .
. . 775
Jonas Miles,
. 700
Abner Whitney, . .
. . 101
Asa Merriam, .
. . 150
Alpheus Whitney,
. . 160
John Martin, .
. 460
Phinehas Whitney, .
. . 275
Thomas Merriam,
. . 320
Nathan Whitney, .
. . 380
Samuel Merriam,
. 150
David Whitney, . .
. . 380
John Miles, . .
. . 360
John Whitney, . .
. . 520
Joseph Miller, .
. . 170
Joel Whitney, . .
. . 105
Paul Matthews,
. . 300
Jonas Whitney, . .
. . 355
John Murdock, .
. . 440
Isaac Williams, . .
. . 210
Asaph Rice, (Rev
)n
ott
axed.
Ahijah Wood, . .
. . 819
Heman Ray,
. . 103
Abel Wood, . . .
. . 690
Zachariah Rand,
. . 400
David Wyman, . .
. . 160
Jonathan Raymon
i,
. . 200
55
The foregoing table shows the relative value of their dwellings,
and their style of living, so far as the house is an Index.
Westminster has never been particularly distinguished for her
manufactures, though there has been, for the last thirty or forty
yeai's, a considerable amount of small articles manufactured In the
place. Twenty-five or thirty years ago, the manufacture of straw
braid and straw bonnets, was carried on by the ladies In their fam
ihes, to the amount of eighteen or twenty thousand dollars a year ;
but that business has mostly ceased. The principal manufactures,
now, are paper and chairs. The returns made to the Legislature
in 1855, showed a manufacture of paper of the annual value of
$79,900 ; of chairs and cabinet ware, $95,380 ; of bread manu
factured, $15,000 ; and other small articles ; — making an aggregate
of a little over $200,000.
We have already spoken of the call and settlement of Rev. Mr.
Rice, over the Congregational Society In Westminster, in 1765.
He died In 1816. About two years before his death, he had a
shock of the paralysis, which put an end to his public labors ; and
on Feb. 22, 1815, Rev. Cyrus Mann was ordained as his colleague.
Mr. Mann continued his labors with the Society till 1840, when
he took a dismission, and was succeeded by Rev. Stephen S. Smith,
who remained their pastor eight years. He was succeeded, suc
cessively, by Rev. Messrs. Orlando H. White, Marcus Ames, and
Bro'wn Emerson, their present pastor.
The people of Westminster were united in one religious society
untU 1812. At that time a small number of Individuals, mostly
from the northerly part of the town, uniting with their brethren
in Ashburnham, formed a Methodist Society, and erected a small
Meeting-house. But this Society, always small, has become
extinct. In 1816, a Society of Universal Restorationlsts was formed, and
was incorporated in 1820. Having erected a Meeting-house, Rev.
Le-vi Briggs was Installed their pastor, Sept. 3, 1822 ; sermon by
Rev. Paul Dean, of Boston. Mr. Briggs's time having expired,
Rev. Charles Hudson took the pastoral care of this Church and
Society In AprU, 1824. In April, 1825, he removed to the place,
and continued his relation with the Society till the spring of 1842.
Since that time, they have been supplied by Rev. Messrs. Paul

56
Dean, Yarnum Lincoln, Quincy Whitney, and D. C. O'Danlels.
The Society is now destitute of a preacher.
In 1827, a Baptist Society was organized, and in 1829 they
erected a brick Meeting-house; In March, 1830, constituted a
Church ; and Rev. Appleton Morse was ordained over this Society,
and one in Princeton, October 20, 1830 ; sermon by Rev. Prof.
Chase, of Newton. Mr. Morse was succeeded by Rev. Mr. San
derson, and he, by Rev. Messrs. David Wright, Caleb Brown,
George D. Felton, Chandler Curtis, J. E. Forbush, George Carpen
ter, and others. Their Meeting-house is secured to the Baptists
forever by a trust deed, and all the pew-owners hold their pews on
condition that " The Church reserve the right of caUing, settling,
continuing and dismissing the minister." Such provisions are of
doubtful expediency; and generally tend to alienate, rather than
Unite, any Christian society.
Situated upon the height of land, where the water is pure and
the air salubrious, Westminster has always been remarkable for the
health of its inhabitants. The bills of mortality show many cases
of remarkable longevity. Few towns, of the same population, can
present so large a list of aged persons, who have died within the
last fifty years. The records, in this respect, are quite Imperfect ;
many deaths being set down without any mention of the age, —
and yet they present the following striking facts.
From 1800 to 1814, inclusive, when the record was very meagre,
there were recorded sixteen deaths of persons over 80 years of age,
viz., two of 80 ; two of 81 ; two of 82 ; three of 83 ; two of 84 ;
one of 85 ; one of 86; one of 87 ; and two of 90. From 1815
to 1830, inclusive, there were forty-five persons who were 80 years
and upwards, viz., eleven of 80 ; one of 81 ; thi-ee of 82 ; four of
83 ; four of 84 ; four of 85 ; seven of 86 ; one of 87 ; one of
88 ; five of 90 ; two of 92 ; one of 94 ; and one of 96. From
1835 to 1859, inclusive, there were one hundred and five persons
who died in town, of 80 years and upwai'ds, viz., twenty-seven of
80 ; four of 81 ; four of 82; six of 83 ; twelve of 84 ; four of
85 ; five of 86 ; two of 87 ; twelve of 88 ; two of 89 ; ten of 90 ;
three of 91 ; two of 92 ; two of 93 ; two of 94 ; two of 96 ; two
of 97 ; one of 98 ; one of 99 ; and one of 100.
There are several Instances, rather remar-kable, of husband and
wife both Hving to great age, and dying at nearly the same time.

57
Richard Baker died 1808, aged 80; his wife died 1813, aged 78.
Richard Graves died 1798, aged 88 ; his wife died 1800, aged 87.
Seth Harrington died 1815, aged 86; his wife died 1811, aged 85.
Ehas Holden died 1838 ; his wife died 1839, aged 76. Abner
Holden died 1805, aged 81 ; his wife died 1812, aged 83. Eben
ezer Mann died 1844, aged 94 ; his wife died 1847, aged 91.
Ephraim MUler died 1828, aged 85 ; his wife died 1824, aged 85.
Thomas Merriam died 1821, aged 90, his wife died 1819, aged 80.
John Miles died 1808, aged 81 ; his wife died 1808, aged 83.
Samuel Moseman died 1852, aged 80 ; his wife died 1851, aged 77.
Jonathan Sawin died 1822, aged 87 ; his wife died 1826, aged 91.
Nathan Whitney died 1851, aged 87 ; his wife died 1849, aged 79.
These examples show the longevity of the inhabitants of Westmin
ster, and speak weU for the health of the place.
As I have given this Address so much of a historical character)
I -will carry out the plan, by giving a brief sketch of the situation,
extent, and topography of the township.
Westminster is a post-town In the northem part of Worcester
County, situated on the ridge of highlands which divide the waters
that flow into the Merrimack river, from those that flow into the
Connecticut. It lies In latitude 42° 23' N. and in longitude 5° 1' E.
from the meridian of Washington ; and Is about twenty-one miles
north from Worcester, and about fifty-four mUes West North-
West from Boston. It is bounded northerly by Ashburnham,
easterly by Fitchburg and Leominster, southerly by Princeton and
Hubbardston, and westerly by Hubbardston and Gardner.
The principal village is situated on the old post road from Bos
ton to Brattleborough, and consists of between sixty and seventy
dwelling-houses, three English and West India goods stores, and
several mechanics' shops. There are also two churches, and an
academy in the village. The Common, containing about four acres,
is about sixty rods from the centre of the village. It is situated on
the summit of a large swell of land, elevated sixty or eighty feet
above the viUage, and commands an extensive and delightful pros
pect. At the base of this hUl, on the one side, glides a stream of
water which flows from the swamps westerly of the village, while
on the other is spread out the Westminster pond, a beautiful sheet
of water, covering about one hundred and seventy acres. And
while these attractions he at the base of the hill, a more distant

58
view gives you a great variety of hills and dales, spread out in
native rudeness and beauty. On the one hand, stands the lofty
Wachusett, whose elevated head Is " conspicuous far o'er all the
hills around ; " and on the other, at about twenty miles distant, the
grand Monadnock, with brow half seen and half concealed in
clouds, bounds the prospect of the beholder. And while these
lofty elevations stand as watch-towers to the south and the north,
the eastern horizon is studded with lesser heights and with the
villages of Groton and Westford, whose spires reflect the last rays
of the setting sun.
There was formerly an important line of travel passing through
this town. The stages from Greenfield and Brattleboro' passed
daily, in both directions, through the village, and the stages from
Keene passed through the northerly part of the town ; but since
the opening of the Cheshire, and the Vermont and Massachusetts
Railroads, the travel is diverted in a great degree from the centre
of the town. The railroad passes through the northerly and
easterly portions of the town, but the station Is about two miles
from the village.
Lying upon the mountain range, the township Is of course
elevated. The village is nearly eleven hundred feet above tide
water, and more than nine hundred feet above the mouth of MU-
ler's river at Montague. Situated between the Wachusett and the
Monadnock, the winters are more severe, and the snows fall in
greater depth, than in most towns in the same latitude. But the
summers are delightful ; the pure and bracing air gives a buoyancy
of spirits and a glow of health, which richly compensates for the
frosts of winter.
The surface of the township is generally rocky and uneven ; but
rising in large and gradual swells, the soU is not generally broken.
The Wachusett mountain, In Princeton, has the northern portion of
its base within the town of Westminster. There are other eleva
tions in the town, of considerable magnitude. The soil is generally
moist and strong, and under a high state of cultivation, would be
very productive. It is a good grazing town. The territory is
remarkably well watered. Being upon the summit, the streams
are comparatively small, and yet there is a large quantity of water
flo-wlng from the town. The Westminster and Wachusett ponds,
containing an aggregate of nearly three hundred and fifty acres,
and being fed by springs from the circumjacent hUls, furnish a

59
good supply of water. Besides, there are several large ranges
of swampy land, from which considerable streams issue. Almost
the whole of the stream at Fitchburg, which constitutes the north
ern branch of the Nashua, comes from or through the township of
Westminster. And in addition to the waters which flow easterly
into the Nashua, Westminster sends her tributaries westerly Into
Miller's, and south-westerly into Chicopee river. Thus standing on
an eminence, between the Connecticut and the Merrimack, West
minster regards them with Impartiality, and liberally imparts her
favors to the two principal rivers In the State.
Westminster has never been particularly noted for being the
birth-place or residence of distinguished men. Rev. John MUes,
for many years a settled clergyman in Grafton, was a native of the
place. Hon. Abijah Bigelow of Worcester, who was Clerk of the
Courts of Worcester County, and who represented the District in
Congress, originated here. Hon. Solomon Strong, who was also
a member of Congress, and afterwards Chief Justice of the
Court of Common Pleas, made Westminster, for a time, the place
of his residence. Clough R. Miles, Esq., of Millbury, a lawyer of
considerable distinction, ¦was a native of this town. Hon. Charles
Hudson of Lexington, while residing In Westminster, which he
did for nearly twenty-five years, represented In part the County of
Worcester six years in the Senate of Massachusetts, three years in
the Executive Council, and the District eight years in Congress.
Dr. John White, a physician in Watertown, New York, a son of
Deacon James White, was born in Westminster, where he prac
ticed medicine more than twenty years. Dr. Flavel Cutting, who
practiced medicine in Westminster many years, was born of West
minster parents. Rev. Asaph Merriam, Rev. Charles Kendall, a
clergyman now of Petersham, son of Edward Kendall, Esq., were
born in this place ; as was Rev. Joseph Peckham of Kingston, and
Rev. Franklin Merriam, now of New Boston, New Hampshire.
Hon. Giles H. Whitney of Winchendon, who has represented the
County in part in the Senate, resided at one time in Westminster.
Dr. Cyrus Mann of Stoughton, son of Rev. Cyrus Mann, was
born and brought up in this town.
Joseph Wood, son of Abel Wood, Esq., graduated at Williams
College, 1815, entered the ministry, and died in Alabama, 1837.
Theodore S. Wood, son of Ezra, graduated at Amherst, 1833, and

60
died in Andover while at the Theological School, 1835. Franklin
Wood, son of Deacon B. F. Wood, graduated at Dartmouth, 1841 ;
Is now a teacher in Minnesota. Abel Wood, son of Deacon B. F.
Wood, graduated at Dartmouth, 1843, studied divinity, and is
now one of the teachers in Merlden Academy, New Hampshire.
Dr. Joel W. Wyman, a physician In South Carolina, and Dr. John
L. White, were natives of this town. The latter Is In Illinois.
Westminster has also sent out quite a number of teachers.
A. Holden Merriam, J. Russell Gaut, William S. Heywood,
Francis S. Heywood, and Porter P. Heywood, William F. and
Edward E. Bradbury, besides a large number of females from this
town, have been employed as teachers in this and distant parts of
the country.
In this enumeration, we should hot overlook the pious and
devoted females, who have relinquished the pleasures and joys of
home, and have voluntarily exiled themselves from the comforts of
civilized society, to spread the Gospel among the heathen. Myra
Wood, daughter of Abel Wood, Esq., married Rev. David O.
Allen, a Missionary to Bombay. She accompanied him, in 1827,
to that place, and died there, in 1831, in the thirtieth year of her
age. Mary Sawyer, daughter of Jacob Sa'wyer, and grand
daughter of Rev. Asaph Rice, of Westminster, married Rev.
William C. Jackson, a Missionary to the East, and spent several
years at Trebizond and ¦vicinity. In the neighborhood of the Black
Sea. The question Is sometiraes asked, by what title we hold our
lands ? Were they purchased, or how was the Indian title extin
guished ? It is not easy, perhaps, to give a specific answer to these
questions. But a statement of the facts in the case, wIU make the
matter tolerably clear. So far as the first settlers were concemed,
it Is sufficient to say that they held under the grant of the General
Court. If there is any difficulty in the case — any wrong done to
the native tribes, it was done by the body politic, and not by those
who established themselves in this township. For at the time of
the first settlement here, this region was destitute of Inhabitants.
In order to judge correctly of the justice and equity of the
policy 'of our fathers towai-d the native tribes. It Is Important to
recur to first principles. When God created man, he said unto
him, " Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and

61
subdue it." It is apparent that a people who subdue the soil, and
fit it for the habitation of man, have in the abstract, a better title
to the land, than a people who simply roam over It, to hunt and to
fish. It is also apparent that a given section of country will sup
port a vastly greater population of civilized than of savage men ; so
that the great and benevolent plan of Providence is promoted, by
a savage race giving place to a civilized one. No enlightened
Christian, therefore, can lament that an uncivilized, pagan nation,
fades away before a civUIzed, Christian nation. To murmur at
this. Is to murmur at the order of Providence.
But this can never justify any oppression, or fraud, or injustice,
on the part of the stronger or civilized race. Were our fathers
guilty of any fraud, or injustice, towards the natives ? This Is the
question to be settled. For the sake of brevity, I confine myself
to this section of the Commonwealth. It Is a well known fact, that
some eight years before the landing of the Pilgrims, the Massachu
setts, a tribe which held possession of this part of the State, had
been visited by a dreadful pestilence, which had reduced their
numbers from many thousands, to a few hundreds ; so that this
section of the country was almost depopulated, when the Massa-
chusett Colony was first established here. It will hardly be main
tained that a few hundred wild men of the woods ought to hold
the whole of this delightful country against the claims of a more
civihzed people, who were driven by oppression from their native
land. The English emigrants were, even in view of the " higher law,"
entitled to a footing in this country. There was vacant land
enough for the red men and for the white. And the toil in cross
ing the ocean gave them a title to the vacant lands, not much
inferior to that of the Indians, who never mingled their labor with
the soU. Where the natives were in possession — where they had
habitations and fields and accustomed hunting-grounds — their
claims should be regarded as paramount, and respected accordingly.
But it seems to be straining the point to say, that a few wild men
of the woods had a vendable right in the soil throughout hun
dreds of miles of wilderness, simply because they, or their fathers,
had in a few instances roamed over some portions of It In quest of
game. Besides, when the Chiefs of the Massachusetts, the Nashuas,
and other tribes, put themselves under the Massachusetts Colony,

62
in 1644, they virtually relinquished their jurisdiction over the
unsettled sections of the country. Westminster was probably
never permanently occupied by any of the native tribes. The
Nashuas, who resided in that part of Lancaster which now con
stitutes Sterling, perhaps visited temporarily the section near the
Wachusett pond ; but they never made It a permanent place of
residence. So that the General Court might have felt themselves
at liberty, ever after 1644, to grant this township to any settlers.
But another Important event occurred before this to'wnshlp was
granted. When the Nashuas joined Philip, In 1675, as they did
in a good degree, In violation of their treaty, they put all their
country at the hazai'd of the contest ; and the Enghsh settlements
in the Colony, by the arbitrament of arras, came into possession of
this portion of the country, though they did not In fact take pos
session of It till more than half a century after, when It had been
for years abandoned by the Indians.
This general view of the subject shows, that the General Court
had a title to this section of the State, at the time they granted the
township, which would then, and now, be considered valid by the
law of nations, as it Is understood in the most enlightened and
civilized countries.
But behind all this lies a question of moral right, which we have
no disposition to overlook. The rights of war will never justify
fraud or Injustice. How then did our fathers treat the natives ?
In most Instances they were treated fairly, and even kindly, by the
Massachusetts Colony. After their voluntary submission, in 1644,
wherever they had settlements, they were protected in their pos
sessions ; and whenever they desired grants of land, these grants
were cheerfully made. The Natick Indians had a plantation laid
out for them, as early as 1652 ; and even earlier than that, they
were allowed to bring actions In the Courts of the Colony to main
tain titles to their lands. And in 1652, It " was ordered and
enacted by this Court, that what lands any of the Indians, within
this jurisdiction, have by possession, or Improvement, by subduing
the same, they have just right thereunto." These rights were, I
believe. In all cases, respected by the Colony, and in numerous
cases grants were made to them. We might instance the grants at
Marlborough, Grafton, and many other places. And to show that
this faith has been kept, we can point to the grants that are made
to this day to the Indians at Grafton, Gay Head, Marshpee, and

