Beside Old Hearth-Stones.     Middlesex county history

************************************************************************
        Copyright.  All rights reserved.
        http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
************************************************************************
Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth



BESIDE OLD HEARTH-STONES
by Abram English Brown
Boston, Lee and Shepard Publishers, 
10 Milk Street, 1897


CHAPTER 1

So through the night rode Paul Revere,
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex Village and farm, --
A cry of defiance and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forevermore. 
LONGFELLOW 

LEXINGTON ALARM IN NORTHERN MIDDLESEX. -- GROTON PLANTATION. -- GROTON PATRIOTS 
ON APRIL 19, 1775. -- IN CAMP AT CAMBRIDGE. -- THE DEATH-ROLL AT BUNKER HILL. -- 
THE PRESCOTT FAMILY. -- CHAMPNEY HOUSE. -- GRAVE OF CAPTAIN ABRAM CHILD

      No time was lost in extending the "Lexington Alarm," and so thorough had 
been the planning that but little or no time was wasted in the most distant 
towns before the patriots started for the relief of the distressed. Northern 
Middlesex had given no uncertain sound during all the time when the troubles 
were culminating. The older citizens were familiar with the war cry, many of 
them having repeatedly rushed to arms in the early 

Page 2

wars; and the fireside tales were those of personal sufferings in the Indian 
troubles and French wars. In many a home was reference made to the family record 
in the well-worn Bible, and the pine torch lighted in order that the youngest 
listener might be duly impressed by reading for himself such entries as "Killed 
at Crown Point; Died at Champlain; Killed by Indians at Fort George." 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point were household words, kept,vividly in mind by the 
old musket that had done service in that well-known region. No fairy tales found 
listeners in these homes; for the siege of Louisburg and the destruction of the 
peaceful Acadian villages, scenes in which these people had a part, furnished 
ample subject for twilight pastime.

      There was a tract of land, more than thirty miles inland, granted to Dean 
Winthrop and others, and incorporated as early as 1655 by the name of Groton. It 
was named for the home of the Winthrops, in Groton, England. Seven years passed 
before the record appears of the erection of that all-important building, a 
meeting-house, and of the election of those well-known New England 
functionaries, selectmen. These settlers, like other pioneers whom we delight to 
honor, exemplified true Christian heroism. With their minister, Rev. Samuel 
Willard, they faced the hardships of frontier life with a resignation hard to be 
understood in these days of luxury and 

Page 3

comfort. "They lived on the rough edge of civilization; and nothing stood 
between them and an unbroken wilderness." Christian civilization was apparent, 
when King Philip's war broke out, and sorrow settled upon the place. The greater 
part of the houses were destroyed, including the meeting-house; some of the 
people were killed, and others carried into captivity. Although forced to 
abandon the undertaking for a while, those people heroically took up the burden 
again, and went on successfully. While it was the descendants and successors of 
the pioneers who indelibly stamped their names on the records of this settlement 
during the later Indian, troubles and with the French, they manifested no half-
hearted spirit in the repeated emergencies.

      Territorially Groton admitted of many divisions; and the natural increase 
of population, together with the influx from the lower towns, led to the 
formation of several new districts or townships before the beginning of 
hostilities with the mother country. Distance only prevented these patriots from 
having a share in the well-known scenes of April 19; but no better record was 
made at camp in Cambridge, and in battle at Bunker Hill, than is found to the 
honor of these people of northern Middlesex.

GROTON.

      In my search for hidden footprints in the town of Groton, I was conducted 
to the home of Mrs. 

Page 4

Abigail Moors, who in her ninetieth year was mistress of her own home. Referring 
to her father, Imlah Parker, a soldier of the Revolution, this interesting woman 
emphatically said, "I have always thought he was the nicest man that ever 
lived." With memory undimmed, she, the last of a family of nine children, lives 
in the full enjoyment of filial affection, bearing testimony to the fact that 
the true parent is the real patriot.

      It has been shown in "Beneath Old Roof Trees" that the people of Groton 
received no encouragement from their pastor towards resistance to British 
aggression; in fact, if they had followed their minister, they would all have 
been classed with the Tories. But from the spring of 1765, when the odious Stamp 
Act was passed, they had been outspoken in the interests of the Colonies, 
regardless of their spiritual leader. Two companies of minute-men were enlisted 
in the town agreeably to the recommendation of the First Provincial Congress, in 
its resolve of October 26, 1774, at Concord. The alarm of April 19 was quickly 
met by the response of these companies, under Captains Henry Farwell and Asa 
Lawrence.

      The alarm of the previous day, already, explained in this series, had 
started Captain Nathan[1] Corey and other Groton men to Concord in advance of 
the companies, and hence given Groton some representatives at Old North Bridge. 
Two companies



[1] Not Aaron.

Page 5

of militia followed the minute-men on the 19th, and all gathered at Cambridge 
before that April day had closed. There is sufficient reason for believing that 
General Artemas Ward found the Groton men to be faithful soldiers. He had a 
special interest in the old families of that town. His wife, Sarah Trowbridge, 
to whom he was married in 1750, was daughter of Rev. Caleb and Hannah (Walter) 
Trowbridge of Groton. When the immortal scroll of June 17 was made up, it 
appeared that Groton had suffered great loss. Among the dead was Sergeant 
Benjamin Prescott, a nephew of Colonel William Prescott.

      The following names appear on the bronze tablets at Charlestown: --


PRESCOTT'S REGIMENT.

Parker's company.-- Peter Fisk, David Kemp.
Lawrence's company. -- James Dodge, Stephen Foster, Abraham Blood, Benjamin 
Wood,[1] Simon Hobart, Robert Parker.
Farwell's company. -- Jonathan Jenkins.
Moors's conpany. -- Sergeant Benjamin Prescott.
Corey's company. -- Chambers Corey.

      Although the Colonel Prescott homestead was lost to Groton through the 
dismembership of the town, the name has been closely identified with it. Various 
members of the family are notable in its annals.


[1] See Pepperell Death-roll. Chapter IV. of this volume. 

Page 6

      The first to appear in the town was Jonas, son of John the immigrant, who 
came to this country about 1640, and settled at Lancaster, where often, in a 
coat of mailed armor, he appeared to the troublesome Indians, impressing them as 
of supernatural origin. Jonas, at Groton, was a captain of the yeomanry militia 
at the time when the savages were committing their depredations. Benjamin, a son 
of Jonas, was born in 1696, and was a man of military and civil distinction. He 
obtained lands on the border-line of the town. A monument standing at an angle 
of the road nearing the centre of Groton tells the following "Colonel William 
Prescott Commander of the American forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill, was born 
on the 20th of February, 1726, in a house which stood near this spot." Brothers 
of Colonel William were Dr. Oliver and Judge James Prescott, each of whom 
honored the town of his nativity. 

One of the selectmen in 1775 was Oliver Prescott; Honorable James Prescott was a 
member of the first, second, and third Provincial Congress, and of the Board of 
War in 1776. Oliver Prescott was a member of the Council in 1777. The family was 
also represented in other important positions during the war; and Honorable 
James Prescott was the representative from the town in the first General Court 
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which assembled on Wednesday, October 25, 
1780. It thus appears

Page 7

that the heroism of John the immigrant was perpetuated in his descendants, who 
proved themselves to be true patriots and good citizens in the time of great 
trial.
Some interesting facts are here added in regard to the personality of Colonel 
William Prescott, given by his grandniece, Mrs. Sarah (Chaplin) Rockwood, to Dr. 
Samuel A. Green. Her father was Rev. Daniel Chaplin, D.D., of Groton; and her 
mother was Susanna, eldest daughter of Judge James Prescott, brother of the 
colonel. She was ten years of age when the hero of Bunker Hill died.

Page 8

      "She describes him as a tall, well-proportioned man, with blue eyes and a 
large head. He usually wore a skull-cap; and he parted his hair in the middle, 
wearing it long behind, braided loosely, and tied in a club with a black ribbon, 
as was common in those days. He had a pleasant countenance, and was remarkably 
social and full of fun and anecdotes. He was dignified in his manner, and had 
the bearing of a soldier.[1]

      Authorities agree on the value of early impressions; and we can but credit 
this description of the personal appearance of Colonel Prescott, for it was 
indelibly stamped upon the youthful Sarah Chaplin when sitting upon the knee of 
the old soldier. She attained the remarkable age of one hundred and four years.

      The Champney house is one of the few dwellings remaining to remind us of 
the patriots of Groton who left their homes in exchange for the life of the camp 
and field of battle.


[1] This fact in regard to the dress of the hair was not brought to the notice 
of the sculptor, William W. Story, the modeller of the Prescott statue at Bunker 
Hill. 
Page 9

      In the old burying-ground of Groton is a stone on which is the following 
record of a patriot who was born at Waltham:


"Man leaves his little hour and Falls too oft unheeded down."

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF
CAPT. ABRAM CHILD.
WALTHAM 1741-1834.      
93 YEARS.

He entered the army in the French War at the age of 17 years. Was
with Gen. Amherst at the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown
Point in 1759. He was a Lieut. among the
minute men and aided in the Concord fight and the Battle
of Bunker Hill in 1775. Joining Washington he was one of the Im-
mortal Band which crossed the Delaware Dec. 25, 1776, and turned
the tide of war in the victories of Trenton and Princeton. De-
tached to the North he fought in the two battles of Still-
water, and witnessed the surrender of Burgoyne in 1777.
Rejoining Washington he bore equally the frosts
of Valley Forge and the Heats of Monmouth.

in 1778. Detailed with Gen. Wayne, he crowned his
military career by heading the Infantry as oldest Capt. in the
gallant capture of Stoney Point in 1779 where he received the only 
wound that marked his eventful services.

The blood of our fathers, let it not have been shed in vain. 
WEBSTER. 

Page 10

CHAPTER II
"Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and 
their children another generation." -- JOEL i. 3.

ORIGIN OF SHIRLEY AND PEPPERELL.-- PEPPERELL'S RELIEF FOR BOSTON IN I760. --
COLONEL WILLIAM PRESCOTT.--REVEREND JOSEPH EMERSON. -- TOWN AND CHURCH RECORDS. 
-- PATRIOTIC ACTS IN PEPPERELL

      AMONG the towns once included, either whole or in part, in Groton 
Plantation, are Pepperell and Shirley. Besides being offshoots from the mother 
township, they had other early and later interests in common which make it 
almost impossible to separate them entirely. It was a custom of the early days 
of the Colony for a town to become such by degrees. In many cases the remote 
settlers set up the plea of the great distance to be travelled to get to the 
meeting-house, and a precinct would be established in which better 
ecclesiastical advantages were enjoyed; the next step was, in some instances, 
the formation of a district, which gave added privileges; and then followed the 
right of sending a representative to the General Court, when the fully equipped 
town appeared

Page 11

upon the records.[1] Pepperell passed through each of these preliminary stages, 
but Shirley was at first recognized as a district and then as a town. As early 
as 1742 "Groton West Parish" appeared in the records; but it was not until 
eleven years later that it was dignified by a name entirely distinct from that 
of Groton, and still later before it was classed as a town. It is difficult to 
tell when the political connection with the mother town was severed; for in the 
exigency of the opening Revolution, Pepperell, as other districts, had its own 
representative. William Prescott was the district's representative in the 
General Court convened at Salem on Friday the seventh day of October, 1774, by 
order of Governor Thomas Gage, and which resulted in the First Provincial 
Congress, that met at Concord on the eleventh. When duties in the field required 
the presence of William Prescott, he was succeeded by Edmund Bancroft, who 
served in the second and third Provincial Congress.

      In 1753 Shirley was incorporated as a district, without having taken the 
course of first building a meeting-house and settling a minister.

      In following the plan of a biographer, I have at first given the 
antecedents of these towns of enviable record in north-west Middlesex, and next 
turn


[1] During the reign of George the Second, there were objections on the part of 
the royal authorities to forming new towns in the New England Colonies, whereby 
more representatives appeared in the local government, hence districts were more 
commonly formed.

Page 12

to the origin of the names assigned them. The notable officials William Shirley 
and William Pepperrell are closely allied in our Provincial history; and as 
portions of Groton Plantation became districts during the popularity of these 
men, it was natural that their names should be perpetuated in this manner.

      William Shirley was governor of the Province from August, 1741, to 
September, 1749. He was appointed by the king under the second charter. It was 
during this period that the southwesterly part of Groton became a district, and 
later a fully equipped town; hence, it was given the name of Shirley in honor of 
the governor.

      William Pepperrell of Kittery, Maine, was colonel of a regiment of 
militia, and a merchant of great success and popularity. Being well and 
favorably known in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, he was selected by Governor 
Shirley as commander of the expedition fitted out in 1745 to capture the 
fortress of the French at Louisburg, Cape Breton. The marvellous success of the 
expedition turned public attention to the merchant commander, and no honor was 
too great to be conferred upon him; hence the northern part of Groton, first 
called "Groton West Parish," when becoming a town, was named Pepperrell, in 
honor of the hero of Louisburg.

      The facts that men from these towns were included in the six thousand who 
made up the army

Page 13

in command of Colonel Pepperrell, and that the minister of the latter town was a 
chaplain in the expedition, must have strengthened the desire to name the town 
Pepperrell.[1] It may seem extremely far-fetched to cite the part of these towns 
in the capture of the "Gibraltar of America" as a reason for the remarkable 
record of the later patriots of the locality; but the thirty years which 
intervened between the experiences at Louisburg and Lexington could not have 
effaced the record, and with such a spiritual leader as had the town of 
Pepperell in the Rev. Joseph Emerson the fire of patriotism could not go out. In 
his sermon to his parishioners in the spring of 1758, just before starting under 
command of Captain Thomas Lawrence for the French war, this patriot preacher 
said from his pulpit, "Let it never be said of a Pepperell soldier that he was 
afraid to face his enemies, or that he ever turned his back on them, and 
cowardly deserted the cause of his country."

      The name of Emerson is of itself enough to give the town of Pepperell an 
honored place in the annals of the Colonies; but when combined with that of 
Prescott there is a union of strength which must have exerted, an influence upon 
all subsequent generations of the early heroes. It is claimed that William 
Prescott was one of the


[1] The Pepperrell family repeated the " r." The same form was used in the name 
of the town for many years.

Page 14

town's representatives at Louisburg, and it is certain that he was lieutenant in 
the Provincial troops sent out to remove the French neutrals from Nova Scotia in 
1755.

      While we may deplore this measure of war, we cannot deny the patriotism 
which impelled those who responded to the call. While our emotions are stirred 
by the slightest reference to those Acadian villagers "on the shores of the 
Basin of Minas," who, "at peace with God and the world," were swept from their 
homes, we cannot refrain from according honor to our townsmen who were led in 
the expedition, and also rejoice that in some measure our ancestors atoned for 
the wrong by sharing their meagre comforts with the Evangelines who were left at 
their doors.

      The early settlers of Pepperell were familiar with the hardships of 
frontier life. Rev. Joseph Emerson, who became their minister in 1746, was 
accustomed to seeing little companies of his parishioners start off to face the 
Indians and their French allies; fifteen of his people are recorded as having 
perished in that service between the years 1748 and 1756. Under the judicious 
leadership of their minister their hearts were softened by sorrow and sacrifice, 
and they were ready to share their hard earnings with others in distress; a 
notable instance being shown at the time of Boston's great fire of March 20, 
1760, when it was estimated that the loss was one hundred thousand

Page 15

pounds sterling. Rev. Mr. Emerson made the following record in the church book: 
"The governor Pownall sent Briefs thro' the Province for a general contribution, 
accordingly we had one here and collected £64 12s. 0d. Old Tenor, and when paid 
the following Receit was given.

BOSTON, 16th April, 1760. 

Received of ye Church in Pepperell, whereof the Rev. Mr. Joseph Emerson is 
Pastor, the sum of sixty four pounds, twelve shillings old tenor for ye 
sufferers in the late fire. JOHN PHILLIPS." 


      With the many publications which treat of the Revolutionary period at our 
command, there is no way in which the patriot of to-day may become so fully 
impressed by the moral heroism with which each town met its share of suffering 
and made its sacrifice, as by carefully studying the worn yellow leaves of the 
records of the town meetings. There each successive step appears in all its 
Significance, recorded in the cramped handwriting of the clerk, in many cases 
spelled without rule, but unmistakable in meaning. The student of these files 
cannot fail to read much between the lines, and detect in each blot and period a 
spirit of determination that knew no compromise.

      The town of Pepperell has an old church record in addition to that of the 
town clerk, which gives added testimony to its patriotism. Each resolution 
adopted by this town, if not in the language of the Committee of Correspondence 
of Boston,

Page 16

bears the impress of the mind of the patriot preacher, whom they gladly 
followed, and whose work for his people and his country was sealed by his death 
in October, 1775.

      In viewing early pastoral acts from the present standpoint, when the 
preaching of politics from the pulpit is at the risk of an immediate change in 
spiritual leaders, it is difficult to understand much that took place in 
Pepperell and other towns during the contention between Parliament and the 
Provinces. But when fully realizing the exact position of the parson of that 
time, which has been set forth in chapter vii. of "Beneath Old Roof Trees," 

one may more easily comprehend the situation. Rev. Mr. Emerson, the zealous 
apostle of liberty in this town, found a faithful co-worker in William Prescott, 
one of his parishioners, who, besides having inherited peculiar talents for 
leadership, had the advantage of the experience of mature life. They both had 
been schooled in military service, and had eyes and ears to detect the first 
indications of the trouble with the mother country. But while this preacher was 
bold in his denunciations of the infringements on their rights, he was equally 
positive in declaring from his pulpit, "We have a king who is well worthy of our 
affection and obedience." They saw in the Stamp Act an occasion for positive 
declaration. They had suffered personally in the king's service against the 
French, and had seen the stalwart

Page 17

young men of the town go out from their midst to return no more. They had also 
shared in the unusual drain upon the town's treasury, and they most naturally 
deprecated any act whereby the Colonies were to be burdened with greater taxes 
to meet the king's indebtedness. Theirs was the voice of the town when, in 
October, 1765, they instructed their representative in the General Court, 
closing thus:--

      As the trade of this province is greatly obstructed, and the people labor 
under an almost insupportable debt, we expect you will use your utmost 
endeavors, in the General Assembly, that the monies of the province drawn from 
the individuals, may not be applied to any other uses, under any pretence 
whatever, than what is evidently intended in the act for supplying the province 
treasury."

      The repeal of the Stamp Act was an occasion for one of Rev. Mr. Emerson's 
patriotic sermons, which was printed; and copies of it are now treasured in the 
homes of the descendants of those who most heartily indorsed its sentiments.[1] 
Mr. Emerson called the repeal one of the great deliverances in English history. 
He urged his people to cultivate in their minds and in the minds of their 
children an affection for their mother country. He said, "Let us have reverence 
for and be duly subject to lawful authority. Government is drawn from God, 
though the practical form of it is left to the prudence and discretion of men."


[1] Printed and sold by Edes and Gill in Queen Street, MDCCLXVI.

Page 18

      Pastor and people were not slow in learning that it was policy rather than 
justice that actuated the British ministry in repealing the Stamp Act; and early 
in the year 1773 they chose a committee of nine "to consider what is proper for 
this district to do, at this alarming time, respecting the encroachments that 
have been made upon our civil privilege." The result of the town's committee, 
communicated to the town of Boston through its Committee of Correspondence, was 
most encouraging, coming as it did from the remote border of the Province. They 
at first acknowledged the receipt of the letter and pamphlet sent to them in 
common with other towns, by the authorities at Boston, in which particular and 
minute accounts were given of the encroachments made upon their charter 
privileges. The Boston patriots were fully assured of the alarm of their 
sympathizers at a distance. They say:--

      "We of this place are unanimous; no less than one hundred have signed a 
request to the selectmen to call a meeting, though we count but one hundred and 
sixty families; and when met the fullest meeting that was ever known on any 
occasion, and not a dissenting vote or voice. We feel for ourselves, we feel for 
our posterity, we feel for our brethren through the continent. We tremble at the 
thought of slavery, either civil or ecclesiastical, and are fully sensible of 
the near connection there is between civil and religious liberty. If we lose the 
former the latter will not remain; our resentment (not to say our indigdation) 
rises against them, let them be in whatsoever relation they may, who would dare 
invade our natural or constitutional rights."

Page 19

      The voters gave their representative positive advice, and at the same time 
voted to add two casks of powder with lead "answerable to their stock of 
ammunition."
      In showing the successive steps in the town of Pepperell which led up to 
the 19th of April, 1775, there is left no room for doubt that the acts of the 
Boston leaders were as leaven to all the communities affected by the king's 
arbitrary measures. So thoroughly aroused were the people at this northern 
border of the Province that more than a year before the Declaration of 
Independence was formulated, they concluded a series of resolutions thus:--

      We therefore instruct you, sir, that you, in our name and behalf, signify 
to the Great and General Cout, of which you are a member, that our opinion is, 
that independence is the only alternative for the safety of this oppressed land, 
and that if the honorable Congress should think it best for the safety of the 
United Colonies to declare them independent of Great Britain, we acquiesce heart 
and hand, and are determined, at the risk of life and treasure, to support the 
measure."
[Signature of Wm. Prescott] 


      The appeal of the Boston Committee of Correspondence met with a prompt 
response from the patriots of Pepperell. Their letter, signed by William 
Prescott, was the third in order of date. It

Page 20

accompanied forty bushels of grain and promises of further assistance with 
provisions and with men, and invoked them "to stand firm in the common cause."
      Something was yet needed to prove to all generations that these people 
were not as " sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal." The Lexington alarm reached 
these remote homes, and the proof was readily furnished. The patriots of that 
day are largely represented by name and blood in the residents of to-day, but 
their homes have almost all disappeared, or been greatly changed; yet there is 
one to which I most gladly invite my readers.

[Photo of Monument on Site of the Meeting-House in the Mother Town] 

Page 21

CHAPTER III
We have no title-deeds to house or lands;
Owners and occupants of earlier dates,
From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands,
And hold in mortmain still their old estates. 
EMERSON. 


THE PRESCOTT FAMILY – PRESCOTT HOMESTEAD. – ECHOES FROM ITS WOOD-CAPPED HILLS. – 
SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. – CONNECTION WITH GOVERNOR ROGER WOLCOTT. – ALLIANCE 
WITH THE LINZEE FAMILY. – CHARACTERISTICS OF COLONEL WILLIAM PRESCOTT

      THE Prescott family home is on the northern border of the town of 
Pepperell, and on the rising around that soon merges into the hills of the 
Granite State. Its present territory of two hundred acres was included in the 
grant of 1655 to Mr. Dean Winthrop and others. Benjamin Prescott was the first 
of the family to secure a title to this remote section. He was doubtless 
impelled by that spirit of adventure which actuated many of the early settlers 
of New England to push out where land was abundant, having been impressed that 
such property was the basis of wealth and influence in the mother Country. 
Benjamin Pres-

Page 22

cott began early to exert an influence in the West Parish; and his son William, 
who had nearly attained his majority when the Pepperell home was established, 
found there ample opportunity for the development of his powers. No better 
combination of blood, brain, and muscle could be found than that which made up 
the young man William Prescott, who, well matched with Abigail Hale, his wife of 
Puritan stock, developed this home on the frontier, and continued the family 
possession. This young farmer was a power in the struggling town, whose records 
show that he was among the first to protest against injustice.
      We can imagine the influence of his words upon the distressed people at 
the blockaded port of Boston, voicing as they did the sentiment of the northern 
border of the Province at the time when the mandamus councillors took their oath 
of office.

      "Be not dismayed nor disheartened in this day of great trials. We heartily 
sympathize with you, and are always ready to do all in our power for your 
support, comfort, and relief; knowing that Providence has placed you where you 
must stand the first shock. We consider that we are all emerged in one bottom, 
and must sink or swim together. We think if we submit to those regulations, all 
is gone. Our forefathers passed the vast Atlantic, spent their blood and 
treasure, that they might enjoy their liberties, both civil and religious, and 
transmit them to their posterity. Their children have waded through seas of 
difficulty, to leave us free and happy in the enjoyment of English privileges. 
Now, if we should give them up, can our children rise up and call us

Page 23

blessed? Is not a glorious death in defence of our liberties better than a 
short, infamous life, and our memory to be had in detestation to the latest 
posterity? Let us all be of one heart, and stand fast in the liberty wherewith 
Christ has made us free; and may he of his infinite mercy grant us deliverance 
out of all our troubles."

      In driving over the delightful hills of the town from the village of 
Pepperell to the Prescott home, one can but see in fancy the dignified figure of 
the patriot preacher, as upon his horse he galloped over this route to the same 
homestead to take counsel with his gallant young parishioner and avowed patriot. 
Young Prescott was appointed captain of the militia company soon after his 
return from the expedition to Nova Scotia, and was promoted in 1774 to the 
position of colonel of the regiment of minute-men from Pepperell and adjoining 
towns.
      Although remote from any centre of habitation, a powerful influence was 
exerted from this home during the months of anxiety which preceded open 
hostilities. Colonel Prescott was nearly fifty years of age, and besides 
enjoying the esteem and confidence of his townsmen, was well and favorably known 
in all that locality ; Province line was no barrier to his popularity in both 
civic and military circles. The semiweekly drillings of the Pepperell minute-men 
under Colonel Prescott, and the bold statements from the pulpit by Rev. Joseph 
Emerson, kept the peo-

Page 24

ple in constant expectation; so that when the news of April 19 was received they 
were not long in making final preparations. A mounted messenger reached the town 
in the middle of the forenoon, declaring that the Regulars had come out from 
Boston, and killed eight men at Lexington, and were fighting at Concord. The 
despatch with which Colonel Prescott buckled on his sword, and bade wife and 
only son William, then thirteen years of age, a tender farewell as he galloped 
off the hill, may be known without resorting to imagination; for his habits of 
early years and later experience are in proof of this. His order was for the 
Pepperell company and that at Hollis to march at once to Groton, and there join 
the company of the latter town, while he proceeded directly to Groton. The 
effect of the more immediate contact with Colonel Prescott is seen in the report 
that the company from his town reached Groton before the men there were ready to 
march. The selectmen were then together distributing arms and ammunition to 
their soldiers. Dr. Oliver Prescott, chairman, brother of the Colonel, upon 
hearing the music and seeing the Pepperell company marching to the Common in 
full ranks, said, "This is a disgrace to us!" But if the reader has studied with 
care the first volume of this series, "Beneath Old Roof Trees," he remembers 
that a portion of the Groton company marched during the hours of

[Photo of Prescott Homestead, Pepperell] 
Page 25

the previous night, and consequently represented the town in the fight at Old 
North Bridge.
      Since it is the Prescott homestead that we are now considering, we will 
leave the minute-men, and return to the historic place. Weary with the tumult of 
war, Colonel William Prescott, in the spirit of a Cincinnatus,[1] returned to 
his home, and resumed the peaceful employment of cultivating his paternal acres. 
War did not deter the only son of the colonel from his school course. In the 
autumn of 1776 he left the old hearth-stone to attend school at Byfield, where 
he fitted for Harvard College, from which he graduated, and become the eminent 
jurist, judge William Prescott. While his life was largely spent elsewhere, he 
never lost his interest in the old home. Of the next generation to cherish the 
ancestral homestead came William H. Prescott, the historian. Often weary of city 
life, he packed his books in huge trunks, and took passage in the old stagecoach 
for this family home among the hills, where he found tonic in the pure 
atmosphere, and inspiration from the invisible presence of his grandsire, the 
hero of Bunker Hill. The fifth generation in possession of the well-known estate 
was Mr.


[1] "The officers of the American Army having been taken from the Citizens of 
America possess high veneration for the character of that illustrious Roman, 
Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus, and being resolved to follow his example, by 
returning to their citizenship, they think they may with propriety denominate 
themselves the Society of the Cincinnati."
Page 26

William G. Prescott, the only son of the eminent scholar and historian. It was 
his greeting that assured me of a cordial welcome to the home, as he gave me to 
drink from the well where the sixth generation quaffed from the brimming bucket, 
while a representative of the seventh generation prattled in innocency at our 
feet.[1]
      I would fain share with my reader the courtesy shown me, by Mr. William G. 
Prescott; but since that is beyond my power, I now invite him to the enjoyment 
of a June clay at the old homestead.
      One of the many precious heirlooms with which this house abounds is the 
commission to Colonel Prescott in the army of "The United Colonies," signed by 
John Hancock, making him "colonel of the 7th regiment of foot." It hangs in the 
room made sacred by the life of the one to whom it was given. Another reminder 
of the colonel is a fragment of the flowing gown, or banyan, which made Colonel 
Prescott conspicuous in the redoubt at Bunker Hill on the 17th of June. He threw 
aside his military wrap in the heat of the engagement, and appeared in this 
peculiar garment, which, slashed by many a sword thrust, was long treasured in 
the home after the colonel had passed away. The majestic figure of Colonel 
Prescott in this peculiar dress attracted the eye of General Gage, as by the aid 
of his glass he reviewed the


[1] Child of Hon. Roger Wolcott, now Governor of Massachusetts, and Edith 
Prescott, daughter of William G. Prescott.
Page 27

scenes of that June day. Intent on duty, Colonel Prescott was unmindful of 
danger, scarcely heeding the shots as they came screaming over his head from the 
sloops of war which lay off in the stream. The eye that directed the shots from 
one vessel of the fleet was, strangely enough, destined to be changed from that 
of an enemy of the Provincials to that of a stanch friend; and among the 
attractions of the home, reminding one that truth is stranger than fiction, are 
two cannon-balls, supposed to have been fired from the sloop Falcon to the 
redoubt on Bunker Hill. These are rusty with the age of one hundred and twenty-
one years, but are kept near the picture of the man, Captain Linzee, who it is 
supposed directed their course.
      Captain John Linzee of the royal navy, in the service of the king, was 
bent on the destruction of the American army at Bunker Hill, and later harassing 
the people of the shore towns. But he afterwards became a friend of the 
Republic, and in the days of peace his granddaughter was united in marriage with 
a grandson of Colonel William Prescott (William H., the historian). The romance 
of history is brought out most vividly by these rusty missiles of war, and by 
the strong features of the man who steered their course. What wonder Thackeray 
should make note of this in the opening of the "Virginians."

      "On the library wall of one of the most famous writers of America there 
hang two crossed swords which his relatives

Page 28

wore in the great war for independence. The one sword was gallantly drawn in the 
service of the king, the other was the weapon of a brave and honored republican 
soldier. The possessor of the harmless trophy has earned for himself a name 
alike honored in his ancestors' country and in his own, where genius like his 
has always a peaceful welcome." [Photo of plaque containing the crossed swords] 

THE SWORD
OF
COLONEL WILLIAM PRESCOTT
WORN BY HIM
WHILE IN COMMAND OF THE

PROVINCIAL FORCES
AT THE
BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL
17 JUNE, 1775,
AND
BEQUEATHED TO THE
MASS: HIST: SOCIETY
BY HIS GRANDSON
WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT. THE SWORD
OF
CAPTAIN JOHN LINZEE, R.N.,
WHO COMMANDED THE
BRITISH SLOOP OF WAR FALCON WHILE
ACTING AGAINST THE AMERICANS
DURING THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL.
PRESENTED TO THE
MASS: HIST: SOCIETY
14 APRIL, 1859,
BY HIS GRANDCHILDREN,
THOMAS C. A. LINZEE
AND
MRS. WM. H. PRESCOTT. 


      These crossed swords are treasured in the rooms of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society at Boston, and remind one of the fulfilment of the prophecy, 
"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they 
shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: 
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
more" (Isaiah ii. 4).
Page 29

      Another treasured relic of war is the hilt of the sword used by the first 
Napoleon. The buffet near by in the corner is loaded with the china of the 
united English and American families. The most precious are pieces used by 
Colonel William Prescott in his ancient home. A large share of richly carved 
furniture is in use to-day, as it was when brought across the water for judge 
William Prescott, when setting up housekeeping with his beautiful bride, 
Catherine G. Hickling. On the right of the front hall of the original house is 
the spacious library of to-day, full of the reminders of the historian, whose 
sweet and thoughtful features are represented in a lifelike bust in marble. 
Hundreds of volumes suggest his struggle over his invaluable histories. After 
winding up the staircase with its ancient wainscoting of oak, one enters the 
room where the historian did much of his indefatigable labor. The peculiar 
arrangement for light reminds the visitor of the story of the crust of bread 
thrown by a careless student, which caused the historian to lose the sight of 
one eye forever.
      In all the vivid reminders of the successive generations of the family, 
there is nothing to be seen that more forcibly recalls the hero of Bunker Hill 
than the brass door-knocker, so often manipulated by the old soldiers when 
calling upon the colonel, their leader, and the rude chair, with its wooden seat 
and arms, in which Colonel Prescott

Page 30

was in the habit of sitting when he entertained his friends by the crackling 
fire.
      So free-handed was the colonel that he never refused anything asked by a 
soldier who fought under his command. Hence the colonel left his estate in debt, 
which his son, the judge, cleared, and transmitted, in all its rural beauty, to 
later generations.

"Pleas'd with his guests, the good man learn'd to glow,
And quite forgot their vices in their woe;
Careless their merits or their faults to scan,
His pity gale ere charity began.
Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride,
And even his failings lean'd to virtue's side." 

[Photo of tablet marking the spot where John Shattuck and his son, John were 
killed by Indians] 

CHAPTER IV
Say then, O poet! when sages
Shall anew the tale relate,
Not for a thousand ages
Was a little battle so great;
Yea, write, besides, on your pages,
With an adamantine pen,
Not for a million ages
May such battle be fought again. 
THOMAS W. PARSONS,
Dedication of Tablets at Charlestown. 


REV. CHARLES BABBIDGE GIVES THE GENERAL REPORT OF THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL AS 
HE HEARD IT FROM THE OLD SOLDIERS. – THE PREACHER IN CAMP. – PEPPERELL'S DEAD AT 
BUNKER HILL. – COLONEL PRESCOTT'S GRAVE. – GRAVES OF OTHER HEROES. – LIEUTENANT 
JOSEPH SPAULDING. – THE SWORD OF BUNKER HILL

      I KNOW of no other town in New England having so large part in the opening 
Revolution whose story comes to us to-day in as direct manner as does that of 
Pepperell. Of the more than four-score soldiers of the town who left their homes 
on April 19 and fought at Bunker Hill, a full score were living when Rev. 
Charles Babbidge,

Page 32

who is now pastor emeritus of the first parish church, began his work in that 
town. It was my good fortune to receive from this venerable clergyman the 
reports of the personal experience of the Pepperell soldiers as he gathered them 
from

[Photo of Rev. Charles Babbidge] 

the lips of the veterans when, in his early ministry, he talked with them by the 
wayside, or gave them the consolations of the, gospel in their homes. Rev. 
Charles Babbidge, now a nonagenarian, began his ministry in Pepperell in 1833. 
He is one who has never statedly ministered to

Page 33

any other people than those of his first choice. For more than sixty-three years 
he has been recognized as the pastor of the first parish, although of late not 
in active service.
      In addition to all the ecclesiastical functions of a faithful pastor, Rev. 
Mr. Babbidge has never allowed the fire of patriotism to go out on the altar so 
early kindled in that town by his predecessor, Rev. Joseph Emerson, and kept 
burning through all the years of the town's history. How far this may be 
attributable to the location, and to the score of heroes of Bunker Hill to whom 
he ministered until they joined their comrades, we may not be able to determine. 
When from the standpoint of a nonagenarian this pastor reviewed his early years 
at Pepperell, he expressed himself in the semi-scriptural language, "Did not my 
heart burn within me as I walked and talked with them by the way, and as they 
opened to me the secrets of their lives?" But his patriotism was not sentiment 
alone; for at the commencement of the Civil War he was chaplain of the Sixth 
Regiment, and the first minister in the country to enlist. He thus followed in 
the footsteps of the town's first minister, who is said to have offered up the 
first prayer in camp at Cambridge. Having served through the three months' 
campaign of "the Old Sixth," Rev. Mr. Babbidge was commissioned chaplain of the 
Twenty-sixth Massachusetts Regiment, in which he served three years, when he

Page 34

returned to his people.[1] With this introduction to a modern patriot of 
Pepperell, my reader must be prepared to catch an impulse for good citizenship 
from the story as he received it from survivors of the Revolution:--

      "Having been in camp since we arrived there on the 19th of April, we had 
become restless and anxious for some more active service, and our order to march 
over to Charlestown on the night of June 16 was gladly received. We were always 
ready to follow our neighbor, Colonel Prescott. It was our regiment, with 
detachments from others, that marched from Cambridge Common to Charlestown, and 
took possession of the heights. Our colonel was at the head. He was dressed in a 
simple, loose blue coat and three-cornered hat. Two sergeants carried dark 
lanterns ahead of him; the intrenching-tools were in carts in the rear. We had 
our arms; and most of us had one day's rations in our knapsacks, although some 
did not obey the order and were not so well provided, not realizing what was in 
store for them. There were one or two halts for consultation of the officers; 
but we reached.the hill about midnight, and began work in earnest. It went very 
well until the June sun of the 17th licked up the dew, and we began to be weary. 
We had no sleep, and but little refreshment; yet we could not give up so long as 
our colonel was with us, and cheering us on as he walked leisurely around on the 
top of the redoubt, giving directions, and uttering words of approval, and 
cracking an occasional


[1] "There is one consideration that may afford you consolation: you will never 
again receive a letter from one, who, like myself, played in his childhood in 
and out of the redoubt on Bunker Hill while it still remained precisely as it 
was when Prescott left it, and when Warren moistened it with his blood." – 
Letter from Dr. Babbidge written for, and read on, the centennial of Colonel 
William Prescott's death.

Page 35

joke. He knew that he was detected by the British, but seemed perfectly 
unconcerned. When it was nearly noon on the 17th we were pretty tired and 
sleepy, and our officers urged the colonel to send over to General Ward at 
Cambridge for fresh troops; but the colonel would not hear to it, and said 'The 
men who have raised these works will best defend them; they have had the merit 
of the labor, and should have the honor of victory if attacked.'
      "General Warren came up with his musket in hand a short time before the 
fight began. Our colonel had heard that he had been commissioned major-general 
the day before, and hence offered him the command, to which he replied, 'No; I 
have not received my commission. I have come as a volunteer, and am happy to 
learn service from a soldier of your experience.'
      "We watched the landing of the enemy, and also the cannon-balls as they 
came over our heads. We could see the roofs of the houses over in Boston covered 
with people, watching to see what would be the result of the king's army as they 
landed and marched up the hill. Up the hill they came, firing as they advanced. 
But we kept silent behind our embankment, for we knew we had no ammunition to 
waste. ‘Aim low, boys,' whispered Colonel Prescott ; ' fire at their waistbands, 
and wait till you see the whites of their eyes. Waste no powder.' When the 
redcoats were almost up the hill, their plumes nearly level with its crest, 
bang! bang! went our fifteen hundred muskets at once, and down went scores of 
the brave Britishers, cut down as the scythe cuts the waving grass.
      "We did the best we could; but when our ammunition was gone, there was no 
other way for us but to retreat while the smoke from the burning town enveloped 
us. The hardest part of it all was to leave so many of our neighbors dead and 
wounded in the redoubt. But after all that we had suffered since leaving 
Cambridge, we would gladly have gone back that night with more men and supplies, 
and retaken the

Page 36

heights, or perished there with our townsmen who were dead, and others who, 
missing, we supposed were dead.
      "The grief in these Pepperell homes when the news of the battle reached 
here, we may well imagine. Our people were not altogether unprepared for the sad 
tidings; they had distinctly heard the roar of the cannon. Our faithful pastor 
made his record; and there on the church book the boys' names appear in his 
handwriting, the same as though they had died here peacefully at home."

      The anxiety of Rev. Mr. Emerson for his people in camp was so great that 
he repeatedly made journeys to Cambridge that he might minister to the 
survivors. On one occasion while there he took a severe cold, which terminated 
his useful life. Another hand completed the record; but it is apparent that 
pastor and eight of his people laid down their lives early in the war for 
freedom. The names of the Pepperell men who fell on the 17th of June, as they 
appear on the bronze tablets at Charlestown, are as follows: –-


PRESCOTT'S REGIMENT.

      Nutting's company. –- Nathaniel Parker,[1] William Warren, Edmund 
Peers,[2] Wainwright Fisk, Ebenezer Laughton, Jeremiah Shattuck.
      Asa Lawrence company. – Lieut. Joseph Spaulding, (unassigned) Amasa 
Fisk.[3]


      [1] Nathaniel Parker was junior. His father, Nathaniel senior, aged sixty-
eight years, died on the same day of fever at his home in Pepperell.
      [2] Edmund Peers should be Pierce.
      [3] Amasa Fisk must have died later from wounds or disease in a


[** Transcriber's Note – Footnote continued on the bottom of page 37.]

[Photo of "Fac-simile of Page, Pepperell Church Records" (Deaths)] 

Page 37

      NOTE. – The church record of deaths of Pepperell men at Bunker Hill seems 
to be unquestionable as authority, although tardy in its appearance. It must 
have been made soon after the 17th of June, as it is in the handwriting of Rev. 
Joseph Emerson, whose own death occurred in about four months after the loss of 
his parishioners. Its acceptance is an admission of inaccuracy on the memorial 
tablets at Charlestown. Benjamin Wood, credited to Groton, belonged to 
Pepperell.

      The name of the patriot preacher of Pepperell, who died from disease 
contracted in the service, is seen on the rude slab erected by the town, on 
which is read: –-


Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children
ERECTED BY THE TOWN OF PEPPERELL
TO THE MEMORY OF
THE REV. JOSEPH EMERSON
FIRST PASTOR OF THE CHURCH HERE,
who deceased Oct. 29th 1775 in the 52d year of his age,
and the 29th of his ministry.

      Steadfast in the Faith once delivered to the Saints. Fixed and laborious 
in the cause of Christ & precious souls. Exemplary in visiting & sympathizing 
with his flock – Diligent in improving his Talents – A kind Husband and a tender 
Parent – a faithful Reprover – a constant Friend – & a true Patriot.


Having ceased from his labors his, works follow him.

      Colonel Prescott remained in service until the end of the year 1776; and 
in the autumn of the following year he went as a volunteer with some of his 
former officers and townsmen to aid in the capture of General Burgoyne, which 
was his last



[** Footnote continued from previous page]

prison, and, if belonging to Pepperell, was not recorded by his pastor, who may 
have died before him.

Page 38

military service. After the enjoyment of peace and his country's independence at 
the old homestead, he died in 1795, at the age of sixty-nine years. In the old 
burying-ground at Pepperell, where rests the patriot preacher, and within the 
shadow of the old church, stands a plain tomb, built of four upright granite 
slabs, forming a square enclosure about three feet high, upon the

[Photo - GRAVE OF REV. JOSEPH EMERSON, PEPPERELL]

top of which rest two horizorital tablets of slatestone, bearing the following 
inscriptions


THIS STONE IS ERECTED
IN MEMORY OF
COLL. WILLIAM PRESCOTT
OF PEPPERELL,
who died on the 13th day of October, Anno Domini 1795,
in the seventieth year of his age.

[Photo - "Grave of Colonel William Prescott, Pepperell]

Page 39

IN MEMORY OF
MRS. ABIGAIL PRESCOTT,WIDOW OF THE LATE
COL. WILLIAM PRESCOTT,
Who died Oct. 19, A.D. 1821, AE. 89.

      The grave of Colonel Prescott is surrounded by those of his neighbors and 
friends. The flags floating from the bronze markers of the S. A. R. remind the 
visitor that, as in life, so in death the gallant colonel is in the midst of his 
soldiers.


CAPT. EDMUND BANCROFT,
DIED OCT. 23, 1805, AE. 79.

In common with his neighbors, love of country was his ruling passion. He was 
ever ready to offer up his own life, and the lives of his sons, a sacrifice on 
the altar of liberty during the darkest period of the Revolution.


ERECTED IN MEMORY OF
GEN. HENRY WOODS,
Who died March 5th, 1804,
Aged 70 years.

He served his country in her contest for the obtainment of freedom and 
independence, and has since sustained with honor several important offices, both 
civil and military. He was no less endeared to his family and connections by his 
disposition to disseminate knowledge, promote the social virtues, than to the 
community by his public spirit and charity.


THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED IN MEMORY OF
MR. BENJAMIN CHAMBERLIN,
Who departed this life in the Continental army at Valley Forge,
In the year 1778, in ye 17th year of his age.
He was the son of Mr. Phineas Chamberlin, and Mrs. Lydia, his wife.

Page 40

CAPTAIN JOHN NUTTING,
DROWNED MAY 25, 1816, AGED 85.
(He passed through the Battle of Bunker Hill in command of a company.)

THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED TO YE MEMORY OF
MESSRS. DANIEL AND JOEL HOBART,
SONS OF MR. NEFB. HOBART AND MRS. RACHEL, HIS WIFE.
Daniel fell in the Battle of White Plains Oct. 28, 1776, aged 28 yrs.
Joel was drowned at ye Eastward Oct. 9, 1785, aged 20 yrs.
Erected by the brethren.

WILLIAM KENDALL,
Died 1819, aged 69.

THOMAS LAWRENCE,
Died 1833, ae. 77.

CAPT. NATHANIEL SARTELL,
Died Sept. 1847, ae. 87.

MAJOR THOMAS LAWRENCE,
Died July 27, 1822, ae. 65.

IN MEMORY OF
LIEUT. JOS: SPAULDING,
Who was slain in the memorable Battle on Bunker Hill,
On the 17th of June, 1775, in ye 37th year of his age.

On the same stone is read:–-

HERE LIES THE BODY OF
MRS. PHEBE SPAULDING,
WIFE OF LIEUT. JOS. SPAULDING,
Who departed this life January 4th, 1775, in ye 38th year of her age.

      NOTE. –- On the top, in the face of this moss-covered stone, is rudely 
carved the representation of a sword. To the present generation this has lost 
its significance, but meant much to the family who erected this memorial, as is 
seen in the following family narrative.

