UBR*RY) 
 MrUMnror 
 * j
 
 THREE 
 HISTORICAL ADDRESSES 
 
 AT 
 
 GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 BY 
 
 SAMUEL ABBOTT GREEN 
 
 an 
 
 GROTON: 
 1908.
 
 TO 
 
 THE MEMORY 
 
 OF 
 
 GEORGE SEWALL BOUTWELL 
 
 JANUARY 28, 1818 FEBRUARY 27, 1905 
 
 WHO ALWAYS TOOK. AN ACTIVE PART IN WHATEVER 
 
 CONCERNED THE WELFARE OF 
 
 THE TOWN
 
 PREFACE 
 
 r I ^HESE several addresses were delivered on differ- 
 * ent occasions by request of the town, and were 
 published originally in pamphlet form. As they have 
 long been out of print, they are now brought together 
 and republished in a volume for the greater conven- 
 ience of those who take an interest in the town. The 
 titlepages have been somewhat shortened, but the 
 several inscriptions or dedications have been allowed 
 to remain. The Address of July Fourth, 1876, was 
 given in the First Parish Meeting-house ; and the 
 other two Addresses were made in the Town Hall. 
 
 The Archives, often quoted as authority for state- 
 ments in the text, are the Massachusetts Archives 
 found at the State House. 
 
 MARCH 16, 1908
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGES 
 AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS, Bi-centennial and Centennial, 
 
 July 4, 1876 11-63 
 
 AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS at the Dedication of Three 
 Monuments erected by the Town, February 20, 
 1880 65-1 13 
 
 AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS on the Two Hundred and 
 Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement of the Town, 
 July 12, 1905 U5- I 59 
 
 APPENDIX : The Name of Groton, by Dr. Edward Mussey 
 Hartwell ; List of Indian Words ; List of Towns ; 
 Distinguished Citizens ; English Oaks ; Town Seal ; 
 First Parish Meeting- House 161172 
 
 INDEX 173-181 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Petition for the Plantation, 1655 , . 16, 17 
 
 Stamp and Counter-stamp issued under the Act of 1765 52 
 
 " Useful Instructions," etc., Cambridge, 1673, by Samuel 
 
 Willard (Titlepage and Preface) 82, 83 
 
 Town Seal 171 
 
 First Parish Meeting-House 172
 
 AN 
 
 HISTORICAL ADDRESS 
 
 BI-CENTENNIAL AND CENTENNIAL 
 JULY 4, 1876
 
 GROTON BURNED BY THE INDIANS, 1676. 
 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 1776.
 
 TO 
 
 of <0roton 
 
 AND TO 
 THE NATIVES OF THE TOWN LIVING ELSEWHERE 
 
 THIS ADDRESS 
 
 A WILLING TASK, IMPERFECTLY DONE, IS RESPECTFULLY 
 INSCRIBED BY THE WRITER.
 
 HISTORICAL ADDRESS 
 
 THE first century of our national existence is completed 
 this day, and we meet to commemorate the event. One 
 hundred years have passed away since the Declaration of 
 Independence was affirmed and a nation was born that is 
 destined to flourish as long as piety, religion, and morality 
 shall prevail in the land, and no longer. Modern times 
 have been full of great deeds ; but none of them is greater 
 than that which declared the American colonies to be free, 
 and put them in the -rank of independent nations. The 
 rapid development of the United States during this hun- 
 dred years has been watched by thoughtful men throughout 
 the world, by some with jealousy, by others with sym- 
 pathy; and their success has made them an example 
 for other countries to follow. They have stood the test 
 of a century; and to-day, throughout the land, the great 
 birthday of the nation is commemorated with joy and ex- 
 ultation never before equalled. 
 
 The question may recur, Why is this notice taken of a 
 century? Why is a celebration more fitting now than next 
 year or last year? It is because there is a tendency in the 
 human mind to divide time into round periods. At the 
 end of a century comes a stopping-place, a broad stair 
 in the flight of time, from which to look back upon any 
 event that marked its beginning. In our decimal notation 
 the number Ten plays an important part, and is a kind of 
 unit. Originally connected in meaning with the fingers of 
 the hand, a hundred, in its primitive signification as well 
 as numerically ten tens, is a large unit, a natural divi- 
 sion of duration. If man had been endowed originally by 
 Nature with six fingers on each hand, we should now have 
 a duodecimal system of numbers instead of a decimal sys- 
 tem; and it would seem just as easy and natural. This
 
 12 
 
 tendency in the human mind is strikingly illustrated by the 
 last census returns of the city of Boston. The number of 
 its inhabitants who gave their ages as just forty-five is 
 more than twice as large as the number of those who were 
 just forty-four or just forty-six. The number of those 
 who were just fifty is more than three times as great as 
 the number of those who were just forty-nine, and about 
 five times as many as the number of those who were just 
 fifty-one. According to these returns, there are nearly 
 twice as many persons who are fifty-five as either fifty-four 
 or fifty-six; and there are four times as many who are 
 sixty as either fifty-nine or sixty-one. The tens have a 
 stronger attraction than the fives, and these, in their turn, 
 than the other numbers. This example, beside showing 
 the untrustworthy character, in some respects, of the census 
 returns, a point not now to my purpose, shows how 
 widely pervading is the feeling about round periods; and 
 in this universal feeling is found the answer to the ques- 
 tion why we have a celebration at this time. 
 
 The present year has also a bi-centennial anniversary 
 that brings us together. It was in the year 1676 that this 
 town was destroyed by the Indians, and the inhabitants, 
 with all their available effects, were forced to leave it. A 
 contemporary account of the removal says that there were 
 sixty carts required for the work, and that they extended 
 along the road for more than two miles. It was a sorry 
 sight to see this little community leaving their homes, which 
 they had first established twenty-one years before. What 
 bitter pangs they must have felt, and how dark their future 
 must have seemed, as they turned to look for the last time 
 upon familiar places, their rude but cherished homes, their 
 humble meeting-house, in ashes, and the graves of their 
 kindred whom they had laid away tenderly in God's acre. 
 As they made their way along the rough and muddy roads, 
 the hearts of all were heavy with grief; and the mothers' 
 eyes were dimmed with tears, as the thought of blighted 
 prospects filled their minds, for no one could foresee the 
 end of their misfortunes. Their bitter experiences, how-
 
 13 
 
 ever, affected more than one generation. Fortitude is the 
 logical result of hardships: brave parents will breed brave 
 children. Our fathers little thought that these trials were 
 making them the ancestry of a strong people, who them- 
 selves, a century later, were to contend successfully against 
 the strongest power in the world. At this late day we 
 cannot know all their sufferings, but we do know that they 
 were a God-fearing community; and on this occasion it is 
 fitting that we should celebrate their virtues. They were a 
 plain folk, with homely traits; and their best memorial is 
 the simple story of their lives. For this reason I purpose 
 to give an unadorned narration of some of the more im- 
 portant events with which they were connected from the 
 very beginning of the town, together with a brief account 
 of some of the actors, bringing the account down through 
 the last century, and touching lightly upon the present one. 
 
 In the spring of the year 1655, the township of Groton 
 was granted by the General Court to a number of peti- 
 tioners. It was situated on the frontiers, fourteen miles 
 from the nearest settlement; and at that time there were 
 but nine other towns in Middlesex County. What induce- 
 ments were held out to gain settlers for the new town, it 
 is impossible now to ascertain. Probably, however, the 
 country in this neighborhood had been reconnoitred by 
 adventurous men from other settlements; and it is likely 
 that such persons had followed the Indian trails, and pene- 
 trated to what then seemed a long distance into the wilder- 
 ness. These persons knew the rivers and the hills, and the 
 lay of the land generally; and, after coming home, they 
 talked about the good farming region. It would take but 
 a short time thus to establish traditions that might draw 
 a few families to desirable places. It happened then, as it 
 sometimes happens now, that large fires had run through 
 the woods in dry weather, and had burned until they were 
 put out by some rain-storm, leaving a track of black deso- 
 lation that would last for many a year. And, moreover, 
 there were small patches that had been planted by the In- 
 dians with corn, beans, and squashes, and therefore ready 
 for cultivation by whosoever should take possession of
 
 M 
 
 them. In this way a few places had been more or less 
 cleared; and the wild grasses had caught-in sufficiently to 
 furnish fodder for the cattle. This last consideration was 
 a matter of much importance to the settlers. In planting 
 towns, it undoubtedly weighed with them in selecting the 
 sites. In fact, it is recorded that, during some of those early 
 years, feed was so scarce that the cattle had to be slaugh- 
 tered to save them from death by hunger. It should be 
 borne in mind that grass then was not cultivated as it is 
 now ; nor was it for more than a century after this period. 
 In the winter cattle had to be kept on corn-stalks and the 
 native grasses, which the settlers had gathered wherever 
 they could; and it required rigid economy, even on these, 
 to keep them till spring. 
 
 It was amid such and other difficulties that our fathers 
 founded their settlements. Prompted by interest or enter- 
 prise, families would plant themselves in the wilderness 
 and make new homes away from neighbors and far from 
 friends. As these settlements increased in numbers, they 
 were constituted towns without much formality. The only 
 Act of Incorporation of Boston, Dorchester, and Water- 
 town was an order of the General Court " that Trimoun- 
 taine shalbe called Boston; Mattapan, Dorchester; & the 
 towne vpon Charles Ryver, Waterton." 
 
 Towns thus informally established have grown up with 
 certain rights and privileges as well as duties and obliga- 
 tions, and have developed into fixed municipal corporations, 
 as we find them to-day. They did not spring into existence 
 full grown and clothed, like Minerva from the head of 
 Jupiter, but they have been creatures of slow growth. 
 They should be compared rather to the old homestead that 
 has been receiving additions and improvements during sev- 
 eral generations, in order to accommodate the increasing 
 and constantly changing family, until finally the humble 
 house has expanded into a roomy structure. 
 
 The prominent idea in the minds of the founders of New 
 England appears to have been the support of the gospel min- 
 istry. After this came the management of their political 
 affairs and the support of free schools. Captain Edward
 
 15 
 
 Johnson, in his quaint and instructive book, " Wonder- 
 Working Providence of Sions Saviour, in New-England," 
 says that it was " as unnatural for a right N. E. man to 
 live without an able Ministery, as for a Smith to work his 
 iron without a fire; therefore this people that went about 
 placing down a Town, began the foundation-stone, with 
 earnest seeking of the Lord's assistance, by humbling of 
 their souls before him in daies of prayer" (p. 177). The 
 College, which was established so early in the history of 
 the colony, was dedicated " to Christ and the Church " ; 
 and down to the present time this motto is kept on the 
 College-seal. 
 
 Mr. Butler, in his History, says that " The original peti- 
 tion for the plantation or town of Groton, is not found, or 
 any record of it" (p. n). Since this statement was made, 
 however, one of the petitions for it seems there were two 
 has been found among the papers of the late Captain 
 Samuel Shepley, by Charles Woolley, formerly of this 
 town, but now of Waltham. A copy of it was printed in 
 " The New England Historical and Genealogical Register " 
 (xiv. 48) for January, 1860, and is as follows: 
 
 To the honored Generall Courte assembled at Boston the humble 
 petion of vs whose names ar here under written humbly shoeth 
 
 That where as youre petioners by a prouidence of God haue 
 beene brought ouer in to this widernes and liued longe here in : 
 and being sumthing straightned for that where by subsistance in 
 an ordinarie waie of Gods prouidence. is to be had and Con- 
 sidering the a lowance that God giues to the sones of men for 
 such an ende: youre petioners request therefore is that you 
 would be pleased to grant vs a place for a plantation vpon the 
 Riuer that runes from Nashaway in to merimake at a place 
 or a boute a place Caled petaupauket and waubansconcett and 
 youre petioners shall pray for youre happy proseedings 
 
 WILLIM MARTIN . TIMOTHY COOPER 
 
 RICHARD BLOOD JOHN LAKIN 
 
 JOHN WITT JOHN BLOOD 
 
 WILLIM LAKIN MATHU FARRINGTON 
 
 RICHARD HAUEN ROBERT BLOOD
 
 i6 
 
 Jt*. 
 
 (tifA. $&
 
 On the third page of the document, the decision of the 
 General Court is given, which runs thus : 
 
 6*c*!p tlM 3 ' p*-J&*<t-*&n- /* 
 
 A/ *^"^*V**' V> * V 57'^* T '* <rv " w ""*-^- ^jy 3- -*- g *--- -. .^i / ~w, 
 
 ^F^^.-. spf'f*>^. f ^l < ^* f*rftrvfc*sfc s< 
 
 In Ans r to both theise peticons The Court Judgeth it meete 
 to graunt the peticone r s eight miles square in the place desired to 
 make a Comfortable plantacofi wch henceforth shall be Called 
 Groaten forme r ly knowne by the name of Petapawage: that 
 M r Danforth of Cambridge w th such as he shall associate to 
 him shall and hereby is desired to lay it out w th all convenient 
 speede that so no Incouragement may be wanting to the Peti- 
 cone r s for a speedy procuring of a godly minister amongst them. 
 Provided that none shall enjoy any part or porton of that land 
 by guift from the selectmen of that place but such who shall 
 build howses on theire Lotts so given them once w th in eighteene 
 mon th s from the time of the said Tonnes laying out or Tounes 
 graunt to such persons ; and for the p r esent M r Deane Winthrop 
 
 3
 
 i8 
 
 M r Jn Tinker M r Tho: Hinckly Dolor Davis W m Martin 
 Mathew Farrington John Witt and Timothy Couper are Ap- 
 pointed the selectmen for the sajd Toune of Groaten for one 
 two yeares from the time it is lajd out, to lay out and dispose 
 of particular lotts not exceeding twenty acres to each house 
 lott; And to order the prudentiall affaires of the place at the 
 end of which tjme other selectmen shall be chosen and Appointed 
 in theire roomes. the selectmen of Groaten giving M r Danforth 
 such sattis faction for his service & paines as they & he shall 
 agree ; 
 
 The magis ts haue past this w th reference to the Consent of 
 theire bretheren the depu*s hereto 
 
 25 May 1655 EDWARD RAWSON Secrety 
 
 The Deputies Consent hereto WILLIAM TORREY Cleric. 
 
 A religious temper pervades the whole petition, which in 
 its language has the flavor of the Old Testament. It speaks 
 of their having been brought over " by a prouidence of 
 God," and of their living long in the wilderness. In an- 
 swer to it, the Court grants a tract of land to make " a 
 Comfortable plantacon," and provides for its survey and 
 prompt location ; naming as the chief end the " speedy 
 procuring of a godly minister amongst them," and fore- 
 shadowing in its action some of the features of the modern 
 Homestead Acts of Congress. From these expressions we 
 may learn the guiding thoughts of the first settlers of the 
 town; and it is now a pious duty we owe them to com- 
 memorate their virtues and their deeds. They were men 
 and women in every way worthy of all the respect and 
 honor we can pay them; and I congratulate those of my 
 audience who trace back their family line to that stock. 
 The names of Parker, Prescott, and Blood, of whom there 
 are so many descendants still among us; of Farnsworth, 
 Lawrence, and Shattuck, names not to be omitted in any 
 historical record of the town; of Gilson, Nutting, and 
 Sawtell, worthy forefathers of worthy progeny; of Stone, 
 Moors-, and Tarbell, all these are familiar to you as the 
 names' of citizens descended from the founders of the town;
 
 19 
 
 and there are other names equally worthy to be mentioned, 
 that will readily suggest themselves. 
 
 Mr. Deane Winthrop, whose name stands at the head of 
 the list of selectmen appointed by the Court, was a son 
 of Governor John Winthrop; and it is to him that we are 
 indebted for the name of the town. A native of Groton 
 in Old England, it was natural for him to wish to keep 
 the name fresh and fragrant on this side of the Atlantic. 
 Groton, in Connecticut, younger by half a century, and 
 famous as the scene of the heroic Ledyard's death, owes 
 its name to the same family. Groton, in New York, was 
 settled, in part, by families from this town. New Hampshire 
 and Vermont both have towns named Groton, though they 
 are of comparatively recent origin. Why they were so 
 called I have been unable to find out, unless it was that the 
 fair fame and reputation of the one in Massachusetts had 
 made the name auspicious. 
 
 There was a place in Roxbury, a hundred and thirty 
 years ago, that was sometimes called Groton.* It was a 
 corruption of Greaton, the name of the man who kept the 
 " Grey Hound " tavern in the neighborhood. 
 