63
other places. We could also point to numerous localities, where
the Indian titles have been extinguished by purchase.
That there are individual cases, where the Indians have been de
frauded, there can be no doubt. But this was generally done by
unprincipled individuals, rather than by the body politic. And
wherever injustice has been practiced, the fact that the defrauded
party was the unclvihzed Indian, aggravates, rather than extenu
ates the crime. An expiring nation, like expiring individuals,
should be regarded with sympathy, and treated with kindness ; and
the individual, or the community, which violates this obvious
principle. Is guilty of a wrong, for which they must atone.
If It were possible, I should like to present an exact picture of
the condition of society as it existed one hundi-ed years ago, that
you might see what strange mutations a century has wrought.
These hills and dales are in their general outlines the same ; but
all their surroundings are changed. Thick forests of pine have
given place to fields of golden grain, and the rivulets which then
forced their way amid decaying trunks of prostrate trees, or gurgled
through dense thickets of alders, now flow gracefully through
meadows waving with grass, and yielding a full repast for the
tenants of the stall. The hillsides, which resounded with the wild
howl of beasts of prey, are now vocal with the lowing of gentle
herds. And the general condition of the inhabitants relative to their
houses, their furniture, their dress, their food, and their modes of
life, has undergone a change as great as that of the face of natui'e.
We have seen that the first habitations of the settlers were only
about eighteen feet square, and some of these were but little larger
than the huge stone chimney which, for want room In the house,
was actually turned out of doors. The size of the houses had
increased before the district was incorporated ; but the people had
not, at that time, run to the other extreme, which was afterwards
adopted, of erecting a large house which they were unable to
finish. But we should not suffer the rough boards, on the outside of
their houses, to hide the primitive simplicity which reigned within.
If you were to approach one of their humble and unpretending
dwelhngs, on a winter's evening, avoiding the wood -pile in front of
the house, three or four lusty raps with the knuckles on the door

64
would bring a hearty response of " walk in," when, by pulling the
latch-string, which was always out, and so lifting the wooden latch,
the door would open, and you would find yourself In the presence
of the whole family, of ten or a dozen persons, of all ages, seated
around a crackhng fire. The huge back-log, which was rolled into
the fire-place In the moming, and which had manfully resisted the
blazing element through the day, would be seen yielding the
ascendency, and furnishing a mass of burning coals, sufficient to
smelt the most sullen ore.
By the blaze of the pine knots, which illuminated the room,
you would have the family group in full view before you.
In one corner sits the aged grandma'am. In a rude oaken chair,
bottomed with strips of elm bark or raw hide ; while in the other
corner, on a huge settle, whose high-boarded back was designed to
intercept old Boreas In his passage from the shrunken boards and
broken windows, to the open-mouthed chimney, are seen three or
four children, giving visible symptoms that the time had arrived to
draw out what. In latter days, and in more advanced stages of
civilization, would be denominated a " trundle bed," and to con
sign them to repose. Ou the long block within the jambs, and
yet at a respectable distance from the fire, two or three older
urchins are playing their sly tricks, and endangering the vessel
near them, filled, not with Tyrean dye, but 'with what would suffi
ciently tinge the four-skein yarn, which the hum of the wheel
gives evidence is being produced, and so fit it for use.
If the blaze of the green wood falters, or the pine lamps become
dim, they are revived and replenished, by the shavings produced
from the birch broom, which the good man of the house is peeling,
or from those of the wooden spoons, which another member of the
masculines Is whittling out for the next repast from the tray of
bean porridge, still In its minority, being less than "nine days
old." A survey of the fumiture would at once convince you that
nature's wants were few, and easily supplied. The settle supphed
the place of the sofa — the form, of the lounge — and the block, of
the ottoman. A single rude table sufficed for a centre, a dining,
and a tea-table ; and In Its composition, a pine boai'd supplanted
the marble slab, the mahogany, and the black walnut. Their
china closet, or what was then generally denominated a dresser,
consisted of two or three shelves, nailed to the side of the house

65
on which were deposited a few wooden trenchers or plates, a tray,
wooden spoons and wooden bowls, all of home production, a
pewter or brown earthen mug, and a few knives and forks. A
wooden shovel or peel, served to stir the embers, or rake up the
fire ; and a broom, of peeled birch or of hemlock boughs, to
sweep the room or brush up the ashes.
Their dress was In keeping with their furniture. Plain, simple
home-spun, excluded the silks and the satins, and linsey-woolsey
displaced a hundred nameless French fabrics, with which the
market at this day is glutted. The checked apron, the " sheep's
gray" trowsers, the woolen or tow shirt, and the various articles of
wool or flax, colored with maple, walnut, apple-tree, or some other
bark, constituted the dress of the family, on ordinary occasions ;
whUe the Sabbath might bring to view a calico dress, or some
article of foreign production. On the fashion of dresses, however,
I shaU not dwell. This subject is too expansive to be encircled on
an occasion like the present. But in the midst of this simplicity,
we find some article of furniture, like a clock, a chair, or a look
ing-glass ; or some ornament, hke a pair of shoe or knee-buckles,
which had come down from European ancestors, cherished with a
fond pride, and displayed with an air of no small satisfaction.
Their living, a hundred years ago, was as simple as their dress.
Meat, and bread and milk, were their principal dependence. Salt
beef and pork, rye and Indian bread, beans, turnips and cabbages,
constituted their daUy fare. The potato being at that time in
a great measure unknown, and rarely cultivated, the bean was
extensively used, both as a solid and a hquid food ; so that bean-
porridge was not only a household word, but a household repast.
Tea was but little used, and coffee scarcely known. Beer and cider
constituted their principal beverage ; though the bewitching drink
of distUled spirits was indulged In on public occasions.
In taking a survey of the past, not only the manners and
customs, but the characters of our fathers naturally present them
selves. Without attempting a full analysis of their characters, we
may safely say, that being men, they had their follies and infirmi
ties, and were characterized by the faults of the age in which
they lived. I shall be pardoned, I trust, If I say a word on their
religious character, which was the most salient point among our
forefathers. That they were a rehgious people, no one can doubt ;
and that their religion assumed a stern and uncompromising type,
9

66
is readily admitted. We may concede, too, that they were tinctured
with superstition, and cherished, in some degree, a persecuting
spirit. Let us contemplate their character as thus presented. Their
habitual trust in God, and their abiding conviction that they had a
great work to perform, amid difficulties and dangers, and were in
a manner the appointed agents of the Most High, to establish a
pure and vital religion in this wilderness, gave them an energy, a
zeal, and persistency of character, which showed itself in their
whole life. And if they manifested inordinate zeal, or exhibited
too much sternness of character, these were but the infirmities of
that vigorous faith which they so fondly cherished. And if they
imbibed something of a persecuting spirit, they have the apology,
that the spirit of toleration, and the virtue of forbearance, were in
a great measure unknown in that age of the world.
Our Fathers were in advance of the age in their ardent devotion
to God, in their trust in divine Providence, and In their uncon
querable love of civil and religious liberty; and it is requiring
too much of them to expect perfection in aU things, because they
excelled in maiiy. Admit, if you please, that they had defects of
character ; they were the very defects which would naturally flow
from their stern, manly virtues, and from the spirit of the age in
which they lived. The part they had to act in the plan of divine
Providence, led them to contemplate the Almighty in the character
of a Ruler, rather than that of a Father, and fltted them to perform
the Important duty of estabhshiug our civil institutions on a
broad, religious basis. Had they been less stern In their manners,
less fixed in their principles, and more yielding and compromising
in their policy, they would probably have faUed in their grand
enterprise, of founding a free state on the great principles of
religion. Though we may find some things In their conduct to condemn,
there are more to approve. Their stern, incorruptible integ
rity, their persistent perseverance, and their self-sacrificing spirit,
have given to New England a character of which we may justly
be proud. " History," it is said, " shows their faults." We
rejoice that it does ; for this proves the fidelity of history, by show
ing that they were men. We rejoice that faithful historians have
pointed out their faihngs as well as their manly virtues ; so that
we may have many things to imitate, as well as a few things to

67
shun. And happy will it be for us, if after-generations can review
our characters, with as few regrets, and with as much satisfaction
as we experience, this day, when we contemplate the characters of
our ancestors. Give me the stern Integrity, the fixed determina
tion, the manly, unconquerable perseverance, and the unfaltering
faith of our Puritan ancestors, and I have the very materials of
which to form characters which will stand In the day of trial. Give
me these, and I will readily dispense with the easy virtue, the
compromising policy, and the etherial, speculative doubtlngs of
this age of boasted progress and refinement.
Fellow Citizens of Westminster :
Though I cannot claim kindred with your inhabitants, or
boast of being bom upon your soil, yet your town is endeared to
me by a residence of a quarter of a century, and your people by a
long, friendly, and intimate acquaintance. Here I have mingled
with your people in every situation of life. I have stood by the
bed-side of the dying, shed the sympathetic tear with the mourner,
and foUowed some of your valued citizens to the grave. Here I
have visited your chUdren in the schools, united sorae of you in
bands of holy wedlock, and joined In your social circles. Here,
too, I received the first testiraonlal of political confidence, which
brought my name before a confiding and generous public, which
for twenty-five years in succeslon, sustained me In places of honor
and of trust.
There are associations of a more private and tender character,
which aUy me to this place. It was here that I commenced my
domestic life, by assuming the interesting and responsible relations
of a husband and a father. It was here, that, amid a tender and
generous sympathy, I was called to part with my early corapanion
and two endearing children, whose earthly remains rest beneath
your soil. This town is the birth-place of my surviving children,
who drew their first vital breath upon this consecrated Hill.
The famUIar faces I see before me ; the cordial greetings I have
received this moming ; your beautiful natural scenery ; the trees by
your road-sides ; " your rocks and your rills ; " your fresh and invig
orating atmosphere, whose gentle breezes move your leafy groves,
and whose stronger blasts murmur through the bending branches
of these aged elms ; the school-houses dedicated to the young, and
the -yillage spires pointing upward as if to guide us to heaven, or

68
draw down blessings upon our heads ; — these conspire to revive
former recollections, and more youthful feelings, and create in my
breast the emotions of the chUd who has returned to his father's
house to spend a true and joyous Thanksgiving, in the old faraily
mansion. And never, oh never, whUe memory remaias, shaU the recollec
tions of Westminster cease to retain a place in my thoughts and
affections. And while many of her absent native sons have this
day returned to lay their filial offering of joy and gratitude at her
feet, I fondly hope that I may, without Intrusion, join in the general
tribute ; and, with them, unite in a fervent prayer for her future
prosperity and happiness.

APPENDIX.

A LIST OF THE GEANTEES FOE THE NAREAGANSET TOWN
SHIP, NO. 2, AS MADE UP IN 1732.
CAMBRIDGE.
William EusseU, (then living. )
Gershom Cutter, (then living.)
Joseph Bemas, for his father, Joseph.
Jonathan Remington, Esq., for his father, Capt. Remington.
Downing Champney, for his father, Samuel.
Jonathan Bathrick, for his father, Thomas.
Peter Hay, for his brother-in-law, John Barrel.
WUham Grleason, for his father, WiUiam.
The heirs of John Smith.
Samuel Smith, for his uncle, Samuel.
The heirs of Joseph Smith.
The heirs of Nathaniel Smith.
The heirs of Thomas Brown.
Jonathan Grates, for his father, Simon.
Thomas Welhngton, for his uncle, John.
WUliam Brattle, Esq., for his grandfather, Thomas Brattle.
Daniel Cheever, for his uncle, James Cheever.
CHARLESTOWN.
James Lowden, (then living.)
Samuel Eead, (then hving. )
Henry Sumers, (then living. )
Robert Fosket, for his father, John.
Thomas Skinner, for his uncle, Isaac Lewis.
Samuel Fosket, for his father, Samuel.
Samuel Long, for his uncle, Samuel Newell.
Magry Dowse, for father, Joseph.
Nathaniel Goodwin, for his uncle, Benjamin Lathrop. ,
James Smith's heir, namely, Jonathan Call.
Joseph Pratt's heirs.

70
Samuel Lanmon's heirs.
William Burt's heirs.
Jacob Cole's heirs.
John Moseley's heirs.
Humphrey Miller's heirs.
John Hawkins's heirs.
John Trumbull's heirs.
Alexander Phillips's heirs.
George Mudge's heirs.
John Shepherd's heirs.
Thomas Welch's heirs.
John Grind's heirs.
Joseph Lynd's heirs.
Timothy Cutler's heirs.
James S. Little, for his father.
Thomas Genner's heirs.
John Griffin, heir to Matthew Griffin.
Ebenezer Breed, for his father, John.
Zachariah Davis, for his uncle, HopstQ Davis.
John Sprague, for his father, Jonathan.
Eleazer Johnson, for his father, Edward.
John Senter, for his father, John.
WATERTOWN.
John Sawin, for his father, Thomas.
Ephraim Cutter, (then living. )
Jonas Cutting, for his father, James.
John Barnerd, (then living.)
Joshua Bigelow, (then living.)
Wilham Shattuck, (then living.)
Joseph Grout, for his father, Joseph Grout.
Zachariah Smith, for his father, Jonathan Smith.
Samuel Hager, for his father, John Hager.
George Harrington's heirs.
John Harrington, (then living. )
Joseph Priest, for his father, Joseph.
Zechariah Cutting, (then living.)
John Bright, for his uncle, John.
George Pametor, for his father, William.
Joseph Ball, for his uncle, Jacob Bullard.
Thomas Harrington, for his wife's father, Timothy Rice.
John Sherman, for his uncle, John.

71
Capt. Joseph Bowman, for his wife's uncle, James Barnerd,
Joseph Smith, for his father, Joseph.
Eichard Beers, for his father, Elnathan.
Michael Flag's heirs.
Capt. Joseph Bowman, for his wife's father, John Barnerd.
John Cutting, for his father, John Cutting.
The heirs of Doct. WeUington.
The heirs of Benjamin Wellington.
WESTON.
Ebenezer Boynton, for his wife's father, Caleb Grout.
Onesiphorus Pike, for his father, James Pike.
Thomas Cory, for his father, Thomas.
Nathaniel Norcross, for Jeremiah Norcross.
Daniel Warren, (then hving. )
SUDBURY.
Matthew Gibbs, (then living.)
Eichard Taylor, for his father, Richard.
Thomas Taylor, for his father, Sebred.
John Marston, (then living.)
John Parkhurst, for his father, John.
Denis Hedly, (then living. )
John Adams, (then living.)
Benjamin Parmeter, for his brother, Joseph.
Joseph Eutter, for his father, Thomas.
Ebenezer Graves, for his father, Joseph Graves.
John More, for his father, Joseph.
NEWTON.
Edward Jackson, for his father, Sehorn.
Nathaniel Haly, (then living.)
Isaac Beech, for his brother, Richard Beech.
Stephen Cook, (then Uving.)
John Park, for his father, John.
Jonathan WUlard, for his father, Jacob.
The heirs of Capt. Thomas Prentice.
MEDFORD.
Wilham Willis, for his father, Thomas.
John Hall, for Capt. Seill.
John Whitmore, for his father, John.

72

MALDEN.
John Mudge, (then living.)
Samuel Kneeland, assignee to Phineas Upham.
Abraham Skinner, for his father, Abraham.
James Cheak's heirs.
John Winslow, for his father, John.
William Willis, for the heirs of John Bacheler.
READING.
Nathaniel Parker, for his uncle, .Jonathan.
Eichard Brown, for his uncle, Edmon.
Thomas Nichols, (then hving. )
Major Swain's heirs.
Isaac Williams's heirs.
Benjamin Davis's heirs.
Samuel Lampson, for his father, Samuel.
Thomas Hodgman's heirs.
Eichard Upham, for his father, Phineas.
Samuel Chandler, for William Jones.
A true Copy of Records in my Office.
Attest. Samuel G. Kendall, Town Clerk.
Westminster, Feb. 11, 1857.

POEM,

WILLIAM S. HAY-WOOD

Westminster, December 1, 1859.
Mr. William S. Haywood :
Dear Sir : — We respectfully ask you for a copy of your Poem, delivered at our
Centennial Celebration in October last, that it may be published with the Address
and Proceedings connected with that event.
With great respect, yours,
BENJAMIN -VyyMAN,
JOEL MERRIAM, Jn.
WILLIAM S. BRADBURY,
Committee of Pvblication.

