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https://archive.org/details/historyoftownoflOOmarv

HI STORY

OF THE

TOWN OF MNCASTER,

MxiSSACHUSETTS:

FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME, 1643— 1879.

BY

REV. ABIJAH P. MARVIN,

AUTHOR OF THE "HISTORY OF WINCHENDON," AND THE "HISTORY OF WORCESTER IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION,"

The past but lives in words: a thousand ages

Were blank, if books had not evoked their ghosts."— Uulaver.

LANCASTER: PUBLISHED BY THE TOWN. 18 79.

Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1879, by

SOLON WILDER, FOR the Town, in tlie office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

Printed by J. E. Faiiwet.l & Co., 45 Tear! Street, Boston.

From the Bindery of S. H. Sanborn, 73 Federal Street, Boston.

PREFATOKY NOTE

or THE

COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION.

1136791

The definite duty of this committee has been to procure the preparation and publication of a History of the town. As related hereafter, the hope of finding the materials for such a history, gathered by that accomplished annalist, the late Joseph Wil- lard, Esq., in a condition for publication, had been disappoint- ed ; and although there were natives of the town who were com- petent to write its History, yet their engagements would have prevented. Indeed, before the vote, under which the committee were appointed, was passed, " the preparation" had been assigned, by very general consent, to the Reverend Mr. Marvin, lately Min- ister of one of the religious societies of the town, and who, though but for a few years a resident, was accredited with the desired gifts and experience for the work, and was at leisure to undertake it. Aside from the business of " publication," the co-operation of his colleagues with Mr. Marvin has been only advisory ; and to him alone belongs any literary merit which ma}^ attach to the book that is now presented to subscribers and to the public. The com- mittee do not hold themselves responsible for any statements of opinion which he has made, nor, either in general or in detail, for the manner in which he has executed his task ; but they must not omit to say that, in their judgment, he has discharged his obligations to the town with ability and fidelity ; that their oflScial association with him has been very pleasant and profitable

4

PREFATOllY NOTE.

to them ; and that they confidentl}^ believe that his readers will . derive in a good degree the satisfaction from his labors which, without doubt, it has been his ambition to deserve. How much time and anxious research such labors involve, is not readil}^ estimated by the inexperienced or superficial observer of the re- sults. The production of this book having been limited to two 3^ears, that errors of omission and of commission will be detected in it, the committee and the author take for granted. Notifica- tion to him or to them of any such errors, will be esteemed a favor. Though Mr. Remick has been happj^ in his sketch, yet the committee would have been glad to give another representation of the great Elm, in a photograph direct from nature, and taken, per- haps, in winter ; but convenience did not serve, and uniformity in the style of the illustrations seemed to be desirable. Acknowl- edgments are due to Mr. J. E. Far well, a native of Lancaster, for his friendly zeal in carrying the manuscript through his press at prices hardly remunerative to him. It onl}^ remains to be said that this address has been written as if Mr. Marvin were not a member of the committee, and to commend the sentiment of one distinguished as historian and poet, in his own words : — " Whatever strengthens our local attachments is favourable both to individual and national character. Show me a man who cares no more for one place than another, and I will show you in that same person one who loves nothing but himself. Yon have no hold on a human being whose affections are without a taproot."

INTRODUCTION.

At a town meeting held in the year 1871, Rev. George M. Bar- tol, Mr. Henry Wilder and Rev. A. P. Marvin were chosen as a committee to obtain from the heirs of the late Joseph Willard, Esq., of Boston, a manuscript history of the town of Lancaster. It was supposed at the time, that such a work was in existence, and from the known character of the writer, it was believed that his history of the town would be full and accurate. It was remembered by one of the committee, that Mr. Willard had mentioned the fact of his having the work in such a state of forwardness, that it could be fitted for the press in six months, and would make a volume of four or five hundred octavo pages. The chairman of the committee made application to the sons of Mr. Willard, but they were unable to discover the manuscript. The committee were thus discharged from their duty.

In 1876 the town at its annual meeting, had before it an article " to see what action should be taken in relation to the preparation and publishing of the History of the town." On the eighth of April the subject was referred to a committee of five, to take such action as they might deem advisable. The committee were George M. Bartol, A. P. Marvin, Jonas M. Damon, Charles T. Fletcher and Charles L. Wilder. The committee engaged the subscriber to write the history, but as the town had made no appropriation to pay for preparing or publishing the work, not much was done that year, except by way of collecting information, and settling upon the plan.

At the annual meeting, March 5, 1877, the committee made a re- port, with suggestions, to the effect that the town should raise the sum of $1,500, to pay expenses ; print six hundred and fifty copies ; and give a copy of the book to every family belonging to the town. The copies remaining were to be sold for $4.00, each.

6

INTRODUCTION.

These suggestions were put into the form of a vote, and passed unanimously. The committee were also authorized to illustrate the work with maps, pictures of public buildings, and historic scenes.

From this time the work of research was resumed with vigor, and was carried on until all available sources of information had been examined. I then called upon Joseph Willard, Esq., son of the former gentleman of the same name, in search of an ancient paper, and learned that the missing manuscript had been found. The sheets were bound into a volume of nearl}^ a thousand pages of large letter paper, and nearly eight hundred pages were covered with writing. Here were the materials for a history of Lancas- ter, but not a line had been prepared for the press. I was cour- teously permitted to examine the volume, and spent nearly a day in turning over the pages, when it appeared that I had spent several months in gathering the same information, from the same sources as Mr. Willard had done. There was nothing which I needed but a few extracts from the Records of Middlesex county, which I was kindly permitted to copy. There is, however, considerable matter in the volume pertaining to Lancaster families, which is valuable, and it would be well, if the town could procure the whole collec- tion for permanent possession in the public library.

In arranging the work I have been guided by the wisdom of the committee of publication. And here I may be permitted to say, in relation to m}^ colleagues, that the town made a judicious selec- tion. Mr. Wilder is a descendant of Thomas Wilder, one of the original settlers, who came in 1659, and was immediately em- ployed in public trusts, as one of the fathers of the town. The ancestor of Mr. Fletcher settled here near the beginning of the last century, or about one hundred and seventy years since. The family of Mr. Damon have been here nearly a century. Besides, and what is of equal importance, the}^ all feel an intelligent in- terest in family and municipal historj'. From them all many facts of interest have been gathered. The historic tastes and literary judgment of Mr. Bartol justl}^ gave him the first place on the com- mittee. He has been ever at hand, and read}" to advise with on all questions of importance. The plan of the work was approved by the whole committee, after mature deliberation.

The sources from which the materials of the following history have been drawn, are various. I begin by cheerfully acknowledg- ing indebtedness to Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Rev. Timothy Har-

mTRODUCTION.

7

rington and Joseph Willard, Esq. The latter gave much attention to the history of the town, and wrote the historical article in the Worcester Magazine, of 1826, from which succeeding writers have copied. He also delivered the address at the bi-centennial cele- bration in 1853, which contained some additions to the facts related in his earlier publication. If he had lived to complete his intended history of Lancaster, the work would have been done with such fulness and elegance, as to have superseded the need of any other.

But owing to the fact already mentioned, I was compelled to go to original sources of information, and therefore am not really indebted to any great extent, to preceding writers. Mrs. Row- landson's wonderful little book, destined to go down to distant generations, gives the experience of an actual participator in a crisis of the town's history ; but this covered only a brief interval of time. Mr. Harrington conveyed to us the traditional knowledge of his time, which he had gathered from the grandchildren of the first settlers. Mr. Willard gave only what was open to all students in the original records.

To these records I have resorted, and have never relied on ex- tracts made by others. The Records of the town have been well kept, with the exception of the period between 1673 and 1717, which is a blank. It is commonly said that a volume was burned, many years since ; and Mr. Willard says, that the first volume " unaccountably disappeared " more than ninety years since. It would be more correct to say, that in early times the records of the proprietors, the town and the parish were all kept in the same book. The first book, which is still extant, and has also been copied, comes down to 1673, or three years before the massacre of 1676. There is then a total blank to the year 1717, from which time to 1724, the proceedings of proprietors, town and parish are in- termingled. From the last date, the records, of proceedings are generally kept separate as far as the proprietors are concerned. From 1724 the Records of the town are in good preservation, and without any hiatus. The Records of the First church are wanting previous to 1708, but are complete from that date.

I have examined the Records af the Town and the Proprietary ; the Book of Roads, and the Book of Lands ; the Book of Estrays and the Books of the Selectmen. The Records of Births, Mar- riages and Deaths, in the books of the town, and the Records of the Church, have also been consulted. The Records of School

8

INTRODUCTION.

districts, of Library companies and of various associations, have been read with care. The same is true in regard to the Records of churclies and societies of comparatively recent origin. Private papers Iiave also been entrusted to my examination.

In proceeding, I have read the warrants for ever}' town meeting on record in the town books. I then looked out the action of the town in regard to every article of general and permanent interest. Sometimes a measure would be before the town for years, by ad- journment, or as a new proposition, before final decision." The action has been traced from meeting to meeting, until a result was reached. The same is true of the Records of the churches. The first volume of the Book of Lands has been studied with nearly equal minuteness, to verify the location of the homes of the first settlers. The results will be seen in one of the maps which accom- pany this volume. The Book of Roads has undergone similar scrutiny.

But the history of an ancient town cannot be made complete from its own records ; especially its military and parochial annals must be filled out from other sources. The Historic-Genealogical Society have a manuscript volume pertaining to King Philip's war, which is invaluable. Their materials for family histor}^ are rich and abundant. The Massachusetts Historical Society has two large volumes in relation to the conquest of Louisburg, b}^ Sir William Pepperell, which contain the rolls of the Massachusetts regiments in that expedition ; but unfortunately the roll of the Lan- caster company, and of the whole regiment of Col. Samuel Willard, are wanting. Some items of interest, however, were found, as well as in the files of newspapers printed early in the last century. The courtesy of these associations is gratefully acknowledged.

But for the student of municipal history, the Archives room in the State House is the magazine of facts, which, after local records, must be his main reliance. No one who has not consulted the huge volumes in that room, under the intelligent guidance of Dr. Strong, can have an adequate idea of the treasures of historic facts contained therein. In early times the general court took cogni- zance of many things which are now left to the management of towns, churches, parishes and individuals. By means of letters, petitions, reports, bills, journals, complaints and orders, all of which are pasted into immense scrap books, much of the life, re- ligious and militar}'^, as well as civil and educational, of the towns

INTRODUCTION.

9

is preserved. In this mass of material, I found proof of the build- ing of a second meeting-house where the first had stood. Here also was the schedule of losses when the houses and barns were burnt by the Indians on the day when the meeting-house was de- stroyed. Nearly all the facts pertaining to the military history of Lancaster, from 1676 to 1865, were derived from records in the State House. But enough of this. The novice maybe appalled at the thought of going through such a mass of papers, written in every conceivable hand, but he ought to be cheered by the fact that the Commonwealth has such vast treasures of historic material for him to explore.

There are readers who will wonder why so much room has been given to the proceedings of town meetings, and in particular, to such long recitals of town action in regard to roads, bridges, schools and parish affiiirs. The object was twofold. First, because the peculiar use and glory of our towns are herein displayed ; and sec- ond, to preserve a record of everything important in case the Rec- ords should be lost.

There are others who will regret the omission of full genealogical tables, but the committee saw at once, that such an addition to the work would swell it to several large volumes. Besides, all families will, in process of time, have their special book, like those of the Willards, the Wilders, the Lockes, the Fletchers and the Richard- sons. It will be found, however, that there is much information in this volume, in relation to the families of the earh^ settlers.

In regard to Illustrations, the committee decided to exclude por- traits, and pictures of private residences and buildings. This is so different from the usual way, that a reason ma}^ be offered. It is found, in part, in tlie fact that when local histories are examined, wonder is often expressed because the portraits of some people are admitted, while those of others are omitted. It would be im- possible to procure pictures of many who have filled the largest space in our history, in past generations. In their absence, the presence of others would seem out of place, if not impertinent.

With respect to buildings, the committee were positive in their conviction that a town history should not be an advertising medium of any man's real estate or business. Besides, photographs are now so common that there is no danger that our descendants will find any difficulty in learning how the present generation, or their dwellings appeared.

10

INTRODUCTION.

The pictures are lieliotypes from sketches in India ink. That of the Indian Camp Pasture was drawn by Mr. Harold Parker. The Survey of the Old Burying Ground was also made by him. The other pictures and the maps were made by Mr. II, E. Remick, of Boston.

The picture of the G-reat Elm in Lovers' Lane is inserted because the tree is a grand and beautiful object, and is believed to be the largest tree in New England.

The views of the Indian Camp Pasture and of the Site of the Rowlandson Garrison, are given, because both include scenes of historic interest. The first was taken from the spot where the first Trucking House stood on the east side of George hill. The sum- miit rises at the right, and the view extends southerly towards the house of Mr. Parker.

The scene of the garrison was taken from the bridge over Roper's brook where the two figures stand. The garrison was a little to the right of the pine tree, near the encircled view of an ancient garrison. The highest point of the hill is the site of the first two meeting-houses. The garrison-house in the circle is not to be taken as a picture of Mr. Rowlandson's house, but as that of an ancient garrison-house.

The Plan of the Old Burying Ground, which was figured and let- tered by Mr. Remick, is explained in the Chapter on Cemeteries.

The views of an ancient meeting-house and ancient garrisons are given, because they show how a certain style of these build- ings looked, in the e3^es of former generations. No. 1 is known to be like the garrison of Rev. Messrs. Whiting and Gardner, in its general shape, and its flanker or sentrj^ box on the cor- ner. No. 2 answers the description of Fort Dummer, which had four houses on the inside, with their rear against the wall of the fort. No. 3 is a copy of a meeting-house built in Haverhill a lit- tle while before the erection of the first meeting-house in this town, and is, without doubt, a very good representation of the house in which the first fathers, with their wives and children, worshipped.

The " Map of Central Lancaster, indicating residences before the massacre," will help the reader to locate each family, as well as the meeting-house, the garrisons and the bridges, before the town was burned in 1676, as is indicated in the third chapter. On this map the present roads are dotted lines, and the old roads are continuous parallel lines.

INTEODUCTION.

11

At page 366 is a heliotype copy of the town map, made by order of the general court, in 1795. It has been considerably^ reduced in size, to bring it within the page.

The "Map showing River Changes" at page 442, gives only a part of the changes of the channel in recent times, for the section between the Atherton bridge and the old crossing by the house of Daniel Bemis. In this map the ancient channel and roads are de- noted b}^ dotted lines.

The "Map of Lancaster" is copied from the map of 1830, made up by James Gr. Carter from surveys by Major Jacob Fisher, cor- rected b}^ reference to the map of H. Walling, 1857, and the map of F. W. Beers, 1870, and also from personal observation at the present time. Various improvements and additions have been made. The numbers include all the houses outside of the villages, and they refer to names printed on the opposite page. These names have been collected from former maps, from the present list of voters, and from the memory of elderly citizens. Doubtless many names are omitted, as no mortal can tell where every family lived in former generations.

The names of the old post roads and stage routes are retain- ed to gratify curiosity. Suitable characters indicate the site of churches, school-houses and other localities. The discontinued roads are marked by dotted lines.

The Plan of the Old Burying Grround is explained in the proper place. The beauty of the lines, figures and letters will please every eye.

In the Map of " Villages in Lancaster" will be found the num- bers of all the houses, past and present, in each of the four vil- lages. Present roads only are given. Public places are indicated by the characters used in the " Map of Lancaster." The names of residents in each village are placed in separate divisions, and will be easily found.

The picture of Memorial Hall was procured at the expense of the town. The committee offered to all the religious societies the opportunity to insert a picture of their several houses of worship. Two only availed themselves of the offer. These pictures are ex- ecuted in a style which makes them ornamental to the volume.

The history has grown to dimensions far beyond the original plan. The reason is that the town is ancient, and has much material for history. The chapter on Cemeteries is much more full than was

12

INTKODUCTION.

designed, and the collection of epitaphs is the result of an after- thought. The chapter on the late war covers more space than was anticipated, and the last chapter is an undesigned addition.

It should be stated, that the town, at the annual meeting, in 1878, voted $500 additional, to pay the expense of publication.

With these explanations, the History of Lancaster is commended to the kindly consideration of the families who compose the town, and those also whose homes are outside of our bounds, but who are interested in the events which have here taken place. In the thousands of names and dates, there are without doubt many er- rors. Nothing short of omniscience could keep such a work as this free from mistakes. My intention has been to treat subjects and events according to their relative importance, and to be absolutely fair and impartial towards parties, churches, societies and indi- viduals. Craving indulgence for all deficiencies, I submit the results of much thought and labor to the present citizens of the town, with whoni my relations have always been pleasant, and to the myriads of citizens who in coming generations, will be affected by the so- cial, political and religious life which has been imperfectly depicted in these pages.

A. P. MARVIN.

Lancaster, February 1, 1879.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I. — Boundaries at Different Times ; Scenery. — Purchase by King in 1643 ; Survey in 1659 ; Original dimensions ; Addition to territory ; New towns ; Outline map ; Hills ; Intervales : River changes ; Springs, lakes, brooks and rivers ; Scenery ; Minerals ; Animals ; Trees ; Size of the ponds 17-36

CHAPTER 11. — The Purchase and Settlement of Lancaster. — Date of settlement ; Sholan ; Indian camp pasture ; The pioneers ; First two houses ; Liberty of a township ; Division of lots ; Covenant of the planters ; Their names and estates ; Name of the town ; Limited num- ber of settlers ; Suffrage; Wisdom of the fathers. . . 37-57

CHAPTER III. — Location of the First Settlers; Autonomy of the Town. — Names of the first settlers ; First roads ; Location of the first houses ; The proprietors ; The town not able to govern itself ; The committee, and the selectmen; Arbitrators; Major Simon Willard; Self-government 58-88

CHAPTER IV. — Character of the Settlers ; The Natives ; The Burn- ing and Massacre. — Religion; The minister and his position; Edu- cation ; Manners and customs ; Character of the people ; The Indians seduced by Philip ; The burning and massacre ; Total ruin of the set- tlement; Captivity of Mrs. Rowlandson ; Fate of the Indians, 89-114

CHAPTER V. — Rebuilding ; King William's War. — Return of the settlers ; The Rowlandson locker ; Lost records ; Petition to the gen- eral court for aid ; The second meeting-house ; Ministers ; King William's war ; Indian raids ; Massacre of Mr. Whiting and others.

115-129

CHAPTER YI. — Indian War ; Garrisons ; Third Meeting-house ; New Territory. — Adjusting taxes ; French and Indian attacks ; Houses burned on George hill ; Sad death of Rev. Mr. Gardner ; Meeting- house on the Old Common ; Expedition to Port Royal ; Garrisons ; Last act of Indian violence in the town ; Tahanto's grant. . 130-152

CHAPTER VII. — Annals; Education; Delegates; Church Covenant. — Extent of the town ; Annals ; Population ; Delegates ; Intelligence of the people ; The minister's house ; Settlement of Rev, John Pren- tice ; The church covenant ; Names of male members, . 153-163

14

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII. — New Families; Lancaster Heroes. — Governors of the colony ; Contest about the new grant ; New families ; Town meet- ing, 1719; King George's war; Heroes: Fairbanks; Plartwell; The two Willards ; John White ; Petition of Eunice White. . 164-179

CHAPTER IX. — Swarming Time. — Size of townships; Town govern- ment, at first, a duality ; Bridge over the Penacook ; Road across the Swans' swamp to Concord ; Roads ; Schoolmasters Howe and Brough- ton; Enlarging the meeting-house; Seating the meeting-house; Incor- poration of Harvard ; County of Worcester ; Roads and schools ; Bolton becomes a town; Leominster set off in 1740; Salary of the minister; Two meeting-houses; Chocksett a precinct; Shrewsbury Leg ; Town ofiicers ; Unstable currency 180-216

CHAPTER X. — Spanish and French and Indian Wars ; Fort Dummer. — Walpole opposed to the Spanish war ; Lancaster soldiers lost in the West Indies ; The old French and Indian war ; Lancaster men at the captiire of Louisburg; Col. Samuel Willard; Raid on Lunenburg; Fort Dummer ; Col. Josiah Willard ; Soldiers in the service. 217-231

CHAPTER XI. — The Church During the Ministry of Rev. John Prentice. — Respect for the ministry ; Rev. John Prentice ; Increase of population ; Tax list of 1751; Owning the covenant; Dismissing members to form new churches; Laxity of morals ; Discipline ; White- field ; Admission to the church and baptisms ; Names of deacons ; Death and character of Mr. Prentice 232-249

CHAPTER XII. — The Last French and Indian War. — French and In- dian hostility; Four expeditions in 1755 ; French neutrals ; Soldiers at Crown Point ; Battles at Lake George ; Fort Dummer ; Panic in New England; Small-pox in camp and at home; Energy of Pitt ; Conquest of Quebec; Soldiers in the war; Rejoicing; Sermon of Rev. John Mellen 250-263

CHAPTER XIII. — Annals, from 1743 to 1776. — Schools ; Roads and bridges ; The river straightened ; Plan of general union ; School dis- tricts ; Shrewsburg Leg ; Grammar school ; Neck bridge ; Names of town officers ; Population ; State of morals ; Education ; Religious so- ciety of young men ; Golden* age of the town. . . 266-283

CHAPTER XIV. — Lancaster in the Revolution. — Prelude to the drama ; Grievances ; Resolutions ; Aid for the poor of Boston ; Arming ; The rush to Concord and Lexington ; Lancaster men at Bunker Hill ; Con- tinentals ; Capt. Haskell ; Col. Whitcomb ; The Willards ; Committees of correspondence and of inspection ; Anecdote of Mr. Harrington ; Declaration of Independence ; Paper money ; Fixing the market ; Great drain on the town for men and supplies ; List of soldiers. . 284-316

CONTENTS.