Page 41

      "Fight on, brave boys, they fall like pigeons!" were the last words of 
Joseph Spaulding, First Lieutenant of Captain Asa Lawrence's company in the 
Battle of Bunker Hill. When this brave son of Pepperell yielded up his life, the 
Provincials expected to win the day. They had full confidence in their leader, 
Colonel William Prescott, and believed that with him they were sure to come off 
victorious; in fact, they were ready to die for him if need be. Tradition says 
that Lieutenant Spaulding, early in the battle of the 17th of June, voluntarily 
took a position of danger in place of Colonel Prescott. In order to fully 
estimate the patriotism of the yeomen soldiers of the opening Revolution, one 
needs to know something of the sacrifice made in order to leave their homes to 
enter the service of their country. With the opening of the year 1775, 
Lieutenant Joseph Spaulding had seen the grave close over the lifeless form of 
his beloved wife, leaving him with the care of a young son and daughter. It was 
when his hands and heart were full that the Lexington alarm was sounded through 
the town, and Lieutenant Spaulding was quick to respond. If he had retired from 
service after the experiences of April 19, no one would have thought of 
censuring him; but the brave young man only returned to make provision for his 
children, and then rejoined his comrades in camp at Cambridge, where he was 
found when orders came to march over to Charlestown with
Page 42

intrenching-tools, etc., on the night of the 16th of June. Through the busy 
hours of that night, and on the following morning, his thoughts must have been 
divided between the motherless children at home in Pepperell, and the movements 
of the British army in and around Boston. But regardless of the natural 
yearnings for the welfare of his children, Lieutenant Joseph Spaulding manfully 
faced the enemy; and when he fell, it was with a word of encouragement upon his 
lips. "They fall like pigeons!" No words could have been more natural, or 
suggestive of the spring and fall game of those towns, and of the manner of 
capturing the great flocks of wild pigeons that made their semi-annual visits to 
the towns in Middlesex County. These were the last words uttered by Lieutenant 
Spaulding. They were meaningless when first reported to the orphans at 
Pepperell; but as they advanced in years their full significance became 
apparent, and they have been transmitted from generation to generation with that 
spirit of patriotism which prompted their utterance in the hour of death in the 
redoubt on Bunker Hill. In addition to the message, there was brought to the 
home the sword taken from the dead soldier. This has been equally precious, and 
is now treasured as the Sword of Bunker Hill by a great-grandson, Edgar Oliver 
Spaulding, at Plymouth, N.H.
      Says the owner: "I am a son of Oliver Spaulding and Sarah Ann Hawkins of 
Rumney, N.H.

Page 43

My father was a son of Oliver Spaulding and Sarah Greenough, and grandson of 
Lieutenant Joseph Spaulding."
      Says the proud owner of the sword, "My grandfather left Pepperell about 
the year 1787. Being

[Photo - "LIEUTENANT JOSEPH SPAULDING'S COMMISSION"]

an orphan and so early removed from the town where his parents were best known, 
he did not have the record of family joys and sorrows, and could tell but little 
save the simple story, 'My mother died a few months before my father was killed 
at Bunker Hill, after which my sister and myself lived for a time at 
grandsir's."' This story

Page 44

by the great-grandson of the hero of Bunker Hill is strengthened by the silent 
testimony of the stone at the grave of the wife of Lieutenant Joseph Spaulding. 
This rude memorial was erected by a provision made for that purpose in the last 
will of William Spaulding of Pepperell, father of the hero. The will, admitted 
to probate Sept. 29, 1770, directs that gravestones shall be put up to the 
memory of his deceased wife, and to that of his son Joseph and wife. In addition 
to this, there appears in the old church record of deaths, in the handwriting of 
the patriot preacher, Rev. Joseph Emerson, that which time has not effaced. The 
first entry of the year 1775 is the death of the wife of Joseph Spaulding, AE 
38, – nervous fever. The eleventh entry is Joseph Spaulding, AE 37, – killed in 
ye battle at Charlestown. Being the oldest of the eight Pepperell men who 
perished at Bunker Hill, Lieutenant Spaulding's name is placed at the head of 
the list of patriot dead.

[Photo "THE SWORD OF BUNKER HILL"]

Page 45

      The Spaulding sword, like many of the weapons carried by the minute-men on 
the 19th of April and 17th of June, dated back to the Colonial wars. It was 
owned by Major Rogers, a British officer in the French war. The owner 
accidentally dropped it into a lake, from whence it was recovered by Lieutenant 
Spaulding, who voluntarily dived for it, and was successful in bringing it from 
the sandy bottom. But upon offering it to its owner, he was rewarded for his 
daring feat by the gift of the weapon. The young man carried it home to 
Pepperell as a trophy of the French war, naturally took it with him when next 
called to service, and used it as faithfully against the king as it had ever 
been used in the service of his Majesty in the hand of Major Rogers.

"The God of Freedom blessed the Sword of Bunker Hill." 
WALLACE 

CHAPTER V
      They helped to light the torch of liberty's fires. A man who makes a 
sacrifice for his fatherland, be he never so lowly, his name should be forever 
written in the history of the nation. – HON. JOHN R. MURPHY, June 17, 1889.

REV. CHARLES BABBIDGE'S EXPERIENCE WITH OLD SOLDIERS OF THE. REVOLUTION. – 
THOMAS PAINE'S "COMMON SENSE." – NO GOVERNMENT HOMES FOR VETERANS OF THE WAR. – 
MILITARY SERVICE OF HARVARD COLLEGE. – STORY OF EDMUND BANCROFT. – BURGOYNE'S 
OFFICERS AND THEIR DOGS. – STORY OF EDMUND BLOOD

      BESIDES the general narrative, the young pastor gathered much in the way 
of incidents from the older members of his parish, who, as they neared the 
threshold of eternity, seemed to live over again the experiences of their early 
years, particularly those of the war. Says Mr. Babbidge, "I sat by the bedside 
of an old soldier, one of my parishioners, about to depart this life. His 
thoughts, dwelling upon the future, led him to desire to discuss the works of 
Thomas Paine. There had been placed in his hand, while in camp, a pamphlet 
entitled "Common-Sense," written in a

Page 47

popular style by Paine. In this he advocated the cause of the American Colonies 
against the mother country. The success and influence of the publication were 
extraordinary; and it won the author the friendship of Washington, Franklin, and 
other distinguished leaders, as well as the confidence of the soldiers fighting 
for their independence. This Pepperell soldier had treasured the pamphlet, and 
naturally been led to study other works by the same author, and been greatly 
impressed by his infidel opinions, which seemed to be clouding the light of 
revelation as he was nearing his end. I was impressed by this experience with 
the fact that these old veterans had not only scars of body, but of mind, as the 
result of their early service in the war."
      Our country was in no condition to make the liberal provisions for the 
soldiers after the Revolution that it did after the Civil War, and not a few of 
them ended their lives in the almshouse. "This was the case in Pepperell," said 
the clergyman; "and I frequently visited old soldiers at that institution when 
in the discharge of my parochial duties, and there caught anew from the veterans 
the impulse of patriotism. They were old and worn-out men; and no one could look 
upon them, and think what they had sacrificed and endured, and not be drawn to 
them very strongly. There was Moses Blood, 'an Israelite without guile,' and 
Jedediah Jewett, 'Uncle Jeddie,' as he was famil-
Page 48

iarly known, and Mr. Wright, all tenderly cared for in that most excellent home. 
Each had his peculiarities, and was allowed to indulge them. Their sayings are 
frequently quoted in the town to this day. The wit of one of them, Thomas 
Seward, seemed to sharpen with advancing age. Rev. Mr. Bullard, my predecessor, 
called at the almshouse, and there met the veteran. Desiring to know how many 
inmates there were, he said to Mr.,Seward, 'How many here are supported by the 
town?' The reply was, 'Two, sir; myself and you, and being the older I put 
myself first.' This, to the minister, whose support was provided in town-
meeting, in much the same manner as was that of the poor, was so well put that 
the pastor did not fail to report it."
      While the town of Pepperell has never been neglectful of the anniversary 
of April 19, and with the other towns in that locality duly appreciates it, 
their especial day of annual observance has been that of the 17th of June. As 
long as any of the old heroes lived, they were the central figure in the local 
celebration. A military spirit always prevailed in the town; guns were fired in 
all parts on the 17th, a dinner was served, the Prescott Guards were on duty, 
and an oration was always delivered.
      "The military discipline throughout the State," said Mr. Babbidge, "if 
properly conducted, tends to cultivate obedience and good manners, and thus

Page 49

is conducive to proper life. This was true in a large degree throughout the 
Commonwealth as long as the organization was kept up. When I was in Harvard 
College we had one of the finest companies in the State, consisting of the 
students. The State provided our arms, and we drilled for exhibition four times 
each year. Robert C. Winthrop was our captain. While sitting here by my hearth-
stone and looking backward, I can but attribute much of the success of the 
Northern army in the Civil War to the familiarity with arms which dates back to 
those days."
      Among the Pepperell men who served at Bunker Hill was Sergeant Edmund 
Bancroft, who is represented there to-day in blood and name by his grandson, 
Edmund Bancroft. There is no more convincing evidence of the character and 
ability of the yeoman soldiery of 1775 than is found in this town, where one of 
their men, a sergeant, who fought at Bunker Hill, served the town later in the 
second and third Provincial Congresses. The home of the soldier and 
representative to Provincial Congress has disappeared; but on the same acres is 
the home of his grandson, Edmund of to-day. This man repeats the familiar 
narrative as he received it, a fireside tale, confirming that of many others; 
but he naturally introduces that later experience of the war in which the town 
had a most interesting share, the surrender of Burgoyne. Colonel Prescott, with 
other men of

Page 50

the town, were in that service when the Northern army surrendered.[1]
      After the surrendered army arrived at Cambridge, several of Burgoyne's 
officers were sent out to Pepperell on parole. Two of them were boarded in the 
Bancroft family, and others were quartered in the neighborhood. This provision 
was doubtless made through the influence of Mr. Bancroft. Says the present 
Edmund, "My father, who was Edmund second, was a boy in the family, and much in 
company with these prisoners. His recollection of the guests, as they went about 
wearing their side-arms, was very vivid; and he frequently furnished the 
evening's entertainment for us children, as we sat about the open fire, by 
telling the stories of those disappointed men who had been obliged to surrender. 
They provided their own support and had attendants, as was frequently the case 
with the British and German officers when in this country. These had dogs with 
them, called by the names of Barstow and Bisbee. Our boy nature was greatly 
aroused by the incidents in which these dogs played a part." It is claimed that 
these officers were permitted to meet at a certain place once a week for 
friendly conference, a monument having been erected to commemorate the 
tradition. The story by Mr. Bancroft, of quartering the officers in the remote 
towns, is strengthened by the history of the times; and Longfellow,


[1] For narrative see subsequent chapter.

Page 51

gives us a glimpse of their dogs in "The Open Window," –-


"The large Newfoundland house-dog was standing by the door."

      Among the many family mementoes of the Bancroft home proudly shown by the 
Edmund of today is the powder-horn carried by his grandfather in the fight. It 
is elaborately carved, and bears the initials "E. B.," with dates, etc. As 
evidence of an inheritance of the family military spirit on the part of the one 
who now bears the name, appears t!he record of service of Edmund the third as 
major of a regiment of militia in which were the Lowell City Guards, when 
Benjamin F. Butler was a lieutenant, and learned military tactics of this 
officer.
      Neither the deaths at Bunker Hill, nor the loss of their patriotic 
minister in the cause of freedom, deterred the men of the town from responding 
to the successive calls for service and money. At first it was necessary that a 
man should be of full height, of age, and of good health, to "pass muster;" but 
there came a time when it was not so easy to keep the depleted ranks of the 
Continental army full, and men were accepted although not recorded as "liable to 
do military duty." Boys were admitted who had prematurely reached the stature of 
manhood, although they had not attained the age of sixteen years. Edmund Blood 
of Pepperell was found in the service when yet in his

Page 52

teens. He was but eleven years of age when the Lexington alarm called the people 
of Pepperell to action; but fired with the spirit so generally pervading the 
town, he anxiously waited the time when he, too, could enter the service, and 
seized the first opportunity, which was the call of June, 1780. He is recorded 
as of light complexion, and "5 ft., 7 in." in stature. His service was at North 
River, New York. Having served out his time, he returned to his home in penury, 
– the condition to which a large share of the soldiers were reduced. In many 
instances they were discharged hundreds of miles from their homes, with no 
provision for the journey. They counted themselves fortunate if they were not 
forced to make the journey on foot, with not even as much as a remnant of a shoe 
or stocking, thus destitute and weary coming back to the old home to share the 
burden of debt occasioned by the war. A most convincing proof of this general 
condition of discharged soldiers is found in the family home of Edmund Blood at 
Pepperell. A son of the young soldier, bearing his father's name and culivating 
his paternal acres, has a discharge paper, – his father's passport from 
Fishkill, N.Y., to Pepperell, Mass.
      Mr. Blood of to-day is but sixty years of age, yet is one of the few 
living children of a soldier of the Revolution who has had the tale of personal 
experience from his father's lips.

Page 53

      "I marched July 4, 1780, arrived at Springfield July 8, and went on to New 
York. I was in the Eighth Division, under Ebenezer Kent, and chiefly occupied in 
doing guard duty. I frequently saw Washington, and early learned to admire his 
manly form, open, frank countenance, and uniform courtesy to all, regardless of 
rank. When we were discharged, Dec. 5, 1780, each received a written certificate 
bearing the signature of the Colonel. This was proof that we were not deserters, 
and also a recommendation to the charity of the farmers, whose aid we sorely 
needed. We had no money of any sort, and when we were finally paid off, it was 
in the worthless currency, which had nothing but bulk to commend it."

[Photo - "DISCHARGE OF EDMUND BLOOD"]

      This slip of paper, carried by Edmund Blood in his waistcoat pocket from 
Fishkill to Pepperell, has been kept in the home where the returned soldier put 
it, and is prima facie evidence of what many have accepted as doubtful 
tradition.
      It would seem as though this experience were

Page 54

enough to satisfy the young man's love of adventure, but Edmund Blood soon 
appears with twenty of his townsmen in the privateer service.[1] A statement of 
his final settlement with Captain Manley, showing his share in prizes captured, 
is

[Photo - "THE BLOOD HOMESTEAD"]

one of the family treasures at the Blood homestead, from which comes the 
Pepperell spring water, now being shipped to the, same State in which the young 
soldier did service for his country.


[1] See Story of Priviteering in this series. 

Page 55

CHAPTER VI
When we assumed the soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen.
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

PEPPERELL CONTINUED. – WILLIAMS'S PLACE. – PARKER HOMESTEAD, – THE PLOUGH IN THE 
FURROW. – SHATTUCK FAMILY. – BLOOD FAMILY. – WARNER HOME. – JEWETT'S BRIDGE. – 
"PAUGUS JOHN"

      FURTHUR research in the town of Pepperell brought me to the Williams home, 
where I was met by a busy farmer, Mr. Luther H. Williams, who carries on the 
farm which his father and grandfather conducted before him.
      My grandfather, Isaac Parker," said the owner, "was one of Colonel 
Prescott's regiment. He was in Captain John Nutting's company, responded to the 
Lexington alarm, and was in the battle of June 17th. My grandparents frequently 
rehearsed the experiences of that time, in which this town had a creditable 
part. Grandmother, who lived to be ninety years of age, forgetting for the time 
the age of her grandchildren, would say to me, a restless boy to be amused, 'Do 
you remember the battles of Concord and Hanker Hill? I do; I re-

Page 56

member how the guns roared, for I heard them on the day of the battle at 
Charlestown, when so many of our folks were killed.'"
      My next halt was at the Parker home, where five generations of the name 
have made a record. The last are the children of Charles S. Parker, who now 
conducts the farm. The line running backward

[Photo - "OLD PARKER PLOUGH"]

from the present owner is Allen S. Parker, his father, Thomas, his grandfather, 
and Nathaniel Parker, whose name is found among those who did valiant service on 
Bunker Hill. Says Mr. Parker, "My great-grandfather was ploughing in the field 
when the April alarm was sounded; and he lost no time in preparation, but left 
his team, took his gun, and started. We have kept the old plough here on the 
farm as a reminder of that day, and also to show by way of contrast the progress 
that

Page 57

has been made in farm implements since the Parkers first began to cultivate 
these acres." The plough that belonged to the soldier ancestor was brought from 
its hiding-place; and a picture was taken of it, together with the chain in use 
at the same time.
      A superficial student of the history of Pepperell cannot fail to be 
impressed with the consanguinity of its people from the earliest settlement to 
the present time. Shattuck and Blood have been predominant names. They owned 
large tracts of land on both sides of the Nashua River, suffered greatly from 
the depredations of the Indians, and were well trained in warfare long before 
the Revolution.
      Few persons nowadays can have an accurate conception of the toil, 
suffering, and dangers endured by the early settlers of our frontier New England 
towns. The workmen as they went forth to their labors were not sure of returning 
again in safety to their homes, or, if they did, that they should find their 
loved ones alive. The tomahawk, scalping-knife, and other deadly weapons, were 
in the hands of foes whose approach was often stealthy and when least expected."
      Two of the grandsons of the first William Shattuck settled in that part of 
Groton which became Pepperell. They were allied with the Bloods through 
marriage; and so common were the two names, that it was said a stranger in the 
place was perfectly safe in addressing a citizen as Mr. Shat-

Page 58

tuck, and, if failing of recognition, turning to the name of Blood. "Rev. Mr. 
Emerson is said to have remarked, that 'he sometimes regretted that he did not 
marry a Shattuck, for he should then have been related to the whole town.'" The 
widow of the regretful minister's son Joseph, how-

[Photo - "COLONEL SHATTUCK'S HOME, PEPPERELL"]

ever, made amends for the mistake by marrying Calvin Shattuck in 1811.[1]
      The town furnishes no more favorable vantage-ground for tracing the 
footprints of the patriots


[1] The Bloods were of that family early found in Concord, Mass., to which 
reference has been made in "Beneath Old Roof Trees."

Page 59

in these families than the home of Colonel Samuel Pepperell Shattuck; the 
beautiful house of the present day identifies that of John Shattuck, which was 
one of the garrison houses maintained as late as I750. The owner was called 
"Canada John," because occupying the outpost between civilization in the Colony 
and Canada; and doubtless the name distinguished the garrison-keeper from other 
John Shattucks. A large elm-tree now on the place is said to have sprung up 
through the stone chimney of the old garrison when gone to decay. Colonel 
Shattuck, the present occupant of this old estate, represents the younger branch 
of the original settler's family; while Mrs. Shattuck, who was a Shattuck before 
marriage, represents the older branch. In company with Colonel and Mrs. 
Shattuck, both worthy descendants of a self-sacrificing ancestry who have left 
footprints on the sands of time, I gathered facts of peculiar interest. In 
driving through the centre of the town, Mrs. Shattuck proudly remarked that 
"here is where our grandmothers met and publicly burned their tea, thus 
following the example of the patriots of Charlestown, Providence, R.I., and 
other towns, when the king was trying to force them to submission."
      The relations between the Pepperell minister and his people at the opening 
of the Revolution are brought vividly to mind when calling at the old Shattuck 
home, and listening to the family

Page 60

story from Augustus L. Shattuck: "My grandfather, Jonathan Shattuck, was a 
millwright. In company with his neighbors he started from home in response to 
the Lexington alarm, but was told by his far-seeing minister that his place was 
at home, because much of the supplies for the army depended upon the millers; 
hence grandfather returned, hung up his gun, and went to work in the mill." It 
will be remembered that during the early months of the war the patriot army was 
supplied by contributions from the families. There consequently was but little 
uniformity in the rations. One good woman of Pepperell, familiar with the Bible 
account of David taking ten cheeses into the camp of the Israelites,[1] insisted 
upon sending a cheese of her make to her son in camp at Cambridge, by a 
neighbor, who was returning from the town after a furlough.
      In our drive about the town we came to the crossroads where it is alleged 
a Pepperell woman met her husband on that April morning, and delivered to him 
his coat, with admonitions to make haste, for the Regulars are out. Passing a 
fertile field, I was told that "Jeremiah Shattuck was working here when he heard 
the alarm gun; and he instantly left all, jumped the fence, joined the company, 
went to Cambridge, and gave up his life at Bunker Hill with other Pepperell 
men."
      There are but few houses in the town that have


[1] 1 Sam. xvii 18.

Page 61

not undergone radical changes since the Revolution, but there is one at the 
corner of Pepperell and Townsend which remains much the same as when the roaring 
of the cannon on Bunker Hill was heard at its door. Joseph Warner was the first 
of the family on the place; he took up his abode there in 1777, when his son 
Richard was eight years of age. Both completed their lives at this farm, and 
were followed by the present occupant, who is Walter Warner; he is eighty-six 
years old, and conducts the business of the farm after the plan followed by his 
father. Mr. Warner of to-day recalls with interest the story told him by his 
father, who, as a boy in the centre of Pepperell, watched the gathering of the 
minute-men and their hasty departure in martial manner on April 19, 1775. The 
impression made on the youthful mind by the report that many of the townsmen had 
been killed at Bunker Hill, and more were wounded, was one that remained as long 
as life lasted; and the oft-repeated story has found lodgment in the memory of 
Walter Warner. His natural aversion to anything modern inclines him to derive 
the most complete satisfaction from the recollections of his youth.
      Our further drive about the town brought us to Jewett's Bridge, which 
spans the Nashua River. Colonel Shattuck reminded us of the bravery of his 
patriotic grand-aunt, Mrs. David Wright, who with an associate, Mrs. Job 
Shattuck, posted

Page 62

themselves here, and arrested Captain Leonard Whiting, a noted Tory, the bearer 
of treasonable despatches from Canada to Boston (see "Woman in the Revolution"). 
Passing down the river road, which winds gracefully through the town, following 
the course of the Nashua, we came to the place where an earlier patriot made a 
record that will endure as long as the history of the New England Colonies is 
read. It was at this place that John Chamberlain killed young Paugus, and saved 
his own life. While this story is of days that preceded the Revolution, the 
descendants of the hero were active in the war for independence, and are 
represented to-day in the town, one of my venerable guides, Mrs. Shattuck, being 
a grand-niece of John Chamberlain.

[Photo - "Colonel Samuel P. Shattuck]


STORY OF PAUGUS JOHN.
Condensed from published reports.

      John Chamberlain was one of Captain Lovewell's company in the famous fight 
with the In-

Page 63

dians in 1725 near Fryeburg, Me. In the general engagement John's gun became 
foul, and he went to the edge of the pond to wash it out. While there he 
discovered Paugus, the chief, engaged in the same act. Chamberlain had personal 
acquaintance with Paugus, and they at once resolved to see who should be the 
survivor of the hour. "Now, Paugus," said, Chamberlain, "I'll have you; "and 
with the spirit of an oldhunter sprang to loading his rifle. "Na – na, me have 
you," said Paugus; and he handled his gun with a dexterity that made the bold 
heart of Chamberlain beat quick, and he almost raised his eye to take his last 
look upon the sun. They rammed their cartridges, and each at the same instant 
cast his ramrod upon the sand. "I'll have you, Paugus," repeated Chamberlain, as 
in his desperation he almost resolved to rush upon the savage with the breech of 
his rifle, lest he should receive his bullets before he could load. Paugus 
trembled as he applied his powder-horn to

[Photo - "Mrs. Samuel P. Shattuck"]

Page 64

the priming. Chamberlain heard the grains of his powder rattle lightly upon the 
leaves beneath his feet; he struck his gun-breech violently upon the ground, the 
rifle "primed herself," he aimed, and his bullets whistled through the heart of 
Paugus. As the chief fell, the bullet from the mouth of his ascending rifle 
touched the hair upon the crown of Chamberlain, and passed off without avenging 
the death of its dreadful master.
      The children and successors of Paugus, long after this event, determined 
to avenge the death of the chief. They entertained the opinion that whoever 
should kill Chamberlain would be considered the greatest chief of the nation; 
and they made several attempts to do it, the last one having taken place at the 
Nashua River in Pepperell, where Chamberlain had a mill.
      In the year — , towards the close of one of those fair days in autumn 
which make up the "Indian summer," a number of the villagers of Groton had 
gathered in their one-story tavern to talk over their little politics, as was 
their custom, when they were surprised and startled by the entrance of a young 
Indian among them. An Indian at that time was a rarity in the town. He was tall, 
over six feet, and finely formed, after the fashion of the forest. He had a belt 
of wampum around his waist, and from it hung his tomahawk. A long gun was in his 
hand; and he stood in moccasins, with the grace and dignity of the son of a 
chief.

Page 65

He placed his gun behind the door, and silently took his seat by himself. A 
little before sunset the farmers left the inn, and returned to their homes. An 
old hunter remained with the landlord and the young savage. The hunter eyed the 
Indian with keen attention; his suspicions were aroused at the sight of this 
warrior, armed, so remote from the residence of the nearest tribe, and in a time 
of peace. He was acquainted with the Indians in the old wars; and his suspicions 
were heightened and confirmed when he heard the young chief ask the landlord, in 
a low and indifferent tone, if "one Chamberlain dwelt in the village." The 
landlord pointed out to him the mill where the old man labored, and the cottage 
where he dwelt. The Indian took his gun, and went out. "Some of the blood of old 
Paugus," said the hunter, "and, I'll venture my life, come to avenge the death 
of that chief upon Chamberlain. I'll give the old man warning." He stepped out, 
and made haste to the mill here the old man was still at his toils, and made 
known his suspicions. Chamberlain's cheek turned ashy pale; and he sternly 
replied, "Tell young Paugus I have the gun that slew his father, and he had far 
better return to his forest than molest me in my old age." As he spoke he 
pointed out the long gun as it hung upon prongs of the moose-horn, driven into 
the sawmill plate; and near it was suspended the bullet-pouch and powder-horn of 
the same cam-

Page 66

paign. After giving his warning the hunter retired. Chamberlain took down his 
gun, tried his flint, charged it, took the pouch and horn and flung them upon 
his side, hung up near the saw-gate the old garment he had worn at work through 
the clay, hoisted the gate of the mill and set the wheel in motion, looked 
keenly around him in every direction, and retired to an eminence a few rods 
distant, crowned with a clump of thick bushes, and crouched down to await the 
approach of his mysterious enemy. He was not, however, mysterious to 
Chamberlain. The old man remembered every trait in the Indian character, and 
calculated with great accuracy as to the time and manner of Paugus's advance. 
Just as it was growing too dusky to distinguish a human form, except towards the 
west, the old man descried him creeping cautiously from a bunch of bushes, eight 
or ten rods above the mill, by the torrent, with his cocked rifle before him, 
and his hand upon the lock. The young savage heard the noise of the saw-frame, 
and could discern it in rapid motion, and shrunk back into the thicket. He came 
out again, a little distance from where he entered, and, with the wary motions 
of the ambush, reconnoitred the mill, Chamberlain marking him all the while. 
Young Paugus came out of the bushes the third time, and in a new quarter, and 
was stealthily advancing when something seemed to catch his eye in the form of 
his father's slayer. He stopped short, brought his

Page 67

rifle to his eye, and with quick aim fired. The report rang sharp and low upon 
the still air, as if the gun itself were muffled, or afraid to speak above its 
breath. Young Paugus crept out upon a mill-log that extended over the rapid, and 
stretched himself up to his full height, as if to ascertain, without advancing, 
the success of his shot. The old man could spare him no longer. He saw the well-
remembered form of the old chief, as the young savage stood against the western 
sky, which was still red with the rays of the sunken sun. He levelled the fatal 
gun; it blazed; young Paugus leaped into the air as the ball whistled through 
his heart, and his lifeless body fell far down into the rapid that foamed below 
him, while his vengeful spirit fled and mingled with that sterner one which 
parted long before at Lovewell's Pond. The next morning a bullet-hole through 
the centre of the old garment he had hung at the saw-frame admonished him that 
the aim, as well as the vengeance, of old Paugus had descended to his son.
      Standing near the spot where John Chamberlain killed young Paugus, the 
water of the same stream still coursing by, I could but hear in their gentle 
ripple, –-

"For men may come, and men may go,
But I go on forever."

The story of the narrow escape of John Chamberlain from the avenging hand of 
young Paugus led to the display of some rude articles of domestic

Page 68

use, treasured by my guides in the home as mementoes of the time when their 
ancestor plied the craft of a miller in this town. Together with the small 
articles was brought forward the long chest, or magazine, kept previous to and 
during the Revolution in the upper loft of the meeting-house; and in it were 
stored the town's supply of powder, balls, flints, etc. From it, doubtless, were 
filled the pow-

[Photo - "PEPPERELL MAGAZINE"]

der-horns of the eighty-four men who went from the town with Colonel Prescott on 
April 19, 1775. Surely the ancient magazine has become the property of the right 
man; for Colonel Samuel P. Shattuck is of himself, the embodiment of military 
zeal, having served in the State militia from the rank of private to that of 
colonel in the Sixth Regiment.
      The names of the pioneers of the town were prominent during the Revolution 
and in later wars.

Page 69

There were nine Shattucks in Colonel Prescott's regiment from Pepperell, while 
Bloods and Chamberlains were numerous. These and the other patriots of that town 
are still met in the form of their descendants on the same estates from which 
they made a hasty departure on April 19, 1775. On the lid of the magazine is 
read the following: --

"Joseph Warner
Returned his powder
& Balls.    Deken Blods sun recd 8 – 0 – 2
                Joseph Warner sun    "0 – 2 – 7" 

[Photo - "Edmund H. N. Blood, Pepperell]

CHAPTER VII
FIRST SETTLERS OF SHIRLEY. – LONGLEY AND HAZEN. – LONGLEY HOMESTEAD. – STORY OF 
"WILL THE MILLER." – JOSHUA LONGLEY AND BRIDGET MELVIN. – HON. GEORGE S. 
BOUTWELL AS A SCHOOLMASTER. – HOLDEN FAMILY

We call them savage, O, be just!
Their outraged feelings scan;
A voice comes forth, – 'tis from the dust – 
The savage was a man!
Think ye he loved not? Who stood by,
And in his toils took part?
Woman was there to bless his eye, – 
The savage had a heart!
Think ye he prayed not? When on high
He heard the thunders roll.
What bade him look beyond the sky?
The savage had a Soul! 

      My researches in this part of Old Groton were under the direction of Mr. 
John E. L. Hazen, a lineal descendant of the heroes of the early wars and also 
of the Revolution. Two families prominent in the beginning of the record of 
Shirley were Longley and Hazen. They have continued in prominence and influence 
during the almost century and a half of the town's corporate existence.

Page 71

      The romance of history appears in all its fascination in the story of 
early members of the Longley family. We are fortunate in having the record from 
direct descendants, who cultivate the acres reclaimed by their ancestors when 
the musket was the yeoman's constant companion. William Longley, son of Richard 
of Lynn, located in Groton as

[Photo - "Hazen Home, Shirley"]

early as 1659. His wife Joanna was sister to Deputy Governor Thomas Goff, and 
with her husband shared the hardships of frontier life. The first William lived 
until King Philip had made his last desperate effort to exterminate the white 
settlers. William Longley, the second clerk of the town, suffered more severely 
at the hands of the Indians. It was in 1694 that several of the fam-

Page 72

ily fell victims to the savage hand of the lurking foe.
      "The Indians, having lurked about the premises undiscovered the day 
previous to the slaughter watching a favorable opportunity to effect their 
purpose, early in the morning of the fatal day turned the cattle out of the 
barnyard into a cornfield, and lay in ambush. This trick had the desired effect 
to draw out some of the family, probably Mr. Longley and his sons, unarmed, to 
drive the cattle from the corn. The Indians then rose upon fhem, and killed or 
captured the whole family. It is said, however, that Jemima, a daughter of Mr. 
Longley whom they had tomahawked and scalped, was found alive, sitting upon a 
rock, and that she survived many years, married, and had children." Three who 
escaped the tomahawk were carried away into captivity. Betty died there of 
starvation. Lydia was sold to the French in Canada, and never returned to her 
people. It remained for John to perpetuate the name in this line of the family. 
He was about twelve years of age when his family was massacred, and himself 
carried into captivity by the savages.
      An interesting incident of the life of this boy is told by his 
descendants. Says Melvin W. Longley, "My grandsire, John Longley, after going 
some distance from the old home with his captors, when they came to a halt told 
the Indians that his father's sheep were shut up in the barn, and

Page 73

would starve unless they would permit him to go back and release them, and that 
having done this he would at once return to them. They allowed the boy to go, 
and he kept his promise. My ancestor pursued a wild life with his captors five 
years, when he was ransomed by the government. The romance of his captive state 
was not altogether averse to him, and it required some time to accustom himself 
to life in Groton after his return to his native town. He became a useful 
citizen, being clerk of the town for six years, and was thrice elected as 
representative to the General Court. He was a deacon of the church twentyeight 
years."
      John Longley married Sarah Prescott, an aunt of Col. William Prescott, and 
subsequently married Deborah Houghton.
      It is apparent that the stronger characteristics of this family were 
perpetuated through successive generations. Mr. Longley's three eldest sons 
manifested the greatest bravery and perseverance in overcoming all obstacles and 
establishing homes on a section of the original grant. William, the eldest of 
the three Shirley emigrants, settled in the south part of the town, and together 
with Samuel Hazen, the founder of the other pioneer family, set up the first 
grist-mill in the place. In my tour about Shirley I was early directed to the 
site of the mill, which is still of interest to the descendants of the first 
proprietors. The waters

Page 74

of the Catacunemaug still ripple through the meadows as when the early millers 
utilized the pure stream; and some of the primeval oaks shed their autumnal 
foliage upon the smooth, glassy surface as when William Longley turned out his 
grist a century and a half ago.
      The influence of the hearth-stone narratives of the redeemed captive and 
father upon the Longley-Prescott children, and upon all who heard the familiar 
tales, may best be judged by tracing the acts of the patriots of that town.
      The Indian depredations had ceased before the incorporation of

[Photo - "Shirley Oak"]

Page 75

Shirley; yet the French war, which terminated in the surrender of the Canadas to 
the English government, was still being waged, and the town's first human 
sacrifice in that struggle was Joseph Longley, who was wounded at Fort William 
Henry, and died at Greenbush, N.Y., in 1758. He was first selectman and town 
clerk. That spirit which prompted them to fight for the king impelled them to 
take up arms against him when such a course was needed to sustain the rights and 
liberties of the Colonies. The Stamp Act brought them to action. They held a 
town meeting October 18, 1765, and unanimously instructed their representative, 
who was Abel Lawrence, Esq.: –-

      "Is it a matter of wonder that every thinking person in the Colonies of 
North America is greatly alarmed by the late act of Parliament, called the Stamp 
Act, as it affects the state and liberty of every loyal subject of said 
Colonies? . . . We look upon said act as a burden, grievous, distressing and 
insupportable; not only likely to enslave the present but future generations. 
The great and heavy load lying upon us, occasioned by the late war, with its 
increasing interest, and all other incidental charges at home for the support of 
the government, &c., have sunk us so low already that we are wholly unable to 
bear the duties imposed upon us by the stamp act, which, if it takes place, must 
and will immediately prove our certain ruin. . . . We are far from saying or 
acting anything whereby we might be charged with disloyalty, as subjects to the 
best of kings, or that we have not a proper sense of the British Court, but we 
do think that our charter privileges, and natural rights, as the free-born

Page 76

sons of Britain, are infringed upon by said stamp act. Our advice, instruction 
and direction, therefore, to you is, that upon all proper occasions you use and 
exercise your utmost endeavors, and strongest efforts, in a modest, becoming and 
respectful manner, to prevent said act from taking place in the government; and 
that you with a watchful eye, upon every occasion, diligently guard and protect 
the liberties of your country, to the utmost of your power, against all 
encroachments and innovations. . . .
By order of the Committee, 
JOHN LONGLEY." 



      On January 11, 1773, the people indorsed the act of the Committee of 
Correspondence in Boston, saying, –-

      "We are fully persuaded, if the judges of the Superior Court of this 
Province have their salaries from the king, . . . that our liberties are greatly 
infringed thereby, and that we shall have no better chance for justice, no 
better security of life and property, than the people have in the most despotic 
government under heaven." They further say "that our grateful acknowledgments 
are due to the inhabitants of the town of Boston, for their vigilance upon this 
and many other occasions of like nature.
JOHN LONGLEY, Dis. Clerk." 


      The passage of the act on tea by the British Parliament brought out the 
people of Shirley in a series of resolutions, which bear the impress of decided 
patriots. They stand out upon the town book in bold hand. Art. I. is: --

      "Voted, that we will neither buy, nor sell, nor drink (nor suffer it to be 
drunk in any of our families) any tea that is subject to an American duty."

Page 77

      The name of Obadiah Sawtell, another patriot, appears as district clerk at 
the conclusion of this series of resolutions.
      Thus far sympathy and acquiescence with the Boston patriots had only been 
shown by words, but the Port Bill brought out something more real. They held a 
town meeting on January 18, 1775, and chose a committee to receive donations for 
the poor of Boston and Charlestown. They continued in sympathy with each 
progressive act of the people of the lower towns, and were ready to respond to 
the alarm of April 19, 1775. Every man old enough to bear arms, with the 
exception of seven, responded to the messenger, and made haste towards the scene 
of danger. Eighty names appear upon the roll of the Lexington alarm in command 
of Captain Henry Haskell, and thirty-five appear as serving for eight months 
during the siege under the command of Captain Robert Longley of Bolton. They 
were in the regiments of Colonels Whitcomb and Prescott.
      Some of the personal experiences of the soldiers of this town are told by 
their descendants on the old farms.
      Melvin W. Longley, already quoted, was met at his cheerful farmhouse, 
where were also two sisters of the same generation. Soon after the Revolution 
this house "was built by my greatgrandfather, Joshua Longley, on a part of the 
original grant. My children represent the fifth

Page 78

generation who have gathered about the old hearth-stone, and the sixth who have 
trodden these acres, while three earlier generations have lived in this 
territory when it was included in original Groton." The first of these was 
William, the proprietor of the mill.


THE STORY OF WILL THE MILLER.

      William Longley the father, and William the son, were both millers. In 
order to distinguish the craftsmen, the good farmers of the locality, who 
brought their grist to be ground at the mill on the Catacunemaug, called the 
elder "Old Will the Miller." No disrespect was implied; for the rugged yeomen 
looked upon Old Will as their great benefactor. He had been the first to set up 
that indispensable institution, a mill, thus relieving them of much of the 
burden of life.
      The Longley and Hazen mill was rude indeed, but in keeping with the 
dwellings of the farmers, made as they were from rough-hewn logs, and affording 
but little beyond the bare necessities. The farmers, young and old, delighted in 
listening to Old Will's recitals of his father's experience during the five 
years of his life in captivity. Waiting for grist was no hardship for them if 
Old Will, dressed in powdered apparel, was tending the stones. The elder William 
was a sufferer from rheumatism, and not in a mood for story-telling

Page 79

at all times; but when he was at his best in describing the life among the 
Indians, the farmer's boy was reluctant to leave. In fact, the fathers were 
known to tarry long after Old Will had taken his toll, and emptied a fresh sack 
into the hopper.
      These stories of savage warfare served a two-fold purpose. They amused the 
miller's patrons, and prevented their being impatient while waiting their turn, 
and also kindled a fire of patriotism in the minds of the farmers, which served 
them well when the time came for opposing the king.
      The news of the Stamp Act aroused the miller to a high state of 
indignation, and he declared his readiness to fight against all such oppression. 
The Port Bill reanimated his spirit of patriotism, and he dipped deep into his 
toll-bin for the aid of the poor of the distressed port.
      He had reached almost the allotted age of man when the Lexington alarm was 
sounded through the town. The exemption from service granted to millers was no 
excuse for him. The ardor of youth possessed his spirit when his sons, 
neighbors, and friends were hastening to and fro in preparation for the march.. 
But his bowed and crippled form made it impossible for him to join the company; 
yet he insisted, saying, "True, I cannot handle a musket, yet I will fight the 
redcoats with my two canes;" at the same time brandishing those formidable 
weapons as though his words we're not to be disregarded. He reluctantly remained 
at home

Page 80

with the few who were compelled to stay because of age or infirmity. But no 
citizen of the town evinced more genuine patriotism, watched the progress of the 
war with more interest, or manifested more joy when the yoke of oppression was 
thrown off, than did Old Will the miller.
      "Joshua, son of 'Will the miller,' my greatgrandfather, was among the 
eighty men who marched from this town on April 19, 1775," said the present 
occupant of the estate. "He remained in the camp until the 30th of the month, 
and later entered the service for eight months. He was in the battle of Bunker 
Hill, escaping with but little injury." At this point of the narrative a 
cannonball was brought forward which a family tradition says was fired from the 
British side, and when well-nigh spent carried away a portion of the skirt of 
Joshua Longley's coat.
      "My great-grandfather's trip to Concord on that eventful morning was not 
the first that he had made to that town. He had been over that familiar route to 
Concord in quest of the young lady who became his bride in March, 1770." She was 
Bridget Melvin, daughter of Eleazer and Mary (Farrar) Melvin, and had connection 
with noted families already described in "Beneath Old Roof Trees."

      NOTE.– Eleazer Melvin and his brother David served in that fight at 
Pigwacket in 1725, and were both in the expedition to Louisburg, and in later 
campaigns of the Colonial wars.

Page 81

      A Melvin powder-horn, now in the possession of John E. L. Hazen, one of 
the Longley family connections, is a memorial of the Concord patriots as well as 
those of Shirley.
      Joshua Longley carried on the farm, besides acting as a miller and 
builder, until his death in 1814. A stone in the old burying-ground tells the 
following:


JOSHUA LONGLEY,
BORN AT GROTON, MASS., JULY 23, 1751,
DIED AT SHIRLEY, Nov. 7, 1814.

BRIDGET MELVIN, HIS WIFE,
BORN AT CONCORD, MASS., DEC. 9, 1751,
DIED AT SHIRLEY, FEB. 27, 1817.

      The next generation on this farm was Stephen, who was followed by his son, 
Stephen Melvin, who is succeeded by Melvin W. Longley; and so it appears that 
the grandsire's union with the Concord family is pleasantly remembered by 
perpetuating the name of the bride of Joshua, while the beneficent life of the 
patriot has not lost its effect upon succeeding generations.
      In the southerly part of Shirley, not far from the original Longley-Hazen 
mill site, and on a portion of the territory first settled by Samuel Hazen, I 
met a great-great-grandson of the pioneer of Shirley, Mr. Thomas L. Hazen. He 
said, "My great-grandfather, Samuel Hazen, Jr., was at work on these acres when 
the alarm of the 19th of April reached him. He immediately left his

Page 82

plough, ran to the house, took his gun and powder-horn,[1] and said to his wife 
(Elizabeth Little), 'Betty, you take care of the children and the cattle! I must 
go!' The family then consisted of five children, the eldest not ten years, and 
the youngest less than two months. He, with the others from this town, reached 
Acton about eleven o'clock, where they heard of the fight at Concord and of the 
retreat; but they concluded to march on, and pursued the enemy to Cambridge. 
Samuel Hazen remained there thirteen days, and later joined the army, and was 
made captain of the Shirley company.
      On a stone at his grave is read: --

CAPT. SAMUEL HAZEN,
DIED MAY 6, 1815,
AGED 74 YEARS, 11 MONTHS.

      One of the old dwellings now standing in Shirley is that known as the 
Joseph Hazen House. It is a well-kept reminder of the days when the children and 
grandchildren of Samuel the patriot were taught beneath its roof the lessons of 
patriotism. Near by was the old Pound Hill schoolhouse, where many a rustic 
youth was taught the rudiments of education under the supervision of Mr. Joseph 
Hazen, "the committee-man." Said Mr. Herman S. Hazen, "My father enjoyed a 
peculiar satisfaction in having employed for a win-


[1] Powder-horn now in possession of Thomas L. Hazen.

Page 83

ter term a young man from Lunenburg, who has since acted well the part of a 
patriot." George S. Boutwell taught Pound Hill school from December, 1834, to 
February, 1835. He passed his

[Photo - "Shirley Schoolhouse. ‘A ragged beggar sunning'"]

seventeenth birthday while teaching in Shirley. He received sixteen dollars a 
month and board. But four[1] of the pupils are now living who recall


[1] The four pupils are Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan Davis of Pepperell, Mrs. Henry 
Edgarton of Shirley, and Charles Anderson of Minneapolis, Minn.

Page 84

the erect figure and genial countenance of the young man who went in and out 
before the youth upwards of sixty years ago. The schoolhouse still remains: 
"ragged-beggar sunning."
      The master's desk is gone; but there may be seen –-

"The warping floor, the battered seats,
The jack-knife's carved initial."

[Photo- "A Battered Seat From Shirley Schoolhouse"]

"The charcoal frescoes on its wall,
   Its door's worn sill betraying
The feet that creeping slow to school
   Went storming out to playing!" 


      Among the minute-men of Shirley was James Dickerson, who heard the April 
alarm while in the

Page 85

field engaged in planting corn. He left his hoe, took his musket and powder-
horn, and joined the company. His wife Priscilla[1] took up the hoe, finished 
the planting, and carried on the labors of the farm until her husband's return.
      In passing through the southerly part of the town, I met Mr. Elihu 
Longley, who at fourscore

[Photo - "Old Home, Shirley"]

years dwells on a portion of the original grant. At the well, dipping "the moss-
covered bucket," I met Mr. Edward A. Jenkins, who is the fifth generation on his 
farm. When gathering his children


[1] This Priscilla, born in Shirley, March 6, 1749, and wife of James Dickerson, 
was a daughter of Francis and Susanna Harris. Harris was one of the foremost men 
of the town. Eleven times selectman, also town clerk and treasurer. He was the 
delegate of the town in the first and second sessions of the Provincial 
Congress.

Page 86

and grandchildren about him, he boasts of seven generations who have drunk from 
the same well. Mr. Jenkins recalls the face of his great-grandfather, Moses 
Jennerson, who was among the patriots of 1775.

      At the northerly part of the town I passed the farm where lived two 
patriots, Timothy Bolton and his brother William. The latter was a drummer in 
the Shirley company when it left the town on April 19, 1775.
      Near the Bolton home was the old tavern kept by Obadiah Sawtell. Here were 
lively times when the Shirley company gathered to discuss the questions of those 
trying days. But "Flip and Toddy" never gave out as long as the company 
remained. Obadiah Sawtell, Jr., was one of the alarm band, and also in later 
service, to the credit of the town. This noted landlord was the town's first 
representative to the General Court under the Constitution, and a member of the 
convention that adopted the Constitution of the United States.
      In passing I made note of the home of John Dwight, who was wounded at the 
battle of White Plains.
      In the easterly part of the town lived Jonas Longley, the third son of 
John, the redeemed captive. Although sixty-four years old at the opening of the 
Revolution, this old hero and his son Jonas shouldered their fowling-pieces, and 
marched to Cambridge on April 19, 1775. It is of interest

Page 87

to note that the present town clerk of Shirley is Jonas Longley, a great-
grandson and namesake of the old veteran.
      In passing I was shown the homes of the Page family, from which went Jonas 
and Simon to the war; of Samuel Walker, who lived almost a century, and told his 
story of the Revolution to four generations; also that of Deacon Joseph Brown, 
who was in the ranks.
      At the southerly part of the town is the old brick house from which John 
Edgerton went to the service of his country, in company with Ivory Wilds, who 
later renounced the world, and became a member of the Society of Shakers.
      Among the treasured relics of the days of peculiar trial is a package of 
the Continental currency, shown by members of the Parker family, who are thus 
reminded of the service of their patriot ancestor, Captain James Parker.
      Continuing the journey, I came to the old family seat of the Holdens, who 
have been numerous through the entire history of the town. Seven of the name 
were in the Shirley company on April 19, 1775, five of whom enlisted for eight 
months, and were in service on the 17th of June. There was another of the 
family, John Holden, who made record during the war, although too young to be 
registered with the soldiers at the beginning.