Messrs. Wymax, Merkiam, and Bradbury,
Committee on Printing, SjC. .
Gentlemen: — ^Your favor of the 1st inst., received by due course of mail, is hereby
acknowledged. I cheerfully comply with your request, to fumish for the press a copy
of the Poem prepared and delivered by me at the Centennial Celebration of the Incor
poration of my native toivn, and herewith commit to your hands the manuscript for
the purpose designated. Happy in doing my part to render the occasion referred to
pleasant and profitable, I am also happy in offering a tribute of good-wiU to the sons
and daughters of old Westminster, with many of whom I was more or less intimately
associated in former years, and of many of whom pleasing memories linger still to
gladden and to bless. The production, which you seem disposed to dignify with the
name of Poem, makes no pretension to poetical precision and finish ; it only claims
the merit of being the simple, heartfelt outbreathing of the deeper and better feeling
of the author. I present it to you and to those for whom you act, — to all the children
of my native town, wherever they may be, in the hope that, while its more particularly
local allusions and reflections may tend to revive and perpetuate many grateful asso
ciations, its general views of Man, Life, and Duty, may serve to stimulate to high
resolve, lofty endeavor, and glorious achievement, in the pathway of all that is noble,
and virtuous, and godlike. I am. Gentlemen, Yours, very respectfully,
WM. S. HAYWOOD.
Hopedale, Milford, Mass., December 7, 1859.

POEM.

Westminster celebrates to-day
Her Hundredth Anniversary.
Proud in the fullness of her years.
Her history telling in our ears,
With speech, and poetry, and song,
With festal pleasures that belong
To such events, with wit and mirth.
She justly honors now her birth.
Out to the breeze her banner flings.
Lays wide her store of bounteous things.
Her messages of love sends forth
To East and West, to South and North,
Bidding her roaming children come.
Visit once more their earlier home.
And gather round her cheerful board,
Laden with what her stores afford ;
Seek out old friends and new relations,
Eevive the lost associations,
Live yet again the mystic past
Prom which Time hurries on so fast.
The once familiar walks tread o'er,
Eetreats, hallowed in days of yore.
And, 'mid the scenes of glad reunion,
With greetings and with sweet communion.
To find such welcome and such cheer
As can but gladden many a year.
And we are come ; the inviting word
By our quite willing ears is heard.
With joy we come, from near and far,
Our heart's desire a guiding star,

76
Prom North and South, from West and East,
To sit and share this natal feast.
We come from many a varied sphere ;
We come from new homes that are dear ;
We come to bring a tribute meet.
And lay at old Westminster's feet.
Por, in the divers walks and ways
We've traveled since the former days.
Through all the changes of our lot,
We ne'er our native town forgot ;
But, at the mention of her name.
There always flashed a hidden flame
Of grateful love within the breast —
A quick response that made us blest.
Yes, we are here, the wandering ones
Whose course of duty elsewhere runs ;
And those who, faithful, still remain
The honored landmarks to maintain.
We all are here — the father, mother.
The son and daughter, sister, brother.
The friends of near and distant tie,
Met face to face, and eye to eye,
Eejoicing in each other's love.
In blessings from our God above.
Yet all are not here ; there are some
Who from their duties could not come ;
Some, far away on land or sea.
Have yet to learn of this day of glee ;
Some waste in sickness, and some bless
Their fellow-creatures in distress ;
While others still, oppressed by want.
Would fain be with us, but they can't.
Hence, though we here are quite a host,
The absent number far the most.
They all tread not the shores of Time ;
How many are in another clime !
Who hath no parent, chUd, or friend.
Brother or sister, seen descend
To the dark vale, the vale of death.
Yielding up there the mortal breath ?
Dark vale, indeed, save as the light
Of Truth and Love makes all things bright.

77
With one fond thought to the mortal dear.
And one to those of the unseen sphere.
My muse would lead us still along
To other themes by her humble song.

A hundred years ! What hopes and fears.
What joys and griefs, in a hundred years !
What changes — ^fortunes made and lost !
What woes, what feasts of Pentecost !
What crimes, what sacraments of blood !
What movements for all human good !
Kingdoms destroyed, thrones overturned.
Empires laid waste, and cities burned ;
Inventions multiplied, the hand
Of Art enlivens every land.
Philanthropies spring forth, and words
Of truth contend for power with swords.
New principles are born — not bom,
They live forever, tyrants' scorn.
New light breaks forth with joy and love.
As hastening seasons onward move.
Men throughout earth grow good and wise.
And in the scale of being rise.
But who can tell all that appears
As fruit of the last hundred years !
A hundred years have come and gone
Since there was laid the corner-stone
Of this, our native town ; the men —
Oh, where are they who served her then V
They come not here their tale to tell —
(Tale other lips have told so well) —
They've passed beyond their earthly lot ;
Places that knew them, know them not.
So we, too, their descendants, pass,
As morning dew from waving grass.
And, ere a century returns.
The fire of mortal life that bums
However brightly now, will die
Within us, while goes rolling by
The tide of being ever swelling,
And deepening with divine indwelling.

78
Ah ! as life's onward march is beating,
Leave we a story worth repeating, —
A story other hearts to swell,
That we have done our work so well ?

Hail to our native place ! we bless her,
And in our festal joy caress her.
We come and filial homage pay
On this her Anniversary.
Why not ? 0, can we treat with scorn,
Or hate the spot where we were born V
No, no ! with heartfelt, glad acclaim,
We'll chant our peans to her name.
Whatever be our avocation.
Or high or low our earthly station.
Mechanic, Merchant, Farmer, Clown,
Dependent, aided by the town.
Shoemaker, Doctor, Lawyer, Preacher,
Or Hostler, Painter, Blacksmith, Teacher,
A Landlord, Baker, Saddler, Spinster,
We'll honor give to old Westminster.
Gifts to her altar will we bring ;
Her many praises will we sing.
Behold her in each outward feature
A part of all-sun'ounding nature ; —
A hand divine these hills among
Laid her foundations deep and strong.
And over them in order spread
A richer or a poorer bed
Of earthy matter — mould or soil.
Calling her sons to noble toil —
From which, the customary courses
Of nature's own inherent forces
Give birth, with seeming exultation.
To countless forms of vegetation.
How pleasant and how fair of face
Of varied beauty and of grace
Westminster wears ! See hill and dell.
What nature's lovers love so well,
See running streamlet, brook, or river.
Which hastes the landscapes to dissever.

79
Here too are lakelets, forests, flowers.
Quiet retreats and leafy bowers,
While breathing zephyrs, fresh and clear,
Oft come as from some purer sphere.
Spread health and vigpr all around,
That joy and gladness may abound.
And over all what fairer skies
In solemn majesty can rise !
The sun by day, the moon by night.
Each sheds its own peculiar light ;
And stars look down from where they're set
Like gems in nature's coronet.
The same Aurora heralds day.
Chasing the damps of night away,
That breaks on fair Sicilian lands.
Or gilds the morn on Italy's strands.
In this old town, as in those places
Renowned for storied charms and graces,
The Great Unseen his power makes known,
His changeless goodness here hath shown,
That tongue and raptured heart may tell,
" Our Father doeth all things well."

Westminster, — Is it more than meet
We lay our offering at her feet ?
Here had we birth ; our being's sun
Here rose, its endless course to run ;
Here opened we our infant eyes
On beauties of both earth and skies ;
Here were unsealed our infant ears
To music of the outer spheres.
And thus was launched our feeble bark
Upon life's ocean, stormy, dark,
Ofttimes, yet having more of good
Than ill, if rightly understood.
Here shared we first a parent's love.
Hovering o'er us like a dove ;
Experienced all the joys of home
Ere cares and toils to us had come ;
Here dawned upon our inner sense
Wisdom and love of Providence ;

80
Here went we forth in earlier days.
Where wonders raet our every gaze.
To find delights that nature brings.
To glory in her offerings.
To catch her life, to feel the thrill
She sent through all our heart and will,
Inhale her breath, to hear her sound,
Behold her glories spread around,
And, by the paths the true have trod.
Be led by her up to our God.
And here, perhaps, we earliest quaffed
Of sorrow's deep and bitter draught, —
Our very hearts asunder riven
With shafts by sad aifliction driven.
But yet, whatever were our lot
While dwelling on this cherished spot.
Where'er we are, where'er we go
In all this changing world below,
Our souls wUl turn with gladsome thrills
To this old town among the hills,
And hallowed memories shall move
Our hearts to earnest, filial love.
And may not sweet emotions rise
At thoughts of her, beyond the skies '!
What farther tribute can we pay
At our fond birthplace shrine to-day ?
She may not boast of sons of fame, —
Men who have gained a sounding name ; .
Of conquerors she may not boast,
Leading to blood a murderous host ;
Of geniuses, wondrous and rare,
On whom a gaping world may stare ;
Of mighty men, as men count might.
Before whom others quake with fright ;
She may not boast of children great,
Reckoned by human estimate ; —
Of sons, who have high rank or station
In either Church, or State, or Nation ;
Or daughters eminent, whose praise
Is chanted in melodious lays.
But, wanting these, 'tis no great loss,
Since Christs and Saviors find a cross.

81
And men of loftiest purity
Are left in lone obscurity
As often as they wear a crown.
While villains sometimes get renown,
And it may be, though she can claim
No son or daughter known to fame.
She has what's better, honest men
And women ; those who, measured when
Strict justice holds the scale of things,
Shall stand before the King of kings, —
While others, only great in name.
Fall down in self-reproach and shame.
I trust that in the sight of Him
Whose eye no show or sham can dim.
There are, whom this old town can boast,
Numbers whose worth exceeds all cost.
Men they are of conscience, heart,
Who strive to act the better part ; —
Women of sympathy and love.
Faithful in spheres in which they move,
Eeady for each good work and word.
Obeying their acknowledged Lord.

But why should this occasion pass
Without the mention of a class
Of which our town may well be proud '.'
It rises like a shining cloud
Of witnesses, to do her honor.
Laying its hands of blessing on her.
Her native teachers. — See, they stand
With willing heart and ready hand.
The claims of ignorance to dispute
And " teach the young idea to shoot."
A worthy company they are.
At home, abroad, or near, or far.
Dispelling all the shades of night,
Diffusing learning's ambient light.
And helping Science to display
The glories of her perfect day.
Teachers, go on, a goodly band.
Extend your influence o'er the land ;
11

82
Your mission's high and noble, strive.
With all your native powers alive.
To do your duty faithfully,
And scatter blessings great and free.
Eemember always. Education,
Deserving of full acceptation,
Eegards not intellect alone;
But makes all human parts its own ; —
Eelates to body, mind and soul.
Training the powers of the whole ;
Comprises health, intelligence.
Virtue, aye, good common sense.
To educate, is not to train
To books simply ; this were but vain ; —
'Tis not to give a little notion,
A sort of Homoeopathic potion
Of Eeading, Spelling, Drawing, Writing,
Coldly and formally reciting.
To educate, — it is to make
Men and women, for manhood's sake
And womanhood's ; and all beside
Is fruit of foUy or of pride.
Keep this in mind, to it be true.
And priceless trophies are for you.
In your endeavors, catch, if you can.
The spirit of a Horace Mann.
Lamented Mann ! Thy sun to earth too soon hath set.
But its effulgence gilds our western horizon yet ;
Thou'rt only gone before, our spirit's glad evangel.
Earth mourns a Mann, but Heaven hath gained — how bright an angel !

Westminster, child incorporate
Of Massachusetts, old Bay State.
The old Bay State, how fair her name 1
Deserves she well her world-wide fame,
For where in all the earth around
Is there an equal to be found, —
Equal in heart, equal in mind.
Equal in what exalts mankind ?
Where is the province, where the state.
Empire, or kingdom, small or great ?

83
Search Asia's wide-spread territory.
Or Europe's fields, far-famed and gory,
Or Africa's hot, scorching sands.
Among the new world's virgin lands ;
Your task a fruitless one will prove.
For Massachusetts claims your love.
Eough though her surface, hard her soil,
Eock-bound her shores, inviting toil.
Severe her climate, low her birth.
She wears the crown of all the earth.
Even though we mourn her soil not free
To all who seek for liberty.
To every trembling fugitive
From chains, who 'neath her flag would live.
What constitutes her greatness 1 What,
The meed of honor she has got ?
'Tis not the glory of an hour,
'Tis not her wealth, 'tis not her power
Of arms or law, 'tis not her trade.
Her commerce o'er all seas displayed,
'Tis not the fabric that she makes,
Or works of Art she undertakes,
'Tis not her forests, rivers, fields.
The products that her tillage yields ;
But 'tis her character, her spirit,
Noble and true, that gives her merit.
Upon her altars bum the fires
That light the hideous funeral-pyres
Of ancient error, crime, and 'wrong,
By fashion, fame, and law made strong.
Was it not on her sea-lashed shores
The Pilgrims left their weary oars,
Casting their chains of soul behind,
On this forbidding sod to find.
Where barbarous men before had trod.
Freedom to serve and worship God ?
Has history's voice not reached our ear,
Or, reaching, have we scorned to hear
What fearful dangers they did dare,
The rights of conscience here to share ?
'Twas Duty's voice their souls had heard,
Demanding that God's living Word

84
Be honored, reverenced, and obeyed.
Before all laws that man had made.
And to earth's tyrants of every name.
Civic or cleric, 'twas all the same,
King, Emperor, Prince, Bishop, or Priest,
Whatever wore the mark of the Beast, —
To all they hurled a bold defiance,
God and the Eight their sole reliance.
For Conscience' sake, at Duty's call.
They dared, endured, and suffered all ;
And daring, suffering, self-denying.
They triumphed gloriously, though dying.
We claim not for them full perfection.
Their faults do not escape detection ; —
They lighted persecution's fire
Against the Quaker, Mary Dyer,
And Williams, not of their persuasion.
They sent to Providence plantation.
But, notwithstanding all their wrongs.
Much honor to their name belongs
For their fidelity ; their sense
Of Eight was their Omnipotence ;
And their strong blood has given birth
To sons and daughters of great worth, —
To men of spirit, men of soul.
Men who the fates themselves control.
To men of courage, men of toil,
Men who at truth never recoil.
To men who heed the living Word,
Disciples of a living Lord,
To men of principle and will,
Mon, though opposed, who aro faitbful still,
To men that dare be out of Fashion
Though all the Grundys are in passion.
To men prepared to do and die
For justice, truth, and liberty.
In this renowned old Pilgrim State,
Fresh thought, ideas circtdate ;
Inventions new spring into life.
And all the useful arts arc rife.
Here Science finds rapt devotees
Who would all lore of nature seize.

85

And raise a temple to the skies.
Which should attract the joyful eyes
Of wondering nations, while from far
People should hail the beaming star.
Here learning sends her blessings down
To the humblest child of every town ;
None so insane aud none so blind.
Who cannot an asylum find ;
While every moral, social good
Is sought and somewhat understood.
Humanity, with all her woes,
Torn by a thousand, thousand foes.
Turns hither in her half despair
And breathes her sad but earnest prayer.
Nor hither turns and prays in vain ;
At what she sees, takes heart again.
Philanthropy, with ready hands.
Would lavish blessings on all lands,
Eeact the Good Samaritan
To every suffering, needy man.
And bring the reign of peace and love
Down from the realms of bliss above.
And in the ever waging fight
For Truth and Justice and the Right,
Among the heroes strong and bold.
Who, though now scorned, shall be enrolled
On the Future's scroll of merited fame.
There's many a Massachusetts name.
For every such, wherever he be.
Of kno'wn or unknown pedigree,
A monument more lustrous than gilt.
More lasting than marble, shall yet he built
In the hearts of grateful generations.
In the lives of coming states and nations, —
A monument that shall endure
When Bunker Hill's is known no more.
Old Massachusetts, — her renown
To years unnumbered shall go down ;
Her Hght, her love, her liberty.
Shall bless the ages yet to be.
But thoughts merely local should never engage
Our whole mind and heart in this stirring age ;

86
So pass we on hence to more general things,
To topics my muse the more cheerfully sings.

There are questions pressing on us.
Questions deep and questions high,
Questions on whose faithful answer
Bests our future destiny.
Shall we give them our attention.
Heeding well their inward sense ?
Or, ignoring, blind and stolid.
Boldly scorn Omnipotence ?
'Tis God's angel to us puts them,
'Tis his voice the silence breaks,
Hark ! I hear the meaning accents
Of the Providenee that speaks.
" What is man, and what existence?
What the end of labor here ?
What is meant by human duty? "
Eings the voice out soft yet clear.
" Answer, child of thought and feeling.
Answer with thy lip and life,
Answer with thy heart-aspirings,
Answer with thy soul's stern strife."
In the spirit of devotion,
In the mind of trust and love.
We take up the urgent queries
Our fidelity to prove.

What is man, — his real nature ?
What are his inherent powers ?
What the being God hath made him, —
Dweller on this globe of ours ?
Is he but a mushroom creature.
Springing upward for a day ?
Some strange fungus of existence.
Meteor-like mystery ?
Is he like the beasts that perish.
Traveling downward to the dust ?
Or, like some old feudal castle.
Subject to time's corroding rust?