15

CHAPTER XV. — Politics from 1776 to 1800. — The Confederation ac- cepted ; The State Constitution ; State elections ; Shay's rebellion ; The Constitution of the United States ; The military spirit under Mr. Adams ; Death of Washington and honors to his memory ; Town officers. 317-331

CHAPTER XVI. — Set-off to Shrewsbury ; Parish and Town Affairs ; Population and Wealth. — South end of the town joined to Shrews- bury; Sterling incorporated in 1781 ; Fourth meeting-house enlarged; Salary of the minister ; Candidates ; Call of Rev. Nathaniel Thayer ; Dogs at meeting ; The poor ; Warning out of town ; Schools and squad- rons ; Latin and Greek; School committee ; Roads and bridges; Lot- tery ; The pock-house ; Map of 1795 ; New families ; Shakers. 332-375

CHAPTER XVII. — The Ministry of Rev. Timothy Harrington. — His testimonials ; Installation ; Legacy to the church ; Election of deacons ; Case of Moses Osgood ; Ann Lee's influence on some members of the church ; Unconscious change of opinions ; The Bolton case and the pastor's veto ; Family of Mr. Harrington ; His character and influence ; Low state of morals after the Revolution. . . . 376-393

CHAPTER XVIII. — General History of the Town from 1801 to 1843.

— Great improvement in dwellings and fields ; Reminiscences of Mr. Fletcher ; Schools ; Bridges ; List of voters ; Annals ; Small-pox ; Op- position to the war with England ; Clintonville ; The artillery go to Boston ; Fifth meeting-house dedication ; The poor ; New religious societies ; Liberty party ; List of town officers ; Education ; Names of the school committees ; Roads and bridges ; Stone abutments ; Arched and iron bridges. 394-455

CHAPTER XIX. — The Pastorate of Dr. Thayer. — Long pastorates ; Ordination of Mr. Thayer ; His ancestry and education ; Blessing of father Harrington ; Change in doctrinal views ; New method of receiv- ing members ; Dea. Whiting; Silver cups ; Members dismissed to other churches ; Deacons ; Lafayette's reception ; General influence of Dr. Thayer; Last journey and death ; His views of Christ. . 456-477

CHAPTER XX. — Town Affairs During the Last Thirty-five Years.

— New departure in politics and religion ; Copying the Records ; New town hall ; Clinton ; Charitable fund ; Bi-centennial celebration ; New almshouse ; Fish culture ; Charles Sumner ; Centennial ; Roads and bridges ; Town officers ; Public schools ; School committees ; Text books and course of study 478-520

CHAPTER XXI. — The Academy and other Private Schools. — The Latin grammar school ; Lancaster academy ; Teachers ; Miss E. P. Peabody; Shareholders; School of Hon. James G.Carter; Normal school of Prof. Russell 521-537

16

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXII. — Private and Public Libraries. — The ministers' li- braries ; The Lancaster Library and its proprietors ; School district libraries ; Sunday school libraries ; The agricultural library ; Library Club ; The town library ; Donations by Mr. Thayer ; Memorial hall ; Gifts by Col. F. B. Fay and George A. Parker ; The library committee ; The Bancroft Library Fund in honor of Capt. Samuel Ward. 538-564

CHAPTER XXIII. — Brief History or the Churches. — The First Con- gregational or Unitarian church ; The Universalist society ; The Evan- gelical Congregational church ; The New Jerusalem church ; The Seventh Day Adventist church ; The Catholic church. . 565-600

CHAPTER XXIV. Business ; Associations ; Population ; Authors and BooKS.^Yarious kinds of business ; Store corners ; Mills and fac- tories; Priming and engraving; Banks and railroads; Associations; State Industrial School for Girls; Population; Aged people; Physi- cians ; Lawyers ; College graduates ; Authors and books. . 601-632

CHAPTER XXV. — Cemeteries. — The Old Burying Ground ; Map of the yard ; The inscriptions ; The Old Common Burying Yard ; The North Lancaster Burying Yard ; The Middle Cemetery ; The North Village Cemetery ; Eastwood Cemetery. 633-682

CHAPTER XXVI. — Lancaster in the War of the Rebellion. — Patri otic excitement ; Public meetings ; Volunteers ; Influence of the pulpit and the platform; Soldiers in tlie field ; Names of the soldiers ; Ladies' Soldiers' Relief Association; Freedmen's Aid Society; The roll of honor ; The names of the dead in Memorial Hall ; The cost of the war ; The death of President Lincoln 683-719

CHAPTER XXVII. — Walks about Town. — Distribution of families ; Citi- zens of foreign birth; South Lancaster; The Old Common; The Cen- ter ; The North Village ; From Deer's Horns to Ponakin hill. 720-786

ERRATA AND INDEX 787

ILLUSTEATIONS.

1>		Frontispiece.
2.		. 36
3.	Indian Camp Pasture, site of the first Trucking House, .	. 38
4.	Sectional Map showing the location of the first settlers,	. 70
5.	Site of the Rowlandson garrison,	. 104
6.		.366
7.		. 418
8.	General Map of the Town,	. 428
9.	Map sliowing changes in the channel of the river, .	. 442
10.		. 557
11.	Picture of the Evangelical Congregational Church,	. 584
12.	Plan of the Old Burying Ground,	. 635
13.		. 724

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

CHAPTER I.

BOUNDARIES AT DIFFEKENT DATES. DESCRIPTION OF THE

SCENERY.

The boundaries of Lancaster have been often and greatly altered since the original purchase and grant. About 1643 Mr. Thomas King, of Watertown, in company with several others, purchased of Shohm, the Indian chief or sagamore, whose home was between East and West Washacum lakes, a tract of land ten miles in length, from north to south, and eight miles in width, in the valley of the Nashua. This pur- chase was sanctioned by the general court.

For some reason, unknown at the present day, the boun- daries of the town were not surveyed and marked previous to the year 1659, though a committee had been chosen, some years before, to perform the work. In that year Thomas Noyes was sent up by the general court, and the selectmen voted that when ' ' Ensign Noyes comes to lay out the bounds, goodman Prescott go with him to mark the bounds, and Job Whitcomb and young Jacob Farrar to carry the chain, and such others as Ensign Noyes shall desire, if need be." With proper caution it was voted, "that a bargain be made first between him and the selectmen, in behalf of the town, for his art and pains." This was on the seventh of March. The work was speedily done, for on the seventh of April, Noyes made his return as follows . " Beginning at the wading 2 17

18

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

place B of Nashaway river, [near the bridge at Carter's Mills, so called, in South Lancaster,] thence miming a line three miles in length, N. W. one degree west, [to a pohit marked A on the outline map,] and from that point drawing a per- pendicular line five miles, N. N. east, one degree north, and another S. S. west, one degree south." At the north end of the ten miles, a line was run eight miles in the direction E. S. east one degree east; and from the south end of the ten mile line, a line was run parallel to the north line, six and a half miles. The extremities of these two parallel lines w^ere then connected by a line which formed the east- ern boundary. Why the survey Avas not made eight miles wide on the south, according to the terms of the purchase and grant, we have no means of determining. The planta- tion, instead of ])eing a square, was a trapezoid. The origi- nal survey gave the town seventy-two and one-half square miles. The general court accepted the return of Ensign Noyes, wnth the proviso that a "farm of six hundred and forty acres be laid out within the bounds, for the country's use, in some place not already appropriated." This tract was laid out towards the south part of the township, and tradition says that the land was very poor.

In the beginning of the last century a large addition of territory was made on the west side. This was about four miles wide, and ten miles long. This tract V\^as purchased of George Tahanto, an Indian sagamore, and nephew of Sho- lan, in the year 1701. The next year, the town petitioned the general court for leave to make the purchase ; or in other words, to confirm the transaction. The committee to whom the matter was referred, did not make their return till 1711. Two years later, in 1713, the petition was grant- ed, and the forty additional square miles became a part of Lancaster. The town was now ten miles north and south ; the north line was twelve miles long, and the south line ten and Ji half miles. The territory contained not less than one hundred and twelve square miles.

LOSS OF TERRITORY.

19

Harvard was incorporated in 1732, and Bolton, including part of Berlin, in 1738. By these two partitions not far from a third part of the territory of Lancaster was cut off from the east side. Leominster was made a town in 1740, by which measure the old town lost a tract nearly four miles square.

On the other hand, Lancaster received an addition in 1768, by the annexation of Shrewsbury Leg, so called. This was quite a tract, though thinly inhabited, lying between Lancaster and Holden. It was the last territorial acquisi- tion of the town unless perhaps some small parcels obtained by running town lines around farms situated on the Sterling border.

Soon after the process of disintegration was renewed. In 1781 Woonsechauxit, Chocksett, or Sterling, which was made a precinct forty years l)efore, became a town. By this operation all the addition on the west, made in 1713, was severed. ISTor was this the whole of the loss, because the east line of Sterling did not follow the original western line of Lancaster. Starting from the southeast corner of Leo- minster, the north line of Sterling was run half a mile east into Lancaster. Thence by an irregular line, according to the boundaries of farms, the line was run southerly to a point one mile east of the old western line of Lancaster. This tract, half a mile broad at the top, and a mile broad at the bottom, and not far from six miles long, was called "the Mile" in the old Records. Thus not less than twenty square miles were taken from the town , and became part of Sterling. Lancaster now contained about thirty-six square miles, or twenty-three thousand and ninety acres.

When Boylston was incorporated in 1786, it took a large strip from the south part of Lancaster, including the part called Shrewsbury Leg. This strip, more than a mile in width, now constitutes the north end of the towns of Boyl- ston and West Boylston.

The dimensions of Lancaster remained unchanged over

20

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

sixty years, until 1850, when the south end was ampu- tated, and the village of Clintonville became the town of Clinton. By this last act of political surgery, about eight square miles were cut off, leaving to the ancient town not far from twenty-four square miles ; still an ample domain and a goodly heritage. The outline map gives the bounda- ries of the town in different periods of its history, and shows its gains and losses. The continuous line marks the origi- nal boundary. The broken lines include the addition on the west in 1713. The dotted lines show the portions cut off to form new towns. The dates tell when the new towns were formed.

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The surface of the town is much diversified, hiils rises near the nortlnvcst corner, and extends along

A range of

TOPOGRAPHY.

21

near the western border, about six miles. It is divided by the north branch of the Nashua, which flows in from Leo- minster, and makes a considerable valley between the north- ern and southern sections of the main hill. It then rises gradually to a considerable height, taking the name of Ballard hill where the great road crosses, from the fact that several families of the name of Ballard formerly lived there. , From this point the range extends some three miles, and ends in the bold, round-top eminence which is specifically George hill, though the name, in common usage, is applied to the whole except the Ballard locality. George hill sinks by a gentle declivity into the Deers Horns plateau, with its plains and ponds ; and this into the South Meadows, as they are styled in old records, but now covered by the waters of Mossy pond. The western part of the town is divided from the central section by the north branch of the Nashua and its northern affluents, and slopes gradually towards the south, as far as the junction of the north and south branches, about sixty rods southeast of the railroad station , where the main stream is formed, and flows northerly, giving to the east side of the town a gentle decline towards the north. The main river was called the Penacook by the natives, and also by the early settlers. The easterly section of Lancaster is therefore a long intervale, extending from near Carter's Mills to the northern boundary of the town, a distance not far from six miles.

The north part of the town, with the exception of the nar- row intervale on the east, is an elevated plateau. This com- prises a large tract of nearly level surface, but varied by high land on the west, and also on the north. These more elevated portions gather moisture from the clouds, and by subaqueous springs, supply the cluster of lakes which beau- tify the region with pure and delicious water. This plateau, more than two miles wide from north to south, suddenly drops to a lower level, by an irregular line, whose general direction is east and west.

22

HISTORY OF LANC^ASTEli.

The level to which wc have now descended, extends from Canoe brook easterly to Ponakin liill, and southerly, tlirougli Greenbush to the North Village. Much of it is even, with a light, sandy soil, but easily cultivated, and the products of the soil compare favorably with those raised in other parts of the town.

On the north of this central section* rises Babel hill, which is cut off from the northern plateau by a deep valley and swamp. This hill commands a pleasant prospect. Tra- dition says that in old times there was an observatory or place of outlook on the summit, from which signals could be given, in case of danger from hostile natives ; and that another station was on Ponakin hill. The land on both hills was then owned by members of the Phelps family.

Ponakin — sometimes called Whittemore — hill, lies on the east of the level above described, and extends a mile or more from south to the northeast, wdiere it descends into the sandy plain west of Still river bridge. The view from the southern summit of Ponakin hill is extensive in every direc- tion. On the north are the mountains of New Hampshire. On the east lies the valley of the Nashua, visible far to the north and south. Beyond are the hills of Harvard and Bolton. Four or live pleasant villages, including Clinton, bestud the southern landscape, backed by the highlands in the center of the county. On the west and beyond the verdant hills of Sterling, rises the lofty dome of the Wachusett ; while far to the northwest, beyond Leomhister and Fitchl)urg ; beyond the Little and the Great Watatic, towers the lion-like brow of the Grand Monadnock.

From the southern base of Ponakin hill the land descends by slight gradations to the "meeting of the waters," the point ^vliere the north and south branches join and form the main stream of the Nashua. The distance is about two miles, and the whole tract has been called "The Neck" from the days of the first settlers. On the Neck is the pleasant Center of "beautiful Lancaster," where are collected the

PINE HILL. —INTERVALES.

23

various churches, the town hall, the high school, the hotel, and the memorial hall with its extensive and well-selected library .

Pine hill is a formation by itself. It stands on the east border of the town, and extends about two miles along the river, with a breadth of a half mile or more, on the average. It is oval in form, and in reality an island. The Nashua washes its eastern ])ase, while a swamp on its western side sends a brook north and another south ; both of which empty into the main river. The hill rises perhaps seventy feet from the river, and is an immense accumulation of sand, gravel and clay in regular strata. The surface, as a general thing, is as level as water-laid deposits can be arranged. Appearances indicate that the island-hill was formed when the water ran to the south, or directly opposite to the course of the river.

The Intervales are a prominent feature in the landscape of Lancaster. The first is on the north branch of the river soon after it enters the town. The second is the broad and fertile valley of Ponakin. The third extends from the bridge in the North Village to the meeting of the rivers, nearly two miles ; and the fourth reaches from just below Carter's Mills to the northern ])oundary of the town. This is a magnificent valley, over which the eye roves with delight. The valley of the Nashua is the valley of the Connecticut in miniature, and like it is dotted with trees of various kinds, and in summer time, covered with all the products of the farmer in rich abundance.

In former times the whole surface was covered by the annual freshets of the spring, and often by those in the fall of the year. By degrees the intervale lands have been raised by the yearly deposits, and there are parts which are submerged only in exceptional years. The map which goes with Whitney's History of Worcester County, gives a large body of water, reaching from Still river almost up to the Old Common. Most of this was in Bolton and Harvard, or on

24

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

the east side of the intervale, but it covered some hind in Lancaster. It was called the "Ions; lake," or the "lons" pond," the upper or southern end of which was styled in ancient Records, the " Swans' Swamp." In early times the road to Bolton and Concord crossed this swamp on a cause- way which has sunk out of sight. This road is indicated on the " Sectional Map." By frequent inundations the land has l)een raised so that it is now cultivated throuofh the whole extent of the "Swans' Swamp," and the "Long Lake."

The whole intervale is the work of the river, in the ages past, and the process is still seen, every year, as the banks of the river are torn away on one side, and built up on the other by the rushing stream. It is a common saying of old men,, who are familiar with the intervales, that the river has been all over them, and has run, in different periods, everywhere, from side to side.

The changes can be seen by comparing the old map of 1795 with the map of 1830, with its recent corrections. Many of the o;reat bends are now "dead rivers," while the river has taken a more direct course. In several cases the hand of man has opened a shorter passage for the water, as above the Sprague l)ridge ; between Atherton and Center bridges ; and below the " Great Scar," on Pine hill. The interest and the effort of landholders is to confine the river to its bed, except in freshet time, and thus preserve their land, which else might take — not wings — but water passage, and thus pass away. The floods enrich the intervales with all kinds of plant food, and help to clothe them with fertility and beauty. The fields are covered over with corn : the cattle revel in rich pastures.

Lancaster is well watered by springs, lakes, brooks and rivers. The springs well up from the side of George hill, from end to end. The water is conducted by pipes to South Lancaster, and supplies many families. There is (inough to supply the Center if means for distributing it were provided. Ponakin hill is another reservoir which

BROOKS AND PONDS.

25

would yield an abundance for all the femilies on both sides of the Neck. The water is pure, soft and sweet.

Springs impregnated with iron are found in several places. One is on the road to Pine hill, on the border of the brook. Formerly iron water was bottled at a spring on the steep bank south and west of Ponakin bridge, and sent to distant parts. The "Red spring" figures in the old "Book of Lands."

The brooks which are numerous are partly indicated on the map. Some have been traced farther up into the hills than on any former map. In some cases corrections have been made. For example, one or more maps have a brook called Cumbery, which is right, but they represent it as flowing from Cumbery pond, which has no outlet. The brook probably takes its name from Cumbery hill at the southwest of the pond. One branch of it flows from a large swamp lying west of the Shaker settlement. The real name of the trout brook that flows from Spectacle pond to the Nashua, is Canoe brook, and it is so styled in ancient pa- pers. Formerly there were two or three mill-sites upon it. One was the "old Sam Rugg mill," so called, not far from the Samuel Pugg place, now owned by Mr. Colburn, of Gardner. Another was between the road and the river, where was a fulling mill. This is a never-failing brook of pure water. Wikapekit brook comes into the town from Sterling, and seems to be fed by unfaihng springs. The other brooks are numerous, but need not be specified. They serve for use and beauty, and add new charms to scenery otherwise charminof.

Lancaster was originally rich in ponds and lakes. On the east were Barehill, Gates and other ponds in what is now Harvard, Bolton and Berlin. At the south were Clamshell, Sandy and Mossy ponds. The East and West Washacum, or Weshacombe lakes in the south of Sterling are unsurpassed in the combination of lovely features.

20

IirSTOUY OF LANCASTER,

But after losing all tliese fair mirrors of the sky, the old town still surpasses all her daughters in her wealth of ponds, with their pebbly margins and sandy l)ottonis, and transpar- ent depths, and shores lined with trees. There are seven of these little lakes in the northern section of the town. Turn- er's pond is on the upper border, and extends into Shirley. White's pond is towards the northwest, with some eighty acres in this town', and a few beyond the Leominster line. Cumbery pond which is said to cover thirteen acres, lies at the eastern base of the plateau, and with no visilile inlet or outlet, maintains its depth with scarcely a change from win- ter to summer, and from year to year. Strange notions are abroad in regard to this pond, as the love of the marvelous leads people to magnify every unusual appearance. It has been said and believed that the pond is deeper in summer than in the wet seasons of the year ; that it rises " two feet just before a storm ; " and that great rains have no effect upon its rise and fall. The fact is that the pond is but shghtly affected by ordinary storms, or by the change of the seasons. But it is stated by Mr. Levi Burbank, a close observer, and a man of scientific tastes and knowledge, that the pond does undergo considerable change in a series of years. For example, some years since, the surface began to settle and the maro'in to widen until the distance between the water and high water-mark was several feet. This space was soon covered with bushes, which continued to grow, from year to year. When several feet in height, the water began to rise, and so continued, till the shrubl^ery Avas killed, and the dead stalks stood in the water. It"is his suggestion that the rise and fall of the water marks a succession of comparatively dry and rainy periods reaching over several years. If so, the pond is a sort of rain gauge. However we may account for it, the phenomenon is singular. The water is deep, pure and sweet, with no affluent, and no visible outlet, though some believe that a distant spring is fed from this fountain.