CHAPTER VIII
SHIRLEY CONTINUED. – JOHN HOLDEN THE BOY FIFER. – OLIVER HOLDEN THE COMPOSER OF 
"CORONATION." – THE MEETING-HOUSE A MAGAZINE. – GIFT OF MADAM LYDIA HANCOCK. - 
BOUNTY COAT

      AMONG the sixteen children of Amos Holden was John, born on May 2I, 1765. 
His name stands as the sixth in the register of the family Bible. Although but a 
babe in swaddling clothes when the Stamp Act aroused the Colonists to a 
realizing sense of the cloud of war gathering about them, the boy John Holden 
was fully aware of the duty of a patriot when the Lexington alarm summoned the 
men of Shirley to arms. Like David of old, the boy John Holden had been trained 
to tend sheep on his father's farm, and while in that quiet and retired service 
there had developed within him a talent for music. The fife was the popular 
musical instrument in this boy John's day, as was the harp in the days of David, 
the son of Jesse. When John Holden learned to play the fife no one knew, in fact 
he could scarcely tell himself, unless it was on training-days, when he followed 
the militia company about the town as they kept step to

Page 89

the music of the fife and drum in the hands of his well-known neighbors.
      Amos Holden found it difficult, with his large family, "to make the ends 
meet;" but the longing for a fife which had grown to be little less than a 
passion in the boy John must be gratified, and the indulgent father procured 
one, and brought it home for a birthday present to the lad. The boy could hardly 
believe his own eyes, but lost no time in perfecting himself in its use. It was 
at the time when the whole country was in a state of ferment and dread. War 
seemed inevitable, and the oppressive rule of the English was the theme of 
conversation everywhere.
      Young John heard much of it, and longed to be a man that he might join the 
Shirley company of minute-men now holding semiweekly drills. One day he received 
a compliment which gave rise to aspirations not dreamed of by his parents.
      A Boston gentleman paid a visit to the Holdens at the old farmhouse, when 
the chief topic of conversation was the prospect of war with the mother country. 
While the guest was present, Amos Holden asked his son to play a tune on his 
fife. The boy struck up with a stirring march, which elicited the exclamation of 
surprise, "The boy has the soul of music in him; he will be ready to meet King 
George's army."
      John sat still for a while in a meditative manner; but before retiring for 
the night went shyly

Page 90

up to his father, and said, "If the British do come, shall I go to the war with 
my fife?" – Why, yes," replied the father laughingly; "they could not get along 
without you."
      These words, spoken by the father without a second thought, as are too 
many from parental lips, sank deep into the heart of the boy John. He revolved 
them over and over in his mind, as he applied himself to the use of his fife. 
When he was far away in the fields tending his father's flocks and herds, the 
stirring notes of the fife could be heard by the neighboring farmers, who 
predicted that the time was not far away when John Holden would be the fifer of 
the Shirley company.
      At length, on a delightful April morning of 1775, an alarm was sounded 
over the hills of Shirley, "The Regulars are coming." It was not long before the 
men were on the march towards Concord. Amos Holden was among them. The boy John, 
with fife in hand, begged to go too, but was dissuaded from what he had believed 
to be his father's promise with the excuse, "You are too young; wait a while, 
and if they don't get enough of it to-day, when we meet them, you may have a 
chance later." The time soon came when youth was no barrier, if the requisite 
stature had been attained; and three of the sons of Amos Holden entered the 
army. John was one of them. Instead of a musket, this boy soldier carried his 
fife, and

Page 91

did a patriot's duty on the march, in the camp, and on the field. At times, when 
everything seemed dark and doubtful about the company, the notes of John 
Holden's fife could be heard above the din of battle, and many a weary and 
homesick soldier took on new courage, and went forth to victory. For twenty long 
months the boy fifer was away in the service; at first with Colonel Prescott, 
and later with Washington at New York, under the immediate command of General 
Knox. This lad, with a beardless face, dressed in a soldier's suit gay with 
brass buttons, was a favorite with the regiment. Said one of the officers, "This 
boy is a captain-general of us all. I have never known him to whimper or say ‘I 
can't,' although he is the youngest of us."
      At the conclusion of his service in the war, John Holden returned to 
Shirley, and in 1791 married Sally Sanderson of Lunenburg, and removed to 
Franklin, Vermont, where he was living in 1833, when he received a pension from 
the United States Government, which was continued to him until his death in 
1847. He was classed as a private and musician, in the pension department. In 
the archives of the State of Massachusetts, he is recorded as fifer.


OLIVER HOLDEN AND "CORONATION."

      Another of the Holden family of Shirley, born four months after John, was 
Oliver, son of Nehe-

Page 92

miah. He was cousin to John the fifer, and like him endowed with rare musical 
talent. These boys were happy in each other's society in their humble homes, 
romping over the hills of Shirley, and trudging off to the little schoolhouse 
under the hill. But soon after the Revolution, Nehemiah Holden and his family 
removed to Charlestown, where there was a demand for mechanics in the work of 
rebuilding the town destroyed by the minions of George III. Oliver labored as a 
housewright with his father for a while, and then, following his natural 
inclination, gave his attention to mercantile life. This afforded him a better 
opportunity for indulging his musical talent. While conducting trade, he 
composed tunes, taught singing-school, and published several volumes of choice 
hymns and tunes. Among his occasional odes was one for the reception tendered 
General George Washington when upon his third and last visit to Boston, in 
October, 1789. Oliver Holden trained a choir of young men for the occasion; and 
when Washington passed under the triumphal arch at the Old State House, the 
choir sang to this ode the words, "George Washington, the hero, is come."
      But that which has immortalized this son and patriot of Shirley is the 
tune "Coronation." This was composed in 1793, soon became a favorite in the 
churches, and now, after more than a century, retains a prominent place in 
church psalm-

Page 93

ody. During the Civil War it became a battle hymn, and many a weary soldier on 
the march has quickened his pace by the inspiration of grand old "Coronation."
      The words have been traced to Rev. Edward Perronet, son of Vincent 
Perronet, vicar of Shoreham, England. They were first sung to the tune of "Miles 
Lane;" but the production of Oliver Holden was better adapted to them, as 
millions cheerfully testify to-day.
      On Old Burial Hill, Charlestown, where are yet to be seen scars made[1] by 
the bullets of Gage's army, is the burial-place of this noted man. On a


[1] From a table monument near the John Harvard obelisk: –-

HERE LIES INTERRED THE BODY OF
RICHARD RUSSELL, ESQ.,
WHO SERVED HIS COUNTRY AS TREASURER
MORE THAN A TREBLE PRENTISHIP &
AS A MAGISTRATE SIXTEEN YEARS,
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE
THE I4TH OF MAY 1676.
BEING THE SIXTY-FIFTH YEAR OF HIS AGE.

A Saint, a Husband, a faithful Brother
A friend far excelled by any other
A saint that walked high in either way
Of Godliness and Honesty all say.
A husband rare to both his darling wives
A father politic, faithful and kind. 


      "N. B. The ravages of time, and an accident during the siege of Boston in 
1775, having destroyed the monument erected at the decease of Mr. Russell, this 
being a true copy of the original was replaced by his Relatives, A.D. 1787, in 
testimony of their regard to his memory."

Page 94

bronze tablet placed in the brick wall of the family tomb may be read: –-


HERE SLEEPS THE SWEET SINGER
OLIVER HOLDEN,
COMPOSER OF THE TVNE "CORONATION."
BORN IN SHIRLEY, SEPT. 18, 1765,
DIED IN CHARLESTOWN, SEPT. 4, 1844.

To his dear memory, this tablet is placed by his Granddaughter.[1] All hail the 
power of Jesus' name,
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown him Lord of all. 


      It was when the storm-clouds of the Revolution were gathering that the 
people of Shirley went to work to build a meeting-house in place of the rude 
structure that had served them for a score of years as the only place for public 
convocation, religious, municipal, and military. On Thanksgiving Day of 1773 the 
voice of prayer was first heard in that house. It was the only occasion of the 
kind when "God save the King" from the pastor's lips met with an "Amen" from the 
people. Before the next autumnal festival the port of Boston had been blockaded, 
and Shirley farmers had shared their crops with their distressed brethren in 
Boston. It was a custom of these towns to use the upper gallery of the meeting-
house as a magazine for military stores. The building usually stood on or near 
the training field, was away


[1] Mrs. Fanny A. Tyler.

Page 95

[Photo- "Shirley Relics of the Revolution" and "Longley Ball, Picked Up at 
Bunker Hill"]

Page 96

from other houses, and was entirely free from any means of heating, consequently 
was regarded as the safest place for powder. A portion of the upper gallery in 
the Shirley meeting-house was early set apart for this purpose. While the 
minister was urging resistance to British oppression, there was in the loft 
above the high pulpit the material to give emphasis to his instruction. In the 
hasty distribution of the cartridges to the minutemen, some dropped and rolled 
out of sight, and after a full century were found, and brought forth to the 
light, and are now treasured by my guide as reminders of those days of peculiar 
trial.
      The patriotic people of Shirley have for generations derived a peculiar 
satisfaction from the gift of the pulpit Bible by Madam Lydia Hancock of Boston. 
This benevolent woman was the widow of the merchant, Thomas Hancock, and with 
his nephew John was enjoying the luxuries of the famous Hancock estate in Boston 
at the time of this gift. The occasion was the opening of the new meeting-house; 
and Madam Lydia testified by this gift to the town her regard for her niece and 
namesake, Lydia Bowes of Bedford, who had but recently become the wife of the 
minister of Shirley, Rev. Pheneas Whitney. It will occur to the reader that a 
sister of Mrs. Whitney, Lucy Bowes, was the wife of Rev. Jonas Clark of 
Lexington, and that they were daughters of Rev. Nicholas Bowes of Bedford, and 
Lucy, daughter

Page 97

of Rev. John Hancock of Lexington. Hence they were cousins of John Hancock, the 
famous patriot. This family connection must have stimulated the patriotism in 
the town of Shirley.


THE BOUNTY COAT.

      During the summer of 1775, when the Provincial troops were in an unsettled 
condition, and the siege was progressing, the Provincial Congress made a demand 
for thirteen thousand coats for the use of the patriot army, to be ready before 
the cold weather. There were no shrewd millers to take the contract, and turn 
the public emergency to their personal advantage; but at each hearthstone there 
were set up a mill and a tailor's shop.
      The committee of supplies was directed to apportion the coats on the towns 
by a schedule, made in accordance with the last Provincial tax. This burden 
largely fell to the women, and following what they had sacrificed, was trying 
indeed; but with their characteristic zeal, they went to work to get the coats 
ready before the first day of October. The selectmen of each town were required 
to cause a certificate to be sewed to the inside of each coat, telling from what 
town it came, by whom the coat was made, and, if the cloth was manufactured in 
this country, by whom it was manufactured. Here was an opportunity for proving 
personal ability, and the spirit of competition was rife throughout the 
Province.

Page 98

      Rolls of wool laid aside for family use were brought out, carded, spun, 
and woven under the same roof; and while the great wheel was humming in one 
room, there was the continual preparation of food for the absent soldier boys. 
The coats were to be of "good, plain cloth, preference to be given to that of 
home manufacture." Having signed the protest against the use of foreign 
manufactures, there was the greater struggle with each town to meet its demands 
from its own looms. The coats were to be "made in the common plain way, without 
lapels, short, and with small folds, and faced with the same kind of cloth of 
which they were made." They were to be "buttoned with pewter buttons, those of 
each regiment respectively to have buttons with the

[Photo- "Longley Well"]

Page 99

same number stamped upon the face of them." This course was to put into use a 
uniform, in place of the variety of garments in which the hastily improvised 
army were clothed. The committee of supplies in each town let out the contract 
to the different families, and in many a town's record book may be read the 
account of paying the different parties interested. The fact that these supplies 
were possibly for some of their own people may have urged the manufacturers to 
greater faithfulness, but we have no reason to think that any one would have 
slighted any part of this duty. The different towns reported what might be 
expected of them, and some of their reports may he seen to-day. Among them is 
that of the town of Shirley, which reads: –-

To the Gentmen, Committee of suplies appoynted by Congress,
&c. To see to the Providing Clothing for the army. 

      Gentmen, –- These are to Inform you that the Dist of Shirley have agreed 
to provide the Parte of Coats, Shirts, Stockins, and Britches to them Assigned, 
and thirty Pare of Shoes for the Benefitt of the Continentle army, &c.

By order of the Selectmen.
      OBADIAH SAWTELL. Dist. Clerk.
      SHIRLEY, August ye 10th, A.D. 1775.

      Each man volunteering to serve for a term of eight months was promised a 
coat, and it was regarded as quite a possession; so much so that representatives 
of those who were killed at Bunker Hill, or who died before receiving the coat,

Page 100

were granted a certain sum of money in lieu of the coat, etc.
      The names of those enlisted for eight months, with the promise of the 
coat, are found on what is known as the "Coat Roll;" while those who turned out 
on April 19 are recorded on what is known as "The Lexington Alarm List."

[Photo of W. Shirley with signature]

Page 101

CHAPTER IX
STORY OF THE TOWN OF HOLLIS, N.H. – MOVEMENTS OF HOLLIS PATRIOTS. – AT OLD 
HOMESTEADS. – EVIL WORK OF A TORY WOMAN. HOLLIS GUNMAKERS


"The kindly spot, the friendly town, where every one is known,
And not a face in all the place but partly seems my own."

      HOLLIS, after making a record for about seven years as the west parish of 
Dunstable, became a fully equipped town. It was chartered in April, 1746, when 
Benning Wentworth was the governor of New Hampshire.
      In tracing the footprints of the patriots of Hollis, I was early impressed 
with the fact that I was considering the acts of descendants of the settlers of 
towns near Boston, and that the people of Hollis were bound by ties of blood and 
kinship with those of Concord, Littleton, Bedford, Marlborough, Billerica, 
Reading, Salem, Woburn, and other towns of lower Middlesex and Essex Counties 
from which they or their parents had migrated.
      Having so many common interests of long standing, it was natural enough 
for their military af-

Page 102

fairs to be somewhat united. This was particularly the case with the towns which 
formed the northern boundary of Middlesex County and their neighbors in the 
adjoining towns on the southern border of New Hampshire. The popularity of 
Colonel William Prescott was recognized in the towns of both colonies; family 
ties also inclined the soldiers of Hollis, N.H., to cast in their lot with the 
trusted Colonel's regiment.
      It mattered little whether in this or that town, in one Province or the 
other, the same motives actuated the one people; and I invite my readers to turn 
with me to the hearth-stones of Hollis, where

[Photo- "John Colburn"]

Page 103

still glows the fire of patriotism kindled by the pioneers of that locality. Age 
entitles Mr. John Colburn to the first hearing.
      Although in his ninety-seventh year, Mr. Colburn has other qualifications 
for speaking of the patriots of Hollis. He was born there, and his parents were 
also natives of the town. Said the veteran, when met in his home, seated by his 
wife, who was also a nonagenarian, "We have both spent the greater part of our 
long lives near the place of our birth, and these beautiful hills and valleys 
are a delight to us." On his maternal side this veteran is descended from 
Eleazer Flagg, one of the earliest permanent settlers of that territory. 
Anticipating my call on his ninety-seventh birthday, Mr. Colburn prepared a 
carefully written statement for me. Rising from his chair, and buttoning his 
Prince Albert coat about his stately figure, he passed into an adjoining room, 
and returned with his notes, saying, –-
      "I have always avoided the pronoun 'I,' never seeking nor desiring 
publicity; but since you desire it, I presume I cannot more profitably spend 
these hours than in aiding you in tracing out the footprints of the patriots, 
and in doing it I must sometimes speak of myself.
      I suppose to you who are young the story of the opening Revolution seems 
like ancient history; but to me Concord, Lexington, and Bunker Hill are as much 
a reality as are Gettysburg or Bull

Page 104

Run and other battlefields of the Civil War, in which my son participated, and 
has often described.
      "While driving the oxen to plough the fields yonder, father used to tell 
me of his and his neighbors' experience in camp and battle; and especially on or 
near the 19th of April, would rehearse the whole story, becoming so interested 
at times that he would stop the team in order to better illustrate positions. He 
and mother would devote whole winter evenings to talks about those days. It was 
a delight to us children – for I was one of thirteen for whom my parents toiled 
and sacrificed. Mother, who was a Hardy (Lemuel's daughter), could help along 
the stories; for her folks were in it as well as the Colburns. With a good 
blazing fire on the hearth, and a plenty of four-foot wood at hand to replenish 
it, a dish of good apples, some butternuts, and a mug of cider, what cared we 
for the driving snow? We drew up to the fire in a group, some on the settle and 
some in the chimney-corner. To be sure, there would occasionally come a contrary 
blast down the chimney, and fill our eyes with smoke and ashes; but it was soon 
over, and we children were calling for more story. To make it more vivid, father 
would pause at times, and say, ‘Now imagine that north-east blast against the 
window to be a volley of bullets from the redcoats;' at which we would hide the 
closer behind the high back of

Page 105

the settle, or snuggle more securely in the arms that were ever ready for some 
of us. My father was too young to have any part in the town meetings just before 
the war; but he knew what was going on, and was anxious to be in the company 
when they were drilling for an emergency.
      On November 7th the people took action at the polls, and chose three of 
their leading men to represent them in the County Congress on the following day 
at Amherst. They made record as follows: ‘We, the inhabitants of the town of 
Hollis, having taken into our most serious consideration the precarious and most 
alarming affairs of our land at the present day, do firmly enter into the 
following resolutions: –-
      That we will at all times endeavor to maintain our liberty and privileges, 
both civil and sacred, even at the risque of our lives and fortunes, and will 
not only disapprove, but wholly despise all such persons as we have just and 
solid reason to think even wish us in any measure to be deprived of them.' 
Deacon Stephen Jewett, Ensign Stephen Ames, and Lieutenant Reuben Dow, equipped 
with such authority, were sent to Amherst.
      "In the very last of December they chose a delegate to meet in a Province 
convention to consider a Continental Congress. It was John Hale, Esq., who had 
this honor.
      "They also voted ‘that we do cordially accede to the just statement of the 
rights and grievances

Page 106

of the British Colonies, and the measures adopted and recommended by the 
Continental Congress for the restoration and establishment of the former, and 
for the redress of the latter.' Three deacons with others were constituted a 
committee to observe the conduct of all persons touching the association 
agreement.
      The town of Hollis has in its archives three original rolls of military 
companies. Two of them were made out in January, 1775, and the third on June 7. 
The rolls were named respectively, "A List of the Company of Militia in Holles 
under the command of Capt. Joshua Wright," "Alarm List," and "The List of the 
present Militia Company of Holles, Exclusive of the Minute-men and all that have 
gone into the army, June ye 7th, 1775." These companies appear to have contained 
all the able-bodied men of the town. They held frequent meetings, and in every 
way kept pace with their neighbors across the line in Massachusetts. On April 3 
they chose Deacon Stephen Jewett and Deacon Enoch Noyes as delegates to the 
County Congress, and "to see what method should be taken to raise money for the 
Continental Congress at Philadelphia." "Thus far it had been only drilling and 
voting; but soon there came something more exciting," said Mr. Colburn's father, 
"and Governor Wentworth, down at Portsmouth, found that we were in earnest. The 
alarm did not reach us on April 19th until it was

Page 107

too late to be of any service on that day, but our ninety-two minute-men made a 
record later that compares favorably with the Massachusetts towns."
      Mr. John Colburn's repetition of his father's fireside story was concluded 
by his description of Bunker Hill, where in his youth he visited the earthworks 
thrown up on that June night of 1775. Said he, "They had not begun to talk of a 
monument, and everything was in a very rough condition. I walked over that 
redoubt, and identified the locations just as my father had described them to 
me, where he, with so many Hollis men, faced the enemy in the heat of the 
battle, where a number of them gave up their lives."
      Seated by the side of Mr. Colburn during his birthday recital was his 
faithful wife, who was ninety-one years of age, and a life-long resident of the 
town. She was Naomi Boynton, granddaughter of Deacon John Boynton and Ruth 
Jewett. This interesting woman was not only an intelligent listener, but a most 
helpful prompter, and in her turn modestly said, "It was my grandfather, Deacon 
John Boynton, who first received the April morning message, and spread it 
through the town." These words of Mrs. Colburn, modestly dropped, resulted in my 
retracing the steps of the messenger of 1775, in company with Mr. Cyrus F. 
Burge, and in gathering the facts as we made our way. Beginning at Runnell's 
bridge,

Page 108

we first came to the land where were recalled the homes of Ebenezer and Thomas 
Jaquith, who responded to the urgent call of General Sullivan on November 30, 
1775. It was through the special efforts of Colonel Samuel Hobart, paymaster of 
the New Hampshire troops, that the large number rallied in Hillsborough County, 
and responded at Cambridge. Colonel Hobart had been in the king's legislature, 
was also recorder and treasurer of his county at this time, and was a 
manufacturer of gunpowder in the Province of New Hampshire.
      We next came to the home of William J. Rockwood, grandson of Dr. Ebenezer 
Rockwood, who served in Thatcher's regiment. The one thing in his possession to-
day reminding of his grandsire's patriotic service is his commission as surgeon 
from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In passing remarked my guide, "Near these 
trees lived Isaac Stearns, who served the town in the French war, and was one of 
the minute-men of Hollis to respond to Deacon Boynton's alarm. He also served in 
the Continental Army, and after the war migrated to Plymouth, N.H."
      Forty rods away lived Ebenezer Cummings, son of Deacon William. He went 
into the war, and died of the smallpox in 1778.
      This dreaded scourge brought sorrow to the town through the 
instrumentality of a woman who was a Tory of the most bitter nature. It is 
alleged that she spread infected clothing through the fam-

Page 109

ilies, and thus caused the death of ten of the innocent citizens. Among the 
victims were Daniel Mooar and daughter, Edward Johnson and infant son.
      Halting at the home of Andrew Jewett, we were saluted by a grandson of 
Ebenezer Jewett, who was in service at Bunker Hill. Said Andrew, "My 
grandfather's gun gave out before the powder failed, and he did the best he 
could by hurling stones at the British soldiers. He frequently entertained the 
young people in times of peace by describing his rough and tumble experience at 
Bunker Hill. Grandfather brought home from the war a negro man, Pompey, who 
lived in the family many years on this farm, which was in part my 
grandfather's.'
      In passing through a part of the town, we noted the hill on which the 
alarm-gun was fired in order to arouse other families, who lived farther away. 
Three important minute-men, Lieutenant John Goss, Captain Reuben Dow,[1] and 
Deacon Boynton, lived near the State line in this locality. We drew rein at the 
Boynton home, and there heard from the lips of the present occupant facts of 
interest.


[1] Captain Dow was with his sons, ploughing in the field, when the alarm 
reached them. The father, with two sons, Evan and Stephen, made haste to the 
Centre, or place of rendezvous, while Daniel, but six years of age, was left to 
care for the oxen, with the aid of his mother and sisters.

Page 110

      In the hasty preparations for marching, the families contributed such food 
as they had. The salt-pork barrel, partially full, was brought out of the 
cellar; and the strips of pork were divided between the minute-men who assembled 
here at the home of their captain. This Dow farm is one of the many of Hollis 
that has been retained in the family of the patriot who went from the same door 
on that eventful morning. The line of descent has been: Reuben, Stephen, 
Jeremiah Dow; the latter's daughter, who married John C. Bell; succeeded by 
Charles Dow Bell, whose son, Charles J. Bell, is now the thrifty farmer, and is 
surrounded by an interesting family. Thus seven generations have enjoyed these 
scenes; the last not failing to be duly impressed with the part taken by the 
first, Captain Reuben Dow, in the struggle for liberty.
      Standing on the well-worn door-stone, I saw in the distance the Colburn 
home, where I took my first lesson in New Hampshire patriotism. Nearer by we 
halted at the well from which the Goss family drew their supply. To the west 
from Captain Dow's home lived Amos Eastman, and we made haste to that old family 
site. Here Amos Eastman was well established when he went as the captain of a 
company under General John Stark into the French war. He and his son Amos 
manufactured guns at this place for the patriots; and a gun of their make was 
used as

Page 111

the alarm-gun at Hollis Common later in the war, an alarm being three guns fired 
in rapid succession.
      Indisputable evidence of this branch of industry is found in State papers. 
WEDNESDAY, January 24th, 1776. 

      Voted, that the balance of the account of Amos Eastman for guns, amounting 
to thirty-two pounds, sixteen shillings, be allowed and paid out of the 
Treasury, and that the President of the Council give orders on the Treasury for 
payment thereof. Sent up by Mr. Clough. – N. H. State Papers, vol. viii., p. 56.

      NOTE. -- In the year 1752 Amos Eastman, Senior, then living at Penacook, 
being on a hunting expedition in the northerly part of New Hampshire with 
General John Stark and others, was, with Stark, taken prisoner by the Indians, 
and both of them taken to an Indian village in Canada. On their arrival at the 
village, both the captives were compelled to run the gantlet between two files 
of savages, each armed with a switch or club with which to strike them as they 
passed between the lines. Stark, as is said, escaped with but slight injury; but 
Eastman was cruelly beaten, and was afterwards sold to a French master, kindly 
treated by him, and soon after redeemed, and went home.

      The Eastman family possession has been in the male line from Amos to son 
Amos, then Alpheus to son Oliver Perry Eastman, who now tills the paternal 
acres. He is aided by another generation, who cherishes the family record at 
this old hearth-stone.
      Continuing on our route towards the centre of

Page 112

Hollis, we came to the Worcester home. No school-child who has turned from his 
task to Worcester's Dictionary for help can fail of having an interest in the 
estate, from which went out generations of noble men and women to bless the 
world, prominent among whom was the lexicographer.


Page 113

CHAPTER X
HOLLIS CONTINUED. – THE WORCESTER HOME. – THE LEXINGTON ALARM AT THE WORCESTER 
DOOR. – TOWN MEETING CALLED. – DEATH-ROLL AT BUNKER HILL. – EQUIPMENTS LOST IN 
THE BATTLE OF JUNE 17, 1775. – CALL FROM GENERAL SULLIVAN. – BOY SOLDIERS. – THE 
WORCESTER FAMILY IN THE WORLD. – THANKSGIVING DAY AT THE OLD HOME.

      THE Worcester home is a little south of the centre of Hollis, and has been 
in the family possession since the year 1750.
      The pioneer of the family in this country was Rev. William Worcester, who 
came from Salisbury, England, and became the minister at Merrimack, later called 
Colchester, and permanently named Salisbury. Although in a rude log meeting-
house, the settlers were in favor of order, and voted, "Every freeman when 
speaking in meeting shall take off his hat, and rise when speaking, and put it 
on when done." The pioneer died at Salisbury in 1662. We next find the family at 
Sandwich, Mass., where Rev. Francis Worcester, great-grandson of the Rev. 
William, was born.

Page 114

He married Abigail Carleton, and there kept the family record good until 1750, 
when he moved with his large family to Hollis, and so became the founder of the 
noted family in that town.
      The house to which Rev. Francis Worcester took his family was small, but 
through various additions has become a very large dwelling, yet none too large 
for some of the generations which have flourished there. Attracted by the family 
record elsewhere to this old and well-kept house, I received a cordial welcome 
from the present occupant, Miss Lucy E. Worcester, who is of the fifth 
generation at that home, and of the eighth in this country.
      Said Miss Worcester, "It was Captain Noah, my great-grandfather, who was 
the man of affairs here when the war broke out. He was then forty years of age, 
was ensign of a company of militia, town clerk, committee of observation, and in 
other positions of trust. Having been active in all the town's meetings during 
the agitation, Noah Worcester was not altogether surprised when the outbreak 
came. It was about noon on the 19th of April when Deacon John Boynton, one of 
the committee of observation, and who lived in the south part of the town, came 
riding through the streets of Hollis at the top of his horse's speed, calling to 
every one as he passed, ‘The Regulars are coming, and are killing our men.' He 
drew rein at the door of Captain Worcester, who was chairman

Page 115

of the Committee of Safety. Captain Noah, my great-grandfather, had just 
finished dinner, and was standing before his looking-glass, with face well 
lathered, in the act of shaving. Without stopping to finish his toilet, but with 
one side of his face still whitened for the razor, he hurried to the stable, 
mounted his horse, and in that plight assisted in spreading the alarm. Other 
messengers were despatched to different parts of the town; and in the afternoon 
of that day ninety-two men met on Hollis Common with muskets and powder-horns, 
each man furnished with one pound of powder and twenty bullets."
      The Hollis company made choice that afternoon of Reuben Dow as captain, 
John Goss, first lieutenant, and John Cumings, second lieutenant. They marched 
off toward Concord, and went into camp at Cambridge. A part of them volunteered 
for eight months. The minute-men of Hollis who continued in service after the 
Lexington alarm went into other companies, and were mustered into the 
Massachusetts regiment commanded by Colonel Prescott, whose family seat, as we 
have seen, was very near Hollis, and who was connected with families of that 
town, his wife being Abigail Hale of Hollis, a sister of Colonel John Hale.
      "Another patriot who turned out from this home on the 19th was my great-
uncle, Noah Worcester, Jr., who was but sixteen years of age. He

Page 116

went as fifer. Captain Noah, who had his title as a member of the State Militia, 
was town clerk at this time, and we are indebted to his faithfulness for many 
facts.
      We find that the first town meeting after the experience of April I9 was 
on the 23d inst. Colonel John Wentworth sent out a letter to each town on the 
day after the Lexington alarm. That sent to Hollis is recorded in Noah 
Worcester's handwriting, and is as follows:–-

      Gentlemen,– This moment melancholy intelligence has been received of 
hostilities being commenced between the troops under the command of General 
Gage, and our brethren of the Massachusetts Bay. The importance of our exerting 
ourselves at this critical moment has caused the provincial committee to meet at 
Exeter, and you are requested instantly to choose and hasten forward a delegate 
or delegates to join the Committee, and aid them in consulting measures 
necessary for our safety.
J. WENTWORTH.
In behalf of the Committee of Safety. 



PROVINCE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE }
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, SS. }

SPECIAL TOWN MEETING. 
April 23, 1775. 


      Pursuant to the above notice and request, the inhabitants of the town of 
Hollis being met unanimously voted, that Samuel Hobart, Esq., be and hereby is 
appointed to represent the town at Exeter, with other delegates, that are or 
shall be appointed by the several towns of this Province, for the purpose above 
mentioned.
NOAH WORCESTER, Town Clerk. 



Page 117

      To any one who studies the records of Hollis, kept by the patriot clerk 
Noah Worcester, it must be apparent that everything was done with system, and 
that their response on the 19th was serious and deliberate. The special town 
meeting of the twenty-eighth shows us that while in governmental affairs they 
were obliged to work with the Province of New Hampshire, their affiliations were 
with the patriots of Massachusetts. Noah Worcester records: –-

SPECIAL MEETING. 
April 28, 1775. 


Colonel John Hale, Moderator.
      At a meeting of the town of Holles called on a sudden emergency in the day 
of our public distress.
      1st. Voted, that we will pay two commissioned officers, four non-
commissioned officers, and thirty-four rank and file, making in the whole forty 
good and able men, to join the army in Cambridge, paying said officers and men, 
the same wages the Massachusetts men receive, and will also victual the same 
till such time as the resolution of the General Court or the Congress of the 
Province of New Hampshire shall be known respecting the raising of a standing 
army the ensuing summer.

      They also made arrangements at this meeting for providing for poor 
families of those patriots who were in camp at Cambridge, and that the grain 
raised for the poor of Boston be divided between the army and the needy families 
of the soldiers.
      These records show that "Province of New

Page 118

Hampshire" was used in all warrants for town meetings until after the battle of 
Bunker Hill, from that time till July 4, 1776, the word "Colony " was used, and 
after the Declaration of Independence the word "State" took the place. Men 
absent in the army were allowed to have a written vote in town affairs, which 
was counted the same as if the men were present in person.
      "The most trying experience of the men of our town did not come until the 
17th of June, when we had our share in good measure. Most of our men were with 
Colonel Prescott, but a few were with Colonel Reed; and all were present at the 
battle of Bunker Hill, which sent sorrow to the homes of Hollis as to no other 
town in the Province. The loss of Hollis in killed was fully equal to two-fifths 
of the killed and missing in the two New Hampshire regiments, and greater than 
that of any other town of New Hampshire.
      The list recorded on the memorial tablets[1] at Charlestown is as follows: 
–-


PRESCOTT'S REGIMENT.

      Dow's company. - Sergt.[1] Nathan Blood, Phineas Nevers,[2] Thomas Wheat, 
Jr., Peter Poor, Isaac Hobart, Jacob Boynton.
      Moors's company. – Ebenezer Youngman.

      These names are among the list on Soldiers Monument at Hollis.


[1] Thomas Colburn, credited to Dunstable, is claimed by Hollis.
[2] The family spelling is Nevens.

[Photo- "Bunker Hill Monument"]

Page 119

      The wounded were Captain Reuben Dow, Ephraim Blood, Francis Blood, Francis 
Powers, Thomas Pratt, William Wood. Caleb Eastman was killed at Cambridge two 
days after the battle by the bursting of his gun. James Fisk and Jeremiah 
Shattuck died of sickness at the Cambridge camp before the battle.
      The Hollis patriots furnished all their own equipments, and also their 
clothes, as did the soldiers generally during the first year of the war. Many 
articles were lost on the 17th of June, and subsequently each person filed a 
list with their estimated value. It is headed as follows: –-

CAMBRIDGE, Dec. 22, 1775. 


      This may certify that we, the subscribers, in Capt. Reuben Dow's company, 
in Col. William Prescott's regiment, in the Continental army, that we lost the 
following articles, in the late engagement on Bunker Hill on the 17th of June 
last.

      The one meeting with the greatest loss was Nahum Powers: –-

      "1 knaps'k 1s. 4d., I tump'e 1s. 2d., hat 3s., jacket 8s., bayonet 6s."

      Noah Worcester, Jr., was one of the losers: –-

      "Knapsack 1s. 8d., 1 tumline[1] 1s. 2d."


[1] "A tump-line was a strap to be placed across the forehead, to assist a man 
in carrying a pack on his back." - Worcester's Quarto Dictionary.

Page 120

      The inventory of lost articles perpetuates the names of twenty-eight men 
of Hollis who were in the battle of Bunker Hill, besides the commissioned 
officers. Another paper, in the handwriting of Captain Dow, shows the loss of 
equipments of the six men of Hollis belonging to his company killed in the 
battle.

CAMBRIDGE, Dec. 22, 1775. 


NATHAN BLOOD, ISAAC HOBART, JACOB BOYNTON, THOMAS WHEAT, PETER POOR, PHINEAS 
NEVINS.

      The men whose names are above written belonged to Capt. Dow's company and 
Col. William Prescott's regiment, and were all killed at Bunker Hill on the 17th 
of June last, and were furnished each of them with a good gun, judged to be 
worth Eight Dollars a piece – also were furnished with other materials, viz., 
Cartridge Boxes, Knapsacks, and Tumplines, and were well clothed for soldiers. 
Also had each of them a good blanket. Nathan Blood had a good Hanger.

      Eight Hollis soldiers, who were in Colonel Reed's regiment and in service 
on that day, lost various articles. Phineas Hardy lost; "1 blanket, coat, shirt, 
breeches." As Hardy's loss must have been his extra clothing, it appears that 
the good people of Hollis saw that their soldier boys in camp at Cambridge were 
well clothed.
      Our men fought in their shirt-sleeves; the heat of the day caused them to 
throw aside their coats as when in the hayfield. This accounts for the loss of 
so many coats and other garments.

Page 121

      The Hollis patriots who served to the credit of Massachusetts had a share 
in the bounty of a military coat. A receipt signed by forty-seven men is their 
acknowledgment of the bounty. The heirs or widows of the deceased soldiers 
received an equivalent for the coats. In some cases it devolved upon the 
selectmen to decide who was the person legally entitled to the pay, as the 
following voucher shows: –-

      WE HEREBY CERTIFY that the widow Experience Shattuck is the proper person 
to receive the clothing belonging to Jeremiah Shattuck who belonged to Capt. 
Reuben Dow's company in Col. Wm. Prescott's regiment and is dead.
NOAH WORCESTER, }
JACOB JEWETT, }
OLIVER LAWRENCE, } Selectmen. 



      The selectmen also certify that Captain Dow is the person to receive the 
clothing due to Peter Poor, a transient person, who belonged to the Hollis 
company, and was killed at Bunker Hill.

      It was when Hollis's cup of sorrow was brimful that an urgent call was 
made for more men. It came from General Sullivan, then in command of the 
Continental troops at Winter Hill, to the New Hampshire Committee of Safety, and 
reads as follows: --

WINTER HILL, Nov. 30, 1775. 


      Sirs, – Gen. Washington has sent to New Hampshire for thirty-one companies 
to take possession of and defend our lines in room of the Connecticut forces who 
most scanda-

Page 122

lously refuse to tarry till the 1st of January. I must therefore entreat your 
utmost exertions to forward the raising those companies, lest the enemy should 
take advantage of their absence and force our lines. As the Connecticut forces 
will at all events leave us at or before the 10th of next month, pray call upon 
every true friend of his country to assist with heart and hand in sending 
forward these companies as soon as possible.
      Sirs, I am in extreme haste,
Your Obt. Serv't., 
JOHN SULLIVAN. 


To the COMMITTEE OF SAFETY at Exeter.

      The demand was met, and two thousand New Hampshire patriots were soon in 
service, remaining till the following March, when the British evacuated Boston. 
Miss Worcester continued her story; –-
      "Two-thirds of the Twenty-sixth Company volunteered from Hollis; and my 
great-grandfather, Noah Worcester, was captain, going from this house, leaving 
the cares of a large family to be shared between his wife and aged father. The 
young men were so fired with patriotism that they were anxious to enter the 
service before they were liable to do military duty, and so great was the need 
that many of them were accepted before they were sixteen years of age. My 
grandfather, Jesse Worcester, was scarcely fifteen when he entered the service; 
as he was too short, he put pebbles in his shoes for fear he would not pass 
muster."
      This boy soldier was one of twenty-five who

Page 123

went on a six-months' campaign to the northward. Daniel Emerson, Jr., was 
captain of the company.
      In different campaigns to the end of the war these patriots from Hollis 
were found doing faithful service. It is worth our while to pause at the 
Worcester hearth-stone, and consider the character of the patriots of 1775 as 
manifest in after life.

      [Photo- "Worcester Homestead, Hollis, N.H."]

Four of the sons of Captain Noah Worcester became prominent clergymen, and 
filled honored positions; but they never forgot this old home, and loved to 
return to it, and here, laying aside all restraint, live over again those days 
when they went out from this home to do service for their country. Thanksgiving 
Day was their annual jubilee. The day when these dignified ministers, fully six 
feet tall, roamed over the farm, and gath-

Page 124

ered around the festive board, where lay prostrate the best turkey of the flock, 
surrounded by pies and puddings, and every thing that culinary art could devise. 
After dinner they would walk the rooms, and join in singing "Coronation."
      Prominent upon the walls of the best room of this Worcester mansion are 
the portraits of Jesse and Sarah (Parker) Worcester. This boy soldier, Jesse, 
after the Revolution, obtained an education, and taught school; but failing 
health sent him back to the home farm, where he lived for many years. In 
conclusion my hostess informed me, –-
      Turned aside from a professional life, my grandfather was not discouraged, 
but with his amiable companion, my grandmother, made a commendable record. 
Fifteen children were born to them. Seven of their nine sons obtained a liberal 
education. Two of them

[Photo- "Jesse Worcester". Photo- "Sarah Worcester"]

Page 125

followed the legal profession (one becoming a member of Congress from Ohio 
during the Civil War), one was a teacher, and the others were ministers, with 
the exception of Joseph E., who was the author of several histories, 
geographies, etc., but best of all, the dictionary which bears his name." The 
daughters all honored homes of their own.

[Photo- "Hollis Training Field"]

Page 139

CHAPTER XII
JOHN COLBURN TELLS HIS FATHER'S STORY OF THE NORTHERN CAMPAIGNS. – BURGOYNE'S 
ALLIANCE WITH INDIANS. – KING GEORGE III. HIRES THE GERMANS TO FIGHT THE 
PROVINCIALS

When on that field his band the Hessians fought,
Briefly he spoke before the fight began:
"Soldiers, those German gentlemen were bought
For four pounds eight and seven pence per man,
By England's King; a bargain, it is thought.
Are we worth more? let's prove it while we can;
For we must beat them, boys, ere set of sun,
Or my wife sleeps a widow." – It was done.
HALLECK. 


      IT was my good fortune to meet Mr. John Colburn[1] on the celebration of 
his ninety-sixth birthday at his home in Hollis, N.H. He was strong in mind and 
body, and spent the hours of this anniversary in recalling the scenes of the 
past. It was like breaking the seals of closed volumes to many in attendance.
      I was one of thirteen children born to my parents, James and Susannah 
(Hardy) Colburn. We had a hard struggle in our youth, for my father was not a 
strong man. He lost his health


[1] See story of Hollis.

Page 140

in the northern campaigns of '76 and '77. My earliest recollections are of his 
accounts of service in the war. He used to tell us, ‘I was only in my teens when 
I entered the Provincial service. I passed through the battle of Bunker Hill 
safely, while my neighbors and townsmen fell around me. But I endured great 
hardship in the campaign at the north when following up Burgoyne and his army. 
Bridges were scarce at that time, and we were compelled to ford the rivers. In 
wading across the Mohawk I took a severe cold, from which I never fully 
recovered; but we pushed on, filled with contempt for Burgoyne, who had written 
a long proclamation to the Americans soon after his arrival in the country. He 
promised great things to them if they would lay down their arms and surrender 
peaceably to the British, but threatened terrible things if they continued to 
oppose the king. Among other evils, he said he would let the Indians loose among 
them if they refused to surrender.
      NOTE. - The manner in which the Indians were inducted into the service of 
killing the patriots of America is seen by the following: "We went to-day to 
headquarters in Montreal, to be present at a meeting between General Carleton 
and all the nations of wild men, since, in order to make it as impressive as 
possible, all the chief officers of the army were expressly invited to attend. 
The chiefs of the so-called Iroquois nation, namely, many of the Onantais, 
Anajutais, Nonlaquahuques, and Kanastaladi, met at six o'clock in the evening, 
in the old church of the Jesuits, which had been expressly prepared for the 
occasion. The high choir was covered

Page 141

with carpets, upon which were placed a row of stools. In the centre was a large 
armchair for Governor-General Carleton, who during the whole of the meeting kept 
his hat upon his head. Behind him was a table, near which sat the adjutant 
generals, Captains Foy and Carleton, who served as secretaries. There were also 
benches, upon which sat three hundred wild men, with their pipes lighted. Every 
nation had its chief and interpreter, the latter acting as spokesman and 
translating into French all that was said to General Carleton. In order, 
however, that there might be no mistakes or misunderstandings, General Carleton 
had also his interpreter. Thus each nation spoke for itself. The substance of 
what they said was that they had heard the rebels [Americans] had risen against 
the English nation; that they praised the valor of General Carleton as shown in 
frustrating the designs of the enemy; that they, therefore, loved and esteemed 
him, and that they had come to offer their services against the rebels. . . All 
these nations were engaged for one year, and had their posts assigned them. 
Before leaving they all passed by General Carleton, shaking hands with him and 
the rest of the officers. The evening and night were spent by them in feasting 
and dancing, which had already lasted seven days. They had brought with them a 
few scalps of rebels whom they had killed, and with which they honored Generals 
Carleton, Burgoyne, and Phillips." Other Indian nations were also brought into 
this abominable service. They offered "their grandfather, the King of England, 
and their father, General Carleton" their services against the Bostonians. One 
of the leaders of the company wore at this time the coat of General Braddock, 
whom he had killed in the fatal expedition of 1755. That proud general's vest 
was also worn by a nine-year-old son of the Indian chief. The appropriation of a 
dead British general's clothes could not have been a very agreeable sight for 
the present actors in the great drama.
      "'This announcement filled the Americans with indignation, especially the 
army engaged in the north. Every day there was a new story told of

Page 142

Indian barbarity. Even the British could not safely trust their savage allies. A 
Tory officer sent a party of Indians to escort a young lady named Jane McCrea, 
to whom he was engaged in marriage, within the British lines. When on the way, 
the Indian escorts fell into a quarrel over the reward they were to receive, and 
in the difficulty, killed the girl, and bore her scalp away, leaving her mangled 
body in the road.
      "'This brutality committed near her neighbors and friends filled the whole 
country with horror and indignation, and even General Burgoyne saw that he had 
made a mistake in placing confidence in such allies.
      "'I was with General John Stark, in whom we had the greatest confidence. 
Seth Warner and the "Green Mountain Boys" were with us in the latter part of the 
campaign. About the middle of September, 1777, the two armies of the north were 
near each other, waiting for action. Burgoyne was on the heights of Saratoga. 
Gates, the American general who had succeeded Schuyler, was on some heights back 
of the old tavern known as "Bemis Inn." On the 19th of September we met, near 
the village of Stillwater, in bloody battle, which lasted several hours without 
any apparent result to either side. On the 7th of October we had it again, in 
about the same place. We fought until dark. General Frazer, Burgoyne's favorite 
general, was shot through the

Page 143

body, and soon died. Soon after this battle, when there was yet doubt as to what 
the final results were to be, we saw the enemy in their intrenchments, and kept 
up our cannonade, not knowing that they were carrying out the dying request of 
General Frazer, and burying him in the trench on the height where he had 
received his mortal wound. While we were waiting in uncertainty, the generals of 
the two armies were carrying on a correspondence in regard to terms of 
Burgoyne's surrender. It was at length agreed that his army should lay down 
their arms, and march to Boston as prisoners of war, and be sent to Europe, 
under a promise to take up arms no more in the war. I had no love for any of 
those who were fighting against us, but especially despised the Hessians, whom 
we thought were willingly hired to come to this country to subdue us. By a 
special act of generosity on the part of General Gates, none of us were allowed 
to see the enemy when they marched out to the fields of Saratoga and there 
stacked their guns; but when the march off towards Boston was begun, it became 
necessary to have a guard, and I was of that number. Up to this time I had 
entertained nothing but contempt for the women, wives of the German soldiers, 
who followed the army; but when I saw the family of the Brunswick general, I 
came to the conclusion that they were people of distinction, and were actuated 
by other than sinister motives. My

Page 144

sympathies went out for them in the long journey across the country, as we 
guarded the captured thousands to Cambridge, Mass., where they were lodged in 
the abandoned barracks of the army which kept the British shut up in Boston.'"
      To the above story of James Colburn, a soldier of the Revolution, as told 
to me in substance by his son John when lacking but four years of a century of 
life, I am indebted for the suggestion of the following story of the German 
soldiers who fought for George III. in the Revolution: --

      NOTE. – Much has justly been said in condemnation of the English 
Government for employing Germans in the war for the subjugation of her revolted 
American Colonies, and generations of the descendants of those who fought the 
hirelings have naturally imbibed feelings of contempt for the German army. But 
it should be remembered that at that time the German soldier belonged, body and 
soul, to him to whom he had sold himself. He had no country. He was severed from 
every tie; in fact, he was, in every sense of the word, the property of his 
military lord, who could do with him as he saw fit. They did not prove to be as 
helpful as it was expected, but were found totally unfit for the business in 
which they were engaged. They could not march through the woods and encounter 
the difficulties incident to war in our then almost unsettled country. Many of 
them deserted to our army before and after the surrender, or convention, as it 
was more tenderly designated at the request of Burgoyne. We have in New England 
to-day descendants of Hessians for whom the English Government was obliged to 
pay the agreed price, – being absent from the returning army, they were rated as 
dead. Descendants of Hoffmaster, Kyar, Patio, and others, have become good 
citizens of Massachusetts; and no braver soldiers fought for the Union at 
Gettysburg than some of the representatives of those men who came to this 
country as Hessians. More of the deserters settled in

Page 145

New York, and after a full century, a German's cabin was seen at Charlestown, 
Warren County, of that State. The Hessian officers were equipped with everything 
for their comfort, as though their trip to America were only an excursion for 
pleasure. A tobacco-box, which belonged to one of the unfortunate officials, is 
now seen in a collection of relics in the town of Bedford. The owner fought and 
died in the northern campaign. This pocket companion was taken to Canada by a 
British soldier of the king, and at length became the property of an English 
lady at Halifax, N.S., and was by her presented to a Boston lady, whose 
interests in the town of Bedford occasioned it to be finally deposited at her 
old homestead, and in the house from which the minute-men of Bedford set out for 
Concord fight on April 19, 1775. In the Salem Institute may be seen a hat which 
belonged to a Hessian officer who gave up his life in the "Jerseys."