87
Being of but trifling value.
Like the things of earth and sense ?
Being to be held and trafiicked
In the scale of pounds and pence ?
Being to be ground to powder
'Neath oppression's mighty weight ?
Being to be foully slaughtered
By harsh violence and hate ?
Victim of a proud ambition ?
Sport of tyrants or of fiends ?
Used, like dead, unconscious matter.
To promote base, selfish ends ?
Is this man, as God hath made him,
Man in his inherent soul,
Man that was, is, shall be ever.
While the ages onward roll ?
List, my Muse, the deep responses
Fall upon the inward ear,
Haste to catch them, and interpret
Wbat the meaning that they bear.

The Infinite Creator, in his wonder-working plan.
Hath cro-wned with noble nature the being we call man ;
Though seeming frail and feeble, often lost in sin's dark night.
He yet may upward, onward move in everlasting flight.
What gifts are his, within the realm of intellect and soul !
What agencies are in his hand, that Destiny control !
Though struggling on the shores of time, before him is the portal
Of an unending life beyond — the life that is immortal.
He on his destined way may go, in never-tiring marches.
Swelling the songs that echo through the everlasting arches.
Behold, in outward, earthly form, what excellencies shine !
For poets truly speak and sing of " human form divine."
The hero of all history, of all below the head.
The centre round which things of earth their full-orbed circuits speed.
Strike man from out the rolling years, and what a blank were there !
What other loss can be conceived that with it could compare !
The ages in majestic pomp would come, and, passing, go.
But wherefore ? 0, what tongue can tell, what mortal mind can know !
When God gave man existence, calling him from chaos' night,
He granted him a portion of His own all-powerful might,

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That, he, the creature and the child, all noble toil might share
With Him, Creator, Lord of all, who worketh everywhere.
Behold the deeds man's hand hath wrought in the outward creation.
Thus introducing to the earth a better dispensation ; —
The barren fields he cultivates, and fairer landscapes rise,
The rugged wilds to gardens turn, that bless beholding eyes ;
Where thorns and brambles grow and thrive, springs yellow, waving grain,
And so broad wastes and deserts change to Eden come again ;
Wild beasts forsake their native dens, their roars forever cease,
And human habitations stand in beauty and in peace.
God gives a river, island, bay ; man sets himself to work.
And lo ! as by some magic power, appears the great New York ;
A small peninsula he gives to man's industrious hands.
And Boston rises on the sight, the light of many lands ;
The forces of the outer world his servants he enrolls.
Unlocks the mysteries of time for the welfare of all souls ;
The hidden power of fire and water at his word comes forth.
An agency more potent than the Mastodons of earth,
Which carries him o'er land or sea, or here or there at will.
And multiplies in countless ways his own effective skill ;
Lightning he makes his errand-boy, the winds his harnessed steeds.
With sunbeams he his portraits paints, — such are his marvelous deeds.
But not alone to matter is his capacity confined ;
The greater his achievements in the spacious realm of mind; —
He gathers up from all the past, its wisdom, light, and lore.
And brings out from the present what was never known before.
Old Egypt with her idol hands, her early treasures yields ;
And Greece, the many precious gems of her rich, classic fields ;
And Eome, whose eloquence and power shook Capitoline hill ; —
All these, each with peculiar gifts, his mental storehouse fill ;
While other nations, tribes, and tongues, their ready tribute bring,
And humbly lay it at his feet, a free-will offering.
Nor delves he always in the old, but finds new trophies still
Eewarding him, as on he toils up Science' rugged hill.
He reads in Geologic facts, in sand-stone, coal and granite,
The mighty works of nature's God, on this our native planet,
The wondrous changes that occurred in ante-human ages.
Ere history, with careless pen, had blotted yet her pages.
Or, leaving earthly things behind, the realms of space explores.
And visits regions far away, creation's other shores.
Discovers worlds and peoples them, and numbers all their years.
And marks the power, wisdom, love, that guides the circling spheres.

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Nor pause we here ; for better ends and higher conquests lie
Within the reach of him that's made for Immortality.
Greater than intellect alone, than genius, reason, skill ;
Man has another nature, he has power of choice and will.
Of love and aspiration, of virtue, goodness, right, —
The loftier expressions of the everlasting might.
He is a moral being — ^he a spirit in his birth ;
His needs and sphere of action outreach the bounds of earth ;
He plays the harp of thousand strings, with discords harsh and bestial,
Or else, attuned by skillful hands, to symphonies celestial.
He judgment has of right and wrong, of what is good and evil.
And chooses he whom he wdl serve, or God, or self, or devil.
His power of ill, of deadly hate, of cruelty and crime.
Exhibited in all his course adown the stream of time.
Is counterparted by his power of holiness and love.
Which, in the wise designs of Heaven, his real worth must prove.
No Nero, full of lies and sin, debauchery and shame.
Who might not for himself have won the meed of heavenly fame ;
No Caesar, full of war, driven by ambition's mad behest.
But might have won, in holier strife, the victories of the blest.
A Saul of Tarsus, breathing out fierce threatenings and rage
Against the new religion of more than prophet, priest or sage.
In Paul, the brave Apostle to the scattered Gentile race.
Appears with lovely radiance illumining his face.
And all the holy men and saints, God's sacramental host.
But indicate capacities that man, as man, may boast.
To conquer self, to bring to order, passion, appetite.
To train the soul to Christian truth, to principle and right.
To rise above temptation's power, to stem the tide of ill.
To humble at the throne of God the strong and stubborn will, —
This, man may do — all .this, and more ; he holds the potent charm
By which the mighty wrongs of earth shall stay their blighting arm ;
He has the word which, if he speak, shall be at once obeyed,
'Tis "Thus far. Evil, shalt thou come— here be thy proud waves stayed; "
And War, and Tyranny, and Lust, would then forever cease.
And all the realms of earth be filled with purity and peace.
He holds the futures in his grasp, the coming states and nations.
And moulds at will, for weal or woe, advancing generations.
Aye, such is man, the child of God, as rans the Christian story.
Created for exalted ends, for honor and for glory.
With eye of faith, he views the scenes on the eternal shore.
With heart of hope and love, aspires to life forevermore ;
12

90 >
To those companionships and joys that once below were riven,
To be revived and shared again within the gates of Heaven ;
To beings, sanctified and pure, where mortal hath not trod ;
To realms of light and joy and peace, the bosom of his God.
Though born on earth, he yet may rise in spirit, pure and free,
And claim his mansion in the skies for all eternity.
The earth, with all its mighty works, may run into decay ;
The heavens like a scroll be rolled, and, fearful, pass away ;
The rock-ribbed mountains bow their heads, the hills may take their flight.
And sun and moon and stars, grown dim, be lost in blackest night :
All nature and all systems into one vast ruin hurled,
And not a single pile be left, of universe or world ;
Yet man shall live, surpassing all, in God's far-stretching spheres,
Nor reach the limit of his powers through rolling, endless years.
" Such is man," the voices echo.
Clearly 'mid the din and strife ;
Yet once more I hear the query,
" What, oh, answer, what is life ! "
Aye, what is life — man's truest life — life worthy of the name.
That shall secure the human soul from dire remorse and shame ;
That aids it in its lawful course, its ever-rising way,
And realizes to it God's appointed Destiny ?
He only lives, who liveth well ; who gives supreme control,
To Him, by whose eternal law the universes roll ;
Who is forever cognizant of what he is within, —
His own inherent nature, though debased by self and sin ;
Employs his energy and skill to lofty ends and aims.
And, in his every word and deed, his noble worth proclaims.
The vital forces of his soul, with operative might,
Subdue all passion, lust, and pride, all carnal appetite ;
With pure affection, high resolve, with purpose firm and strong.
He stands, in his integrity, against all forms of wrong ;
Of Christ-like spirit, meek and mild, he holds to right and good,
And looks on all the human race as on a brotherhood.
Life is not sham, to spend one's years in artificial seeming ;
It is to he, in heart and life, frank, honest, self-redeeming.
Such, such is life, is glorious life ; all else is but appearing
To live, it is to vegetate, all godlike senses searing ;
'Tis famishing for wholesome bread ; to live to self and ease.
To eat, to drink, to sleep, this is on emptiness to seize,
To lie in idle sluggishness, as swiney beasts do lie ;

91
It is to feed on husks and chaff, to pine away and die.
To live to show, to vain display, to gain a place or station ;
To seek, in all one's walks and ways, to save a reputation ;
To live to Mammon, or to greed of any kind or name,
Is perishing to noble things, in ignorance and shame.
And when God strips such of their shams, their simple incidents.
Their silk and satin, broadcloth, starch, their shillings, pounds, and pence,
Their rank, their fame, their self-conceit, the power that they wield.
Of all but just their naked selves, when character 's revealed.
Oh, what a spectacle there'll be, to angels and to men !
What self-reproaches and disgrace, what dark forebodings, then !
And they who give themselves and all to baser, viler ends.
With en^vy, pride, and vengeful hate, make willing, steadfast friends ;
Who plunge deep into open vice, debauchery and crime —
Foul moths upon the silken flag, the floating folds of time ;
Who thrive on others' miseries, who pour a constant flood
Of woe and wretchedness around, their garments stained with blood ;
Tyrants and steel-clad conquerors, who trample to the dust.
Or slaughter still their fellow-men, obedient to their lust, —
Live such as they ? Worse than in vain, they live to wicked uses,
And all their strength perpetuates man's vices and abuses.
Perverted all their wondrous powers of body, mind, and soul.
Oh, who shall envy them their lot, when Justice shall unroll
Her lengthy catalogue of sins, of outrages and wrongs.
And ply her retributions with theu seven-scorpioned thongs ?
Who can put off the law of God ? What soul with madness driven,
Self-deified, shall set at nought the statutes of high Heaven ?
Who does it, Man, or Church, or State, a fearful hazard runs.
As if yon planetary orbs were hurled from central suns.
Who lives to else than 'virtue's ends, scorning vrisdom's pearls.
And gi'ring passion mastery, himself to ruin hurls.
Wreck of a man ! Oh, what a wreck ! Behold it, as it lies.
Where should, in stately majesty, a glorious manhood rise !
There are in other lands than ours, as many tourists say.
Temples and cities, here and there, fast crumbling to decay.
Once rising beautiful and fair, designed with wondrous art.
With architectural taste and skill displayed in every part,
Their shining turrets towering high, their galleries and halls,
And ornaments, both rich and rare, upon their ample walls, —
How splendid in their proper day, wrought with such perfect skill !
Though they in desolation lie, how splendid are they still !
Column and capital and tower, dome, architrave, pilaster.
And arches, statues, paintings, busts, the works of some old master, —

92
A broken, crumbling mass they lie, a ruin vast and great.
The mind is struck with awe and dread, the wreck to contemplate.
But ah, a human wreck ! a wreck of God's immortal child !
A blasted soul, a heart given up to devastations wild ! —
What -wreck of temples, cities, states, with that can well compare !
Wreck over which demons may send a howl of mad despair.
While angels, from their lofty bights, behold with tear-dimmed eye.
And heave from bosoms pitiful, a deep, unuttered sigh,
And only find repose, at last, as hallelujahs swell.
The God of Wisdom, God of Love, " He doeth all things well."
But what of life ? It is not tame, not spiritless, and dull,
'Tis vigorous and heroic, of active labor full.
It gathers up the goods of earth, not selfishly and vain.
But renders them all doubly good, by scattering them again
Where they shall carry comfort, peace, and blessing in their train.
Supplying many a rising need, and soothing many a pain.
It shares the real joys of time, the beauties spread around,
The Wisdom and the Love of God, wherever they are found.
The grassy mead, the rising hill, the wide, outstretching plain,
The pastures green, the fields of corn, of waving, yellow grain,
The snow-capped mountain, awful, grand, with ravine dark and fell.
The forest deep, the glassy lake, the quiet, smiling dell.
The murmuring brook, the cataract, the rushing, foaming river, —
In all, it sees the steadfast love and bounty of the Giver.
And sun and moon and planetary systems, as they roll
In might and majesty above, awaken in the soul
The loftier sentiment of praise, of grateful adoration
To Him who, though invisible, yet reigns throughout creation ;
Who, in his tender mercy, gives his human children free
Entrance to the unmeasured realms of his immensity.
Life uses well the gifts of mind, scorns not the power of thought.
Ignores no worthy victory that genius' hand hath wrought.
Pays tribute at the court of Art, and Reason's counsels heeds.
And summons all the intellect to wise and useful deeds ;
Yet makes all else subservient to Virtue and to Right,
Thus clothes itself forevermore with God's o'wn moral might.
The living soul breathes Heaven's air, and drinks from founts supernal ;
It feeds on holy angels' food — the bread that is eternal ;
From trials sad and burdensome, from sorrows lone and drear.
Extracts some precious nectar the Father mingled there.
Yes, life is active, everywhere, it breaks the galhng chains
Of Bigotry, and overturns blind Superstition's fanes ;
Is ever ringing out the old, and ringing in the new.

93
And seeks to installate the Good, the Beautiful, and True.
Bids Sin depart, and Righteousness, whose right it is to reign.
To come and bless the fallen world with Brotherhood again.
Such life is blessed ; it is full of hope and trust and joy ;
Purer than earthly pleasure, it exists without alloy ;
And he alone can share it, who, in singleness of heart.
Makes Justice, Purity, and Love, his wiser, better part.
Whoe'er hath tasted of its sweets, by humble aspiration.
Whoe'er hath felt its potent strength, by earnest consecration.
Hath found a peace that passeth far all mortal understanding.
Hath gained a power more noble than all temporal commanding.
Life is aggressive ; it goes forth a moral war to wage.
And, in the strife for God and man, is ready to engage ;
Fears not on every kind of wrong to make a bold attack,
And drives all shameful practices from its own chosen track ;
Beats back the flaming flood of ill that threatens human weal.
And treads the serpent Selfishness beneath its conquering heel ;
Brings down to earth, for all mankind, the grace that is perennial.
And heralds in the coming day, the glorious day millennial.
Life that is normal, lofty, pure, inspired by heavenly breath.
Strengthened by faith, and cheered by hope, sees no such thing as death ;
For death, to it, is only change from lower sphere to higher.
Where Heaven strikes up forevermore its own harmonious lyre.
And one majestic chorus swells, through every shining mansion.
And souls grow more and more like God, in glorious expansion.
" This is life," repeat the whispers.
Speaking "with their sUent power.
And they tell us, " Learn of Duty
In the Lesson of the hour."
What Lesson, then, does Providence
Give to our inner, better sense ?
'Tis this, — Be manly, noble, true.
Keep Justice, Righteousness in view.
Humble in heart, single in mind.
To selfish ends be not inclined.
But let thy soul -with love embrace
In its desires the human race.
In every deed, in every word,
Let God's own voice by thee be heard.
Keep a pure conscience ; never dare
Allow a stain of treachery there ;

94
Spurn from thy presence shame and lies.
All Heaven-cursed hypocrisies.
By the strong power of self-control,
Rule each department of thy soul.
And, as, on our New England strand.
The Eternal, with his mighty hand.
Hath over-arched those central fires
Whose pent-up fury never tires
With granite masonry, firm and sure,
Which through time's changes shall endure, —
So, over passion, lust, and pride.
That threaten ill on every side.
Those hidden flames that, fell and dire.
Rage 'with more than volcanic ire.
Build, as with arm of -vigorous youth.
The solid masonry of Truth —
Of moral principle, the Rook
That shall resist the sternest shock.
So, strengthened with that conquering Might
That's coupled with eternal Eight,
Go forth, in love and hope and trust.
To wage the warfare of the just ;
To spread around, broad-cast and free,
The seed of bright Futurity.
Is there a wrong to be resisted ?
A worthy cause to be assisted ?
With ready heart, oh, be thou nigh.
Prepared to labor, suffer, die.
Is there a trembling, bleeding slave ?
Thy hand, be it stretched out to save.
A fugitive, hunted and lone ?
Spurn law and court, be mercy done.
Is there a bloated, staggering sot ?
Let not his case pass by, forgot.
Is there a fallen wife or sister ?
Do what thy soul may find to assist her.
Does fearful want oppress the poor ?
Be there a helper at thy door.
Do wars prevail, rapine increase ?
Be Christ's disciple, speak for Peace.
Whatever is corrupt or vile.
That soul or body may defile ;
Whatever selfish, base, unjust,

95
Trampling God's image in the dust ;
Whatever habit, custom, fashion.
Is built on pride, caprice, or passion ;
Whatever popular institution.
In Church or State, needs revolution ;
Whatever hoary-headed crime
There be, bearing the marks of Time ;
Whatever ignorance, vice, or sin.
Human affairs still lurks within ; —
Abhorred of God, hostile to man.
In battle with it, be thou in the van. '
Nor iu thy labor e'er despair.
For God will heed thy earnest prayer.
Nor shalt thou justly once complain
That thou hast done thy work in vain.
Thou may'st not find a bed of down ;
Men may not weave thy brow a crown ;
Nor glad hosannas meet thine ear,
As onward move thy high career ;
Thou may'st be made to feel the fire
That persecution lights to flame the pyre
Of martyred prophets, saints, and sages,
Whose ashes fertilize the ages ;
Thou may'st even die, what's that to thee,
0 chUd of Immortality !
Thou hast but to be faithful, still
Concerned to do thy Father's will ;
For Duty done, be it confessed,
With God you can leave all the rest.
Nor seek for famous works, or great.
As men count such, but consecrate
Thyself to goodness, be thy lot
Lofty or lowly, it matters not.
The tiniest flower beneath our feet
May for God's Paradise be meet ;
From humblest cottages may rise
Dwellers of mansions in the skies ;
The meekest soul may strike the strings
That vibrate to the King of kings ;
And some low, plaintive cadence here.
May swell in accents grown more clear,
Till, caught by flaming tongues above
That chant forevermore in love,

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It echoes through the realms that lie
Beneath the everlasting sky.
All things are in the hands of Him
Who, throned amid the seraphim.
Yet lives in all unfolding life.
And who, in every manly strife.
Whatever be the earthly degree.
Awards the meed of victory.
To the true soul, there is no defeat.
There is no dismay, there is no retreat,
Success is sure, forever appears
The triumph of the coming years;
A triumph glorious, pure, divine.
Whose trophies through all ages shine.
But the hours of our Jubilee hasten away.
And my Muse must resign her tremulous lay.
No more may we dwell on these loftier themes.
Whence mortals may catch some radiant gleams
From the sunlight of Wisdom, of Power, and of Love,
Which shines so resplendently ever above.
That sunlight which shall all darkness dispel.
Send ignorance down to its own native hell.
Banish all falsehood, lies, and crime.
From this beautiful earth to the Gehenna of time.
That the kingdoms of earth, with a hearty accord.
May become the dominions of Jesus our Lord,
While angels descending, with rapture again
Sing, " Glory to God, peace, good will among men."
It is well that we bathe in those glorious beams.
They quicken the soul with the grace that redeems ;
They cleanse from the dross and corruptions of earth.
And fill with a spirit divine in its birth.
Transforming frail man, child of sense and of sin.
To an angel of God, prepared to go in
And out before Him with service and praise.
Here on earth, or beyond, unto endless days.
Drinking deeper and deeper at the infinite fountain.
Climbing higher and higher the glory-capped mountain.
Finding always and aye, abundantly more
Of joy and delight than conceived of before.
And swelling the anthems, full-toned and free.
Of the grand orchestra of eternity.