 The word Groton, the same as the Grotena of Domesday 
 Book, probably means Grit-town, or Sand-town, from 
 the Anglo-Saxon, great, grit, sand, dust; and tun, village 
 or town. The locality of the English Groton is in fact a 
 sandy one. A proper pride of birth would suggest that the 
 name was doubtless also appropriate by reason of the GRIT 
 or pluck, now as well as then, characteristic of the people 
 of any town so named. 
 
 Groton, in Suffolk, England, is an ancient place, there 
 being a record in Domesday Book of its population and 
 wealth, in some detail, at the time of William the Con- 
 queror, and also before him, under the Anglo-Saxon King, 
 Edward the Confessor. A literal translation of this cen- 
 sus return of seven hundred and ninety years ago is as 
 follows : 
 
 * New England Historical and Genealogical Register, xxiv. 56 note, 60.
 
 20 
 
 In the time of King Edward * Saint Edmund held Groton 
 for a manor, one carucate t and a half of land. Always [there 
 were] 8 villeins and 5 bordarii [a rather higher sort of serfs ; 
 cotters]. Always [there was] i plough in demesne. Always 
 2 ploughs of homagers [tenants] and I acre of meadow. A 
 mill, for winter. Always I work-horse and 7 cattle and 16 
 swine and 30 sheep and 2 free men of half a carucate of 
 land and they could give and sell their land. Seven bordarii. 
 Always i plough & I acre of meadow [belonging to these 
 7 bordarii.] Then [i. e., under King Edward] it was worth 
 30 shillings, and now 40. It has in length 7 furlongs and 
 4 in breadth. In the same, 12 free men and they have i caru- 
 cate and it is worth 20 shillings. All these could give and 
 sell their land in the time of King Edward. Saint Edmond 
 has the soc, protection and servitude [i. e., the lord's legal 
 rights]. 7 pence of gelt [i.e., Dane-geld], but others hold 
 there. 
 
 Such were the census returns, made nearly eight hundred 
 years ago, of the place from which our good old name is 
 taken, and which on that account will always be of interest 
 to us. 
 
 It is curious to note the different ways which our fathers 
 had of spelling the name; and the same persons took little 
 or no care to write it uniformly. In those days they paid 
 scarcely any attention to what is now regarded as an im- 
 portant branch of education. Among the documents and 
 papers that I have had occasion to consult and use in the 
 preparation of this address, I find the word spelled in 
 twenty-three different ways; viz., Groton, Grotton, Groten, 
 Grotten, Grotin, Groatne, Groaton, Groatt.on, Groaten, 
 Grooton, Grorton, Grotonne, Grouten, Crouton, Grauton, 
 Grautten, Grawten, Grawton, Growtin, Growton, Groyton, 
 Groughton, and Croaton. 
 
 * Some idea of the condensed character of the entries in Domesday Book 
 may be gathered from the following transcript of the Latin beginning of the 
 account of Groton, in which the matter within the brackets is what the Norman 
 scrivener omitted: " Grotena[m] tfempore] r[egis] E[dvardi] tenfuit] S[anctus] 
 e[dmundus] p[ro] manferio]," etc. 
 
 t The carucate was a " plough land," and is variously set at from twelve to 
 one hundred acres.
 
 21 
 
 Dictionaries of our language were hardly known at that 
 time and there was no standard for spelling; and it seems 
 as if every one spelled according to his own feelings at the 
 moment. In many cases the odder the form, the better. 
 As an instance of orthographic license then prevalent, it is 
 said that there are sixty-five different modes in which the 
 name of Shakespeare was written. 
 
 Yonder river, familiar to us as the Nashua, is spoken of 
 in a record by Thomas Noyes, in 1659, as the Groaten 
 River, and is called so more than once. While this would 
 have gratified our local pride, I am not sorry that the name 
 Nashua was finally kept. It is to be regretted that so few 
 of the Indian words have been retained by us to designate 
 the rivers and the hills and other localities. However much 
 such words may have been twisted and distorted by Eng- 
 lish pronunciation and misapplication, they furnish us now 
 with one of the few links that connect us with prehistoric 
 times in America. The word Nashua,* in its fulness and 
 before it was clipped, meant the land between, and referred 
 to the tract on which Lancaster was settled, because it was 
 betzveen the branches of the river; the name, however, 
 was afterward transferred from the territory to the river 
 itself. 
 
 Among the earliest papers at the State House, relating 
 to the town, is a request for a brandmark. Joseph Parker 
 represents to the Governor and Magistrates, in a writing 
 dated May 31, 1666, that he has been chosen constable, 
 and asks that the letters GR or monogram, as we should 
 call it be recorded as the brandmark of the town. This 
 was wanted probably for marking cattle. " In answer to 
 this motion the Deputies approue of th e letters : GR to be 
 the brand marke of groaten." (Archives, i. 21.) 
 
 Very soon after the settlement of the town, there was a 
 complaint of improper management on the part of the pro- 
 prietors, and the General Court appointed a committee to 
 look into the matter. This committee visited the place, and 
 reported on " the entanglements that have obstructed the 
 
 * Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, ii. 33.
 
 22 
 
 planting thereof," giving at the same time their opinion 
 that there was land enough here to furnish subsistence by 
 husbandry to sixty families. When we consider that this 
 opinion was the result of deliberate calculation, on the part 
 of disinterested men, before the town was shorn of its 
 original dimensions, it shows the vanity of human prophecy, 
 and should serve as a warning to us all to abstain from 
 prediction in regard to a century hence. There are now 
 nearly ten thousand persons in the territory of the original 
 Groton Plantation, living mainly by the products of the 
 land. 
 
 For some years before the destruction of the town the 
 Indians began to threaten the inhabitants. They were 
 troublesome neighbors at best, and their movements re- 
 quired careful watching. Some of them were friendly, but 
 others were hostile and treacherous. They had already 
 acquired the taste for strong drink, and, on more than one 
 occasion, drunken brawls and rights, which ended in mur- 
 der, had taken place between them and the settlers. In 
 May, 1668, Captain Richard Waldron built a trucking or 
 trading house at Penacook, now Concord, New Hampshire, 
 where a few weeks afterward Thomas Dickinson was 
 murdered by an Indian ; and " rum did it." The affair 
 created great excitement, and it has been supposed that 
 the brawl prevented a settlement of the place at that time; 
 at any rate, none was made until 1726. A warrant was 
 issued to the constable of Groton to summon John Page, 
 Thomas Tarbell, Jr., Joseph Blood, and Robert Parish, all 
 of this town, to appear before the General Court at Boston 
 to give their testimony, which they did under oath. It 
 appeared from the evidence that there had been a drunken 
 row, and that Tohaunto, the chief, desired them, if they 
 had brought any liquor, to pour it on the ground; for, 
 said he, it will make the Indians " all one Divill." From 
 this it would seem that rum in those days was about the 
 same as it is now, no better and no worse, for it still 
 makes people all one devil. (Archives, xxx. 155, 157, 161.) 
 
 Many of the Indians had now been supplied with fire-
 
 23 
 
 arms, which made them bold and insolent, and it is not 
 strange that the natural tendency of events should have 
 been toward open hostilities. We can readily understand 
 how the fears of the colonists were excited when they 
 thought of their own helpless families and their exposed 
 situation. It betokened no cowardice to entertain this feel- 
 ing, and it was the part of wisdom to prepare for the worst. 
 At an early day there was a military organization in the 
 town, and we find the following order in the printed 
 Records of Massachusetts, passed October 15, 1673: 
 
 The millitary company of Groaten being distitut of military 
 officers, the Court judgeth it meet to choose & appoint James 
 Parker to be theire captaine, W m Lakin to be leiftennant, & 
 Nathaniel Lawrence to be their ensigne. 
 
 The thunder of the distant storm now began to be heard, 
 and the colonists were asking for protection. They little 
 thought that the lightning was to strike so soon and with 
 such fatal violence; but in the providence of God it was 
 thus ordained. 
 
 Captain Parker writes to Governor Leverett, under date 
 of August 25, 1675, tnat tne inhabitants " are in a very 
 great strait," and " are very much discouraged in their 
 spirits " ; that they want ammunition and twenty good 
 muskets for their pike men. The letter itself, with the 
 quaint expressions of two centuries ago, will give you a 
 better idea of their narrow circumstances than any ex- 
 tracts from it ; so I read it entire : 
 
 To the honoured John Leueret Esquir Gouernour of the Massechusets 
 Collony ar 
 
 Honoured Sir with the rest of your counsell I hau made 
 bold to en form your worships how the case stand with vs that 
 the Indians are aproachs near to vs our scouts hau discouerd 
 seuerall tracks very near the habitable parts of the town and 
 one Indian they discouered but escapt from them by Skulking 
 amongst the bushes and som of the Inhabitants of our town 
 haue heard them in the night singing and halloeing. which 
 doe determin to vs their great height of Insolency : we are in a
 
 24 
 
 very great strait here, our Inhabitants are very much discour- 
 aged in their spirits and theirby disenabled from their callings 
 I haue receiued 20 men from the worship fall Major Wellard 
 and Captain Mossells men to help secur our town, but notwith- 
 standing we are in a very weak capacity to defend ourselues 
 against the Insolency and potency of the enemy if they shold 
 apear in number and with that violenc that they did apear at 
 quabog [Brookfield] the which the good lord forbid if it be his 
 good pleasur, ' much honoured and respected the good lord 
 be with you In your consultations that you may vnderstand what 
 to doe for your new england Israeli at such a tim as this and in 
 perticuler ourselues and for our dear neighbours at Lancester 
 vpon whom the enemy haue made an Inroad 6 persons are 
 already found and buryed the 7 th which they doe expect is kild 
 is not as yet found you may be pleased to tak notice that we 
 shall want ammunition spedily by reason that we hau parted 
 with som to Cap 1 Mosselles men and som we spent in the fight 
 at quabog as also I hau suplyed the souldiers with amunition 
 that were sent .to me that was Imployed in the seruice they 
 hauing spent their ammunition If you could help vs with 20 
 good muskets for our pik men and I will return them again or 
 else giu a valluable price for them in such pay as we can pro- 
 duce among ourselues not else at present but leaue you to the 
 guidance of the God of heauen who is the only wise counsellor 
 and remaine y. 
 
 Your seruant to comaund in any seruice to my power 
 
 TAMES PARKER Cap* 
 from Groten 
 
 August 25 75 
 
 (Archives, Ixvii. 244.) 
 
 A few days before the date of this letter, Captain Samuel 
 Moseley writes " ffrom Nashowah Allies Lankester: i6 l . h 
 Augs* 1675," that, in accordance with instructions from 
 Major-General Etenison, he had sent " to Groatton : 12 : 
 men." 
 
 In those days there was no physician in town to offer his 
 professional skill to the government in its time of need; 
 and it was necessary to impress into the public service a 
 surgeon, as well as a horse and accoutrements, as we find 
 from the following order addressed
 
 25 
 
 To THE CONSTABLE OF BOSTON. 
 
 These Require you in his Maj*? 8 name forthwith to Im- 
 presse M r W m Haukins Chirurgeon : Imediately to prepare 
 himself w th materials as Chirurgeon & to dispatch to Marlboro, 
 to Cap* Mosely & attend his motion & souldiers at Groaten. or 
 elsewhere : for wch End you are also to Impresse an able horse 
 & furniture for him to Goe : w th the Post 
 
 dated at Boston 17 Augus* 1675 making Return hereof to 
 the Secret^ 
 
 By y e Council 
 
 (Archives, Ixvii. 239, 241, 252.) EDW - RAWSON Secret* 
 
 And the constable made the indorsement on the order 
 that Dr. Hawkins had been duly warned. 
 
 At this time Philip's War had begun, and open hostilities 
 had alarmed the inhabitants of the town. The Council 
 passed an order, September 8, 1675, that Cornet Thomas 
 Brattle and Lieutenant Thomas Henchman should take fifty 
 men, of which thirty were to come from Norfolk and 
 twenty from Middlesex, and place them in the garrisons 
 of Dunstable, Groton, and Lancaster, in such proportions 
 as they should deem expedient. They were to place them 
 " vnder the coffiand of the cheefe military officers of each 
 towne : giueing those officers direction : to joyne & lyst other 
 meet persons of their owne companyes with them, & order 
 them euery day to surraund the townes y e y are to secure; 
 & if they can to carry doggs with y m to search for & discouer 
 any enimy that may aproch nere such towne & at night to 
 repaire vnto such corps du gaurd, as are appointed to them 
 for the security of the s d place." (Archives, Ixvii. 252.) 
 
 About this time the question of withdrawing a consider- 
 able force from the garrisons seems to have been consid- 
 ered; but a protest against such action was drawn up and 
 signed by Simon Willard and three others, who were prob- 
 ably the officers in command. From the representation they 
 made, it is not likely that any troops were taken away. 
 
 In the autumn (October 27) of this year, the town was 
 assessed n los. as her rate to carry on the war; and, 
 when paid in money, one-quarter to be abated. 
 
 4
 
 26 
 
 The coming winter must have been a hard one for the 
 colonists, not only here but elsewhere throughout New 
 England. The Indians had burned some towns and threat- 
 ened others, and it was a season of distrust and despair. 
 The time was rapidly approaching for Groton to suffer; 
 and soon the stroke came. The inhabitants would have been 
 more than human if they had not felt despondent at the 
 hard fate that had now befallen them. They had seen their 
 houses and barns burned, and all the results of their labor 
 and thrift destroyed in a day. The little meeting-house, 
 rudely constructed but no less dear to them, was now a heap 
 of ashes. To-day its very site is unknown. Some words 
 of consolation, and exhortation to trust in the providence 
 of God, fell from the lips of their good pastor, Mr. Willard, 
 as they looked tearfully on their ruined homes. He had 
 been their guide and teacher during thirteen years; and 
 much that is interesting is known about him. 
 
 Samuel Willard was born at Concord, on January 31, 
 163940. He was the second son of Major Simon Willard, 
 late in life an inhabitant of this town, and he graduated at 
 Harvard College in the Class of 1659, being the only mem- 
 ber of the class who took his second degree. He came here 
 to succeed Mr. John Millef the first minister of the town, 
 who died on June I2> 1663. Mr. Willard began to preach 
 probably early in 1663, In that year, on the twenty-first of 
 some month, conjectured to be June, the words of the 
 records being so worn as to be illegible, it was voted 
 " that M r . Willard if he accept of it shall be their minester 
 as long as he Hues." Against this action there were five 
 , dissentient votes, which number constituted probably a fourth 
 part of all the voters; and they certainly were among the 
 principal and most influential inhabitants of the town. Mr. 
 Willard must have been a man of a good deal of character to 
 have been settled in spite of this opposition, but he seems to 
 have lived it down very successfully. His relations with the 
 people were always harmonious ; and his salary was gradu- 
 ally increased until it was double the original amount. The 
 first year of his ministry, it was fixed at forty pounds ; the
 
 27 
 
 second year, at fifty pounds ; the third and several successive 
 years, at sixty pounds ; and finally at eighty, part of it being 
 in country pay. This was the old expression for paying in 
 produce. And when the salary was voted, on October 14, 
 1672, it was reckoned at five shillings a bushel for wheat; 
 four shillings for rye, barley, and peas; with pork and 
 beef at threepence a pound ; " and all such as cannot pay 
 his third part of his pay in english corn and prouision they 
 shall pay In Indian corn at 2 shill p bushell and the re- 
 mainder of his pay In Indian Corn at 3 shill p bushell his 
 fire wood also aboue his eighty pound. And furder these 
 persons here set downe [Sergeant Parker and eleven others] 
 doe promise and Ingage to git Mr. Willard hay mowing 
 making and fetching home for eight shilling p load at a 
 seasonable time (viz.) in the midle of July." 
 
 In his day Mr. Willard was a scholar and writer of con- 
 siderable note, and even now would be considered such. 
 But little is known of his early life; and no church record 
 during his ministry in Groton is extant. Coming here in 
 the vigor of young manhood, at the age of twenty-three, 
 if we may judge him from the high position he after- 
 ward attained, it is fair to assume that he exerted a 
 strong influence in this neighborhood. It is probable that 
 his early experiences here fitted him for the places of honor 
 and dignity which he was subsequently called upon to fill. 
 A few weeks after his settlement, he married Abigail 
 Sherman, a daughter of the Reverend John Sherman, of 
 Watertown ; and, after her death, he married, as his second 
 wife, Eunice, daughter of Edward Tyng. He had a large 
 family of children, of whom five were born in this town. 
 One of his great-grandsons, Robert Treat Paine, was a 
 signer of the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 In the year 1673 Mr. Willard published a volume of 
 sermons entitled " Useful Instructions for a professing 
 People in Times of great Security and Degeneracy: de- 
 livered in several Sermons on Solemn Occasions." 
 