[Photo- "Hessian Tobacco-Box"]

CHAPTER XIII
PRISONERS OF WAR IN AMERICA. – JOURNEY TO CAMBRIDGE. – PROVINCIAL BARRACKS AGAIN 
OCCUPIED. – HONOR AMONG PRISONERS OF WAR. – THE BARONESS TELLS HER STORY. – 
ROUTE FROM SARATOGA TO CAMBRIDGE. – "TORY ROW"

No foreign king shall give us laws, no British tyrant reign,
For independence made us free, and independence we'll maintain.
We'll charge our foes from post to post, attack their works and lines,
Or by some well-laid stratagem, we'll make them all Burgoynes. 
REV. SAMUEL HIDDEN. 

      THE Germans and Hessians were in a sorry plight. They came not here 
voluntarily, but were caught while in their churches and elsewhere, and were 
forced into the service.
      The wives who were with them helped make up the pitiable procession that 
passed through the country.

      "They had a collection of wild animals in their train – the only thing 
American they had captured. Here could be seen an artillery-man leading a 
grizzly bear, that every now and then would rear upon his hind legs as if he 
were tired of going upon all fours, or occasionally growl his disapprobation at 
being pulled along by a chain. In the same manner a tame deer would be seen 
tripping lightly after a grenadier.

Page 147

Young foxes were also observed looking sagaciously from the top of a baggage-
wagon, or a young racoon securely clutched under the arm of a sharp-shooter."

      Their advent to Cambridge is thus described by an eye-witness: --
      "On Friday we heard the Hessians were to make a procession on the same 
route. I never had the least idea that the creation produced such a sordid set 
of creatures in human figure, – poor, dirty, emaciated men; a great many women, 
who seemed to be the beasts of burden, having bushel baskets on their backs by 
which they were bent double. The contents seemed to be pots and kettles, various 
sorts of furniture, children peeping through gridirons and other utensils, some 
very young infants who were born on the road. The women were bare-footed, and 
clothed in dirty rags. Such effluvia filled the air while they were passing, 
that had they not been smoking all the time, I should have been fearful of 
disease.
      "Among these prisoners were generals of the first order of talent; young 
gentlemen of noble and wealthy families aspiring to military renown; legislators 
of the British realm; and a vast concourse of other men, lately confident of 
victory and of freedom to plunder and destroy, were led captive through the 
pleasant land they had coveted, to be gazed at with mingled joy and scorn by 
those whose homes they came to make desolate. Their march was solemn, sullen, 
and silent."

Page 148

      To many of them the abandoned barracks of the patriots afforded more 
comfort than they had been enjoying, while to some the best quarters were 
repulsive in the extreme.

      NOTE. – The reader will bear in mind that the German troops captured and 
marched as prisoners to Cambridge were only a portion of the whole army hired 
from that country by the King of England to subdue the patriots. They were first 
met in combat at Long Island in August, 1776, when Washington was defeated with 
a loss of one thousand in dead and wounded; but before the year closed, 
Washington made that memorable Christmas [1] call upon the enemy after crossing 
the Delaware, and captured a full thousand of the Hessians.

      The British soldiers were quartered in the barracks on Prospect Hill, and 
the Germans on Winter Hill. Cambridge again assumed a warlike appearance. 
Besides the almost six thousand prisoners quartered there, a small army of 
patriots was required to keep guard over them. Among the guard were some brave 
men who had appeared there under different circumstances in the spring of 1775. 
The command of the guard fell to General Glover of Marblehead, although many 
towns were represented in the rank and file. In the almost illegible records of 
the towns may be deciphered entries like the following: –-


"Men to take and guard the convention troops."

      William R. Lee of Marblehead, who had two years before been prominent as a 
captain at the


[1] See Story of Marblehead.

Page 149

Cambridge camp, was again on the ground, but as a colonel, with his troops to 
form a portio of the guard.
      On the day following the arrival of the army, General Burgoyne and his two 
major-generals, Phillips and Riedesel, dined by invitation with General Heath, 
the commander of the American forces in and around Boston. The dinner is 
described as an elegant affair. Whose healths were drunk we do not know. Among 
the guests were Generals Glover and Whipple, who had conducted the British part 
of the capitulated army from Saratoga. This fine beginning was too good to last. 
Many of the prisoners were too base to appreciate favors; as utterly incapable 
of manifesting a sense of gratitude as they were of understanding the language 
in which orders were given. They took advantage of the liberty given them, and 
commenced a wholesale destruction of fences, sheds, barns, fruit, and 
ornamental-trees, and everything available, under the pretence of necessity for 
fuel. This led to the enforcement of more rigid measures on the part of the 
guard, and then to complaints from the prisoners, and a general disturbance.       
It is apparent that General Burgoyne entertained no hard feelings against 
Colonel Lee, for there is credited to him the most remarkable kindness in the 
following narrative.[1]


[1] See "History of Marblehead" by Roads.

Page 150

Captain John Lee, brother of Colonel William R., while in the privateer service, 
was taken prisoner in 1776, and sent to Forton Prison,[1] England. He was there 
submitted to the most cruel treatment. Three times he attempted, with a few of 
his companions in misery, to make an escape; but as often failed, and received a 
worse punishment.
      At length he was allowed the range of the larger apartments and yard of 
the prison. He was informed one day by an officer that there was some one at the 
gate who had been granted an interview with him. On going to the entrance he 
found a well but plainly dressed gentleman, who asked, "Are you Captain John Lee 
of Marblehead?" and being satisfied of his identity, the strange caller 
presented a purse containing seventy-five guineas.
      The prisoner asked in astonishment to whom he was indebted for such a 
timely and most acceptable present. "No matter," was the answer. And then the 
gentleman observed, "With a part of the funds, purchase, or procure in some way, 
a complete suit of uniform like those worn by the soldiers of the guard; and 
this evening place yourself in some obscure corner or position, whence you can 
unperceived fall into the ranks when they go the rounds, and come out


[1] Same prison mentioned in "A Romance of War" in "Beneath Old Roof Trees" of 
this series.

Page 151

into the yard. But as there are sentinels who must be passed before you reach 
the street, the countersign will be required;" which was then whispered in his 
ear, and the unknown gentleman disappeared.
      By using the gold freely and wisely during the day, Captain Lee was 
enabled to obtain the needful dress, and following the instructions which he had 
so strangely received, he fell into the ranks as the guard passed through the 
prison, and soon reached the yard. Then giving the countersign, he passed the 
guard at the outer gate, and found himself alone in the street. The night was 
very dark, and the roads were strange to him, so that he did not know where to 
go, or what step to take next to make sure of success. While he was endeavoring 
to reach a decision, the gentleman who gave him the purse came up, and taking 
him by the hand, congratulated him upon his good fortune. Then conducting him to 
a carriage which was waiting at a little distance, the gentleman requested him 
to enter it, and stated that the coachman had instructions where to convey him. 
As he entered the carriage the strange gentleman wished him a prosperous and 
safe return to America, and was about taking his leave, when Captain Lee again 
asked to whom he was indebted for such a humane and generous act. He answered, 
"No matter." And after directing the coachman to move off, he bowed and said,

Page 152

"Farewell, God bless you!" and was soon out of sight.
      On his arrival in America, Captain Lee related the circumstances of his 
escape to his brother, Colonel William R. Lee, and expressed a strong desire to 
know who the gentleman could have been, and what were his motives for extending 
assistance to an utter stranger and a natural enemy. Colonel Lee replied, –-
      "I can inform you. When General Burgoyne and his army arrived at Cambridge 
as prisoners of war, I had the command of the troops which were stationed there 
as guard, and again for several months previous to his departure for England. 
When I waited upon him to take leave on the day of his departure, he thanked me 
in the most cordial manner for my attentions, and, as he expressed it, the 
gentlemanly and honorable manner in which I had treated him and his officers, 
and wished to know whether there was anything which he could do for me when he 
reached England. I informed him I had a brother who for more than two years had 
been confined in Forton Prison; and as he was entirely destitute of funds, I 
should consider it a great favor if he would take charge of seventy-five 
guineas, and cause them to be delivered to him on his arrival. He replied, ‘Why 
did you not inform me before that you had a brother a prisoner in England? You 
shall not send any money to him; I will see that it is sup-

Page 153

plied, and shall with great pleasure do everything in my power to render his 
situation as comfortable as possible.' I thanked him for his generous offer of 
services, but informed him that I could not consent to receive pecuniary aid, 
and desired as a special favor that he would be so kind as to deliver you the 
purse which I put into his hand. 'It shall be done,' he said; 'and you may be 
assured that I shall find him out, and see that he is well provided for in all 
respects.' Thus, it is evident that you are indebted to General Burgoyne for 
your fortunate escape from the horrors of a prison."
      Madam Riedesel gives us some ideas of the journey to Cambridge from the 
standpoint of a captive.

      "As it was already very late in the season, and the weather raw, I had my 
calash covered with coarse linen, which in turn was varnished over with oil; and 
in this manner we set out on our journey to Boston, which was very tedious, 
besides being attended with considerable hardship.
      "I know not whether it was my carriage that attracted

[Photo- "Baroness Riedesel"]

Page 154

the curiosity of the people to it, – for it certainly had the appearance of a 
wagon in which they carry around rare animals, – but often I was obliged to 
halt, because the people insisted upon seeing the wife of the German general 
with her children. For fear that they would tear off the linen covering from the 
wagon in their eagerness to see me, I very often alighted, and by this means got 
away more quickly."

      On the arrival at Cambridge, Madam Riedesel and family were quartered at a 
private house, which she describes as follows: "We had only one room under the 
roof. My women servants slept on the floor, and our men servants in the entry. 
Some straw, which I placed under our beds, served us for a long time, as I had 
with me nothing more than my own field-bed."
      They were allowed to eat in the room where the whole family ate and slept. 
It is impossible to imagine the feelings of the baroness when obliged to remain 
in such quarters. For one used to ordinary living to be thus located it would be 
hard indeed, and vastly more irksome for one accustomed to the luxury of the 
Riedesel home.
      It is apparent that this was not intentional on the part of the Americans 
in charge, for after three weeks the family were given lodgings in one of the 
most beautiful houses of Cambridge. It was the Lechmere House, one of the seven 
on "Tory Row" (Brattle Street) vacated by the Royalists. It is yet standing, not 
far from the colleges. Both house and grounds are so changed as

Page 155

to be scarcely recognizable. The Colonial style of the dwelling is utterly 
destroyed, and many houses now stand on the extensive grounds where richly 
dressed men and women were often seen before the Revolution.
      These noted prisoners enjoyed themselves in their new quarters, and were 
in full sympathy with the owners who had been obliged to flee. They complained 
that the town throughout was full of "violent patriots " and "wicked people." 
They decried the women, who they claimed showed them the greatest indignity.
      The kindness of General Schuyler prompted the baroness to pay a visit to 
his daughter Madam Carter, whose attentions she fully appreciated; but 
complained of her husband, who, she said, proposed to the Americans "to chop off 
the heads of our generals, salt them down in barrels, and send over to the 
English one of these barrels for every hamlet or little town burned down."
      After the abusive measures adopted by General Gage in this locality, it 
seems remarkable that these prisoners should have been treated with so much 
lenience, notwithstanding the terms of surrender. It was quite like our more 
modern way of dealing with our enemies. The family held balls and parties, and 
even went so far as to celebrate the birthday of the king. When they had become 
quite contented, expecting to remain in this place until set free, there came an 
order for a change. 

Page 156

Some of the troops were sent to Rutland in the interior of the State, and others 
were sent to Virginia. It fell to the lot of the Riedesels to go to Virginia.
      The baroness succeeded in secreting the German colors, and preventing 
their being captured by the Americans, who were led by her to believe that they 
were burned at Saratoga, which was not true, the staffs only being destroyed, 
while the colors were secreted in a mattress.
      A daughter born to the family in New York in 1780, while they were 
prisoners of war, received the name of America, which name she honorably bore 
through a long life in Germany.
      The family spent nearly seven years in this country, it being the autumn 
of 1783 before they again saw their Brunswick home. About one-third of General 
Riedesel's army either perished or voluntarily remained in America.
      The record of the Riedesels and the Hessians occupies but a small place in 
our history, and is passed with but little notice, save as it comes to us 
occasionally through the lips of one who, like John Colburn of Hollis, N.H., has 
had it from one of the patriots who faced the foes "who killed for hire."
      The poet Longfellow, who became the owner of the house which was the 
headquarters of Washington during his stay at Cambridge, became interested in 
the story of the Riedesels, whose home

Page 157

was not unlike his own, and has remembered them in "The Open Window:" --

The old house by the lindens
   Stood, silent in the shade,
And on the gravelled pathway
   The light and shadow played.

I saw the nursery windows
   Wide open to the air;
But the faces of the children,
   They were no longer there.

The large Newfoundland house-dog
   Was standing by the door;
He looked for his little playmates,
   Who would return no more.

They walked not under the lindens,
   They played not in the hall;
But shadow, and silence, and sadness
   Were hanging over all.

The birds sang in the branches,
   With sweet, familiar tone;
But the voices of the children
   Will be heard in dreams alone!

And the boy that walked beside me,
   He could not understand
Why closer in mine, ah! closer,
   I pressed his warm, soft hand 


      Well authenticated history and tradition prove that Burgoyne and his 
officers were shown favors seldom granted to prisoners of war. While the

Page 158

Brunswick general was living in luxury as described, General Burgoyne received 
the distinction of being located in the Apthorp House, vacated by its Loyalist 
owner, John Borland, who gave up his beautiful home, rather than forsake the 
Crown

[Photo- "Apthorp House, Cambridge, Where Burgoyne Was Imprisoned"]

and ally himself with the Colonists. With all the softening effect of time and 
circumstances, one cannot revert to the vacated estates of Brattle Street 
without arousing the most profound sympathy for that class of people denominated 
Tories, many of whom had great possessions. These they sacrificed, and much else 
that was clear to them, rather than espouse the doubtful cause.

Page 159

These Loyalists were doubtless as conscientious in their course as were their 
neighbors, the patriots, in their struggle for liberty.
      The Apthorp House is one of the notable houses of Cambridge to-day. It is 
a well-preserved specimen of the Colonial architecture, surrounded by ample 
grounds, but which have been greatly shorn of their original lawn. In the mellow 
sunlight of an October afternoon, by the courtesy of the occupant and partial 
owner, I thoughtfully strolled about that yard, over the turf once trod by the 
proud general whose glory had departed. I recalled the scene when the general, 
presuming upon the leniency of the guard, made an attempt to overstep his 
limits, and, being brought to a halt, gave free expression to his feelings; so 
says the daughter of one who was a witness to the scene. The massive door of the 
mansion, and the large hall in which it swings, are silent reminders of many 
noted guests who have crossed that threshold. The spacious rooms on either side, 
where elaborate carvings have withstood the vexing hand of modern architects, 
and the broad staircase with elegant balustrade, remind one of not only the days 
when a notable prisoner was the occupant, but of the builder and his successors 
in possession.
      This interesting mansion is familiar to all who have been connected with 
Harvard University for more than a century, many of whom have dwelt beneath its 
roof. It was built about 1760 for Rev.

Page 160

East Apthorp, the first rector of Christ Church, Cambridge. In sentiment and 
manner of living, Dr. Apthorp may be classed with the Vassal, Lee, Inman, 
Oliver, Phips, Lechmere, Brattle, and Temple families, who were instrumental in 
erecting the church edifice and establishing the mission. It was at a time when 
there was an increasing opposition to the element of aristocracy in the 
Colonies. Being censured for his high living, etc., Dr. Apthorp became 
dissatisfied, and returned to England, after advising his parishioners to give 
less heed to "fashionable imitation and parade in buildings, tables, equipages, 
etc."
      John Borland and family, belonging to the select circle of sympathizers, 
were occupants of the Apthorp House when the Revolutionary troubles began. They 
were classed among the "absentees;" but the head of the family having died while 
in Boston in 1775, the property was not held by the government, and the heirs 
succeeded to the ownership. During the Borland possession the house was enlarged 
by adding a story at the top for the use of the negro slaves of the family, 
there being a growing sentiment in the Bay Colony against the practice of 
certain New York families, who assigned their cellars for the sleeping 
apartments of their slaves. Captain Thomas Warland became, through purchase, the 
next owner of the famous house, and it is still in the possession of his family.

Page 161

      A pair of brass candlesticks, a part of the travelling equipage or tent 
ornaments of General Burgoyne, were presented to Lieutenant Edmund Monroe of 
Lexington by a superior officer, after

[Photo- "Burgoyne's Candlesticks"] 

the surrender of the northern army. These are still in the family, owned by 
George R. Fessenden, M.D., of Ashfield, Mass. They are made so as to be packed 
in a compact form, and carried in the pocket.

      NOTE. – To trace the route taken by that part of the capitulated army 
which went to Cambridge, the reader should follow it from Saratoga across the 
Hudson to Great Barrington, where for the first time they found shelter in 
barns. There they halted for some time in order to secure a change of teams for 
the conveyance of baggage, the sick, etc. Then they went on to Westfield in a 
lazy and shiftless manner. Two of the Germans perished from exposure before 
reaching West Springfield, where they crossed the Connecticut River; and finding 
the people of East Springfield unwilling to quarter the troops, they were 
obliged to go on as far as Palmer, thence to Brookfield, where the Germans 
overtook their English fellow-sufferers, who had preceded them a day's journey. 
From Brookfield to Leicester was a march of eleven days, where quarters for the 
weary army were obtained. On November 4 they reached Worcester, and obtained 
"deacent quarters." Generals Burgoyne

Page 162

and Phillips, with Brigadier Glover, were there at the same time. The next day 
found them at Marlborough, and on the succeeding day they reached Weston, and 
one day more was needed to complete the journey to Cambridge, November 7.
      One need not study very intently the history of the towns through which 
the prisoners passed, to find that the patriots on the entire route took 
pleasure in the panoramic scenes. In many instances, however, they gave relief 
to the poor bedraggled creatures who fell out by the way, and lay down to die in 
a strange land.
      According to the terms of capitulation, the army was to have a free 
passage to England under Lieutenant-General Burgoyne. It was to march to 
Massachusetts Bay by the easiest and most expeditious route, and be quartered as 
near as possible to Boston. The officers were not to be separated from their 
men; but they were to be quartered according to rank, and not to be hindered 
from assembling their men for roll-call and the necessary purposes of 
regularity. They were to be allowed the privilege of parole, and to wear their 
side-arms. The terms of agreement signed by Gates in behalf of the Colonies, and 
Burgoyne on the part of the English Government, were not fully carried out, 
failing to be indorsed by the Continental Congress.
      In times of peace it is hardly fair to impugn the motives of the faithful 
leaders in times of war; but they were charged with detaining the troops for the 
purpose of having them desert, and join the American army.

Page 163

CHAPTER XIV
BARON AND BARONESS RIEDESEL.– GERMAN ALLIES. – START FROM GERMANY. – THE 
BARONESS AT THE COURT OF KING GEORGE, III. – RECEPTION IN AMERICA.– WOMEN FOLLOW 
THE ARMY

      EARLY in 1776, when General Gage found he could not have his own way, and 
Burgoyne had learned that he must fight to have "elbow room," England entered 
into treaties with the smaller German states to take into her service twenty 
thousand German troops. The landgrave of Hesse-Cassel furnished the larger 
share, and hence all the Germans received the appellation "Hessians."
      The custom followed by the ruler of this German province of hiring out 
Hessian soldiers was one of long standing, and one which aided the finances not 
a little, and sometimes led to the formation of important alliances on the part 
of the reigning House. It is recorded that the British Government paid 
£3,000,000 for the services of the army of Hessians who fought against our 
patriotic ancestors in the Revolution. Of these, four thousand were 
Brunswickers, natives of the province of Brunswick.

Page 164

      While I will not run the risk of confusing my readers by departing from 
the appellation Hessians, I desire to have it apparent that the German allies of 
the king were of different classes, and not all of the grade which we have 
sometimes contemptuously regarded them, although none of them had any honorable 
motive for taking up arms against the Provincials.
      The Brunswick army was placed under the command of Major-General Riedesel, 
a man of literary culture and refinement, as well as of military distinction; 
and the only wonder is that he could be hired to lead an army to come to America 
"to butcher her children."
      If my reader would follow the course taken by this general and his German 
army from their starting-point to America, let him turn to the map of the German 
Empire, and find near the centre the province of Brunswick, from which their 
start was made. They marched across the province of Hanover to Stade, a 
fortified town about a mile from the mouth of the Schwinge in the Elbe, where 
they began their journey by water. "The departure of the boats was one of the 
most beautiful spectacles that can be imagined. All was contentment and 
happiness." The boat which carried General Riedesel was the Pallas, the same 
which conveyed General Gage from America to England. The first day's journey was 
past beautiful villages, plainly seen from the boat on either side of the

Page 165

Elbe, to Fryburg, and then they were soon out to sea. Touching at Dover, they 
passed through the Strait to the English Channel, halting at Portsmouth, and 
passing on to Plymouth, which they left on April 4 for America. The fleet, upon 
leaving the coast of England, numbered thirty-six sailing-vessels. After a 
passage of nine weeks, they arrived at Quebec, where the general saw some of our 
men who had been captured, "Rebel prisoners," he called them. From Quebec they 
went to Three Rivers, from which place the general wrote to his wife: "We have 
already conquered the whole of Canada, and shall, as soon as the boats are in 
readiness, force our way into New England by the way of Lake Champlain, where 
are all the rebels." After taking Crown Point they went into winter quarters in 
and near Three Rivers. Here they remained in the full enjoyment of good living, 
after a time of illness occasioned by the change in climate. The anticipation of 
a complete subjugation of the patriot army in the spring added to their winter's 
enjoyment. In May they were made doubly sure of success by the arrival of 
General John Burgoyne, with a picked army, great stores of ammunition, and the 
finest brass cannon yet sent over. Good plans were made, but the trouble came in 
carrying them out.
      At first they were successful; and General Riedesel began to win laurels 
for himself and his army,

Page 166

and Burgoyne thought the way was clear before him. They repulsed Seth Warner and 
his "Green Mountain Boys" at Hubbardston, Vermont, captured Ticonderoga and the 
stores at Whitehall. But at length the Germans marched on to Bennington, where 
General Stark had put in an appearance with some New Hampshire militia. It was 
their appearance that called forth that oft-repeated remark, "There they are, 
boys. We shall beat them to-night, or to-morrow morning Molly Stark will be a 
widow."[1] They did defeat them, and captured some brass cannon, which they 
could not turn to a good use until General Stark showed them how to do it.
      There soon followed the conditions and experiences which Mr. Colburn 
described to me, and which have been already recorded in a previous chapter.
      The reader recalls the statement of Mr. Colburn, and wonders how the 
family of the Brunswick general came to be with him at the surrender of October 
17. Surprising as it may seem, it was quite the habit of these German soldiers 
to have


[1]
"The morning came –- there stood the foe;
Stark eyed them as they Stood;
Few words he spake –- 'twas not a time
For moralizing mood;
'See there, the enemy, my boys –-
Now, strong in valor's might,
Beat them, or Betty Stark will sleep
In widowhood to-night!'" 



Page 167

their wives along with them. About fourscore women left their homes, and made 
the journey to America with the army to which their husbands belonged. The 
peasant women were contented to do the drudgery of the camp, and live in a most 
disgusting manner. It was in accordance with this custom that the family of 
General Riedesel was with him at Saratoga; but their manner of journeying and 
living was in the greatest contrast to that of the peasants.
      The Baroness Riedesel was equally as cultured and refined as her husband 
the general. She belonged to a distinguished family, and from youth was 
accustomed to the most cultivated society of her country. Although surrounded 
with all that wealth and station could provide, the baroness would have 
accompanied her husband to America had circumstances permitted. At her earliest 
opportunity, May 4, she set out on her journey to meet him. She took with her 
three daughters, Gustava, Frederica, and Caroline, aged four years and nine 
months, two years, and ten weeks, respectively. She was accompanied by a retinue 
of servants of both sexes; which her wealth and position warranted. They made 
the journey overland in a coach to Calais, where they took a ship for England, 
landed at Dover, and were conveyed to London by coach. They arrived in London on 
June 1, and she immediately received the courtesy from Lord North which her 
position demanded.

Page 168

After a few days she went to Bristol, where she met a Captain Fenton, whose wife 
and a daughter of fourteen years were held as prisoners in Boston, New England. 
The baroness spent months in making preparations for her ocean voyage, during 
which time she appeared at Court, and was presented to King George III. and his 
wife on New Year's Day, 1777.
      The baroness thus describes her experience at the Court of England, –-
      I found the castle very ugly, and furnished in old-fashioned style. All 
the ladies and gentlemen were stationed in the audience-room. Into this room 
came the king, preceded by three cavaliers. The queen followed him, accompanied 
by a lady who carried her train, and a chamberlain. The king went round to the 
right, and the queen to the left. Neither passed by any one without saying 
something. At the end of the drawing-room they met, made each other a profound 
bow, and then returned to the place whence they had started. I asked Lady 
Germaine how I should act, and whether the king, as I had heard, kissed all the 
ladies. ‘No,' she replied, ‘only English women and marchionesses;' and that all 
one had to do was to remain quietly standing in her place. When, therefore, the 
king came up and kissed me, I was greatly amazed, and turned red as fire, since 
it was so entirely unexpected."
      The remarks of the king showed that he was

Page 169

familiar with the enterprise of General Riedesel, and of the intended journey of 
the baroness.
      She left Portsmouth for America, with her children and servants, on April 
15, 1777, and arrived in the harbor of Quebec on the 11th of June. There was a 
booming of guns from all the ships in the harbor, firing a salute in honor of 
her arrival, before she realized what it all meant. Presently a boat approached 
the ship to carry them ashore. The boat was manned by twelve sailors dressed in 
white, with silver helmets and green sashes. With the boat came letters from 
General Reidesel, informing his wife that he had been unable to await her 
arrival at Quebec, and had started on the summer campaign with General Burgoyne. 
Only remaining long enough at Quebec to dine with the wife of General Carleton, 
the baroness with her family took a boat, and proceeded up the St. Lawrence, in 
the hope of overtaking her husband. At midnight they landed, and took calashes 
for a drive across the country, riding in this way till the following afternoon, 
when they crossed the river, and reached the village of Three Rivers. Here the 
Hessians had been in winter quarters, and General Reidesel had left a house 
prepared for the reception of his family.
      The Grand Vicar of the village, seeing the baroness's anxiety to join her 
husband, loaned her a covered calash, in which she immediately

Page 170

resumed her journey in pursuit of the advancing army. And in this manner this 
refined lady and her three young children and servants were driven over the 
rough roads of the country.
      "How touching a picture is this! A delicate, refined woman, accustomed 
only to the comfort, luxury, and shelter of an old civilization in a circle of 
devoted relations and friends, encountering the hardships of the wilderness, 
self-reliant, courageous, persevering, not for one moment forgetting or 
neglecting the babes who are dependent on her tenderness, even while her whole 
soul is absorbed in that intensity of wifely love and devotion that renders her 
regardless of fatigue, pain, and repeated disappointment. If we are moved with 
enthusiasm in recalling the valor and self-forgetfulness of the patriot in the 
service of his country on the wearying march and amid the carnage of the field, 
may we not be equally stirred at a manifestation of heroic endurance and self-
abnegation in an exercise of the most sublime of human emotions, even though it 
be on the part of one who sympathizes with the enemy?"
      After meeting General Riedesel, and spending a few days, it became 
necessary for her to return to Three Rivers with the children. They spent some 
weeks at the village of Three Rivers. In the meantime the British and German 
forces had met with their successes at Ticonderoga and elsewhere. Major Ackland 
had been wounded at

Page 171

Hubbardston in the encounter with the "Green Mountain Boys," and his wife had 
been allowed to join him.
      This permission led General Burgoyne to turn to General Riedesel and say, 
–-
      "Your wife shall come too, General; despatch Captain Willoe to escort her 
at once."
      They left Three Rivers in a boat; and after some strange experiences with 
rattlesnakes when landing on a small island, and the enjoyment of much charming 
scenery, they reached Fort Edward, where they were most gladly received by 
General Riedesel, and warmly welcomed by the commanding officers.
      They spent three happy weeks, a reunited family, in the Red House, 
encircled by the British and German troops.
      "The weather was beautiful," said the baroness, "and we often took our 
meals under the trees."
      On the 11th of September the army moved forward; and the little family 
followed them until the battle of the 19th, when the baroness and her family 
were obliged to remain at one place, meeting the husband and father as often as 
circumstances permitted. At length a house was prepared for the family near the 
camp; and when she was to move into it, an unexpected change took place. Said 
the baroness, "On my way homeward, I met many savages in their war dress armed 
with guns. They cried out, 'War! War!'

Page 172

This completely overwhelmed me; and I had scarcely got back to my quarters, when 
I heard skirmishing and firing, which by degrees became constantly heavier, 
until finally the noises were frightful." The baroness was expecting to have a 
dinner-party that afternoon, at which the generals were to be guests; but 
instead of the party, she was called upon to care for one of them, General 
Frazer, who was mortally wounded, and died soon after. The burial of General 
Frazer, alluded to by my aged friend Mr. Colburn, is here described by the 
Baroness Riedesel, as she saw it from the standpoint of the enemy, whose leader 
he was. "Many cannon-balls also flew not far from me; but I had my eyes fixed 
upon the hill, where I distinctly saw my husband in the midst of the enemy's 
fire. The clergyman who was officiating was frequently covered with dust, which 
the shot threw up on all sides of him." Immediately after the funeral a retreat 
was ordered. Madam Riedesel, with children and servants, travelled all night in 
the pouring rain, and camped at Old Saratoga. The greatest consternation 
prevailed in the army; the provisions had failed, and the leading officers were 
forced from hunger to beg for a morsel from the baroness. Soon the cannonading 
drove them on, and the family sought refuge in a house. They were detected in 
entering the house by some of the Americans, who fired at them, and believing 
that the house was filled with officers,

Page 173

continued a heavy fire. Madam Riedesel and her children escaped by hiding in the 
cellar, where they sat upon the floor through the entire night, while cannon-
balls crashed through the walls above them. Surrounded by the dead and dying, in 
hourly expectation of attack, this heroic woman cared for her children when 
servants failed, and also acted the part of a nurse to the suffering about her. 
After nearly a week of this extremity, the surrender came, and the entire army 
were prisoners of the Americans.
      After the generals of the conquered army had been received by General 
Gates, and the formalities of surrender had. taken place, a messenger was sent 
to the baroness, asking her to join her husband, who was a prisoner in the 
American camp. She was met by General Philip Schuyler and General Gates, and 
also Generals Phillips and Burgoyne of the surrendered army. General Schuyler 
then took the baroness and her children to his own tent, where he showed them 
much hospitality, and later sent them to his home in Albany, where they remained 
three days, when the baroness and her children left to join the General in the 
trials of the long captivity. They journeyed with the captured army to 
Cambridge, Mass. This beautiful lady, so recently a guest of the King of 
England, and during her entire life in Germany surrounded by luxury, was now 
practically a prisoner of war.

Page 174

      It was in this condition that the Hollis soldier saw the family of the 
Brunswick general. The station and wealth of the baroness prevented her falling 
into the condition of the ordinary women who followed the army, yet she was 
subjected to many trials that she little anticipated when leaving her home at 
Brunswick.
      The Baroness Riedesel had the society of Lady Harriet Ackland during a 
portion of her camp-life in America. She had left her home of luxury in England, 
and accompanied her husband, Major Ackland, who was in command of the 
Grenadiers; but the English officer was captured before the Saratoga Convention, 
hence the two ladies were not companions in the prison-life in Massachusetts and 
Virginia.
      The whole number of prisoners was 5,791. Of these 2,412 were Germans and 
Hessians. The munitions captured consisted of 4,647 muskets, 6,000 dozen 
cartridges, etc. Among the English prisoners were six members of parliament. The 
journey of three hundred miles was long and wearisome. There was nothing to 
inspire the march. On the contrary, it was prison-life for all but the officers, 
who had special privileges, according to the agreement between Burgoyne and 
Gates at the surrender.

Page 175

CHAPTER XV
DANVERS. -- FIRST SETTLERS. -- HOME OF COLONEL JEREMIAH PAGE. -- OFFICE OF 
GOVERNOR THOMAS GAGE. -- FAMILY RECOLLECTIONS OF THE LAST GOVERNOR UNDER THE 
CROWN. -- ORIGIN OF LUCY LARCOM'S POEM, "A GAMBREL ROOF." THE LEXINGTON ALARM. -
- BURIAL OF DANVERS HEROES KILLED AT MENOTOMY, APRIL 19, 1775. -- THE BELL 
TAVERN

      My stroll about Danvers in quest of hearthstones on which glow the embers 
of Revolutionary days was most abundantly rewarded. In fact, I found many homes 
in this locality where the family possession has not been broken from the early 
days of the Colonial period of our history. Essex County is remarkably favored 
in this particular. The name of Governor Endicott calls our attention to the 
very beginning of the settlement of Salem, and the origin of the Colony of 
Massachusetts Bay in 1628. Danvers was formerly known as Salem Village, and 
includes the Endicott grant.
      Wisely directed, I made my way to the Page house in the centre of Danvers. 
So well kept is

Page 176

this home of the Page family that I at first thought I must have mistaken the 
direction; but a glance upward revealed the old-fashioned gambrel roof, so 
pleasantly described by Miss Lucy Larcom, and I was fully assured that I had 
reached the desired house. I was at once given a welcome

[Photo- "Colonel Jeremiah Page Home, Danvers"]

by Miss Annie L. Page, the present owner and occupant, and by her supplied with 
the unquestionable data to which I now invite the attention of my readers.
      "This house was built by my grandfather, Colonel Jeremiah Page, about the 
year 1750, and has always been in our family possession. Here my grandparents 
spent the greater part of their lives;

Page 177

my father, John Page, was born here; and it is still my home. To be sure, there 
have been some alterations and additions from time to time; but the same roof-
tree has sheltered the three generations, and we have sat by the same hearth-
stone. The beautiful spreading elms in front of the house were planted by 
Jeremiah Page about one hundred and fifty years ago. Scores of his descendants 
have enjoyed their gracious shade, and been led to believe with Emerson, 'God's 
greatest thought in nature is a tree.'" Jeremiah Page, the builder of this well-
kept house, was the pioneer of brickmaking in Danvers. He was born in Medford in 
1722, and when about twenty-one years of age was invited by Mr. Daniel Andrews 
to work the clay-pits of Danvers. In this way he began the manufacture of 
bricks, which he continued to the close of his life in 1806.
      Among his large contracts was that of supplying the bricks for Fort 
William at Salem, in 1794. The young brickmaker married the only daughter of Mr. 
Andrews, who is the heroine of the teaparty represented in "A Gambrel Roof." 
Here Jeremiah Page and Sarah Andrews began their married life, and for a century 
and a half the Pages have made a record most creditable to the town.
      Jeremiah Page early in life acted the part of a patriot, and possessing 
peculiar qualifications for leadership was put in military authority in the

Page 178

Province. He was commissioned as captain of the militia in the year 1773. This 
was when the rumblings of the Revolution were all about them, and it required 
decision of character to fulfil the duties of the office. April 27, 1774, he was 
ordered to take his company to Trask's Hill in Salem for military exercise. Up 
to this time the majority of the commissioned officers of the first Essex 
regiment were in sympathy with the government. Among these Colonel William 
Brown, a member of the Council Board, refused to resign in accordance with 
request, and so the subordinate officers withdrew. Then was held a meeting of 
the members of the Alarm and Training Bands of the third company of Danvers, 
when Jeremiah Page was chosen as captain. This act was indorsed by a popular 
vote, despite the order from the government officials.
      It was at this time that the new governor and Captain-general, Thomas 
Gage, made his appearance in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and early 
announced to the Council and gentlemen of the House of Representatives that 
after the first of June the seat of government would be transferred to Salem; 
and consequently, on May 28, he adjourned them to meet there on June 7. This 
order was in anticipation of the closing of the port of Boston on June 1. It was 
necessary that the king's agent should be near the seat of government, and the 
demonstration in Boston on the

Page 179

first day of the enforcement of the Port Bill may have hastened his removal. On 
the following day the royal governor was driven to Danvers, and here established 
his official residence. To be located a little distance out in the country was 
the custom with the officers, and Danvers at the

[Photo- "Governor Gage's Office"]

beginning of June offered great natural attractions. Then, too, it was the 
residence of Dr. Samuel Holton, one of the Council. But the country home, with 
its attractions, was too far out; and the royal governor applied to Jeremiah 
Page for a room in his house to serve him as an office. Having taken up his 
abode in the town in a perfectly peaceable manner, this privilege

Page 180

was not denied him, and the south front room was set off to his use.
      Miss Page told me that her father had often from the windows of this room 
enjoyed looking at the harbor filled with sail, and this view may have 
influenced the governor in the selection of his office.
      The room, with its present attractions, is a vivid reminder of the summer 
of 1774, when the last English governor who served the country transacted the 
king's business and smoked his pipe within its walls. As this dignified tenant 
sat in his office with sympathizing officials, he had little thought that his 
landlord was dividing the time between his brick-yard and the patriot cause; for 
even then Captain Page was attending secret meetings with other patriots, where 
there was plotting against the king and Parliament.
      To one accustomed to hear nothing but evil of the king's troops while 
quartered in and about Boston, it is a relief to gather from the lips of Danvers 
people some of their ancestors' personal experiences with the soldiers while 
quartered in the town and loitering about the highways. "The conduct of the 
royal troops is said to have been very exemplary; and grandfather enjoyed the 
company of Governor Gage, although he was not in sympathy with him or the cause 
which he was here to maintain." Another family report, perhaps somewhat biassed, 
is, "The governor was as pretty a man in the house as I ever saw." 

Page 181

      Mrs. Fowler, a daughter of Archelaus Putnam of Danversport, added her 
testimony, which is kept as a family tradition.
      "In September, 1774, I was in an orchard gathering apples when on looking 
up, I saw two English officers, one of whom commenced climbing over the fence. 
The other, seeing that I was alarmed, said to him, 'Wait till the girl goes 
away; do not frighten her by entering the orchard yet.'"
      A thrifty farmer whom I chanced to meet and engage in conversation when 
driving his stock of cows to the barn, said, "Yes, them soldiers used to relieve 
our folks of the trouble of milking the cows, though unfortunately for the 
owners, they appropriated the milk to their own use; but no one could wonder at 
it. Here they were loafing about with little or nothing to do. I wonder they 
didn't do a good many more tricks."
      Seven of these British soldiers died while encamped here, from July 21 to 
September 5; and their unmarked graves are still pointed out in a field on the 
south side of Sylvan Street. Perhaps they thus escaped a more bloody death on 
the following 19th of April.
      It has been thought that Governor Gage provided either a whole or part of 
the furnishings of this room to suit his own liking, and that in his somewhat 
hasty departure he failed to take his chairs, which remained in the house for a 
long

Page 182

time, and were known as "Governor Gage's chairs." They had green flag seats, 
and, being but little prized, were sold at auction after the death of Captain 
Page.
      Curiosity prompted me to ask this member of the Page family for the 
authenticity of the tea-party story, to which the genial lady replied, "It

[Photo- "Page Garret, Danvers"]

was on my grandfather's return from one of the meetings with his patriot friends 
that he told grandmother he had promised to have no more tea used in his house, 
and that she must not have any made. One day soon after, when he was away from 
home, two friends came in to spend the afternoon, as was the good old custom. 
The temptation, with plenty of tea in the house, was too great.

Page 183

Grandmother told her visitors what grandfather had commanded; but as he had said 
in and not upon the house, she thought they could enjoy this tea without 
disobeying him, and they slyly went up and enjoyed some on the roof."
      This little ruse, so cunningly executed by Mrs. Page, was lost to the 
family by the death of the good woman, which occurred within a year before it 
was prudent to reveal any secrets of this nature. "It is apparent that 
grandmother was the only member of the family who had a part in the tea-
drinking, and it was many years before the secret was revealed which furnished 
the impulse for writing the well-known centennial poem." 
"A GAMBREL ROOF," AND HOW THE SECRET WAS MADE KNOWN.

      "IT was some time between the years 1845 and 50 that a friend of my mother 
came to make her a visit. She had recently come to Danvers to live, and had 
never been in our house before. She begged to go up on the roof, and see the 
place of the secret tea-drinking, which we now heard of for the first time. Her 
mother was one of the tea-drinkers, and she had often heard her tell the 
experience. The return to Danvers had recalled the incident to her mind, in 
which we were very much interested. I told the story to Miss Larcom, who often 
visited us, and in 1875,

Page 184

when the centennial anniversaries were noticed as they came around, she wrote a 
poem upon the tea-drinking, of course making liberal use of poetic license."
      It seems that afternoon teas were then in order; and Mrs. Page is 
represented as remonstrating against the decree of her husband, saying, --

"'I've asked a friend or two to sup,
And not to offer them a cup
Would be a sting'y shame.'" 

      To which Captain Page replies, --

"'Wife; I have promised, so must you,
None shall drink tea inside my house,
Your gossip elsewhere must carouse.'" 

      The lady courtesied low, --

"'Husband, your word is law,' she said,
But archly turned her well-set head
With roguish poise toward this old roof,
Soon as she heard his martial hoof
Along the highway go." 

      The poem then goes on with a description of preparations for the tea-
party, the arrival of guests, and the ascent to the novel place selected for the 
meal. Having reached the elevation, Mrs. Page remarks, --

"'A goodly prospect, as I said,
You here may see before you spread.
Upon a house is not within it;
But now we must not waste a minute,
Neighbors, sit down to tea.' 


Page 185

How madam then her ruse explained,
What mirth arose as sunset waned
In the close covert of these trees
No leaf told the reporter breeze;
   But when the twilight fell,
And hoof-beats rang down Salem road,
And up the yard the colonel strode,
No soul besides the dame and Dill
Stirred in the mansion dim and still,
   The game was played out well.
Let whoso chooses settle blame
Betwixt the colonel and his dame
Or dame and country. That the view
Is from the house-top fine, is true." 

      It was while sitting by the hearth-stone in Colonel Page's large armchair, 
where Governor Gage was wont to sit in meditation, and where his opponents also 
sat, with the shadow of the second generation upon the wall, that I heard from 
the lips of the third generation the story of the family's experience on the 
19th of April, 1775, --
      "On the receipt of the alarm, my grandfather made haste to rally his men, 
and they were early on the road to intercept the enemy. His company was one of 
three of Danvers militia belonging to the Essex Regiment, under the superior 
command of Colonel Timothy Pickering of Salem. There were in grandfather's 
company thirty-seven officers and men. In obedience to the orders of a superior 
officer, grandfather and a part of his men were not in the thickest of the fight 
at Menotomy; but his eldest son, my Uncle Samuel, had

Page 186

a very different experience to report. His father had told him that morning 
before the start that he must stay at home and take care of his mother. His 
youthful blood was hot. He had seen Governor Gage walk in and out of this house 
as if he were here in possession, had watched the movements of the troops which 
came to town to protect him in his royal authority, and he could not be 
dissuaded from going. He and other Danvers men stationed themselves in the yard 
of Jason Russell.[1] In this yard were many bundles of shingles, indicating that 
the proprietor was about to shingle his house. With these they made a sort of 
barricade, and inside of the enclosure they prepared to attack the British 
soldiers. When the main column came down the highway, they began firing without 
thought of the flanking party, and from this they were great sufferers. As Uncle 
Samuel was driving a cartridge into his gun, he broke his wooden ramrod, and 
turning to Perley Putnam, asked him to lend his. At that instant a ball from the 
rear guard of the British shot Putnam dead. When they saw they were discovered 
and surrounded, they made a desperate struggle for life, and some of them 
escaped unharmed, Uncle Samuel being one of the more fortunate ones.
      Danvers had eight companies which responded to the Lexington alarm. They 
numbered fully


[1] See "Beneath Old Roof Trees" for house and story.

Page 187

three hundred men; but we should bear in mind that the Danvers of 1775 was a 
very large town, including, besides the present town known by that name, that 
now set off as Peabody. With the exception of the militia already mentioned, 
these companies were minute-men and Alarm Lists organized by the authority of 
the Congress in anticipation of the difficulty. Some of these companies seemed 
to be made up with regard to the neighborly associations of the members. The 
messenger apparently first aroused the people of the south part of the town, now 
Peabody, whence it was carried with great rapidity throughout the entire 
territory, and a response was immediately made. "From field and mill, from farm 
and shop, from parsonage and humble dwelling," they set forth to their country's 
defence: --

"Swift as the summons came they left
The plough, mid furrow, standing still,
The half-ground corn-grist in the mill,
The spade in earth, the axe in cleft. 
They went where duty seemed to call,
They scarcely asked the reason why;
They only knew they could but die,
And death was not the worst of all." 

      It was Samuel Epes's[1] company that suffered the most. They belonged in 
the south part of


[1] For Captain Epes's first service in the Revolution, see page 18 of "Beneath 
Old Roof Trees."