PROCEEDINGS

WESTMINSTER CENTENNIAL. CELEBRATION

A NUMBER of the citizens- of "Westminster, desirous of cele
brating the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Incorporation
of the Town, held several informal meetings, to consider the sub-
jeet ; and adopted measures to ascertain the wishes and views of
the inhabitants in relation to such a Celebration. Finding the
people favorable to this measure, it was though desirable that the
Town should take corporate action upon the subject. Conse
quently, a legal meeting of the inhabitants was called, when the
Town expressed their approval of the contemplated Celebration,
and chose a Committee of Fifteen, with full power to make the
necessary arrangements to carry their resolution into effect.
They also generously voted, that the Committee be authorized
to cause the Address and Proceedings to be published, at the ex
pense of the Town, and circulated among the inhabitants, if they
should deem it expedient.
The following gentlemen were chosen as a
COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS.
Joel Merriam, Jr. Daniel C. Miles,
Charles A. Forbush, Benjamin F. Wood,
Theodore Whitney, Benjamin Wyman,
Josiah Page, Franklin Howe,
Caleb S. Merriam, William S. Bradbury,
Calvin Whitney, James C. Clarke,
A. Miller, A. Merriam,
John Minott.
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The Committee of Arrangements having taken measures to secure
an Address and Poem — and having engaged a Caterer, and made
such other arrangements as were deemed necessary — selected the
following gentlemen as Officers of the Day.
President.
Benjamin Wyman.

Vice Presidents.

William S. Bradbury,
George Miles,
Samuel G. Kendall,
Joel Merriam,
Manasseh S. Forbush,
Anson Spaulding,

Jonas Miller,
Edward Bacon,
B. F. Wood,
Aaron Wood,
Stillman Brooks,
Franklin Wyman,

D. Whitney.
Toast-Masters.
Daniel C. Miles, Frederick Allen.
Chief Marshal.
John Minott.

Assistant Marshals.

Joseph W. Forbush,
Daniel C. Miles,
Artemas Merriam,
P. C. Brown,
Joseph M. Whitman,

A. B. Holden,
James E. Bruce,
Franklin Ho-we,
C. S. Merriam,
Major Page,

A. Whitney.

Dr. Clinton Warren,

Clerks.

Charles H. Stearns.

Though Westminster was Incorporated on the 20th of October,
1759, the Committee deemed it ad'visable to select an earlier day,
for their Celebration, for various reasons ; but principally to avoid

99
any interference with. the inhabitants of the adjoining town of
Princeton, who, it was understood, would celebrate their Anniver
sary on the 20th. To avoid all inconvenience arising from this
source, and to enable those who were desirous of attending both
Celebrations, to do so, the Committee selected the 6th of October
for then- gathering.
Westminster having no Mihtary Company, the Firemen of the
town kindly volunteered to perform the escort duty ; and inter
changing a civility with the Gardner Firemen, invited their two
Companies to join them on the occasion, and lead the Procession.
The day preceding the Celebration was remarkably fine, and
every thing looked propitious. A large Tent had been pitched on
the Common, and extensive tables were laid for the repast. A
stage had been erected on the HiU for the Speakers, under the de
pending, but leafless branches of the large elms which grace the
Common, and which had withstood the storms and the tempests
for nearly, if not quite a century. The Firemen had also made
preparation for a trial of their skill and the power of their machines,
on the morning of the 6th, before the Procession had formed.
They had erected their target-pole, which towered above the steeple
of the Congregational Church in the village. Large flags were
suspended across the street in various places, which, with the stars
and stripes thrown to the breeze from the Tent on the HUl, gave
to the whole viUage a gala-day appearance. Absent citizens were
returning to the place of their nativity, joy lighted up every coun
tenance, and aU looked with pleasing anticipation to the pageantry,
festivities, and cordial greetings of the coming day.
Morning came, — and the rising sun, as it shed its early rays
on the pleasant village, beheld its fine natural scenery tastefully set
off by artificial decorations, and its usuaUy quiet streets filled by
the citizens of the town, and the absent sons and daughters of
Westminster, who had returned once more to their native place, to
lay their oflerings on the altar of their ancestors. Invited guests
and citizens from the neighboring towns were flocking to the vil
lage, to participate in the joys and festivities of the day. The citi
zens of Gardner, a portion of whose territory was formerly included
in Westminster, participated largely in the pleasures of the occa
sion. With a filial regard for the parent in whose lap they had
been nurtured, they honored the day by their presence, and con
tributed much to the interest of the occasion.

100
At an early hour, the fine Engine Companies were on the ground.
The Cataract, No. 1, of Gardner, numbering sixty-seven men,
commanded by Mr. Bowman Clarke, and accompanied by the
Gardner Cornet Band; the Torrent, No. 2, of South Gardner,
numbering seventy men, under command of Mr. Samuel Bently,
accompanied by Fisk's Cornet Band, from Worcester, in connection
with Westminster Company, No. 1, commanded by Mr. James R.
Clarke, numbering ninety men, and accompanied by the Fitchburg
Cornet Band, assembling with their Engines tastefully decorated
with flowers and evergreens, made an imposing appearance, and
gave a lively interest to the occasion. They were all dressed in
their respective uniforms, and were fondly anticipating that trial of
firemen prowess, so animating to themselves, and so pleasing to the
beholders. But the fresh breeze from the North-west, which was invigora
ting in the early morning, soon stiffened into a gale, and blew with
such a constant and uninterrupted current through the day, as to
destroy the sport of the firemen, and greatly impair all the antici
pated pleasures of the occasion. So powerful was the gale as to
endanger the Tent upon the Common ; and " mine host " felt the
necessity of adopting the requirement of the Prophet : " Spare not,
lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes," — and even then,
though he kept his tent standing, it did not escape all injury. The
flags, which at an early hour were playing so gracefully in the
breeze, were soon increasing in number by diminishing in size, and
were hauled down to save them from utter destruction. And while,
with full hearts and eager interest, thousands of persons were ex
changing their cordial greetings and friendly salutations, clouds of
dust were blinding their eyes, and teaching them the all-important
truth, that we are subject to Him " who maketh the clouds his
chariot, and who walketh upon the wings of the wind."
But notwithstanding the unpropitious character of the day, the
programme was carried out as far as practicable. The booming of
a hundred guns in the morning, had announced a festive day, and
the gladsome peals, reverberating from hill to hill, had sent forth
a cordial welcome to numerous natives of the place, returned to
visit the home of their childhood, and the Hill where their parents
worshiped, — and they must not be disappointed.
At ten o'clock the Procession was formed, at the Town HaU,
under the dhection of the Chief Marshal, John Minott, assisted

101
by his Deputies, and by Levi Heywood, Esq., of Gardner, who
marshaled the Delegation from his town. The Procession moved
in the following Order : 1
The Engine Companies, accompanied by their Bands,
as an Escort.
2
The Committee of Arrangements.
3
The President of the Day, Orator, and Chaplain.
4
The Vice Presidents.5
The Rev. Clergy, Invited Guests, and B,epresentatives
of the Press.
6
The Westminster Choir.
7
Citizens of Gardner.
8
Citizens at Large.
Forming one peculiar feature of the Procession, were the Rep
resentatives of a former generation, among whom was the venera
ble Deacon DA'\nD Whitney, in the ninety-third year of his
age. The Procession moved to tbe Common, where a Speakers'
Stand had been erected, and seats furnished for the accommodation
of the company, who had assembled to the number of about twenty-
five hundred. Here, among the relics of antiquity exhibited by
Deacon Whitney, was an Arm Chair, the property of his mother,
manufactured in England, two hundred years ago, and brought
by her to Westminster, one hundred and six years ago.*
The exercises at the Stand, commenced with Music from the
Band, foUowed by a Voluntary by the Choir ; Eeading of the
» His mother was Tabitha Merriam, from Lexington, daughter of Thomas
and Tabitha (Stone) Merriam, As the original ancestors of the Merriams and
the Stones, came to this country between 1630 and 1640, it is probable that this
venerable relic was a portion of the fumiture brought by the first emigrant in
one of those families.

102
Scriptures by Eev. Brown Emerson, of Westminster ; and Prayer
by Eev. Marcus Ames, of Chelsea, Mass., who formerly officiated
in Westminster.
The following original Hymn, composed by Miss Lucy B.
Whitney, of Westminster, was then sung.
All hail the day we celebrate !
Let all the people throng.
And every voice with one accord.
Pour forth a grateful song.
And while in the loud swelling strain.
Are joining old and young,
Let every note our lips shall breathe,
To thee, 0 God, be sung.
Here are the people thy right hand
Hath scattered o'er our hills ;
Pour out, 0 Lord, on all our hearts,
The grace thy love instills.
So shall the gala-day we spend.
Find favor in thy sight.
And crown a century's hoary head —
A coronet of light.
We trace, to-day, the hundred years
Our native to'wn hath seen ;
A hundred times thy power, 0 God,
Hath robed her hills in green.
And all the blessings that have dropped
Upon her sons like dew.
Have shown, through aU the circling years,
Thy boundless love anew.
And now unto our native soil
Her scattered sons repair ;
Make all their hearts, 0 Lord of hosts.
Free as her mountain air.
For a hundred years thy mighty arm
Hath made our town increase ;
Upon the century yet to come,
Send forth, 0 Lord, thy "peace.

103
After these preliminary exercises, which were inaudible to
nineteen-twentieths of the Assembly, in consequence of the violence
of the wind, Hon. Charles Hudson, of Lexington, was introduced
as the Orator of the Day. Mr. Hudson attempted to deliver his
Address, under circumstances peculiarly adverse. The rude blasts
of old Boreas, whistling through the pendent branches of the aged
elms over his head, rendered it impossible for any man to be heard
by any considerable number of the people present. A contest with
such a rival proving unavailing, a compromise was finally efiected,
by an adjournment to the Orthodox Church. The house was
immediately filled to overflowing, and only a small portion of the
people could gain admission. The Universalists' Church, on the
opposite side of the Street, was immediately thrown open ; and
the Address of Mr. Hudson was resumed in the former, while the
Poem of Mr. Haywood was commenced in the latter. But even
then, a considerable portion of the people could not be accommo
dated with seats, or even get within the sound of the speakers'
voices. The time which had been consumed in marching to and from the
HUl to the churches, left in fact but little time for speaking ; so
that only a smaU portion of what had been prepared, could be
delivered. Eather than be late at the table, the exercises at the
church were cut short, and the following Original Hymn, by
Hon. George Lunt, of Boston, was sung :
Let grateful songs ascend on high,
For now the day of days has come.
When swelling heart and moistened eye
Bid every wanderer welcome home.
Each field and hill and grassy slope
Kecalls — what buried joys and tears !
While Memory crowns, in hand with Hope,
This harvest of a hundred years.
These are the paths our Fathers trod.
Our Sons the faithful thought shall keep,
And bless, like us, the sacred sod.
Where fathers and where mothers sleep.
Thus on this spot till ages end,
While souls their pious thoughts renew,
The past shall 'with the present blend.
To make the future bright and true.

104
After the Benediction was pronounced, the procession was re
formed and moved to the Common, where a Dinner had been
provided by Captain Charles Fletcher, of Leominster. Ample
justice having been done to this repast, by some twelve hundred
persons, the President of the Day, Mr. Benjamin Wyman, rose and
made the following Address :
Ladies and Gentlemen : —
I am called, this day, to preside and take the responsibilities of
this position, by the Committee of Arrangements. I do not con
ceive that the honor was conferred upon me for any tact or abiUty
which I possess above my associates ; but, for the single reason,
that I am one of the few who were born in this town, and have
always resided here, and have been an eye-witness of the events
which have transpired for the last half century.
In behalf of the Committee of Arrangements, I welcome you,
one and all, to the pleasures and festivities of this day. Particu
larly do I welcome those whose fortunes are cast elsewhere, who
have returned to visit the place of their birth and the. scenes of
their childhood. I welcome you to our somewhat wUd and
romantic scenery, which may have, in some degree, given cast to
your characters ; to our fresh and bracing atmosphere, which could
hardly fail to impart strength and 'vigor to your frames. I welcome
you to the scene of your fathers' toils — to the place where parental
fondness reared you, and where many a prayer has been offered
for your prosperity and happiness.
I also welcome those of our friends, who are here to-day as
invited guests ; and though we have nothing peculiarly attractive
or striking in our history, to engage your attention, aud gain your
admiration, we trust that we can point you to a stern and pious
ancestry, who contributed their full share to buUd up the institu
tions, whose blessings are shared by the present generation.
In October, 1759, Westminster was incorporated into a District,
that the people might better regulate their municipal affairs. She
was then a constituent part of Massachusetts Colony, subject to the
government of Great Britain. In less than twenty years, our Inde
pendence was declared, which eventuaUy sepai-ated the Colony
from the mother country. This is history.
The first settlers in this town were of the old English Puritan
stock, bred to the rights of private judgment, and, inheriting the

105
great principles of English liberty and independence, were ready
at all times to assert their rights, and maintain them too, whoever
might be the aggressor. Being an intelligent and religious people,
they were ever ready to perform their part in laying broad and
deep the foundations of a free Commonwealth. Their love of
liberty, and their readiness to peril all in its defence, grew out of
their devotion to their God, and a firm trust in his providence.
Believing in the " higher law," and the ability of the divine Law
giver to do his will among the nations of the earth, they performed
what, after full and deliberate reflection, they conceived to be their
duty, and left the result with him. Nor did they labor and suffer
for themselves alone. Their love of liberty included the welfare
of those who came after them. The sacrifices they made in our
Eevolution, were for the two-fold object of securing the blessings
of liberty to themselves, and leaving the rich inheritance to their
posterity. Such was the character, and such the motives of our
Fathers ; and we are here to-day to hallow their memories, and
venerate their names. The fathers and mothers gf the Revolution
are gone from us ; but their deeds and their characters " still live."
And we can best express our gratitude by trusting in Him on whom
they relied, by emulating their deeds, and handing down their
names to succeeding generations.
What thoughts and recollections crowd upon us to-day ! The
past has gone, and the present will be history a hundred years
hence. The place we shall occupy in its pages, depends upon
ourselves. I well remember, in my boyhood, of listening to a
citizen of this town, while he related an experience of his youth.
He said, " at the breaking out of tbe Eevolution, a messenger
arrived in town before noon, on the 19th of April, to notify the
people that the British troops were on their way to Concord.
Eunners were sent in every direction, to rally the citizens. My
father and I were at work in the field, when the news reached us.
We went to the house and took our dinner ; he gave directions to
my mother, and immediately started off with others for Concord."
What was- true of this man, was true of more than forty other
citizens of Westminster, on that eventful day. Well may we
exclaim. Patriotic and noble ancestors ! We will strive to emulate
your virtues.
Citizens of Gardner, who are here to celebrate this day with us,
we bid you, welcome. Some of your territory was included in
14