SPECTACLE POND.

27

We now come to a cluster of ponds, four in number, on the east side of the Lunenburg road, and lying in a north and south direction, relative to each other, with the excep- tion of the smallest, which is called Oak Hill pond, and is southeasterly from the others. It partly fills a deep bowl, and was probably somewhat larger and much deeper in for- mer times. The map gives it a surface of fifteen acres. It is so completely secluded that none but hunters and fisher- men have known of its existence except by report. Eecent- ly however, wood has been cut in its vicinity, and a rough road has been opened on its western margin, hy which teams can reach the southeastern corner of Spectacle pond. It is a lovely little gem in a fine setting of emerald.

But among our lakelets, Spectacle pond is queen. The old surveyors give it one hundred and thirteen acres of sur- face ; but as they have utterly failed to represent its shape, so it is believed that they have laiderstated its size. The outlines of the pond as given on the map of 1795, diff'er much from the present. On the map of 1831, the pond seems to be turned over from north to south, with a regular curve on the northern border, and an indentation reaching from the southern side far into the middle. Several town and county maps multiplj' the error. The outline on the map in this volume, though not accurate, is a great im- provement on all that have preceded it. It was drawn by an experienced draughtsman, Mr. H. E. E-emick, of Boston, after a partial observation, but without the use of instru- ments ,

What led the earlier surveyors, who have been followed by the later, with immaterial variations, to give the lake such an outline, is a mystery. My theory was this : that in former times, the two bays, one on the northeast and the other on the northwest of the pond, whicli. form the two glasses of the spectacles, were shallow, and mostly bare in the dry season, thus giving a gentle curve to the northern side of the pond ; and that Loon island, as the narrow cape on the south side

28

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

is ciilled, formerly extended far towards the middle of the pond. But soundings show that there are no shallows to justify this conjecture. The pond is a bowl with a suddenly shelving bank on all sides. In the northern extensions of the pond, the water is full twenty feet except near the shore. A little off from Loon island a line of thirty feet is needed to reach the bottom. It is hard to believe that the surveyors in 1795 and 1831 had no reason for giving the form to the pond which they have left us on their maps ; yet it takes but half an eye to see that their outlines are almost exactly opposite to the fiicts as they now exist.

But leaving these questions which have delayed us too long, this little lake is a marvel of nature. The far-famed Walden pond in Concord does not combine more elements of natural beauty. Its singular curves and bays which give it a name ; the little coves that break the line of its southern side ; the pebbly shore and sandy bottom, and lucent depths, settlhig sharply from the margin ; its transparent water and its rim of living green, all unite to please the eye and gratify the taste of the lover of nature.

Little Spectacle of about thirteen acres,* separated by a few rods on the north, has similar features. When the water is high it flows into the larger pond, which is on the same level. The water is said to be deep in the middle, and has the translucent purity which gives a charm to the whole clus- ter of lakes. Passing north, and over the Harvard road, and into the woods a few rods, the gleaming surface of Fort pond comes into view. It is credited with a hundred acres. The old turnpike touched the southwest corner, and gave the traveler a bit of scenery, made up of water, woods and re- flected sky, such as is rarely seen in a summer's journey. These four lakelets in a row, with Cumbery a mile or two distant, — such contrasts to -the ordinary mud-margined ponds and reservoirs — are among the masterpieces of nature. If a railway ran near them they would be thronged by visitors from near and far every season. As it is, their

*See Note at the end of the chapter.

NASHUA RIVER.

29

deep seclusion gives them a heightened grace to those who searcli for the amenities of nature in their secret haunts.

If these ponds are jewels on the bosom of Lancaster, the Nashua is a silver girdle, reaching from shoulder to shoulder and circling her waist. The north branch rushes from the hills of Ashburnham and Westminster, through Fitch burg, between high banks and over a rocky channel. In Leo- minster the valley spreads into a long intervale, and this feature is preserved as the stream rolls on to the meeting of the waters, ivhere the south branch comes in and makes the main river, and thence to the northern boundary. But the rush and momentum of the branches in their upper channels, crowd the river along the lower and smoother level with a steady force.

The average depth of the main river is stated by the his- torian Willard, to be about twelve feet. But this must re- fer to the river when tilling the bed to the brim without overflowing. In the summer season the average depth be- tween the Center bridge and Still river is not above three feet. Standing in a boat, when the water is at this stage, a full-grown man can see over the bank, in many places, and look across the intervale. The river, even then, though placid on the surface, moves rapidly, as those will find who attempt to row up stream. When the river is brimming full, the movement is gi'and ; and Avhen the high freshet, in spring or autumn, swirls along over all the wide intervale, the view is magnificent. Sometimes masses of ice and broken timbers, the debris of mills, dams and ])ridges, add to the wildness of the scene. But the contents of the swollen river give fatness to the farm-lands, and make the fertile intervale like "the garden of the Lord."

Some value the river for its enriching qualities, and some for its abundant water power, and some because they can idle away their time in catching pout and pickerel. There are some also who delight in it as a " thing of beauty " and a "joy forever." They love to wander on its banks, to

30

HISTOHY OF LANCASTER.

plunge into its depths and float upon its surface. Tliey re- turn ao-ain and ao-ain to o-aze on its flow when it shimmers in the sun, or is mottled l)y the rain-drops, or ruflled by the breeze. They are never tired of Avatching it from some high bank ; mayhap from the summit of tlie Scar,"^, or crum- bling- bluffs, and see it windinsfback and forth in the broad valley, like the convolutions of a mighty serpent, gleaming^ in the light with silvery scales.

This description of the scenery of Lancaster may seem extravao^ant to the strano-er, but to one who has followed the eastern slope of George hill, and noticed the changing view given by every succeeding step ; who has stood on the round- ed tops of George or Ponakin or Wheeler hill, and taken in the entrancing prospect ; who has traced the almost innu- merable roads and bridle-paths, and hunters' tracks through the woods of Pine hill and the great northern plateau ; who has reveled in the beauty of the ponds and rivers, and has been delighted with the added charm of cultivated fields, and tasteful grounds and gardens, the words will seem tame and inadequate. Let all be summed up in the words of Miss Elizabeth P. Peabody, a former resident: this is "beautiful Lancaster."

A word must l)e said regarding the trees which, according to Prof. Silliman, ''conceal defects and heighten beauties.'' The uplands ])ear the oak, chestnut, pine, birch, beech, ma- ple and other trees common to the region. Wild cherry grows in diflerent places. In the intervales and the uplands are great numbers of stately walnuts of the shag-bark va- riety. Formerly the "walnut swamp" extended from the int(M*valc opposite the Center, north and west by the ancient place of Daniel Stearns, and over the top of Ballard hill. But the elm is the monarch of upland and valley. Some are tall, with limbs expanding at the top like a graceful vase. Others branch out, bold and rugged, like the white oak, tind spread their shadow broadly on the green sward. Still others rise majestically from the base, with a mighty bole which curves

MINERALS.

31

outwardly in thousand greater and lesser limbs, — their leafy tips pendent to the earth — and wave grandly in the breeze. Another variety is covered from base to summit with a growth of twigs, as if made on purpose to adorn the rugged branches. These serve, with the leaves on the branches, to make the tree a mass of foliage and verdure.

The minerals of the town are more numerous than valu- able. None of the "precious metals" are found here. There is an iron mine within our ancient bounds, but now in Sterling, a little north of East Washacum lake. The ore was good, but it long since ceased to be worked. It is now only visited by the curious. In a " Catalogue of American Minerals, by Samuel Kobinson, M. D., Boston, 1825," the following facts are given: "Andalusite, reddish brown, in a rolled mass of wdiite quartz, and on George hill in transi- tion mica slate. Marl, abundant on George hill, and else- where. Earthy marl, an extensive bed, in New Boston, so called. Finite, in clay slate ; also green and purple pinite, fine specimens on George hill in granite. Spodumene, fine specimens in various parts of the town. Fibrolite, abundant in mica slate. Phosphate of lime, on George hill, in small hexahedral prisms, in a spodumene rock, of about two tons in weight. Peat, in the swamps and lowlands in the south- west part of the town." This is now covered in part at least, by the water of Mossy pond.

The Andalusite mentioned above, is a singular mineral, in its appearance. There is quite a variety in form and col- or. The mineral is intensely hard, and susceptible of a fine polish. Buttons, studs and other ornaments are wrought from it. The author has a specimen, presented by the late Prof. William Russell, which has a regular cross at the end, and is precious for the sake of the giver, for its beauty, and for the sacred emblem which it bears. And here an anecdote finds its place. Mrs. Mary G. Ware had specimens, one of which was specially fine. After a visit from a friend it was missing; but in time that friend, Mr. George B. Emer-

32

HISTORY OF LANCASTEll.

son, returned it as the chief part of a ring set in gold, with this inscription, "Qui saxum crucem fecit." He who made the stone bore the cross.

It was a common thing in former years, for students in minerah^gy to come hither from great distances in search of minerals, and especially the Andalusite, of which tons have been carried away. The principal of the high school, Mr. LeRoy Z. Collins, has made a large collection, and supplied many applicants for specimens. According to him, the min- eral is found here, not merely in boulders but in the ledge, on the west side of George hill, and in Sterhng. A laro^e stone at the side door of the writer's house is supposed to be full of the Andalusite forms.

More than a century since, a Mr. Flagg found a slate quarry in the northeast part of the town. "The slates were in use as early as 1752 or 1753," says Willard, and " after the revolutionary war, were sent in great numbers to Boston, and the Atlantic states, and formed quite an article of commerce." It was sometimes called the Shaker quarry, though never a part of their property. Perhaps the name was given because the Shakers, in the latter part of the cen- tury, were employed to take them to Boston with great ox teams. The Hancock house, on Beacon street, and occupied by Gov. Hancock, which was taken down a few years since, was shingled with slates from this quarry. So was the Old State house, and many another building in Boston.

The quarry was worked more or less for fifty years. Mr. Whitney, author of the History of Worcester County said in 1793, "great numbers of them — the slates — are used in Boston every year." Facilities of transportation enabled other quarrymen to undersell the owners, and the work ceased more than fifty years since. The mine filled with w^ater and so remained till the past year, 1877, when a Welsh- man, Mr. Griffith, reopened it, and found it to be one of the best slate quarries in the Avorld. The quality is superior, the color good and durable, and the supply abundant. It is

BIRDS AXD FISHES.

33

hoped that the quarry will now be worked, as two railroads within two miles, or less, of the site, furnish ready commu- nication with Boston, New York, and other cities less re- mote .

Of birds little need be said. The kinds common to this latitude are numerous, and fill the shade trees, orchards and forests with their songs. Dr. J. L. S. Thompson, a skillful taxidermist, has a large and beautiful collection. In gather- ing them he has had the aid of the gun and the knife of a young adept in hunting and taxidermy, Albert Harriman.

The wild animals with which the woods once were filled, and which preyed upon the flocks of the early settlers, have long since disappeared. During the first century premiums were paid for the destruction of beasts and birds of prey. Now a fee is willingly paid to get a sight of them in some traveling menagerie, or natural history collection.

Shad and salmon formerly came up the Nashua, but none of the living remember the time. The dams at Nashua and Pepperell are an efi'ectual bar, or the pollutions from the factories fill all decent fishes with disgust. Efforts have been made, of late years, to stock the river and some of the ponds with bhick bass, trout and other desirable fish, with partial success. Perhaps it will be found quite as easy to raise the fish as to guard them from the hooks of dep- redators.

Such is a l)rief and imperfect description of Lancaster as a township. The first settlers valued it as a goodly possession. They stopped not on the eastern hills, but hastened into the broad and fertile valley with its uplands and plateaus, on either bank of the Nashua. They found here the wild love- liness of nature, and they made it more desirable for their children. The soil was naturally good. In some places they exhausted it, but the overflowing of the river has kept up the fruitfulness of the intervale lands, and a better culti- vation has enriched the uplands. Though the north part of

the town has been made poor, except in spots, by unthrifty 3

34

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

farming, yet the Ijinds tlicro might })g speedily restored. The liand of skilhul industry wouhl soon cover the fields with lush gniss and heavy crops, juid the happy farmers would reclaim the Avaste places where once were happy homes. Let the sons of the soil improve their goodly heritage ; then the fields all over the town Avonld smile with rich harvests.

In closing this chapter a brief reference will l)e made to some of the big elms of the past and the present. Willard speaks of several which are now dead, though the stumps of two of them remain. The one he mentions as standmg west of Atlierton bridge, measured twenty-six feet at the roots. This was stript of its last limbs by a furious tem- pest on the twenty-first of July, of the present year. He refers to another near to the Old Common cemetery which was twenty-five feet five inches at the roots, eighteen feet at two feet from the ground, and fourteen feet ten inches at four feet from the ground. The diameter of the area covered by its l:)ranches was ninety-eight feet. A third stood between the road and the barn of Caleb T. Symmes, and was tweuty-fonr feet at the roots, and fifteen feet at four feet from the ground. The stumps of these last two trees still remain. The last mentioned is covered by a creeper. It is said that Col. Abijah Willard, in his boyhood, nearly one hundred and fifty years since, took it np and planted it here. Another tree, southeast from Center bridge, and near the old Neck bridge, was twenty-six feet six inches at the roots, and twenty feet at four feet from the ground. This has left no vestige.

But an elm standing near the same spot, a view of which is here presented, equals if it does not surpass all the above- mentioned. Measured on the twelfth of July, 18^8, its girth was as follows. Two feet from the base, twenty-seven feet, eight feet above the base, twenty-five feet. Below the point of measurement, the roots spread fast, and above eight feet high, the bole begins to branch. The diameter of

GREAT ELMS.

35

the l)raiiches is fully ninety feet. The symmetry of its proportions is seen in the sketch. This tree stands close by " Lovers' Lane " on the land of Charles L. Wilder. Another nearly as large is a few rods west of his barn. The elms that formerly arched the path of Dr. Thayer, and before him, of Mr. Harrington, still wave their stately branches. An immense elm, of fenltless shape, towers over the intervale of Frederick Johnson, near the river.

The great elm on the south side of the house of Mrs. Nancy K. Carleton was set out between eighty and ninety years ago. When the late Dr. Thayer was married he did not im- mediately move into the house where most of his life in Lan- caster was spent, as Mr. Harrington was then alive ; but took his wife to the house now owned by Mrs. Carleton. When walking out one day Mrs. Thayer pulled up an elm sprout, brought it home, and with her own hands set it where it now stands. To guard it from harm she placed sticks around it. What a graceful monument ! To preserve the noAV stately tree, Mrs. Carleton has recently bound the great branches together with iron bands.

The large trees of Lancaster are not confined to the elm variety. Near the Central Station is an immense wild cherry, that has few equals in the country. At the old Barnes place, where Mr. Jewett now lives, is a huge white oak. On the farm of the country home of J. E. Farwell^ Esq., of Boston, on the top of Ponakin hill, is an oak tree which, at eighteen inches from the ground, is fifteen feet and a half in circumference ; and at three feet from the ground, fifteen feet in girth.

The trees above-mentioned are some of the most conspicu- ous among hundreds which line the road sides and adorn the lowlands of Lancaster. nc*^-^C\A

Note to Page 28. — On the map made in 1831, the Little Spectacle pond is marked " twenty-seven acres." An accurate survey made in July of 18^8, gives 13.13 acres,

36

IIISTOHY OF LANCAHTEli.

or thirteen acres {iiid twelve rods. How cim the discrepancy be accounted for ? It is not credible that the senior Capt. Fisher, who made the earlier survey, more than doubled the surface of the water. The following statemcuit will partly if not wholly explain the matter. In former times the brook Avhicli is west of the Lunenburg road, and rnns south- erly into the Nortli branch of the Nashua, was turned into Little Spectacle. At the same time, the outlet of the larger pond was closed by a dam which raised the water four or five feet. The water thus raised, flowed back from Spec- tacle to Little Spectacle pond, and raised its surface above the present margin. The writer has recently circumnavi- gated the pond, and found, in some parts, broad spaces which a moderate rise of the water would cover. It was esti- mated by two men with him in the boat, that ten or twelve acres would thus be added to the size of the pond.

The greatest length of Spectacle pond is about one hundred and seventy rods, and the greatest breadth not far from one hundred and fifty rods. Eecent soundings show a depth of fifty -five feet. Probably the water is deeper in some places.

GREAT ELM — LOVERS LANE,

CHAPTER II.

THE PURCHASE AND SETTLEMENT OF LANCASTER.

According to Gov. Wiiithrop, the first movement to- wards the settlement of Lancaster by white men, was made in 1643. Watertown seems to have been a hive from which successive swarms went out to form new homes. Referring to a case of this kind, he says : " some of the same town be- gan a plantation at Nashaway, some fifteen miles N. W. from Sudbury. At this time the whole territory in this region, as far west as the Wachusett, and perhaps farther, was ruled over by Sholan or Shaumauw, sachem of the Nashaways or Kashawogs," whose capital — a wigwam, or cluster of wigwams, — was near the Washacum, or Wesha- comb lake. Sholan sometimes went down to Watertown, probably for the sake of barter, where he "became acquainted with a trader, Mr. Thomas King." Perhaps he thought it would be a convenience to have the place of trade in his own neighborhood. In that way, he and his tribe would be freed from the necessity of making long journeys to exchange their peltries for the trinkets and the more useful articles kept in a country store. Whatever was his motive, the Indian chief recommended his valley, with its streams, lakes, hills and plains, as suitable for a plantation, and invited the English to become his neighbors.-

In consequence, King was induced, probably after per- sonal inspection, to unite with others in purchasing the land of Sholan. The tract was eighty square miles, or ten miles

37

38

TllSTOliY OF LANCASTEI{.

by eight. The English agreed not to molest the natives in their tishing, hunting or pUmtiiig places. This deed was sanctioned by the general court.

It is not certain that any of the ass()(;iates, viz. Thomas King, John Prescott, Harmon (xarrett, Thomas Skidniore, Stephen Day, Mr. Symonds, and perhaps Jonathan Chan- dler and goodmen Gill, Walker and Davies, came to Xasha- way in the year 1()43. But probably some persons under the authority of King were on the ground before the season closed. "The lirst building Avas a trucking house, erected by Symonds and King," on the southeast side of George hill. Mr. Willard, in his History of Lancaster, [Worcester Magazine, Vol. II, No. 5,] places this trucking house about a mile southwest of the meeting house of the first parish, and near the corner of the roads southwest of the house of the late Col. Francis B. Fay. But there is an unbroken tra- dition that the first trading place was on the side of George hill towards the southeast. Jonas Goss, who has long- lived at the foot of the hill, informs the author, that on land formerly owned l)y him, which he sold to George A. Parker, is a i^lace called in his l)oyhood the "Indian Camp Pasture." He further states that there was formerly a stake which marked the site of an aiicient building. This spot, [A on the map,] is perhaps, in its own amenities, and in the pros- pect, near and remote, which it commands, the most beauti- ful in the whole region.

King never became a, settler, notwithstanding the pleas- ant fact stated by Rev. Mr. Harrington, that Sholan " had a considerable friendship for him.'' He sold his "interest to the other proprietors, who covenanted with each other to be- gin the plantation at a certain time. In pursuance of this covenant, and to make their purchase sure," they sent up three men, Richard Linton, Lawrence Waters and John Ball, to whom lots were given. These pioneers were directed to begin the settlement without delay, and "make preparations for the general coming of the proprietors." Winthrop,

THE SETTLEMENT DELAYED.

39

under diite of May, 1644:, gives the following item in rela- tion to the settlement. " Many of Watertown, and other towns, joined in the plantation at Nashaway ; and having called a young man, a universal [University,] scholar, one Mr. NorcrofF, [Norcross] to be their minister, seven of them, who were no members of any churches, were de- sirous to gather into a chnrch estate ; ])ut the Magistrates and elders advised them first to go and build them habita- tions, (for there was yet no house there,) and then to take some that were members of other churches, with the consent of such churches, as had formerly been done, and so pro- ceed orderly. But the persons interested in this plantation, being most of them poor men, and some of them corrupt in judgment, and others profane, it went on verj^ slowly, so that in two years they had not three houses built there, and he whom they had called to be their minister, left them for their delays."