Page 188

the town. When the alarm was given, Captain Epes made haste to Salem, and 
obtained from his Colonel permission to march in advance of his regiment. They 
made the journey to Menotomy, sixteen miles, in four hours. Gideon Foster, later 
general, who had been a member of this company, appeared in the capacity of 
captain over a portion of Epes's men, acting as a separate company; but the 
brave acts of these squads cannot be well separated; five of the young men were 
killed.
      The other losses were from Captain Israel Hutchinson's company, which 
numbered fifty-three officers and privates. They were from Danversport and 
Beverly. Two were killed, and some were wounded. Joseph Bell was taken prisoner 
and carried to Boston, and kept on an English frigate for two months. At the 
expiration of two days the Danvers men returned to their homes, to mingle their 
tears with those who were saddened by the day's experience. The bodies of the 
slain were taken to their homes, and later interred with appropriate ceremonies; 
those belonging to Israel Hutchinson's company being first taken to his house, 
which stood until a recent date where the railway station is now located at 
Danversport.
      Israel Hutchinson was nearly fifty years of age at the opening of the 
Revolution, and had repeatedly proved his bravery by fighting for the king. He 
fought at Lake George and Ticonderoga in 1758. In the following year was with 
Wolfe when

Page 189

he scaled the Heights of Abraham, and routed the French under Montcalm. Thus, 
with age and experience on his side, he entered the service of the patriots to 
the credit of his native town. He was early in the Revolution raised to the rank 
of a colonel. He was in the siege of Boston, and after the evacuation occupied 
Fort Hill, and was sent to New York in the following October. He was afterwards 
in command of Fort Lee and Fort Washington, and crossed the Delaware with 
Washington in his retreat through New Jersey, and received the approbation of 
the father of his country. His love of country was manifested after the war in 
faithful service in the Legislature of his State and in many positions of honor 
and trust.
      As Danvers was not on the enemy's line of march, there was no great haste 
to bury the dead, so the ordinary funeral rites were observed. Two companies 
from Salem performed escort duty. "With reversed arms, muffled drums, and 
measured steps, they led the long procession. On the way they were met by a band 
of soldiers from Newburyport, Salisbury, and Amesbury, marching to join the army 
besieging Boston. These formed in single ranks on each side of the road, and the 
mournful procession passed between them. After the bodies were deposited, three 
volleys were fired over their graves, but they could not rouse the slumberers. 
No din of resounding arms, no alarms of war, no convulsions of nature, can 
disturb them. Nothing

Page 190

but the voice of the archangel and the trump of God --

'Can reach the peaceful sleepers there.'"

      Thus Danvers lost seven of her strong, promising young men, one-seventh of 
the whole number of the Americans slain that day, the largest number of any 
town, with the exception of Lexington. A monument to their memory was erected in 
1835, on the sixtieth anniversary of the battle. An address was made by General 
Foster, one of the survivors of the battle, of whom there were nineteen in 
attendance.

[Photo- monument]

      The inscription is as follows. On the east side: --


BATTLE OF LEXINGTON, APRIL 19, 1775.

SAMUEL COOK, AGED 33 YEARS; BENJ. DALAND, 25; GEORGE SOUTHWICK, 25; JOTHAM WEBB, 
22; HENRY JACOBS, 22; EBENR. GOLDTHWAIT, 22; PERLEY PUTNAM, 21;
CITIZENS OF DANVERS FELL ON THAT DAY.

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.

(It is sweet and honorable to die for one's country.)

      On the reverse side: --


ERECTED BY CITIZENS OF DANVERS ON THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY, 1835.

      By the subsequent division of the town, this monument is to be seen in 
Peabody. The granite

Page 191

shaft seems hardly in keeping with its present surroundings, but more in harmony 
with the buildings seen on that square sixty years ago. Prominent among them was 
the Old Bell Tavern, so called from the wooden representation of a bell which 
hung from the sign-post. On this was inscribed: --


I'll toll you in, if you have need,
And feed you well, and bid you speed.

      The house was formerly a place of common resort, being on the great 
thoroughfare from the east and north to Boston. Here the Salem Regiment, under 
Colonel Timothy Pickering, halted for refreshment on their march to Bunker Hill 
on the 17th of June, 1775. Their delay aroused Mrs. Anna Endicott, a patriotic 
woman, to reprimand the colonel in her characteristic manner, "Why on earth 
don't you march? Don't you hear the guns in Charlestown?"
      "This was the place for the villagers to learn the news of passing events, 
for every traveller was expected to furnish his quota. It was the village 
exchange, where prices and every-day gossip were discussed, and the public 
affairs of the Colonies and the mother country settled. Here, too, on Sunday the 
more remote villagers dismounted from their horses at the old block, and walked 
to the meetinghouse; again to return, after the two hours' sermon, and partake, 
in a snug corner, of a dinner from

Page 192

their well-filled saddle-bags. This was also the place where the people met to 
celebrate public events.
      "The loyal neighbors here collected to mourn the demise of the good Queen 
Anne, and rejoice in the accession of the first George. His departure and the 
rise of his son George II. were here commemorated over the same bowl of punch. 
George III. was also welcomed with a zeal that was only equalled by that with 
which they drank confusion to his ministers. The odious Stamp Act and all 
Parliament taxes on the Colonies were patriotically denounced." In fact, all the 
various acts of the town of Danvers were freely discussed in this house, which 
is still remembered by the old people.
      "Nothing created a greater disturbance there than the tea-meeting of May 
28, 1770, when Dr. Amos Putnam was moderator, and a committee was chosen ` upon 
ye public grievance as to ye duty on tea.' Besides agreeing to the non-
importation Act, it was also voted not to drink foreign tea, or to allow their 
families to indulge in the beverage until the act of Parliament imposing a duty 
upon it was repealed, etc. (cases of sickness excepted). A committee was chosen 
to carry copies of these votes to every household. All persons who refused to 
sign these copies were to be branded as enemies to the liberties of the people, 
and their names were to be registered accord-

Page 193

ingly. Any one detected selling tea was to be branded as a Tory, and given a 
ride on a rail. The keeper of the tavern, Isaac Wilson, was convicted, but 
reprieved from his sentence by furnishing the villagers with an ample bucket of 
punch, and publicly repeating a couplet prepared for him." We can hardly 
appreciate the condition of society, when a proud landlord is forced to bow his 
high head, and repeat, --

I, Isaac Wilson, a Tory be,
I, Isaac Wilson, I sells tea. 

      But
"A man convinced against his will
Is of the same opinion still;" 

and I am inclined to the belief that the Danvers landlord was of that class.
      Leaving the site of the Bell Tavern and the old burying-ground near by, 
where sleep the brave who died for their country in 1775, I invite my readers to 
seek out with me homes that still exist, as when grandsires of the present 
owners gathered their families about the same hearth-stones, and there by the 
light of the pine torch or tallow dip taught lessons of true patriotism.

Page 194

CHAPTER XVI
DANVERS CONTINUED. -- MOSES PORTERS HOMESTEAD. -- STORY OF HIS PATRIOTISM. -- 
PATRIOTIC' WOMEN WORK FOR THE SOLDIERS. -- HOME OF DEACON PUTNAM, WHO LED A 
COMPANY ON APRIL 19, 1775. -- DANVERS MINISTERS IN THE FIGHT. -- THE PUTNAM HOME 
AND FAMILY. -- GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM. -- HIS BAPTISM. -- STORY BY "OLD PUT'S" 
GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER

      UNDER the escort of Rev. Alfred P. Putnam, a noted son of Danvers, we 
leave the centre of the town by the great road to Topsfield, and soon come to 
the birthplace of General Moses Porter. It stands a little back from the modern 
highway, and faces confidently to the south. In these rooms we may well linger, 
and ponder the story of the Revolution. Patriots of both sexes have been cradled 
here, and have left an indelible impression upon the minds of all who 
thoughtfully pass through these great square rooms. It was originally the home 
of the Rea family, one of whom, Dr. Caleb Rea, was a surgeon in a regiment in 
the expedition against Ticonderoga. His sister Sarah married Benjamin Porter; 
and they were the parents of Moses Porter, born in 1756,

Page 195

who became a distinguished general in both wars with England. Although but 
nineteen years of age at the opening of the Revolution, this man made an 
enduring record. At the battle of Bunker Hill, in the artillery company of 
Captain Trevett, when but nine men stood by the captain, Moses Porter was one of 
them, and displayed superior skill in the management of one of the field pieces. 
He served in Captain Thomas Foster's company during the siege of Boston, was 
made lieutenant in 1780, and received promotions until he was head of that arm 
of the service. Wounds he received, but they never deterred him from remaining 
in service until his death in 1822. General Porter was wedded to his country; no 
other bride ever received his affections; for her he was willing to sacrifice 
his life, and on her bosom he fell asleep.

"How sleep the brave who sink to rest
By all their country's wishes blest!" 

      Over his grave, in a secluded spot, stands a modest slab on which is read, 
-- 


BRIG. GEN. MOSES PORTER,
OF THE ARMY OF THE U. S. A.
An ardent and inflexible patriot, a brave and honorable soldier,an unas-
suming and virtuous citizen, a generous and faithful friend. He
served his country with distinguished ability and reputa-
tion, from the commencement of the Revolu-
tionary war till he expired, full of
years and honors, on the
14th of April, A.D., 1822 AE. 66.

Page 196

      From the old garret of the Porter house have been gathered many of the 
general's military papers and private correspondence, and from these it is hoped 
there will yet be prepared an adequate volume to the memory of a great man. 
Among these letters is found evidence of the patriotic part taken by his sister 
Sarah in her knitting and sewing for his comfort, and for that of his soldiers. 
Sarah Porter was but one of hundreds of her sex who acted well a noble part in 
the great struggle for the independence which we now enjoy.
      Those who claim for Moses Porter a more imposing monument may find it in 
the great bowlder at the rear of his paternal mansion. Standing upon it, I could 
see in fancy his tiny bare feet climbing over its rugged sides, and the little 
group gathered there by the tired mother, who, coming out for rest, had taken 
the opportunity to impress helpful lessons upon the youthful minds intrusted to 
her care.
      This bowlder, towering above all others, seems to typify the man, who, in 
his firmness of purpose and inflexibility of character, stood out alone and 
above others, and when confronted by duty acted as though saying, --

"Come one, come all, this rock shall fly
From its firm base as soon as I." 

      Leaving the Porter House, in which my guide has a family interest, we pass 
on to the Putman

Page 197

house, on the paternal homestead of Rev. Alfred Porter Putnam, the guide for the 
hour. It is reached by a drive from the highway through well-cultivated grounds. 
The house is typical of its period, made picturesque by a large tree in front 
and a small one at a corner. "From here," said my guide, "went my great-
grandfather, Deacon Edmund Putman, at the head of his company of seventeen 
neighbors on the 19th of April, 1775."
      But before tracing out the footprints of these minute-men, let us consider 
for a moment the origin of the house. It is supposed to have been built by 
Daniel Rea, the head of that family in this country; and after its possession by 
three generations of the name it was purchased by Edmund Putman, who carried on 
the trades of tailor and farmer. As a testimonial of his honest dealing and good 
standing with his neighbors, we find that in 1762 he was chosen deacon of the 
First Church, in which position he served twenty-three years." My grandsire was 
chosen captain of the Alarm List of the third company in this town on the 6th of 
March, 1775. Rev. Benjamin Balch was chairman of the meeting. The vote for 
grandfather was unanimous, and also that for lieutenant and sergeant, the former 
being for Rev. Mr. Balch, and the latter for Tarrant Putnam."
      In this house, now occupied by the sixth generation from Edmund Putnam, 
though of a different name (Fowler), we catch glimpses of the fading

Page 198

scenes of the days of trial. Here met in council the minister, the deacon, and 
faithful churchmen, and from here they went out to act the part of Christian 
patriots.
      Other ministers of Danvers used their influence in the patriot cause. Mr. 
Holt of the Middle Precinct (Peabody) was known to say, "I had rather live on 
potatoes than submit." He supplied himself with a musket, and drilled with 
Captain Epes's company. Mr. Wadsworth of the village parish was very ardent, and 
was seen at the North River Bridge, Salem, with his musket in hand; and to his 
words of persuasion more than all else is doubtless due the escape from the 
first slaughter.
      In the March following, Captain Putnam was unanimously chosen as 
selectman, and also as an assessor. This was at a time when these officers in 
any town called for the exercise of the best of mature judgment. He was also a 
member of the committee in 1778 to consider the report of a form of government.
      But Deacon Edmund was only one of many Putnams of Danvers who responded to 
the Lexington alarm. The returns show that thirty-four of the name marched from 
Danvers, and had some part in that day's struggle. As we have already seen, 
Perley Putnam was killed, and his brother Nathan was wounded.

      NOTE. -- A newspaper of those times furnishes evidence of the efforts made 
to recover fire-arms lost by the Provincials on April l9,

Page 199

thus proving the scarcity of munitions of war. From the New England Chronicle or 
the Essex Gazette of May 29, 1775, is gathered the following: "Lost in the 
battle of Menotomy by Nathan Putnam, of Capt. Hutchinson's Company, who was 
there badly wounded, a French Firelock, marked D. No. 6, with a marking iron, on 
the Breech. Said Putnam carried it to a Cross Road, near a mill. Whoever has 
said Gun in Poffeffion [possession] is defired [desire] to return it to Col. 
Manffield [Mansfield] of Lynn, or to the Selectmen of Danvers, and he shall be 
rewarded for his trouble."

      While this town was the place of the first Putnam settlement, the name was 
by no means confined to Danvers when Provincial government was overthrown. 
Eighty-six names, all of Danvers line, are recorded at the State House as 
turning out on April 19; and within two centuries from the time the first John 
drove his bounds in Danvers, about thirty-five hundred of his descendants were 
abroad in the land. Coming in to the Putnam headquarters, we are inclined to 
halt at a modern house on this old farm, better known as "Oak Knoll," the home 
of the lamented Quaker bard. But it is to the birthplace of General Israel 
Putnam that we are making our way. Witch houses, Rebecca Nourse and Giles Corey, 
must not allure us from our course.
      What school-boy does not open his eyes and prick up his ears at the mere 
mention of "Old Put"? But my own confession is, that I had almost fallen into 
the habit of regarding this man as a sort of monster, struggling in a dim 
mythical haze; but when I turned in at the open gate, and

Page 200

stood at the threshold of the birthplace of that hero, I came fully to my 
senses. Oh, how refreshing it is, in these days of constant changes in ownership 
of real estate, to find this home still retained by the family! Our knock at the 
front door met with a response from one by the name of Putnam, as did that of 
guests a century and a half ago, when the young man Israel walked in and out the 
same doorway. The genuine old-school lady, by word and smile, extended a cordial 
welcome; and we were at once assured by the words of Miss Susan Putnam that she 
was of the seventh generation of the family on that farm. The line is John, 
Thomas, Joseph, David, Israel, Daniel, and Susan, who furnished the information.
      The front and more modern part, which first meets the eye of the visitor, 
was built in 1744; while that in the rear, with its own front door, is supposed 
to date back to 1650. The part most prominent in the cut was the original house, 
built by Thomas, grandfather of Israel. It was while the northeast blasts were 
piling up the January snows of 1718 that in the upper room of this humble home 
the boy Israel was born. Joseph and Elizabeth (Porter) Putnam were the happy 
parents. This son was nearly a month old before he was taken to the meeting-
house for the rite of baptism. The unusual delay may be accounted for by a 
desire of the mother to accompany the father to the altar of baptism; but more 
likely was

[Photo- "Birthplace of General Israel Putnam"] 

Page 201

the result of the very severe weather of that month, which Cotton Mather 
describes as follows: --
      "Another snow came on which almost buried ye Memory of ye former, with a 
storm so famous that Heaven laid an Interdict on ye Religious Assemblies 
throughout ye Country, on this Lord's day, ye like whereunto had never been seen 
before. The Indians near an hundred years old, affirm that their Fathers never 
told them of anything that equalled it."

      Turning back to that Sabbath morning of early February, we can see. the 
family horse led up to the door of the home, the mother take her seat on the 
pillion, with the babe carefully wrapped in its bearing-cloth in her arms, and 
the father mount to his seat in front, take up the reins, and start off to the 
meeting-house. They make their way slowly, for the path is rough indeed, cut out 
of the great banks of snow which are piled in heaps on either side.
      What a scene is this when the devoted parents, shivering from the ride, 
enter the cold, barnlike meeting-house, and carry their babe to the altar, their 
frozen shoes clattering on the rough boards of the broad aisle, telling the 
measure of each step as they go. While the mother unwraps the babe, the father 
makes known by gentle whisper the name selected for his last born, and the Rev. 
Peter Clark cracks the ice in the christening basin, dips his fingers to the 
water, and laying them upon the innocent brow, says, "Israel, I

Page 202

baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
Amen." Surely with the treatment of the babes of those days there was a 
continuous example of the survival of the fittest. Born of the best of New 
England stock, and of parents accustomed to hardships, and enduring this early 
test, the boy Israel grew and developed a marvellous physical activity and power 
of endurance, which served him well, and enabled him to do at the age of 
threescore what the ordinary man of forty years would quail beneath.
      Desirous of entering the house by the door of Israel's day, we made our 
way out and around to the front door of long ago, and crossed the threshold 
familiar to his restless feet. Up the narrow staircase we went, and into the 
room where the child first saw the light. A board partition makes two apartments 
of the original room, but there can be no mistake as to the part in question; 
for there is the open fireplace, with its smutty back, and the rude fire-dogs, 
as when the flames crackled on the hearth, and rolled up the chimney to mingle 
with the wintry blast of 1718. There are the rough-hewn posts at the corners, 
and thick projecting beams overhead, with no attempt at disguise. There is 
little else here that is tangible to remind us of him whom we delight to honor 
as Major-General Israel Putnam; but as we love the hard-handed yeomanry who 
formed the real backbone of the Revolution, so we love to linger on

Page 203

the ground which their feet have trodden, and hear from the lips of one of the 
seventh generation the stories confirmed which we have often heard before.
      "Robust and full of energy, he was a boy given to sports, and to feats of 
strength and daring, often the champion of courageous exploits, all of which 
were somewhat prophetic of his more extraordinary powers and achievements in 
maturer years."
      Much of Israel's boyhood was spent in Boxford, at the home of his 
stepfather, where perhaps the school advantages were no better than those of 
Danvers, and the boy's education was defective. When he had reached the age 
proper for him to set up for himself, he returned to the old homestead, and 
settled on a portion of the farm, and built a small house, the cellar of which 
still remains. He married, July 19, 1739, Hannah, daughter of Joseph and 
Mehitable (Putnam) Pope, and the young couple established a home for themselves, 
adding another to the then almost score of Putnam homes. After the birth of a 
son Israel, the young couple, seized with the spirit of adventure, with many 
others set out for broader fields; and the remainder of the story of Old Put " 
will be found in another connection in this series.
      The great willow-tree standing in the yard reminds us of many changes 
since Israel Putnam left the homestead. It was planted by a slave of

Page 204

the family, who is still remembered for her faithfulness, although she has been 
sleeping for many years with those whom she served.
      The Putnams who remain at the old home are descendants of David, brother 
of General Israel, and none of his line of the family have ever settled in 
Danvers; but they are numerous in the world, a large group of them being found 
in Bedford, Mass. We will now make a digression to hear the story by a great-
granddaughter of General Israel Putnam, Mrs. Mary (Waldo) Webber.
      She was born at Pomfret, Conn., August 15, 1807. She is the daughter of 
John Augustus Gleason and Elizabeth Waldo, and granddaughter of Samuel Waldo and 
Mary (Molly) daughter of General Israel Putnam.
      A large part of Mrs. Webber's life has been spent in Bedford, -- the town 
where Israel, a cousin of the general, settled about the time that the 
Connecticut home was established, the same spirit of adventure having actuated 
both this one who settled in Bedford and the one who went to Connecticut to 
leave the Danvers settlement. The Bedford people remember their Israel Putnam 
with pride; for he was a selectman at the beginning of the town, and one of the 
first deacons of the church, and a benefactor of the new settlement.
      It was early in the present century that the Gleason branch of the Putnam 
family made its

Page 205

way to Bedford, Lewis Putnam Gleason being the pioneer at this time.
      Mrs. Webber spent some of her girlhood with her grandmother, Elizabeth 
Waldo. Her longing

[Photo- "Mary (Waldo) Webber, Great Granddaughter Of "Old Put"]

for amusement was gratified, when sitting at the old hearth-stone with her 
grandmother, by listening to the stories treasured in the family of the wolf-
hunter, the Indian fighter, and the hero of Bunker Hill.

Page 206

A GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER'S STORY OF GENERAL
ISRAEL PUTNAM
As TOLD ON HER EIGHTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY.

      "Yes, I keep old grandfather's picture hanging in my room. It seems but 
yesterday that I sat by the side of Grandmother Waldo, for whom I was named, and 
heard her tell of the trials of Grandfather Putnam. Those of the Indian wars and 
the wolves charmed me much; and I often found the tears running down my cheeks, 
as I hid my head beneath her apron, when she told of the hair-breadth escapes 
from the savages. I suppose he had the fight born in him; for when but a boy he 
first displayed it in Boston, whither he had gone on a visit. He was doubtless 
dressed in the coarse cloth spun and woven at the old home in Danvers, and 
probably looked rather queer in the eyes of those sons of wealthy merchants and 
office-holders of the Province. They began to pick upon him. He bore it for a 
while, but at length challenged one of the brilliantly attired youths, twice his 
size, and vanquished him, to the great amusement of a crowd of people who looked 
on to see the rustic's performance.
      "My ancestor's Connecticut home was at Pomfret, known as Brooklyn since 
1783. He had just started in as a pioneer, and was laboring hard to clear some 
land bought of Governor Jonathan

[Photo- "Scion of Putnam Tree". This photo appears to be a collage of sorts, of 
children with surnames of Gleason, Webber, Pierce, and Markham. Smaller images 
surround a central image of Harold Augustus Gleason. Each image on the photo is 
numbered with the corresponding number which identifies the child on a list 
below the photo.] 

Page 207

Belcher. He had a family to care for, and it was annoying to have his sheep 
continually carried off by wolves. In one night he had a large flock of sheep 
and goats killed, besides many lambs and kids wounded. This was done by a she-
wolf, which, with her whelps, had for several years infested the locality. The 
young were commonly destroyed by hunters, but the old one was too cunning for 
them.
      "At length grandfather and others formed a company to hunt in turns until 
they should kill the old enemy. It was known that, having lost the toes from one 
foot by a steel trap, she made one track shorter than the other. This betrayed 
her route on the snow. She was driven into a den a little distance from 
grandfather's house. The folks came together with dogs, guns, straw, fire, and 
sulphur to attack her. The hounds went in, and came out in a bleeding condition. 
The smoke of burning straw did not start her, and the fumes of brimstone were to 
no purpose.
      "At length, tired of all this, grandfather proposed to his negro man to go 
down in and shoot her; but he refused to comply, so grandfather decided to go, 
and went regardless of the protests of his companions. He knew wild animals did 
not like a close contact with fire, so he stocked himself with birch bark, and 
prepared for the attack. He threw off his coat and waistcoat, and having a long 
rope fastened around his legs, by which he

Page 208

might be pulled back, he entered head foremost, with blazing torch in hand.
      He went in, and down, and soon saw the eyes of the beast glaring at him. 
Startled at the approach of the flaming torch, she gnashed her teeth and 
growled. He then gave a signal to the men at the end of the rope, who pulled him 
out so rapidly as to strip off his garments, and some flesh as well. But with 
his gun loaded with nine buckshots, and torch in hand, he retraced the course. 
He fired and killed the animal, was pulled out, and after reviving from almost 
suffocation, he went in a third time, and the creature was taken out.
      "Grandfather had some trying experiences in the French and Indian wars, 
but he awed the savages so they dared not kill him. They thought he had a 
charmed life, and called him 'a god or a devil,' they could not tell which. By 
his services against the French and their Canadian and Indian allies, he 
acquired a good reputation as a soldier and a hero; and so he had gained many 
honors from the authorities of Connecticut, and entered the service of the 
Revolution with his well-earned popularity."

CHAPTER XVIII
THE STORY OF DILL, A NEGRO SLAVE IN THE REVOLUTION

      THE willows had put forth their downy catkins, the blue-birds and robins 
were abroad in the fields, and all nature had said farewell to grim winter. The 
spring of 1766 was so far advanced that in early April Mrs. Jeremiah Page 
ventured to allow her group of little ones to play out in the garden a few hours 
each sunny day. What a merry group they were, six bright-eyed little children! 
and what a relief to the mother when she could safely allow them to be out-of-
doors, after the long winter, when amusement had to be furnished in the limited 
apartments of the home, which, however, compared favorably with any of the 
farmhouses of the day. To be sure, Sarah, the eldest and namesake of the mother, 
now fifteen years of age, assumed not a little of the care; but with the opening 
spring came her opportunity for attending school, and neither Jeremiah Page nor 
his wife would allow anything to keep her from the few weeks of schooling 
furnished for the girls of the town. The girls must be able to read and write;

Page 225

and the Pages, who were in advance of some of the people, were desirous that 
their daughters should know a little "reckoning." "It won't come amiss," said 
the father, when being charged with trying "to tiptoe" his girls above the 
neighbors. Hannah, the baby, was less than a year and a half, while the 
birthdays of the other four ranged between 1751 and this spring-time.
      The fond parents stood one day at the south window of the best room 
looking at the merry group, while, like so many samples of perpetual motion, 
they were amusing themselves around the trunk of the elm whose buds were already 
swollen to bursting.
      Just then there came a cry of alarm. Lydia, who had been too ambitious, 
stumbled, and was trampled upon by her eager pursuer. There was no one but 
mother who had the balm for every wound of flesh or mind, and she was as prompt 
to respond as were the children to give the alarm. Having effectually applied 
the remedy and set all to rights, she rejoined her husband, who now began to 
realize as never before the cares which each day brought to his faithful wife. 
The illness which had detained Mr. Page from his brick-yard for that one day had 
afforded an opportunity which the early morning and late evening hours had not 
granted him.
      "Wife, you must have more, assistance," said Jeremiah Page. "I see these 
burdens are wear-

Page 226

ing upon you. We need a younger slave. Dinah is too old and clumsy to keep an 
eye out for those children, and catch them when they run away from the house as 
they are bound to do."
      At this serious moment of parental discussion, black Dinah came rolling 
into the room. She had overheard the charge as to her abilities, and lost no 
time to vindicate herself.
      "Lor's sake, Massa Page," exclaimed Dinah, "I car for dem ar chillen jest 
as well as ever I did. I lubs every one on 'em, specially Hannah;" at the same 
time stooping to the babe, whom she grabbed up, and covering its little rosy 
cheeks with audible kisses from her great lips, she waddled away.
      "Dinah is willing and faithful as far as she can be," said Mr. Page, 
standing in the centre of the room, and looking towards the door which Dinah had 
just closed behind her and the youngest of the group; "but she would be of more 
use in some family where she could sit in the chimney corner and knit. She's 
become too large for us. I must trade her off. The first day I'm down to Salem 
I'm going to see if Tapley has any fresh stock on hand. It's time for some 
spring blackbirds from Guinea to be in." Mrs. Page agreed with her husband as to 
her needs, though she rather disliked to part with her good cook; but like a 
dutiful wife (particularly of those times) listened to the reasoning of her 
husband, the

Page 227

head of the family, and quietly assented to his further remarks in regard to 
domestic service. "These black women depreciate in value very rapidly after they 
reach middle life. Dinah is as large as two now, and takes up lots of room. I 
know the children are attached to her, but they'll, soon learn to like a young 
and lively girl."
      It is evident that Jeremiah Page ruled in his family affairs as well as in 
his brick-yards, but he had a most tender regard for the wife of his youth and 
mother of his children. Now that he had learned from personal observation what 
her daily cares were, he was bent upon relieving her.
      Had this family been the only one in the possession of slaves, here would 
be a time to pause and interject a series of execrations; but the course pursued 
in this family was such as the customs of the time approved. The families in the 
highest walks of society were the most thoroughly equipped with colored slaves, 
or servants as they were sometimes called. Slaves of both sexes were generally 
found in the families of the clergy, and it was no uncommon thing for a people 
to present a slave to their pastor as an act of tender regard.
      The Rev. John Hancock of Lexington, grandfather of John Hancock the 
patriot, received such a gift from his church; Rev. Joseph Sewall of the Old 
South Church, Boston, was similarly remembered; Rev. Joseph Emerson of Malden, 
father of

Page 228

Rev. William Emerson of Concord, had his slave, but whether acquired by purchase 
or gift is not known. Rev. Samuel Moody of York, Maine, says by letter to his 
granddaughter Hannah, daughter of Rev. Joseph Emerson, --
      "My love to your brothers and sisters, not forgetting Dinah; she also is 
espoused to Christ in her Baptism, and she must love, honor, and obey ye Lord."
      Colonel Page made repeated trips to Salem, but found no negroes on sale 
who gave promise of what he needed; so he left his order with John Tapley, who 
agreed to notify him of the arrival of the first freight from Africa in which 
there were any negroes likely to answer his purpose.
      It was on the morning of April 19, 1766, that the colonel rose from the 
breakfast-table, lathered and shaved, called for his surtout, and said by way of 
explanation, "Tapley has sent up word by Putnam that he's got some fresh African 
stock that'll just suit me; so I'm going down before I go over to the yard. If 
any one calls, tell 'em I'll be home before noon," with this he mounted his 
horse and galloped off.
      Mr. Page was a business man, and not long about a trade when he found what 
he wanted. "In bonds yet, are they?" he asked, as he strode about the storehouse 
at Tapley's wharf among the casks of wine, molasses, ruin, and an occasional 
negro. "Yes; but I'll have off the duties quick

Page 229

enough, if you want them. Fine family, I tell you; young to be sure, but they'll 
improve every day, and not be going the other way like that old wench of yours," 
replied Tapley, as he hustled his human goods about to make them show off in a 
favorable manner. "It's a trade," said Page, with an air of business such as 
characterized all his proceedings at the market. "Make out your bill. Here's 
your money, and Putnam will make the exchange." While Tapley's bookkeeper was 
making out "the receipt, Colonel Page counted out the cash. The business done, 
Jeremiah Page mounted his restless steed, and would have been off, had not the 
merchant called him to a halt by saying, "What do you suppose they'll try on us 
next, another Stamp Act, or what?" The proceedings of Parliament affected every 
business man; and Colonel Page was not without an interest in them, although he 
was engaged in the manufacture of bricks. "Things look a little cloudy. If his 
Majesty expects to make us pay the expense of the French wars, besides fighting 
and sacrificing as we did, I'm, afraid he'll find we shall protest pretty 
strongly." With these words, uttered with a deal of emphasis, the customer 
mounted his horse, and was off towards his Danvers home.
      It was a full hour before noon that he drove into the yard, dismounted, 
entered the house, laid aside his surtout, took from his waistcoat pocket

Page 230

the legal evidence of his trade, and announced to Mrs. Page that he had made a 
swap, saying, "You'll soon have three instead of one, and altogether they won't 
take up as much room as Dinah does." And he read aloud the following: --

DANVERS, Apr. 19, 1766. 

      Rec'd of Mr. Jeremiah Page, Fifty eight pounds thirteen shillings and four 
pence lawfull money and a negro woman called Dinah, which is in full for a negro 
woman called Combo and a negro girl called Cate, and a negro child called 
Deliverance or Dill, which I now sell and Deliver to ye said Jeremiah Page.
JOHN TAPLEY. 

      JONA. BANCROFT,
      EZEKL. MARSH.

      The prospect of more assistance in her family was cheering to the over-
burdened housekeeper, yet she disliked to part with Dinah. But before she had 
time to reconcile her mind to the thought, Putnam stopped his ox-team at the 
door, and shouted, "Here's your slaves!" And with the same breath said to the 
living portion of his load, "Get off, ye darkies! here's your new home." The 
farmer's words were unintelligible to the family; but his gestures, with ox-whip 
in hand, were understood by the trio, and they were soon at the threshold of the 
Page mansion.
      Dinah was at once sent to the loft to locate the new-comers, and 
manifested much pleasure upon having in her apartment of the Page home an ad-

Page 231

dition of three from her own country. It was with difficulty that she could make 
them understand her words, for she had been so long with English-speaking people 
that she had lost her native tongue.
      As Tapley allowed but little for Dinah, he was not particular to have her 
sent down at once; and she remained for some days before Putnam called to take 
her to the merchant's office.
      "How do you like them, wife?" inquired Jeremiah Page, when returning at 
night from the brick-yard. "Rather awkward, surely. Still, I think Combo is 
tractable, and as for Cate, she's only a girl, but Dill is so young she is 
little more than a bother at present." -- "I know that," replied the head of the 
family, as he drew up to the tea-table; "but these will improve with age, while 
Dinah is too old for that, you know. I thought I'd take the little one --I 
didn't want to see them separated; and then, she'll be a good thing for our 
children to play with till she gets old enough for service. I made a good trade 
with Tapley. He didn't want the youngster round."
      "If they are just from Africa, there is a good deal of uncertainty about 
their living until they become useful. We do not know what effect our climate 
will have on them," remarked Mrs. Page, who did not regard the trade as 
favorably as her husband represented, but she resolved to make the best of it.

Page 232

      Combo, the mother, soon learned, through the patience of Mrs. Page, to do 
many things; and Cate was useful in watching the children and looking after her 
little sister Deliverance, who for short was called Dill. They promised well 
through the heated season; but when the cold weather of winter settled down upon 
them, it was more than their constitutions could endure, and before another 
spring Combo and Cate were charged off to the profit-and-loss account on 
Jeremiah Page's ledger.
      The family were now in a more unfortunate condition than when Mr. Page 
decided to make a change. Dinah could not be traced, or she would have been 
brought back, if money could do it. As for Dill, she was too young to be of any 
help, but had proved to be uncommonly tractable; and Mrs. Page was bent upon 
giving her a good training in culinary matters. "I sha'n't try any more of them 
unless they are acclimated," said Jeremiah Page one day, half aloud, as he sat 
balancing his accounts. Thoughtfully folding the bill of sale, and placing it in 
his great file for the year 1766, he added, "Poor investment that."
      New cares now began to engross the attention of the brickmaker. The Stamp 
Act had been passed and repealed. The people of Danvers, like all the patriots, 
were filled with anxiety. Jeremiah Page was as bitter against taxation without 
representation as were any of his neighbors, and

Page 233

he feared that something would be done to injure his business. He heartily 
indorsed the non-importation agreement, and strongly forbade the use of tea in 
his house. But Mrs. Page, who lacked nothing in the way of patriotism as she 
regarded it, saw no harm in using the supply she had in the house, and decided 
to have a social sip without violating the letter of the family edict.
      Dill became accustomed to the New England climate, and developed into a 
useful servant by the time the Revolution began to absorb the attention of the 
people; but it is doubtful if she played the part in the tea-party on the roof 
which Miss Larcom assigns to her. The minor duties so early allotted to Dill no 
doubt included that of polishing her master's buttons, when in 1773 he was made 
a captain of the militia. With what pride she must have looked upon her master, 
dressed in his military garments, set off with the white ruffles that she had so 
deftly crimped, when all ready to start to a meeting of the patriots clown at 
Salem! And how much greater her pride must have been when "Massa Gage" occupied 
the front room, and passed in and out attired in the brilliant costume befitting 
the king's governor of the Province.
      It was on the ninth anniversary of the coming of Combo, Cate, and Dill to 
the Page home that Captain Jeremiah Page responded to a hasty alarm, and marched 
off to intercept the army of the king.

Page 234

From that time forth there were heated discussions in the home; and Dill's 
interest in the family caused her no little anxiety, although she had no 
adequate appreciation of the occasion of the disturbance. She met her first real 
grief when her mistress died on March 1, 1776, and she was subjected to a new 
mistress.
      Dill heard much talk about the Declaration of Independence, but was far 
from comprehending its significance. Her lot had fortunately been cast among 
good people, and she had no thought of any liberty which she had not always 
enjoyed. The younger children of the family clung to her more closely now that 
their mother was gone. Dill manifested an interest in those under her charge 
only surpassed by a mother's affection: she romped with them in the garden, 
fondled them in her arms by the family hearth-stone, dried their innocent tears, 
and seemed like one of them. And Dill was contented in her ignorance until she 
was shown that the Declaration of Independence, which brought cheer to her 
master, and to maintain which he fought and sacrificed, had a meaning for her, 
although she was black and had been purchased by Jeremiah Page's money.
      She was yet in her "teens" when the Constitution of the State was adopted, 
and the people said, "All men are born free and equal, etc."
      It was some years before Dill left the Page family, and then her going was 
more like that of

Page 235

a daughter, who having attained her majority and reciprocated the affections of 
a worthy man, exchanged the paternal home for that of one of her own choice in 
which she was to preside as mistress.
      Slaves who took their freedom, and others who remained with their masters 
and mistresses, were very numerous in Salem, and Dill naturally cast in her lot 
with the people at the seaport. There were many Caesars among them, and to 
prevent confusion they were known by the surname of their respective masters. It 
was Caesar Symonds who won the affections of "Deliverance Page" the marriage 
records of Salem attest.
      The new responsibilities assumed by Dill were not so absorbing as to cause 
her to forget the people and the home which she had left, neither was she 
forgotten by the Page family. Seldom did they visit the port without seeking out 
the little black house in North Salem where their old servant presided as 
mistress. Bundles and baskets

[Photo- "Dill's Daughtere, Anstiss"]

Page 236

were continually left at the cottage door, and each recurring Thanksgiving 
brought cheer to the Page family as they carried cheer to the hearts of Dill and 
her children. As each of the children of Jeremiah Page established homes for 
themselves, a new channel of supply was created for the increasing family at 
Salem. The visiting children took delight with those of black faces, and in 
listening to the chatter of a parrot, which in summer was kept in a green cage 
hanging from a limb of a willow-tree near the door of the humble home of the 
Symonds family. Dill never failed to make

[Photo- "St. Peter's Church at Salem"]

Page 237

regular visits to the Page home until old age settled down upon her.
      She was tall and erect in stature, and when dressed as her taste directed, 
with bright yellow turban, gold ear-hoops, and bright plaid shawl, had every 
appearance of an African princess. Her presence, together with that of her 
daughters Hannah and Anstiss, brought pleasure to the Danvers home, where the 
grandchildren of Jeremiah Page kept up the family interest.
      In the great company assembled on a June day of 1805 to honor the memory 
of a noted man, there were seen no faces more tearful than those of Deliverance 
Symonds and her daughters. All the words of eulogy from eloquent lips over the 
remains of Colonel Jeremiah Page could not outweigh the half-audible sentence, 
"He was a good man," uttered by the black woman who lingered by the bier of her 
master and benefactor.
      It was nearly a half century later when in Salem a little company of 
people, chiefly colored, bore the form of a nonagenarian through the aisle of 
St. Peter's Church; and among all who gave reverent heed to the rector's words, 
"I am the resurrection and the life," were noticed members of the Page family of 
Danvers, who had seen in the departed an innocent slave, an honest servant, a 
faithful wife, a devoted mother, and a sincere Christian.

Page 238

CHAPTER XIX
CHELMSFORD.[1] -- EARLY PATRIOTS. -- EARLY MEANS OF PROTECTION FROM THE ENEMY. -
- OLD GARRISONS. -- THE PATRIOT PREACHER. -- STORY OF HENRY S. PERHAM. -- 
POSITIVE ACTS OF THE, CHELMSFORD PATRIOTS. -- RELIEF TO BOSTON SUFFERERS, --
LEXINGTON ALARM. -- MR. GEORGE SPAULDING TELLS HIS GRANDFATHER'S STORY. -- 
PATRIOTS TOO MUCH IN HASTE TO STOP FOR PRAYER. -- JOURNAL OF REVEREND EBENEZER 
BRIDGE

      CHELMSFORD is one of the trio of towns which received the seal of 
incorporation on May 29, 1655; Concord had preceded them by twenty years, and 
Woburn by thirteen years. Previous to this date Woburn and Concord were the 
nearest to this settlement; but subsequently Billerica was the nearest neighbor, 
and Groton, the other of the three, was not far away. But civilization had 
pushed its way into this wilderness before the towns were granted a corporate 
existence. The men who first took action towards a settlement of the tract "ly


[1] This town included Lowell for many years after the Revolution, and the 
footprints of the early patriots in that now busy city will be traced in this 
connection.

Page 239

ing on the other [west] side of Concord River "were from Concord and Woburn; and 
their names have been continued in the town through all the years of the history 
of Chelmsford, and they are honored among the early and later patriots.
      As it was a frontier settlement, it was soon found expedient to take 
precautions against Indian attacks, although they had lived at peace for a score 
of years with the Wamesits, or Pawtuckets, who were their near neighbors. But 
during that general uprising, King Philip's war, the settlers in Chelmsford were 
not entirely exempt from trouble, yet they suffered much less than many frontier 
towns. Some years before these hostilities had begun, the Chelmsford men took 
precautions peculiar to the time. Divine worship was their chief concern, and 
they naturally adopted measures to prevent being attacked and overcome while 
assembled at the meeting-house on the Sabbath. The following appears upon the 
records: --

      25 the 5 moth, 1671. It is ordered by the selectmen For Severall 
Considerations espetialy for the preseruation of peace, That with in one month 
after the Date hear of Eury every malle person with in our towne above the Age 
of fiveteen years shall provid a good Clube of fouer or five foote in lingth 
with a Knobe in the end, and to bring the same to the metting house ther to 
leave the Same vntill vntill ocation fore use of it be (found, etc.)
The name of the Rest By 
SAMUEL ADAMS,
                        Clerke. 





Page 240

      Other precautions followed, such as the erection of a strong house on an 
eminence now known as Robins Hill. Several garrisons were built in 1675; and 
their identity is not entirely obliterated, as we shall see in our circuit of 
the town in quest of the footprints of Chelmsford patriots.
      This town had been making a noteworthy record for one hundred and twenty 
years before the Revolution burst upon the Colonies. During the greater portion 
of this time the people had been in more or less military service, and were not 
unprepared for the struggle for independence. New people had joined the first 
settlers; and their descendants, with those of the pioneers, had been wisely 
guided by devout pastors, three of whom had done their work and been laid to 
rest, and a fourth, Rev. Ebenezer Bridge, was settled as the pastor in 1741. 
These clergymen had been closely identified with the military interests of the 
town, according to the custom throughout the Colonies. The fourth minister's 
journal bears witness to his faithfulness in this direction; and his Artillery 
Election Sermon of June 1, 1752, is largely devoted to showing the consistency 
of military life with the profession and practice of Christianity.
      Rev. Mr. Bridge had been in service in the town thirty-four years when he 
was called upon to take a stand with the king or against him. This must have 
occasioned many a severe struggle in his honest breast; for he was intimately 
associated

Page 241

with the government officials, and enjoyed their society in Boston as well as at 
his own hearthstone. His love for the king may be inferred from the following 
entry: --

      Dec. 31, 1760. Heard with certainty of the death of King George the 2nd 
and of the accession of George the 3rd. The king was proclaimed at Boston 
yesterday, sermon and procession, etc., to-morrow.
      January 4, 1761. Preached sermon on the death of King George 2nd, and the 
accession of George 3rd to the British throne.

      Every act of the Chelmsford minister evinced his patriotism and proves his 
social standing. He notes under date of

      June 24, 1763. Dined at Col. Stoddard's with his Excellency, the Governor, 
and Hon. Mr. Bowdoin and others and their ladies.

      He records: --

      May 15, 1765. Dined at Capt. Barrons with Col. Phipps, Mr. Lechmere, Major 
Vassal, and their ladies, upon invitation, supped at Col. Stoddard's. with 
Secretary Oliver and lady. They lodged at my house by reason of Col. Stoddard 
having plastered his chamber.

      With what awe the common people must have viewed these scenes, when the 
gilded coaches arrived from Boston and Cambridge, and rolled up to the Colonel's 
door, and from them alighted the officials of the king, in rich and brilliant 
cos-

Page 242

tumes, together with their puffed and powdered ladies!
      In April, 1771, he notes: --

      Fast Day. Lieut. Governor Oliver attended service with us.

and in the same year he records a visit to Dr. Ellis and Governor Hutchinson, 
the latter of whom received him "very graciously."
      Had we no other evidence than the parson's own diary, we should be 
convinced that he at first was inclined to favor the existing institutions, and 
adhere to the Crown. This appears in his entry at the time of the riotous 
opposition excited by the passage of the Stamp Act. No doubt his indignation was 
strengthened by the severe treatment of his personal friend Oliver. His entry on 
August 30, 1765, is --

      Every day we hear ye news from Boston of ye mobish doings there in which 
first insurrection they hanged Secretary Oliver in effigy, and then burned him; 
burned the Stamp Office, etc., rifled his dwelling. . . . All this is owing to 
ye Stamp Act.

      September 1, 1766, the pastor makes record of a town meeting, in which it 
was voted that the damage to the sufferers in the late insurrection on account 
of the Stamp Act should not by their consent be paid by the Province.
      The sympathies of the Chelmsford minister being with Francis Bernard, the 
governor, he was

Page 243

invited to preach the election sermon, and did so on May 27, 1767. The country 
parson, doubtless flattered by the honor, expressed himself strongly in his 
attachment to the mother country, and was duly complimented by the friends of 
the government who sat at meat with the officials. Entertainment at the Province 
House at this time must have been an agreeable change from the Parson's burdens 
in his parish, where he found it difficult to live within his limited salary. He 
was not unused to seeing negro slaves in his parish, but not such a retinue of 
both sexes as waited and tended in the governor's family.
      The Chelmsford minister makes a record of having

      Visited Col. Stoddard & discoursed with his mulatto servant, Hagar, who 
seemed to feign herself ill.

      He frequently recorded baptisms of negro infants, and funeral services 
over some of the race then family slaves.
      What influences may have been brought to bear to convince the Chelmsford 
minister of his duty as a patriot when the king proved unfaithful to his 
subjects may not be known; but his journal shows him to have been intimately 
associated with the patriot preachers, Revs. Daniel Emerson of Hollis, N.H., 
Joseph Emerson of Pepperell, and William Emerson of Concord, Mass. He was also 
associated with Rev. Jonas Clark of Lexing-

Page 244

ton, and other ministers of the same standing. It is sufficient that Rev. Mr. 
Bridge, after the publication of the Hutchinson letters in this country, became 
an ardent supporter of the liberties of the Colonies.[1]
      Says Mr. Perham, the town historian, "The position of the people of the 
town in respect to the grievances under which the Colonies suffered was in the 
highest degree creditable to them. While they firmly adhered to their rights as 
Englishmen, there is not the remotest suggestion of a desire to sever their 
connection with the existing government."

      They did not hesitate to instruct their representative, Colonel Stoddard, 
after the passing of the Stamp Act, --

      "This being a time when, by reason of several acts of parliament, not only 
in this province, but all the English Colonies of this Continent, are thrown 
into the utmost confusion and perplexity; the stamp act as we apprehend not only 
lays an unconstitutional, but also an insupportable, tax upon us,


[1] In 1772 a number of Hutchinson's letters written to the British Cabinet were 
found. They revealed the fact that he was urging them to enforce their plans 
against the liberties of the American Colonies. The General Court, upon 
knowledge of this, voted to impeach him, and requested his Majesty to remove the 
governor from office. Hutchinson, when informed of this, dissolved the assembly, 
and at length became so obnoxious that he was superseded by Governor Gage, whose 
name is familiar to every patriot. Hutchinson died in England in 1780.

Page 245

and deprives us, as we humbly conceive, of those rights and privileges to which 
we are entitled as free born subjects of Great Britain by the royal charter; 
wherefore we think it our duty and interest at this critical conjuncture of our 
public affairs, to direct you, sir, our representative, to be so far from 
countenancing the execution of the aforesaid stamp act, that you use your best 
endeavors that such measures may be taken and such remonstrances made to the 
King and Parliament, as may obtain a speedy repeal of the aforesaid act, and a 
removal of the burden upon trade."

      Says Mr. Perham, "Our people continued to thus firmly adhere to their 
principles, and on January 22, 1773, instructed their representative, Mr. Simeon 
Spaulding, at some length."