 It consists of three sermons, of which one was preached, 
 probably in the winter of 1671-2, on the occasion of a
 
 28 
 
 case of witchcraft that I shall mention shortly. It is evi- 
 dent, from a reference in the sermon, that the fame or 
 notoriety of the case had spread far from this town. Mr. 
 Willard says : " There is a voice in it to the whole Land, 
 but in a more especial manner to poor Grot on; it is not 
 a Judgement afar off, but it is near us, yea among us." 
 
 The book is inscribed, " To his Beloved Friends the 
 Inhabitants of Groton." Like all the publications of that 
 time, it is purely theological, and contains nothing now of 
 particular interest. If he had given us even a few lines 
 of town history, it would be now almost invaluable. We 
 look in vain through its pages for anything that throws 
 light on the manners and customs of the early settlers. We 
 do find, however, the modes and habits of thought that 
 were prevalent in those days; and with these we must be 
 content, for the sermons furnish nothing more. 
 
 In the year 1671 there occurred here a case of so-called 
 witchcraft, to which Mr. Willard gave much time and 
 thought. He wrote a very long letter (Collections, fourth 
 series, viii. 555) to Cotton Mather, describing the minutest 
 details in regard to the case, and Dr. Mather refers to it 
 in his " Magnalia Christi Americana." (Book vi. chapter 
 7, page 67.) The victim of the witchcraft was one Eliza- 
 beth Knap, who had the long train of symptoms which 
 then were usually ascribed to the personal influence of the 
 Evil One, but which nowadays would constitute a well- 
 marked case of hysteria. From an expression in Mr. 
 Willard's letter, we learn that the girl went to school in 
 his house, from which fact we infer that the minister of 
 the town was also a teacher of the children. At one time 
 on Sundays his dwelling was used as a meeting-house, and 
 at other times as a schoolhouse. Its exact locality is not 
 known to us, though it was in the present Main Street, near 
 the site of the High School building. From another ex- 
 pression in the letter, we learn there was " a great meadow 
 neere the house," which could be seen from one of the 
 windows in a lower room, undoubtedly referring to Broad 
 Meadow.
 
 29 
 
 The assault by the Indians on the town was followed by 
 the breaking up of the place and the scattering of its in- 
 habitants. Mr. Willard never returned to his pastorate. 
 Soon afterward he wans installed over the Old South Church in 
 Boston, as the colleague of the Reverend Thomas Thacher. 
 In the year 1701 he was chosen Vice-President of Harvard 
 College, which office he filled till his death, at the same time 
 performing the duties of minister of the Old South. His 
 connection with the College was really that of President, 
 although he was called the Vice-President. The distinction 
 was nominal rather than real. The President was obliged 
 by the rules to live at Cambridge, and this he was unwill- 
 ing to do; so he acted as such without the title. 
 
 As minister of the Old South, Mr. Willard baptized 
 Benjamin Franklin. The young philosopher was born 
 in Milk Street, directly opposite to the meeting-house, 
 whither he was taken to receive the sacrament of baptism 
 while yet his earthly pilgrimage was limited to a few hours 
 of time. 
 
 Mr. Willard's health began to fail, as he approached his 
 threescore years and ten, the period of life allotted by the 
 Psalmist, and he presided for the last time at the College 
 Commencement, in July, 1707. In August, the Governor 
 and Council were notified that he was not capable of doing 
 the work at Cambridge for another year. He died on 
 September 12, 1707. 
 
 Dr. Ebenezer . Pemberton, in his funeral sermon, says of 
 him that, " At first in his younger Years, his Master com- 
 mitted to his Pastoral Care a Flock in a more obscure part 
 of this Wilderness : But so great a Light was soon ob- 
 served thro' the whole Land : And his Lord did not design 
 to bury him in obscurity, but to place him in a more Emi- 
 nent station which he was qualified for " (p. 70). 
 
 Several printed accounts of Philip's War appeared very 
 soon after it was ended; and these furnish nearly all that 
 is known in regard to it. In those days there was no 
 special correspondent on the spot to get the news; and, as 
 the facilities for intercommunication were limited, these ac-
 
 30 
 
 counts differ somewhat in the details, but, taken as a whole, 
 they are fairly accurate. 
 
 It is recorded in the inventory of his estate on file in the 
 Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge that Timothy 
 Cooper, of Groton, was " Sleine by the Indians the Second 
 of march 1675-6." Cooper was an Englishman by birth 
 and lived, probably, somewhere between the present site 
 of the Baptist Meeting-house and the northerly end of 
 Farmers' Row. It is not known that there was other loss 
 of life in the assault of March 2, but the affair was seri- 
 ous enough to alarm the inhabitants. On March 9 the 
 savages again threatened the beleaguered town, and again 
 for the third time on March 13, when by a cunningly 
 contrived ambush they managed to entrap four men at 
 work, of whom one man was killed and one captured, while 
 the other two men escaped. Without much doubt John 
 Nutting was the one killed. During these three assaults 
 so many houses and barns were burned that the inhabitants 
 were left thoroughly disabled and without means of living. 
 The alternative now was to abandon the place, which soon 
 followed. 
 
 The loss of life or limb sustained by the English during 
 these attacks, fortunately, was not large. So far as is now 
 known, only two persons were killed and two wounded. 
 It is recorded, however, that John Morse, the town-clerk, 
 was carried off; but he did not remain long a prisoner. 
 Within a few months of his capture, he was ransomed by 
 Mr. John Hubbard, of Boston, who paid about five pounds 
 for his release. This sum was soon afterward reimbursed 
 to Mr. Hubbard by a vote of the Council. (Archives, 
 Ixix. 48.) 
 
 These contemporary accounts of the assault on the town 
 are all short, with the exception of Hubbard's; and I 
 purpose to give them, in the words of the writers, for 
 what they are worth. The first is from " A Brief History 
 of the Warr With the Indians in New-England," by In- 
 crease Mather, published in the year 1676. This account 
 probably the earliest in print is as follows :
 
 March the loth. Mischief was done, and several lives cut 
 off by the Indians this day, at Groton and at Sudbury. An 
 humbling Providence, inasmuch as many Churches were this 
 day Fasting and Praying (p. 23). 
 
 March 13. The Indians assaulted Groton, and left but few 
 houses standing. So that this day also another Candlestick was 
 removed out of its place. One of the first houses that the 
 Enemy destroyed in this place was the House of God, h.e. which 
 was built, and set apart for the celebration of the publick Wor- 
 ship of God. 
 
 When they had done that, they scoffed and blasphemed, and 
 came to Mr. Willard (the worthy Pastor of the Church there) 
 his house (which being Fortified, they attempted not to destroy 
 it) and tauntingly, said, What will you do for a house to pray 
 in now we have burnt your Meeting-house? Thus hath thd 
 Enemy done wickedly in the Sanctuary, they have burnt up 
 the Synagogues of God in the Land; they have cast fire into 
 the Sanctuary; they have cast down the dwelling place of his 
 name to the Ground. O God, hozv long shall the Adversary 
 reproach? shall the Enemy Blaspheme thy Name for ever? 
 why withdrawest thou thine hand, even thy right hand? pluck 
 it out of thy bosome (p. 24). 
 
 Several accounts of the war appeared in London in 1676, 
 only a few months after the destruction of this town. They 
 were written in New England, and sent to Old England, 
 where they were at once published in thin pamphlets. The 
 authors are now unknown, and they undoubtedly gathered 
 their matter from hearsay. At that time Indian affairs 
 in New England attracted a good deal of attention in the 
 mother country. One of these pamphlets is entitled " A 
 True Account of the most Considerable Occurrences that 
 have hapned in the Warre between the English and the 
 Indians in New England," " as it hath been communicated 
 by Letters to a Friend in London." 
 
 This account says that 
 
 On the 1 3th of March, before our Forces could return 
 towards our Parts, the Indians sent a strong Party, and as- 
 saulted the Town of Growton about forty Miles North-west 
 from Boston, and burn'd all the deserted Houses: the Gar-
 
 32 
 
 rison'd Houses, which were about ten, all escaped but one, 
 which they carryed, but not the English in it; for there was 
 but one slain and two wounded (p. 2). 
 
 Another account, entitled " A New and Further Narra- 
 tion of the State of New England, being a continued ac- 
 count of the Bloudy Indian-war," gives the following 
 version : 
 
 The 1 4th of March, the savage Enemy set upon a consider- 
 erable Town called Groughton, and burnt Major Wilberds 
 House first (who with his Family removed to Charts Town) and 
 afterwards destroyed sixty-five Dwelling-houses more there, 
 leaving but six Houses standing in the whole Town, which they 
 likewise furiously attempted to set on Fire ; But being fortified 
 with Arms and Men as Garrisons, they with their Shot, killed 
 several of the Enemy, and prevented so much of their Designe ; 
 Nor do we hear that any Person on our Side was here either 
 slain or taken Captive (p. 4). 
 
 A few pages further on, it says that " Granthatn and 
 Nashaway all ruined but one House or two" (p. 14). 
 Few persons would recognize this town under the disguise 
 of Grantham; and Nashaway is an old name for Lancaster. 
 
 Another one of these London pamphlets, bearing the title 
 of " News from New England," says, 
 
 The 7//z. of March following these bloody Indians march't 
 to a considerable Town called Croaton, where first they set Fire 
 to Major Willard's House, and afterwards burnt 65 more, there 
 being Seaventy two Houses at first, so that there was left stand-* 
 ing but six Houses of the whole Town (p. 4). 
 
 After these attacks, the town was deserted, and the 
 inhabitants scattered in various directions among their 
 friends and kindred. The war was soon ended; though 
 it was a tedious two years before the early pioneers ven- 
 tured back to their old homes, around which still clustered 
 many tender associations as well as sad memories. It is 
 recorded that other families came back with them. They 
 returned, however, to meet hardships that would have over- 
 come ordinary men. Several town-meetings were held to
 
 33 
 
 consider their present needs; and it was voted at one of 
 them to petition the General Court that they be relieved 
 temporarily from country charges. The petition sets forth 
 that, under Divine Providence, they had been great suf- 
 ferers in the late war with the heathenish enemy ; that they 
 had been subjected to grievous losses and privations; but, 
 at the same time, they expressed gratitude to their Heavenly 
 Father that they had the liberty and opportunity to return. 
 With the eye of faith they saw the hand of God in all 
 their trials. This consolation alone supported them, for 
 they knew that with Him on their side their troubles would 
 disappear, and all would yet be well. In their letters and 
 petitions, their humble trust in the providence of God is 
 conspicuous. It furnishes the key-note to many of their 
 actions that otherwise would seem unaccountable. In judg- 
 ing them, we should take the standard of their times and 
 not that of our day. The scales should be carefully ad- 
 justed to the habits of that period when there were no 
 public amusements, no popular reading in the shape of 
 books and newspapers, and but little relaxation from 
 toil. 
 
 In those early days there was no variety store, or trader's 
 shop, as now, where people could gather to while away long 
 evenings and to interchange opinions. The roads were so 
 rough as to be passable only with rude carts ; and carriages 
 at that period were a luxury unknown. The men rode to 
 meeting on horseback, with their wives seated behind them 
 on pillions. The woman made sure of her position by hold- 
 ing tight to the man with her right arm. This mode of 
 travel is supposed to have been popular with the young 
 folks, when they rode after this fashion. 
 
 At a very early period, the road to the Bay, as it was 
 called, that is, to Boston, was by the circuitous route 
 through Chelmsford and Billerica, where there was a bridge 
 built by several towns, of which Groton was one, and 
 supported jointly by them for many years. In the year 
 1699 the towns of Groton, Chelmsford, and Billerica were 
 engaged in a controversy about the proportion of expense 
 
 5
 
 34 
 
 which each one should bear in building the bridge. The 
 General Court settled the dispute by ordering this town to 
 pay twenty-four pounds and ten shillings as her share in 
 full, with no future liabilities. (Archives, cxxi. 99.) 
 
 The lives of our forefathers were one ceaseless struggle 
 for existence; and there was no time or opportunity to 
 cultivate those graces which we now consider so essential. 
 If they were stern and austere, they were at the same time 
 also virtuous and conscientious. Religion with them was 
 a living, ever-present power; and in that channel went out 
 all those energies which with us find outlet in many different 
 directions. These considerations should modify the opin- 
 ions commonly held in regard to the Puritan fathers. At 
 that period women were content with domestic duties, and 
 did not seek to take part in public affairs. It is wonderful 
 that no murmur has come down to us expressive of the 
 tyranny of man in withholding from them the rights 
 which are now so loudly claimed. 
 
 After Philip's War the Colonists were at peace with 
 the Indians, but it was a suspicious kind of peace. It re- 
 quired watching and a show of strength to keep it: there 
 was no good-will between the native race and the white 
 intruders. 
 
 Captain Francis Nicholson, writing from Boston to Lon- 
 don, under date of August 31, 1688, speaks of the feeling 
 here at that time. The letter is printed in " Documents 
 relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York " 
 (iii. 551) ; and the writer says: 
 
 Att night [August 19] I came to Dunstable (about 30 miles 
 from hence) from thence I sent two English men and an In- 
 dian to Penecooke about sixty miles up the river Merymeck; 
 the men told me they should be 3 dayes in doeing of it; soe 
 next day I went through Groton and Lancaster, where the 
 people were very much afraid (being out towns) butt I told 
 them as I did other places, that they should nott be soe much 
 cast down, for that they had the happinesse of being subjects 
 of a victorious King, who could protect them from all their 
 enemies.
 
 35 
 
 The military company of the town was still kept up, and 
 known as the Foot Company; and, during a part of the 
 year 1689, was supported by some cavalry, under the com- 
 mand of Captain Jacob Moore. James Parker, Sen., was 
 appointed the Captain of it ; Jonas Prescott, the Lieutenant ; 
 and John Lakin, the Ensign : and these appointments were 
 all confirmed by the Governor and Council, at a convention 
 held in Boston, July 17, 1689. A month later (August 10), 
 Captain Parker was ordered to supply Hezekiah Usher's 
 garrison at Nonacoicus with " three men of the men sent 
 up thither or of the Town's people, for y e defence of y* 
 Garrison being of publique concernmV Groton was one 
 of the four towns that were designated, August 29, as the 
 headquarters of the forces detached for the public service 
 against the common enemy; Casco, Newichewanick (Ber- 
 wick), and Haverhill being the others. And we find, soon 
 after, an order to send " to the head Quarter at Groton for 
 supply of the Garrison there One Thousan d weight of Bread, 
 One barrell of Salt, one barrell of powder three hundred 
 weight of Shott, and three hundred fflints, Six quire of 
 Paper." Eleven troopers were sent hither, September 17, 
 under Cornet John Chubbuck, to relieve Corporal White, 
 who was succeeded by John Pratt. The commissary of the 
 post at this time was Jonathan Remington, who seems to 
 have had but little duty to perform. Shortly afterward the 
 order came from the Governor and Council to discharge 
 him, as well as Captain Moore and his company of cavalry, 
 from the public service. (Archives, Ixxxi. 24, 40, 60, 67, 
 71, 73, 74, 81, 138.) 
 
 In the year 1690 "Jn Paige of Groten " went in the expe- 
 dition against Canada, under Major Wade; was wounded 
 in the left arm, and did not recover entirely for two years. 
 His surgeon's bill, amounting to four pounds, was paid 
 out of the public treasury. (Archives, xxxvii. 62.) 
 