The account of the same event, by Rev. Mr. Harrington, differs in some respects, but need not be understood as irre- concilable with it. Referring to the act of the proprietors in sending up three men to prepare the way for the rest, he says: "before the time for their general appearance, their minister, to whom they had committed their mntual obliga- tion, (whether by reason of his own aversion to the place, or by the instigation of snch of the proprietors as were un- willing to come up themselves, is uncertain,) forsook them, carrying with him said mutual obligation. And in conse- quence of this all the associates, except Mr. Prescott, re- fused to fufill the contract, but yet held their interest. So that for the space of seven years very little was done to for- ward the plantation."

It is quite credible that Mr. Norcross was led by more than one motive to leave them. Their "delays" was one. Some of those who refused to come, might have "instigated him," to take the same course. There is evidence that he was willing to come, at one time, for in the Colonial

40

IlISTOHY OF LANCASTER.

Records, (Vol. J I, 57,) ;i petition of his is preserved, which was gniiited, "provided there sliall not be more land al- lotted to the town, or particular men, (notwithstanding their purchase of the land from the Indians,) than the gen- eral court shall allow."

At the end of two years, 1643-4, "there were not three houses in the place." That is, we may infer that there were two houses, set up by Linton, Waters and Ball. Besides these, was the trucking house of Symonds and King on George hill. Probably one of the two houses belonged to Linton, and tlie other to Waters, as they both became resi- dents, while Ball disappears from view. The lot of Waters, as arranged afterwards, was east and south of the Sprague bridge, while that of Linton was on the north side of the road, and east of the house of Charles L. Wilder.

The subject was before the general court, in October, 1645, [Records, 1, 8, 45] when it was voted, that "npon the jje- tition of the undertakers of the plantation at Nashaway, the court is willing that John Gill, Sergeant eTohn Davies, John Chandler, Isaiah Walker and Matthew Barnes, or any three of them, shall have power to set out lots to all the planters l^elongingto the said plantation, provided that they set not their houses too far asunder ; and the great lots to be proportionable to men's estates and charges ; and that no man shall have his lot confirmed to him before he has taken the oath of fidelity."

The men named al)ove never l>ecame inhabitants of Lan- caster, and did nothing to forward the plantation. Like the original proprietors, except Prescott, they abandoned the enterprise so far as becoming actual settlers is concerned. It is supposed that Mr. Norcross returned to England, as his name disappears from our annals ; and about the time under review, there was a great demand for " learned and godly ministers " in the old country.

The people of Lancaster need not be troubled by what Winthrop says of the original proprietors. That they were

THE PIONEERS.

41

" poor men " can easily be believed, since not many men of large property would care to encounter the privations of the wilderness, while having comfortable homes in the lower towns. Others were "profane ; " but they, for some reason, remained below, where, we may hope, they were under good influence. Some again, were "corrupt in judgment." But none of this class came except Prescott. This corrup- tion in judgment was simply a mistaken opinion, (if it was mistaken) in regard to the right of suffrage, and the extent to which the power of the state should reach in matters of religion. He was a follower of Dr. Child, who gave some trouble to the general court, and whose views, if his party had* been numerous enough, would have produced a revolu- tion in the colony, and probably led to its destruction.

In regard to the question, who was the first permanent inhabitant of Lancaster, Mr. Willard decides in favor of Prescott. But this is not absolutely certain. Linton, Waters and Ball were here in 1643 and 1644. They built two houses. It is true that Linton and Waters were in Watertown in 1646 ; but they were in Lancaster in 1647. Between these two dates Prescott took up his abode here. But there is no evidence that Linton and Waters had left, except for a tem- porary purpose. However this may be, Prescott deserves the honor, among all the original associates, of adhering to the enterprise, and of coming up to put in his lot with the hardy settlers. The others, while clinging to their interest, de- clined to aid in laying the foundations by personal toils and perils. It was probably fortunate for the town, in all its future history, that these men kept away, since in a " small company " there were seven, (the necessary number to form a church, according to a then prevalent notion,) who, not being members of a church, were willing to be organized into one, for the occasion !

The general court seems to have been interested in the enterprise of planting a new town, on the frontier, and not- withstanding the failure of the associates, took the following

42

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

action on the twenty-seventh of October, 164:7. "Whereas the court hath formerly granted a plantation at Nasha- way unto Jonatlian Chandler, [and others,] and that Grill is dead, Chandler, Walker and Davies have signified unto the court, that since the same grant, they have acted nothing as undertakers there, nor laid out any lands, and further have made request to the court to take in the said grant, mani- festing their utter unwillingness to be engaged therein, the court doth not think fit to destroy the plantation, but rather to encourage it ; only in regard the persons now upon it are so few, and unmeet for such a work, and are to be taken to procure others, and in the meantime to remain in the courts' power to dispose of the plantation and ordering of it."

It v^s now 1647, and there were, at least, three perma- nent settlers in the plantation, viz. John Prescott, Eichard Linton and Lawrence Waters. All these were from W^ater- town. John Cowdall, of Boston, owned property here, as appears from a deed of a house and twenty acres of land, made to Jonathan Prescott in 1647. Whether he had been here, and built a house, or whether he had purchased of some proprietor is unknown. Willard states that others soon followed, as Atherton, Sawyer, etc. ; but for the next five or six years, the additions came slowly.

By the spring of 1653 there were nine families on the ground, not one of whom was an original proprietor except John Prescott. He had set up his hal)itation and trading place, and probably his blacksmith shop near the cross roads in South Lancaster. The words of Mr. Harrington are as follows. " On the eighteenth of May, 1653, there being nine families in the place, they petitioned the general court for an incorporation, and obtained it by the name of Lancaster." This petition was probably signed in addition to the five names already given, by Edward Breck, Nathaniel Hadlock, William Kerley and Ralph Houghton.

The action of the leofislature is here inserted in full. "At

o

a general court of election held at Boston, the day of

PRU D E NT I A L MANAGE R S .

43

May, 1653, In answer to the petition of the inhabitants of Nashaway, the court find, according to a former order of the general court, in 1647, that the ordering of the phmtation at Nashaway is wholly in the courts' power. Considering that there is already at Nasliaway about nine families, and that several, both freemen and others, intend to go and settle there, some whereof are named in this petition, the court doth grant them the liberty of a township, and order that henceforth it shall be called Lancaster.

"That the bounds tliereof shall set out according to a deed of the Indian Sagamore, viz., Nashaway river at the passing- over to be the center, five miles north, five miles south ; five miles east, and three miles west, by such commissioners as the court shall agree to, to see these lands defended, and their bounds limited.

"That Edward Breck, Nathaniel Hadlock, William Ker- ley, Thomas Sawyer, John Prescott, Ealph Houghton, or any fonr of them, whereof the main part are freemen, to be for the present, Prudential Managers of said town, both to see all allotments to be laid out for the planters in due pro- portion to their estates ; also to order their prudential affairs until it shall appear to this court that the place shall be so far settled with able men as the court shall judge meet to grant them full liberty of a township according to law.

" That all such persons who have possessed and continued inhabitants of Nashaway shall have their lots formerly laid out, confirmed to them, provided they take the oath of fidelity.

" That Sudbury and Lancaster lay out highways betwixt town and town, according to the direction of the court for the countries use, and then make them as need shall be.

" The court order that Lancaster shall be within the county of Middlesex, and the town hath liberty to choose a con- stable .

" That the inhabitants of Lancaster do take care that a godly minister may be maintained amongst them ; that no

44

IirSTOHY OF LANCASTER.

evil persons, enemies to the laws of this Coniinoiiwealth, iit jiidgiiient or praetiec^, be admitted as inhabitants among* them ; and none to have lots eonfirmed bnt sueh as take the oath of fidelity.

"That although the first nndertakers and eo-partners in the plantation of Nashaway are hereby evacnated of their claims in lots there, by order of this eonrt, yet that snch persons of them who have expended either charge or labor for the beneht of the place, and have helped on the pnblic works there, from time to time, either in contribnting to the ministry, or in the purchase from the Indians, or any other public work ; that such persons are to be considered by the town, either in proportion of land, or some other way of satisfaction, as may be just and meet, provided such persons do make such their expenses clearly appear within twelve months after the end of this session, for such demands ; and that the interest of Herman Garrett and such others as were first undertakers, or have been at great charge there, shall be made good to him, them, his or their heirs, in all allotments, as to other the inhal)itants, in proportion to the charges ex- pended by him and such others aforesaid; provided they make improvement of such allotments, by building and planting within three years after they are or shall be laid out to them. Otherwise their interest hereby provided for to be void ; and all such land so hereby referred to be thenceforth at the town's dispose.

"In further answer to this petition, the court judgeth it meet to consider the above mentioned nine particulars to the inhabitants of Lancaster, and order that the bounds thereof to be laid out in proportion to eight miles square."

This has !)een, somewhat loosely, styled an act of incor- poration, and the eighteenth of May, old style, has been considered as the anniversary of the legal birth of the town. But, as Willard states, " at this early period there were no for- mal acts of in(;orporation ; " the usual Avay was for the general court to grant a plantation the libertj^ of a township on

LIBERTY OF A TOWNSHIP.

45

certain conditions. If these conditions were fnlfilled, then "fnll liberty of a township" was granted. This usage is recognized in the fourth section of the act just recited, in these words : " until it shall appear to this court that the place shall be so far settled with able men as the court judge meet to grant them full liberty of a township according to law."

Such power was granted, the next year, 1654, as appears by the following petition and answer, which are here inserted at length, for the sake of permanent preservation in print, and also because of their intrinsic interest. The j^etition and answer at the same time, will give the reader a view of the style in which things of this sort were done in the early days of the colony.

To the honorable governor, the deputy governor, and the rest of his honoral)le court, both magistrates and depu- ties : • "The hunil)le petition of the inhabitants of Lancaster huml)ly sheweth :

Whereas it pleased the honorable court to give power to six men, formerly, to dispose of lands, and to give OTit lots unto such men as did desire to sit down at Lancaster ; they having hitherto acted accordingly, and we ])eing now al)out twenty families, and one of the six men [Iladlock] l)eing dead, and one other being removed from us, and some others of them being disposed to leave off that power given to them by the court, considering it to ])e agreeable to law, and prof- itable to the town, in the further carrying on and ordering the planting and prudential atiairs of the town, and also in the further disposing and raising maintenance for the minis- try amongst us, we with commissioners who have set

their hands hereunto with ourselves, hmnbly entreat this hon- oi'ed court that the power which was formerly granted to those six men may be granted to the town and inhal)itants in general, that therein they may act together as in other towns, and as we conceived, under favor, the law doth allow. And also that this court would be pleased to appoint

46

UrSTOHY OF LANCASTER.

siioli man or men, who in wisdom yon think meot, to hij out our town hounds according to this court's grant, which, if it shall please this honored court to grant unto us, we shall remain farther obliged : and as w(; are in duty bound, con- tinue to pray for you." The nani(\s sul)scribed are William Kerley, William Lewis, William Kerley, Jr., Richard Smith, Henry Kerley, John Johnson, John Lewis, Edmulid Parker, Thomas Sawyer, John Whitcomb, 2d, Lawrence Waters, Richard Linton. The petition concludes in these words : "the desire of your petitioners is, that they desired the full power and privileges of the plantation, and for the present they desire, and shall be well satisfied if the court do grant seven men out of the ten here-under written, to order the prudential afiairs for this year ensuing ; and that afterwards it shall be lawful for the plantation to make their elections and* order their prudential business in full state of a planta- tion according to law." Then follow the ten names, viz., Edward Breck, John Prescott, William Kerley, Ralph Hough- ton, Thomas Sawyer, John Whitcomb, John White, William Lewis, Richard Smith, Edward ;* "of these are freemen Edward Breck, William Kerley, Thomas Sawyer, William Lewis, John Whitcomb."

The petition Avas referred to a committee, and this is their report. "The connnittee think meet that the inhabitants of Lancaster have those liberties of a township that the laws allow, until the general court take, further order therein, and that lieutenant Goodnough and Thomas Dan- forth lay out the bounds of the said town according to the court's grant, at the town's charge, and make return thereof unto the next court's election.

"The deputies approve of the return of this committee, and desire our honored magistrates' consent thereunto. Consented to by the magistrates, William Torie, Clerk, 10 May, 54."

The a])Ove petition and answer have been cited in this place for the purpose of completing the record of the incor-

* l'rol)a.bly Edimiiul •Parker.

PUBLIC COVENANT.

47

poratioii of the town. But in the meantime mach had been done, during the year 1653 in arranging the settlement. The committee designated in the act of 1653, viz., Breck, Kerley, Sawyer, Prescott and Houghton, had performed the duties assigned to them in dividing the land, in part, and in managing the affairs of the plantation. The location of the proprietors will be given in the following chapter, because the division was not completed at this time, and it will be convenient to have the whole arranoement in one view.

o

The first division having been made, the inhabitants and others interested entered into a covenant with each other. This document is so important in illustrating the history of Lancaster that it will be given entire. It was adopted on the twenty-eighth of ^fovember, 1653, and was in the words following.

" We whose names are subscribed upon the receiving and* acceptance of our several lands and allotments, wdth all ap- purtenances thereof, from those men who were chosen by the general court to lay out and dispose of the lands within the town of Lancaster, heretofore called by the name of Nasha- way, do hereb}^ covenant and bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and assigns, to the observing and keeping of these orders and agreements hereafter mentioned and expressed.

" First, for the maintainance of the ministry of God's holy word, w^e do allow, covenant and agree that there be laid out, stated and established, and Ave do hereby state and estab- lish as church lands, with all the privileges and appurte- nances thereunto belonging forever, thirty acres of upland, and forty acres of intervale land, and twelve acres of mead- ow, with free liberty of commons, and for pasture and fire- wood: the said lands to be improved by the plantation, or otherwise, in such order as shall be best advised and conclu- ded by the plantation, without rent-payment for the same, until the labor of the plantation, or those who do improve the same be fully satisfied ; and we do agree that the planta- tion, or selectmen shall determine the time how long any

48

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

man shall hold and improve the said lands for the profit thereof, and then to be rented, according to the yearly value thereof, and paid in to such persons as the plantation or selectmen shall appoint, to and for the use of and towards the maintainance of the minister, pastor or teacher, for the time l)eing, or whomsoever may be stated to preach the word of God among us. Or it may ])e in the choice of the minister to improve the lands himself.

" And further, we do covenant and agree to build a con- venient meeting-house for the public assembling of the church and people of God to worship God, according to His holy ordinances, in the most equal and convenient place that may l)e advised and concluded by the plantation. And to build a house for the minister upon the said church lands.

" And further we do engage and covenant every one for himself, his heirs, executors and assigns, to pay to, and for the use of the ministr^^ aforesaid, the sum of ten shillings a year, as for and in consideration of our home lots yearly forever, — our home lots to stand engaged for the payment thereof; and what all this shall fall short of a competent maintainance, we covenant to make up by equal rate, upon the good and other improved lands, (not home lots,) in such way and order as the country rate is raised. And in case of a vacancy of a minister, the maintainance arising from the church lands and home lots al)ovementioned, shall be paid to such as shall be appointed, for the use of a school, to be as a stock ; or as stock for the maintainance of the minister, as the plantation or the selectmen shall think meet.

" And for the better promoting and setting forward of the plantation, we covenant and agree that such persons of us who have not inhabited this plantation heretofore, and are yet to come to l)uild, improve and inhabit, that we will by tlie will of God, come up to l)uild, to plant land, and to inhabit at or before one whole year be passed, next after the acceptance of the allotments, or else to lose all our charges about it, and the lots to return to tlie plantation, and to pay rive pounds for the use of the plantation.

PURITY OF RELIGION. — EQUALITY.

49

" And for the better preserving of the purity of religion and ourselves from infection of error, we covenant not to distribute allotments and to receive into the plantation as inhabitants any excommunicant, or otherwise profane and scandalous, (known so to be,) nor any notoriously erring against the doctrine and discipline of the churches, and the state and government of this Commonwealth.

"And for the better preserving of peace and love, and yet to keep the rules of justice and equity among ourselves, we covenant not to go to law one with another in actions of debt or damages, one towards another, either in name or state, but to end all such controversies among ourselves by arbitration or otherwise, except in cases capital or criminal, that some may not go unpunished, or that the matter be above oui* ability to judge of, and that it be with the consent of the plantation, or selectmen thereof.

"And for the laying out, measuring and bounding of onr allotments of this first division, and for and towards the satisfying of our engagements to the general court, to make payment for purchase of the Indians, we covenant to pay ten shillings, every one of us, for our several betterments to the selectmen, or whom they may appoint to receive it,

" And whereas lots are now laid out, for the most part, equally to rich and poor, partly to keep the town from scat- tering too far, and partly out of charity, and respect to men of meaner estate, yet that equalit}^, (which is the rule of God,) may be observed, we covenant and agree that in a second division, and so through all other divisions of lands, the matter shall be drawn as near to equality according to men's estates, as we are able to do, that he who hath now more than his estate deserveth, in home lots and interval lots, shall have so much less ; and he who hath now less than his estate deserveth, shall have so much more.

"And that we may the better keep due proportion, we covenant and agree thus to account of men's estates, viz., ten pounds a head for every person, and all other goods by 4

50

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

due value, and to proportion to every ten pounds, th7'ee acres of land — two of upland and one of interval — and we give a year's liberty to every man to bring in his estate. Yet nevertheless, it is to be understood that we do not hereby prejudice or bar the plantation from accommodating any man by gift of lands which properly are not allotments ; but we do reserve that in the free power of the plantation as occa- sion may hereafter be offered. And in case the planters estate be low, that he can claim nothing in other divisions, yet it is to be understood that he shall enjoy all the lands of the first division.

" And further we covenant that if any planter do desire to have his proportion in the second division, it shall be granted.

" And further we covenant to lay out meadow lands accord- nig to the present estates of the planters with respect to be had to remoteness or nearness, — of that which is remote, to give the more, and of that which is near, to give the less.

"And concerning the thirty acres of upland, and forty acres of interval above granted as church lands, it is agreed and concluded to lie bounded by John Prescott's ditch upon

the south, and the North river, over Lawrence Waters

upon the north, and so ranging along westward.

"And for the preventing of inconveniences, and the more peaceable issuing of the business about building of a meeting- house, it is considered and concluded as the most equal place, that the meeting-house be builded as near to the church lands and to the neck of land as it can l)e without any notable inconvenience.

"And it is also agreed that in all parts and quarters of the town, where sundry lots do lie together, they shall be fenced by a common fence, according to proportion of acres by every planter, and yet not to bar any man from particular and private inclosurc at his pleasure."

The above covenant, so wise, far-sighted and fair, was signed l)y men who were on the ground, and by others who

NAMES OP PLANTERS.

51

purposed to come up within a year. In the spring of 1653 there were nine families in the place ; and in 1654, when the planters applied to the general court for full powers as a town, they stated that there were twenty families in the plantation. The names of these, and of others who signed the covenant, up to the spring of 1660 are here inserted. Brief notices of these men, partly drawn from Willard, and partly from other sources, will be given in the next chapter.

Edwai^d Breck, ) [Subscribed on condition of not coming Robert Breck, j to settle within a year.]

John Prescott, 1 o m j ^ x

WIT 1 Subscribed first,

Sa'^SawTr' ^ [probably in 1652.]

RaTprHouJ/ton, j t^l^^ dates will be given in old style.]

20, 9 mo. 1652.

John Whitcomb, Jno. Whitcomb, jr.

Richard Linton, )

John Johnson, /- 4, 9 mo. 1654.

Jeremiah Rogers, )

John Moore, 11,1 mo. 1653.

William Lewis, 7 i -i/-ro TIT • M- 13, 1 mo. 1653. John JjCwis, j '

Thomas James, [mark] 21, 3 ra. 1653,

Edmund Parker, ^

Benjamin Twitchell, >- 1, 8 mo. 1652.

Anthony Newton, )

Stephen Day, ] James Atherton, | Henry Kerley, Richard Smith,

y 15, 1 mo. 165a.

William Kerley, jr. j John Smith, J

Lawrence Waters.

John White, 1 May, 1653.

John Farrar, 7 q i. mao Jacob Farra;, [ 24 Sept. 1653.

John Houghton, \ <oa ' 7 ihk^

Samuel Deane, or Dean, j ^ ^^^^*

James Draper, Stephen Gates, sen.

James Whiting, or Witton, April 7, 1654.

John Moore, > Edward Rigbe, \

^ I April

3, 1654.

52

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

John Mansfield, 13, 2 mo. 1654.

John Towers, )

Richard Dwelley, - 18, 2 mo. 1654.

Henry Ward, )

John Pierce, ) . „ 1^=-. WIT D-iT M» 7 mo. 1654. Wilham Bilhngs, ) '

Kichard Sutton, April, 1653.