      "Sir, as the present aspect of the times is dark and difficult, we do not 
doubt but you will cheerfully know the sentiments and receive the assistance of 
those you represent. The matters that may now come under your cognizance are of 
great importance. The highest wisdom, therefore, prudence and decision, are 
evidently necessary. We would earnestly caution you by no means to consent to 
any rash, passionate plan of action, which will not only sully the dignity, but 
finally prove the utter destruction of the cause we pretend to support. We hope 
those little animosities that involve persons, not things, may be utterly 
banished, and that every determination will be found in the nature of a free 
state, and that therefore every annexed [blank space] to each part may be 
religiously preserved.
      "Of course, you will be careful not to trample on majesty, while you are 
firmly but deacently pleading the liberties of the subject. In fine, we wish you 
that wisdom which is from above, and we pray you that your conduct in this 
important crisis may be such as the coolest reflection will ever justify."

Page 246

      The act for closing the port of Boston brought out the people; and in a 
town meeting on May 30, 1774, they again put themselves on record against the 
act, and in sympathy with the people of Boston. They chose a Committee of 
Correspondence, --Jonathan William Austin, who had come from the office of John 
Adams in Boston, and settled as a lawyer in town; Captain Oliver Barron; Mr. 
Samuel Perham, who was tilling the acres now cultivated by his great-grandson; 
David Spaulding; Benjamin Walker; Deacon Aaron Chamberlin; Captain Moses Parker; 
Samuel Stevens, Jr.; and Simeon Spaulding.
      They concluded their action of that May day by declaring, "In freedom 
we're born, and in freedom we'll die." Each onward step was carefully taken by 
the Chelmsford patriots, and there were no halting or backward movements. In 
September, 1774, they sent Simeon Spaulding to represent them at Salem, while 
Mr. Austin and Samuel Perham were made delegates to the first Provincial meeting 
at Concord. They had their Committee of Inspection to prevent the purchase and 
sale of goods imported from Great Britain; and they also voted to equip the 
Alarm List with implements of war, and to raise and discipline fifty minute-men.
      While their hearts and hands were full at home, they did not forget the 
suffering people in the blockaded port. The following letter affords 
unmistakable evidence of this fact: --

Page 247

BOSTON, Octo. 3d, 1774. 

      Sir, -- To commiserate the Afflicted, to sympathize with the oppressed 
Sufferers, to reach out the bountious hand for the Comfort, Relief & Support of 
the Distressed, are sacrifices well-pleasing and acceptable to God thro Christ 
our Savior.
      Our Worthy Friends and Brethren of Chelmsford have in this way done honour 
to the Gospel of our divine Redeemer and by so doing have greatly honour'd 
themselves. We have an evidence hereof in the very kind Donation of Forty 
Bushels of Rye from the patriotic Inhabitants of that Town: it has been received 
and housed at the Granary and shall be disposed of agreeable to the benevolent 
Intent of the generous Donors.
      It affords us great satisfaction to find that the Conduct of this much 
abused Town meets with their approbation; we greatly value it; and trust that by 
the same gracious directing and supporting hand. Hand, which hath brought us 
hitherto, we shall not be left to do anything which may incur a forfeiture of 
that Affection and esteem. How can ye help us at such a time as this more 
effectually than by carrying our Cause daily to the God of all Grace and 
imploring his Mercy and Favour for Us. They are inclusive of all Good.
      Your Invitation to make your Houses our Homes is very engaging should we 
at length be forced out of these once peaceful Habitations, we think ourselves 
very happy that we are like to be so well provided for; but should we be obliged 
even to remove off fifteen times the distance of Chelmsford, yet the 
Consciousness of a Cordial Attachment to the invaluable civil and religious 
Liberties of our Country, which we believe to be the Cause of truth and 
Righteousness, would yield us content and Satisfaction far superior to that 
which those can experience who are ungratefully seeking to "build their 
greatness on the Country's Ruin." With grateful Acknowledgements, I am, Sir, 
Your truly obliged Friend, & Servt., 
DAVID JEFFRIES,                  
Per Order of the Committee of Donations. 
      MR. JONATHAN WILLIAM AUSTIN.

Page 248

      In addition to this donation of the autumn of 1774, together with the 
offer of their homes to any who desired to move to the town, this patriotic 
people gathered a flock of sheep from the various farms, and sent them during 
the winter of 1774-5 to the relief of the sufferers who remained in Boston. In 
my journey about this town I met several people, who, at the same hearth-stones 
where they gather their families, have heard their grandparents tell of making 
their contributions from their flocks to the sufferers.
      Mr. Simeon Spaulding was the town's agent for delivering contributions. He 
was a yeoman of prominence and influence, living on a portion of the ancestral 
homestead. He never shrank from duty, and was ever ready for patriotic service. 
Besides representing the town in various legislatures and congresses, he was the 
colonel of a regiment commissioned February 14, 1776. He was succeeded on the 
farm by his son, Deacon Noah Spaulding, whose daughter, Julia Ann, married John 
C. Dalton. Their son, Charles H. Dalton of Boston, while at the old home, 
rescued many valuable papers from a destructive hand, among them the letter 
already quoted. Through the courtesy of. Mr. Dalton I am enabled to give these 
facts to my readers.
      Weekly drillings and ordinary cares so absorbed the farmers of this town 
that the early spring of 1775 was upon them before they hardly realized

Page 249

it. They not only kept an eye out to their country's interest, but plied 
themselves with all diligence to the welfare of their families, and the 
distressed from Boston who had accepted their invitations. The musket, well 
scoured, stood at the bedside, or hung over the fireplace, and the well-filled 
cartridge-box had a convenient place near by. A bountiful wood-pile had been 
prepared at the door. The sheep and cows, "well wintered," were cropping the 
early sprouts, and the plough was turning the fresh soil.
      Suddenly an alarm was heard. A familiar voice shouted, "The Regulars are 
coming!" In a moment the scene changed. The husband, father, and son, with a few 
hasty farewells, are gone; the munitions of war are not to be seen in the home; 
the plough is still in the furrow; and the wife, mother, and daughter, more than 
double their burden in assuming the care of the farm.
      "From these farms came more than a hundred resolute, determined men. 
Theirs were not acts of men eager for war, nor did they display the caution of 
timidity. Their language was not the language of men eager to achieve glory by 
deeds of arms; but the time for words had passed, the time for action had come."
      Mr. George Spaulding said, in repeating his grandfather's story, "We 
rallied at the alarm-post, a bowlder agreed upon by previous arrangement, and 
made hasty preparations for our march.

Page 250

Parson Bridge was on hand, and wanted us to go into the meeting-house and have 
prayers before we left town; but some were on horseback, and some on foot, and 
all more or less anxious to get started. In fact, Sergeant [later Captain] Ford, 
who came from East Chelmsford [now Lowell] in charge of a squad, replied to the 
good parson, that he had more urgent business on hand, and hastened on with his 
men. There was but little military order observed by us. We went off in squads 
as soon as convenient. One company of sixty-one men was under the command of 
Captain Oliver Barron, and the other of forty-three men was under the command of 
Colonel Moses Parker. We reached Concord in time to have a part in the pursuit 
of the retreating redcoats. We had our first shot at them at Merriam's Corner, 
and more at Hardy's Hill. Captain Ford, who was at this time sergeant in Captain 
Barron's company, was prominent on the Hill. He was an old fighter of the French 
and Indians, and knew how to handle his musket to an advantage. He claimed to 
have caused the death of five of the enemy on Lincoln soil. [See "Beneath Old 
Roof Trees."] We continued in the pursuit, determined on redressing our wrongs. 
Captain Oliver Barron and Deacon Aaron Chamberlin were wounded that day."
      Doubtless my young patriot readers are anxious to know the attitude of 
Rev. Mr. Bridge as revealed in his own journal. A few entries are

Page 251

introduced to show the pastor's course of proceeding when patriotism was evinced 
by adhering to the king: --

      1755, Sept. 15. A general muster of companies through the Provinces to 
raise men to reinforce army at Crown Point. Spent evening at Parker's with 
officers, & this day the news came of the engagement between Gen. Johnson's army 
& the French & Indians, in which Johnson's army came off conquerors, having 
taken the French General, & killed 700 officers & men, & taken and wounded many. 
The battle was on the 8 Sept. instant -- a signal mercy. Though at the same time 
we are called to mourn the loss of divers brave officers and soldiers to the 
number of about 120 or 130.
      Sept. 25. Visited the wife of Jona. Barron, as I did yesterday towards 
night, upon a flying report of her husband being killed in the battle agt. the 
enemy on the way to Crown Point.
      26. Visited Mrs. Barron this morning upon the acct. of her hearing more 
news of her husband being killed, & discoursed with her. Prayed at Parker's with 
a company going off to Crown Point, Captain Butterfield of Dunstable.
      27. Visited Widow Parker upon a flying report of her son being killed in 
the fight under Gen. Johnson, so upon the same acct. visited wife of Jacob 
Parker.
      30. Visited Mrs. Barron, who this day is certified of the death of her 
husband in the late battle with our enemies in the way toward Crown Point, by an 
extract of a letter of Maj. Nichols (to his wife), who also was wounded in the 
same engagement. I discoursed with her again, & endeavored to comfort her.

      Lieutenant Barron was in the successful siege of Quebec, and upon his 
return presented his minister with a silver cup, a trophy brought from

Page 252

there; but he lost his life in the campaign against Crown Point in 1755. Two 
other Chelmsford soldiers perished at the same time, viz., Jacob Parker and 
James Emery.
      In the following year came the unsuccessful campaign against the same 
place, when four men of Chelmsford lost their lives, viz., Nathaniel 
Butterfield, Simeon Corey, James Dutton, and Isaac Parker. Clergymen were 
required to be furnished with military equipments. The Chelmsford pastor makes 
record on July 8, 1757, of a call from Colonel Stoddard, who asked him if he was 
furnished with arms and ammunition according to law.
      Through all these sorrows we find the pastor having a personal interest in 
the sufferers, and in the general results. In 1758, Rev. Mr. Bridge records: --

      Spent the evening at Parker's, whose company met to appoint Bayonet men 
under the new law.

      He also gives an account of Benjamin Byham and others going to the war. It 
seems that it was customary for troops passing through a town to halt for 
prayers, etc. Mr. Bridge has recorded: 
      Prayed with troops which came from Newbury, Rowley, &c., on their way to 
the Forts; also at Lieut. Proctor's with the same.

      The rejoicing at the completion of the French war is seen in the 
following: --

Page 253

      Col. Stoddard's whole house was illuminated on account of the taking of 
Quebec. 16 Oct., 1759, was the day appointed by the government to be observed.
      25th Oct., 1759. Thanksgiving on acct. of the reduction of Quebec. 
Preached from Psalm 98-1. At night Col. Stoddard and others visited me; also 
brother John from Boston, who fired us a half doz. Sky Rockets.
      August, 1760. Visited Lieut. Jona. Spaulding and Ensign Jona. Harwood, 
each of them lately bereaved of a son in the army at Crown Point.

      This faithful pastor's journal is evidence of his service on occasions 
more cheerful, such as "raisings," "huskings," and the like, in his own parish, 
also "barbecues," "ordinations," etc., in other towns. While weeping with his 
sorrowing neighbors, he is called to marry a couple, and receives as his fee, "a 
guinea & a pair of kid gloves for self & wife."
      After the King Street massacre of 1770, Reverend Mr. Bridge wrote: --

      Bad news this day or two from Boston, the soldiers having killed four 
persons and wounded others.

      Under date of April 19, 1775, he wrote: --

      The Civil war was begun at Concord this morning! Lord direct all things 
for his glory, the good of his church and people, and preservation of the 
British Colonies, and to the shame and confusion of our oppressors.
      April 20. In a terrible state, by reason of ye news from our army. The 
onset of ye British was begun at Lexington, was carried on at Concord, where 
some were killed on both

Page 254

sides. They ingloriously retreated soon and were followed by our men down to 
Cambridge, before night. Five captives were carried through this town for 
Amherst. A constant marching of soldiers from ye towns above toward ye army as 
there were yesterday from this town and the neighboring towns. We are now 
involved in a war which Lord only knows what will be the issue of, but I will 
hope in His mercy, and wait to see His salvation.
      April 21. I sent provisions to the army as did many more. 'Tis a very 
distressing day, soldiers passing all day and all night.

      Sergeant Ford, upon returning from service in response to the Lexington 
alarm, proceeded immediately to raise a company. His patriotic zeal inspired 
others; and in ten days he was joined by fifty-seven men, and on May 19 he 
received his commission as captain.
      The part taken by the Chelmsford soldiers in the battle of Bunker Hill was 
most creditable. The companies belonged to the Twenty-seventh Regiment, of which 
their former townsman, Ebenezer Bridge, was colonel. John Ford, captain of one 
of the companies, distinguished himself in this connection.
      "He volunteered to carry from Cambridge to Bunker Hill a message from 
General Ward. To do this he must pass over Charlestown Neck in the range of 
British guns, at the imminent peril of his life. He had orders from General Ward 
to dismount from his horse at the Neck and cross on foot, in order to escape 
observation. But he ran

Page 255

the risk, and passed and repassed on horseback. While at Bunker Hill he warned 
General Prescott that from the movements of the enemy it was evident that they 
were preparing to attack the Americans upon the hill, and urged the necessity of 
immediately casting up breastworks and redoubts.
      "When the preparation for the battle began, the gallant captain, who had 
no taste for inactivity, obtained permission from General Ward at Cambridge to 
withdraw his company privately, and march directly to the scene of action to re-
enforce the troops. They marched across Charlestown Neck, which was being raked 
by cannon from the British ships, and proceeded down Bunker Hill, where they 
were met by General Putnam, who ordered Captain Ford, with his company, to draw 
into the line the cannon which had been deserted by General Callender, and left 
at the foot of the hill after the first attack. The captain at first 
remonstrated on the ground that his company were ignorant of the management of 
artillery, many having never seen a cannon before; but finally obeyed, and moved 
with the cannon and the general himself to the rail fence, which they reached 
just before the battle began.
      Captain Knowlton with Connecticut troops, and Colonel Stark with New 
Hampshire troops, were also stationed at this part of the defence. The right 
wing of the British army, under Gen-

Page 256

eral Howe, was directed against this point for the purpose of turning the 
American flank, and cutting off a retreat from the redoubt. As the enemy 
advanced to the attack, the artillery, manned by a portion of Captain Ford's 
company, opened upon them with great effect, some of the shots being directed by 
General Putnam himself. The muskets were ordered to reserve their fire till the 
enemy were within eight rods."
      An old grave-stone in the burying-ground at Chelmsford tells how a soldier 
from that town disobeyed orders.


SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF
MR. JOSEPH SPAULDING,
WHO DIED JULY 31, 1820, AEt. 64.
IN HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE WHICH GOD WHO CANNOT LIE HATH
PROMISED TO BELIEVERS IN CHRIST.

He was among the brave asserters and defenders of the liberties of his
country at Bunker Hill, where he opened the battle by firing
upon the enemy before orders were given & after enjoy-
ing for many years the blessings of civil &
religious liberty in common with others

He sank to rest
With all his country's honors blest. 


      The Chelmsford men were among those who used their fowling-pieces with 
deadly effect; and the enemy were obliged to retreat for a time, "leaving on the 
ground," as General Stark related, "where but the day before the mowers had 
swung the scythe in peace, the dead, as thick as sheep in a fold." During the 
entire engagement, Cap-

Page 257

tain Ford and his men bore an honorable part. Thirteen of the company were 
wounded. Ten Chelmsford men were in Captain Benjamin Walker's company, and did 
good service. Captain Walker was wounded, taken prisoner, and died of his wounds 
in a jail in Boston. Lieutenant-Colonel Moses Parker met a similar fate.[1]
      The first report of this battle was received in Chelmsford by way of 
Billerica on the evening of the 17th. The alarm-guns were fired, great 
excitement prevailed, and before morning some of the wounded returned to their 
distressed families. Under that date, Rev. Mr. Bridge writes: --

      "A terrible time this in relation to our army, in battle with our 
oppressors at Charlestown. The whole town on fire. The armies engaged on 
Bunker's Hill. At night we saw a fire from Chelmsford." 
      On the following day the parson writes: --

      The armies at Charlestown still engaged, and news flying with respect to 
the slain and wounded. This is a day big with distress and trouble. Our enemies 
are those who were our brethren of the same nation, and subjects of the same 
king, and all for the sake of a wicked and corrupt ministry, a deluded, a 
devilish, a venal parliament."


[1] "During the evening and night after the battle, the air trembled with the 
groans of the wounded, as they were borne over the Charles, and through the 
streets of Boston to hospitals, where they were to waste away from the summer 
heat, and the scarcity of proper food." --BANCROFT.

Page 258

      Rev. Mr. Bridge's journal furnishes us with glimpses of later service of 
Chelmsford soldiers, and of his own patriotic acts.

[Photo- "Chelmsford Monument (Revolutionary)"]

      June 30, 1776. Read a resolve of the General Court relative to raising men 
to go to Canada, and notified the people to appear with arms, etc.
      July 2. The town again in confusion. Companies met to draw out men for 
Canada.
      July 5. More hurry about raising soldiers. Col. Cummings appointed General 
but resigned.
      July 22. Two of the British officers, prisoners at Duns-

Page 259

table, visited me. (They may have expected sympathy from the parson, formerly 
known to be a loyalist.)
      July 23. Capt. Ford and his company marched off in order to join our 
northern army. At his desire I went to the meeting-house previous to their 
marching, sang the 18 Psalm, and prayed with them and gave them a word of 
exhortation. Part of two other companies of soldiers on their march from the 
lower towns came into town towards night and lodged in town.
      Capt. Ford was again out with his company to re-enforce the northern army 
in Sept. of 1777, and was present at the surrender of Burgoyne and the northern 
army in the following month.
      July 25. Much company and much confusion by reason of the soldiers passing 
through.
      July 26. Early in the morning I prayed in the meeting-house with Capts. 
Fay and Bancroft of Woburn and Reading and their respective companies upon their 
march to join the northern army.
      Sept. 1. Read the Declaration of Independence of the U. States of America 
in public congregation agreeable to the order of the council of this State, and 
when I had done added 'Zion heard and was glad, and the daughter of Judah 
rejoiced because of the judgment of the Lord.'
      Sept. 8. Was sent for and went to Parker, Bills, or Wm. Parkers, his child 
sick, he in the war, prayed with them.
      Sept. 19. Visited David Spaulding upon his receiving the news of his son 
David in the army at Ticonderoga -- he dies of small pox.
      Sept. 24. Visited Willard Byam ill at his fathers. Jonas Dutton ill at his 
mothers, both came home from the army, prayed with each family.
      In the morning went to the meeting-house and prayed with a company of 
soldiers going off toward New York. They are to go under command of Zach. Wright 
of Westford.

Page 260

Opposite the burying-ground, and on an attractive common, stands a unique 
granite monument on which is read: --


IN HONOR OF THE TOWNSMEN OF CHELMSFORD WHO SERVED
THEIR COUNTRY IN THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION, THIS
MONUMENT IS ERECTED BY A GRATEFUL POSTERITY.

ERECTED 1859.
Let the children guard what the sires have won.

JOHN BATES, Died in Army at Cambridge
DAVID SPALDING, JR., Died in Army at Ticonderoga;
PELATIAH ADAMS, killed at Cherry Valley;
NOAH FOSTER, shot at capture of Burgoyne;
HENRY FLETCHER, killed at White Plains;
LT. COL. MOSES PARKER and CAPT. BENJ. WALKER,
Wounded at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.
Died Prisoners in Boston, July 4, and Aug. 1, '75;
LT. ROBERT SPALDING, Died at Milford, Ct., '76.

Page 261

CHAPTER XX
FOOTPRINTS OF THE PATRIOTS OF THE REVOLUTION IN LOWELL. -- BOWERS FAMILY 
HOMESTEAD OF TWO HUNDRED YEARS. -- STORY OF FORD HOMESTEAD. -- CAPTAIN JOHN 
FORDS DESCENDANT TELLS THE STORY OF THE PATRIOT MILLER. -- CAPTAIN FORDS JOURNAL 
IN THE NORTHERN CAMPAIGN OF 1776. -- LIST OF PATRIOTS PRESERVED BY CAPTAIN FORD. 
-- STORY OF FATHER OF PRESIDENT FRANKLIN PIERCE

      Man loves the soil that gave him birth as the child loves the mother, and 
from the same inherent impulses. - B. J. Lossing.

      THOSE who are accustomed to think of Lowell as a city of comparatively 
recent origin will hardly expect to find the footprints of the patriots of the 
Revolution along its busy streets; but a careful search will reveal them, and 
also bring to mind the faithful service of much earlier patriots.
      Nature, through the distribution of her waterways, had determined that 
East Chelmsford should be a city; but long before the white settlers found a use 
for the bountiful waters, there lived and loved another race of beings. The red 
man of the forest, with his dusky mate, was early attracted to

Page 262

the place. In 1653 the Legislature of Massachusetts granted the Indians a 
reservation about the falls, and they were peaceable through the influence of 
the Christian patriot, Eliot. Yet other tribes were of hostile intent; and the 
good citizen

[Photo - "Bowers Homestead, Lowell"]

was he who kept a vigilant watch for the lurking enemy, and took steps to 
protect himself and family against the foe.
      Of those who early did service in the interest of the white settlers of 
this locality, we can readily trace one to the Bowers farm. "This estate,"

Page 263

says Mr. Perham, "has been in the family possession as long as its history is 
known. The dwelling is the oldest standing in Lowell, and has doubtless served 
the Bowers family for two centuries. The first to settle here was Jerathmell 
Bowers, who was a son of George, who was in Plymouth in 1639. Jerathmell was 
born May 2, 1650. He doubtless came to Chelmsford, now Lowell, with the family 
of Henry Boutell, who was his stepfather. He was a man of wealth and influence, 
was early chosen representative to the General Court, and was captain in the 
military organization doing good service." In proof of this I quote from the 
diary of Chief Justice Samuel Sewall, who, with all his cares, found time to 
make a tour of inspection through Middlesex County. In his diary he wrote: --

      "Monday, Oct. 26, 1702. Went to Chelmsford, by that time got there 'twas 
almost dark; saw Capt. Bowers and his company; gave a volley and Huzzas; sup'd 
at Mr. Clark's[1] I and Col. Pierce in his study."

      The document reproduced on page 297 is of interest in this connection for 
the signature of Thomas Hinchman, a patriot of the time, whose name is indelibly 
stamped on the pages of the early history of Massachusetts.


[1] Mr. Clark was the minister, Rev. Thomas Clark, whose daughter married Rev. 
John Hancock of Lexington, and hence became the grandmother of Governor John 
Hancock.

Page 264

Jerathmell Bowers removed from this homestead to Groton, where he died in 1724, 
at the age of seventy-eight years. Probably he was not long away from his home, 
as we find in Chelmsford burying-ground a stone to the memory of "Mrs. Elizabeth 
Bowers, wife to Capt. Jerathmell Bowers who died, March 4th 1721, in ye 76 year 
of Her age." Captain Bowers was a man of influence in his time, and on this old 
homestead conducted business according to the demands of the time. Octobef 5, 
1686, Jerathmell Bowers and John Fisk were licensed by the court to sell "strong 
waters." Two years later Bowers and Cornelius Waldo were licensed to carry on 
the same business. Fisk was a son of the minister, and Waldo was the deacon of 
the church. No harm was thought to arise from the sale of intoxicants to the 
white people, but it was bad for the Indians with whom Captain Bowers had to do.
      Six children were objects of Captain Bowers's solicitude at this old 
homestead, and he was doubtless succeeded by his son Jerathmell, and perhaps 
Jonathan, at the old home; and it is certain that William, Joseph, and Sewall 
have each tilled the ancestral acres and gone to their reward, and two 
generations are still living there. The hearthstone around which the family 
gathered when the red men were their enemies was the place where anxious mothers 
and children gathered on the morning of April 19, 1775, when the men fell in

Page 265

with Captain Ford's company and hastened on towards Concord.
      At some distance from the Bowers homestead was the home and mill of John 
Ford. He was a son of Robert Ford, born in Haverhill in 1738, and early settled 
in East Chelmsford (Lowell), near

[Photo - "Captain Ford Homestead, Lowell"]

the Pawtucket Falls. He was a strong man, of an adventurous spirit, and was led 
to this locality by the advantages which it afforded for milling. He obtained 
the land bordering on the Merrimack, either whole or in part, from the Indians. 
He erected a mill near the falls, and a house not far away for the comfort of 
his family. Here he took up his abode, and was recognized as an influential

Page 266

citizen of Chelmsford long before any one thought of rebelling against the king, 
whose faithful subjects they were. In the bustling city of Lowell, where so 
little remains to remind us of the pioneers, it is refreshing to turn aside from 
the hum of the many spindles, follow the course of the river a short distance, 
and come to the Ford estate, where the descendants of the brave captain still 
live, and with most commendable pride cherish the old homestead of the founder.
      To be sure changes have come. The rude dwelling which sheltered the brave 
miller and patriot has given way to two commodious residences, both occupied by 
Ford descendants. The roof-tree set up by Captain John Ford after the Revolution 
is that which shelters the fourth generation. Here I received a most cordial 
welcome from Mrs. Henry G. Lambert, to whom I am indebted for the following 
story: --
      "The first of our family here was John Ford. He was succeeded by a son, 
Elisha Ford, and daughters; of the latter, Sally married John Corliss of 
Haverhill, N.H. Their son, John L. Corliss, was succeeded by daughters. Sarah 
Corliss married Henry A. Lambert of New York, and Helen married William D. Earl 
of North Attleboro, Mass. I am a great-granddaughter of Captain John Ford, and 
there are seven of the next generation who cherish these ancestral acres. 
Grandfather Ford was at work in his mill when

Page 267

the alarm-gun sounded from the hill not far away. But the miller was so well 
posted on the state of affairs that he knew what that meant, and he lost no time 
in adjusting his saw, and making things ready to leave. He refreshed himself 
with a bowl of bread and milk, which he ate when standing by a window seen in 
the cut, the one-story part of the dwelling being his home at that time. He 
mounted his horse, and made haste to the centre of the town of Chelmsford. He 
was joined by neighbors on the way, and as you have already learned, was in so 
great haste as to decline the thoughtful invitation of the good pastor to go 
into the meeting-house for prayers."
      "Grandfather Ford," continued my informant, "was familiar with military 
life long before the call to arms on the morning of April 19, 1775. He had been 
obliged in his early days here at the mill to keep a close watch for the 
Indians, who were inclined to make some trouble at times; and on one occasion he 
had an experience which resulted in putting an end to the annoying party. While 
such incidents are not altogether pleasant to recall, they serve to show the 
nature of the preparation which Captain Ford had for the service of a true 
patriot in 1775."
      The family story around the old hearth-stone becomes doubly real through 
the presence of the sword carried by Captain Ford from this place to the battle 
of Bunker Hill, also his musket and pow-

Page 268

der-horn used in the Continental army. Among numerous papers that belonged to 
the patriot are two commissions. The first is to John Ford as, "captain of a 
company, raised by this Colony as a temporary re-enforcement to the American 
army, until the first day of April next, at Watertown, 7th day of February, 
1776, in the 16th year of the reign of his Majesty, King George the third. By 
command of the major part of the council."
      The other is to appoint John Ford as "captain of the First company in the 
Regiment of Foot, whereof Ebenezer Bridge is colonel, raised by the Continental 
Congress aforesaid for the Defence of the Colony. By order of the Congress, Jos. 
Warren, President, P. T."
      Among other papers which these descendants cherish with a genuine spirit 
of patriotism are the following: --

CHELMSFORD, Jan. 26, 1776. 

      Received of Philip Parkis three pounds, twelve shillings, lawful money, in 
full for doing a turn for him in the Continental army, this present year.
SYLAS PARKER. 

      Attested: FRANCIS SOUTHACK.

CAMP AT CAMBRIDGE, June 27, 1775. 

      Received of Eben Bridge Fifteen pounds in Province notes for my company.

      In the summer of 1776 another company was raised in Chelmsford, and 
stationed at Ticonderoga

Page 269

under command of Captain Ford. While there the captain kept a regimental order-
book, which is still in the family. In this book, now one hundred and twenty 
years old, are recorded regimental orders, trials by courts-martial, promotions 
of officers, punishments of disorderly soldiers, and other matters pertaining to 
a military encampment. Every day are recorded the parole and countersign of the 
camp. From this book I quote a few orders, being careful to preserve the exact 
form and spelling.

August 24, 1776. 

      Ensign Lee of Capt. Spauldings company, Col. Reed's Regt. tryed at the 
Court-Marshal for bying a Gun belonging to Col. Marshfield Regt. & Defacing the 
name New Gersey & the No that was markt on it. Pleading Guilty -- the Court 
Sentenced him to Return to Col. Marshfield & to be Repromanded by the Commander 
of the Regt. at the H. D. of the Regt. Richard Buck of Col. Patisons Regt. tryed 
at the same gl Court Marshal for Refusing his Duty & striking his officer. The 
Court finds him Guilty & Sentences him to Receive 39 Lashes on his Bare Back for 
Each Crime.
      James Conner of Capt. Osgoods Company in the Regt. Commanded by Lt. Col 
Ward is tryed by the same gl Court Marshal for Desertion & pleads Guilty, & is 
Sentenced to Receive 39 Lashes on his Bare Back & ware a with on his neck for 14 
Days for a mark of Igno-minion, & if he is seen without it is to Receive 100 
Lashes, he is to return to his Duty in his Battalion, the Gel approves all the a 
bove & orders the Execution's to-morrow morning at guard mounting. -- JOHN FORD.

      Town records, old grave-stones, and family traditions prove to us that 
many young patriots, the

Page 270

pride of New England homes, perished from disease during this northern campaign, 
in the same locality where other patriots from the same towns had given up their 
lives in the service of the king in the earlier wars. We have an intimation of 
this in an entry of Captain Ford, under date of August 26, 1776: --

      "After order the commanding officer of each Regtm is to send a 
subbordinate officer to-morrow morning at sunrise to Fort George to Bring the 
Arms of the Dead & Discharged of their Respective Regtms to this Place, officer 
will Receipt to the Director at Fort George for the Arms they Receive, and on 
their arrival at this Place Deliver them to the commanding of their Respective 
Corps."

HEAD QUARTERS, August 31st, 1776. 



GENERAL ORDERS.

      The Officers & Soldiers may be satisfied that the General has left no 
means in his Power untry'd to procure medicines and every Comfort for the Sick 
of this Army which the Station & Circumstances of this place will admit. The 
Director of this Department Dr. Stringer was sent to N. York three and thirty 
Days ago with positive orders to return the instant he had provided the drugs 
and medicines so much wanted; since this, repeated Letters have been wrote to N. 
York and Philadelphia setting forth in the strongest terms the pressing 
necessity of an immediate supply of those articles. The General is credibly 
informed that a principal Surgeon is dispatched from N. York above a Fortnight 
ago with a supply of medicines & apprehends that the Badness of the weather and 
Road has alone prevented his Arrival. It is the Soldiers Duty to maintain the 
part he is ordered to defend. The same climate affects them, our enemies, that 
effects us, & the

Page 271

favor of the Almighty to whom we have appealed will, if we trust in him preserve 
us from Slavery & Death. The General recommends it to the Surgeons of the 
Different Regts to communicate to each other the state of the sick in their 
ranks, and their different Diseases, the Remedies principally wanted & the 
comforts which are most in request, for he will have nothing unattempted in his 
power to provide what ever he can command for their Recovery. The General also 
desires the medical Gentlemen will consult upon and adopt the most proper 
measures for obtaining those salutary purposes.

HEAD QUARTERS, Oct. 8th, 1776. 



PAROLE MADRID, CT. SN. WALL.

      The Commissary to issue four sheep to each Regt., 3 to the Corps of 
Artillery, & 3 to the Artificers, at their usual time of Drawing Provisions. The 
Commanding Officers will direct the sick & weak Soldiers be supply'd with this 
Refreshment. The Commissary is to recon the Sheep in their Allowance to the 
Regt. at their estimated weight.

HEAD QUARTERS, Oct. 12, 1776. 


      Discharged soldiers are to return in to the commanding officers of the 
Regt., to which they belong, the arms, ammunitions, accoutrements, &c, which 
they may have in Possession belonging to the public. The commanding officers are 
to see that this order is comply'd with. A Return of the names, companies & 
Regiments of soldiers who have been discharged the Service from the first Day of 
Oct. is to be given in to the Deputy Adjutant Genl., to-morrow at orderly-Time, 
afterwards to be given in on Saturdays.

      We have an intimation of the condition of the army by a return of Captain 
Ford's company, made on September 27, 1976:--

Page 272

Capt., 2 Lieuts., 1 Ensign, 4 Sargts., 2 Trumpeters, 33 fit for duty, 11 on 
command, 4 sick absent, 34 sick present, 82 total rank and file.

HEAD QUARTERS, Oct. 15, 1776. 

      The Fleet have acted a noble part. Let it not be said hereafter that the 
cause of all America was injured by the supineness of the northern army. Capt. 
Lt. Jones of the Artillery will return to the side of Ticonderoga and Major 
Bigelow, being recovered from his late Indisposition, will return to the Command 
of the Artillery on Mount Independence.

HEAD QUARTERS, Octr. 19, 1776. 

      Lt. Colo. Baldwin 1st Engineer will take the Direction of the works upon 
the side of Ticonderoga with the following assistants under him, Major Paine, 
Capt. Newland, Lt. Dallis, and Ensign Parrett. Lt. Colo. Pallifor, 2nd Engineer 
will take Direction of the works upon Mount Independence with the following 
assistants under him, Capt. Patterson, Mr. Delezenne and two other gentlemen 
that the Colos. on that side may command. This arrangement being settled & the 
particular works to be completed, determined upon, the General has no doubt but 
the necessary preparations for a vigorous Defence will be made with that 
animated zeal becoming soldiers who are also citizens of America. Soldiers whose 
arms have been wet by the late bad weather and cannot be drawn, are to be drawn 
up in squads in proper places half an hour before sunset, and there discharge 
their arms. The Regts. who want ammunition may be supplyed by applying to Colo. 
Trumbull D. A. G. The troops have two days provisions ready dress'd until 
further orders. All the spears that can be spared from the vessels to be 
delivered for the Defence of the French Lines & Redoubts.

      As this campaign was drawing to a close, an effort was made to induce the 
soldiers to enlist

Page 273

for the war. Of this Captain Ford makes the following record: --

HEAD QUARTERS, Oct. 24, 1776. 

      The Commanding Officers of the Regts. are directed to 1/4 lb. of buck 
shott for every man fit for Duty in their respective Camps. The honorable, the 
Congress of the United States of America have for the Reward & encouragement of 
each non commissioned Officer & Soldier who shall engage to serve during the 
War, further resolved to give every above the Bounty of 20 Dollars to each man 
annually with one complete suit of clothing which for the present year is to 
consist of two linen hunting shirts, two pair stockings, 2 pair of shoes, two 
pair of Overhalls, a leather or woolen jackett with sleeves, one pair of 
Breeches, one leather cap or hat amounting to 20 Dollars in the whole or that 
sum to be paid each soldier who shall procure those Articles for himself & 
produce a certificate thereof from the Capt. of the Company to the Paymaster of 
the Regmt."

      It was in this campaign that Rev. William Emerson was taken ill and died. 
(See Chap. XXIV.)
      The names of the patriots of Chelmsford who responded to the Lexington 
alarm, preserved by Captain Ford, are here given, together with the number of 
days each was in service, in order that the reader may more clearly understand 
the confused state of the country at that time: --

Oliver Barron, Capt., 16.
Samuel Stevens, Lieut., 10.
John Ford, Sergt., 6.
Benjamin Warren, Sergt., 9.
Silas Spaulding, Sergt., 16.
Jonas Pierce, Corl., 6.
John Spaulding, Drummer, 10. 
Jacob Howard, Private, 10.
Benjamin Spaulding, 11.
David Burge, 11.
Ephraim Parkhurst, 11.
Oliver Richardson, 7.
Daniel Dammon, 18.
Daniel Sillaway, 9. 

Page 274

Willard Howard, 2. 
Amos Mastes, 7. 
William Bowers, 13. 
Isaac Kent, Jr., 6. 
Josiah Richardson, 3. 
David Marshall, 5. 
John Dunn, 3. 
Benjamin _____, 5. 
John Twiss, 3. 
Samuel Marshall, 9. 
Henry Spaulding, Jr., 7. 
Daniel Keyes, 6. 
Joseph Marshall, 5. 
John Keyes, 6. 
Stephen Pierce, Jr., 5. 
William Dunn, 4. 
Samuel Fletcher, 4. 
Benjamin Barrett, 6. 
Joshua Davis, 8. 
James Dunn, Jr., 8. 
Oliver Fletcher, 8. 
Francis Daverson, 7. 
Jonathan Peirce, 11. 
Moses Esterbrooks, 8. 
Nathaniel Farrar, 9. 
William Cambel, 6. 
Joseph Taylor, 10. 
David Chambers, 8. 
Thomas Marshall, Jr., 9. 
John Chambers, 7. 
William Mears, 4. 
Jonathan Sprague, 6. 
John Roby, 17.
Isaiah Foster, Jr., 6. 
Benjamin Parkhurst, 3. 
Samuel Britton, 6. 
Moses Barron, 15. 
William Chambers, 3. 
John Mears, 5. 
Benjamin Parker, Jr., 8. 
Jeremiah Abbott, 5. 
Benjamin Pierce, 7. 
Reuben Parker, 13. 
Josiah Fletcher, Jr., 9. 
David Danforth, 4. 
Joseph Spaulding, 6. 
Benjamin Parker, 3. 
 

      It was on the 22d of April, 1775, that the Provincial Congress voted to 
raise thirty thousand men, and on the 25th John Ford had enlisted fifty-seven 
men -- a company of which he was made captain. Nineteen of these were on the 
roll of those who turned out on April 19, and several continued through later 
campaigns with their trusted leader, Captain John Ford. In the burying-ground 
near Pawtucket Bridge, a plain headstone records: --


CAPT. JOHN FORD
DIED Nov. 6, 1822, AE 84.

Page 275

      Benjamin Pierce, afterward General Pierce and the father of President 
Franklin Pierce, was a member of Captain Ford's company. Of him Joshua Merrill, 
Esq., of Lowell says, --
      "He was born in Chelmsford, now Lowell, December 25, 1767. He was bereft 
of his father at the age of six years, and was taken by his uncle, Robert 
Pierce, a farmer. . . . He remained with his uncle until April 19, 1775. He was 
then ploughing in a field on Powell Street. He heard the firing of guns, and 
soon messengers arrived notifying the inhabitants of the battles of Lexington 
and Concord. Young Pierce was then in his eighteenth year. He chained his 
steers, as he called them, to a stump, went to the house, took his uncle's gun 
and equipments, and started for Concord on foot. The British had retreated 
before he reached Concord. He enlisted in Captain Ford's company, and was in 
service till the close of the war.
      "In one of the battles, when the bearer of the colors was shot, young 
Pierce seized the colors, and bore them to the front during the conflict. In 
subsequent years, Governor Pierce, when he came from his home in Hillsborough, 
N.H., to Lowell to visit his old friends, took delight in pointing out to them 
the stump to which, on April 19, 1775, he hitched his steers."

Page 276

CHAPTER XXI
OLD HEARTH-STONES IN CHELMSFORD. -- PERHAM HOMESTEAD, WHERE NINE GENERATIONS OF 
THE FAMILY HAVE LIVED. -- TEN GENERATIONS OF SPAULDINGS ON THE OLD FARM. --THE 
OLD GARRET OF THE SPAULDING HOUSE. -- ELEVEN GENERATIONS OF FLETCHERS ON THE OLD 
FARM. -- HAYWARD HOME THE OLD GARRISON. -- OLD HOME OF THE BYAMS SINCE 1655. -- 
THOMAS HENCHMAN AND THE WARREN FAMILY. -- THE BURYING-GROUND

      CHELMSFORD is peculiarly favored in the unbroken family possession of its 
old farms. The first visited in my circuit of this ancient settlement is the 
Perham homestead.
      The first white settler on this farm was John Perham. He married in 1664 
Lydia Shepley, who had come with her parents in the Wenham Colony.
      When the Perham pioneer began to subdue these acres, the apostle Eliot was 
looking after the interests of the Indians here; and a company of Mr. Perham's 
neighbors were trustees for the aboriginal owners of the soil, of what is now 
the

Page 277

town of Chelmsford and the city of Lowell, and even beyond their limits. "The 
first dwelling," says Mr. Perham, the present thrifty owner and occupant," was 
doubtless one of the rudely constructed houses of the times, but compared 
favorably with that erected by him and the other settlers for their minister, 
Rev. John Fisk, who had come from Wenham. The plan for the minister's house

[Photo - "Perham Homestead, Chelmsford"]

is thus indicated; 'And we do agree and order that he shall have a house built 
for him, thirty-eight feet in length, and twenty-four in breadth, with three 
fire rooms. The chimney built with brick or stone.'"
      After enduring the hardships of pioneer life, and struggling nobly for 
existence for more than a half century in this locality, Mrs. Lydia Perham died 
in 1710, and was followed by her husband in 1721. They were succeeded on the 
farm by a son,

Page 278

Benoni Perham, who with Sarah Robbins, his wife, was contented in the original 
house until their son Samuel erected a more comfortable dwelling, which, with 
modern improvements, has sheltered seven generations. The two who succeed the 
present owner make nine who have dwelt there. "Our family had been located here 
a full century," said the present owner, "when the drum beat to arms on April 
19, 1775." The hero of the family at that distressing time was Samuel, senior, 
who served the patriot cause on the Committee of Safety and in the Provincial 
convention at Concord. His sons Samuel and Oliver were among those who 
shouldered their muskets, and served in the company from this town.
      Another old homestead visited was the Spaulding farm. The Spauldings were 
in the town among the first settlers. Edward Spaulding was there before the 
incorporation in 1655, and was among those selected in November, 1654, "by the 
consent of the major part of the town for ordering the Public affairs." He 
belonged to that colony, who, with their minister, left Wenham in Essex County, 
and did good service in establishing the church and town that have made a most 
commendable record for two hundred and forty years. Ten generations of the 
Spaulding family are recorded as having resided in Chelmsford, and figured in 
the history of the town. I met, among others of the family, Mr. George 
Spaulding, busily

Page 279

occupied in tilling his acres. He said, "My father was Alpheus, and his father 
was Joseph Spaulding, who left this farm in response to the call of April 19, 
1775, and who gained some notoriety in the battle of Bunker Hill. You have read 
the inscription on the slab at his grave, which gives

[Photo - "Spaulding Home, Chelmsford"]

only a part of my grandfather's story. His own report of it was, 'I fired ahead 
of time, and Putnam rushed up and struck at me for violating orders. I suppose I 
deserved it, but I was anxious to get another good shot at Gage's men ever since 
our affair at Concord. The blow from "Old Put" hit me on the head, made a hole 
in my hat, and left this scar;' and," said the grandson, "it

Page 280

was an honorable scar. Grandfather was proud of it, and carried it to his 
grave." Mr. George Spaulding, who is of the eighth generation, continued his 
story, "My grandfather was living at that time in an old house on this farm, and 
had just raised the frame of this dwelling when he was called to do a patriot's 
duty away from these acres. When the house was completed he moved into it with 
grandmother and the children, one of whom was my father; and the Revolutionary 
roof has already sheltered five generations of Spauldings."
      To make his grandfather's part at Bunker Hill more vivid, Mr. Spaulding 
brought from the house a silver watch, ticking with as much regularity as it was 
on the morning of June 17, 1775, when Joseph Spaulding aimed his fowling-piece 
at Major Pitcairn. Said the proud descendant, "My grandfather brought the watch 
to this house; and here it has been kept ever since, often proving more reliable 
than some modern timepieces."

[Photo - "Spaulding Watch, Used at Bunker Hill"]



Page 281

      In confirmation of Mr. Spaulding's story of the cocked hat, Mrs. Luther 
Faulkner of Billerica says, "It was one of the delights of my childhood to play 
in that old garret with my companions, the grandchildren of Joseph Spaulding. It 
was the storeroom of scores of articles that dated back to the early generations 
of the family. There were the rude implements of the farm, the cast-off utensils 
of the kitchen, and many articles of husbandry that time had relegated to that 
lumber-room. Oh, what a pleasure it was for us children, on a rainy day, to 
amuse ourselves among those relics! The flax cards, the hatchel, the reel, the 
wheels great and small, were all put to our childish service. Then a season was 
spent in playing soldier, but the boys thought the girls had no part in that. 
'Grandsir's' cocked hat was brought from its hiding-place; and each boy in turn, 
crowned with the tattered relic, marched up and down the garret floor. 'Just as 
Grandsir Spaulding marched at Bunker Hill,' was the childish order. It had 
received holes through the crown, and 'grandsir' was proud of them; but the old 
soldier of 1775 was gone, and I am afraid we were rough with his hat. The hat 
and all else in that ancient garret were consumed by fire; yet the memory of 
those days, and particularly of the old cocked hat, will remain as long as life 
lasts."
      Another most interesting representative of the Spaulding family is Mrs. 
Mary (Spaulding) Shedd,

Page 282

who, at the age of ninety-three years, delights in repeating the stories heard 
from the lips of her grandfather, Zebulon Spaulding, who was one of the minute-
men of the town. The story of the opening Revolution, as she tells it, confirms 
that already given, and her personal recollections of the second war with 
England are as vivid as are those of the Civil War. Said this venerable member 
of the family, "My father was Sherebiah Spaulding." In regard to the second 
trouble with England, she said, "The early spirit of patriotism was quickly 
kindled in his breast, as in others of Chelmsford. He presented a most charming 
appearance to my youthful eyes, when he was equipped in his brilliant uniform, 
and ready to march to Boston. I

[Photo - "Mrs. Shedd"]


Page 283

was too young to fully realize what the war-cry meant; but there were those in 
our family who recalled the sufferings of Concord, Bunker Hill, and Valley 
Forge, and with tearful faces stood by as the soldiers went away, while the old 
fire of patriotism was rekindled in their breasts; but their forms were too much 
bowed with age to again face the enemy."
      This delightful lady of the old school, on her ninety-third birthday, 
remarked, "I have known eight generations of my family, and have seen an entire 
change in the manner of conducting domestic matters, as well as business 
affairs. I have seen the loom and wheel, which were kept in action in each 
family, give way to the innumerable looms and spindles of the city of Lowell, 
which has sprung into existence since I came to maturity."
      I was next conducted to the Hayward farm, where five generations of the 
family have flourished, Miss Adelia Hayward being the present owner. Miss 
Hayward said that her great-grandfather came to this house in 1726. Here in the 
walls are unmistakable evidences of the garrison of the early wars; and the 
chimney of stone, such as the settlers agreed to build in the minister's house 
in 1654, is suggestive of a stronghold. There is the hollow passage-way by the 
side of the rough stone, allowing free passage from the bottom of the cellar to 
the chimney top. It was

Page 284

to be used for concealment, and for an outlook whereby to discern the approach 
of danger. This place, and, all such in old houses, are always delightfully 
suggestive and interesting. Here the rude ladder, over which generations of 
Haywards have climbed, adds to the interest of the place.