 These facts show that the early settlers at this time were 
 not leading an easy life. The orders and counter-orders to 
 even the small garrison show too well that danger was 
 threatening. The inhabitants had already experienced the
 
 36 
 
 cruelty of savage warfare, and knew it to their horror. For 
 some years they had been on the constant alert, and held their 
 lives in their hands. King William's War was now begun. 
 The second attack on the town came in the summer of 1694; 
 and the accounts of it I prefer to give in the words of contem- 
 porary writers. Sometimes there are variations in such ac- 
 counts, but, as a whole, they constitute the best authority. 
 Cotton Mather, in his Magnalia, thus refers to it : 
 
 Nor did the Storm go over so : Some Drops of it fell upon 
 the Town of Groton, a Town that lay, one would think, far 
 enough off the Place where was the last Scene of the Tragedy. 
 On July 27. [1694] about break of Day Groton felt some sur- 
 prizing Blows from the Indian Hatchets. They began their 
 Attacks at the House of one Lieutenant Lakin, in the Out-skirts 
 of the Town; but met with a Repulse there, and lost one of 
 their Crew. Nevertheless, in other Parts of that Plantation, 
 (when the good People had been so tired out as to lay down 
 their Military Watch) there were more than Twenty Persons 
 killed, and more than a Dozen carried away. Mr. Gershom 
 Hobart, the Minister of the Place, with part of his Family, was 
 Remarkably preserved from falling into their Hands, when 
 they made themselves the Masters of his House ; though they 
 Took Two of his Children, whereof the one was Killed, and the 
 other some time after happily Rescued out of his Captivity. 
 (Book vii. page 86.) 
 
 Charlevoix, a French missionary in Canada, gives from 
 his own standpoint another version, as follows : 
 
 The Abenaqui chief was Taxous, already celebrated for 
 many exploits, and commendable attachment to our interests. 
 This brave man, not satisfied with what he had just so valiantly 
 achieved, chose forty of his most active men, and after three 
 days' march, by making a long circuit, arrived at the foot of a 
 fort [at Groton] near Boston, and attacked it in broad day. 
 The English made a better defence than they did at Pescadoue 
 [Piscataqua]. Taxous had two of his nephews killed by' his 
 side, and himself received more than a dozen musket balls in 
 his clothes, but he at last carried the place, and then continued 
 his ravages to the very doors of the capital. (History of New 
 France, iv. 257, Shea's edition.)
 
 37 
 
 The loss of life from this attack was considerably greater 
 than when the town was destroyed and deserted in the year 
 1676. There were twenty-two persons killed and thirteen 
 captured. The settlement was now more scattered than it 
 was then, and its defence more difficult. For this reason 
 more persons were killed and taken prisoners than when 
 the place was assaulted eighteen years previously. It is 
 said that the scalps of the unfortunate victims were given 
 to Count de Frontenac, Governor of Canada. Among those 
 killed were William Longley, his wife, and five of their 
 children; his eldest child, Lydia, a daughter of twenty, a 
 son named John, and Betty, a little girl who died soon 
 after her capture, were taken prisoners. These three of 
 his family escaped the fury of the savages and were spared. 
 Lydia's name is found in a list of prisoners who were held 
 in Canada, March 5, 1710-11. Within a few years past, 
 a Genealogical Dictionary of Canadian families has been 
 published, from which additional facts are gathered con- 
 cerning her. This work ( " Dictionnaire Genealogique des 
 Families Canadiennes," par 1'Abbe Cyprien Tanguay, i. 9) 
 gives her name as Lydia Madeleine Longley, and says that 
 she was the daughter of William and Deliverance (Crisp) 
 Longley, of Groton, where she was born, on April 12, 1674. 
 In another place (p. 396) she is spoken of as Sister St. 
 Madeleine. She was captured by the Abenaquis, a tribe 
 of Indians who inhabited the territory now included in the 
 State of Maine. She was baptized into the Roman Catholic 
 church, on April 24, 1696, and lived at the Congregation 
 of Notre Dame, in Montreal. She was buried on July 20, 
 
 1758. 
 
 Her middle name, Madeleine, was given to her doubtless 
 when she joined the Roman church. It is possible that 
 she may have lived for a time among the Indians, as many 
 of the prisoners taken at the same assault were held by 
 them. 
 
 John Longley was twelve years old when he was cap- 
 tured. He was carried away, and remained with the In- 
 dians for more than four years, a part of the time being
 
 38 
 
 spent in Canada, and the remainder in Maine. At length 
 he was ransomed, but he had become so accustomed to 
 savage life that he left it with great reluctance; and those 
 who brought him away were obliged to use force to ac- 
 complish their purpose. He was afterward a useful in- 
 habitant of the town, holding many offices of trust and 
 responsibility. 
 
 It is recorded also that two children of Alexander Rouse, 
 a near neighbor of Willliam Longley, were killed in this 
 assault of 1694. 
 
 Among the English captives at Quebec, redeemed by 
 Mathew Gary, in October, 1695, was Thomas Drew, of 
 Groton, and he probably was taken at this same assault. 
 (Archives, xxxviii. A 2.) There was one " Tamasin Rouce 
 of Grotten " received, January 17, 1698-9, on board the 
 " Province Gaily " at Casco Bay ; and she probably was 
 one of Alexander Rouse's family. She had, doubtless, been 
 a prisoner for four years and a half, the same length 
 of time as John Longley's captivity. There are many in- 
 stances of children who were kept for a long time by their 
 captors. We can now hardly realize the bitter anguish 
 felt by the parents over the loss of their little darlings. 
 Bring the case home, and think for a moment what your 
 feelings would be, if that curly-headed boy or smiling girl 
 was snatched from your sight at a moment's notice, and 
 carried off by the wild men of the woods for an uncertain 
 fate. The kidnapping of one little boy* in a distant city 
 in our times has caused the hearts of all the mothers in 
 the land to thrill with horror as they heard of the atro- 
 cious deed, and to throb in sympathy with the bereaved 
 parents. 
 
 In the year 1694 an Act was passed by the General 
 Court, which prohibited the desertion of frontier towns by 
 
 * This allusion to little Charley Ross prompted his father, Christian K. 
 Ross, of Philadelphia, a few months later to write me a note, under date of 
 December 5, 1876, in which he says: "While my family and self are kept 
 in terrible suspense with regard to the fate of our dear child it is pleasant to 
 know that so many persons truly sympathize with us in this great affliction."
 
 39 
 
 the inhabitants, unless permission was first granted by the 
 Governor and Council. There were eleven such towns, and 
 Groton was one of them. The law required the inhabitants 
 of these out-towns, who owned land or houses, to take out 
 a special license, on pain of forfeiting their property, before 
 they could quit their homes and live elsewhere. It was 
 thought that the interests of the Crown would be preju- 
 diced, and encouragement given to the enemy, if any of 
 these posts were deserted, or were exposed by lessening 
 their strength. Many towns were threatened by the Indians 
 about this time, and a few were attacked. It is recorded 
 that some of the settlers here left the town, and there was 
 probably a movement among the inhabitants in other places, 
 to do the same. This fact, undoubtedly, caused the enact- 
 ment of the law. 
 
 Anything relating to the brave men who suffered in the 
 Indian wars is now of interest to us, and I offer no apology 
 for giving incidents that to some persons may seem trivial. 
 
 Cotton Mather, in his Magnalia, mentions some instances 
 of " mortal wounds upon the English not proving mortal," 
 and gives the case of an inhabitant of this town, who was 
 in a garrison at Exeter, New Hampshire, when that place 
 was assaulted, July 4, 1690. He says that 
 
 it is true, that one Simon Stone being here Wounded with 
 Shot in Nine several places, lay for Dead, (as it was time!) 
 among the Dead. The Indians coming to Strip him, attempted 
 with Two several Blows of an Hatchet at his Neck to cut off 
 his Head, which Blows added, you may be sure, more Enor- 
 mous Wounds unto those Port-holes of Death, at which the 
 Life of the Poor Man was already running out as fast as it 
 could. Being charged hard by Lieutenant Bancroft, they left 
 the Man without Scalping him; and the English now coming 
 to Bury the Dead, one of the Soldiers perceived this poor Man 
 to fetch a Gasp ; whereupon an Irish Fellow then present, ad- 
 vised 'em to give him another Dab with an Hatchet, and so 
 Bury him with the rest. The English detesting this Barbarous 
 Advice, lifted up the Wounded Man, and poured a little Fair 
 Water into his Mouth at which he Coughed ; then they poured 
 a little Strong Water after it, at which he opened his Eyes.
 
 40 
 
 The Irish Fellow was ordered now to hale a Canoo ashore to 
 carry the Wounded Men up the River unto a Chirurgeon ; and 
 as Teague was foolishly pulling the Canoo ashore with the 
 Cock of his Gun, while he held the Muzzle in his Hand, his 
 Gun went off and broke his Arm, whereof he remains a Cripple 
 to this Day: But Simon Stone was thoroughly Cured, and is 
 at this Day a very Lusty Man ; and as he was Born with Two 
 Thumbs on one Hand, his Neighbours have thought him to have 
 at least as many Hearts as Thumbs! (Book vii. page 74.) 
 
 Many families trace back their line of descent to this same 
 Simon Stone, who was so hard to kill, and to whom, for- 
 tunately, the finishing " Dab with an Hatchet " was not 
 given. 
 
 Josiah Parker, of Cambridge, petitions the Governor and 
 General Court, May 31, 1699, setting forth the fact that 
 his brother, James Parker, Jr., and wife were both killed, 
 and several of their children taken prisoners by the Indians, 
 in the assault on Groton, in 1694. One of these children, 
 Phinehas by name, was redeemed after four years of cap- 
 tivity at the eastward, by the master of a vessel, who paid 
 six pounds for him. The uncle of the boy represents in the 
 petition that he himself had reimbursed the master, and 
 now wished that this sum be allowed him from the public 
 treasury, which request was duly granted. This poor little 
 orphan boy was only seven years old when carried off by 
 the savages, and the petition relates that he was lame in 
 one of his legs, as a result of the cruelty by his captors. 
 (Archives, Ixx. 401.) 
 
 It was probably during the attack of 1694 that Enosh 
 Lawrence was wounded. He represented, in a petition to 
 the Governor and Council, that he was a very poor man 
 by reason of wounds in his hands received during a fight 
 with the Indians in the former war, which almost wholly 
 disabled him from earning a livelihood for himself and 
 family. In consequence of these representations the House 
 of Representatives allowed him, October 17, 1702, exemp- 
 tion from taxes, and an annual pension of three pounds 
 during life. (Archives, Ixx. 583.)
 
 41 
 
 On January 21, 1695, Governor William Stoughton issued 
 a proclamation, in which he refers to the " tragical outrages 
 and barbarous murders " at Oyster River (now Durham, 
 New Hampshire) and Groton. He says that several of 
 the prisoners taken at these places " are now detained by 
 the said Indians at Amarascoggin [Androscoggin] and 
 other adjoining places." (Documents relating to the Colo- 
 nial History of New York, ix. 613, 614.) 
 
 Cotton Mather says that one man was killed here in 1697, 
 and that another, with two children, was carried into captiv- 
 ity. The prisoner was Stephen Holden, who was captured, 
 with his two eldest boys, John, and Stephen, Jr. John was 
 released in January, 1699, at which time the father and the 
 other boy were yet remaining in the hands of the savages. 
 It was not long, however, before they too were freed ; for, 
 in the following June, the House of Representatives voted 
 three pounds and twelve shillings for the expenses incurred 
 in bringing them back. (Archives, Ixx. 393-400.) 
 
 After these attacks there was a short respite of hostili- 
 ties, which continued till 1704, when the frontier towns 
 were again exposed to savage warfare; and this town suf- 
 fered with the others. 
 
 Samuel Penhallow, in " The History of the Wars of 
 New-England," published in 1726, thus refers to the attack 
 on this place, in August, 1704: 
 
 [The Indians] afterwards fell on Lancaster, and Groaton, 
 where they did some Spoil, but not what they expected, for that 
 these Towns were seasonably strengthened. . . . 
 
 And yet a little while after they fell on Groaton, and Nasha- 
 way [Lancaster], where they kill'd Lieut. Wyler [Wilder], and 
 several more (pp. 24, 25). 
 
 A party of Indians, about thirty in number, made their 
 appearance in town, and killed a man on the night of Oc- 
 tober 25, 1704. Pursuit was at once made for them, but 
 it was unsuccessful. 
 
 "The Boston News-Letter," No. 28, October 30, 1704, 
 gives the following account of the affair: 
 
 6
 
 4 2 
 
 On Wednesday night an English man was kill'd in the Woods 
 at Groton by the Indians which were afterwards descryed in 
 the night by the Light of their Fires, by a Person Travailing 
 from Groton to Lancaster, and judged they might be about 
 Thirty in number; pursuit was made after them, but none 
 could be found. 
 
 It is known that the man killed was John Davis, and 
 that he lived where W. Dickson's house stood when the 
 map in Mr. Butler's History was made; and Davis's Ford- 
 way in the river near by, named after him, is still remem- 
 bered by a few elderly people of that neighborhood. 
 
 It is not surprising that the inhabitants, upon the re- 
 newal of hostilities, were obliged to ask for help from the 
 General Court. They had already suffered much in loss 
 of life and property, and were little able to bear new bur- 
 dens. They represented to the Governor that they had 
 been greatly impoverished by the destruction of their cattle, 
 and of corn and hay, and that they were scarcely able to 
 hold out much longer; but the crowning calamity of all 
 was the illness of the minister, Mr. Hobart, which prevented 
 him from preaching. Their means were so limited that 
 they could not support him and supply his place besides. 
 They were obliged to earn their living at the peril of their 
 lives; and some were thinking of leaving the town. They 
 spent so much time in watching and guarding, that they 
 seemed to be soldiers rather than farmers. Under these 
 discouraging circumstances they asked for help, and were 
 allowed out of the public treasury twenty pounds, to assist 
 them in procuring another minister, besides ten pounds to 
 be divided among those who were the greatest sufferers in 
 the late attack upon them. (Archives, cxiii. 391, and Ixxi. 
 107, 1 08.) 
 
 Two years later, another assault was made on the town, 
 though with but little damage. I again quote from 
 Penhallow : 
 
 [July 21, 1706.] Several Strokes were afterwards made 
 on Chelmsford, Sudbury and Groton, where three Soldiers as
 
 43 
 
 they were going to publick Worship, were way-laid by a 
 small Party, who kill'd two, and made the other a Prisoner 
 (P- 36). 
 
 A few additional particulars of these " strokes " are 
 found in the Reverend John Pike's Journal, as printed in 
 the Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
 for September, 1875, page 143, under this entry: 
 
 July 21, 1706. Sab: 2 souldiers slain, & one carried away 
 by the enemy at Groton. They were all new-Cambridge [New- 
 ton] men, & were returned to their Post from one Bloods house, 
 who had invited y m to Dinner. 
 
 The Reverend Jonathan Homer, in his History of New- 
 ton, as published in the Massachusetts Historical Collections 
 (v. 273), gives the names of these men as John Myrick, 
 Nathaniel Healy, and Ebenezer Seger, and says they were 
 all three killed by the Indians. This statement, however, 
 is inaccurate, as John Myrick was not one of the three 
 soldiers, and furthermore he was alive after this date. 
 From contemporary petitions on file among the State Ar- 
 chives (Ixxi. 345, 419), it is clear that two of these men 
 were brothers by the name of Seager, and the third man 
 was Nathaniel Healy. It was Ebenezer Seager, who was 
 killed, and Henry, Jr., taken prisoner. 
 
 Penhallow gives several instances of extreme cruelty to 
 the prisoners on the part of the savages, and mentions the 
 following case of a man who was captured in this town : 
 
 A third was of Samuel Butterfield, who being sent to Groton 
 as a Soldier, was with others attackt, as they were gathering 
 in the Harvest; his bravery was such, that he kill'd one and 
 wounded another, but being overpower'd by strength, was 
 forc'd to submit; and it hapned that the slain Indian was a 
 Sagamore, and of great dexterity in War, which caused matter 
 of Lamentation, and enrag'd them to such degree that they 
 vow'd the utmost revenge ; Some were for whipping him to 
 Death ; others for burning him alive ; but differing in their 
 Sentiments, they submitted the Issue to the Squaw Widow, 
 concluding she would determine something very dreadful, but
 
 44 
 
 when the matter was opened, and the Fact considered, her 
 Spirits were so moderate as to make no other reply, than, For- 
 tune L'gnare. Upon which some were uneasy ; to whom she 
 answered, // by kiting him, you can bring my Husband to life 
 again, I beg you to study what Death you please; but if not 
 let him be my Servant; which he accordingly was, during his 
 Captivity, and had favour shewn him (pp. 38, 39). 
 