106
ours at the time of our Incorporation, You have gone out from
us ; you have outgrown us ; but we envy not your prosperity.
You are bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, and when one
member rejoices, all shall rejoice with it. Go on and prosper, and
our benediction shall attend you.
We have many, we rejoice to know, with us to-day, who will
speak to us on this joyous occasion.
Mr. Wyman closed by announcing Messrs. Frederick Allen
and Daniel C. Miles, as Toast-masters ; and said that he trusted
responses would be made by gentlemen, as they were called upon.
The gale which had been so annoying during the morning, con
tinued with unabated violence through the whole afternoon, render
ing the speech of the President, and the responses to the senti
ments, inaudible, except to the few who were near the speakers.
This fact will account for the meager report of the speeches.
The following regular sentiments were announced by the Toast-
masters :
1. The Day we celebrate.
This sentiment was responded to, by Eev. S. S. Smith, of War
ren, Mass., formerly a settled clergyman In Westminster. He
said : " I know not why I should be called upon thus early, to
open the intellectual treat on this occasion. For I find myself
somewhat in the situation of a verdant young lad who, during my
ministry in this place, attended yonder Academy. One evening, on
going to the door to answer the bell, I found myself confronted by
a brother Jonathan, who said, ' Mr. Smith, I attend the Academy,
and the Preceptor says I must write a composition ; and I called
to see if you would not assist me.' ' I cannot write a composition
for you»' was my reply. ' I did not expect that you would write
it for me,' said he, ' but I kinder wanted you should give me some
words, and I will kinder put them together, and so make some
idees if I can.' I told him if that was all he wanted, I could help
him ; I could give him a dictionary, which was full of words.
" My situation is not exactly like his, I have generally words
enough ; but I shall find it ' kinder ' hard to put them together, so
as to make ideas. But I suppose I must say something, to open
this entertainment. I rejoice in this day. I rejoice that I am per-

lOT
mitted to see so many familiar and pleasant faces before me, all
apparently rejoicing in this occasion, I think this day will do us
all good ; as it will join our souls together, and induce us to do
more for the benefit of the community. There is not a man or
woman here to-day, but that will go home with a fuller appreciation
of the blessings we enjoy. All will be wiser and better for being
here. Though I am not a native of the place, I feel connected
with you by the ties of an intercourse extended through the
several years of my residence in your midst, I have many attach
ments to the good old town, and rejoice that I am neither forgotten
nor repudiated by you," He closed his remarks with expressing
his good wishes for the peace, prosperity, and future enjoyment of
the people of the place.
2. The Toivn of Westminster — as it 'was one hundred
years ago, and as it now is.
As a response to this sentiment, the following letter from the
honorable and venerable Abijah Bigelow, of Worcester, was read :
Worcester, Sept. 27, 1859.
William S. Bradbury, Esq, :
Dear Sir, — I received your polite invitation, in behalf of the
Committee for the Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of
the Incorporation of the Town of Westminster, of which I am
a native, being born there on the fifth of December, 1775. It
would give me great pleasure, and much satisfaction, to be present
on so interesting an occasion, were I able ; but my age and infirm
ities will prevent my attendance. You ask me to give my recol
lections of its early history. Great changes have taken place since
I was a boy. My father lived about a mile westerly of the Meet
ing-house HIU, where Eev. Asaph Eice resided. There was then
no other road from Westminster to Gardner, but that which went
by my father's house, which was situated where my kinsman,
Benson Bigelow, now resides. He then kept a public house, for
the accommodation of travelers who passed on the road, but not
as a resort for towns-people to drink and carouse. From the time
I was seven to ten years old, I shall never, while my recollections
last, forget those winters. It was at a time when the principal
citizens of the towns lying beyond Greenfield, went in sleighs to
carry their produce to Boston ; and frequently we had, at night, to

108
put up from twenty to thirty horses, which was cold work, as I
know by experience, for I had to assist. Since then, you have
made a Turnpike, which goes back of my father's house. Then the
Eailroad to Vermont was made, which, although running through
Westminster, is yet two or three miles from the centre of the tovni.
The changes in respect to schools have been highly honorable to
you as a town. You have an Academy on " ileeting-house Hill,"
so called, which has been well sustained, and is in a flourishuig
condition. I have much to make me respect and love the town of West
minster ; and I sincerely hope that by Industi-y, frugality, and
temperance, it may always continue one of the most respectable
towns in the county.
Once more, regretting my inability to be with you on the 6th of
October, and praying for God's blessing on my native town, I
remain. Yours truly,
Abijah Bigelow.
3. The Sons of Westminster, native and adopted. —
While our forests have disappeared under the hand of
cultivation, it has not reduced the value of our Wood.
It was expected that Hon. Nathaniel Wood, of Fitchburg, a
former resident in the town, would have been present to respond
to this sentiment ; but being absent, the President said he was
happy to say, that Eev. Dr. Allen, formerly a Missionary to Bom
bay, who was for a short time a resident in this place, and who
had partaken largely of its blessings, was present 'with us on this
occasion ; and as his better-half was a Wood, of Westminster
growth, he should call upon him.*
Dr. Allen said, he came to this town about forty years ago, as a
school-teacher. " I am happy now to recognize many of my former
pupils, as the leading and distinguished citizens of the town.
While teaching In Westminster, I made many valuable acquaint
ances and friends, and the recollections of those days are revived
on this occasion. I was ordained as a Foreign Missionary in this
* Dr. Allen married, 1827, Miss Myra Wood, daughter of Abel 'Wood, Esq.
She accompanied him to Bombay, -where she died, Februai-y 5, 1831.

109
town, and but a few rods from this place, in May, 1827, thirty-two
years ago. I left the country soon after, and was absent twenty-
six years. In leaving this country, I was conscious that I was
attended by the prayers and benedictions of many of the good
people of Westminster. It was from this town that I took with
me what I valued above all earthly blessings ; and I am happy to
know that the Wood, of this kind, has not deteriorated."
He then related some family reminiscences, and closed with some
brief and touching allusions to the companion of his choice, who
was wilHng to give up all for Christ, and who cheerfully left
friends and kindred dear, to accompany him on his mission to the
heathen, in the hope that she might be Instrumental In spreading
the glorious Gospel among the benighted children of Asia ; who
cooperated with him in his labors In the Bombay Mission, and who
found her last resting-place in that distant country, far from her
native land.
Mr. Goodwin Wood, of Fitchburg, also responded to this senti
ment. He related some incidents that occurred In his boyhood,
and humorously gave an anecdote bearing upon the ludicrous, of a
conversation which, to his boyish imagination, had all the vividness
of truth, but which, to his riper years, hardly rose to the dignity of
fiction. He concluded by giving as a sentiment :
Westminster — which has ever taken a high stand in
the cause of temperance, virtue and morality — may she
pursue the same course, " only more so," for the com
ing hundred years.
4. Our Lands — Although productive of many of the
good things of life, yet not sufficiently so to save us, at
this time, from dependence upon the Western Miller.
Levi Miller, Esq., of Antwerp, N. Y., a native of Westminster,
responded to the call thus made upon him. " We are assembled,"
said he, " for no common purpose, and on no common occasion.
We are here to take a 'view of the past, and should time permit,
to take a glance at the future. We are here, not to engage in the
business of President-making, or Governor-making — not to discuss
political questions — whether Congress has a right to make a certain
law, or not ; but we come to shake each other cordially by the

no
hand, and to unite our hearts in affectionate remembrance, and our
voices in praise of whatever is wise and great. We have come
from the shores of the sea, from the rivers of the West, from the
sunny climes of the South, and from the granite hills of the North,
to unite our voices with yours. In celebrating the One Hundi'edth
Anniversary of your Birth-day."
The speaker, then compared Westminster of 1759, with West
minster of 1859, and said, that then the wandering Indian traversed
this county, spreading terror and devastation, but now the steam-
engine goes snorting his way through valleys and hills, and he was
happy to learn that he was about to put his nose through the
Hoosac. After running this parallel between the past and the
present, and giving several instances of the great changes which a
century bad wrought, he continued by saying : " With this day
we renew our affection for this town. We should bow before our
Heavenly Father, and thank him that he has vouchsafed to us this
opportunity ; that he has blessed both you and us, and inspired
our hearts with fihal and fraternal feeling. I would say with the
Eoyal Psalmist : ' Our heads are anointed with oil, and our cup
runueth over.' In yonder cemetery rest the bones of my ancestors,
who took part in the early settlement of this town ; among whom
is an honored mother, who taught me to love God, and to pray to
him, and to keep the Sabbath-day holy. These lessons from her
pious lips, seem to rise up fresh before me on this occasion, and
admonish me not to disregard the Instruction of her who, though
dead, yet speaketh."
After relating some personal incidents, he closed by suggesting
that if the increase of population, and the march of improvement,
for the next century, should continue in equal ratio 'with the past,
the people may be able to come from aU parts of the country to
attend our next Centennial, and return to their home the same
evening, 5. Our Fathers were a provident people — but though
they estimated their money by Pennies, their lands were
computed by Miles.
It was expected that Eev. Dr. Henry A. Miles, of Boston, whose
grandfather resided in Westminster, and was theii- principal land
surveyor, would respond to this sentiment ; but not being present.

Ill
the President said he should do the best he could to procure a sub
stitute, and therefore should call upon Clough R. Miles, Esq., of
Millbury, who, though of another family, had the advantage of
being a native of Westminster.
Mr, Miles, in answer to the call, gave an account of his lineage,
and, recurring to the scenes of his boyhood, said he could almost
hear the tread of his feet, as he came to the old school-house on the
Meeting-house Hill, fifty years ago, where every rock and spear of
grass seemed familiar to him. He could see the old Meeting
house with Its elevated pulpit, and Its high square pews, and the
stone horse-block near the east door, where our fathers and mothers
mounted their horses, the one upon the saddle, and the other upon
the pillion ; the venerable Tything-men, who acted as police
officers, and the dreaded old Stocks, to be put in requisition in
cases of necessity. All this, and more, was perfectly familiar to his
recollection. He then asked the older portion of the assembly,
who were inhabitants of the place, to take a ramble with him about
the town ; he described the location of many of the old inhab
itants, facetiously pictured their dwellings, the well-sweep, and
the old oaken bucket, and gave many amusing incidents, show
ing the spirit of the times, and the respective peculiarities of some
of the families — carrying the scene back to days within the recol
lection of the older inhabitants only. Fearing that his ramble
would occupy too much time, he would close ; and if he had tres
passed too long upon their patience, his apology was, that the
township was large, and the picture was so vivid to his mind, that
it seemed to be living his life over again, and he did not wish to
shorten his existence,
6, The Schools of Westminster, loth public and private
— not behind the rest in the State, as the men and women
they have sent out can practically testify.
Eev. Charles Kendall, of Petersham, was then introduced. He
said that being a native of the town, and receiving the first rudi
ments of bis education in the district school, and his early classical
education in the Academy near by, he could testify to their char
acter, and to the blessings they had conferred upon those who had
enjoyed their privileges ; and in common with others, his thoughts
often recurred to the old school-house, where a thousand pleasing

112
recollections rushed upon his mind. His old playmates, their sly
tricks, their hearty play, their hard, pleasing, and sometimes per
plexing studies, the labors of the teacher, the true friendships
which were there contracted, the books which they studied, and
even the benches on which they sat, rose up before him, and he
seemed to be in the very midst of those pleasant scenes.
He knew that these little seminaries had been a blessing to the
place, and he fondly hoped that the pupils from these schools
who had gone abroad, had brought no dishonor upon the town, or
its institutions. He could bear testimony that they had been
cordially received abroad ; and In most cases, he believed, the
Westminster schools, and their graduates, had mutually reflected
honor upon each other.

7. The Learned Professions — Although the number
of our Sons who have entered them is not great, yet
there is no occasion to be ashamed of them, as they are
not ashamed of their native town.
The following letter from Dr. Joel W. Wyman, a native of
Westminster, and now a citizen of South Carolina, was read :
South Carolina, Beaufort Dist., Sept. 26, 1859.
Mr. Merriam:
Dear Sir, — Present my sincere acknowledgments to the Com
mittee of Arrangements for their polite and " cordial invitation"
to be present at the Centennial Celebration of Old Westminster.
Other engagements, aud distance so remote, preclude the possibllitv
of my mingling In person, though the spirit 'will be there, to enjoy
the festivities of that great occasion, crowded with historic recol
lections. The origin and settlement of my native town, the hopes,
joys, sorrows, successes and reverses of human beings, moving and
acting, for a hundred years, make up a thrilling historic panorama ;
and flothing could afford me greater pleasure than to join with
kindred and old friends in a social " cup of tea," (preserved from
the Boston harbor tea party,) on the 6th of October, 1859, The
old Eed School-house in the woods, fifty years ago ; the physical and
mental struggles of youth for pre-eminence ; the Old Church on
the HiU, where the music of the March winds vied with the Church

113
choir in loudest strains of melody, spring involuntarily upon my
mental vision, as I read your kind letter of Invitation,
Permit me to repeat my thanks to the Committee of Arrange
ments, my cordial good wishes to the old survivors of West
minster, my old associates, and their successors, while a tribute of
respectful memory hovers over the grave of the departed, once
known and loved. Yours very respectfully,
J. W. Wyman.

Watertown, N. Y., Sept. 26, 1859.
J. Merriam, Jr., Esq. :
Dear Sir, — I thank the Committee, on whose behalf your letter
of the 8th inst. invites me to " be present, and participate in, and
partake of, the festivities of the Centennial Celebration of ' Old
Westminster,' on the 6th of October next." Although it is not
my birth-place, my father and mother, my brothers aud my sister,
were born there, and I spent several of the early years of my life
there, commencing at the date of my earliest recollection ; and as
first impressions are most indelible, so upon the tablet of my mem
ory, underlaying all subsequent impressions, and freshening as
life's journey advances, I remember " Old Westminster," as she
was fifty years ago — her enchanting landscape at sun-rise, and the
plaintive song of the whippowil, at evening twilight — her stern
Wachusett, king of all the hills — her smiling hill-sides and serene
valleys — her placid meeting-house pond — her gurgling, chattering
brooks — her corn-fields and grain-fields — her orchards and mead
ows — her rocks and chestnut woodlands — ^her capital thunder in
summer and her wild snow-storms and huge snow-drifts in winter
— her Old Meeting-house on the Hill, with Its glass-covered box
by the door-side, in which the curious public had notice of intended
marriages — the cheerful noon-call of the old " meeting-house bell,"
and its solemn, measured death-tones, when the " grim messenger "
had invaded the town — her quiet " burying-ground " — her solemn
Sabbaths — her Thanksgiving and Election days, when the children
had pumpkin pies and plum cakes — the trainings on the Common,
when gingerbread and new cider were sometimes plenty and cheap
— and last, the Old School-house on the HIU, where Perry's Spell
ing Book, Scott's Lessons, and Alexander's Grammar, were oft
15

114
sensibly impressed upon young minds, through the palm, by the
aid of the ferule.
Such were the surroundings and influences that moulded the
character of Westminster boys fifty years ago. What changes for
the better, time may have wrought, I know not ; but of the few
Westminster men with whom I am acquainted, whose character was
cast in the mould of the times fifty years ago, all have remembered
with pleasure and gratitude the home of their childhood, and none
has brought a blush upon the brow, or a stain upon the history, of
his native town.
Eegretting that I am not able to be present, and wishing you a
right happy time, I offer through you the following sentiment :
Old Westminster — May her Prosperity be as firm as her hills, and as
lasting as her rocks — her Morality as ripe as her years, and as pure as
her air — her Charity as broad as her landscape, and as unpretending as
her streamlets — and her Peace as serene as her summer sky, and as calm
as her deepest glen.
With mingled sentiments of pleasure and sadness,
I remain, respectfully yours,
C. B. Hoard.
Meriden, Sept. 19, 1859.
W. S. Bradbury, Esq. :
Ml/ Dear Sir, — Your letter of invitation was duly received.
Please express my thanks for it to the Committee of Arrangements
for the Centennial Celebration of your town. It would give me
great pleasure to be present, but it occurs just at the time of the
meeting of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions, at Philadelphia, which meeting I have engaged to attend ;
and others would be disappointed by a change of the plan.
I trust you will have a pleasant and profitable day. I shall ever
remain interested in the work and welfare of the citizens of West
minster. And I shall ever rejoice in their success. It is a goodly
town, and many good, and some able men and women have been
raised there, to do service for the cause of truth and humanity.
May she send out many more such, to stand in the places of those
that have been, and must soon be, gathered unto their fathers.
And may this, and other lands, be made to rejoice, as aforetime, in
the reception of her Sons to the various departments of professional

115
and business life. And so may the gratitude of the nations, and
the benediction of the divine Father, come unto, and rest upon her
and her Sons forever.
Yours ever. In the bonds of friendship and faith,
0. H. White,
Ex-Pastor of the 1st Cong. Ch. in Westminster, Ms.
Rev. Franklin Merriam, of New Boston, N. H., responded to
the sentiment. He said that the toast was highly flattering to
those who had gone out from the place, and entered into the
professions ; and though he had not the vanity to take any consid
erable portion of it to himself, he believed he could say that none
of them had brought dishonor upon their calling, or the place of
their nativity. But aside from the learned professions, however
various their callings might be, or diversified the fields of their
labor, Westminster had many noble men who had labored in other
fields of usefulness, and well sustained the credit of the town.
Rev. Joseph Peckham, of Kingston, Ms., was then called upon.
He acknowledged the compliment of the sentiment, and made
a short and pleasing address, in which he recalled many of the
scenes of his early life. He interspersed his speech with several
appropriate anecdotes, and passed a facetious eulogium upon the
Old Meeting-house Hill, and its inhabitants for a half century or
more, — making it the most sacred, the most pleasing, the most
honorable, the most varying, the most ludicrous spot in the town
ship. He closed by giving as a sentiment :
May the People of Westminster ever retain in their
memory the Old Meeting-house Hill, and keep it green
in their affections.
8. The Orator of the Day — Although not a native, yet
an adopted citizen.
Mr. Hudson responded as follows : " After the vain attempt to
speak from yonder platform, this morning, where I was rebuked
and fairly silenced by the whistling of the wind, and the murmuring
of the pendent branches of the stately elms, I shaU not attempt to
make a speech at this time. I will say, however, that I cherish
with pride and affection my associations with the town of West-

116
minster. True It is not the place of my birth ; but a residence
of a quarter of a century has in a great degree allied me to this
town. There are many considerations which render this place near
and dear to me.
" I have also received many tokens of respect and confidence
from the people of this town, which I cherish in fond remembrance.
And though for ten years past I have been absent from you, I
rejoice that I dwell among your kindred ; for the town of Lex
ington sent out many emigrants to this place. • The Whitneys, the
Merriams, the Fessendens, the Estabrooks, the Raymonds, the
Edgells, the Pierces, the Cutlers, and some others, either on the
male or female side, came from my adopted town. So that though
separated from you, I am In the midst of your relatives and friends.
I will conclude by giving you a sentiment."
The Town of Westminster — Elevated above her neigh
bors, her air is peculiarly invigorating ; but when con
verted into a gale, a little annoying to speakers and
hearers. 9. The Town of Gardner — A fair and lovely daughter
of a fond mother.
Edwin Glazier, Esq., of Gardner, was called upon to respond to
this sentiment, who spoke as follows : " I wUl simply say that
seventy-four years ago last May, Gardner was incorporated ; the
mother, therefore, is twenty-six years older than the daughter.
Whatever the mother has been, or may be hereafter, I assure you
that the daughter Is a buxom lass ! "
10. The Escort — Although not military, yet organized
for the purpose of fighting an enemy as destructive of
property as armed men. May they be as successful in
their strife with their natural foe, as they have been,
this day, in their new capacity.
11. The Bands — Thougli they speak with brazen
tongues, their notes, at their bidding, will enkindle the
fire of patriotism, or the glow of friendship ; '\Adll melt
the heart into tender pity, or warm it into fervent devo
tion.