Thomas Joslin, Nathaniel Joslin

12, 9 mo. 1654.

John Rugg, 12, 12 m. 1654.

Joseph Rowlandson, 12, 12 mo. 1654.

John Rigby, 12, 12 mo. 1654.

John Roper, 22, 1 mo. 1656.

John Tinker, Feb. 1, 1657.

Mordicai MacLoad, [mark] March 1, 1657-8.

Jonas Fairbanks, March 7, 1659.

Roger Sumner, April 11, 1659.

Gamaliel Beaman, [mark] May 31, 1659.

Thomas Wilder, [Thomas Wyellder] July 1, 1659.

Daniel Gaines, March 10, 1660.

The above list gives to us the names of the fathers of the town. A few of these left the place, and others settled here, from year to year, but these were the pioneers. The}^ laid the foundations, and their children composed the main part of the population till the period of the massacre in the spring of 1676. They and their children set up their houseliold altars, and built anew the town, in 1679-82. This will be then' honor in all coming time. Their descendants have gone out into all the land, but often come hither to view the homesteads and graves of their ancestors.

Another extract from the Records is necessary to explain a section of the preceding covenant. All subsequent divi- sions of land, whether upland, intervale, meadow or swamp, were to be " according to men's estates," on the valuation of the taxable pi-operty, which they brought into the settlement. Here follows a table containing "the several estates of the planters who by covenant, and according to the

ESTATES OF THE PLANTERS.

53

rules thereof, have engaged that it may thereby be known what shall be their proportion of land, which, by covenant, every planter may make claim unto in a second, third or other divisions of land, and also of meadow, within the town of Lancaster.'' Date, 1654.

John Prescott

William Kerley . . . .

Edward Brick

Ralph Houghton • • Edmund Parker —

Thomas James

John Johnson

John Smith

James Atherton... Thomas Sawyer. . -

Robert Brick

William Kerley, jr

John Rugg

John Moore

William Lewis . . . • John Farrah

£	S,	d.
£366	15	0
270
202	11
264	4
98
36
30
38	19
69	5
110
10
186
83	10
110
285	9
107
£2,287	13	0

Brought up. . . . Richard Smith ....

John Lewis

Thomas Joslyn. . . .

Stephen Gates .

John Whitcomb . . . John Whitcomb, jr Nathaniel Joslyn. . Lawrence Waters .

Jacob Farrah

John White

Henry Kerley

Richard Linton ....

Philip Knight

John Roper

The estates of several entered since 1655 :

Roger Sumner, his estate

Jonas Fairbank, "

Jacob Farrah, added when his wife came. . .

£2,287	13
313	13
18	10
210
314
241
29
155
277
107	10
380	6
78	4
90
100
100
£4,701	17

232 172 168

£5,274

10

From this list we learn that John White had the largest property, a fraction over £380; but the Kerley family, including father and sons, had a much larger valuation, equal to £534.

Before concluding this chapter three or four points re- quire a brief explanation.

It has been a question why the name of Lancaster was given to the town. It is matter of record, that the settlers at one time requested the general court to call the town by

54

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

the name of Prescott, in honor of the most persevering planter. This request was not granted. It is too late to divine with certainty the reasons which governed the court in this refusal. But it may be suggested that Prescott was not a man of sufficient prominence in the colony to have such an honorable recognition as is implied in giving his name to a town. Moreover, the course of Prescott in sym- pathizing with Child would be enough to deter the court from doing anything which would give him special dis- tinction. It is presumed that Prescott ))ecame satisfied with the policy of the colony, as he readily agreed to the con- ditions of the settlement, and was one of the most worthy fathers of the town, though he did not become a freeman, (in consequence of his uniting with the church,) until 1669. The probability is that the name was given in accordance with the desire of those settlers who had ancestral connec- tions with Lancashire, in England, as was the case with the Houghtons, Atherton and Prescott.

It will be observed that the town was not laid out in the manner, nor with the dimensions prescribed by the general court. By the grant, as well as by the purchase, the town was to be ten by eight miles square and to contain eighty square miles. It was reduced when the survey was made in 1659, by shortening the southern line to six and a half miles, leaving sixty-five square miles.

Again, the starting point in fixing the boundaries, was to be at the " wading place" in Nashua river. There were three wading places according to records and tradition. One was on the North river, al)out twenty rods up the stream from the Sprague bridge. A second was near the Carter mills in South Lancaster. The third was on the Penacook, as the main river was called, a little east of the house of Charles L. Wilder. By the act of the general court in 1653, the bounds were to be "according to a deed of the Indian sagamore, viz., Nashua river at the passing over to be the center, five miles north, five miles south, five miles

OATH OF LOYALTY.

55

east, three miles west." Starting from the northeast corner of the town, as it now is bomided, the distance is very nearly five miles to the wading place on the Penacook, and six miles to the place of "passing over" at Carter's mills. According to this, the center would be at the crossing on the Penacook. Besides, the lines were to run north and south, and east and west.

The actual starting point A, of Noyes, when he came to survey, was three miles from the Carter mills, in a direction northwest one degree west, as given in the first chapter. Five miles north from that point would carry the northern boundary of the town about as far northward as five miles from the wading place near Mr. Wilder's house. Why Noyes reduced the size of the town and canted it around so many degrees from a north and south line is not known. It is probable that other grants or claims conflicted with the original plan, and the court had reserved the right to arrange the matter as circumstances might require.

With regard to the oath of loyalty required of the planters, when forming a town, a few words only are needed. Those writers who sneer at the narrowness and folly of the colony are guilty of the grossest misrepresentation. The colony was resorted to hy all sorts of adventurers from the old country, who came hither with the wildest notions in regard to government, and who wanted to try their experiments within the bounds of the Massachusetts and Plymouth set- tlements. If such men, however worthy in other respects, had been allowed to form plantations in the rear of those on the sea-board, the inevitable result would have been antago- nism and trouble. The new towns would have formed con- nections with the Indian tribes, and war would have ended the enterprise of settling New England. Besides, our fathers were jealously watched in England and were obliged to build circumspectly, both in the times of the Stuarts and of the Commonwealth. It was necessary to their very existence that they should be homogeneous and harmonious,

56

IIISTOliY OF LANC/VSTP^R.

SO far as possible. Hence every new town was formed on the model of those ah-eady settled. And to this fact much of the prosperity and strength of the colony was due. At the same time, on the continent there was a ])oundless field where people of every conceivable peculiarity might try their own experiments in government and society without molestation from the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay.

The same may be said, in general, regarding the alleged religious exclusiveness and bigotry of our forefathers. Why did they exclude excommunicants and profane persons from their new communities ? And why did they have a religious qualification for sufi'rage ? In regard to men of loose morals and manners, and to those whose misconduct compelled the churches to cut them off, it may be said that they were poor materials out of which to form a town on the frontiers, or in the interior. Such persons might be controlled in the older settlements, hy the combined influence and power of a toler- ably stable government, while in the forming of a planta- tion, they might become the leading element. Quicksand thrown sparingly upon good soil might work no harm, while if used in a foundation, would involve certain ruin.

In the earl}^ days of the colony it was necessary to restrict sufi'rage. As a matter of fact it is restricted in many of the states of the Union to the present day. What is tolerated now was indispensable then; and it will be found, on examina- tion, that our fathers met the needs of the time with admi- rable sagacity. Qualifications for sharing political power, are different in difterent countries. And let it be remembered that the early settlers did not put in hazard the civil rights of any one who obeyed the laws. The qualifications for suf- frage and power are l)irtli, property, education or religion ; that is character. And with our fathers, in their situation, character was everything. Men of birth, property and edu- tion, but of loose character, and without sympathy with the religious views of the planters, would have been the deadli- est foes of the great enterprise. Such men did cause much

RESTRICTED SUFFRAGE.

51

trouble and mischief while the fathers of the colony were laying the foundations. To admit such men to a share of power ; to take them into the interior of the frame of gov- ernment, would have introduced discord and internecine strife. The way of safety was found in the restricted suf- frage. No man would be apt to join the church unless he sympathized with the colonists as to church and state. And with suitable allowance for hypocrites, men would not volun- tarily unite in church fellowship unless they were men of good character. Thus the ruling force in the colony was made homogeneous, and thus the government was united, strong and stable. At the same time, every man had it in his own option to become a freeman. It was simply by becoming a Christian ; and the direct and steady effort of the colony was to bring in, and bring up a generation of religious people. The men who enacted the religious clause in our early legislation, did not wish to exclude any from the exer- cise and enjoyment of power ; but on the other hand, endeav- ored to qualify all men living on the soil, to share with them, not only all the rights and immunities, but all the powers of government.

And it may be truly said in conclusion, that when, in the course of time, the need of a religious qualification was removed by the gradual consolidation of government, and by the more favorable aspect of the old country towards the colony, the restrictions were repealed. But let us not in our day of stable quiet, rashly question the wisdom and magnanimity of the men, who in the midst of unparalleled toils and dangers, laid the broad basis of the best govern- mental, educational, social and religious institutions ever enjoyed by the children of men.

CHAPTER III.

THE FIRST SETTLERS. THE FIRST ROADS. THE LOCATION OF THE FIRST SETTLERS. THEIR FIRST ACTS AS A TOWN.

It will be in place to present a few notices of the early settlers- so far as items of interest may be gathered. From the pages of Willard, and especially the " Genealogical Dic- tionary " of Savage, the following facts have been culled.

Edward Breck entered, in connection with his name on the covenant, these words : " I subscribe to this for myself, and for my son Robert, save that it is agreed we are not bound to come up to inhabit within a year's time, in our own persons." In fact, Robert never became a resident, and Edward, the father, was here but a short time. He was from Ashton, Devonshire, proba1:)ly, [see Savage] and came to Dorchester in 1636. He returned to Dorchester from Lancaster and died in November, 1662. The family owned property here , it is believed, down to a recent date. Joseph Breck, the late well-known seedsman of Boston, lived here, and had a fine garden extending from the house of Mr. Symmes across the railroad, and onwards between the road and the North river.

James Atherton was, perhaps, a brother of Major-general Humphrey Atherton, of Dorchester. If so, he came from Preston, in Lancashire. He became a resident in 1653, but returned to Dorchester. His sons James and Joshua, were born in this town. The latter was a resident, and had descendants here within the memory of those now living.

58

NAMES OF THE FATHERS.

59

Gamaliel Beaman came over in 1635, when twelve years of age, to Dorchester. Kemoved to Lancaster in 1659, with several children, and had several after his removal. His son John left town, but returned, and died in the west precinct, now Sterling, in 1740.

William Billings soon left the place.

Samuel Dean did not remain.

James Draper was from Roxbury, and returned thither.

Richard Dwelley was a transient resident. He served with credit in king Philip's war.

Jonas Fairbank, son of Jonathan, came from Sowerby, Yorkshire. He married Lydia, daughter of John Prescott. Seven children were born to him. He was killed by the Indians, with his son, Joshua, in 1676.

Jacob Farrarwas killed, in August, 1675, hy the Indians. His son Jacob was probably born in England. He left children here. Some of his descendants through his son George, became distinguished.

John Farrar, brother of the first Jacob, came here, per- haps, from Woburn. He died in 1690.

Daniel Gaines was killed in the great massacre, or reserved for torture. There is no record of posterity here.

Stephen Gates came from England in 1638 to Hingham. Here he was a freeman in 1656, and a constable in 1657. He went to Cambridge, and died in 1662.

John Houghton came from England when a little boy, about four years old. His last will was presented in 1684. His wife was Beatrix. His sons were Benjamin, Robert, Jonas and John Harris. Mrs. Beatrix Pope was his daughter, and there were others.

Ralph Houghton was cousin to John, and probably older. He left three sons, John, James, Joseph, and perhaps others ; and four daughters. He, with his cousin and their families, went to Woburn at the massacre, but returned. He was town clerk as early as 1656, and for many years after. In 1668 he became a freeman, and was representative in 1673 and perhaps in 1689.

60

HISTORY OF LANCASTKll.

Thonms James has this notice in Savage, " Died shortly after 13 March, 1660, the elate of his will, in which, to his wife, who, if h'ving, was then in England, and cousins, named Isaac, Lydia, Mary, Hannah and Christopher Lewis, he gave all his estate, and made John Lewis, perhaps their father, his executor. Yet they may have no relation to our country and he have been only transient."

John Johnson may be the same as John of Marlboro, who died in 1^13. If so, he came here from Sudbury.

Thomas Joslin came from London in the Increase, 1635. He died in 1661, seven years after coming to Lancaster. His widow married William Kerley in 1664.

Nathaniel Joslin, his son, was a freeman in 1673. His brother Abraham was also here. After the massacre he moved to Marlboro, where he died, 1694. He had two sons, Nathaniel of Marlboro, and Peter of Lancaster. The latter had a "wife and three children killed by the Indians, July 18, 1692, when they took away another child, Elizabeth Howe, the sister of his wife and other prisoners, but killed the child in the woods." He was a tough old veteran ; was a captain, outlived his fourth wife, and died in Leominster at a great age, in 1759.

William Kerley, or Carley, sen., after the death of his wife in March, 1658, married Bridget Eowlandson, widow of Joseph, and mother of the minister, in May, 1659. She died in 1662. It is supposed that he married Rebecca, widow of Thomas Joslin in 1664. His death occurred in 1670.

William Kerley, jr., supposed son of the former, was in Sudbury in 1672, and in Cambridge in 1683. Probably he removed before the massacre.

Henry Kerley, son of the first William, was born about 1632, and was brought by his father to Hingliam. He mar- ried November 2, 1654, Elizabeth, daughter of John White and sister of Mrs. Rowlandson. He became a freeman in 1668. His wife and two children, William and Joseph, Vvere

NAMES OF THE FATHERS.

61

killed by the Indians at the burning of the minister's garri- son, in the spring of 1676. He went to Marlborough, where he spent his days, having mari-ied again. The family disap- peared from this town, except old "widow Kerley," or " Caley," mentioned subsequently in the Records.

William Lewis was pro])ably from Cambridge. He died in 1671, and left no children in the place, unless John, which is uncertain.

Richard Linton was here in 1643-4, and became a per- manent settler among the very first. He was probably, says Savage, of Gov. Craddock's plantation at Medford in 1630, and at Watertown in 1638. He died March 30, 1665. His wife was Ann, daughter of Lawrence Waters, his brother pioneer. George Bennet, svho was killed by the Indians in August, 1675, was his grandson.

John Mansfield, son of John and grandson of Sir John, had five himdred acres given by his aunt Ann Keayne.

John Moore, sen., of 1653, was a freeman in 1669, and representative in 1689 and 1690. He married Anna, daughter of John Smitli, and among other children had a son 1)orn April, 1662, named

John Moore, jr., called junior representative in 1689.

Mordecai MacLoad, or McLoad, or McLoud, or Macloud, was killed by the Indians, August, 1675. His wife and two children shared his fate. Probabl}" the whole family was cut ofi^", as we do not again meet with his name.

Anthony Newton was freeman in 1671. Probably he left at the time of the massacre in 1676. One of that name was in Dorchester in 1678, Avhon Lancaster was uninhabited. Willard supposes him to l)e the same man.

Edmund, or Edmon Parker, was from Roxbur}^ whither he carried children to be baptised in June, 1656, before Mr. Rowlandson was ordained. We can easily imagine him going with his family on a pleasant visit to his old home and church. .

John Pierce, of Watertown, freeman in 1638, and a man

62 HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

of "very good estate." He died on the nineteenth of August, 1661, leaving several children; Init they are not found in the succeeding history of the town.

John Prescott, a blacksmith, came from Sowerby, in the parish of Halifax, west riding of Yorkshire, where he had married MaryPlatts, a " Yorkshire girl." But he was born in Lancashire, as were Atherton and several others who set- tled here. He came here to stay in 1645 or 6, with the purpose of building up a town. Many children were born to him before and after he came hither. John, a black- smith also, Jonathan and Jonas were sons. His daughter Mary married Thomas Sawyer ; Sarah married Richard Wheeler ; Martha married John Rugg ; and Lydia married Jonas Fairbank. He took the oath of allegiance in 1652, and was admitted freeman in 1669. His family escaped from the massacre, and he returned in 1682, when the num- ber of families was only one-third as large as seven years before.

Edward and John Rigb}^ seem to have left no trace, unless the "Rigby road," so called, from Deers Horns district to Clinton, is named for them.

Jeremiah Rogers, of Dorchester, married Mehitable, daughter of John Pierce : not the John Pierce mentioned above .

John Roper, who was in Charlestown, 1647-58, is thought to be the man of that name who came here in 1656, and was killed by the Indians in 1676. Perhaps it was his son Ephraim who was the only man who escaped from the minister's garrison.

John Rugg, freeman in 1669, married Martha, daughter of John Prescott, and had two children who died quite young. She died in 1665. His second wife had eight children. He died in 1696, and next year his widow was killed by the Indians. His son John had eight children. Another son, Joseph, with his wife and three children were killed in 1697 by the Indians, at the same time that his mother was murdered.

NAMES OF THE FATHERS.

63

Thomas Sawyer, one of the first six settlers, became a freeman in 1654. He married Mary, daughter of Prescott, and lived next south. His children and descendants were numerous. His son, Ephraim, was killed by the Indians in 1676 at Prescott's garrison, now in Clinton.

The Smiths, John and Kichard, cannot be traced and indi- vidualised.

Roger Sumner, of Dorchester, was son of William, and born in England. He became freeman in 1657 and came to Lancaster two years later. He married a daughter of Thomas Joslyn. One record of him fixes the date of the origin of the church in this town, formerly a disputed point. The record reads, " 1660, Aug. 26, Roger Sumner was dis- missed, that with other Christians at Lancaster, a church miofht be beo-un there." At the destruction of the town he removed to Milton, and became a deacon there, where he died May 26, 1698, aged 66.

Richard Sutton of Charlestown, and prolmbly of Roxbury, is supposed to have been one of the proprietors of Lancaster.

John Tinker of Windsor, Conn., removed to Boston, where his daughter Sarah was born in 1652. He was made freeman in 1654. He was a great acquisition to this town, and was clerk and selectman. According to Willard, his " chirography was very neat." He left the place in 1659, and settled at Pequid, or New London, where he was held in great esteem.

John Towers of Hingham , came from Hingham in Norfolk county, England, in 1637, and was a freeman two years later. His wife was Margaret Ibrook, and he had several children. Probably the family did not remain here, if they ever came.

Benjamin Twitchell came from Dorchester, and probably went to Medfield, where he was in 1663, with a wife and several children.

Henry Ward of Hingham.

Lawrence Waters has been already mentioned.

6i

IirSTOUY OF LANCASTER.

John White of Salem, 1638, had grant of hind next year ; joined the chnrch in 1643. He, with his son, was one of the first pLanters of Lancaster. He had children : Josiah, his executor, Thomas, besides daughters Joan, Elizabeth, Mary and Sarah, who were married, and Hannah who lived with him until after his decease and then married ensign Divoll. There is an entry in the Records of the town in March, 1658, which it is not easy to understand, but seems to indicate that he was a man who stood up for his rights. The record reads as follows : all the orders of the selectmen passed, except that of goodman White, which was rejected " because he feared not to speak in his own cause."

John Whitcomb, senior, of Dorchester, 1635, removed to Scituate and became a freeman in Plymouth colony, June, 1652. He had five sons and daughters. His death occurred here in 1662, September 24.

John, jr., his eldest son, was born in England. He died about 1683. His descendants have been numerous and re- spectable.

James Whiting, or Witton left no record here.

Thomas Wilder, or Wyellder, of Charlestown, 1639, joined the church on the thirtieth of March, 1640, and was admitted freeman, June 2, 1641. Besides daughters he had four sons, Thomas, John, Nathaniel and Ebenezer.

Matthew Knight owned quite a tract between the house of Charles L. Wilder and the center bridge, on the north- west side of Nashua river, which went by the name of " Knight's pasture," besides a lot in South Lancaster, and perhaps in other parts of the town ; but it is not easy to locate him. His descendant, William Knight, now resides at Ponakin.

Stephen Day was the noted printer of Cambridge. He never lived here, but had a connection with the town Avhich will be noted in the proper place.

Rev. Mr. Rowlandson was a proprietor by the conditions of the grant to legalise a township. He became owner of

IJ^DIAN TRAILS.

65

forty acres, either west of Knight's pasture, or including it. But his house and house lot was the garrison and its surroundings.

Before specifying the location of those proprietors who became residents, it is necessary to ascertain the position of the lines of road used in the early days of the settlement. Roads are not only the skeleton framework of a town or a state ; but they also serve as the circulating system to the human body. The homes of the people are posited on the roads, and all the busy life of -the place flows through them. Where then did the iirst roads begin, and whither did they lead?