 Butterfield remained a captive for more than a year. 
 It is not known how he obtained his release. We find his 
 petition to the General Court, dated April 10, 1706, which 
 sets forth the fact that he was an inhabitant of Chelmsford, 
 and was sent by Captain Jerathmel Bowers to Groton, to 
 help Colonel Taylor, in August, 1704, when the enemy 
 came upon the place. He was ordered, with some others, 
 to guard a man at work in the field, when the Indians at- 
 tacked them, killed one, and captured another besides him- 
 self. Butterfield represents, in the petition, that he " made 
 all the resistance possible, killed one, and knockt down two 
 more after they had seized him, for which yo ? Petitioner 
 was cruelly used by them afterwards & threatened to be 
 burnt, several times." He says that he " was very well 
 accoutred in all respects when he was taken, and then was 
 stript of all and was between fourteen and fifteen months 
 a Captive expos'd to great hardships, and has sustained 
 great Loss and damage." In consideration of his loss and 
 service, he was allowed the sum of ten pounds out of the 
 public treasury. (Archives, Ixxi. 195.) 
 
 A man was killed here, June n, 1707. His name was 
 Brown, and he is spoken of in Pike's Journal as Mr. Brad- 
 street's man. At this time the Reverend Dudley Bradstreet 
 was the minister of the town. 
 
 In a list of prisoners in the hands of the French and In- 
 dians at Canada, March 5, 1710-11, we find the names of 
 " Zech? Tarbal John Tarbal Sarah Tarbal Matt. Farnworth 
 [and] Lydia Longley," all of Groton, though there is noth- 
 ing in the record to show when they were captured. (Ar- 
 chives, Ixxi. 765.) In the spring of 1739, the capture of 
 the Tarbell boys is spoken of as occurring " above thirty
 
 45 
 
 Years ago," and it is said that Zechariah was so young at 
 the time that he lost his native language. The town records 
 show that he was born January 25, 1700, and John, July 6, 
 1695. Sarah Tarbell was a sister of the boys, and was 
 taken at the same time with them. I have been unable to 
 find out what became of her, as all tradition on this point 
 is lost. The history of the two brothers is a very singular 
 one, and sounds more like fiction than truth. They were 
 sons of Thomas Tarbell, who had a large family of children 
 and lived on what is now known as Farmers' Row, a short 
 distance south of the Lawrence farm. He was probably 
 the " Corp Tarboll," who commanded, in the autumn of 
 1711, one of the eighteen garrisons in the town. The two 
 boys were picking cherries early one evening, so tradition 
 relates, and were taken by the Indians on June 20, 1 707, 
 before they had time to get down from the tree. It should 
 be borne in mind that the date of capture, according to the 
 new style of reckoning, was July I, when cherries would 
 be ripe enough to tempt the appetite of climbing youngsters. 
 They were carried to Canada, where, it would seem, they 
 were treated kindly. Matthias Farnsworth was taken in 
 August, 1704, and Lydia Longley, in July, 1694; and dur- 
 ing their captivity they both joined the Roman Catholic 
 church and never returned to their native land. 
 
 In the year 1713 John Stoddard and John Williams were 
 appointed by Governor Joseph Dudley, to go to Quebec and 
 treat with the Governor-General of Canada for the release 
 of the New England prisoners. They were accompanied by 
 Thomas Tarbell, an elder brother of the boys, as we 
 find his petition presented to the House of Representatives, 
 June i, 1715, "praying consideration and allowance for 
 his Time and Expences in going to Canada, with Major 
 Stoddard & Mr. Williams, Anno 1713. to recover the 
 Captives." 
 
 The petition was referred, and, on the next day, 
 
 Capt. Noyes from the Committee for Petitions, made Re- 
 port on the Petition of Thomas Tarboll, viz. That they are of 
 Opinion that nothing is due from the Province to the said Tar-
 
 4 6 
 
 boll, since he proceeded as a Volunteer in that Service to Can- 
 ada, & not imployed by the Government, but recommended him 
 to the favour of the House. 
 
 The report was accepted, and, in consideration of Tar- 
 bell's services, he was allowed ten pounds out of the public 
 treasury. Captain Stoddard's " Journal " of the negotia- 
 tions is printed in " The New England Historical and 
 Genealogical Register," for January, 1851 (v. 26), and 
 Tarbell's name is mentioned in it. 
 
 We find no further trace of these boys, now grown up 
 to manhood, for nearly twenty-five years, when Governor 
 Belcher brought their case, April 20, 1739, before the Coun- 
 cil and the House of Representatives. He then made a 
 speech in which he said that 
 
 There are lately come from Canada some Persons that were 
 taken by the Indians from Groton above thirty Years ago, ivho 
 (its believed) may be induced to return into this Province, on 
 your giving them some proper Encouragement: If this Matter 
 might be effected, I should think it would be not only an Act of 
 Compassion in order to reclaim them from their Savage Life, 
 and to recover them from the Errors and Delusions of the Rom- 
 ish Faith; but their living among us might, in Time to come, 
 be of great Advantage to the Province. 
 
 The subject was referred the same day to a Committee 
 consisting of John Read, of Boston, William Fairfield, of 
 Wenham, Thomas Wells, of Deerfield, Benjamin Browne, 
 of Salem, and Job Almy, of Tiverton. On the next day, 
 April 21, as we read in the printed Journal of the House 
 of Representatives, the chairman of 
 
 the Committee appointed to consider that Paragraph in His 
 Excellency's SPEECH relating to the Encouragement of two 
 English Captives from Canada, viz. John Tharbell and Zecha- 
 riah Tharbell, made report thereon, which he read in his Place, 
 and then delivered it at the Table; and after some debate 
 thereon, the House did not accept the Report ; and having con- 
 sidered the same Article by Article, the House came into a Vote 
 thereon, and sent the same up to the honourable Board for 
 Concurrence.
 
 47 
 
 On the 23d we find 
 
 A Petition of Thomas Tharbell of Groton, Elder Brother of 
 the two Mr. Tharbells lately returned from Captivity in Canada, 
 praying he may be allowed the Loan of some Money to enable 
 him to pay William Rogers, jun. his Account of Charges in 
 bringing his Brethren to Boston. Read and Ordered, That the 
 Petition be considered to morrow morning. 
 
 On the next day 
 
 THE House pass'd a Vote on the Petition of Thomas Thar- 
 bell of Groton, praying as entred the 23d current, and 
 sent the same up to the honourable Board for Concurrence. 
 
 All these efforts, however, to reclaim the two men from 
 savage life proved unavailing; for it is known that they 
 remained with the Indians and became naturalized, if I may 
 use the expression. They married Indian wives, and were 
 afterward made chiefs at Caughnawaga and St. Regis, vil- 
 lages in Canada. Their descendants are still living among 
 the Indians, and the Tarbells of the present day, in this 
 town, are their collateral kindred. Nearly forty years after 
 their capture, Governor Hutchinson met them in New York 
 State, and refers to them thus : 
 
 I saw at Albany two or three men, in the year 1744, who 
 came in with the Indians to trade, and who had been taken at 
 Groton in this, that is called Queen Ann's war. One of them 
 
 Tarbell, was said to be one of the wealthiest of the Cag- 
 
 nawaga tribe. He made a visit in his Indian dress and with his 
 Indian complexion (for by means of grease and paints but 
 little difference could be discerned) to his relations at Groton, 
 but had no inclination to remain there. (Hutchinson's His- 
 tory of Massachusetts, ii. 139.) 
 
 This is another account : 
 
 It is related that, about a century and a half ago, while a 
 couple of boys and a girl were playing in a barn at Groton, Mas- 
 sachusetts, some Indians suddenly appeared, seized the boys 
 and fled, carrying them to the village of Caughnawaga, nine 
 miles above Montreal. They grew up with Indian habits, man-
 
 4 8 
 
 ners, and language, being finally adopted as members of the 
 tribe; and married Indian brides selected from the daughters 
 of the principal chiefs. ("The Galaxy," for January, 1870, 
 p. 124.) 
 
 I have been told that the name " Caughnawaga " is a cor- 
 ruption of Kaknawaka, which in the Indian tongue means 
 " The Rapids." 
 
 The people must have lived in constant dread of the In- 
 dians during the period of Queen Anne's War. Sometimes 
 an outlying farmhouse was attacked and burned, some of 
 the inmates killed and others carried away in captivity; 
 sometimes the farmer was shot down while at labor in the 
 field, or while going or coming. This was the fate of John 
 Shattuck and his eldest son, John, a young man eighteen 
 years of age, who were killed on May 8, 1709. 
 
 At another time, the date of which is not recorded, but 
 probably in the attack of July, 1694, the house of John 
 Shepley was burned, and himself and all his family were 
 massacred, except his young son, John. There may have 
 been some special spite against him, because some years 
 before he had killed an Indian; for which act he received 
 from the General Court a bounty of four pounds. (Archives, 
 xxx. 496, 497.) This boy John the savages carried away 
 with them and held as captive during several years. But 
 as is often said, where there is great loss, there is some 
 little gain. The knowledge which he obtained of their lan- 
 guage and customs while a prisoner was of much use to him 
 in dealing with them in after-life. Tradition relates that, 
 when buying furs and skins of the Indians, he used to put 
 his foot in one scale of the balance instead of a pound 
 weight. He is the direct ancestor of the Honorable Ether 
 Shepley, formerly Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of 
 the State of Maine, and of General George F. Shepley, now 
 a Justice of the Circuit Court of the First Circuit of the 
 United States. 
 
 Near the end of Queen Anne's War, we find a list of 
 eighteen garrisons in this town containing, in all, fifty-eight 
 families, or three hundred and seventy-eight souls. Of
 
 49 
 
 these, seventeen were soldiers in the public service. (Ar- 
 chives, Ixxi. 874.) 
 
 The military company posted here in the summer of 
 1724 was made up of soldiers from different towns in 
 this part of the Province, and was commanded by Lieutenant 
 Jabez Fairbanks. Some of them were detailed as guards 
 to protect the more exposed garrisons, and others were 
 scouting in the neighborhood. They were so scattered that 
 the commanding officer found it difficult to drill them as 
 a company. Fortunately, however, they were not engaged 
 in much righting, though the enemy had been lurking in 
 the vicinity, and threatening the town. Thirteen of Lieu- 
 tenant Fairbanks' s company belonged here, and represented 
 some of the most influential families in the place. 
 
 Penhallow, in speaking of the Indians at this period, says 
 that, 
 
 The next damage they did, was at Groton, but were so 
 closely pursued, that they left several of their Packs behind 
 (p. 102). 
 
 In this paragraph he alludes to the killing of John Ames, 
 on July 9, 1724, who was shot by an Indian, one of a small 
 party that attacked Ames's garrison, near the Nashua River, 
 in the northerly part of the town which comes now in 
 Pepperell. It is said that he was the last person killed by 
 an Indian within the township. The Indian himself was 
 immediately afterward shot by Jacob Ames, one of John's 
 sons. (Archives, Hi. 23.) 
 
 Governor Saltonstall, of Connecticut, writes from New 
 London, under date of July 23, 1724, that the friendly In- 
 dians of that neighborhood seem inclined to hunt for scalps 
 about Monadnock and the further side of Dunstable and 
 Groton. This was owing to an offer made about this time 
 by the Provincial authorities of Massachusetts and New 
 Hampshire, of a bounty of a hundred pounds for every 
 Indian's scalp taken and shown to the proper officers. This 
 premium stimulated volunteers to scour the wilderness for 
 the purpose of hunting Indians, and Captain John Love- 
 
 7
 
 well, of Dunstable,* organized a company, which soon be- 
 came famous. 
 
 The story of Lovewell's fight was for a long time told in 
 every household in this neighborhood, and there is scarcely 
 a person who has not heard from early infancy the particu- 
 lars of that eventful conflict. It was in the spring of the 
 year 1725 that Captain Lovewell, with thirty-four men, 
 fought a famous Indian chief, named Paugus, at the head 
 of about eighty savages, near the shores of a pond in 
 Pequawket, now within the limits of Fryeburg, Maine. 
 Of this little Spartan band, seven belonged in Groton; and 
 one of them, John Chamberlain by name, distinguished 
 himself by killing the Indian leader. It is fit that a bare 
 reference to this fight should be made on this occasion, 
 though time does not allow me to dwell upon it. 
 
 The town, now no longer on the frontiers, was again 
 threatened with danger near the end of King George's war. 
 A company of thirty-two men, under the command of Cap- 
 tain Thomas Tarbell, scouted in this vicinity for six days in 
 July, 1748, but they do not appear to have discovered the 
 enemy. A few days afterward, another company of thirty- 
 six men was sent on a similar expedition, but with no better 
 success. In the rolls of these two companies we find many 
 names that have been prominent in the annals of the town 
 from its very beginning. Among them are the Prescotts, 
 the Ameses, the Bancrofts, the Shepleys, the Parkers, a son 
 of Parson Bradstreet, and a grandson of Parson Hobart. 
 
 The military service of Groton men was not confined to 
 this neighborhood. Daniel Farmer, a Groton soldier, was 
 taken prisoner in a skirmish with the Indians, near Fort 
 Dummer, on July 14, 1748. He was carried to Canada 
 and kept till the following October, when he was allowed 
 to return home. 
 
 * The Dunstable of early times is not identical with the present town of 
 that name in this State, though situated in the same neighborhood. Old 
 Dunstable was a very large township, containing 128,000 acres of land lying 
 on both sides of the Merrimack. By the running of the new Provincial line, 
 A. D. 1741, it was so cut in two that by far the larger part of her territory came 
 within the jurisdiction of New Hampshire. For fuller details, see pp. 129, 130.
 
 Fort Dummer was situated on the west bank of the 
 Connecticut River, in the present town of Brattleborough, 
 Vermont. Two of its early commanders had been con- 
 nected with Groton by the ties of kindred. Colonel Josiah 
 Willard, in command of the fort for many years, was a 
 grandson of Parson Willard ; and he was succeeded in com- 
 mand by Lieutenant Dudley Bradstreet, a son of Parson 
 Bradstreet, and a native of this place. 
 
 Ebenezer Farnsworth, born in Groton, was captured on 
 August 30, 1754, by the St. Francis Indians, at Charles- 
 town, New Hampshire. He was taken to Montreal and 
 held a prisoner during three years. His ransom was paid 
 in the summer of 1755, but he was not then set at liberty. 
 Mrs. Johnson and her sister, Miriam Willard, were taken 
 at the same time. They were both daughters of Moses 
 Willard, who had formerly lived in the south part of this 
 town. 
 
 During the French and Indian War, the territory of 
 Acadia, or Nova Scotia, fell under British authority; and 
 the conquest was followed by a terrible act of cruelty and 
 violence. The simple Acadians, unsuspicious of the de- 
 signs of the English leaders, were assembled in their 
 churches, in obedience to military proclamation, and thence, 
 without being allowed to return to their homes, were driven 
 at the point of the bayonet on board ships, to be scattered 
 over all the English colonies in America. This was done 
 with so little regard to humanity that, in many instances, 
 wives were separated from husbands, and children from 
 parents, never to see one another again. Many an Evange- 
 line waited in vain expectation of being reunited to her 
 Gabriel, thus torn away from her. Two of these French 
 families, ten persons in all, were sent to Groton, where one 
 of the mothers died, not many months after her arrival, 
 perhaps from the rude transplanting. A few years later 
 a French family perhaps one of these two is men- 
 tioned as living here ; but the household had become divided, 
 some of the little children being sent to the neighboring 
 towns. Our pity for these unfortunate people will be
 
 stronger when we reflect that they were miserably poor, 
 among a race who spoke a strange language, followed other 
 customs, and abominated their religion. Under these cir- 
 cumstances their homesickness must indeed have been bitter ; 
 but we have reason to believe that they were treated with 
 tender care by the people here. We are glad to learn from 
 the records that they were furnished with medical attend- 
 ance, and articles necessary for their bodily comfort. 
 
 Another struggle was now impending, harder than any 
 the Colonists had been engaged in. Almost immediately 
 
 Stamp and Counter-stamp 
 1765. 
 
 after the French and Indian War, the odious Stamp Act 
 was passed, which did much to hasten public opinion toward 
 the Revolution. 
 
 I hold in my hand a stamp issued under the authority of 
 this Act. On a public occasion, many years ago, Mr. 
 Everett said, in speaking of a similar one, that " this bit 
 of dingy blue paper, stamped with the two-and-sixpence 
 sterling, created the United States of America, ahd cost 
 Great Britain the brightest jewel in her crown." 
 
 The Stamp Act was followed by the Boston Massacre, 
 the Boston Tea Party, and the Boston Port Bill, all too 
 familiar to be particularized. These acts excited through- 
 out the land a deep feeling for the capital of New England. 
 The eyes of all the colonies were now turned toward Bos- 
 ton, and she received the hearty sympathy of the whole 
 country. The sentiments of the people of this town are
 
 53 
 
 shown in the following letter from the Town Clerk, which 
 is printed in the Massachusetts Historical Collections ( fourth 
 series, iv. 7, 8) : 
 
 GROTON, June 28th, 1774. 
 