117
12. The Firemen of Gardner — May they always have
" Torrents " of water for their enemies, and " Cataracts "
of favors for their friends.
Mr. Allen Folger, of Gardner, made the following response :
" After enjoying what we have this day, and receiving from you
the cordial welcome you have given us, it would be doing both
you and ourselves injustice, to let this opportunity pass in
silence by the Gardner Firemen. As we have listened with
interest to the speeches that have been made, we have felt
the truth of the remark, ' that if Westminster could boast of
nothing else, she could boast that she had produced men.' We
have seen it manifested in the efforts that have been made to min
ister to our enjoyment to-day ; and we will return our heartfelt
thanks, and assure you that we shall not soon forget this occasion.
Your Poet has told us that ' principles were not men.' No, they
are as old as the everlasting hills ; and the principles that were
instilled by the fathers into their children, years ago, have been
developing, and we see the result in the men and women that
Westminster boasts to-day.
" But to return to the sentiment. The Firemen of Gardner In
tend fully to carry it out ; but sometimes their enemies are too mighty
for them, and they have to withhold their Torrents of water. If
the enemy be only fire, they expect to conquer ; but if it be wind,
they have to beat a retreat, as they have done to-day. ' We war
not with the Highest.' They have heretofore endeavored to have
Cataracts of favors for their friends, but they have been obliged to
confess, as they came around these tables, that their friends knew
how to bestow favors, as well as to receive them."

The sentiments and responses at the table, were interspersed
with music from the Bands ; but the same cause which Interrupted
the speaking, destroyed, in a great degree, the effect of the music ;
and as it seemed unkind to call upon the bands to play second fiddle
to the elements, their labors were, for the most part, dispensed
with, to the regret of the assembly.
Several other sentiments were handed In, and several volunteers
were proposed, and would have been offered, had the weather been
propitious. We will notice a few of them. One was omitted,
which can only be partially atoned for by inserting it here.

118
The Ladies of Westminster — Ever first and foremost
in every good word and work.
King Philip) and his confederate Chiefs — Shrewd,
bold and daring, in defence of their rights ; may their
names be venerated for their patriotism, and not for
their love of war.
Massachusetts, the Home of the Puritan Fathers — The
model State of the Union, and the glory of the nation.
The Generation that may celebrate our next Centennial
— May they be freed from the contaminating influence
of Alcohol, and be wiser, holier and happier than the
present generation.
Our Anniversary — A day in our history fraught with
grateful recollections of the Past, and hopeful anticipa
tions of the Future — may our most ardent wishes be
realized, and our fair fame ever remain bright and 'un
sullied. The Union — Saved not hy public meetings and patriotic
resolutions, but by the dissemination of the great prin
ciples of equity and justice.
The Toils and Sacrifices of the Founders of the Town —
The Fathers — men of noble hearts ;
How little do we know,
How many hardships they endured
One Hundred years ago.
Then let their names be ne'er forgot,
Who toiled 'mid heat and snow,
To plant their homes among these hills
One Hundred years ago.
The Wachusett and the Monadnock — They stand as
watch-towers, on the South and the North. May our
safety, peace, and prosperity, be as enduring as the
everlasting hills.

119

AN ODE,
COMPOSED rOR THE OCCASION.
Tune — The Star-spangled Banner.
On the Hill where our fathers with arms in their hands,
Oft knelt in devotion, in fear and in trembling,
With exultant thanksgiving, in jubilant bands.
Their friends and descendants, this day, are assembling.
With a'zeal that ne'er tires, our patriot sires
Have extinguished the blaze of the wild savage fires ;
The might of Jehovah which reigned in their breast.
Sustained them in peril, redeemed when oppressed.
And the howl of the wolf and the fierce savage yell,
Which pervaded the forest and echoed in wild-wood.
Have at length given place to the chime of the bell,
To the quiet of age, and the safety of childhood.
Like the pilgrims of yore, their perils they bore.
Till war and oppression afllicted no more.
The faith of assurance which glowed in their breast,
Sustained them in peril, in peace gave them rest.
And we their descendants, who've entered the rest
Of this blissful Canaan, by Providence given —
Shall we prove ungrateful for blessings possessed,
And make no return for the bounties of Heaven ?
No ; in transports of praise, our voices we'll raise,
TiU spirits made perfect shall join in our lays ;
For God is our refuge, his truth will endure.
His grace is eternal, his mercies are sure.
In the evening, a portion of the citizens met at the Congrega
tional Church, where Mr. Haywood repeated his Poem, and several
speeches were made by citizens and others, which gave additional
interest to the occasion. The Firemen also gave a Ball in honor
of the day.
The day passed without accident, or any thing save the high
wind, to mar the pleasures of the occasion. And even the dis
appointment, arising from the cause spoken of, seemed only to
produce a mutual sympathy, which bound heart to heart, and
almost involuntarily induced every son and daughter of Westmin-

120
ster to fall back, and seek contentment and pleasure on the bosom
of their native land :
' And as the child when scaring sounds molest.
Clings close and closer to the mother's breast ;
So the loud torrent and the whirlwind's roar
But bound them to their native mountains more.'
Much praise Is due to the Firemen, whose sport was entirely
destroyed, but who, nevertheless, performed the escort duties with
cheerfulness ; and whose appearance and orderly beha'vior con
tributed greatly to the show and pleasure of the day. One incident,
which reflects honor upon the Westminster Fire Company, deserves
mention. When the people were about to repair to the table, it
was ascertained that those who wished to partake of the repast, ex
ceeded the number of plates. This fact coming to the knowledge
of the Company, who were already provided with tickets, they
cheerfully gave them up, that the ladies, the older citizens, and
strangers in the town, might enjoy the pleasures of the table.
Thus passed a day long to be remembered in the history of
Westminster ; a day which, while it recounted deeds of valor in
the past, privations not unmingled in the cup of bliss, and toUs
made cheerful by the sunlight of hope, on the part of those who
transmitted to us the privileges we enjoy, was eminently calculated
to unite heart to heart, and to cement in still stronger union the
kindred tie of brotherhood ; a day in which the lights and shadows
of the past, mingling with the bright joys of the present, spread a
lustre over the century of the Town's history, and Inspired the
fondest hopes, that the pages of her future history may never be
shaded by misfortune, or darkened by crime ; but be enlivened by
progress, brightened by prosperity, and rendered more resplendent
by intelligence and virtue.

APPENDIX.

EvEKY student in History has reason to regret the meagi-e character of
the records of the past ; and seeing the importance of full and perfect
records, will feel inclined to chronicle the events of his times, so as to
relieve those that come after him from the difliculties and embarrassments
under which he labors, in presenting a true picture of the ages that pre
ceded him. We have felt this difficulty in our attempt to bring the
manners and customs of past generations before the people in our late
Celebration, and to show to those now upon the stage to whom we are
indebted for the great blessings we enjoy. We have sought in vain for a
fuU list of those who resided in this Township when the place was incor
porated ; and to relieve those who may dwell here one hundred years hence
from a like disappointment, we will insert a list of our Town Ofiicers for
the year 1859, and the Tax Bill for the same year. And though some at
this day may deem the information unimportant, we know that its value
will increase from year to year ; and before half a century has rolled round,
this list will be looked upon with interest, and our children's children will
thank us for the information we have transmitted to them.
And, in order to show those who come after us, the desire of the
present generation to perpetuate the memory of our Fathers, and to con
vince coming generations that we do not live for ourselves alone, we will
give a copy of the generous vote of the Town in relation to this subject
matter :
At a legal meeting held August 27, 1859, after voting to celebrate the
Anniversary, and appointing a large Committee for the purpose of carry
ing the same into effect, it was " Voted, That the Selectmen audit the
accounts of the Committee, and draw orders on the Town Treasurer for
the same, not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars."
It was then moved, that the Committee cause to be printed a suflicient
number of copies of the Address to supply each voter with a copy —
whereupon the whole subject was referred to the Committee.
Ifi

TOWN OFFICERS OF WESTMINSTER,
FOK THE YEAR 1859.

TOWN CLERK.
WILLIAM S. BRADBURY.
SELECTMEN AND OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
WILLIAM MAYO, CHARLES UPTON,
FRANKLIN WYMAN.
ASSESSORS.
THEODORE WHITNEY, DANIEL C. MILES,
ARETAS RAYMOND.
TREASURER.
DAVID W. HILL.
CONSTABLES.
WILLIAM EDGELL, ALONZO A. PRATT,
PHILANDER C. BROWN.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
ANSON SPAULDING. CLINTON WARNER.
DANIEL C. MILES.

Valuation of and Tax upon the Property of the Town of Westminster,
as taken on the 1st of May, 1859.
Valuation of Real Estate,  $ 555,054 00
" Personal Estate,  179,822 00
Total, .... $ 734,876 00
Amount of money raised to defray town charges, . . . $ 2,500 00
For the support of schools,  1,600 00
County tax,  1,211 73
State tax,  399 00
Overlayings,  249 01
Total,  $ 5,959 79
Amount raised to repair the highways, to be laid out in labor
among the twenty-six highway districts, ... . $ 2,000 00

TAX-PAYEES IN WESTMINSTEK.

RATE OF TAXi

S.TI0N-

-72

CENTS ON 100 DOLLARS.

NAMES.

IX,

NAMES.

TAX.

George Adams,

$14

01

Jonathan Boynton,

$3 52

Alden F. Adams,

6

36

Asa B. Bates,

5 83

Le-ri AUen,

21

85

Alonzo F. Bro'wn,

2 58

Frederick Allen,

25

11

Samuel N. Barnes,

3 59

Jacob Ames,

16

62

Nathan Baker,

1 50

Francis Alzingre,

5

40

Thomas K. Bathrick,
Aaron S. Bolton,

8 51
4 38

Widow Maria Baker, and )
Adin F. Baker, 5

14

78

Franklin E. Bolton,

1 60

John M. Baldwin,

1 60

Samuel Brooks,

1

50

Michael Brashnain,

1 60

Sewall Barnes,

14

33

Alfred L. Brooks,

1 50

Edward Bacon, Jr.

29

06

Albert E. Brooks,

4 02

Edward Bacon,

4

74

Paul D. Black,

1 60

Philander C. Brown,

6

22

Levi Baker,

1 50

Asa Brooks,

1

61

Nahum Barrell,

33 99

Widow Sally Brooks,

27

58

George R. Battin,

1 60

James R. Bruce,

13

52

William M. Baker,

1 50

Benson Bigelow,

2*53

Joseph Battin,

6 04

Widow L. and >
Charles ^V. Barrell, J

30

55

Merrick Barnes,

1 60

James Brown,

6 55

Luke Bigelow,

23

74

Thomas H. Bailey,

16 68

Stephen Bathrick,

20

86

Eobert Butterfield,

1 60

Stillman Brooks,

28

61

Philip F. Bowman,

6 97

Ahijah W. Benjamin,

22

28

William S. Bradbury,

23

46

Maynard Clapp,

1 50

Ivers Brooks,

9

28

Jeremiah Conlan,

8 87

Alexander Bigelow,

5

71

John G. T. Cruise,

5 80

Eber Baker,

28

00

Joshua Cummings,

23 10

Hollis Bolton,

29

02

Chandler Curtis,

19 50

Belief Bond,

7

37

RusseU E. Curtis,

1 50

Betsey Bacon,

8

48

Reuben Chesmore,,

14 82

Joel S. Burpee,

1

68

Nathan H. Cutting,

7 98

Gamaliel S. Beaman,

3

30

Asa Cutting,

9 42

George Bruce,

9

51

Jonas Cutler,

31 74

Joel Benton,

2

94

Amos M. Cutler,

6 40

Samuel L. Bridge,

10

91

John Collins,

4 38

John Billings,

1

50

George T. Carter,

1 50

Alden B. Baker,

1

50

Jonas Cutting,

9 42

Simeon L. Bolton,

4

20

Nathaniel Wood, as Admin'r )
on S. Cooper's Estate, j

102 54

Elmer Baker,

9

02

Timothy Brown,

23

06

Charles Cooledge,

17 88

Adonijah, and C.H., and >
W, F, Barnes, 5

25

75

Edward R. Carter,

15 54

Walter V. Carr,

16 69

Willard Battles,

15

25

John R. Cooledge,

17 05

Asaph Bush,

4

56

Malachi Cary,

5 24

Benjamin F. Battles,

22

55

John F. Cushing,

6 42

Flavel H. Barnes,

1

50

Hugh Cary,

5 81

Abel Bennett,

19

65

MarshaU Cooledge,

1 50

Jolm Brashnain,

7

98

John Cary,

6 41

Benjamin Blake,

3

60

Alonzo Curtis,

24 40

Edwin Blake,

2

08

Michael Carey,

2 44

124

Luke AV. Carter,
Israel N. Carter,
Thomas Cary,
Rufus B. Cook,
James Callary,
Freeman Clark,
Lawrence Croney,
Wallace Cheney,
Charles Cutler,
Caleb W. Cutter,
Clark, Nichols & Co.
Samuel Clark,
Harvey Clark,
John Cai'y,
Thomas Carter,
Patrick Callary,
Aaron Derby,
Asa Dike,
Thomas Drury,
Israel Dickinson,
Israel Dickinson, Jr.
Thomas Damon,
Luke DivoU,
Vinall S. Dunn,
Almond Derby,
John J. Dupee,
Leander H. Dupee,
Abner E. Drury,
Abner M. Drury,
Michael Day,
Timothy J. Devine,
John Danvee,
John Donley,
Patrick Donley,
Ferdinand Dickinson,
¦ Joseph Dutton,
Henry N. Derby,
John C. Everett,
Nathan Eaton,
Nathan Eaton, Jr.
Marshall Eaton,
Millicent Estabrook,
Betsey Estabrook,
Mary Estabrook,
John Estabrook,
William Edgell,
Ellery Estabrook,
Simeon Eaton,
James M. Eaton,
WiUiam Eaton,
Wid. Lucy W. Estey,
Preston P. EUis,
Stillman Eaton,
Augustus Eager,
Charles A. Estabrook,
Oliver B. Estey,
Horatio Eager,
WiUiara W. Estey,
John T. Emerson,
Francis Estey,
Preston Ellis,

$ 1 72
11 67

13 86
1 60
45 17
4 74
1 50
2 58
1 50
1 72

1

60

15

07

15

19

1

50

19

70

30

55

14

06

6

67

9

71

12

67

6

18

1

60

16

64

4

16

1

08

6

34

4

66

2

80

1

50

1

60

1

50

12 06
6 28
5 18
9 95
14 72
1 94
1 62
2 81
6 10
19 39
1 50
1 50
6 46
27 11
6 18
9 79
14 69
5 32
6 42
32 46
2 94
2 76
2 94
29 11