There can be no doubt that there were Indian trails from the seacoast to the interior before the English came. And after their coming, the natives were accustomed to travel to the lower towns, not only to reach the seaside, (being fond of sea food,) but also for the purpose of traffic. The Eng- lish would naturally follow these trails when hunting, or vis- iting the Indians at their settlements. It is probable that Thomas King, or the men whom he sent up to the Nashua country, came through Sudbury and the upper part of Marl- borough, to Lancaster, and that they crossed the Nashua river near the Carter mills in South Lancaster. This was almost in a direct line from Sudbury to George hill, on the south- east side of which was the first "trucking house," at a spot afterwards known as the "Indian camp pasture," marked A on the Sectional Map. In the year 1653 the general court directed " that Sudbury and Lancaster lay out highways be- twixt town and town, according to the direction of the court, for the countries use, and then make them as need shall be." This was doubtless the principal route to Boston for several years. Probably there was a trail from Washacum lake, the seat of Sholan, to the Indian camp, on George hill, and also to the "place of passing over," at Carter's mills.

The next step was to open a road to Concord, the nearest town directly east. This was in the spring of 1656. But

66

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

as the trucking business had now been sold by King and Symonds to Prescott, and the phice of trade had[been moved from the Indian camp to South Lancaster, there was without doubt a traveled way between these two points. This way can even now l)e traced by marks which leave no doubt in the mind of those who have examined them. The road came down the hill from the Indian camp to the house of Jonas Goss, and thence to Prescott's corner. Traces of this old road still exist. Again, starting from the Indian camp, and going nearly north, on the eastern slope of George hill, through a field which has been cultivated, the observer will come to what seems to have been an orchard, in which are a few straggling old apple trees. This is directly west from the young orchard and grapery of Mr. Goss. In the vicinity of these old trees is a very ancient cellar-hole*. Going still farther north, into the next lot, and about forty rods west of the house of E. Warren Smith, a well will be found, nearly filled with stones. Proceeding towards the brook which comes down the hillside, another old well is found. Here the road must have been deflected towards the east, and then sloping along towards the northeast to a spot marked K on the map. Here is a cellar-hole, and till recently there were two. These are just west of the ledge which over- looks the meadow of Mr. Howard. This was probably the site of the garrison house of Lieut. Nathaniel Wilder, though it may be that his house was towards the southwest, where the old wells are located. The road can be traced no farther, though, from the "lay of the land," it must have proceeded northerl}^, and come out not far west of the house formerly occupied by L. W. Spalding, and now by Cyrus D. Howe. This old road is marked by a double line. It was extended, in process of time, as far as the present poorhouse, skirting the hillside all the way.

The road to Concord was laid out in May or June, 1656, by a joint committee from the two towns. George Wheeler and John Smalley from Concord acting with John Roper and

THE FIRST ROADS.

Ralph Houghton performed the duty, whereof we have this record. We whose hands are hereunto put, being chosen by Concord and Lancaster, to lay out the country highway be- twixt the said towns, within the bounds of Lancaster, have acted and conchided that the country highway shall go as followeth. The place whence we took our beginning is at the highway beginning betwixt the lot of John Prescott [1] and John Moore's [6] lot, and so running on the east side of the minister's house, and over the north river by Lawrence Waters' house [18] and so over Penacook river near to the house of Edward Brick [19,] [east of C. L. Wilder] and so over the interval, and through Swans' swamp, where the town hath already marked out a highwaj" for themselves, and so along to a little pine tree on the north side of Wata- quadock hill, and so along the old path, or where may be most convenient within the bounds of Lancaster." The same road is afterwards laid down in the reverse order, in the words following. ^' One way for the country lieth from the entrance into the town on the east part, from Waterquaduc hill down to the Swans' swamp, and over the wading place through Pennycook river, that is by the Lidian ware, [wear, a dam for taking fish,] and so along by Master Rowlandson's ground and the river, and again up to goodman Waters, his barn, between old goodman Brick's lot and that which was Richard Smiths, now in the possession of John Tinker, [29,] to be as it is staked out, at the least five rods wide on the Neck, and to be as wide as can be on the east side of the river — the Penacook — under ten rods and above five ; and so from goodman Waters over the North river, up by Master Rowlandson's, D, the breadth as is laid out and fenced, marked and staked, up to goodman Prescott's ryefield, — and so between that and John Moor's lot, and across the brook, and up between John Johnson's and John Rugg'slots, five rods wide, and so beyond all the lots into the woods."

The only difficulty in fixing the location of this road arises when we reach the " highway beginning betwixt the lot of

68

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

John Prescott — called his ' rye-field ' — and John Moor's lot." To this we shall recur again.

About the same date, (perhaps a little earlier,) the two Neck roads were opened. The east road on the Neck went "from goodman Brick's house, [19,] through the end of his ground, and Ralph Houghton's," [20,] and so on to " Quassoponican hill," — sometimes called Whittemore hill — "full live rods wide." Edward Breck's house, as said above, was near the corner of the road east of the house of C. L. Wilder.

The west road of the Neck, now the main street from the Sprague bridge to the North Village, extended from "good- man Waters barn [18] to Quassoponikin meadow, before the house of goodman Gates, [34,] both goodman Joslins, [36,] etc., as it is laid out and marked, five rods wide, and in the interval two rods wide." This road was probably some rods west of the present main street. It began near the bridge over the North river, some twenty rods above the Sprague bridge, and ran along the hillside west of the houses now situated on the west side of the main road ; near the house of John W. Barnes, across the grounds of Rev. Mr. Bartol, and those living north, b}^ the house of William McNeil, and onward to the road that now passes between Edward Phelps and Mrs. Benjamin Otis, into the Ponakin intervale. The eastern range of lots on the Neck, extended from Nashua river one hundred and sixty rods west, and as the river curves often, the western bound of the lots was not in a straight line. This road, by degrees, was moved eastward, up the hill, and made nearly straight, as it is at present. There is an angle of about twelve degrees near the house of Mrs. Emily Green.

Next in the Records we find " one way to the Mill at the head of the lots of John Prescott, Thomas Sawyer, E, Jacob Farrah, five rods wide from the country highway to the mill." Prescott's Mill was in Clinton, where now stands the Clinton yarn mill. The road laid out was from the south part of South Lancaster to Clinton.

OLD EOADS.

69

There is some difficulty in locating the next road. The Eecord reads as follows : " One way, called the street or cross way, from goodman Kerley's intervale, and the rest of the intervail lotts, and so south between the double range of lots, five rods wide, and so towards Weshacome when it is past Jacob Farrow's lot ; and also it receives the same width between the house lots and intervale lots northward to the walnut swamp." The intervale lots here mentioned, ex- tended from the North river, on either side of Roper's brook, south by west towards the farm of Mr. Thayer, where William A. Kilbourn now resides. It is supposed that the road began at the south end of the intervale, and went southerly, on the west side of the little brook behind the house of Mrs. Mary Ware, and rising to the top of the bank, passed to the rear of all the houses on the west side of the street in south Lancaster, and southwesterly to the house of Jonas Gross. Not far from the house of Mr. Goss, it passed up the hill, and thence onwards to Weshacome. All these early roads are indicated by double lines.

Another road extended from the " millway at the end of goodman Prescott's rye-field to the entrance of his intervale, five rods wide, and through the intervale over Nashaway river and the Still river to the outside fence of Jacob Farrar's lott, two rods and an half wide." This road began, prob- ably, about ten or twelve rods west of Mrs. Ware's corner, and went easterly, by the present way to the Atlierton bridge. Crossing the river it kept along the eastern bank of the river to the " Neck bridge " where it met the Concord road, which went over Wattaquadock hill.

Finally, " one way from that intervale way down along all the intervale, to the Still river, and towards Grot on, on the east side of the river, two rods wide." This road began at the crossing of the Penacook, and was directly in the line over which " Dead river " now flows, in times of high water, with a volume nearly equal to the main stream.

70

lllSTOllY OF LANCASTER.

Bridges were ordered to be built over the Nashua, near Carter's mills, I, and the North river al)ove the Sprague bridge, J, in the year 1659. The Records, under date of January 14, 1659, read: ''The Selectmen ordered for the bridges over Nashaway and North river, that they that are on the Neck of land .do make a cart bridg e over the North river, by goodman Waters', and they on the south end do make a cart bridge over Nashaway about the wading place, Sit their own expense." This is enough for the present. The matter of bridge-building will claim more attention in later pages.

It is now easy to show the reader Avhere the lirst inhabitants set up their rude homes. Beginning at the cross-road in South Lancaster, the first lot belonged to John Prescott, [1] . His lots were in two ranges, one on either side of the road. The lots in the east range were forty rods wide, north and south, and eighty rods long, extending from the road between the North river and South Lancaster, to the intervale east of the railroad. The lots in the western range were twenty rods wide, and one hundred and sixty rods long, extending from the road on the east, to another parallel road up the side of George hill, perhaps fifty rods west of the present road. The lots were made thus narrow that the settlers might be kept in close proximity. Prescott had a lot in each range. On the east side of the road running north and south, and north side of the road running east and west, his lot was fort}^ rods wide and eighty i-ods long. The double line on the map ^vill show his l^ounds on the west. Next north was tlie lot of John Moor, [6,] of the same measure- ment. But between the two was a road one rod wide. This was the way '' betwixt John Moor's lot and Prescott's rye- field.'" John Tinker [7] came next with a lot of the same size. Then came church lands, nieeting-house hill, C, and intervale to the North river.

South of Prescott and across the road were the lots of Thomas Sawyer, E, Jacob Farrar, [3,] and John Rigby, [4,] of similar dimensions.

HOME LOTS AND HOUSES.

11

Going back to the starting point, John Prescott had a lot, [8,] on the west side of the road to the Center, twenty rods wide, and one hundred and and sixty rods long. Opposite on the south side of the road, where Mr. Graham now lives, Jonas Fairbank, [5,] had a lot, forty by eighty rods, and south of him was " commons land," [2].

North of Prescott, and extending to the North river, lots twenty rods wide were assigned as follows. Stephen Day, [9,] the printer. He never came, and the lot seems to have been occupied, if not owned, by John Johnson, [9]. Next came Philip Knight, [10,] and perhaps John Roper. It would seem that John Riigg had a half lot next to Roper. Between the lot of Roper and the next one, a road extended westerly, across tlie farm of Mr. Thayer, up George hill, by the house of Frank Taylor, and so on where " humaiji needs may require." Daniel Gains [11] came in somewhere in this vicinity. Prol^ably he bought the south half of the lot of John Rugg, [12]. It is impossible to indicate precisely the ownership between Prescott and Henry Kerley, who owned the fifth lot. The men just named owned either in succession or in common. Henry Kerley 's lot [13] covered part of the land where the house of Mr. Thayer now stands. His father, William Kerley, [14,] lived nearly opposite the cemetery ; though at one time, John and Richard Smith [15] had a foothold in that vicinity. Rev. Mr. Rowlandson, D, though he had land between the North and Penacook rivers, lived next north of the senior Kerley. His house vyas the garrison, and the meeting-house, C, was a few rods to the southeast, across the road, and near the eastern brow of cemetery hill. Next north of Mr. Rowlandson was the lot and house of William Kerley, jr. [IT] Between him and the river was an intervale lot.

Crossing the North river about twenty rods above the present, or Sprague bridge, the first lot and house belonged to Lawrence Waters, [18], If we suppose the road coming west from the railroad between the Mansion house and

72

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

Mr. Stowell, and along between the houses of Mr. Vose and Mr. Royce, al)out twenty rods into the intervale, it would meet the road coming from South Lancaster near tiie bridge. Law- rence Waters was somewhere southeast of that road, and not far from the residence of Mr. Symmes. The first lot situ- ated between the road to the North Village on the west and Penacook river on the east, was owned by Edward Breck, [19]. Like all the lots on the eastern side of the road, it was twenty i-ods wide and one hundred and sixty rods long. Mr. Breck's house was near the turn of the road between the houses of C. L. Wilder and Daniel Bemis, Esq. The next lot north was assigned to Richard Linton, [29 ;] Ralph Houghton came next. But Houghton and Linton made an exchange, the former taking the east end of Linton's lot, and the latter the west end of Houghton's lot, so that each had a lot forty rods by eighty. Houghton [20] lived on the east road of the Neck, and Linton on the west end, somew^here in the vicinity of Mrs. Carleton's house. The third lot in the range was owned by Ralph Houghton. This was one hundred and sixty rods in length.

Next in order came the lot of James Atherton, [21,] ex- tending from the river on the east to where the Hotel Lan- caster stands. The owners in succession going up the Neck road, were John White, [22,] William Lewis, [23,] John Lewis, [24,] Thomas James, [25,] Edmon Parker, [26,] Jacob Farrar, [27,] and Roger Sumner, [28]. All these lots were bounded on the east by the river, except the last, which butted on the Neck road, then running east of the Lane place. The north boundary of Sumner was the road extending from the Whiting place, where Mr. Powers now lives, by the Lane place, and on beyond the brickyards. Gamaliel Beaman's lot [38] was north of this road. All the owners above-mentioned, (unless perhaps Atherton,) had their homes on one or the other side of the eastern, or in modern phrase, the Neck road.

LOCATION OF THE MEETING-HOUSE.

73

Coming now to the west side of the Neck and starting from Lawrence Waters' lot, the first lot on the west of the road which goes by the churches to the North Village, we find the lot of Richard Linton, [30]. This extended from the spot where Mr. Royce resides, up the road forty rods, and eighty rods west, or to the North river. Next came the lot of Robert Breck, [31,] forty rods, extending along the west side of the Common. Breck never resided in town. In order came John Whitcomb, [32,] John Whitcomb, jr., [33,] John Gates, [34,] Nathaniel Joslin, [35,] and Thomas Jo slin, [36].

All the above-named proprietors were settled compactly together, south and north of the North river, or in South Lancaster, and the Center, then styled "the Neck." The meeting-house stood as near the center of the plantation as possible, if it were to be on high land, and south of the river. And remembering that the settlement soon extended to the Prescott mills — what is now Clinton, — it will be seen that the convenience of all was consulted in the location of the house of worship. The original plan was to have the center of the town near the "meethio; of the rivers." One standing on the site of the first meeting-house could see nearly every dwelling-house in the whole plantation, pro- vided the view was not obstructed by trees, and one of the first necessities of the planters was to level the forest around their habitations.

The location of the other settlers need not be exactly determined. As new families came, they either purchased of those already here, or took lots in other parts of the town, though at first, not very remote. Mordecai McLoud [37] was somewhere near the cemetery in the North Village. John Houghton took a house lot in what is now Bolton, but his land extended into Lancaster. Richard Wheeler was next north of John Houghton. His intervale came to the Nashua river, east of South Lancaster. Later John Houghton had his home on the Old Common. The upland and intervale of

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

Thomas Wilder extended from the North river on the east and north sides towards the road where Henry D. Stratton now lives, [the Keyes place,] and there was a road from the bridge above the house of Sprague Vose to, and probably through, or by Wilder's farm. The second Thomas Wilder lived on the north side of the Old Common.

The upland and intervale of Rev. Mr. Rowlandson was between the Penacook and the North river, as the Records say, and was laid out southardly by the North river, easterly by Penacook river, and westerl}' by the lot of Richard Smith." This was all in one lot of thirty-nine acres, thirteen of upland and twenty-six of intervale. He had land also near his house, called the garrison.

The " Church Lands " w^ere in the vicinity of the meeting- house, and probably covered the land included in the middle cemetery. There were about thirty acres in the upland, and the lot reached, on the east, to the intervale lots of Prescott and Sawyer. Some of the Church Lands were near Clam- shell pond.

The various proprietors had, besides their twenty acres of upland, parcels of intervale, meadow and swamp lands, in different parts of the town.

Having fixed the location of the settlers on their farms, and indicated the lines of road by which they were bound together, the way is clear to attend to their action as a town. And here it may be noted that they acted at one time in the capacity of a town, and at another as a body of proprietors. But since the proprietors, for a long period, constituted the great hody of the town, the record of the action of either body may be considered as legitimate town history.

For about three or four years after the act of incorpo- ration, the town proceeded in the ways above indicated. But it was soon found that there were serious matters of differ- ence which the settlers could not adjust to their satisfaction. Therefore the town sent the following Petition to the gen- eral court, signed l)y the inhabitants. "Whereas sundry

THE COMMITTEE.

75

persons in this town, the last year, at the general court, by petition did obtain the full liberty of a plantation to choose selectmen, and to order our prudentials as other towns do, supposing the town to he furnished for that purpose ; but now, upon this short time of experience, this plantation find- ing ourselves unable to act and order our prudentials, by public town meetings, as a township, by reason of many inconveniences and incumbrances, which we find that way, nor by selectmen by reason of the scarcity of freemen, (being but three there in number,) we want liberty of choice, and the law requires, (as your petitioners do conceive,) the greater vote [majority] of them that act to be freemen. The premises being considered, your petitioners do humbly crave that the honored court would be pleased to take our condition into their consideration, and appoint a committee invested with power from the general court to put us into such a way of order as we are capable of, or any other way which the honored court may judge safest and best, both for the present and future good of us and our town, and those that are to succeed us. And such a committee, so appointed, and so impowered, may stand till they be able to make return to the general court, that the town is sufii- ciently able to order our prudential aftairs according as the law requires."

A word of explanation will clear up what is doubtful about the object of this petition, and show that the town could not go forward without some such arrangement as was sought. The general court, at its first session, in 1631, ordered " that no man should be admitted to the freedom of this commonwealth, but such as are members of some of the churches within the limits of this jurisdiction." This was the law till 1664. As there were some thirty proprietors in Lancaster in 1656, and among them only three freemen, the whole legal power of the town was in very few hands. As the petitioners conceived that a majority of the selectmen lAust decide, it might be, when a difierence of opinion

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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

occurred, that the whole town would be governed by two men. This was intolerable. The court felt this, and gave a favor- able answer, and judged " it meet to grant their request, and do therefore order and appoint major Simon Willard, cap- tain Edward Johnson and Thomas Danforth commissioners, impowering them to order the affairs of the said Lancaster, and to hear and determine their several differences and grievances which obstruct the present and future good of the town ; standing in power till they be able to make return to the general court that the town is sufficiently able to order its own affairs according to law."

This was passed at the May session, 1657, on the seven- teenth of the month, and the commissioners soon entered on the duties of their office. Major Simon Willard became a proprietor and inhabitant of the town. The other two never came here to reside, but made visits of business. Major Willard was invited to come, and received liberal s^rants of land as an inducement. He was distino-uished in our early history as a member of the council, and as a military officer. He is largely referred to in the genealogy of the Willard family, prepared with great care and judgment by his descendant, Joseph Willard. He was exceedingly valuable as a citizen from his ability, probity and sound discretion. His name will appear often in the course of our history.

Edward Johnson lived in Woburn and was the author of a volume, often referred to, which has survived to our time, entitled, " Wonder-working Providence of Zion's Saviour in New England." Mr. AVillard styles this ''a very singular, curious and enthusiastic work." He was evidently a man of character and of prudence in affairs.

Cambridge was the home of Thomas Danforth. He certi- fied to the copy of the Act of the court just recited, and may have been Clerk. He was one of the assistants, so called, and deputy governor, and on the whole a man of distinction in his day. When the witchcraft delusion was at its height,

THE SELECTMEN.

11

he was one of the few like Increase Mather and Samuel Willard, president and vice-president of Harvard college, who acted like men of wisdom. It appears therefore that the general court dealt kindly by the town in the choice of commissioners. The good and wise Winthrop was present no longer to guide, having died in 1649. Richard Belling- ham was governor from that year till 1673, except two years, wdien John Endicott was in the chair.

The first meeting of the commissioners was held, on the nineteenth of September, 165T, at the house of John Pres- cott. Their first act was to choose five men, residents of the town, and proprietors, and two if not three of them free- men, to do the work of selectmen. The entry on the Eecords read thus : " That master John Tinker, William Kerley, sen., John Prescott, Ralph Houghton and Thomas Sawyer, shall l)e, and are hereby impowered to order and manage the prudential aftairs of the said town, for this year next ensuing, and until such others he allowed and confirmed by the commissioners in their stead and place."