 GENTLEMEN, The inhabitants of the Town of Groton, in 
 general, are deeply affected with a sense of our public calami- 
 ties, and more especially the distresses of our brethren in the 
 Capital of the Province, as we esteem the act of blocking up the 
 harbor of Boston replete with injustice and cruelty, and evi- 
 dently designed to compel the inhabitants thereof to submis- 
 sion of taxes imposed upon them without their consent, and 
 threatens the total destruction of the liberties of all British 
 America. We ardently desire a happy union with Great Britain 
 and the Colonies, and shall gladly adopt every measure con- 
 sistent with the dignity and safety of British subjects for that 
 purpose. 
 
 In full confidence that the inhabitants of the Town of Boston 
 will, in general, exhibit examples of patience, fortitude and 
 perseverance, while they are called to endure this oppression 
 for the preservation of the liberties of their country, and in 
 token of our willingness to afford all suitable relief to them in 
 our power, a number of the inhabitants of this Town have sub- 
 scribed, and this day sent forty bushels of grain, part rye and 
 part Indian corn, to be delivered to the Overseers of the Poor 
 of said Town of Boston, not doubting but the same will be 
 suitably applied for that purpose; and we earnestly desire you 
 will use your utmost endeavor to prevent and avoid all mobs, 
 riots, and tumults, and the insulting of private persons and 
 property. And while the farmers are cheerfully resigning part 
 of their substance for your relief, we trust the merchants will 
 not oppress them by raising upon the goods which they have 
 now on hand and heretofore purchased. And may God prosper 
 every undertaking which tends to the salvation of the people. 
 
 We are, gentlemen, your friends and fellow-countrymen. In 
 the name and by order of the Committee of Correspondence for 
 the Town of Groton. 
 
 OLIVER PRESCOTT, Clerk. 
 To THE OVERSEERS OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON. 
 
 The reply, printed in the same volume of Collections, is 
 as follows :
 
 54 
 
 BOSTON, July 5th, 1774. 
 
 SIR, Your obliging letter directed to the Overseers of the 
 Poor of this Town, together with a generous present from a 
 number of the inhabitants of the Town of Groton, for the relief 
 of such inhabitants of this Town as may be sufferers by the 
 Port Bill, is come to hand. In behalf of the Committee of this 
 Town, appointed for the reception of such kind donations, I 
 am now to return to you and the rest of our benefactors the 
 most sincere thanks. The gentlemen may be assured their 
 donations will be applied to the purpose they intend. We are 
 much obliged to you for the wise cautions given in your letter ; 
 and we shall use our best endeavors that the inhabitants of this 
 Town may endure their sufferings with dignity, that the glori- 
 ous cause for which they suffer may not be reproached. We 
 trust that the non-consumption agreement, which we hear is 
 making progress in the country, will put it out of the power 
 of any of the merchants to take unreasonable advantage of 
 raising the prices of their goods. You will, however, remember 
 that many heavy articles, such as nails, &c., will be attended 
 with considerable charge in transporting them from Salem. As 
 the bearer is in haste, I must conclude, with great regard for 
 your Committee of Correspondence and the inhabitants of the 
 Town of Groton. 
 
 Sir, your friend and fellow-countryman, 
 Signed by order of the Overseers of the Poor, 
 
 SAM. PARTRIDGE. 
 
 To THE COMMITTEE OF THE TOWN OF GROTON, 
 IN MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 The times that tried men's souls were now rapidly ap- 
 proaching-; and the rights of the Colonies were the 
 uppermost subject in the minds of most people. Groton 
 sympathized warmly with this feeling, and prepared to do 
 her part in the struggle. A considerable number of her 
 inhabitants had received their military schooling in the 
 French war, as their fathers before them had received 
 theirs in the Indian war. Such persons did not now enter 
 upon camp life as inexperienced or undisciplined soldiers. 
 The town had men willing to serve and able to command. 
 Within a quarter of a mile of this very spot the man was 
 born, who commanded the American forces on Bunker Hill ;
 
 '55 
 
 and, as long as the story of that battle is told, the name 
 of Prescott will be familiar.* 
 
 Before the beginning of actual hostilities, two companies 
 of minute-men had been organized in this place ; and, at the 
 desire of the officers, on February 21, 1775, the Reverend 
 Samuel Webster, of Temple, New Hampshire, preached a 
 sermon before them, which was afterward printed. It is 
 there stated that a large majority of the town had engaged 
 to hold themselves, agreeably to the plan of the Provincial 
 Council, in prompt readiness to act in the service of their 
 country. The sermon is singularly meagre in details which 
 would interest us at this time, and is made up largely of 
 theological opinion, perhaps as valuable now as then, though 
 not so highly prized. 
 
 At this period the Reverend Samuel Dana was the min- 
 ister of the town, but, unfortunately for him, he was too 
 much in sympathy with the Crown in the great struggle 
 now going on for human rights. Mr. Dana may not have 
 been a Tory; but he did not espouse the cause of the 
 Revolution. The state of public feeling was such that 
 everybody was distrusted who was not on the side of polit- 
 ical liberty. The people said, " He who is not for us is 
 against us " ; and the confidence of his flock was converted 
 into distrust. It was easy to see that his influence was 
 gone; and almost every minister in New England who 
 held similar opinions shared the same fate. It was im- 
 portant that the public teacher and preacher should be in 
 sympathy with the popular mind on the great political 
 questions of the day. This was a period of big events; 
 and no man could stand against their crushing force. It 
 was evident that his usefulness was ended; and the rela- 
 tions between him and his parish were severed without the 
 intervention of a regular ecclesiastical council. 
 
 Mr. Dana was a conscientious man; and it was his mis- 
 fortune rather than his fault, that he was not more happily 
 
 * On the night of May 21, 1775, t^ e countersign at the camp in Cambridge 
 was " Pepperell," and the parole, " Groton." This was undoubtedly in compli- 
 ment to Colonel Prescott.
 
 56 
 
 situated in regard to his people. It is but justice to his 
 memory to say that, after Burgoyne's surrender, in the 
 year 1777, Mr. Dana felt that the Colonial cause was the 
 winning one; while before this event he thought that the 
 want of success on the part of the Colonists would result 
 in their greater misery. He then became satisfied that the 
 power of the country was sufficient to sustain the Declara- 
 tion of Independence; and ever after he was the uniform 
 supporter of all measures looking to its acknowledgment by 
 the enemy. It is a little remarkable that Mr. Dana, who 
 had such a Tory bias that he was obliged to leave the min- 
 istry in Groton, should have been a candidate in 1782 for 
 the convention to form a constitution for New Hampshire, 
 " as a sovereign and independent body politic." 
 
 After his dismissal from the parish, he officiated during 
 perhaps a year and a half, in 1780 and 1781, as the minister 
 of a Presbyterian society, which had a short existence in 
 this town. This was owing chiefly to some of his old 
 parishioners, who were dissatisfied with Dr. Chaplin, his 
 successor. While living here, Mr. Dana was appointed ex- 
 ecutor of the will of John Bulkley, Esq., an attorney-at-law 
 in Groton. This position brought him in contact with a 
 library, which he used in studying law, though now with 
 no professional eye to business. In the year 1779 Thomas 
 Coleman, who succeeded Mr. Bulkley as a lawyer, had his 
 residence and office in Mr. Dana's house; and this circum- 
 stance helped him in gaining his new profession. He was 
 admitted to the bar in 1781, and began practice at Am- 
 herst, New Hampshire. He soon attained high rank in his 
 new calling, and received many marks of kindness and 
 confidence from his neighbors and fellow-citizens. He was 
 offered the appointment to a judgeship of the Inferior 
 Court of Common Pleas, which he declined. He afterward 
 accepted the office of Judge of Probate, which he kept only 
 for a short time. His success as an advocate before a jury 
 was marked; and this was due in part to the fluency of 
 speech and the clearness of expression resulting from his 
 pulpit experience.
 
 57 
 
 He died at Amherst, on April 2, 1798, and was buried 
 with masonic honors, when the Honorable Timothy Bige- 
 low, of Groton, delivered a funeral eulogy, which is in 
 print. His name is perpetuated in this town by the Dana 
 School. 
 
 During several days before the Battle of Lexington, a 
 hostile incursion by the English soldiers stationed in Boston 
 was expected by the patriots. Its aim was the destruction 
 of stores collected for the use of the Provincial cause; and 
 on this account every movement of the British troops was 
 closely watched. At this time the Committees of Safety 
 and of Supplies voted that some of the stores should be 
 kept at Groton; and, if their plan had been fully carried 
 out, it is among the possibilities of the war that another 
 battle might have been fought in Middlesex County, and 
 Groton have been the scene of the action. But open hos- 
 tilities began so soon afterward that no time was given 
 to make the removal of the stores. It was ordered by these 
 committees, April 17, that the four six-pounders be trans- 
 ported from Concord to Groton, and put under the care 
 of Colonel Oliver Prescott. On the next day it was voted 
 that all the ammunition should be deposited in nine dif- 
 ferent towns of the Province, of which Groton was one, 
 and that one-half of the musket cartridges be removed from 
 Stow to Groton. It was also voted that two " medicinal " 
 chests should be kept at different places in the town, and 
 that eleven hundred tents be deposited in equal quantities 
 in Groton and six other towns. (See Journals of the 
 Committee of Safety and of the Committee of Supplies 
 of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, 1774-1775, 
 pp. 516-518.) 
 
 In the summer of 1777 the Council of the State recom- 
 mended to the Board of War that the magazine in this town 
 should be enlarged sufficiently to hold five hundred barrels 
 of powder. This recommendation was carried out within 
 a few days ; and a corporal and four privates were detailed 
 to guard it. A caution was given " that no person be in- 
 listed into said Guard that is not known to be attached to 
 
 8
 
 58 
 
 the American Cause." Later in the autumn, the detail was 
 increased to a sergeant and nine privates. (Archives, clxxiii. 
 274, 290, 549.) 
 
 Two years afterward some glass was wanted for this 
 very building, and for the schoolhouse, as the windows 
 were much broken. The selectmen of the town could obtain 
 the glass only through the Board of War; and to this end 
 they petitioned the Board for leave to buy it. (Archives, 
 clxxv. 647.) The request was duly granted; and I men- 
 tion it as a trivial fact to show one of the little privations 
 common in those days. 
 
 It is said in a note-book of the Reverend Dr. Jeremy 
 Belknap, of Boston, printed in the Proceedings of the 
 Massachusetts Historical Society for June, 1875, page 93, 
 that a negro belonging to this town shot Major Pitcairn 
 through the head, while he was rallying the dispersed British 
 troops, at the Battle of Bunker Hill. It is known that Pit- 
 cairn was killed by a negro, but this is, perhaps, the first 
 time that he has ever been connected on good authority 
 with Groton. The loss of life from this town at that battle 
 was larger than that from any other place. One commis- 
 sioned officer and ten enlisted men, residents of Groton, 
 were either killed or mortally wounded. This statement 
 shows the patriotic character of the citizens at that period. 
 
 The record of this town during the Revolution was a 
 highly honorable one. Her soldiers achieved distinction in 
 the field, and many of them in after-life filled positions of 
 trust and responsibility. 
 
 In the year 1776 an Act was passed removing the No- 
 vember term of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace 
 and Court of Common Pleas, from Charlestown to Groton. 
 It may be conjectured that the change was owing to the 
 disturbances of the war. Two years later, by another Act, 
 this November term was transferred to Cambridge, to take 
 the place of the May term, which in turn was brought to 
 Groton, where it remained till 1787. It is known that the 
 sessions of the Court were held in this meeting-house where 
 we are now assembled; and the Court was sitting here
 
 '59 
 
 during the famous dark day of May, 1780. It is highly 
 probable that the Shays Rebellion, which broke out in the 
 summer of 1786, had some connection with the removal of 
 these sessions from Groton. The uprising in Middlesex 
 County was confined exclusively to this neighborhood, and 
 the insurgents always felt a bitter spite against the Court 
 of Common Pleas, which they tried so hard to abolish. The 
 action of the Legislature in making the change seems to 
 have been in part retributive. 
 
 In his senior year Joseph Dennie, the poet, was rusti- 
 cated from college and placed under the care of Dr. Chap- 
 lin, the minister of this town. Dennie used to say that he 
 was sent away from Cambridge to let his class catch up 
 with him in their studies. After he had been here a short 
 time, under date of February 24, 1790, he writes to a class- 
 mate, giving his impressions of the place. He says : " A 
 better, more royal, social club of Lads cannot be found in 
 America, college excepted, than at Groton." 
 
 During a part of the first half of the present century, 
 Groton had one characteristic feature that it no longer pos- 
 sesses. It was a radiating centre for different lines of 
 stage-coaches, until this mode of travel was superseded by 
 the swifter one of the railway. A whole generation has 
 passed away since the old coaches were wont to be seen in 
 these streets. They were drawn usually by four horses, and 
 in bad going by six. Here a change of coaches, horses, and 
 drivers was made. 
 
 The stage-driver of former times belonged to a class of 
 men that have entirely disappeared from this community. 
 His position was one of considerable responsibility. This 
 important personage was well known along his route, and 
 his opinions were always quoted with respect. I easily 
 recall, as many of you can, the familiar face of Aaron 
 Corey, who drove the accommodation stage to Boston for 
 so many years. He was a careful and skilful driver, and 
 a man of most obliging disposition. He would go out of 
 his way to do an errand or leave a newspaper; but his 
 specialty was to look after women and children committed
 
 6o 
 
 to his charge. I remember on one occasion when Mr. Corey 
 went out of his customary course, and drove up to a house 
 standing by the wayside; and with an elderly woman who 
 came to the door he left a message that the baby was better. 
 What a weight of sorrow these few words of good cheer, 
 before the time of telegraphs, lifted from the heart of an 
 anxious grandmother! I recall, too, with pleasure, Horace 
 George, another driver, popular with all the boys, because 
 in sleighing-time he would let us ride on the rack behind, 
 and would even slacken the speed of his horses so as to 
 allow us to catch hold of the straps. 
 
 The earliest line of stage-coaches between Boston and 
 Groton is advertised in the " Columbian Centinel " (Bos- 
 ton), April 6, 1793, under the heading of " New Line of 
 Stages." 
 
 In the year 1802 it is advertised that the Groton stage 
 would set off from I. & S. Wheelock's, No. 37 Marlboro' 
 (now a part of Washington) Street, Boston, every Wednes- 
 day at 4 o'clock in the morning, and arrive at Groton at 3 
 o'clock in the afternoon; and that it would leave Groton 
 every Monday at 4 o'clock in the morning, and arrive in 
 Boston at 6 o'clock in the afternoon. It seems from this 
 that it took three hours longer to make the trip down to 
 Boston than up to Groton. In the succeeding year a semi- 
 weekly line is mentioned, and Dearborn Emerson was the 
 driver. About this time he opened the tavern, at the corner 
 of Main and Pleasant Streets, though Pleasant Street was 
 not then laid out, long since given up as an inn, and 
 subsequently burned. There were then two other taverns 
 in the place, the one kept by the Hall brothers, and con- 
 tinued as a tavern till this time; and the other kept by 
 Jephthah Richardson, on the present site of the Baptist 
 meeting-house. About the year 1807 there was a tri- 
 weekly line of stages to Boston, and as early as 1820 a 
 daily line, which connected here with others extending into 
 New Hampshire and Vermont. Soon after this there were 
 at times two lines to Boston, running in opposition to each 
 other, one known as the Union and Accommodation
 
 6i 
 
 Line, and the other as the Telegraph and Despatch. Be- 
 sides these, there was the accommodation stage-coach that 
 went three times a week, and took passengers at a dollar 
 each. 
 
 In the year 1830 George Flint had a line to Nashua, 
 and John Holt had one to Fitchburg. They advertise 
 " that no pains shall be spared to accommodate those who 
 shall favor them with their custom, and all business in- 
 trusted to their care will be faithfully attended to." 
 
 There was also at this time a coach running to Lowell, 
 and another to Worcester; and previously one to Am- 
 herst, New Hampshire. 
 