John Foskett,
Daniel Foskett,
'Simon Foskett,
M. S. and C. A. Forbush,
Reuben Fenno,
Barney Fitz Morris,
Joseph '\^^ Forbush,
As E-xecutor on the Estate
of J. K. Gates,
Franklin B. Fenno,
Albert Forbush,
George Findell,
Otis Flagg,
Levi Feltch,
Samuel Gates,
Asaph Gates,
William P. Gray,
Jonathan S. Gray,
Sylvester Gray,
Levi Graves,
James E. Gates,
George W. Gibb.s,
B. F. D. Gibbs,
Leonard M. Gates,
Martin Griffin,
Carlos Griffin,
Patrick Gately,
James Griffin,
Hai»:y Green,
Warren P. Gibbs,
Calvin G. Goodi'idge,
Heirs of Thomas Gaut,
Patrick Griffin,
Mary E. Goddard,
Martin Gately,
Walter E. Goodridge,
John Haywood,
Joseph Howard,
David W. HiU,
Lucia M. B. HUl,
Nathan Howard,
Joseph Howard, 2d,
Franklin Howe,
George Harris,
WiUiam Hadley,
Phineas P. Hartwell,
Benjamin Harrington,
Amos B. Holden,
Wid. Betsey Holden,
Wid. Mary Hagar,
George W. Hagar,
Jonas and Handel Holden,
Benjamin Howe,
Daniel Harrington,
Asa Holden,
Leonard Hoar,
John Hoar,
Wid. Hannah Howe,
Willard Houghton,
Leander Hartwell,
John Horn,
Isaac Hall,

i 13 76
8 45
2 54
74 12
18 42
2 58
69 64
13 68
1 60
1 50
1 60
2 51
9 53
16 17
7 78
6 90
2 07
1 50
6 10
4 63
3 64
1 50
16 23

50 28
27584960

10 92
2 88
1 50
2 43
4 00
1 60
42 70
9 46
14 54
5 04
10 75
9 86
27 30
16 30
4 23
15 37
12 49
4 3872
19 94
30 34
10 31
7 91
21 92
1 60

4 20
3 56
72
2 41
3 93
1 60
23 94

125

Charles Howe, ^
Frederick J. Hay,
Charles H. Howe,
Calvin Holden,
Joseph Hackett,
WiUiam B. Howe,
George H. Harris,
Rufus Howe,
Gardner Howe,
Malcus Harrington,
Lucretia Howard,
MUton Joslin,
Ward Jackson,
Josiah Jackson,
Edward and L. Jackson,
Levi Jackson,
WiUiam G, Jaquith,
Samuel G, Kendall,
Trustee for Heirs of A. Fowle,
KendaU & Cheney,
KendaU & Forbush,
Thomas Knower,
Horace B. Knower,
Sylvanus Kendall,
WUliam L. KUgore,
Thomas Kendall,
Ezekiel KendaU,
James Kenney,
George King, Jr.
Barthey Kelty,
Samuel D. Knight,
John Lewis,
D. and J. H. Laws,
David Laws,
John H. Learned,
Franklin Lumbard,
John Lynde,
Greenleaf Lamb,
Henry Lucas,
Amos Lewis,
H. J. Leland,
Stephen F. Lamb,
John G. Lamb,
Oliver T. Leighton,
Ephraim Lovkin,
Crosby Lewis,
John Lamore,
John Merriam Estate,
Caleb S. Merriam,
Jonas Merriam,
Oliver M. Merriam,
Joel Merriam,
Merriam & Holden,
Farwell Morse,
Sewall Morse,
Joel Merriam, Jr.
Merriam & HiU,
Thomas Merriam,
Caleb S. Merriam, as Agent )
for Wear, 5

« 4 09

Artemas Merriam,

$2 52

13 99

Noah Miiy,

9 42

1 76

Wid. Achsah Mosman,

7 46

6 28

Abel Mosman,

36

1 60

Silas and Charles Mosman,

1 30

1 97

Silas Mosman,

2 22

1 50

Daniel Mosman,

14 17

1 50

John Mosman,

6 09

1 50

Stephen Mosman,

1 50

1 82

Daniel Miles,

21 84

34

Daniel C. Miles,

19 71

Charles Mosman,

2 22

1 64

George Miles,

44 81

1 50

Agent for Louisa Jones,

36

9 83

" for Mary Jones,

36

25 20

William Mavo,

27 42

3 60

John C. Miller,

27 47

1 50

Jonas MUler,

19 01

Marratt Morris,

1 08

9 96

John Miller,

1 60

3 60

Amos Miller,

31 02

14 40

Joseph N. Minott,

11 58

16 84

George W. Merriam,

13 63

13 74

Patrick ilcCarty,

2 48

10 91

John Mmott,

36 14

2 94

Reed Merriam,

32 37

20 42

Lorenzo Mansur,

1 50

1 68

Francis S. Morse,

8 64

6 82

Albert Minott,

5 62

2 62

Patrick McDonald,

1 50

1 50

Edward P. Miller,

7 43

1 50

Asaph L. Moody,

1 50

3 66

George W. Miller,

1 50

Reuben P. Merriam,

11 37

13 38

Frederick Jlinott,

1 60

23 78

Calvin Miller,

1 50

2 88

Marius H. Jloore,

6 54

9 39

Austin Mosman,

1 60

14 93

Luther Maynard,

19 03

12 01

Hannah MUler,

54

13 74

33 23
Edmund Nichols,
91 61
1 50
George F. Clark, and Augus
I 12 59
6 54
tus E. Nichols,
1 50
Henry E. NeweU,
2 36
2 22
Joel Newton,
21 26
9 68
WUliam Nichols,
1 82
1 99
4 69
Lawrence O'Neal,
1 50
1 64
Marshall Oliver,
3 48
Clarendon Oxford,
4 44
38 88
14 17
22 86
Achsah and Maria Perkins, }
and Achsah Hawkes, )
2 74
16 22
Josiah Page,
50 56
5 39
RusseU Pratt,
6 66
68 68
Joseph Perry,
54
7 82
Major Page,
19 22
12 95
Amos Patridge,
6 45
11 65
Michael Plunket,
1 80
2 16
Hiram Polly,
5 56
32 62
Robert Peckham,
7 62
3 60
James Pierce,
17 33
Edmund. A. Proctor,
11 38
126

Samuel H. Peckham,

fl

60

John Stickney,

$3 20

Alonzo A. Pratt,

10

14

Lyman Seaver,

1 60

Bushrod W. Prescott,

2

11

Walter H. Sawtell,

1 50

Amos Pierce,

3

16

Norman Seaver,

1 50

Elisha Pierce,

18

32

StUlman Sawyer,

13 69

Preston Pond,

1

50

Charles G. Starkey,

1 60

Jonathan Petts,

4

63

Sanford M. Sawin,

1 50

James Puffer,

33

14

Isaac Seaver, 3d,

8 20

Harvey Peirce,

1

50

Sawin & Foster,

20 05

Wid. Mary Parker,

14

40

Alonzo J. Stone,

37 72

Hartford Potter, Guardian for

} '

16

Joseph Simmons,

10 13

WaUace Butterfield,

Chauncey H. Stone, Ex'r on )
Estate of Mary Cooper, J

8 59

Francis Prew,

1

50

Porter F. Page,

2

08

Ivory Phillips,

6

10

Brown E. Totingham,

3 73

George Peirce,

1

50

Wid. Elisha Totingham,
Benjamin TUden,

2 52
1 50

Ives Ray,

11

38

Abraham Totingham,

3 44

Solon Raymond,

25

46

Otis Titus,

19 72

Nathan Raymond,

1

50

Solomon F. To-wne,

4 38

Milton Raymond,

2

04

George W. Towne,

16 99

Abijah H. Raymond,

16

77

George W. Towne, as Agent \
for P. F. Towne, J

2 88

Aretas Raymond,

25

96

Jonah Rice,

4

24

George W. Totingham,

6 43

WUliam E. Rice,

6

22

Josiah S. Tucker,

2 40

George Raymond,

3

48

Francis W. Tufts,

1 50

James Ryan,

2

62

Anson Ray,
26
09
James irnderwood.
1 72
Asaph Rice,
2
58
Charles Upton,
19 14
Asa W. Rand Estate,
5
04
Joel Rice,
6
83
Handel Winship,
1 50
Asa and Eli W. Raymond,
34
01
Lorenzo Winship,
31 24
Henry M. Raymond,
3
17
MarshaU White,
30 70
Martin Ryan,
1
50
Sylvester Winsidp,
23 64
Clark Rice,
1
60
Charles Winship,
4 02
Phineas W. Reed,
79 53
Simeon Warren,
19 08
Ephraim H. Rand,
2
44
Miriam Warren,
72
William C. Rand,
1
60
Theodore Whitney,
8 92
Jason Richardson,
1
50
John Whitney,
Abner Whitney,
19 00
22 45
WUliam Sawin,
14
88
Wid. Nancy Wood,
8 64
Charles H. Steams,
19
50
David Wyman,
23 78
J. W. Sawin,
13
98
Wid. Jane Wyman,
7 56
Joseph Sawin,
12
73
Jonas Whitney,
22 24
Reuben Sawin,
10
80
Aaron 'Whitney,
13 12
Anson Spaulding,
10
44
Smyrna Whitney Estate,
9 00
John Sawin,
28
35
Joseph G. ¦\\'Mtney,
8 40
Levi Sawyer,
1
50
Da-vid Whitney,
3 27
James Sawin, Jr,
16
40
David "Whitney, Jr.
1 50
Isaac Seaver, 2d,
11
82
George W. Whitney,
30 96
James Sawin,
1
60
Benjamin Wyman,
59 43
Isaac Seaver,
21
73
Franklin Wyman,
176 14
Asahel Seaver,
9
28
Aaron Wood, 2d,
9 78
Widow Mary Smith,
5
76
Calvin Whitney,
27 37
Amos P. Spaulding,
13
38
Benjamin F. Wood,
23 46
Oliver Sampson,
16
01
C. M. E. Wood,
2 16
Job W. Seaver,
18
78
John M. Whitney,
4 38
Amos Saunders,
4
02
T. D. Wood,
25 50
Aaron Sawin,
2
22
Emery Warner,
5 10
George Smith,
28
46
James B. Wood,
9 85
Joshua Smith,
5
86
Aaron Wood,
36 44
Jonathan Sawin,
3
38
Aaron Wood, Adm'r on Es
tate of Moses Cutter,
Daniel H. Stone,
2
22
2 16
Samuel H. Sprague,
38
26
Abraham Wood,
11 58
127

Lucy B. Wood, Adm'x on the )
Estate of Sylvester Miller, j
Lucy B. Wood,
Benjamin H. Whitney,
Joseph Whitman, Executor on )
Estate of Mary HUl, 5
Joseph Whitman,
J. M. Whitman,
Jerome Whitman,
Marcus Whitman,
Alonzo 'Whitman,
Asa P. "Whitney,
Wyman, Tylston & WUder,
Caleb Witherbee,
Allen B. Wood,
Joseph Woodbury,
SUas Ward,
Wid, Ann M. Whitney,
Jonas N. Whitney,
Wid. AbigaU P. Wears,
Mary A. Wears, exempt,
Wid. Betsey Wheeler, "
Wid. Mary Wheeler, "

$7 20
14 85
11 4772
119 62
1 60
4 16
5 10
6 10
3 16
72
11 38
17 89
7 69
1 93
11 52
6 4772

Dr. Clinton Wai"ner,
Horace S. Woodward,
Augustine Wliitnej^,
Stillman Whitney,
Thomas P. WiUiams,
T. P. WiUiams, Agent for
William Packard,
Edward Whitman,
Stephen C. Whitney,
Josephus Wood,
Nancy M. Wood,
George Wood, 2d,
Clinton D. "Wheeler,
Lafayette WUlard,
Addison E. Winch,
Stephen Wheeler,
James Wheeler,
Peter Wright,
Stephen "Wood,
George Wood,
Lovina "Wheeler,
Orange Young,

2

54

8

62

5

53

50

54

66

50
50
12
64
50
50
30
50
60
50
20
08
10
14
1
50
16
14
11 17
KEPRESENTATIVES TO THE GENERAL COURT,
From 1780 to 1859, arranged in the order in which ihe name first
appears, with the years against each name.
Abner Holden, 1781, '82, '86, '87.
Elisha Jackson, 1783, '85.
Josiah Puffer, 1787, '91, '92.
Stephen Holden, 1788.
Ebenezer Jones, 1796, '97, '99, 1800.
Jonas Whitney, 1802 to '14.
Abel Wood, 1809 to '14.
James White, 1815 to '18, '20.
Alexander Dustin, 1815 to '17.
Edward Kendall, 1820, '21, 34.
Timothy Doty, 1824, '27.
Simeon Sanderson, 1828.
Charles Hudson, 1829 to '32.
Cyrus Winship, 1829 to '32.
Mirari Spaulding, 1834.
Josiah Howe, 1836.
Joseph H. Whitney, 1836 to '39.
Joseph Whitman, 1837.
Edward Bacon, 1843.
William S. Bradbury, 1845.
John White, 1851,
John Minott, 1852,
George Kendall, 1854.
Edward Kendall, Jr, 1855.
Harrison G, Whitney, 1856, '57.
William Mayo, 1859.
N, B, — In the years not mentioned above, the To'wn was not represented,
Mr. Mayo represented the District composed of Westminster and Gardner.
CONTENTS,

Introduction, p. 6  Indians submit to the Colony, p. 6,... Narraganset War,
p. 6,. ..Grant to the Soldiers, p. 7  Meeting of the Grantees, p. 8  Companies
drew their To-wnships, p. 9  Lots laid out in No. 2, p. 10. ...First House and Saw
Mill erected, p. 11  Bounty to Settlers, p. 12....Fairbank More settled, p. 13 
Joseph Holden settled, p. 14  Privations, p. 16  Marked Road to Lancaster,
p. 17  Philip Bemis, p. 17  Thomas Bemis, p. 18  Meeting-house built, p. 18
 Thomas Stearns, p. 19  Grist Mill, p. 19  Daniel Hoar, p. 19  Joseph
MiUer, p. 20  Lynde, Garfield, and Graves, p. 21  Bigelow, p. 22  Samuel
Whitney, p. 23.... Hadley, Baldwin, Dunster, Smith, Walker, Horseley and Sted
man, p. 24. ...Rev. Mr. Marsh settled, p. 25.. ..Fear of the Indians, p. 26. ...Pro
prietors' Meeting held in the Township, and Petition for an Act of Incorporation,
p. 28... .Names ofthe Inhabitants in 1759 and '60, p. 29  MUeses, p. 30  Wood,
p. 31.... Estabrook, Rand and Woodward, p. 32. ...Taylor, Conant, Dike, Baker and
Edgell, p. 33....Jacksons, Whitneys, and Harrington, p. 34. ...Brooks, Winship,
Cohee and Walker, p. 36.... District incorporated, p. 35.... Epidemic, p. 36. ...Rev.
Mr. Rice settled, p. 36.... Incident in the French War, p. 38.... Immigrants from
1760 to 1770, p. 38.... A Resolution against Idleness, p. 39. ...Town incorporated,
p. 40... .Preparation for the Revolution, p. 40.... Importance of Town Meetings,
p. 41... .Soldiers furnished in the Revolution, p. 42... .Rejection of the new Consti
tution, p. 47.... Struggles during the Revolution, p. 48... .State of things after the
Revolution, p. 48.... Settlers from 1770 to 1780, p. 49... .Warned out of Town, p. 50
....A tract of territory set off to constitute the Town of Gardner, p. 60.... New
Meeting-house erected, p. 60.... Schools, p. 51. ...New Settlers, p. 52.... Statistics
of Population, &c. p. 52.... Value of Houses in 1798, p. 53  Manufactures, p. 56
....Religious Societies, p. 55  Public Health, p. 56  Situation and Extent, &c.
ofthe Town, p. 67  PubUc Men, p. 69.... Title to the Lands, p. 60  Manners
and Customs a Century ago, p. 63  Character ofthe Puritans, p. 65  Conclusion,
p. 67. List of the Grantees, p. 69.
Poem, p. 73.
Proceedings, p. 97  Officers of the Day, p. 98  Escort, p. 99. ...The Charac
ter ofthe Day, p. 100.... The Procession, p. 101,... Exercises at the Speaker's Stand,
p. 102  President's Speech at the Table, p. 104  Remarks of Mr. Smith, p. 106
 Letter of Hon. Abijah Bigelow, p. 107  Remarks of Dr. Allen, p. 108....
Remarks of Mr. Miller, p. 109  Response of Mr. Miles, p. Ill  Remarks of Mr.
Kendall, p. Ill  Letter of Dr. Wyman, p. 112. ...Letter of Mr. Hoard, p. 113....
Letter of Mr. White, p. 114  Remarks of Messrs. Merriam and Peckham, p, 115
 Remarks of Mr. Folger, p. 117-. ..Ode, p. 119.
Town Ofiicers, p. 122.... Tax-payers, p. 123.... Representatives to the General
Court, 127.
[CT In the list of petitioners, page 29, for James Winship, read Jonas Winship.
On page 98, for Dr, Clinton Warren, read Dr, Clinton Warner.

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

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-m^^n

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