This was a singular, but proved to l)e a judicious plan for o'overnino' the town. The commissioners chose the select- men, but the latter performed the duties of the ofiice as if they had ])een chosen by the town. They were, however, under the supervision of the commissioners, and received directions from them. Some of the orders of the commis- sioners, which were of general import will be read with interest at this late day. The first related to the work of the ministry in the place, and directed that the selectmen take care for the due encouragement of Master Rowlandson, laboring in the "Ministry of God's holy word, and also that they take care for erecting a meeting-house, pound and stocks, and that they see to the laying out of town and county highways, and the town bounds, and the making and executing of all such orders and by-laws, as may be for the common good of the place." They were also to regulate concerning cornfields, meadows, common pasturage land,

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inSTORY OF LANCASTER.

fencing of herding cattle, restraining swine, and for recover- ing fines and forfeitures of those persons Avho had taken up land without fulfilling the conditions thereof. It was their business to pay town debts, and levy and collect taxes, and they had authority to compel payment of taxes.

A wise direction Avas " that there be accommodations of land reserved for the meet encouragement of live or six able men to come and inhabit in the place, as may be helpful to the encouragement of the work of God, and the common good of the place.'" The Commissioners confirmed the "deed of a gift made by the town unto Master Kowlandson, of a house and land which was set apart for the use of the ministr}"," upon suitable conditions which were fulfilled.

The next regulation, which would seem strange now, when the need of it has passed away, but which was acted upon by towns for more than a hundred years after the time under review, provided that no persons should be "enter- tained as inmates or tenants," or be allowed to "inhabit within the bounds " of the town, without the consent of the selectmen. This consent to be valid, was to be entered upon the Records of the town. The penalty was twenty shillings per month, both to the person who should so " offend by intruding himself, and also to the person who should offend in receiving or entertaining " such new comer. No other persons were to be "admitted to the enjoyment of the privileges of the place and township, either in accom- modations, votes, elections, or disposals of any of the com- mon privileges and interests'' of the town.

The reason for such regulations is obvious. The one forfeiting the rights of original proprietors who refused to become residents, prevented many of the best lots from remaining in the hands of absentees. It was needful for security that the first settlers should live in the closest neighborhood, and therefore the lots were so narrow that the houses could be only twenty, or at most only forty rods apart. Absentee ownership would break up this arrange-

ARBITRATORS.

79

me lit. This plan also prevented speculation on the rise of land without sharing in the toil and danger of improvement. But this alone was not enough. What was to prevent those who acquired lots by purchase, from coming here, (and bringing servants or hired men,) however hostile to the manners and customs of the place, or from sending up men of loose habits and bad character, to cultivate their land. In laying the foundation of the town these were consider- ations of the utmost importance. After the solid foundations were laid, there might be safety in admitting other materials . Having a basis of "gold, silver and precious stones," there might be a capacity for enduring a certain amount of "wood, hay and stubble."

Another reason for exclusion is given by Willard, and is certainly entitled to great respect. "Vicious persons would be disorderly ; the situation was critical, the danger of giv- ing provocation to the Indians would be increased, and it would require but a slight matter to destroy the settlement." They had provided, as we have seen, for the accommodation and encouragement of five or six able men of the right stamp.

Under the Covenant to refer certain matters to arbitrators, three men who had been chosen to act in that capacity, Simon Willard, Edward Johnson and Edmund Rice, in May, 1656, passed upon several matters of interest. One deci- sion was that proprietors should abide by the measure of land made by the appointed surveyor, and not measure for them- selves. On the complaint of some that their lots were too small, it was decided that justice should be done to them " with care, what speed they may."

There was a complaint of " the want of recording lands in the town book." The arbitrators therefore appointed Ralph Houghton to keep a Record of lands. Much of the early history of the town depends upon that vote. Without the " Record of Lands " existing now in a copy from the original book, it would be impossible to locate the settlers, or scarcely

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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

guess whore the larger part of them lived. The arbitrators also made the folio wiiio' sensible su<?2:estion in regard to the prudential affairs of the town. "First, the town are to con- sider what their occasions are that shall be attended to there- in, and write it in their town book ; and this being done, then to choose their selectmen to act thereupon."

The selectmen, or townsmen, as they were styled, seem to have had their lirst meeting on the twelfth of January, 1658, at the house of John Tinker. They ordered every inhabit- ant that had lands laid out to him to ])ring in a perfect list in regard to " quantity, quality, place and manner of lying of their said lands, with their several butts and bounds." These lists were to be fairly recorded in a book kept for that purpose. The copy of the Record thus provided, is among the volumes of town Records and is of o-reat value to the

o

student of our history.

At a meeting held in February, at the house of goodman Kerley, it was ordered that all "highways laid out and allowed for the town and countries use, be amply recorded for posterity, and the way marks be yearly repaired by stakes or otherwise." If they had also provided for the making of a map of the town, and the insertion of each new road, when opened, the convenience of posterity would have been sub- served, and much time saved which has been vainly spent in the effort to find the starting point, the angles, and the end of roads, by pine and other trees which have been dead more than a hundred years.

A vote passed by the selectmen, who met with Ralph Houghton in February, 1658, is interesting in as far as it shows us one feature of town life which long since passed away with the division of the land held in common. The order provided that two gates should be set up where the fences were made against the commons and common pastu- rage lands, on the east side of the river. That is, a highway passed between the common lands over the river, east of John White's house, and a gate opened on either side of the

POWER WANTED.

81

road. At the same time, three gates were to be set up on both sides of the Nashua, somewhere on the road that now crosses the Atherton bridge.

There was a town meeting on the twelfth of March, 1658, when the orders made by the selectmen were read to them. The town agreed to all the orders " except that of the gift of goodman White. And it therefore crossed it because he feared not to speak in his own cause." What there was offensive in goodman White, either in the matter or manner of his speech, has not come down to us, and conjecture must be forever at fault. But it appears that he had right on his side, because the selectmen, in July ^of the same year, "upon serious consideration," granted him substantial justice.

Upon trial it was found that the governing apparatus did not work efficiently, and Master Tinker, the most prominent member of the board of selectmen, procured in their behalf, from the committee, Messrs. Willard, Johnson and Dan- forth, an addition to their powers. His petition reads : " May it please you to understand, that since your session with us, and commission granted to such as you are pleased to entrust in the prudentials, the Lord has succeeded our endeavors to the settling, as we hope, of Master Rowlandson amongst us, and the town in some silent,* (at least) we hope in a good preparative to after peace ; yet it is hard to repel the boilings and breaking forth of some persons difficult to please, and some petty difference will arise among us, pro- vide what we can to the contrary. Wherefore be pleased to consider whether our power already given be not sufficient, — that is, insufficient — to add a small penalty to the breach of our orders made for the good of the town, each neighbor, etc. ; else it is a sword tool, and no edge." He says farther, " if we may not receive power from you to hear and determine of differences amongst us under twenty shillings damage ; otherwise the oppressed in small things bears his burden, because it is a greater burden to go far for ease."

6 *A few words illegible.

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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

In other words, an oppressed or injured man could not afford to carry his canse to court at a distance from home.

Master Tinker inquired farther if the power of the towns- men or selectmen, extended to the giving and granting of lots, divisions, and additions, of lands and meadows ; and if they might " choose an artist " among themselves or their neighbors to lay out the town bounds. In closing, the petition said : " Gentlemen, be pleased to resolve these cases, and vouchsafe us an addition to our powers where defective, in any of these, as without which we are, or seem of little courage ; and by which, through God's assistance, we may be theirs and yours humbly to serve."

This application, made by Master Tinker, in behalf of himself and colleagues, who were not masters, but goodmen, according to the style of the time, met with a favorable response. There is such a tine flavor of antiquity to these old papers, that one takes pleasure in giving them at full length, at the risk of prolixity. The committee replied : " 1 . That it is in the power of the selectmen to impose any meet fine for the l)reach of any of their prudential orders , not exceeding twenty shillings for each ofl*ence. 2. That if the town please to nominate three meet persons to be your com- missioners for ending small causes, and present them to the county court, they may there be allowed for any case under forty shillings. 3. That it shall be in the power of the selectmen, and not in the hands of the inhabitants, who may make their address to the committee in case of any griev- ance." They say in reference to the fourth point — the choosing an "artist " to lay out the town bounds, — that it is not in their power to act; but "in case it be done," that is, if the selectmen should appoint some man to the service, the committee " would further the acceptance thereof to their power."

There was a strong desire among the selectmen, and doubt- less the feeling was general in the town, to have Major Wil- lard take up his abode here, and give the aid of his sound

MAJOR WILLAKD INVITED.

83

sense and wise discretion for the guidance of affairs. This sentiment found expression at a meeting of the townsmen on the eighteenth of February, 1659. They met at their houses in rotation, and were all present generally except William Kerley, who seemed to have a grievance. When his turn came, they met at the meeting-house, near his home. The meeting under notice was held with goodman Prescott, and the action there taken is recorded as follows : " they think meet and do order that a letter of invitation be sent to Major Simon Willard to come to inhabit among us, with such measures concerning accommodations as have been formerly propounded; and the hands of the selectmen are fixed, and a copy of it recorded." What the "measures concerning accommodations" were, cannot be found in the selection from the Records which remain to ns : but the inducements offered to incline "the Major" to become a resident must have been liberal as appears by the subsequent grants made to him.

As the town became consolidated and began to feel the force of a settled community, the feeling grew up that the restrictions in regard to receiving additions to the popula- tion might be safely relaxed. This does not, however, prove that the restrictions were not prudent and wise at the time of their adoption. The door was now opened for the admission of inhabitants besides the " five or six families more that were then in being, [to] be admitted for the good of the town and church." And the selectmen, July 15, 1659, " conceived it to be most for the good of the town, that so many inhabitants be admitted as may be meetly accom- modated, provided they are such as are acceptable, and therefore the former order is repealed. And that admittance be granted to so many as shall stand with the disposition of the selectmen, and are worthy of acceptance, according to the committee's acceptance." Surely the door of entrance was duly guarded when the approbation of the selectmen and also of the committee^must be first obtained.

84

HISTORY OP LANCASTER.

This was the last meeting of the selectmen which Mr. Tinker attended, being about to remove to Pequid, or New London, where he took a respectable and prominent position. The rest of the selectmen, in view of his departure, on the seventh of July, " petitioned the committee that goodman Wilder might be appointed by them to act as a selectman ; which was granted." This was Thomas Wilder, who had recently moved into the town.

There was a meeting of the town on the sixteenth of February, 1660, which took action in regard to a second division of land, and relates therefore in a special manner to the proprietors. It is of interest to the student of our history chiefly for two things. The meeting was held in the house of Major Willard. This shows that he had listened to the overtures made to him by the selectmen, and taken up his residence here. His house stood on the site now occupied by Sewall Day, where "the Major's" descendants have lived, for several generations, almost down to the present time. He was a great acquisition. The coming of Thomas Wilder was, prospectively, scarcely less important, because the families of Willard and Wilder, in every gener- ation, have occupied a prominent and useful position in the town. The other point of interest connected Avith this town meeting relates to the method adopted in making the division of land. Having made ready for settling the division by casting lots, the Record goes on in these words: "which beinfy finished, and all the orders and instructions aforesaid agreed on, and the Lord being sought unto for his blessing upon his own ordinance. Lots were taken as followeth, without any disturbance or distraction."

There is nothing recorded of special interest for two or three years ; but we can readily believe that the town was well managed by its multiform government. The committee in Boston chose the selectmen. At one time the committee directed the selectmen in regard to their action ; at another time the latter acted on their own discretion. The selectipen

SELF-GOVERNMENT.

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called the town together, at times, and asked their concur- rence in what had been done. And on one occasion, in 1658, the town being met "at a training," passed a vote in relation to the "setting up of a saw mill." What legal validity could pertain to a vote passed at such a meeting, may be questionable ; but the mill was set up, and the town made a liberal grant in aid. There was still another complication, for the town often acted as a body of pro- prietors.

In 1664, there began to be an expression of opinion in favor of self-government, which led the townsmen, or select- men to call the attention of the people to the subject. Simon Willard, having moved hither, was immediately made chair- man of the selectmen. He was also chairman of the com- mittee. The town felt confident of their ability, with his guidance, to manage their own affairs. The selectmen, in their communication to the town, say that, "we conceive, by some expressions of several of our brethren and neigh- bors, that there is not such a loving concurrence as we could desire. Therefore if it be your desire to have the liberty to choose officers, and to order the prudentials of the town as other towns ; if our endeavors herein be of use to you, and also acceptable to you, we desire to bless God for it ; but if not, we desire not to create trouble to ourselves, and grief for .our loving brethren and neighbors, but rather choose this love tender to you." They say farther that they were ready, if such was the desire of the town, to join "lovingly and cordially" in petitioning the "honored committee to appoint a meeting and to have a hearing of what hath been acted by the townsmen here since they committed the care of the prudentials to us." The same kind and unambitious spirit pervades the letters to the close. "If any be grieved at anything that has been acted, that then and there they may be eased ; and if the committee please to return liberty into the town's hands, we hope it will be as acceptable to us as unto yourselves." This bears date, January 14, 1664,

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and was signed by Willard, Prescott, Wilder, Sumner, and Ralph Houghton.

Meantime the selectmen continued to act in relation to all matters committed to them. The larger part of their business related to the division of lands, and was therefore only of private interest. John Roper was chosen a selectman in place of Roo-er Sumner. The selectmen called a town meetino^ at which it was voted that " all gifts , grants , acts , orders , con- clusions and records, acted, ordered or recorded by the town, townsmen or committee, shall be confirmed and rati- fied by the town, from the beginning of the plantation to this day." This was unanimously voted, February 13, 1664.

At the same time it was voted that the selectmen should "further a second division of meadows to be laid out," but were not to " dispose of lands," or make grants. Ralph Houghton was chosen clerk for the year and allowed £2 18s. for his trouble herein. Some action of the town, as pro- posed by the townsmen will be referred to in connection with ecclesiastical afiairs.

The time had arrived when the town was to pass from its state of pupilage, and become self-governing, under the general court. On the seventeenth of March, 1665, the town, through the selectmen, "earnestly desired that the honored committee would be pleased to put forth their power to ratify and confirm this act of confirmation of the town, and also to give liberty to the town to choose towns- men within themselves, so long as yourselves see a loving concurrence therein among ourselves ; and in so doing, your worships will engage us yours in all Christian service."

This courteous and respectful address was answered, March 19, in the same tone, and perhaps came from the same pen, since Major Willard was chairman of both boards. The reply is pleasant reading. " Gentlemen, and loving friends : We have, although through straits of time, but briefly, provised and considered what you have above pre-

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sented, and do with much thankfuhiess to the Lord, ac- knowledge his favor to yourselves. And not only to you, but to all that delight in the prosperity of God's people and children, in your loving compliance together, that this mercy may be continued to you is our earnest desire, and shall be our prayer to God. And wherein we may in our capacity contribute thereto, we do account it our duty to the Lord and you, and for that end do fully concur and consent to your proposals for the ratifying of what is. And for liberty among yourselves, observing the directions and laws of the general court, for the election of your selectmen for the future."

The town had now "come of age," and was henceforth to conduct its own business, without a body of supervisors livinof at a distance, and makino^ occasional visits. The action of the town ever afterwards proved its capacity to order its affairs with discretion. There are records of many meetings between 1665 and 1670, when the Records come to a long hiatus, but the action generally related to lands. The brief references to roads and bridges give no additional information worthy of recital. The Records fail between February 10, 1671, and the time of the massacre. And from that event to the year 1724, there are no town Records. The volume, said Mr. Willard, in 1824, "mysteriously dis- appeared about forty years since," that is, about the year 1784. We must feel our way through this period by the help of the Proprietors' Records, which cover a small part of the time ; by the "Book of Lands," and by the manuscripts in the archives of the state relating to mihtary, civil and ecclesiastical affairs. During this period there are no church Records to lighten our way, previous to 1708.

Glancing at events contemporary with the history of Lan- caster from the first step towards its settlement in 1643, to the spring of 1676, we find that the governors of the colony had been Winthrop, Dudley, Endicott, Belhngham and Leverett. Winthrop had been impeached in 1646, and

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acquitted ; a synod of the churches of New England had been held; Eliot had been engaged in preaching to the Indians, and had translated the Bible into their tongue ; the colony had had a controversy with the Long Parliament, and come off victoriously; had, in 1651, as ever after, the favor of Cromwell, and had in 1656-60 encountered its trials with the Baptists and Quakers. At the same time great events had taken place in England. The Long Parliament had dethroned and executed king Charles I. ; Cromwell had succeeded to power, and till the close of his life, had ruled the three kingdoms with splendid success, while raising his country to the highest point of honor and influence among other nations. Richard Cromwell had been pushed aside; the Rump, after brief sway, had yielded to the rising tide of loyalty which welcomed Charles II. in 1660.

CHAPTER IV.

EELiaiON. EDUCATION. CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE, INCLU- DING THE MINISTER. THE INDIANS. THE BURNING AND MASSACRE, 1676.

The ecclesiastical affairs of the town, as revealing the character of the people, deserve special mention. It has been ah-eady stated that the services of a minister were had as early as 1654, a year after the first enabling act of the corporation. The Rev. Joseph Rowlandson came to the place, and continued from the year above named till 1676, as the only religious teacher and pastor. The provisions of the Covenant entered into by the town in 1653, relative to the church lands, the building of a meeting-house, and the support of a minister, have been recited on a former page. Eighty-two acres of land, including thirty of upland, forty of intervale, and twelve of meadow, were set apart forever as church lands for the use of the minister, pastor or teacher for the time being " or whomsoever may be stated to preach the word of God." The lands might be rented, or the minis- ter might improve them if he chose. They agreed to build a house for the minister, as well as a sanctuary for God. All of these stipulations appear to have been fulfilled. The date of the erection of the first meeting-house is fixed by the two following facts. In 1657 the committee ordered the selectmen to take care for the " erectinof a meetino -house." A meeting of the selectmen was held in the meeting-house in June, 1658. This house was placed on the northeast corner of the lot which is now the Center or Middle Ceme- tery, between the road to South Lancaster and the railroad.

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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

It was on the brow of the hill which then sloped gently to- wards the river. The old burying yard was about sixteen rods northeast of the meeting-house, and was, doubtless, visited by the people during the noon intermission of every Sabbath-day. The first house stood until 1686, when it Avas taken down and a new one erected in its place. The second house was burned by the Indians, July 31, 1704. The first house of worship had been spared by the natives in 1676. Had they lost their reverence for " God's house," or had their feelings become more embittered?

Mr. Rowlandson subscribed the town Covenant, February 23, 1655, and received his allotment of land. • By order of the " arbitrators " in 1656, the town was to pay him fifty pounds annually, valuing " wheat at six pence per bushel under the price it is as they buy, and so for other grains by their proportion ; and as God shall be pleased to enlarge their estates, so they shall enlarge therein answerably." In August, 1657, according to Willard, the town conveyed to Mr. Rowlandson, " by deed of gift," the house and land that had been set apart for the use of the ministry.

In the same year, September 19, the committee or com- missioners, ordered the selectmen to "take care for the due encouragement of Master Rowlandson, who now labored amongst them in the ministry of God's holy word." They probably saw the need of such encouragement in more ways than one. Up to this time there was no organized church; no deacons ; no seasons of communion, and probably but a small number of Christian men to hold up his hands, and encourage his heart. At the same time his support must have been meager except as he cultivated his farm. It would not be strange if he became discouraged, and willing to listen to overtures from another field of labor. However this may have been, the following extract from the Records of the town will always be read with interest. With all the gravity of the subject there is a touch of humor inter- mingled.

GRANT TO ME. ROWLANDSON.

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Under date of the fourteenth of May, 1658, the Eecord reads : " On the certain intelligence of Master Eowlandson's removing from us , the selectmen treated with him to know what his mind was ; and his answer was, his apprehensions were clearer for his going than for staying. They replied they feared his apprehensions were not well grounded, but desired to know his resolution. He said his resolutions were accord- ing to his apprehensions, for aught he knew. Then the select- men, considering it was a case of necessity for the town to look out for other supply, told Master Eowlandson, that now they did look upon themselves as destitute of a minister, and should be forced to endeavor after some other ; so dis- charging him."

But the selectmen were too hasty in their action. The voice of the town was soon heard ; and perhaps the female portion of it, whose wishes are often potential in calling and sustaining a minister, had a word to say. Let us see what occurred eleven days after the selectmen got the resolutions "for aught he knew" of Mr. Eowlandson. "A messenger came from Billerica to fetch Master Eowlandson away ; upon which the town, having notice given them, came together with intent to desire him to stay and settle amongst us ; and after some debate, it was voted as follows : 1. Whether it were the mind of the town to invite Master Eowlandson to abide and settle among them in the work of the ministry? The vote was affirmative by the hands of all held up. 2. Whether it was their minds to allow him, for his main- tainance, fifty pounds a year, one-half in wheat, six pence in the bushel under the current prices at Boston and Charles- town, and the rest in other good current pay, in like pro- portions; or otherwise, fifty-five pounds a year taking his pay at such rates as the prices of corn are set every year by the court? The vote was affirmative by the hands of all held up. 3. Whether they were willing that Master Eow- landson should have the dwelling-house which he lives in as his own proper right, according to the deed made by the

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town, and confirmed by the committee ; with the point of land westward, and some land west, and some north of his house, for an orchard, garden, yard, pasture and the like. This was put to the vote, and granted by the major part, and opposed by none but old goodman Kerley, only there was a neuter or two, with this proviso, that it hindered not the burying place, the highway, convenient space to pass to the river, and the land intended to lie for the next minister, to be reserved convenient to the interval lot now improved by Henry Kerley; all which was left to the selectmen, to be laid out according to their best discretion."