 Some of you will remember the scenes of life and ac- 
 tivity that were to be witnessed in the village on the arrival 
 and departure of the stages. Some of you will remember, 
 too, the loud snap of the whip which gave increased speed 
 to the horses, as they dashed up in approved style to the 
 stopping-place, where the loungers were collected to see the 
 travellers and listen to the gossip that fell from their lips. 
 There were no telegraphs then, and but few railroads in 
 the country. The papers did not gather the news so eagerly 
 nor spread it abroad so promptly as they do now, and items 
 of intelligence were carried largely by word of mouth. But 
 those days have long since passed. There are persons in 
 this audience that have reached years of maturity, who have 
 no recollection of them; but such is the rapid flight of 
 time that, to some of us, they seem very near. 
 
 Groton was situated on one of the main thoroughfares 
 leading from Boston to the northern country, comprising 
 an important part of New Hampshire and Vermont, and 
 extending into Canada. It was traversed by a great num- 
 ber of wagons, drawn by four or six horses, carrying to the 
 city the various products of the country, such as grain, 
 pork, butter, cheese, eggs, venison, hides; and returning 
 with goods found in the city, such as molasses, sugar, New 
 England rum, coffee, tea, nails, iron, cloths, and the in- 
 numerable articles found in the country stores, to be dis- 
 tributed among the towns above here. In some seasons
 
 62 
 
 it was no uncommon sight to see in one day thirty such 
 wagons. 
 
 We are now in our history passing through a period of 
 centennial anniversaries, and we shall do well to study care- 
 fully their lesson. They are appearing unto us at differ- 
 ent times and in different places. Their proper observance 
 will kindle anew the patriotic fires of the Revolution, and 
 bring out all over the land a common devotion to the 
 Republic. 
 
 Time rolls on rapidly, and a century is soon completed. 
 There are many in this audience who will see those that 
 will be living a hundred years hence. To look ahead, a 
 century appears to be a long period; but, to look back to 
 the extent of one's memory, it seems a short one. The 
 years fly on wings, and change is a law of Nature. I can 
 recall now but two families in the village, that are living 
 in the same houses which they occupied in my boyhood; 
 and those two are Mr. Dix's and Mr. Blanchard's. A 
 familiar sight at that time was the venerable form of Mr. 
 Butler, whose character was well shown in his benignant 
 face. His accurate History will be an abiding monument 
 to his memory, and his name will be cherished as long as 
 the town has a political existence. At that time the Com- 
 mon was the playground of the boys, it had not then 
 been fenced in, and there was but a single row of elms 
 along the main street. Of the boys that played there, many 
 are dead, others have left the town, and only a few re- 
 main. And the same can be said of the school-girls. 
 
 The lines are fallen unto us in pleasant places, and we all 
 have much to be thankful for. What a contrast between 
 our lot and that of our fathers ! They had to struggle with 
 many hardships. Their life was one of stern, unremitting 
 toil, surrounded by cares and anxieties. They had to subdue 
 the wilderness, while exposed to the assaults of a lurking 
 savage foe. We, on the other hand, now enjoy much of 
 the material results of their labor. We have but to cast 
 our eyes about us, and see the comfortable homes and 
 fertile fields. They left us the means of religious instruc-
 
 63 
 
 tion, a system of public schools, and an attachment to the 
 government which they labored so hard in founding. All 
 these they placed in our keeping, and it rests with us to 
 preserve them intact for the generations to come. The 
 duty with us now is to see that the Republic shall receive 
 no harm ; to see that no moral decay the sure precursor 
 of physical decay shall sap the structure which they 
 reared. Our aim should be to leave to our children an 
 example as noble as the one that was left to us.
 
 The three monuments dedicated on this occasion bore the 
 following inscriptions : 
 
 NEAR THIS SPOT 
 STOOD THE FIRST MEETING HOUSE OF GROTON 
 
 BUILT IN 1666 
 
 AND BURNT BY THE INDIANS 
 
 13 MARCH 1676 
 
 HERE DWELT 
 
 WILLIAM AND DELIVERANCE LONGLEY 
 
 WITH THEIR EIGHT CHILDREN. 
 ON THE 27TH OF JULY 1694 
 
 THE INDIANS KILLED THE FATHER AND MOTHER 
 
 AND FIVE OF THE CHILDREN 
 
 AND CARRIED INTO CAPTIVITY 
 
 THE OTHER THREE. 
 
 COLONEL WILLIAM PRESCOTT 
 
 COMMANDER OF THE AMERICAN FORCES 
 
 AT THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 
 
 WAS BORN ON THE 2OTH OF FEBRUARY 1726 
 
 IN A HOUSE WHICH STOOD 
 
 NEAR THIS SPOT
 
 AN 
 
 HISTORICAL ADDRESS 
 
 FEBRUARY 20, 1880 
 
 AT THE DEDICATION OF THREE MONUMENTS ERECTED 
 BY THE TOWN
 
 TO 
 
 of ttje CljilDren 
 
 CAPTURED DURING THE INDIAN WARS AND CARRIED OFF 
 
 FROM GROTON, OF WHOM 
 
 SOME MADE HOMES WITH THEIR CAPTORS WHERE THEY 
 
 LIVED AND DIED, WHILE OTHERS CAME BACK TO 
 
 THEIR NATIVE TOWN AND FILLED PLACES 
 
 OF HONOR AND USEFULNESS
 
 HISTORICAL ADDRESS 
 
 IT is the duty of every community to commemorate the 
 great deeds and to perpetuate the important events connected 
 with its history. The town of Groton is performing that 
 duty when she erects the monuments which we dedicate to- 
 day. These stones are set up to the pious memory of the 
 founders of the town, who worshipped God in that rude and 
 humble meeting-house so soon to be destroyed by the In- 
 dians; to the sad memory of that unfortunate family who 
 on their own threshold were massacred by the savages ; and 
 to the honored memory of a military commander, who was 
 the ancestor as well as the descendant of a long line of dis- 
 tinguished and useful families. 
 
 There were not many places in the Massachusetts Colony 
 settled earlier than this good old town; but old as she is, 
 she is yet too young to forget her children. With motherly 
 affection she watches their career and notes their deeds. It 
 matters not when they lived or when they died, their names 
 are still remembered at the old home. It matters not whether 
 they achieved distinction, as the world goes, or whether they 
 pursued the even tenor of their way in quiet paths, their 
 memory is equally dear in the family circle. Connected with 
 some of them are certain local incidents of historical interest 
 which deserve to enter into the thoughts of future genera- 
 tions. And I submit that it is sound public policy to mark 
 the spots so closely associated with such events. It is an act 
 in memory of the dead, for the benefit of the living. It is 
 a debt due from the present to the past, and the town cheer- 
 fully recognizes the obligation. With us and those who fol- 
 low us, these monuments will mean veneration for the virtues 
 of the early settlers, sympathy for their misfortunes, and an 
 appreciation of their noble deeds.
 
 The pioneer Puritans aimed at establishing a Christian 
 Commonwealth on this continent ; and the General Court, in 
 granting plantations or townships, often required that there 
 should be a sufficient number of settlers to support a minister. 
 Every man was obliged to pay his share of the cost, and no 
 one seemed inclined to question the right of such an obliga- 
 tion. Groton was incorporated as a town, on May 25, 1655, 
 and in the grant the General Court expressed the desire that 
 it should be laid out "with all Convenient speede that so 
 no Incouragement may be wanting to the Peticone r s for a 
 speedy procuring of a godly minister amongst them." Vari- 
 ous circumstances conspired to hinder the growth of the new 
 settlement, and, much to the disappointment of the peti- 
 tioners doubtless, it was some years before a minister was 
 settled. The very first entry in the earliest book of town 
 records known as " The Indian Roll " refers to the 
 building of a house for the minister and the place for the 
 meeting-house. It is as follows : 
 
 Att a generall towne meet [ing,] June. 23. 1662. 
 
 It was agreed vppon that the house for the Minister should be 
 set vppon the place where it is now framinge. 
 
 Also that the meetinge house shall be sett vpon the right hand 
 of the path by a smale whit Oak, marked at the souwest side 
 with two notches & a blaze 
 
 It is very likely that the minister's house was built about 
 this time, as it was then in the framing; but the meeting- 
 house was not erected until four years afterward. The 
 dwelling stood near the site of the present High School, and 
 for several years the inhabitants met in it for worship on 
 Sundays. It was a good-sized building; for it was used as 
 a town-hall and schoolhouse as well as a meeting-house, and 
 subsequently, at the outbreak of Philip's War, as a garrison- 
 house, when it was in the possession of Parson Willard. 
 
 The exact spot where the meeting-house stood cannot now 
 be ascertained, but its neighborhood is well known. The 
 nearest clew to the site is found in the following entry in 
 " The Indian Roll " :
 
 The Record of y e landes granted to M r gershom hubard at a 
 ginrall town meeting June 29 1678 viz all the common land that 
 lye neare the place wheir the old meeting house stood Dunstable 
 hye way runing thorow it and the hye way Runing into the cap- 
 tains land wheir it may be Judged most convenient by them that 
 are to lay it out 
 
 This record would place the site very near to the North 
 Common, and nowhere else. As the meeting-house was 
 " sett on the right hand of the path," it must have stood on 
 land now owned by Governor Boutwell. The principal roads 
 met here or near this place, and it was the most convenient 
 spot that could have been chosen. There were at that time 
 probably not more than fifty families living in the town ; of 
 these, perhaps fifteen were in the immediate neighborhood, 
 and the others were scattered widely apart, mostly on the 
 road to the Bay, as the road to Boston was called, and on the 
 Lancaster highway. These were the two principal thorough- 
 fares of that early period, and they converged to a point near 
 the meeting-house. 
 
 The circumstantial evidence in the case goes also to con- 
 firm this view in regard to the site. At a town meeting held 
 March 5, 1665-66, it was voted that a pound should be built 
 for the town's use, and be placed near the meeting-house. 
 Unfortunately, the leaf of the original record containing 
 this vote is now lost; but it was seen and examined by Mr. 
 Butler, who quotes it in his History of the town (p. 41). 
 At this time the meeting-house was not built, but the place 
 for it had been selected. There is no reason to suppose that 
 the site of the pound was ever changed until within compar- 
 atively modern times ; and there are many in this audience 
 who remember the identical spot where it formerly stood, 
 which was near the North Common. 
 
 Shortly after the re-settlement of the town, subsequent to 
 its burning by the Indians, the usual discussion took place 
 about choosing the site of the meeting-house, which always 
 occurs in every small community. It was not peculiar to 
 this town nor to that time, but is common to-day, here and 
 elsewhere. On June 8, 1680, it was voted
 
 72 
 
 that the meeting house shall stand wheir the other meeting 
 house or some wheir their about. 
 
 This second meeting-house is known to have stood on the 
 Middle Common, near the Chaplin Schoolhouse; and this 
 would be in accordance with the vote that it should be on the 
 old site, or " some wheir their about." 
 
 The next allusion to church affairs, found in the public 
 records, is the following : 
 
 At a generall Towne meeting. March 18. 1663. It was gener- 
 al [ly] agreed, as folloeth 
 
 first. That Mr Millar is by the Consent of the Towne ma[ni]- 
 fested by vote to be desired if God moue his hart there unto to 
 continve still with vs for our further edificatfion.] Richard 
 Blood desents from this in regard of the time of o r desiring him. 
 w c he would have to be after the gen : Court. 
 
 2 ! .y That Mr Miller shall haue a Twenty Acar lot layd out to 
 him acording to the Townes grant to him 
 
 This vote gives the name of the first minister of Groton, 
 and contains the only reference to him now found in the 
 town records. The inhabitants little thought at the time 
 that he would be called upon so soon to render the account 
 of his stewardship on earth. In three short months after the 
 town had invited him to continue with them as their friend 
 and pastor, his labors ceased, and he went to take his reward. 
 In the first return of deaths, made by the town clerk of 
 Groton to the clerk of the courts, the record of his death is 
 thus given : 
 
 M r Jn? Miller minister of Gods holy word died. June 12^ 
 1663. 
 
 In the church records of Roxbury, kept at that time by 
 the Reverend Samuel Dan forth, and containing references 
 to events throughout New England, it is written that 
 
 June. 14. [1663.] M r John Miller Preacher of y e Gospell at 
 Groyton, somtime Pastor to y e church at Yarmouth rested fro 
 his labours. 
 
 It will be seen that the date of his death in these two rec- 
 ords differs by two days, but the one given by the town clerk
 
 73 
 
 is probably correct. As the pioneer preacher of the town 
 when it was yet a wilderness, Mr. Miller deserves more than 
 a passing notice. 
 
 The Reverend John Miller graduated at Gonvil and Caius 
 College, Cambridge, England, in the year 1627, and came to 
 this country in 1637. He lived for a short time in Roxbury, 
 where he was one of the elders in Eliot's church. He was 
 settled in the ministry at Rowley, from the year 1639 to 
 1641, and perhaps later, as an assistant to the Reverend 
 Ezekiel Rogers ; and during this time he filled the office of 
 town clerk. He was made a freeman of Massachusetts, May 
 22, 1639. In the autumn of 1641, he was waited on by mes- 
 sengers from Woburn, who desired his services for their 
 church ; but they found " Mr. Roggers loth to part with 
 him." 
 
 Johnson, in his " Wonder- Working Providence of Sion's 
 Saviour, in New England," refers to him both in prose and 
 in verse. The following is a specimen of the poetry : 
 
 With courage bold Miller through Seas doth venter, 
 
 To toyl it out in the great Western wast, 
 Thy stature low one object high doth center; 
 
 Higher than Heaven thy faith on Christ is plac't: 
 
 (Chap. XI. p. 131.) 
 
 In the year 1642 letters were received from Virginia set- 
 ting forth the great need of ministers in that distant colony. 
 The communications were treated with much formality and 
 gravity, and were read publicly on a lecture-day. In view of 
 the statements made in the letters, the elders appointed a 
 time for their special consideration; and the legislature 
 voted that, if the churches consent, the magistrates would 
 recommend the missionaries to the government of Virginia. 
 After careful deliberation, Mr. Miller was appointed with 
 two other ministers ; but he was forced to decline the invi- 
 tation, on account of bodily infirmities. 
 
 Mr. Miller's name appears in the list of grantees of New- 
 bury, December 7, 1642. A lot of land in Rowley was 
 granted him in January, 1643-44, which indicates that his 
 ministry may have still continued in that town. From Row-
 
 74 
 
 ley he moved to Yarmouth, where he was the settled minis- 
 ter, though the exact date of his removal is not known. 
 His daughter, Susannah, was born at Yarmouth, May 2, 
 1647; an d he undoubtedly was living there at this time. 
 He was probably the Mr. John Miller who was made a free- 
 man of Plymouth Colony June I, 1658. In the summer of 
 1662 he was a member of the council that convened at Barn- 
 stable to consider the case of John Smith and others who had 
 seceded from the Barnstable church. It is not known exactly 
 when Mr. Miller came to Groton; but probably some time 
 during 1662, as in that year the town voted to build a house 
 for the minister. 
 
 His wife, Lydia, had previously died in Boston, August 
 7, 1658, leaving a large family of children, one of whom, 
 John, was born in England. Mr. Miller was a man of de- 
 cided literary attainments, and a devoted servant of Christ. 
 
 In less than ten days after Mr. Miller's death the town 
 voted to invite the Reverend Samuel Willard to be their 
 minister. The vote was as follows : 
 
 [Ju]ne 21 [i6]63 Its agreed by the Towne & manifested by 
 vote that M? Willard if he accept of it shall be their minester as 
 long as he Hues w c M r Willard accepts Except a manifest provi- 
 denc of God apears to take him off 
 
 These persons folloing doe desent from this former vot. Rich- 
 ard. Sawtell. Samuell Woods. James Parker : John Nutting 
 James ffiske 
 
 Its agreed by the major part of the Towne that M? Willard 
 shall haue their interest in the house &. lands that was devoted 
 by the Towne for the minestry suckcessively. provided they may 
 meete in the house on the lords day &. vpon other ocasions of 
 the Towne on metings. And these persons ffollowing desent 
 from their act 
 
 James Parker Ric. Sawtell Willia Longley John nutting 
 Tho. Tarbole. Jun. 
 
 Richard Blood and John Clary att present 
 
 James ffiske. John longley. Joh laran[ce] Joseph laranc. 
 