[Photo - "Hayward Garrison, Chelmsford"]

An aged neighbor is a frequent visitor at this house, who says her mother often 
told her that it is the place where the women went for safety when the Indians 
were out.
      The Hayward family has flourished here for one hundred and seventy years; 
yet they are modern in the town in comparison with the Adams family,

Page 285

of whom the farm was purchased a half century before the Revolution. The name of 
Thomas Adams is seen in connection with the settlement in 1653, and Samuel Adams 
was early chosen as the town clerk. The descendants have been among those who 
have made a record as good patriots through all these years, both in Chelmsford 
and elsewhere.

[Photo - "Byam Home, Chelmsford"]

      The Byam estate is one that has been in the family since the first 
settlement of the town. The name of George Byam appears in the list of those who 
came from Wenham in 1655. He located on the farm where the ninth generation is 
met to-day. The pioneer wisely selected his land where there was an abundant 
supply of running

Page 286

water; and Beaver Brook, that wound on its course through his meadows, has 
continued of service to each of the generations in their time. How early the 
stream was given that name does not appear; but in January, 1659, we find: -- 
      George Biam and Thomas Barrett are appointed a committee to state a 
Highway that gos to Tadmuck before Thomas Chamberlain's hous. The tree at his 
Hogs Coat is concluded one bound, and so to Run his due bredth acording to 
order, towards the Broak Cold Beaver broak." 
      George Byam, the first, had three sons, whom he named for the Jewish 
patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But instead of representing three 
successive generations, they were of one and the same; yet the promise to 
Abraham of old was verified here, and there has not been wanting a son to 
continue the family name and possession. We find Amos, of the fifth generation, 
with his wife, Sarah Pierce, located in the original dwelling of only two rooms, 
one above the other. This house has been preserved; and there are pointed out 
to-day the four corners where the loom, fireplace, wheel, and bed were located.


WARREN HOMESTEAD.

      Very near the centre of Chelmsford is the Warren homestead. This estate 
belonged to Thomas Hinchman, who was an influential man in the early days. In 
the year 1699 he deeded it to the first

Page 287

Joseph Warren. A portion of the original house, more than two hundred years old, 
is disguised in a more modern dwelling, which identifies the spot where the 
first hearth-stone was placed. So large was the original farm that it admitted 
of divisions and subdivisions, and several families of the name or blood are 
settled there in the enjoyment of a competency. For nearly two centuries there 
has been a Joseph Warren on the farm. The donor of the farm is pleasantly 
remembered in the name of one of the present generation, who is Edwin Henchman 
Warren. The family has ever enjoyed the confidence of its contemporaries, each 
generation doing the part of true patriotic citizens. Among the treasures of 
early military service held by the family at the old homestead are a musket and 
a halberd, which doubtless date back to the time when Jeduthan Warren served in 
the northern campaign in 1776, with a large company, under Captain John Ford. 
The Lexington alarm called Sergeant Benjamin Warren from the old home. He was in 
Captain Oliver Barron's company, and actively engaged in the running fight of 
April 19, 1775.
      The first Joseph Warren, born in 1670, possessed a copy of "The General 
Laws of the Massachusetts Colony, Revised and published by order of the General 
Court, in October 1658." This volume has been kept by the successive Josephs, 
and is now one of the family treasures. It is be-

Page 288

lieved to have been the property of Jacob Warren, the pioneer of the family.


THE RICHARDSON HOME

      About two miles north of the centre of Chelmsford is the early home of the 
Richardson family, where I met Mr. Edward F. Richardson, who modestly said, "I 
am of the seventh generation in a direct line of our family in possession of 
this farm. The first was Josiah, who, with the other male inhabitants, 
petitioned on May 17, 1658, the 'honored Court Assembled at Boston' for the 
privilege of trading with the Indians. They represent themselves as located 
'into this Remoat Corner of the wilderness.' " Says the present owner, "My 
pioneer ancestor built his log house in the south side of this great sand-bank, 
and here located with his family. He was succeeded by John, Eleazer, and Samuel, 
who represented as many successive generations. Each in turn, with his family, 
enjoyed and improved the homestead, doing manfully their part in church and 
government. It was Oliver, son of Samuel, my grandfather, who responded from 
this place to the Lexington alarm. He was but sixteen years of age when he was 
found in Captain Barron's company in pursuit of the Regulars. He was among those 
who fought down by the rail fence on June 17, at Charlestown. He had a great 
powder-horn; and he always said, 'I had a plenty of ammunition

Page 289

when the others had none; for my horn was well filled with my own stock from 
home, and I used it to the best advantage possible on that morning at 
Charlestown.' Oliver was not disheartened by these early experiences, but was 
found with the Chelmsford men in the campaign at the north when Burgoyne was 
obliged to give up his enterprise. Oliver, the young soldier, was succeeded by 
his son Francis, from whom the present generation received the estate."
      The Adams family early made a record in Chelmsford; and many of that name 
to-day revert to the mother town as the place of their origin, while the 
patriotic deeds of their ancestors for two centuries are an inspiration to them.

      "The family of Adam or Adams (meaning red; adamah, red earth) can claim 
the distinction of having the oldest individual name on record." -- Adams 
Genealogy.

      Two sons of Henry Adams, the immigrant leader who settled in Braintree, 
were among the founders of Chelmsford. Thomas, born in 1612, was well 
established with a large family when he was received as a member of the 
Chelmsford Church, "27th of 2d '56." Samuel, born 1617, was the father of a 
family when he appears as town clerk of Chelmsford.
      They did a grand work here during the remainder of their lives. The former 
died in 1666, and the latter in 1676.

Page 290

      Samuel Adams was the first miller of the town. On July 3, 1656, he was 
granted four hundred acres of land to encourage him to set up a sawmill, and 
later he had one hundred acres more for erecting a corn-mill. These mills marked 
a new era in the building of houses, as well as the preparation of grains for 
food. It was on a commanding site just beyond the brook that the miller erected 
his dwelling. Seven generations occupied the farm, and presided at the mill; but 
it has now passed into other hands, as have homesteads of other branches of the 
family. It is apparent that the Adams family of Chelmsford was connected with 
Samuel Adams the patriot, and it is interesting that the two branches should 
have been so positive in espousing the cause of the patriots in the Revolution. 
Pelatiah Adams from this town, who died in the service of his country at Cherry 
Valley, is remembered by the monument on the Common in his native town; while 
Samuel, the leader in the Revolution, sleeps in Granary Burying-Ground in 
Boston, with no slab to remind the passing stranger of the brave patriot. The 
Adams Library at Chelmsford is a fitting memorial of not only the donor, but of 
all the descendants of the early settlers at Chelmsford by the name of Adams.
      The name of Parkhurst first appeared in this town in 1658, and the family 
is one of the most numerously represented to-day. Joseph, from Water-

Page 291

town, was the founder here. He married Mary Read, and settled on his share of 
the "New Field." He was succeeded by his son Ebenezer. Then came Jonathan, who 
was born in 1701, married Hannah Richardson in 1724, and died in 1737, leaving a 
widow and seven children. Of these Josiah continued the family line in the town. 
He married Elizabeth King. Samuel, one of the four children, was a noted patriot 
among the many of the town, acted well his part in the various campaigns, and 
lived to a great age. He was fond of fighting over his battles by the fireside, 
to the delight of not only his own descendants, but of the many who were 
inspired by his patriotic zeal to do valiant service for town and country. A 
sword captured by the patriot Samuel, together with his musket, are treasured 
relics of the family.


FLETCHER HOMESTEAD.
TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE YEARS OLD.

      A most peculiar interest centres at the Fletcher farm. The first 
pulsations of civilized life in the town are traced to this homestead. The name 
of William Fletcher is seen with others on the petition of May, 1653, for a 
grant of six miles square "which bordereth upon Merrimack River near to 
Pautucket, which we do find a very comfortable place to accommodate a company of 
God's people

Page 292

upon; that may with God's blessing and assistance live comfortably upon and do 
good in that place for church and commonwealth." The petition was granted eight 
days later, May i8, 1653, on conditions that a reservation should be made for 
the Indians, through the intercession of the apostle Eliot.

[Photo - "'Captain Bill Fletcher's' House"]

      The common lands were allotted to the settlers, William Fletcher being one 
of them. He was a son of Robert of Concord, born in England, and made a freeman 
in the Colony in 1643. He married Lydia Bates of Concord, and they set up their 
home in this wilderness in 1653. Tradition tells us that the house to which 
William Fletcher conducted his trustful bride was the first in the

Page 293

settlement having the pretensions of a frame, and was distinguished as having 
been the place of the first town meeting.

The 22d: the 9th: month: 1654.
      At a meeting then at William Fletcher's Hous there was chosen to officiate 
in Ordering the Publick affairs of the Place, by the Consent of the Major part 
of the Town for this present year ensuing are as followeth: --Esdras Read; 
Edward Spaulding; William Fletcher; Isaac Lerned; Simon Thompson; William 
Underwood; Thomas Adams. They also set apart thirty acres of land for the 
minister, and provided for his house.

      William the pioneer was of the second generation in the country, and acted 
a prominent part in the affairs of town and Colony until his death in November, 
1677. He was succeeded on this farm by a son William, born four years after the 
first settlement; but he was not made a freeman until twelve years after his 
father, William, died. Governor Dudley commissioned him a lieutenant in 1704, 
which position he honorably filled until his death in 1713. Although the pioneer 
here was not honored with military titles, yet his record is with the faithful 
patriots of the early days of the Colony. Josiah of the fourth generation was 
the next in order on the farm; and he was succeeded by a son Josiah, born 
October 30, 1719.
      While each generation has continued the name of William, other names have 
appeared in the line of possession of the farm. In the sixth generation 

Page 294

William asserts his birthright. He was born December 22, 1754. His cradle 
lullaby was of the conquered French, and in his maturity a military spirit 
actuated him. He was one of four Fletchers to respond to the Lexington alarm. 
His family story repeated by his great-great-grandson William is: --
      "I was one of those who stepped over the body of the first British soldier 
killed at Concord Bridge, when was made 'the first forcible resistance to 
British aggression.'"
      The musket carried in the war by one of the family is still treasured at 
the old home by William of the tenth generation. This musket has never been 
robbed of the old flint-lock and the primitive arrangements of Colonial days. 
Oliver Fletcher, the famous town clerk, was of the fifth generation; and his 
record is among those who did faithful service for his native town.
      William, the hero of April 19, '75, married, during the years of the 
Revolution, Lucy Hildrith; and thus the two old and influential families were 
united. William of the seventh generation, their son, was born May 18, 1782, and 
married in 1815 to Orpha Spaulding, thus making a connection with another of the 
oldest families of the town. This William died in 1846, and was gathered to the 
grave with his fathers on the hill. His successor was William, born in 1819. He 
brought as a helpmeet to the old home, Diantha

Page 295

E. Dustin of New Hampshire, and second, Eliza A. Warren of Chelmsford. Having 
made a good record in the town, State legislature, etc., he resigned the family 
home in 1893 to Charles Frederic of the ninth generation, who was born on 
Independence Day, 1846, in time to receive his grandfather's parting blessing. 
He dedicated himself to the cause of preserving the Union early in the War of 
the Rebellion, and kept good the record of patriotism begun by his ancestors.
      The next in line of this family is William of the tenth generation, who 
was born in 1872, and married to Jenny A. Fulton on New Year's Day of 1893. A 
representative of the eleventh generation in the country, and the tenth on this 
farm, is Rachel Fulton Fletcher. This babe is cradled within a few rods of the 
site of the first house built by William Fletcher in 1653. Different branches of 
the family have set up homes on the paternal acres, the oldest of which is a red 
house with a gambrel roof. It is in much the same condition as when "Uncle Bill" 
Fletcher, at ninety years of age, used to gather his children and grandchildren 
about the old hearth-stone, and tell his story of personal experience at 
Concord, and in the other events of the 19th of April, '75, and of his service 
with Captain Ford in the northern campaign of 1777.

Not "a man is now alive,
Who remembers that famous day and year;" 



Page 296

but it comes to us with double reality when told on such homesteads, and from 
lips first taught to lisp the word patriot by those who fought for independence 
at Concord and Bunker Hill.
      Having traced the footprints of early and later patriots at the old 
homesteads, we naturally turn to the old burial-ground where --

"Their names, their years, spelt by the unlettered muse,
The place of fame and elegy supply." 

      Chelmsford proper has but one burying-place; and in this ground, a 
gracefully sloping enclosure hard by the meeting-house, has been gathered the 
dust of many generations. "Quaint inscriptions, the traditional death's head and 
hour-glass, greet you on every hand."
      The oldest stone is --

HERE LYES YE BODY OF GRACE
LIUERMOAR WIFE TO IRON
LIUERMOAR AGED 75 YEARS
DIED THE 14TH OF IANUARY

1690. 

      This and other stones in that enclosure show that the town had among its 
brave founders those who were born before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth.
A rudely carved and sunken stone, standing in its fastness with but little 
regard for its more

[Photo - "Major Thomas Hichman's Military Order" (Original owned by the Author.) 

Page 297

modern companions, recalls to mind a patriot in deed, who did great service for 
town and country. One can barely decipher the following:


HERE LYETH YE BODY OF
MAJOR THOMAS HINCHMAN
AGED 74 YEARS
DECD JULY YE 17 1703.

He was not mighty with the sword,
but through his skilful management the barbarities
of the savages were averted.

"Peace bath her victories no less renowned than war."--MILTON.

[Photo - "Hinchman Stone, Chelmsford"]

Some of Major Thomas Hinchman's military orders are still preserved by a 
grateful people; one from which the plate is made was found in a garret of the 
old town.

Page 298

Near by is another small but suggestive stone on which is read: --


HERE LYES YE BODY OF
DEACON CORNELIUS WALDO
AGED 75 YEARS
DIED JAN. 3 1700.
The memory of the just is Blessed.

[Photo - "Cornelius Waldo Stone"]

      His daughter Rebecca married Edward Emerson, a teacher for a time in 
Chelmsford. This shows us how the name of Waldo was introduced into the Emerson 
family.
      Evidence of the youthfulness of soldiers in the Revolution is gathered 
from a stone on which is chiselled: -- 
ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF
JOB SPAULDING BORN MARCH 1762,
DIED NOVEMBER 15, 1835.

A Revolutionary Pensioner, Honorably discharged, from
the first three years service of his Country
May 1780, at the early age of
18 yrs. & 2 mos.

An honest man.

Page 299

      This man enlisted to the credit of the town of Westford. But among his 
descendants is Mrs. Parkhurst of Chelmsford, who treasures not only her 
grandfather's stories of the war, but also a fork made by the young soldier when 
in service, and a small volume brought from the army, which was printed in 
Dublin in 1776.
      On a stone to the memory of Mrs. Hannah Foster is read: --


ALSO OF MR. NOAH FOSTER
SON OF MR. WILLIAM AND MRS. HANNAH FOSTER
WHO DIED AT STILLWATER IN THE SERVICE OF HIS
COUNTRY, OCTR. YE 7TH 1777,
AGED 20 YEARS.

      Among the six generations of Perhams, the patriot Samuel has an honored 
place. He died March 2, 1788, aged 31 years and 6 months.
      At the grave of the pioneer of the family is read: --


HERE LYES YE BODY OF
MR. JOHN PERHAM
WHO DECEASED JANURY YE 21ST, 1721
AGED 88 YEARS.

      The pioneer pastor, Rev. John Fisk, sleeps in an unmarked grave, unless a 
large table-stone without inscription was intended to mark his place of 
sepulture. But he is remembered for his unselfish patriotic acts.
      The second minister, Rev. Thomas Clark, who

Page 300

died in 1704, is memorialized by a tablet on which is read an extended Latin 
inscription. The stone was purchased by "a gift of fifty shillings from sundry 
persons in Chelmsford," as appears by a receipt from Rev. John Hancock of 
Lexington, who married a daughter of Rev. Thomas Clark.
      We here get a hint of the manner in which the families of the clergymen of 
early New England were joined in marriage, and a sort of literary aristocracy 
created. The second wife of Rev. Thomas Clark was a daughter of Rev. Samuel 
Whiting of Billerica. In following down the line from Chelmsford, we find that a 
daughter of Rev. John Hancock and grandaughter of Rev. Thomas Clark became the 
wife of Rev. Nicholas Bowes of Bedford, and that a daughter from the Bedford 
parsonage became the wife of Rev. Jonas Clark of Lexington, and so was mistress 
of the Lexington parsonage during the Revolution. A second daughter from the 
Bedford parsonage became the wife of Rev. Phinehas Whitney of Shirley, and 
served that people from 1770 to 1805.
      The fourth minister of Chelmsford, Rev. Ebenezer Bridge, married a 
daughter of his immediate

[Photo - "Minister's Table, Chelmsford"]

Page 301

predecessor in office, Rev. Samson Stoddard; and their daughter Sarah married 
Rev. Henry Cummings of Billerica. Among the scores of stones at the graves of 
the patriots of 1775 which afford no hint of their peculiar service is one --


TO THE MEMORY OF THEIR MINISTER
DURING THAT TRYING PERIOD.
BY THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN CHELMSFORD.
In testimony of their esteem and veneration this sepultrial stone was
erected to stand as a sacred memorial of their late
worthy Pastor

THE REV. EBENEZER BRIDGE,

who after having officiated among them in the service of the sanctuary
for more than a year above half a century, the strength of nature
being exhausted, sunk under the burden of age and
joined the congregation of the dead.
OCT. 1, 1792. AE. 78.

      Chelmsford's patriotic minister was represented by his son and namesake, 
Ebenezer Bridge, a graduate of Harvard University, who did good service on April 
19th and June 17th.[1] The minister was faithful in looking out for the comfort 
of the poor of Boston, of whom forty-nine were consigned to Chelmsford at one 
time. There were also among his parishioners those who had come out on their own 
account to seek a place of safety.

      April 9, 1775. Capt. Symmes came from Boston to secure a place of retreat 
in the present troublesome season at Boston.


[1] See "Beneath Old Roof Trees," page 240.

Page 302

      The pastor records the death of Mr. Fitzgerald, who lived in town since 
the siege of Boston. Rev. Mr. Bridge was among the faithful ministers who went 
to camp to look after their townsmen during the siege of Boston. He records: --

      May 29, 1775. Rode to Cambridge and lodged with ensign Hastings at the 
headquarters of the army.
      May 30. Visited our soldiers, dined at Capt. Steadman's by invitation. Met 
and delighted with the appearance and order. Saw the spoils taken at Chelsea 
from the Regulars.

      The sculptor did his best work in the execution of customary emblems on a 
stone to the memory of a clerk of the town, whose records are a source of 
delight to every one who has an occasion to study them.


"Memento Mori."
OLIVER FLETCHER ESQ.
DEPARTED THIS LIFE NOV. 30, 1771, IN THE 63d YEAR OF HIS
AGE, AND HIS REMAINS ARE HERE INTERRED.

[Photo - "To the Memory of the Town Clerk, Chelmsford"]

Page 303

There are two memorial morial stones in this ancient burying-ground, which for 
position, design, execution, and preservation prompt a stranger to a diligent 
inquiry. They mark the graves of Colonel and Mrs. Jonas Clark, and serve to 
recall a most notable couple to the scene of action. Jonas Clark was the eldest 
son of Rev. Thomas Clark, born in 1684, and was early trained to walk in the 
strait and narrow way by a genuine New England clergyman. He doubtless 
disappointed his father in not following him in a

[Photo - "Clark Stones, Chelmsford"]

Page 304

profession; but he was a man of affairs, and became notable in that direction. 
He kept a tavern in what is now known as Middlesex Village, Lowell. It was near 
the ferry, and a resort for all fashionable people. He was foremost in civil and 
military affairs, and withal "a good Christian." Around him gathered the leaders 
of all branches of society. The coaches of Lowell's most wealthy and 
distinguished citizens of to-day are inferior to those with the armorial 
bearings of the Colonial times, which rolled up to that hospitable door where 
the stately Colonel received his relatives and guests, among them the Hancocks 
of mercantile and clerical life, and scores of like noted families. Of no less 
importance were the Colonel's associates in military affairs who also 
congregated at this house. The most timid rustic could not pass the tavern 
without turning to catch a glimpse of the spangle and glitter within; while the 
more brave presented themselves at the bar, drank from the common decanter, 
backed up to the flaming hearth, and witnessed such display's of Colonial 
grandeur as could be observed from their standpoint. The brilliancy of a dinner-
party of those days has no parallel for the eyes of this generation.
      With the class of guests who sat at the Colonel's board, he might have 
been excused if he had kept silent on the great questions that exercised the 
minds of the Colonists during the latter part of his life; but he was bold in 
his declaration for the

Page 305

rights of the Colonies, yet did not live to see the clash of arms. Wrapped in 
his scarlet cloak, he was laid to rest with military honors in the spring of 
1770; and it was truthfully recorded, "He was honored in his day, and was the 
glory of his times."

[Photo - "Clark Tavern, Lowell"]

As ancient is this hostelry
As any in the land may be.
Built in the old Colonial day,
When men lived in a grander way
With ampler hospitality. 
LONGFELLOW. 


The Parker homestead is another estate within the limits of Lowell which 
belonged to Old Chelmsford. While it is apparent that no other family has been 
in possession of the estate since

Page 306

the Indians quit their claim to Wamesit, it is impossible to decide when the 
first Parker set up-his home on the present attractive site. A petition of 1653 
for a grant of a tract six miles square, "which bordereth upon Merrimack near 
Pautucket," bears the names of twenty-nine men, four of whom are Parkers. The 
first recorded birth, in 1653, was that of Joseph Parker. A well-founded 
tradition says that the wife of Abraham Parker was the first woman who "baked 
and brewed in Chelmsford." The first town clerk of the settlement was Jacob 
Parker, who, we believe, at this time was intending to become a permanent 
settler, but later removed, with Sarah his wife, to Malden. Some of their 
children, however, remained, and perhaps took up the work at this homestead 
relinquished by the parents. Benjamin Parker, born in 1663, is the first family 
proprietor known to have been located here on Chelmsford Neck. He married Sarah 
Howard, granddaughter of Major Simon Willard, one of the founders of Concord. 
They were succeeded by a son Benjamin, born in 1699, whose son Benjamin, born in 
1723, continued the family possession. The next in order of descent is Jeduthan, 
born in 1763, succeeded by Benjamin, born in 1803, whose son Henry E. is the 
present owner. He has two sons, who represent the eighth generation on the 
homestead.
      This family, prominent and thrifty for more than

Page 307

two hundred and forty years, has not failed of a representative in each 
generation whose filial relations prompted him to a full appreciation of the 
work of those who have preceded him. There is now treasured in this home in the 
city of Lowell an accumulation of papers, among which are reminders of several 
changes in government from

[Photo - "Parker Homestead, Lowell"]

the days of the Indians to that of the present. Through the courtesy of Mr. 
Henry E. Parker, I am able to invite my readers to share in the consideration of 
some of them.
      The most attractive are two deeds written on skins of animals, so badly 
dressed as to be a poor apology for vellum. A hole in one was doubtless made by 
the bullet which killed the animal. The deeds are attached to rollers of 
primitive make.

Page 308

They bear date of December 14, 1686, and convey five hundred acres of land to 
forty-six white proprietors of Chelmsford. The land was a part of the Indian 
reservation granted for the benefit of the tribe through the interposition of 
John Eliot. There were five hundred acres on the north side of the river, and a 
much larger quantity on the south side. The chief of these Indians was 
Passaconnaway, who died in 1662, and was succeeded by his son Wannalancet, who, 
in following the injunction of his father, was peaceable and friendly with the 
white people. At the opening of King Philip's war he withdrew to the northward 
rather than join in the general attempt to exterminate the English settlers.
      As the natives abandoned the Wamesit grant, the lands were gradually 
occupied by individuals from Chelmsford and elsewhere; and in 1686 they sold the 
unoccupied tract of five hundred acres to Jonathan Tyng and Thomas Henchman, who 
conveyed it to the early proprietors. Among them was Benjamin Parker, then 
twenty-three years of age. This conveyance was in the "second year of the reign 
of our sovereign lord, King James the Second." It was before the union of the 
Plymouth and Bay Colonies, when the first charter was in force, and Simon 
Bradstreet was Colonial governor.
      The Wamesit purchase took place in the very month of the arrival of Sir 
Edmund Andros, who

Page 309

soon began to question the titles to all the lands held by the settlers, and 
especially declared that deeds from the Indians were no better than "scratches 
of a bear's paw." But the insurrection begun in Boston resulted in the expulsion 
of the tyrant, and the people had no trouble from that source as to the 
possession of their lands.

[Photo - "Commission To Benjamin Parker, Chelmsford"]

      The next of these papers to hold our attention is a commission granted by 
Governor Shirley in 1654 to the third Benjamin Parker as lieutenant in the first 
foot company of Chelmsford, of which Ebenezer Parker is captain. It is in the 
twenty-eighth year of the reign of his Majesty, King George the Second.
      This paper, bearing the autograph of "W. Shir-

Page 310

ley," reminds us that Lieutenant Benjamin Parker was active during that 
expedition under Sir William Pepperell which resulted in despoiling the thrifty 
Acadians of their homes and property, and scattered seven thousand of the exiles 
throughout the Provinces. Twenty-three of the Chelmsford men were engaged in 
that service. A good number of the victims of that questionable measure of war 
were soon found at the doors of the Chelmsford farmers, to be provided with the 
necessaries of life.
      Benjamin Parker continued to exercise the authority of his position 
through the remainder of the term of William Shirley, and also through the 
administration of Governors Phips, Pownal, and Bernard, and died soon after 
Thomas Hutchinson became governor. His death in May, 1771, called together a 
notable company, who were treated with all the courtesies of the age.
      The next paper to enlist our attention is the bill for the funeral 
supplies. Among the items purchased of Samson Stoddard are: "seventeen pairs of 
men's black gloves; twenty-two pairs of women's gloves; 3 black Handkerchiefs; 3 
Veils; 1 piece of Black Ribband; 1 Black Fan; 3 yds. of Hat-band crape." Another 
paper shows that nine pairs of the men's and two pairs of the women's gloves 
were purple; one pair was white, and others were black. Other items were, "Rum & 
Shougar."

Page 311

The religious service at this funeral, according to Rev. Mr. Bridge's journal, 
was confined to a prayer by him. He noted that at the funeral of Mrs. Parker, a 
few years before, the prayer was offered in the parson's absence by the squire," 
the functionary next in order of dignity and importance in the town. We can see 
in fancy the large company of comrades and neighbors gathered on this day in the 
last of the spring month to do honor to the memory of Lieutenant Benjamin 
Parker. "The names of those who are to receive the gloves" is a paper which aids 
our imagination; and we see the long procession form in the yard, some with 
black, some with purple, gloves, and the clergyman with white ones. They present 
an imposing appearance as they take up the body of their neighbor, and bear it 
all the long way to Chelmsford Centre. There were doubtless those who compared 
the outlay at this funeral with that of other similar occasions; for the funeral 
customs had reached an extreme from which there soon came a decided reaction.
      The mourning customs of this time in the Bay Colony were such as the early 
settlers had brought from Europe to New England. Black was the color worn in the 
mother country by the people in general, but kings and cardinals appeared in 
purple.
      Rings were also an additional badge of mourning. The extremes to which 
this custom was

Page 312

often carried gave rise to legislation in 1721, and again in 1741, but with 
little effect. In 1743, at the death of Rev. Mr. Cooper, the amount of eight 
hundred and ninety-five pounds was collected in his congregation to meet the 
expense of the funeral, and to put his family, consisting of ten persons, and 
Dr. Colman into mourning. Among the items are twenty-nine rings for the 
ministers, and twelve dozen pairs of gloves.
      Isaac Royal of Medford in 1743 advertised, -- 

      "A handsome mourning coach and a pair of good horses to let to any 
funeral, at ten shillings old tenor, each funeral."

      It was the custom to hang the escutcheon of the deceased head of a family 
from a window, or over the entrance to the house from which a funeral took 
place. The last instance in Boston was that of the funeral of Thomas Hancock in 
1764, when the family arms appeared over the entrance to the famous house on 
Beacon Hill. Scarfs were frequently added to the gifts on these occasions.
      The great and most decided change in funeral customs came during the 
contention with the mother country. The non-importation act had its effect, for 
imported garments had been more commonly used. In order to render the act more 
effective, the Grand American Continental Congress assembled at Philadelphia in 
the autumn of

Page 313

1774 passed resolutions. The eighth article was as follows: --

      "We, will, in our several stations s encourage frugality, economy and 
industry . . . and on the death of any relation, or friend, none of us, or any 
of our families will go into any further mourning dress, than a black crape or 
ribbon on the arm or hat, for gentlemen, and a black ribbon and necklace for 
ladies, and we will discountenance the giving of gloves and scarfs at funerals."

      The act generally adopted by a vote of the towns, coming soon after the 
funeral of Lieutenant Parker, leads to the conclusion that it was among the last 
occasions of the kind when this custom was practised to an extreme.
      Another suggestive paper of the collection recalls the time of peculiar 
trial in the Provinces, and reads: --

      "Permit Benja" Parker to pass the Guards from Head Quarters, May 23, 1775. 
J. WARD, Secretary.

      The Chelmsford men were among those who had left all in response to the 
Lexington alarm, and were a part of the army holding the soldiers of the king 
pent up in Boston. Benjamin Parker, either as soldier, or as one who had come to 
bring supplies, was given this pass, which served its purpose, and was added to 
the collection of earlier papers.
      An old wallet comes next to view, and its contents remind us that among 
the many questions

Page 314

involved in our Revolution was that of the currency. There was none more 
difficult to meet. Each colony had its paper money, current within its own 
borders, but passing, if at all, at a depreciated rate in the sister colonies. 
This gave rise to peculiar difficulties soon after the beginning of open 
hostility.
      The men who had come from beyond the limits of the Bay Colony had with 
them paper currency,

[Photo - "Parker Garret Treasures, Lowell"]

which was not accepted in exchange for the necessaries of life. This seemed hard 
in the extreme. They had left their peaceful abodes to succor their neighbors in 
distress, and when trying to pay their own expenses, found their money 
questionable. Our Provincial Congress made an early effort to remedy the 
difficulty by having the currency of Rhode Island and Connecticut pass in 
Massachusetts. They soon empowered the treasurer to borrow one hundred thousand 
pounds lawful money,

Page 315

secured by notes of the Province at six per cent, and made payable June 1, 1777. 
They also desired the other colonies to give currency to their securities. In 
June the Continental Congress ordered an emission of notes to the amount of two 
millions of dollars. Similar acts repeatedly followed as the war advanced. But a 
lurking sentiment of Toryism with some pretended patriots, as well as ordinary 
caution on the part of friends of the Provincial cause, usually commendable, had 
a depressing effect upon public confidence in paper currency. This prompted the 
Legislature to pass an act branding individuals as enemies to the country who 
declined to receive it for any pecuniary obligation. They all knew that a 
failure of the Provincial cause meant ruin to them, and that success might bring 
redemption of the doubtful currency. In the extremity they took the 
objectionable paper, and realized but little, if anything, upon it. That which 
remained in their hands was at length relegated to the old red chest, as in the 
Parker family, where the eighth generation brought it forth from the garret 
hiding-place, and patiently listened to the story of its intended purpose by the 
hearth-stone of early days.

Page 316

CHAPTER XXII
CHELMSFORD CONTINUED. -- CONTAGION FROM THE ARMY. -- FORMATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 
BY THE PATRIOTS. -- STORY OF A PATRIOT SPINNER. -- PETER BROWN WRITES TO HIS 
MOTHER FROM CAMBRIDGE CAMP. -- MISS SUSAN BROWN TELLS THE STORY OF HER 
GRANDFATHER. -- THE FIRST BLOOD AT BUNKER HILL

      ALTHOUGH far removed from the seat of war, the town of Chelmsford was not 
exempt from the contagion which frequently visited the camp of the army. In the 
year 1776, a soldier returning from the army called at the home of Dr. Marshall 
for refreshment, as was the necessity of many weary men when making their 
journey on foot with empty purses. The physician was away during the call of the 
soldier, but upon his return detected evidence of the contagion in the 
atmosphere, which filled him with forebodings of evil. The worst was realized. 
The entire family took the smallpox, and Mrs. Marshall and two children died 
from the loathsome disease. In the following year Samuel Lufkin and his wife and 
Solomon Keyes died of the same disease, contracted in a similar way.

Page 317

      The old burying-ground of Chelmsford reminds one of this entailment of 
war. On one stone we read of Mrs. Hannah Fletcher, wife of Lieutenant Benj. 
Fletcher, who, with four children, perished within the space of two weeks in the 
autumn of 1778.

[Photo - "Fletcher Stone In Chelmsford"]

      While in the full enjoyment of our wisely instituted government, we hardly 
pause to think that our patriotic ancestors hesitated in its formation, and 
trembled at the experiment, even after they had fought to be free from the 
control of the mother country. It was easier to find the faults

Page 318

in the existing government than to point out the reliable remedy.
      Probably no period of our national history has been more perilous than 
that which intervened between the close of the Revolutionary war and the 
adoption of the Constitution.
      The Continental Congress, which was the result of an emergency, had done 
its work. The Articles of Confederation which followed were not sufficient; and 
it became apparent that a constitution must be formed by which the rights of 
each State would be protected, and also the interests of the whole be 
maintained. Then it was that every patriot so situated as to mould public 
opinion set to work to inform himself on governmental affairs. The patriotic 
ministers were looked to as guides; and it can be said to the honor of Rev. Mr. 
Bridge, that he made use of all light at his command, in order to be a wise 
counsellor to his people.
      He records, December 28, 1787, "Spent part of the day, as I have done 
several days, in reading Adams' book on government." In February, 1788, he 
records, "Much talk about Constitution of the government, its being adopted by 
the vote of the Convention which has been sitting in Boston just 4 weeks."
      We can but fancy the relief of the people, when, on March 4, 1789, the new 
government went into operation, and on the 30th of April following, when General 
George Washington, on the balcony

Page 319

of Federal Hall, New York, took the oath of office as the first president of the 
United States.
      It was by these hearth-stones, and others long since demolished, that the 
patriotic women of the towns kept busy during the years of the Revolution, in 
preparing the town's complement of blankets, stockings, etc., while thinking of 
the husband, father, brother, son, or lover who was away in service of his 
country.
      On January 4, 1776, the House of Representatives passed an order that four 
thousand blankets be provided by the selectmen of the respective towns in the 
Province, and be paid for out of the Province treasury. Chelmsford's portion was 
twelve. This was in the midst of that winter when the army was in camp at 
Cambridge, Medford, and Dorchester; and soldiers from the town were so near home 
that friends kept posted on their condition, and were continually going to camp 
with supplies. We can imagine with what earnestness the patriotic women went to 
work with their wheels and looms to prepare the garments ordered. Threads were 
saturated with tears from the eyes of those who had seen their loved ones go 
forth in response to the April alarm, and who never returned after the battle of 
Bunker Hill, but languished and died in Boston --so near and yet so far from 
those who longed to smooth their pillows and soothe their pains.
      We can see in fancy the patriotic minister, Rev.

Page 320

Mr. Bridge, going from house to house in his parish with his reports from camp, 
after returning from a visit to absent members of his flock. We can catch his 
words of cheer dropped here and there, and hear him in prayer commending them 
individually and collectively to the care of Him who notes the sparrow's fall.
      This service seemed to be for their own people; but in the following year, 
when the seat of war was removed from Massachusetts, there was a call for five 
thousand blankets, and Chelmsford's share was nineteen. There was no slackness 
on the part of the people, although they knew not who were to be protected from 
the severity of winter by their productions. It mattered not as long as they 
were acting in the patriot cause. Independence had been declared; and having 
pledged their sacred honor to maintain it, they had no inclination to halt, 
although the calls were often repeated.
      Only a few of the implements of domestic manufacture are retained in the 
old town, yet I chanced to meet with one which bears a suggestive inscription. 
It is a reel made of wood, and on it is read: --

"Miss Poley Carter Her Real
March ye 6th 1777
Count your Threads Right
If you real in the night." 

      With this rude implement in my hand, seated by the hearth-stone where nine 
generations have

Page 321

sat, I gazed into the blazing fire on the hearth until there rose up before me 
the graceful figure of Polly Carter, dressed in her homespun frock, with a plaid 
kerchief neatly folded over her bosom. She is turning off the threads on the 
great wheel by the fire, while a stalwart young man from a neighboring farm 
stands by, thoughtfully carving with his jackknife the rude letters which, to 
his untutored mind, spell out the name of her in whom he has a tender interest. 
These he hopes

[Photo - "Polly Carter's Reel"]

will serve to remind Polly of him when he is far away in the service of his 
country.
      The scene changes to the following year, 1778, when the town was called 
upon for forty-seven shirts and as many pairs of shoes and stockings. The same 
gentle face appears, but with the lines of anxious care more plainly seen. She 
has reeled off her day's work of spinning, and is casting up the stitches for a 
stocking. Her eyes rest on the simple figures, which remind her of an evening 
less than a twelvemonth ago, but seems like years

Page 322

to her whose thoughts are of the bare and bleeding feet pacing the rough and 
frozen ground of Valley Forge. No stitch is dropped; and with each round of the 
needles there is breathed a prayer for the success of the patriot cause, and for 
the safe return of one whom she loves.
      The extremity to which the patriot army was reduced at times is evidenced 
by the course taken by the Chelmsford people to procure supplies[1] for the 
menin camp. A document purporting to be a subscription paper was found in the 
collection of Mr. Henry E. Parker. It reads as follows:--

      "We, the Inhabitants of the town of Chelmsford, Taking into consideration 
the Dificulties and Hardships which our Brethren endured and undergo that are in 
the service of the United States of America and in the defence of the United 
States of America and in the defence of the Rights & Priviliges of the people of 
said States, do agree to provide the articles set against our names."

      The name of Captain John Ford heads the list with the promise of "1 pr. 
shoes." Others follow with promise of shoes, stockings, shirts, jackets, and 
other articles of clothing.
      We have a most thrilling description of the battle of Bunker Hill, 
together with earlier and later experiences, in the letter written by Peter 
Brown to his mother.


[1] The absence of a date renders it uncertain as to time, but our inference is 
that the supplies were for the army at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-8.

Page 323

CAMBRIDGE, June 25, 1775. 

      Dear and Hon'd Mother, -- After my duty to you, I would inform you of my 
present state and employment, being rather scrupulous whether you may receive 
these lines, shall give but a short sketch of affairs which if otherwise I 
would. Before these long threat'ned difficulties began among us, I had plan'd 
out to go to Connecticut, where I expected to work the summer, but the Allwise 
in His providence hath very differently plann'd my summer's work, which I hope 
may turn to His Glory and my good. I suppose I need not acquaint you of the 
manner in which the enemy first approached us at Concord. It is more than 
probable you have had it in print long since. When I was first alarm'd I was at 
Westford, whither I went to take leave of my friends and settle some affairs 
that I had in hand. Was call'd about Daylight, or a little after, and rode as 
post that afternoon before I could get to Concord, after which I pursu'd with 
the rest and fought that day, tarried at Cambridge that night being forbid to go 
home. Soon after this there was an army establish'd, all business being 
stagnated, and a great deal wholly broke up. I did not know what I could do 
better than to enlist therefore being hearty in the Cause. I did it directly 
(and listed) under Captain Oliver Bates, in Collo. Prescott's regiment with whom 
I tarried awhile till he, our Captain, was taken sick and went home, when Mr. 
Joshua Parker, by succession, took his place, and makes his ground good, in 
whose company I remain yet, where I do a Clerk or Orderly Sergants business, 
which requires much care, but the Duty is easier and the pay higher than a 
private soldiers. Friday the 16th of June we were order'd on parade at six 
o'clock with one days provisions and Blankets ready for a march somewhere, but 
we knew not where, but we readily and cheerfully obey'd; the whole that were 
called for were these three: Collo. Prescott's, Fry's and Nickson's Regiments; 
after tarrying on parade till Nine at Night we march'd down on to Charleston 
Hill against Copts hill in Boston, where we

Page 324

entrench'd and made a Fort ten rod long and eight wide with a Breastwork of 
about eight more; we worked there undiscover'd till about five in the morning 
when we saw our danger being against Ships of the Line and all Boston fortified 
against us. The danger we were in made us think there was treachery and that we 
were brought there to be all slain, and I must and will say that there was 
treachery, oversight or presumption in the Conduct of our officers, for about 5 
in the morning we not having more than half our fort done, they began to fire (I 
suppose as soon as they had orders) pretty briskly for a few minutes then 
ceas'd, but soon begun again, and fir'd to the number of twenty minutes (they 
kill'd but one of our men[1]) then ceas'd to fire till about eleven o'clock when 
they began to fire as brisk as ever, which caus'd many of our young Country 
people to desert, apprehending the danger in a clearer manner than others who 
were more diligent in digging & fortifying ourselves against them. We began to 
be almost beat out, being fatigued by our Labour, having no sleep the night 
before, very little to eat, no drink but rum, but what we hazarded our lives to 
get. We grew faint, thirsty, hungry and weary. The enemy fir'd very warm from 
Boston, and from on board their ships that lay in Ferryway and from a ship that 
lay in the river against us to stop our re-enforcement which they did in some 
measure; one cannon cut three men in two on the Neck. Our officers sent time 
after time for Cannon from Cambridge in the morning & could get but four, the 
Capt'n of which fir'd a few times then swung his Hat three times round to the 
enemy and ceased to fire, then about three o'clock there was a cessation of the 
Cannons roaring. Soon after we espied as many as 40 boats or barges coming over 
full of troops it is supposed there were about 3,000 of them, and about 700 of 
us left, not deserted, besides 500 re-enforcements that could not get nigh 
enough to us to do us any good till they saw that we must all be cut off, or 
some of them, they ventured to ad-


[1] Asa Pollard of Billerica. See "First Blood at Bunker Hill."

Page 325

vance. When our officers perceiv'd that the enemy intended to land, they ordered 
the Artillery to go out of the fort and prevent it if possible, frost whence the 
Artillery Capt'n took his pieces and returned home to Cambridge with much haste, 
for which he is now confin'd, and it is expected must suffer death. The enemy 
landed fronted before us and form'd themselves in an oblong square in order to 
surround, which they did in part. After they were well form'd they advanc'd 
toward us in order to swallow us up, but they found a Choaky mouthful of us, 
'tho we could do nothing with our small arms as yet for distance and had but two 
Cannon and no Gunner, and they from Boston and from the shipping firing and 
throwing Bombs Keeping us down till they almost surrounded us. But God in Mercy 
to us fought our battle and tho' we were but few in number and suffer'd to be 
defeated by our enemy yet we were preserved in a most wonderful manner far 
beyond our expectation and to our admiration for out of our Regiment there were 
but 37 killed, 4 or 5 taken captive, about forty-seven wounded & oh may I never 
forget God's distinguishing mercy to me in sparing my Life when they fell on my 
right hand and on my left, and close by me, they were, to the eye of reason, no 
more expos'd than myself. When the arrows of death flew thick round me I was 
preserved while others were suffer'd to fall a prey to our Cruel enemies. O may 
that God whose mercy was so far extended in my preservation grant me his grace 
to devote my future Life to his divine service. Nor do I conclude that the 
danger is yet over unless God in his mercy either remove our enemy or heal the 
breach -- but if we should be called again to action, I hope to have courage and 
strength to act my part valiantly in defence of our Liberties & Country trusting 
in him who hath hitherto kept me and hath covered my head in the day of battle, 
and altho' we have lost four out of our Company & several taken captive by the 
enemy of America, I was not suffer'd to be touch'd.
      I was in the fort when the enemy came in, jumped over

Page 326

the wall and ran half a mile when balls flew like hailstones and Cannon roar'd 
like thunder, but tho' I escap'd then it may be my turn next. After asking your 
Prayers must conclude wishing you the best of blessings, still remain your 
Dutiful son
PETER BROWN. 


      P. S. I wish very much to come and see you, 'tis in vain to think of that 
now. I desire you to write to me, direct to Peter Brown Cambridge, to be left at 
Colo. Prescott's Chambers in the South Colledge[1] and send by way of Providence 
to Roxbury, from whence it will be likely to come safe; my love to Polly, Sally 
& Patty, have not leisure to write to them in particular, and Conveyance very 
uncertain, hope they will excuse me this time.

To-day at Cambridge, to-morrow --
To-morrow the Lord only Knows where. 
P. B.[2] 

      A bronze tablet recently placed on the westerly side of South College has 
the following: --


MASSACHUSETTS
HALL
BUILT BY THE PROVINCE, 1720.
OCCUPIED BY
THE AMERICAN ARMY
1775-1776.
USED FOR STUDENTS' ROOMS UNTIL
1870-1871.


[1] Massachusetts Hall.
[2] The above letter from Peter Brown to his mother, now given for the first 
time in enduring form, confirms a tradition in regard to the first victim of the 
British guns on June 17, 1775.

Page 327

It was my good fortune to meet at her home in Lunenburg Miss Susan Brown, who 
related the following facts: --
      "Peter Brown was my grandfather. He was born in Newport, R.I., in 1753. He 
was a son of

[Photo - "South College (Massachusetts Hall)"]

William Brown, and a descendant of Peter Brown, who came in the Mayflower in 
1620, and settled in Plymouth, and whose son Peter, a non-conformist, went to 
Rhode Island with Roger Williams. My grandfather, Peter, removed to 
Massachusetts,

Page 328

and, as the letter shows, was living at or near Concord at the beginning of 
hostilities. After his service in the Revolution he had a temporary residence at 
Boylston, Mass., where he married Olive Dinsmore, October 24, 1781. They settled 
in the part of Lunenburg known as Flat Hill, at a beautiful situation now 
occupied by their descendants."
      My grandfather was an influential man. He was for several years one of the 
school committee, a selectman and coroner. He was chosen deacon, but declined on 
account of age, and distance from the meeting-house. Peter's son William was my 
father. He lived at the old home, and there I was born. My grandfather followed 
the trade of a blacksmith in connection with the care of his farm."
      Miss Susan Brown was quite young when her patriot grandfather died; but 
she has vivid recollections of him as a man small in stature, and busy in making 
his children and grandchildren happy.
      "I am the only living grandchild of Peter Brown who bears the family 
name," said Miss Brown, as standing at her door in Lunenburg she pointed out the 
old homestead, and directed her guest to the delightful locality where the 
soldier set up his home. She then guided me to the burying-ground near by, where 
is read on a slate tablet, chiselled out by William, son of Peter, the 
following:--

Page 329

IN MEMORY OF
MR. PETER BROWN,
WHO DIED JULY 15th, 1829,
AE. 76 YEARS.

He was a soldier in the Revolution; was one of those who pursued
the British in their retreat from Concord to Boston. Was in
the Battle on Bunkers Hill. He was an honest
man and a devoted Christian.



THE FIRST BLOOD AT BUNKER HILL.