This was to be the minister's home lot, and was situated around the minister's garrison, on the land now owned by Mr. Thayer. His upland and intervale, it will be remem- bered, was northeast of the Center bridge, the very point of the Neck. None opposed the grant but the senior Kerley, who seems to have been, for a series of years, the minority of the town, neglecting to attend the meetings of his fellow- selectmen, and in an unhappy frame of mind. The gift of this piece of land, for some reason, did not please him, and his son Henry, and goodman White, Henry's father-in-law, who held the same relation to the minister, were all mixed up in the question. Finally, the town taking a firm attitude, the Kerleys acquiesced. It was a very proper proviso of the " neuter or two," in regard to the passage way to the old burying yard, to the river, to the intervale, and to the land intended for the next minister. These points being arranged to general satisfaction, we have the following result.

''Upon this Master Rowlandson accepted of the town's invitation, and gave them thanks for their grant, and agreed to the motion concerning his maintainance, and promised to abide with them in the best manner the Lord should enable him to improve his gifts in the work of the ministry."

These proceedings evince the grave deliberation of the people, and the popularity of Mr. Rowlandson, after four years of trial. But it appears that there was one exception to the

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general unison, for it is recorded in the Middlesex county court Records, in this very year of 1658, as found by Mr. Willard, that Mary Gates, daughter of Stephen Gates, "for bold and unbecoming speeches used in the public assemblies, and especially against Mr. Eowlandson, the minister of God's word there,'' upon evidence of John Prescott and others, was convicted. She acknowledged the offence, and was discharged, on paying for the attendance of the wit- nesses.

Though the people desired their minister to abide and settle with them ; and though Mr. Harrington supposed that he accepted the invitation, yet it is nearly certain that he was not ordained and installed until 1660. There was no church here before that time , and according to usage , minis- ters were not ordained without a call of the church ; and as a general thing, without an ordaining council. In the Rec- ords of Dorchester, under date of August 26, 1660, it is written that " Roger Sumner was dismissed " from the Dor- chester church, that " with other Christians at Lancaster, a church might be formed there." It is the settled conclusion now of all writers on the point, that the church was organ- ized in Lancaster, and the first minister ordained in the autumn of 1660. Here he continued in faithful and unbroken service till the massacre scattered the survivors. His life and character will find a place on a subsequent page.

The teaching of the church must be supplemented by the training of the school. Without an educated laity, the clergy will become a priestly tyranny . Without an educated clergy, the people will become a superstitious and vicious mass of beings, needing the control of force. Given an intelligent population, and an educated and godly clergy, we have the conditions needed for the highest possibility of human soci- ety. This our fathers knew full well, and they came to this country with the purpose of founding churches and colonies on the broad and solid basis of intelligence and religion. With them it was a first principle that all the children should

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be taught to read, and all the people be able to peruse and understand the laws of the commonwealth, and the Word of God. In view of this great fact, it is astonishing to find men who speak of the fathers of the New England colonies as ignorant and narrow-minded men. Their principles and their laws show the value they placed on universal and free education. Their practice was in harmony with their prin- ciples. "The Fathers who colonized Massachusetts Bay," says the Hon. Horace Mann, "made a bolder innovation upon all pre-existing policy and usages than the world had ever known since the commencement of the Christian era. They adopted special and costly means to train up the whole body of the people to industry, to intelligence, to virtue, and to independent thought." The general court, in 1642, the year before a few persons from Watertown began to fell the trees in the woods of Lancaster, passed an act enjoining the towns to see that every child should be educated. The selectmen were required to " have a vigilant eye over their brethren and neighbors, to see first that none of them shall suffer so much barbarism in any of their families, as not to endeavor to teach, by themselves or others, their children and apprentices, so much learning as may enable them per- fectly to read the English tongue, and [obtain] a knowledge of the capital laws ; upon a penalty of twenty shillings for each neglect therein." By the same act parents were required to give religious instruction to their children ; and farther it was enacted that " all parents and masters do breed and bring up their children and apprentices in some honest, lawful call- ing, labor, or employment, either in husbandry or some other trade, profitable for themselves and the commonwealth; if they will not, or cannot train them up in learning to fit them for higher employments."

The law of 1642 laid a penalty upon parents and masters who neglected the education of the children and apprentices under their care, but it did not make the schools free, nor did it impose a fine upon the towns which failed in the duty

AN EDUCATED PEOPLE.

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to support schools. But many of the towns, as Roxbuiy and Boston , made most liberal provision for the education of the young.

A step farther ^vas taken in 1647 when the support of free schools, for every child of suitable age, was made com- pulsory, and in towns containing fifty householders a teacher was to be appointed " to teach all such children as shall resort to him to Avrite and read." A town having a hundred householders w^as required to maintain a free grammar school of such a high grade that its master should be " able to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for the university."

It may be said that these laws concerning schools did not apply to towns so sparsely settled as Lancaster, during the seventeenth century ; but, in the first place, it can be truly answered, that the settlers here came from towns where schools were in operation. Their children were trained, or according to the phrase then used, ^'nourtured," in the com- mon and grammar schools. It is probable also that there were families enouo^h hei-e before the massacre, to brins: the town under the law of 1647. But in the second place, the families in small tow^ns were under the requirements of the act of 1642, imposing a penalty of twenty shillings on all heads of families who failed to teach their children letters. As a matter of fact, the great body of men in Lancaster between 1652 and 1660 had been taught at home or at school. Among the fifty-seven men who subscribed to the Covenant on pages 51 and 52, only three made their mark. There is no reason for supposing that their wives and daughters could not read and write as well as themselves. John White was a "goodman" and not of the rank of "master," like Mr. Rowlandson, Mr. Tinker and Major Willard ; but his daughter Mary, the wife of the minister, was certainly a woman of some culture. She had read good books, and could express herself as a woman of thought and sensibility, in clear, terse and fitting language. What reason is there for believing that she was better educated than her

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sisters, Mrs. Kerley, Mrs. DivoU and Mrs. Drew? Is there any ground for thinking that the children of goodraan White were more familiar with books and the pen, than the children of Prescott, Kerley, Sawyer, Houghton, or the larger part of the other families ? In those days the mothers taught their children at home, until there were families enouo^h to make up a school, when the services of a " school dame " were secured.

The character, manners and customs of the early settlers next claim attention. The influence of the minister in those days, was so great in every regard that a correct esti- mate of him will help in understanding the manners and character of the people. The Rev. Joseph Rowlandson was probably born in England, in 1632. The name of his father was Joseph, and of his mother, Bridget. They came into Lancaster in 1657, perhaps because their son was here. Their son Thomas was killed in the general massacre. Joseph, the minister, received a liberal, or as then styled a " University education," and took his first degree at Harvard college in 1652, and if the date of his birth be correct, in the twenty-first year of his age. His relative scholarship cannot be known, because he was the only member of his class who graduated ; but it can be said safely that he took the highest honors. That he was a man of nimble wit and ready pen, is proved by a singular occurrence. In his senior year, September, 1651, he wrote a pasquinade in prose and verse, which was called a " scandalous libel " on some person obnoxious to himself, and perhaps to others. This was posted on the door of the meeting-house in Ipswich. It seems that the object of his satire, (which may be found in the edition of Mrs. Kowlandson's Removes, of 1828,) was a man of doubtful veracity, which fact is hinted by the follow- insr curious collocation of words. "When he lived in our country, a wet eel's tayle and his word were something worth ye taking hold of." For this " scandalous libel " he was con- victed by the court, and sentenced to be whipped, pay a fine

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of five dollars, and the costs, amounting to thirty shillings. The sentence was not inflicted, as the young collegian made a proper apology. This afiair does not seem to have hurt his reputation, as it did not reveal a bad character. Pro- bably his " libel " would be considered in our day as a mere squib, written by a lively student. Our political papers are daily spiced with attacks far more libellous, but they pass by as idle wind. But in those days decorum was guarded by law, and the young were taught to hold their wits in subjection.

It is supposed that Mr. Rowlandson spent the next year or two in reading divinity with some respectable and learned minister, in accordance with the custom of the time. It is quite possible that he studied, under the guidance of presi- dent Dunster, after his graduation. In his day the students were required to converse in Latin, and they were in the daily habit of translating the Hebrew Bible into Greek without the use of a lexicon. President Dunster was one of the ablest and most learned men that has ever presided over old Har- vard. He held the office and was the principal instructor from 1640 to 1654, two years after the time when Rowlandson took his degree . The young minister began to preach in Lancaster in 1654, and continued until a church was formed in 1660, when he w as ordained. Thus we find him established in the ministry after six years of trial, a period longer than the average duration of pastorates in many of the neighboring- churches, in recent times. Here he lived and labored about sixteen years longer, enjoying the confidence and respect of his people, who constituted the whole community. That he was respected away from home seems to be indicated by the fact that in 1672, when the Old South church of Boston was in need of a council to settle matters of considerable conse- quence, which had arisen between it and other churches in the vicinity, the Rev. Mr. Rowlandson was present as a cler- ical member. A sermon preached by him in 1678, near the close of his life, was published in 1682. This was one of the " lesser composures " which Cotton Mather mentions as 7

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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

indicative of his authorship. His library was very respect- able in the number of its volumes, and doubtless also in the value of their contents. It would be interestinir to find a catalogue, and thus learn what he loved in literature, and from what sources he kept his own mind informed and invigo- rated for the benefit of his people. After the destruction of this town he was settled in Wethersfield in Connecticut, where he died in 1680. The church made liberal provision for his widow and children. His descendants were living there as recently as 1813.

While here he was surrounded by many relatives and friends. His father's family have been mentioned. By his marriage with Mary White, he became connected with an important family, since Capt. John White, senior, was the largest property-holder in the town, and the father of several children. Another of his daughters, Elizabeth, was the wife of Henry Kerley ; and the three Kerleys, father and two sons, held more property than any other family. Two other daughters, Mrs. Drew and Mrs. Divoll, were married and settled in the town. In short, about seventeen — some say nineteen — persons, (not including old Mr. White, who died the year before,) who were related to Mrs. Rowlandson, were murdered or taken captive at the time of the massacre. The minister and his wife were blessed with a family of children, — three or four — who were exceedingly dear to them, as is abundantly evident in the thrilling narrative of her "Eemoves."

They were surrounded by an industrious and virtuous people. Nearly all were farmers. It appears that John Prescott, in addition to his farming, had a store which he bought of Symonds & King, the first who had a " trading- place " here. Besides, he was the first blacksmith, and he set up the first grist mill and the first saw mill in the region. People came to his mill as far as from Sudbury. Mr. Tinker was a trader in Pequid ; probably he kept store in Lancaster. It is supposable that he might have bought out the much

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occupied Prescott, as he lived in close neighborhood. Ralph Houghton was a surveyor, and town and proprietors' clerk. The Hon. Simon Willard, or " the Major," as he was generally styled, resided here ten or twelve years, although absent often in the civil and military business of the colony. He was a pillar in church and state. The settlers generally belono^ed to the orreat middle class which is the streno^th of a country. The town by degrees, had become respectable in numbers and character. They were thriving and moral. The log houses which were a necessity before the erection of the saw mill, in 1659, soon gave way to more comfortable habitations. Gardens were cultivated, and 'orchards were planted without delay. Persons living have seen the old apple trees which formerly marked the site of Mr. Rowland- son's house.

The inhabitants were good neighbors, living close together and rendering kindly offices in health and sickness. They trained their children well in the ancient way. They could read and they all read the Bible, which is a library in itself. They were educated by the necessities of their daily life. They were deeply interested in all the fortunes of the Bay, and of the sister colonies. The successive revolutions in England ; the mighty march of events under the great Protector, and the coming in of Charles with the " regimen of harlots," as the news slowly floated across the ocean, furnished food for thought and conversation.

The town had its own life and incidents. Local gossip was rife enough for comfort or provocation. The love affairs of the young were known through all the plantation, and unhappy widowers made work for match-makers. If Henry Kerley, quarreling with an affianced maiden, tore up the post on which his publishment was posted, and tossed it into the river, that caused a general buzz ; and when the quarrel was made up tongues wagged again.

A public scandal was a general grief. Li those days there was much visiting between families. If they had no holidays

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except Thanksgiving, yet they enjoyed more seasons of rec- reation than do we, their descendants. Frequent journeys were made, on horseback, to Boston and the lower towns, to visit the homes and friends of former days. Bees, rais- ings, huskings, trainings, hunts and fishing parties, as well as weddings and other festive occasions, often brought them together in social and cheering scenes. Funerals also, which must be more numerous where births are most frequent, since all who are born must die, while saddening to the heart, were the occasions of sympathy and served to bind the families in closer and more affectionate neighborhood.

The Sabbath-, with its public and social assemblies, was a delight. Mrs. Rowlandson, referring to her feelings while in captivity, says : " Upon the Sabbath days I could look upon the scene, and think how people were going to the house of God to have their souls refreshed; and their homes, and their bodies also. I remember how, on the night before and after the Sabbath, when my family was about me, and relations and neighbors with us, we could pray and sing, and refresh ourselves with the good creatures of God." What a vision of pious cheerfulness in the days of old !

Such were the people who two hundred years ago, lived in this beautiful valley, and on its sloping hill-sides. Here they tilled the soil, and reared their families. From the first they had dwelt in safety, fearing no visible enemy, except bears, wolves and wild-cats. They had been at peace with the Indians, and had found them convenient neighbors. By them their tables had been supplied with fish and wild game, and some rude articles of manufacture which the ingenuity of savages could produce. There is no proof that the settlers had encroached upon them, or interfered Avith their hunting, fishing or planting. It is quite possible, however, that the natives began to feel that tlie increasing number of whites would soon ci'owd them out of their wonted haunts. Nor would it be strange if at some time, a reckless fellow ofi'ended the susceptible Indians' pride, and provoked revenge. There

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is However nothing of this kind on record to account for the change in the conduct of the natives towards the settlers.

The founders of Plymouth had lived in peace with the Indians during half a century. The settlers of Salem, Boston and vicinity had been on good terms with them from the beginning. Sholan, the sachem at Washacum, welcomed the English to this place, and sold them an extensive tract of territory. His deportment toAvards the settlers never changed, and he was held in esteem by his white neighbors. Matthew, his nephew, walked in his steps ; but Shoshahin, or Sam, as he was commonly styled, the grandson of Sholan, became estranged, and was ready to listen to the machinations of king Philip, who went up and down the country, and as some writers report, as far as Canada, in the fall and winter of 1674-5.

It would be out of place to give an account of the origin and progress of what is known in history as king Philip's war. What occurred in Lancaster comes properly into the history of the town. Being on the frontier, with no settle- ment on the west this side of the Connecticut valley, it was much exposed to the attack of an enemy who lurked in the woods, and only emerged to strike a deadly blow, and then hide again in its secret retreats.

The war broke out in June, 1675, by an attack on Swansey, near Mount Hope, the home of Philip. Not far from this date an English spy among the Indians learned from Monaco, a one-eyed Indian, that in about twenty days the natives were "to fall upon Lancaster, (Proton, Marlborough, Sud- bury, and Medfield, and that the first they would do, would be to cut down Lancaster bridge, so as to hinder the flight of the. inhabitants, and prevent assistance from coming to them."

The storm of war actually burst upon this town on the twenty-second day of August, old style, 1675. On that day eight persons were killed in different parts of the town. These are their names : George Bennet, grandson of Mr. Linton,

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William Flagg, Jacob Farrar, Joseph Wheeler, Mordecai McLoud, his wife and two children. Tlie location of some of these victims cannot he precisely determined. Mr. McLoud had a house lot not far from the house of Edward Phelps, at the east end of the North Village, and it is probable that he occupied it. There is some reason for supposing that Bennefs home was near the North Villaoe brido^e. Jacob Farrar lived on the Neck road, somewhere north of the house of S. R. Damon. Wheeler's home was pi'obably in Bolton, and Flagg had land on (leorge hill in the neighborhood of the house of Charles E. Blood. But these facts do not ab- solutely fix the spot where the strokes of death were given. This was probably a stealthy movement of the Indians, who killed as many as possible before an alarm was given, and then slunk away into the darkness of the forest or the swamp.

War being thus actually upon them, what preparations did the people make for defence ? Had they any military organization? There were, according to the estimate of Willard, more than fifty families in Lancaster at the outbreak of the war. A vote of the town " at a training has been cited on a former page. There were several garrisons or block-houses, in different neighborhoods, to which the fami- lies could resort, on occasions of alarm. But situated remote from other towns, the people were in a poor condition for defence from a wily and numerous foe. The few soldiers stationed here by the general court added but little to their strength. The event proved their weakness, for though they defended themselves with dauntless bravery, this only served to aggravate their doom, inasmuch as it excited the Lidians to make fearful reprisals.

It may be a convenience to the reader to have the location of the garrisons pointed out in this connection. One was the minister's garrison, D, its site being familiar to all. An- other, called Sawyer's, was just behind the house, E, of John A. Rice. It was on Thomas Sawyers land, and the road

UNEXPECTED ATTACK.

103

was west of it in those days. A third was in Clinton, and on the land of John Prescott. The fourth was on the north side of the river, near the corner by the house, F, of Dr. Thompson. At the John White place, H, on the Neck road, was a fifth. There may have been one or two others remote from the central part of the town.

When the first attack was made on Lancaster, in August, O. S., the people were obliged to depend upon their own ef- forts. At this time Major Willard, who had removed to his home at Nonacoicut, now Ayer Junction, was on an expe- dition for the defence of Brookfield and Springfield. Thus it was that the place was left defenceless just at the time when the savages fell on the inhabitants with ruthless vengeance.

In about six months, on the tenth of February, 1675-6, the second act in the tragedy opened, more awful and bloody. It was in the depth of winter, and most of the colonial troops, exhausted by the last campaign, were at home, or in winter-quarters. Major Willard was engaged in civil affairs in Boston, and broken by hard service, he did not long sur- vive after the ruin of the town he had loved and served so long and so faithfully. Thus it happened that Lancaster was almost as defenceless as in the preceding autumn. A few houses had been garrisoned, but the people were not very vigilant, supposing that the severity of the weather would keep the Indians in quiet till the opening of spring. In this they were deceived. The natives living in various parts of the town to the number of twenty-five or thirty families, or from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and eighty per- sons, were now in league with, or under the domination of Philip. By their knowledge of the approaches to the place, the enemy were able to make a plan of attack.

On the evening of February 9, the people retired to rest, as usual, with perhaps some eye to watchfulness. Whether they gathered into the garrison, that night, or hurried thither, at alarming signs, on the break of day, is not known. But it is certain that early in the morning of the tenth, king

104

HISTORY OF LANCASTER.

Philip, followed hy fifteen hundred warriors of the Wam- panoag, Narragansett and Nipmiic tribes, made a desperate assault on Lancaster. They invested the town in five differ- ent places. Three only of these can be fixed. The first was probably at Wattoquoddoc, southwest part of Bolton, where Jonas and John Fairbanks and Richard Wheeler were killed. Wheeler had a garrison house. The second known point of attack was at Prescott's garrison, now in Clinton, about twenty-five rods east of the old counterpane mill, now called the Clinton Yarn Mill, and near the house of Dea. Parkhurst, on Walnut street. Here Ephraim Sawyer was killed. Henry Farrar and a Mr. Ball and his wife, were slain in an unknown locality ; but perhaps one of them fell in South Lancaster, on the east side of the main street, where was the house of one of the Farrar families.

The main attack was on the house of the Rev. Mr. Row- landson. This was the central, fortified house, and it was vulnerable on one side. The destruction of this house, and the murder or capture of its inmates and defenders, would be a mortal blow to the plantatiou. This house was on the land now owned by Mr. Thayer, and about half way between his house and the Sprague bridge. The meeting-house, C> was on the north brow of cemetery hill, on the east side of the road, while the garrison, D, was on the west side of the road, and nearly three-fourths of the distance between the road and the pond, and a few feet south of the spot where a single pine tree utters its lonely sighs over the scene of massacre and death. The place is marked by the letter D