      I learned the story of the first blood at Bunker Hill from the lips of the 
venerable officer of the town of Billerica, Mr. Dudley Foster, while sitting 
with him by his family hearth-stone.
      Mr. Foster said, "I am a descendant from Thomas Foster, who appeared in 
this country as early as 1659. My grandfather was Joseph Foster, the clerk of 
the town of Beverly in the early days. My father, Samuel Foster, came to 
Billerica and settled more than a century ago.
      "It was through the Pollard family, to which my wife belonged, that we 
have the kinship with Asa Pollard, the first to fall at Bunker Hill."
      Asa Pollard was the fourth son of John Pollard and Mary, daughter of Isaac 
Stearns, born November 15, 1735, at a farm located in North Billerica. The 
family first appeared in possession of the land in 1692. Its members were inured 
to hardship, the devastations of the Indians having set their teeth on edge at 
an early age. Asa served in the French war, was a scout, and well

Page 330

trained in military tactics when the Lexington alarm called him from the old 
home. It is said that the musket which he took from the pegs above the family 
hearth-stone on April 19, 1775, carried to Concord and to Bunker Hill, was one 
that he had received from the Provincial Government as a bounty for a certain 
number of Indian scalps brought in by him after that questionable means was 
adopted for exterminating the race. The scarcity of fire-arms at the opening of 
the Revolution tends to support the family tradition, while the recorded votes 
of the town give added testimony.
      Asa Pollard and his comrades were more than glad of an opportunity to 
shoot at Gage's men; for they had vividly in mind the coat of tar and feathers 
given to one of their neighbors while in Boston a little more than a year before 
the opening of the war. (See "Beneath Old Roof Trees.") When the town voted "to 
look up the old bayonets," Asa Pollard looked up his, and all that went with it, 
and used it like a trained soldier. He and his brother Solomon were at Concord 
on April 19, and the latter was in command of the minute-men of Billerica at 
Bunker Hill. The records fail to tell us when the company went to join the 
forces under General Artemas Ward --possibly they did not all go at one time. 
Billerica was in the line of march of many of the up-country troops, and 
companies were seen passing along the

Page 331

highway at various times. A company from New Hampshire reached the town at 
nightfall; and being weary, it was decided to camp in a farmyard until the 
following morning. This was done; and the combined hospitality and patriotism of 
the farmer's wife were manifested in a substantial manner. She made haste to 
prepare for them a genuine New England meal, and in the early morning hot beans 
and rye bread were brought forth from the great brick oven to the delight of the 
soldiers. The wooden shovel on which the balls of spungy dough were committed to 
the heated bricks by the hands of Mrs. Sarah Manning[1] is still in existence, 
as a reminder of that act of a patriot of the town, who like many another did 
valiant service beneath her own roof.
      Asa Pollard was of the number of men who went over on the evening of the 
16th of June, and labored through the night throwing up earthworks.
      Said Mr. Foster, "My wife's uncle, Edward Pollard, lived in her father's 
family during her girlhood; and having served four years in the Continental 
army, he had a large store of anecdotes of those days, with which he used to 
entertain the young people, who never tired of the


[1] Sarah Heywood of Burlington married William Manning of Billerica in 1769. 
She died in 1838, aged 91 years. Her husband was commissioned Second Lieutenant 
in Captain Kidder's company, Seventh Regiment, May 31, 1776.

Page 332

veteran's stories, among which was that of Asa's death. It was about noon, and 
they were taking their lunch brought over from camp on the previous evening. An 
occasional cannon-ball had been fired over from the war-vessels of the enemy 
during the morning hours, but they had been easily dodged by the busy workmen. 
Asa Pollard had seen such missiles before, and made light of the poorly directed 
shot. But about midday this brave son of Billerica, when seated on the 
embankment, was struck by a cannon-ball, which severed his head from his body. 
The bloody scene was within the presence of Colonel Prescott, who was passing 
down the line at the very moment of the fatal shot. Then came the first 
confusion of the day. Men left their places in spite of all orders. They were 
drawn to the spot by the dreadful fate of their comrade. Putnam came running up 
from the rail fence, and with most positive words attempted to force them back 
into line. Prescott ordered the body buried immediately, saying, He's the first 
to fall, and the only one who will be buried to-day.' One of the officers is 
said to have expressed surprise that the soldier should be buried without a 
funeral service; but the gallant Prescott saw that the presence of death in that 
form was not conducive to order, and considered that there was no other way to 
maintain discipline. The enemy on the vessels had seen the confusion resulting 
from that one successful shot,

[Photo - "Birthplace of Asa Pollard, Billerica] 

Page 333

and redoubled their fire. The shot which struck Pollard came from the Somerset, 
the frigate which afterwards went ashore near Lieutenant's Island, off the 
Massachusetts coast; and it is claimed that a portion of her hull is yet 
embedded in the sand of that place."
      The body of Asa Pollard rests with the others in the soil which drank up 
their youthful blood. It was nearly a century before the people of his native 
town took any steps to perpetuate his memory; but on the centennial of his 
death, a tree was planted on the public Common, where it now flourishes to keep 
the young hero's memory green. Later, the Union School building was dedicated as 
the Asa Pollard School, and now the local society of the Children of the 
American Revolution is known as the Asa Pollard Society. The birthplace of the 
hero has also been suitably marked by the Billerica Historical Society and the 
Foster brothers, sons of Dudley Foster and Louise Pollard.

[Photo - "Dudley Foster"]

Page 334

CHAPTER XXIII

A BOSTON FAMILY TAKES REFUGE IN CHELMSFORD. -- THE TOWN OF BOSTON AFTER THE 
SIEGE

      THE dew of only one night had moistened the little grave in Granary 
Burying-Ground where Robert and Mary Rand had laid their first-born to rest, 
when the sorrowful couple were aroused by the message, "The Regulars have 
marched out into the country to destroy the stores as it is supposed."
      For nearly eleven months the people of Boston had suffered the hardships 
of the blockade. To be sure, the sympathetic patriots throughout the continent 
had ministered to them. South Carolina had sent two hundred barrels of rice, and 
promised eight hundred more. Wilmington, N.C., had sent two thousand pounds 
currency. Connecticut had sent over her flocks of sheep. All New England towns 
had shared their crops with their neighbors in Boston. Maryland and Virginia had 
contributed liberally. George Washington had headed a subscription paper with 
his personal gift of fifty pounds. The settlers beyond the Blue Ridge had 
contributed from their scant supply,

Page 334

and sent it over the mountains to the distressed and suffering in Boston. And 
with these repeated donations had come words of sympathy and cheer. The 
ministers of Connecticut had written, "The taking away of civil liberty will 
involve the ruin of religious liberty also." The people of Brooklyn, Conn., the 
home of General Israel Putnam, had written, "Your zeal in favor of liberty has 
gained a name that shall perish but with the glorious constellation of Heaven." 
Yet notwithstanding all this aid, there was suffering and untold anxiety in the 
blockaded town. It was not confined to the poor by any means. "The warehouses of 
the thrifty merchants were at once made valueless; the costly wharfs, which 
extended far into the channel, and were so lately covered with produce of the 
tropics and with English fabrics, were become solitary places; the harbor, which 
had resounded incessantly with cheery voices of prosperous commerce, was now 
disturbed by no sounds but from British vessels of war." No one could go in and 
out his own door without being scrutinized by the British guards that patrolled 
the streets of the town. Even the sorrowful group that had made its way on the 
17th of April to the burying-ground had been under the watch of the soldiers of 
the king. The grief of the Rand family naturally led them to be more sympathetic 
for the wounded and dying who were brought in to Boston in the night of April 
19;

Page 336

but they were avowed patriots, and consequently not in harmony with the 
officials whose movements had occasioned the distress, and they could do but 
little for the sufferers.
      The Rands were "well connected and well to do," but in this exigency were 
poor even in their wealth. Robert Rand, the head of the Boston family, was born 
in 1719. He was a descendant from Robert Rand of Lynn, who in 1692, by a vote in 
town meeting, was granted the right to sit with six other aged men in the 
pulpit. Mary, his wife, was daughter of William Simpkins, a jeweller and 
silversmith of considerable distinction. They were married on June 3, 1773, and 
had but just completed a year in a home of their own when the port of Boston was 
closed. Believing that an Englishman's home is his castle, the Rand family 
maintained their position until the infections that followed the army made it 
dangerous to health and life, when it was decided that Mrs. Rand should leave 
the town. A good many had gone to Chelmsford, and availed themselves of the 
hospitality bountifully extended to all; and a home was found there for Mrs. 
Rand through the influence of her physician, Dr. Danforth. The change was made 
by his advice, and he naturally took steps to a her in leaving the town. The 
restrictions in regard to the amount of goods taken away were very annoying to 
this family, for they had an abundance; but Mrs. Rand

Page 337

in disguise presented herself for a permit. She had a suspicious trunk, which 
she refused to allow out of her sight, and this led the sentinel to oppose her 
going; but Dr. Danforth's son Tom, a family friend, yet a Tory, interfered with 
seeming roughness of manner, and said, "Let the old woman go;" and she was 
allowed to leave the town. The contents of the trunk was chiefly gold coin, 
which was used by her for her own comfort, and in dispensing to the comfort of 
others who had fled from the blockaded town under less favoring circumstances. 
There was one memento, however, which the sorrowing mother could not leave 
behind in the deserted home. It was more precious to her than the coin which it 
accompanied; for it so vividly reminded her of the little one who had borne her 
name for a few short months and passed away, and whose silent resting-place was 
now at the mercy of the enemy. This memento was only a pincushion, on which the 
mother read, "Welcome, little stranger, to Boston, though the port is blocked 
up, 1774."
      Chelmsford was truly a patriotic town, and her people were continually 
sending supplies, as were those of other towns, to the sufferers who were 
obliged to remain in Boston; while those who made their temporary home in 
Chelmsford were as comfortable as kind, sympathetic patriots could make them. 
The slightest report of movements in Boston was eagerly scanned, and the news of

Page 338

the evacuation brought cheer to them all. The Rand family hoped to be soon re-
established in their own home, but the army had left an entailment of disease 
which required the most vigilant

[Photo - "Rand Pincushion"]

attention and severe restrictions in order to eradicate it. In July, 1776, the 
selectmen passed an order that people going out of town must carry a certificate 
from the medical authorities proving that they had been "smoked and cleansed," 
and

Page 339

were free from all possibility of infection. The repeated outbreak of the 
smallpox, and general disarrangement of affairs, prevented individuals from 
returning for many months. Among them was Mrs. Rand. The year 1777 had come 
before this lady again welcomed her friends around the family hearth-stone in 
Boston. But the cradle left tenantless was again occupied; and there was 
recorded in Chelmsford, "Born December 14, 1776, Mary, daughter to Robert and 
Mary Rand of Boston."
      Boston seemed to the returning family a very different place from that 
which they had left. Many of their neighbors who adhered to the king had fled 
with the army and could not return, while those who espoused the patriots' 
cause, and remained in the country, found it the work of months and years to 
restore their homes and public buildings to as good condition as they were in 
when the army of the king took possession of the town; and the old burying-
grounds bear silent testimony to the devastations of the army of the king.
      Four children grew up together in the home of Robert Rand, but only three 
of them could claim Boston as their birthplace. They were prominent among the 
families of the enterprising merchants, and popular in the best society of the 
town.
      But a few months after the little stranger was welcomed to the Rand family 
at Chelmsford, there was a son born in the Fitch tavern at Bedford;

Page 340

and he was called Jeremiah, after his father and grandfather. The war for 
independence was still being carried on, and much of local military interest 
centred in this Jeremiah Fitch tavern. It was very natural that the namesake of 
the father should be early impressed with the story of the morning of April 19, 
1775, and of his father's experience as sergeant of Bedford minute-men at 
Concord, and in the running fight of that day. These early impressions were 
never forgotten, but were often the subject of conversation by the old harth-
stone and in the busy world.
      The family plan had been that Jeremiah should be trained to agricultural 
pursuits, and succeed his father on the farm, which was carried on in connection 
with the business of a country tavern. But the boy had no inclination in that 
direction, and at the age of fourteen years left home, and went to Charlestown 
with a capital of twenty cents, and unaided by any one set to work to procure 
employment. He soon secured a situation with Mr. Samuel Ruggles, and from that 
time relieved his parents from all pecuniary assistance. While in Charlestown 
the young man had constantly before his eyes the redoubt on Bunker Hill, and the 
hastily made graves of those who were companions in arms with his father when 
the Lexington alarm called them from their homes.
      The success of the country boy, Jeremiah Fitch, while in Charlestown, made 
a way for him to cross

Page 341

over to Boston, where he soon set up business for himself, but by the failure of 
his patrons he was involved in embarrassments; yet with the determination 
befitting a son of a hero of April 19, '75, young Jeremiah struggled on until he 
had fully extricated himself.
      He was always esteemed for straightforwardness and integrity in his 
dealings; for nearly a score of years he was a director of the Union Bank and 
for the Mercantile Marine Insurance Company. For many years he was a member of 
the Board of Health, retiring in 1821 to beconn a member of the last Board of 
Selectmen of the town of Boston; in 1824 he was a member of the Common Council, 
and in the following year an Overseer of the Poor of the City of Boston.
      It was his conduct in adversity that won for him friends who offered 
capital and other assistance, with which he made his way to fortune. But he 
never forgot his early associations. The old tavern where his father served the 
minute-men on the morning of April 19, 1775, was sacred to him; and he cherished 
the hearthstone by which he had been cradled during the war. His delight was in 
ministering to the comforts of his parents and friends of his youth.
      As a successful, enterprising merchant of Cornhill, he met the beautiful 
young lady, Mary Rand; and on May 10, 1804, they were married in Boston by Rev. 
William Emerson, who, having left his

Page 342

Harvard parish, had already made a decided impression as a dignified pastor of 
the First Church of Boston.
      The united efforts of the young couple were rewarded with marked success; 
public honors were justly conferred upon the merchant by his associates and 
fellow-townsmen. He occupied many positions of trust within the gift of the 
voters of Boston; and as a mark of respect for the son of Old Bedford, the name 
of Pond Lane was changed to Bedford Street, which it now bears.
      While in the midst of his flourishing business as an importer of dry 
goods, the second war with England came on. This brought vividly to mind the 
trying experiences of the Fitch and Rand families during the Revolution.
      Having kept in family possession the old home at Bedford, Jeremiah Fitch 
had a safe retreat there; and he recorded under date of September, 1814, "My 
family removed to Bedford in consequence of the war, moved my goods from the 
store the same day. Returned September 29, after about three weeks." Jeremiah 
Fitch repeatedly manifested his loyalty to his native town. His sentiments 
rebelled against the common use of the cannon-ball which, fired from the patriot 
camp of Cambridge, struck the Brattle-street Church during the siege of Boston. 
Mr. and Mrs. Fitch were attendants at this church; and being a member of the 
standing committee, he succeeded

Page 343

in having the ball, that had done duty for many years as a weight at the front 
gate of a neighbor's residence, returned, and embedded in the front wall of the 
edifice, where it was kept so long as a reminder of the months when Gage's army 
was hemmed in by the Provincials.
      The record of this worthy couple is with that of the truly successful of 
the world. The name

[Photo - "Slippers of Mary Rand"]

Mary Rand has been faithfully continued through successive generations; and 
among the family treasures are a silver tankard made by William Simpkins the 
silversmith for his daughter Mary when she married Robert Rand; the pincushion 
which marked the advent of the first Mary to the Rand family during the siege; 
the slippers and a sample of the dress worn by Mary Rand when she married 
Jeremiah Fitch; five generations of samplers, and other tangible reminders of 
two families worthy to be perpetuated in the annals of Boston and Bedford.

Page 344

CHAPTER XXIV

FOUR EMERSONS. -- PATRIOT PREACHERS OF THE REVOLUTION. -- ANCESTRY. -- LETTER 
FROM REVEREND SAMUEL MOODY. -- REVEREND DANIEL EMERSON IN FRENCH WAR. -- 
REVEREND JOSEPH EMERSON IN THE ARMY. -- COURTSHIP OF THE MINISTER. -- REVEREND 
WILLIAM EMERSON OF CONCORD. -- REVEREND JOHN EMERSON AND THE TORIES

'Tis still observed those men most valiant are
That are most modest ere they come to war. 
HERRICK. 

THE act of incorporation by which early settlements in New England were granted 
the legal authority of towns was conditioned upon the settlement of an orthodox 
minister of good conversation, and a provision for his support. His was the 
leading position in the town, and the influence which he exerted was 
correspondingly great. His judgment was seldom questioned, his authority never 
doubted.
      When the English and French were contending for possession in North 
America, the minister went forth, with his soldier parishioners, and

Page 345

served as their chaplain. His voice was heard from the pulpit and from house to 
house in the interest of freedom during the years of the Revolution. In the 
siege of Boston he divided his time between his parish at home and his parish in 
camp. When the seat of war was removed from Massachusetts, the faithful minister 
did not hesitate to take up his cross and appear in the midst of the army, 
though far from his home. In many instances this gusted friend shouldered a 
musket and carried his Bible also.
      As types of the patriotic ministers during the early and later wars may be 
cited the four Emersons. So large was their place in the affections of their 
people, and so broad was their influence, that they were styled "patriot 
preachers." They were Reverends Joseph, William, John, and Daniel Emerson, -- 
settled ministers of the Congregational order in four prominent towns of New 
England when the Revolution burst upon the Colonies. Their respective parishes 
were Pepperell, Concord, and Conway in Massachusetts, and Hollis in New 
Hampshire. They had been laboring for the upbuilding of these towns for some 
years before the Revolution, and been faithful servants of the Crown. They had 
often read from their pulpits official proclamations for public fasts and 
thanksgivings, and sincerely offered up the prayer, "God save the king." But 
when Britain's sovereign proved unfaithful to his sub-

Page 346

jects, these Emersons espoused the cause of the oppressed. The alarm on that 
April morning, --


"Through every Middlesex village and farm,"

met with a ready response on the part of each of these ministers; and before the 
evacuation of Boston one of them had passed from earth, and a second joined him 
before the close of the year 1776. 
      These men were not only closely allied in profession, but were united by 
the endearing fies of kinship. Reverends Joseph, William, and John were 
brothers, and their sister Hannah was the wife of Rev. Daniel Emerson. Thus four 
of the children of that noted minister of Malden, Rev. Joseph Emerson, were in 
full sympathy in their work at this trying period of the history of our country.
      Among the ancestors of the Emersons in this country must be cited Rev. 
Peter Bulkley, a pio-

[Photo - Copy of various Emerson signatures.]

Page 347

neer, and the first minister of Concord; Rev. Joseph Emerson, a pioneer and 
minister of Mendon, who barely escaped with his life when the village was 
destroyed by the Indians; Rev. Samuel Moody, a pioneer and minister of York, 
Maine; and Deacon Cornelius Waldo, one of the Wenham Colony, who emigrated in 
1655, and became one of the founders of the town of Chelmsford in the Bay 
Colony.
      Rev. Peter Bulkley was a man of considerable property in Odell, 
Bedfordshire, England. He was among those who, being silenced by Archbishop Laud 
for nonconformity, crossed the Atlantic in 1634 to New England, and became one 
of the little company who pushed out through the tangled wood, and founded the 
town of Concord, and there spent most of his fortune as a pioneer of 
civilization. "He was addressed as father, prophet, and counsellor by his 
people, and by all the ministers of the country." -- SHATTUCK.
      Rev. Joseph Emerson was settled in Mendon, December, 1669. His salary was 
forty-five pounds for the first two years, to be paid as follows: --

      "Tenn pounds at Boston yearly at some shope there, or in money at this 
town. The remayning to be made up, two pounds of butter for every cow, the rest 
in pork, wheat, barley, and soe to make the year's pay in work, Indian corn, 
rye, pease, and beef. After the second year he was to be paid fifty-five pounds 
yearly, and soe on as God shall enable them. All differences between the 
minister and the town

Page 348

were to be referred for adjudication, to the churches of Medfield, Dedham, and 
Roxbury."

      This ministry was cut short by King Philip's war, in 1675, when Rev. Mr. 
Emerson fled to the home of his father-in-law, Rev. Edward Bulkley,[l] at 
Concord, and there died in 1680.
      Rev. Samuel Moody, or Father Moody, of Agamenticus, was the valiant 
minister of York, Maine. He did not hesitate to exercise his full authority. 
"When the offended parishioners, wounded by his pointed preaching, would rise to 
go out of church, he cried out, 'Come back, you graceless sinners, come back!' 
And when they began to fall into ill customs, and ventured into the alehouses on 
a Saturday night, he would go in after them, collar the sinners, drag them out 
with rousing admonition. His charity was without stint. He gave away his wife's 
only pair of shoes from her bedside to a poor woman who came to the house one 
frosty morning barefoot. When his wife, trying to restrain his unreasonable 
generosity, made him a purse that was opened with difficulty, he gave away purse 
and all."
      Deacon Cornelius Waldo of a family of London merchants was born in 1625. 
He came early to this country, and settled in Essex County, and later went with 
Rev. John Fisk and others to the


[1] Edward Bulkley left his parish at Marshfield to succeed his father at 
Concord, where he labored until his death in 1696.

Page 349

town of Chelmsford, where he completed his useful life. A simple stone in the 
burying-ground tells the following: --


HERE LYES YE BODY OF
DEACON CORNELIUS WALDO,
AGED 75 YEARS. DIED JAN. YE 3, 1700.
"The Memory of the Just is Blessed."

      The line of connection is as follows: --

      Rev. Joseph Emerson of Mendon married Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Edward, 
and granddaughter of Rev. Peter Bulkley of Concord. Edward, son of Rev. Joseph 
Emerson and Elizabeth Bulkley, married Rebecca, daughter of Cornelius Waldo. 
Their son, Rev. Joseph Emerson of Malden, married Mary, daughter of Rev. Samuel 
Moody. Joseph, William, John, and Hannah were the children of Rev. Joseph and 
Mary Moody Emerson.
      While Edward Emerson of Chelmsford was not a minister, he was early found 
to be a leader in educational matters. He was the town's schoolmaster in 1698, 
and in 1793 was a member of a board of school committee. On his grave-stone he 
is thus recorded, --


MR. EDWARD EMERSON
SOME TIME DEACON OF THE FIRST CHURCH
IN MEDWAY.

      He was noted for the virtue of patience, and it is a family tradition that 
he never complained but once, when he said mildly to his daughter, that her 
dumplings were somewhat harder than needful, but not often. -- 0. W. HOLMES.

Page 350

      Our four patriot preachers were graduates of Harvard College. They were 
young and unmarried when they entered their pastoral work. Rev. Daniel Emerson 
was from Reading. We shall

[Photo - "Joseph Emerson's Chair, Pepperell"] 

consider him here for another reason than that of marriage.
      Elizabeth Bulkley, widow of Rev. Joseph Emerson who died at Concord in 
1680, married, in 1682, John Brown, Esq., of Reading. This union brought the 
Emerson and Brown children of

Page 351

former marriages together, and resulted in the marriage of Peter Emerson and 
Anna Brown, who became the parents of Daniel Emerson. He was born in 1716, and 
graduated at Harvard College in 1739. He was settled as the first minister of 
Hollis, N.H., in 1743, and in the autumn of the following year brought his 
bride, Hannah Emerson, from the Malden parsonage to his home in the comparative 
wilderness.
      The settlement of Rev. Daniel Emerson in a home of his own with a guaranty 
of support fulfilled the conditions of incorporation, and the town of Hollis 
began a prosperous record.
      While busy in clearing the land and erecting homes, the settlers were 
obliged to turn their attention to war. The king's demand for service was at the 
northward, and was met with a ready response from the men of this new town, the 
minister among them.
      It was my good fortune to meet in Hollis Mrs. Levi Abbott, at her 
attractive home, within or near the limits of the original grant to the 
minister, her great-grandfather. Mrs. Abbott said, --
      "It was about twelve years after my greatgrandfather began his ministry 
among this people that he felt called upon to go into the army contending 
against the French and Indians. Consequently he left his parish, his wife, and a 
half-dozen little children, and went to the northward as chaplain, in a regiment 
commanded by Colonel

Page 352

Joseph Blanchard of Dunstable. He was absent about six months. During his 
absence he kept a journal, which is now treasured in our family. It is styled by 
the minister, 'A Journal of My Proceedings with the Army to Crown Point.'"
      From the yellow leaves I have copied the following entries: --

July ye 8, 1755, being Tuesday. 
      Sat out from my own House after comtng ourselves t' God by Solemn Pr. in 
wh. Br. Emerson was greatly inlarged. Went to Lichfield & Preached from ___, in 
wh. Exercise I enjoyed some inlargement. 0 that I might be used as an Instrument 
to Glorify God! Went that night to Gen. Starks at Derryfield [Manchester] where 
I was kindly entertained with Rev. Dr. Cummings.

      He preached on July 9, and then went on to Rumford (Concord, N. H.), where 
he was entertained by Mrs. Walker, the wife of the minister, and mother of Hon. 
Thomas Walker, a famous patriot in the Revolution. On Friday of the same week he 
went under guard to the army at Bakerstown, where he was kindly received "by ye 
Col's of ye Army," and began his service as chaplain. He records: --

      "I lodged in ye Camp much better than I feared, slept some & rose 
refreshed early in ye morning."

      On the following day he saw --

      "Need of more wisdom, zeal & courage than in any station, of life I have 
been placed in."

Page 353

      He preached twice on his first Sabbath in camp, but found the soldiers 
little disposed to attend. He notes that lodging on the ground was more bearable 
than at first.
      On Monday, July 14, he writes: --

      "I visited some of the inhabitants who came to Stevenstown while ye 
Regiment could protect them."

      On the following day he was not able to go to prayer with the regiment, 
but two days later records: --

      "Had a shock of ye fever & ague. Col. Blanchard prayed with ye Regiment; 
at night was exceedingly kind, urged me to take his couch to lodge in. . . . 
This day wrote to my dear ch. & people."

      On the 20th he made record of an order for the regiment to go to join the 
army at Albany, and on the following day, of his having leave to go home.

      "To be with my dear family & people on the Day of Fasting & Prayer."

      He preached at Suncook and Rumford on the way to Hollis, and recorded that 
it was harder to go from the ground to the bed than from the bed to the ground. 
He reached his home on the 22d, when his record is: --

      "Almost overcome with the heat, but found my Dear Partner & children well. 
How pleasant it is & how great a Blessing to have such a wife as God has crowned 
me with."

Page 354

      The following day was observed as a Fast through the Province. The 
minister's parents came from Malden to visit their son.
      On July 30, the Hollis minister set out for Albany, was joined by Colonel 
Blanchard, who accompanied him on the way to the Hudson River. They reached 
Albany on Tuesday, August 12, when Rev. Mr. Emerson made the following entry. --

      "Found it a compact Place, but ye buildings not so gay as in our seaport 
town, tarried there all night & the next day, but I wanted to get to my Business 
at ye Flats 6 miles above Albany."

      He speaks of being comfortable on his armful of straw.
      August 24 was Sunday, and this chaplain preached to soldiers on both sides 
of the river. On the following day he dined with Colonel Schuyler[1]. Illness 
seems to have followed him, but he prayed four times each day. He divided his 
service between the troops lodged on either side of the river.
      In the early days of September he records: --

      "I saw some Indians who sang and danced in a very odd manner as did some 
before. Yy are pitiful looking creatures. I pitied Mr. Braynard and honored his 
memory more


[1] Colonel Schuyler was made a general by Washington in the Revolution, and in 
command of Provincial forces in New York for a time.

Page 355

yn ever wn I saw ye poor People wm he had spent his life among. Some told me yt 
some of Mr. Braynard's Indians wr among those I saw."

      His journal continues with details of the journey, a skirmish with the 
French and Indians, and on September 19 he writes from Lake George to his wife. 
In this letter he says: --

      "If you could by a window look into my heart I believe you would find that 
you possessed as much of me as ever woman did of any man's heart on earth."

      This letter, penned one hundred and forty years ago by the patriot 
preacher of Hollis, is carefully treasured by his great-granddaughter. There is 
a family tradition that the letter was sent from Lake George to Hollis on the 
neck of a faithful dog that the minister had taken with him from his home for 
that purpose.
      It is said that when Rev. Mr. Emerson was at Crown Point, and his regiment 
was ordered to present arms for inspection, he presented his Bible to the 
officer as his weapon.
      At the opening of the Revolution the Hollis minister was about sixty years 
of age, and he did not enter the army; but his patriotic spirit had been duly 
impressed upon his people and family. His son Daniel was captain of the Hollis 
company, and went to Ticonderoga in July, 1776, and was also captain of a 
company enlisted in Hollis in

Page 356

June of the following year. In 1778 he was in command of a mounted company which 
went to Rhode Island, and also of a company in Colonel Mooney's regiment, raised 
in 1779 for the defence of Rhode Island.
      In the old burying-ground in Hollis may be seen a slab on which is 
chiselled the following: --


BENEATH THIS MONUMENT LIES THE MORTAL PART OF
REV. DANIEL EMERSON.
He was born at Reading, Mass., May 20, 1716. Grad-
uated at Harvard University 1739, and was ordained April 20,
1743, to the Pastoral care of the church and congregation in
Hollis which then consisted of only 30 Families. He was an honest
man, given to Hospitality. An affectionate Husband, and tender
Parent. A faithful friend and patriotic citizen. An Evangeli-
cal, zealous and unusually successful Preacher of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Highly esteemed by his people,
his praise was in all the churches. A.D. 1793 he
voluntarily relinquished one-half his salary to
promote the settlement of a colleague. From which
time his pious walk and occasional labors evinced an
unabating love for the cause of Christ, until nature failed
and he fell asleep in Jesus
SEPTEMBER 30, 1801, AGED 85 YEARS.

HERE ARE ALSO DEPOSITED THE REMAINS OF
HANNAH EMERSON,
WIFE OF THE ABOVE
AND DAUGHTER OF REV. JOSEPH EMERSON OF MALDEN.
She lived a pattern of filial obedience, respect and
affection, and an example of conjugal love and duty; a
most tender indulgent and faithful Parent. The delight of her Friends
and ornament of the Church. She lived the life of a true Dis-
ciple of Christ. In the constant exercise of active faith in
His promise. And died in triumphant hope of everlasting
life in those Regions where charity never faileth
FEBRUARY 28, 1812, AGED 90.

Page 357

      Rev. Joseph Emerson was settled as the first minister of Pepperell, Mass., 
in 1746. He received, as did the Hollis minister, an allotment of forty acres of 
land, on which he built a house.
      He was longer in becoming established in a home of his own than was his 
brother-in-law, Rev. Daniel Emerson. His journal, now in the possession of a 
descendant, shows the occasion of the delay with many interesting facts.

      Tuesday, Sept. 6, 1748. Set out for Connecticut in company with Peter 
Powers of Hollis in order to go to New Haven commencement.

      His journey and visits by the way occupied the time until the 14th, when 
he notes: --

      Commencement, all things were carried on with the utmost decency. "They 
come very little behind Cambridge itself.
      Thursday, 15th. Breakfast at College & set out for home in company with 
Mr. Ellis of Middletown & arrived at his house in the evening about 34 miles.

      He remained there and at Weathersfield until the 17th, when he resumed his 
journey in company with Rev. Jonathan Edwards of Northampton. They halted at 
Hartford, called at Windsor upon the father of Rev. Mr. Edwards, who was also a 
minister, and reached Northampton on Tuesday.
      While here, Rev. Mr. Emerson met with Esther, the daughter of Rev. 
Jonathan Edwards. On the 21st he makes the following entry: --

Page 358

      Spent the day very pleasantly, the most agreeable family I was ever 
acquainted with, much of the presence of God here. We met with Mr. Spencer, a 
gentleman who was ordained last week at Boston, as a missionary to the Indians 
of the Six Nations. He purposes to set out to-morrow for Albany. The most 
wonderful instance of self denial I ever met with.
      After taking leave of the minister who was on the way to Albany as a 
foreign missionary, the homeward journey was continued.
      When back in his lodgings, the Pepperell minister records: --

      Have not met with any difficulty in travelling about 300 miles. God's name 
be praised.

      After four busy days in parish work and attention to his mother, who had 
come to visit her daughter at Hollis and son at Pepperell, he records: --

      Sat., Oct. 1. I wrote two letters in the forenoon, one to Mr. Edwards of 
Northampton, and the other to his second daughter, a very desirable person to 
whom I purpose by divine leave to make my addresses. May the Lord direct me in 
so important affair.
      Monday, 3. Set out with my mother for Malden. Dined at Col. Ting's & got 
as far as Reading. Lodged at Capt. Eaton's.

      After four weeks spent in "journeyings often," like Saint Paul, and in 
close application to parochial work, together with some time spent in cutting 
corn-stalks, the parson records: --

Page 359

      Monday, Nov. 7. Set out some time before day on a journey to Northampton 
to visit Mrs. (Miss) Esther Edwards[1] to treat of marriage.

      A subsequent record shows that the journey was performed in safety, but 
the hopeful parson adds, --

      I could not obtain from the young lady the least encouragement to come 
again. The chief objection she makes is her youth, which I hope will be removed 
in time.

      Months elapsed, and the young minister was compelled to abandon his 
fondest hope. He passed through the sentimental Gethsemane with true Christian 
fortitude, yet not without apparent mental and physical suffering, and at length 
married Abigail Hay of Reading. The minister with his bride opened the doors of 
their home to the people of his early choice.
      I have shown in Chapter IV. that Rev. Joseph Emerson, the patriot preacher 
of Pepperell, was chaplain in the expedition to Louisburg, preached plainly of 
the duty of patriots during the French troubles, took a bold stand at the 
opening of the Revolution, and died a patriot's death, October 29, 1775, at the 
age of fifty-one years.
      Rev. William Emerson married Phoebe Bliss, a daughter of his predecessor 
in the Concord min-


[1] Miss Esther Edwards became the wife of Aaron Burr, the president of 
Princeton College, and was the mother of Aaron Burr, the third vice-president of 
the United States,--a man of unpleasant memory.

Page 360

istry. They established their home at the Manse, and spent a few years in the 
enjoyment of the entire confidence of their people, and in devotion to each 
other and their children.
      This Concord minister was a brave and determined "Son of Liberty." 
Bancroft has recorded as testimony given him by veterans of that day's 
experience that at the early morning alarm, rung out by Amos Melvin, the 
sentinel at the Court House, the minister turned out with the others "his gun in 
hand:" The school-boy's first lesson in the history of Concord fight has 
contained the old story that the minister of the town was one of those who 
rashly advised that the early morning force should stand its ground on the 
Common and abide the attack, but more experienced military men overruled in the 
excitement of the hour. Additional testimony has come from a non-resident, who, 
working in Concord, was enrolled with the minute-men. He said he felt he could 
not stand when he saw the redcoats come in sight, but was quieted and put in 
courage by Mr. Emerson's brave words, and hand laid on his shoulder.
      The above should not be construed as conflicting with the words of a 
famous author, quoted in chapter ix. of "Beneath Old Roof Trees" -- they refer 
to different hours of the day. From the family narrative we learn that when the 
Provincials retreated from the village to the opposite side of the river, 
followed by the British, many

Page 361

women and children took refuge in the yard of the Manse; and as the minister's 
wife and little children were in the house with no protector but an excited 
black man-servant (former slave), his duty was plain, and he stayed, as a 
faithful minister would, to protect his family, and comfort the crowd of 
helpless parishioners.
      May not the expression, "Had not the friends around him prevented his 
quitting his doorstep," be a poet's account of the demands of a distressed 
people for the service and protection of their pastor? These duties caused the 
minister to be late at the river; but an official, who came a few days later to 
look over the ground, has recorded, "He saw all that went on, and at first was 
afraid his people would get excited and fire first, and after the British volley 
he feared they might not return it." After the enemy fell back from the bridge, 
Mr. Emerson went there, and was shocked at finding the soldier whom an 
overzealous boy, seeing him striving to rise, had cut in the head with a 
hatchet.
      We are indebted to the Rev. Mr. Emerson's journal for the account of the 
proceedings of April 19, 1775, as they impressed him. His record has been the 
foundation of the most reliable narrative of the battle on Concord soil. The 
same preacher has given us a vivid description of the camp at Cambridge during 
the siege. (See "Beneath Old Roof Trees," p. 73.)

Page 362 
Rev. William Emerson was of that class of which Bancroft wrote, "Eloquent and 
accomplished chaplains kept alive the habit of daily prayer, and preached the 
wonted sermons on the day of the Lord."
      Writing from the camp to his wife at Concord, Mr. Emerson said, --

      "There are many things amiss in this camp, yet upon the whole, God is in 
the midst of us."

      On another occasion he wrote:

      "I despair seeing a battle fought this time coming down."

      While in service in the northern campaign in 1776, Rev. Mr. Emerson's 
health failed, and he addressed the following letter to the commanding officer: 
--

TICONDEROGA, Sept. 10, 1776. 
      Sir, -- My Ill State of Health is such that I am not able to perform the 
Duty of a Chaplain, and am advised by the Physicians to ask for a dismission 
from the Army, and shall be glad of your consent and assistance thereto.
WM. EMERSON. 
      To LT. COLLO. B. BROWN:

      The Reverend Mr. William Emerson has my Discharge from the Northern Army 
of the United States of America. TYCONDEROGA, 10th September, 1776.
HORATIO GATES,
      Major General. 

      The above letters are in the possession of the Emerson family at Concord.

Page 363

      Mr. Emerson started for home, reached Rutland, Vermont, and died there on 
October, 20, 1776. His body was interred with the honors of war by a detachment 
of Colonel Vandyke's Regiment, commanded by Major Shepard.
      There is a table monument on Burying Ground Hill, Concord, on which the 
following is read: --


ERECTED BY THIS TOWN IN MEMORY OF THEIR PASTOR,
REV. WILLIAM EMERSON,
WHO DIED AT RUTLAND, VT., 1776, AE. 33, ON HIS RETURN FROM
THE AMERICAN ARMY OF WHICH HE WAS CHAPLAIN.
Enthusiastic, eloquent,
Affectionate and pious.
He loved his family, his people,
His God, and his country, and to this last
He yielded the cheerful sacrifice of his life.

      Rev. John Emerson was two years younger than William, and did not make his 
advent to the Malden parsonage until Joseph had attained his majority. He was 
settled as the first minister of Conway, in Franklin County, in 1769. He had 
formed an attachment for a most estimable young lady in Boston before he had 
completed his studies; and when called to the new town in the wilderness, the 
brave Sabra Cobb went with him. The journey was made on horseback. They were 
married in Boston in 1770. It required moral heroism for a young lady to leave 
the society of the seaport town, and go to that distant settlement, where the 
people were doing the work of

Page 364

pioneers. Within a week after she reached Conway, she saw a bear looking into 
her bedroom window. The young preacher, in writing of himself, said it was 
literally John preaching in the wilderness.
      The rustic people had prejudices to overcome, and it was a trying time for 
both parties. But the minister's wife soon endeared herself to the people, who 
admitted that she was a lady "if she came from Boston." One act shows her to 
have been a judicious, sacrificing woman. She was the possessor of a silk 
umbrella. Such a thing was not owned by the people of Conway; and rather than 
give them occasion for jealousy, or have the appearance of being in any way 
above the women of the town, Mrs. Emerson never carried the umbrella, but long 
after made the silk into bonnets for her daughters.
      We find that the Conway minister had an experience during the Revolution 
very different from that of his brothers in their parishes.
      Rev. Daniel Emerson had some noted Loyalists in Hollis, and Rev. William 
Emerson had one in his own family, Daniel Bliss, Esq.; but Rev. John of Conway 
had a large number who adhered to the king, and were most reluctant to fall in 
with the patriots. In dealing with these Loyalists, or Tories, the young 
minister of Conway was severely tried. The following votes, passed during the 
Revolutionary times, serve to show the process

Page 365

used against those who were not in sympathy with the American cause: --

      At a legal meeting held June 25, 1777, --

      Voted, To try the minds of the town with regard to the enimical persons 
that the Selectmen have entered in a list and laid before the town as such 
separately.

      After giving the list of Loyalists, they --

      Voted, That Captain Alexander Oliver be the person to collect the 
evidence, and lay it before the court against the above enimical persons.

      The meeting-house where Rev. John Emerson preached on the Sabbath was the 
place where the following peculiar action was taken: --

      At a legal meeting held August 27th, 1777, --
      Voted, That we proceed in some measure to secure the enimical persons 
called Tories among us. Then the question was put, whether we would draw a line 
between the Continent and Great Britain.
      Voted in the affirmative.
      Voted, That all those persons that stand on the side of the Continent, 
take up arms and go hand in hand with us in carrying on the war against our 
unnatural enemies, such we receive as friends, and all others treat as enemies.
      Voted, That the broad alley be a line, and the south end of the meeting-
house be the Continent side, and the north end be the British side; then moved 
for trial, and found 6 persons to stand on the British side. . . .
      Voted to set a guard over those enimical persons.
      Voted, The town clerk immediately desire judge Mather to issue out his 
warrants against those enimical persons returned to him in a list heretofore.

Page 366

      The Conway minister survived the war, and lived to enjoy the blessings of 
liberty for many years. He saw the settlement in the wilderness grow from four 
hundred to two thousand inhabitants.
      Rev. John Emerson kept a journal, as did the other Emerson preachers, and 
the ministers of the time generally. While these journals treat largely of 
private matters, they also serve to show that ministerial association was 
promoted by interchange of visits, and that the parsonages (ministers' homes) of 
New England were hostleries where entertainment was freely dispensed. The Conway 
minister's record of a journey to Boston in 1799 is of interest.

      May 23. Set out on a journey to Boston . . . to consult on the present 
critical and alarming state of our country and to devise means for the 
suppression of infidelity. Rode this day as far as Greenwich, dined at Mr. 
Parson's of Amherst, and lodged at Capt. Rich's in Greenwich.
      24th. Proceeded on my journey, dined at Mr. Avery's in Holden (Rev. Joseph 
Avery the minister), and reached Harvard. Lodged at Dea. Whitney's. 25th. Rose 
early, breakfasted at my kinsman's, Mr. Emerson's[1] and went on as far as 
Concord by noon.


[1] Rev. William Emerson, pastor at Harvard from 1792 to 1799, was son of Rev. 
William of Concord, and a nephew of Rev. John, who made this visit just at the 
time when the First Church in Boston was offering inducements to the Harvard 
pastor to exchange his country parish for the more popular one at the seaport. 
He did this in the autumn of 1799, and a Boston parsonage, instead of that at 
Harvard, first echoed the voice of the boy Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Page 367

Rev. John Emerson continues his record: --

      I was persuaded, contrary to my intention, to stay with Brother Ripley 
over the Sabbath.
      26th, Lord's Day. Preached for Mr. Ripley. Had some freedom and 
satisfaction in the public service of the day. Preached to the acceptance of 
many, and I hope some benefit." [This visit at Concord was at the parsonage, 
"Old Manse," and upon his brother's widow Phoebe (Bliss) Emerson, who had become 
the wife of Rev. Ezra Ripley, the successor of his brother, the patriot preacher 
of Concord.]
      27th. Set out early from Concord, and took breakfast at Dr. Osgood's in 
Medford (the minister's), and arrived at Malden in safety, after a pleasant and 
prosperous journey. Found my sisters well, and living together in harmony, which 
afforded me much satisfaction.

      On June 13 he set out for home. Dined at Concord, drank coffee at Harvard, 
and proceeded to Boylston. Lodged with Mr. Nash, the minister, and so on until 
he reached Conway.
      In the old burying-ground of Conway may be seen a gravestone erected by 
loving hands, on which may be read: --


IN MEMORY OF
REV. JOHN EMERSON,
WHO WAS BORN AT MALDEN, NOV. 20. 1745,
WAS SETTLED TO THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY IN CONWAY
JULY 20, 1769.
& having preached the Gospel fifty-seven years,
He died June 26, 1826,
In the 81st year of his age.
"Perfiidem et Laborem ad Coelum ascendit."
"He ascends to heaven through faithfulness and labor."

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Sidney Craige Perham, Ninth Generation, by the old Hearth Stone Frontispiece 
Stone marking Birthplace of Colonel William Prescott, Groton 6 
Champney House, Groton 7 
Monument on Site of the Meeting-House in the Mother Town 20 
Prescott Homestead, Pepperell 25 
Swords of Colonel William Prescott and Captain John Linzee 28 
Tablet seen in the Mother Town 30 
Rev. Charles Babbidge 32 
Fac-Simile of Page--Pepperell Church Records 37 
Grave of Rev. Joseph Emerson, Pepperell 38 
Grave of Colonel William Prescott, Pepperell 39 
Lieutenant Joseph Spaulding's Commission 43 
The Sword of Bunker Hill 44 
Discharge of Edmund Blood 53 
The Blood Homestead 54 
Old Parker Plough 56 
Colonel Shattuck's Home, Pepperell 58 
Colonel Samuel P. Shattuck 62 
Mrs. Samuel P. Shattuck 63 
Pepperell Magazine 68 
Edmund H. N. Blood, Pepperell 69 
Hazen Home, Shirley 71 
Shirley Oak 74 
Shirley Schoolhouse 83 
A Battered Seat from Shirley Schoolhouse 84 
Old Home, Shirley 85 
Longley Ball, and Shirley Relics of the Revolution 95 
Longley Well 98 
W. Shirley 100 
John Colburn 102 
Bunker Hill Monument 119 
Worcester Homestead, Hollis, N.H. 123 
Jesse and Sarah Worcester 124_1 and 124_2 
Hollis Training Field 125 
Tenney Homestead, Hollis, N.H. 127 
Nevens's Boulder 138 
Hessian Tobacco Box 145 
Baroness Riedesel 153 
Apthorp House, Cambridge where Burgoyne was imprisoned 158 
Burgoyne's Candlesticks 161 
Colonel Jeremiah Page Home, Danvers 176 
Governor Gage's Office 179 
Page Garrett, Danvers 182 
Danvers Monument, Peabody 190 
Birthplace of General Israel Putnam 201 
Mary (Waldo) Webber, Great Granddaughter of "Old Put" 205 
Scions of Putnam Tree in the Fifth Generation 207 
King Hooper House, Danvers 211 
Dill's Daughter, Anstiss 235 
St. Peter's Church at Salem 236 
Chelmsford Monument (Revolutionary) 258 
Bowers Homestead, Lowell 262 
Captain Ford Homestead, Lowell 265 
Perham Homestead, Chelmsford 277 
Spaulding Home, Chelmsford 279 
Spaulding Watch, used at Bunker Bill 280 
Mrs. Shedd 282 
Hayward Garrison, Chelmsford 284 
Byam Home, Chelmsford 285 
Captain Bill Fletcher's House 292 
Major Thomas Hinchman's Military Order 297 
Hinchman Stone, Chelmsford 297 
Cornelius Waldo Stone 298 
Minister's Table, Chelmsford 300 
Tablet to the Memory of the Town Clerk, Chelmsford 302 
Clark Stones, Chelmsford 303 
Clark Tavern, Lowell 305 
Parker Homestead, Lowell 307 
Commission to Benjamin Parker, Chelmsford 309 
Parker Garrett Treasures, Lowell 314 
Fletcher Stone in Chelmsford 317 
Polly Carter's Reel 321 
South College (Massachusetts Hall) 327 
Dudley Foster 333 
Birthplace of Asa Pollard, Billerica 333 
Rand Pincushion 338 
Mary Rand Slippers 343 
Emerson Autographs 346 
Joseph Emerson's Chair, Pepperell 350 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~