 It was then the custom throughout the Colony to settle 
 a minister for life ; and it was not supposed that a town could 
 prosper without a regular pastor, which accounts for the
 
 75 
 
 promptness in choosing Mr. Willard. He was a recent 
 graduate of Harvard College, and was just entering upon 
 his chosen profession. At the outset there was some oppo- 
 sition to him on the part of a few men, but this subsequently 
 disappeared. It reached its height in the course of a few 
 weeks, when there was much asking of mutual forgiveness, 
 as may be inferred from the records, which are in part de- 
 stroyed, though enough remains to show this fact. The im- 
 perfect records read thus : 
 
 [Date torn off.] 
 
 ... to excercise am ... all Edification in the ways . . . 
 glory & o r owne everlasting goo . . . vs And further desiring 
 y e Lord to . . . what hath been herein any way off [ensive] vnto 
 him and to help euery one of vs to forg[et] & forgiue what hath 
 been any way offensiue [to] each other as we desire the Lord 
 to forgiue vs 
 
 The opposers, to whom the dissension was due, may have 
 thought that he was too young and ill-suited to lead a flock 
 amid the dangers and hardships of frontier life. Their 
 fears, however, proved groundless: he showed himself on 
 all occasions to be equal to the emergency, and in after-life 
 attained a high degree of distinction. At the next meeting 
 his salary was agreed upon as follows : 
 
 [Sept.] 10 i : It is agreed by y e Consent of the Towne & 
 manifested by vote that Mr Willard shall haue for this year 
 forty pounds and if God be pleased so to despose of his & our 
 hearts to continue together after the expiration of the yeare 
 (w[e] hope) by o r aproving of him & he of vs we shall we shall 
 [sic] be willing to ad vnto his maintenanc as [God] shall blesse 
 vs. expecting allso that he shall render vnto our pouerty if God 
 shall please to deny a blessing vpon our labours 
 
 2. It is agreed & voted his yeare shall begin the first day of 
 July last past. 
 
 It would seem from this vote that Mr. Willard entered 
 upon the cares and duties of his ministerial life on the first 
 day of July, 1663, on ^y three weeks after Mr. Miller's death. 
 It is probable that the minister's house at this time was fin- 
 ished, and Mr. Willard living in it, and preaching there on
 
 7 6 
 
 Sundays. Not unlikely in pleasant weather he would stand 
 in the doorway and exhort his hearers outside ; and when it 
 was stormy they would crowd inside, listening with the same 
 attention. We can imagine how it would try the patience of 
 a good housekeeper to do the necessary cleaning after such a 
 promiscuous gathering. At that time Mr. Willard had not 
 entered upon those matrimonial relations which he took upon 
 himself soon afterward, and there was consequently no Mrs. 
 Willard to look after the minister's house and keep it in 
 order. In this emergency the town passed the following 
 vote : 
 
 Sep. 21 63 It is agreed by y e Towne w th John Nuttin & voted 
 that he the said John shall keepe cleane the meeting house this 
 ye[ar] or cause it to be kept cleene & for his labour he is to 
 h[ave] fourteen shillings 
 
 In the mean time Mr. Willard was giving satisfaction to 
 the town, all opposition to him having apparently ceased. 
 Although there had been preaching here for two years, it 
 would seem, from an entry in the Roxbury church records, 
 that a church had not been regularly established. It is as 
 follows : 
 
 July. 13. [1664.] A church gathered at Groyton & Mr Wil- 
 lard ordained 
 
 The distinction is purely technical, and relates solely to 
 matters of ecclesiastical government and congregational 
 polity. The Puritans laid great stress on questions of this 
 kind, and until a church was gathered the seals or sacra- 
 ments could not be administered. During these two years 
 of preaching the Lord's Supper was never celebrated, and 
 children were taken elsewhere to be baptized. This would 
 make July 13, 1664, the date of the organization of the first 
 church at Groton, as well as of the first ordination. 
 
 A few weeks after this time, Mr. Willard took a young 
 wife, Abigail Sherman by name, the daughter of the Rev- 
 erend John Sherman, who was the minister of Watertown. 
 She lightened the labors of her husband, and made herself 
 useful and beloved in the neighborhood. In the summer of
 
 77 
 
 1665, the exact date of the record being torn off, Mr. 
 Willard's salary was increased by ten pounds, a heavy tax 
 at that time ; and his family was also increased by about the 
 same amount, his eldest child being born on July 5. The 
 record reads thus : 
 
 It was ... of M r Willerde our . . . declared by voate y* 
 our time of ... yerly so longe as god shall please to ... 
 gether shall begine and ende vpon the 29 [d]ay of September 
 
 It is furthermor agreed and decleared by voate y* M? Willerde 
 shall be alowed in consideration of his labours amonste vs this 
 next yere Inseui [ng] the full pposion of fifteye pounds to be payd 
 by euery Inhabetant acordinge to his pposion and as nere as may 
 be in y* which his nessety requir[es] and furthermor in con- 
 sideriation of the tim being betwene the furste of July laste past 
 and y e last of September next we do herby agree and promise 
 vnto him y t we will paye him twentey pounds for the first thirde 
 parte of tim at or befor the last of September next and twentey 
 pounds mor at or befor the furste of May next and twentey 
 too pounds and 10 shilings more at or before the last of Septem- 
 ber next after which will be in y e yere 1666. 
 
 The visible church in the wilderness was now beginning 
 to prosper. It was outgrowing the accommodations fur- 
 nished by the minister's house, and something larger than 
 an ordinary dwelling was needed. For a long time it must 
 have been a matter of much thought, and the great question 
 of the day among all classes of this little community. 
 Finally the matter culminated in the following vote : 
 
 At a town metting vpon The 21 of the 7 mo th 1665 It was 
 this Day agred and voated y* they will haue a metting house bult 
 forthwith.] 
 
 It was this day agreed and by voate declard y* Sargent James 
 Parker and Richerd Blood shall make the couenenant with the 
 carpenders for the caring one the worke puided y* noe other pay 
 shall be Requrd of any man puided he will pay his proposon in 
 his labour giung the carpenders a wekes warng 
 
 A few weeks later we find in the records the following 
 contract, made between the town and Mr. Willard, and duly 
 signed by the different persons whose names are affixed :
 
 78 
 
 16 of the 10 mo th 1665 It was this day agreed and by a 
 vnanams voatte declared y t for as much as god by his puidanc 
 haue setteled Mr Willerd our Rauerante Pastor by sole[mn] 
 Ingeagment amunst vs we do therf [ore] frely giue him y* acom- 
 adatione formerle stated to the minestry to gether with the 
 house and all other apartanances apertayni[ng] ther vnto to him 
 and his for eur from this day forth puided he do contineue with 
 vs from this day forth till seaue[n] yers be xpired. But in 
 cause he shall se cause to remoue from vs be for the seauen yers 
 be xpired it is agfreed] by our Rauerant paster one one par[t] 
 and the town one the other y* he shall leaue thes holle acomada- 
 tione to the town and be aloued what it shall be Judged by In- 
 deferant men mutally ch[osen] on both parleys and so the hous 
 and lanfd] to Remayn the towns to despose of haung aloued as 
 aforsayd for what improument he haue made vpon it But if it 
 shall pleas god to take him by death then the house and land 
 ... to his eayers frely for euer 
 
 and hervnto we do enterchangebly sett to our hands the day 
 and yer aboue wretten 
 
 SAM, LL WILLARD JAMES PARKER 
 
 WILLIAM LAKIN 
 JAMES KNOP 
 
 In the name and with the consent of the towne 
 
 In the summer of 1666 Mr. Willard's salary was again 
 increased; and at the same meeting several votes are re- 
 corded in relation to the meeting-house. 
 
 at a generall town meeting held 26 [probably 5th month, 
 1666.] . . . It was agreed and declared by vote that our re [ver- 
 end] Pastor M r Willard should haue sixty pounds al[ lowed] 
 him for this year Ensuing : beginning at the 29 of Semptember 
 1666: 
 
 And also euery inhabited, is hereby ingaged to pay vnto our 
 reuerent Pastor the third pt. of his pption in merchantable corne 
 at price currant and also to cutt and Car[t] to his house and 
 there to Cord for him the aforesaid 30 cord of wood at fiue 
 shilling p cord, betwixt this & the 25th lo 1 "" 
 
 Att the same meetinge, Nathaniell Lawrenc and Samuell 
 Woods now agreed with to lay the planks vpon the meeting 
 and to do them sufficiently, and they are to haue 4 s 6 : d p ooo 
 alowed them in the meeting rate
 
 79 
 
 Att the same meeting, James Knapp & Ellis [Barren] were 
 agreed with to make 2 doores for the meeting house & to mak 
 2 p of stares for i : and to lay the vpper floure for 4 s 6 
 
 At the same meating Will Greene and Joshua Whittney where 
 cohosen, to he[lp] the Glassiar Goodm[an] Grant to bring vp 
 his glasse and to be allowed for their tim in the meeting house 
 rate 
 
 In December, 1666, "a true account" in detail of the 
 cost of the meeting-house was rendered, giving the sum 
 total of the expense up to that time. In modern phrase, 
 we should say that the building committee made a report, 
 giving the items of the cost, although it was not signed 
 by any of the members. It is as follows : 
 
 A true account of all the pticuler soms of all the work done to 
 the meeting house frame and other charges as nailes hookes & 
 hinges glasse and pulpit et: 
 
 Inpr for Thatch 5 - o o 
 
 It to John morsse for thathing and getting withs I 13 o 
 
 It for wages for those did attend the thatcher 5 14 8 
 It carting clay & stones for daw [b] ing the wall & 
 
 under pinning 300 
 
 It the dawbing of meeting house walls 4 12 8 6 
 
 It laths and nailing on 200 
 
 It for nailes 3 12 3 
 
 It for nailling on the clap bords 7 10 8 
 
 It for getting the sleepers and laying of them 140 
 
 It for planks 600 & halfe 2 18 6 
 
 It fo seanson bords 700 & 5 foot 2 12 10 
 
 It for laying of the lower flore at 4 s 6 d p ooo 182 
 
 It making doores and two payres of stares I o o 
 
 It for laying 40382 of bords on the gallery floors 200 
 It for shutts for the windows and making p'uison 
 
 for M r Willard to preach till we haue a pulpitt o 10 o 
 
 It making a pulpitt 3 o o 
 
 It for glass for the windows 35 
 It for 200 of bords and more nails and more work 
 
 done by carting & laying seats &c I 8 o 
 
 50 16 10
 
 8o 
 
 The meeting-house was now built and ready for use. I 
 doubt if there was a person in the town who rejoiced more 
 at this result than Mrs. Willard; and her congratulations 
 to the minister and brethren must have been hearty and sin- 
 cere. In housewifely language, homely but expressive, there 
 was to be no more tracking in of mud on Sundays, and no 
 more cleaning, after a hard day's washing, on Mondays. 
 
 There was no dedication of the building, for this would 
 have been contrary to the usages of the Puritans. They 
 never indulged in such ceremonies; and if the town had 
 then erected these historical monuments they never would 
 have had the exercises of this afternoon. Perhaps some of 
 you may think that it would have been wiser if this genera- 
 tion had acted in the same way. It is not unlikely, however, 
 that Mr. Willard took a suggestive text and preached an 
 appropriate sermon on the first Sunday that the building was 
 used; but of this there is no record. I hold in my hand, 
 however, a little volume* containing three sermons which 
 were preached there by Mr. Willard at other times. It is 
 entitled, 
 
 * This copy has a special interest for me, as it once belonged to a reverend 
 ancestor of mine, and bears his autograph signature on the title-page. It came 
 into my possession very lately, after being out of the family for more than one 
 hundred and eighty years.
 
 8i 
 
 VSEFVL INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 for a prof effing People in Times of great 
 SECURITY AND DEGENERACY: 
 
 Delivered in feveral 
 
 SERMONS 
 
 on Solemn Occafions: 
 
 By Mr. Samuel Willard Paftor of the Church of Chrift 
 
 at Groton. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE: 
 
 Printed by Samuel Green* 
 1673. 
 
 It is a book of exceeding rarity, only three copies are 
 known to be extant, and it forms the only relic which 
 time has spared of the first meeting-house of Groton. It 
 suggests many a contrast between that dreary and unfinished 
 building where our fathers met for worship, and this spa- 
 cious and commodious hall where we are now assembled. 
 
 Like all meeting-houses of that period of which we have 
 any record, this structure was probably square or nearly so, 
 and, as we have reason to suppose, measured about forty 
 feet each way. It was two stories in height, and had two 
 doors. The roof was thatched, and probably a steep one. 
 The front gallery was on the north side of the house, so that 
 the building must have been on the south side of the road, 
 and faced the north. This confirms the theory that it stood 
 on Mr. Boutwell's land. There were also galleries on the 
 east and west sides of the building, and the pulpit was placed 
 in the south end. The window-panes were small, and prob- 
 ably of diamond shape. There was, we may suppose, an 
 hour-glass near the pulpit, which Goodman Allen, the sex-
 
 VSETVL 
 
 for a prof effing *Peopk in Time s of great 
 
 SECURITY AND DEGENERA CY: 
 Delivered ia feveral 
 
 SERMONS 
 
 on Solemn Occafions : 
 
 By Mr. Samuel faifard Paftorof the Church of Chrilc 
 at GrotoH. 
 
 7* Son tfM*ft> I havemade tkee aWatebmajf to the 
 I: tbtrefore bear tkf Word at my mouth^ ttndgfae them 
 Jrommt. 
 
 ^.8. Tb* Lord God bathftoken, who c<m but Profiefy* 
 jer.z.jl. O Gwtratiorty See ye the Word of \kt Lord: kavt 
 Ziie 4 whterneft'unto Jfraell a Land of Jarkgiefs? vberefon fay 
 / PttfkiW ate Lor d/t we will cwne no more unto tbee. 
 Haggai. liS>7 Tbiufaitb the Lord, CM fide r yo#r ~ 
 
 'Printed ly Shmwl
 
 To Ks$elaved Friends thelnbabitents of 
 3(0 TO 
 
 'I/at it w&i vota defoetoapptar InpitlRc^ bm to an- 
 fw yew rtwefttyfave light to the ending Sermon f, 
 je *re wy witnifes, *nd tbat in the publishing of 
 them* I have not endeavoured to varntflj and paint 
 tbemaver vtitbJUwiffxt of tnen-Qhafing, words the 
 thing it JeJf titty fpea^ i&fbe,ttadingyw(hallfndt 
 polking bttt wbat was Jdivtredin Preaching, %axxSa'mg the occafon of 
 tbsf** Tnted not advert ift you, joa may weS enwg b cattomfnde t the loud 
 wrist of f$ealtfn% providences^ which forbad ms fafucb a day to be ft 'lent : 
 "ad tttindey Gad wbicli WJls upon tftE_poor.kQfje(r e <t Creature, wbicb 
 Ifai.25.9. batbfwndejtfiroHgh tiii Wil<krnefs t but you 
 yfit$ the Lotdaffetf your bearttjinj give you to je 
 
 God upon tbis L*nd)tir t d-ut in particular, bids Minifters to 
 d} tbe^Lord^God bath fooks*i w* caidutf JPrafoe fiet IJ&sw 
 gotruption is. not witting to htcldftlj dealt wit ha^ but I hope many ofyo* 
 lafKUtotlb learned ChrifL My beans defre find prayer f or jou it, that 
 you may be preparedfot ftakingjirnes, and the nearer they approach 
 tbemorc need havtfWfe to be haiteaedand ro ufed from.oar loy tering* 
 Jftbefc poor labours ofmine* may bdp in that great bufinefs, If have 'mf 
 fnds fully anfwered^ and my dcfir.cforjou.ist that tho fc afFed^i ons may 
 be blown up again inrthcrreading which were kindled in. the preaching; 
 Jkwav.lbavebutawhiletohejimongjoUyif God fleafe to ma fa me by 
 Ihefa or any otberweeikji*deavoMrt, 9 to be under himinjlrumextalof your 
 eternal good^ IfoaSdye wtibjoy ; .and fo meet you aU ar the right; hand 
 if oar Jo jgc in that great daf, is the higheft ambition of 
 
 Tow unworthy 
 A* 
 
 5. W.
 
 84 
 
 ton, watched and turned when the sand had run out. There 
 was no ponderous Bible on the preacher's desk, as the read- 
 ing of the Scriptures formed no part of the regular worship. 
 With this exception, the order of services on the Lord's day 
 was about the same as it is at the present time. The prayers 
 were of an almost interminable length; and the singing, 
 doubtless from the Bay Psalm Book, was done by the con- 
 gregation. The only instrument used was the pitch-pipe of 
 the leader, who lined off the psalms to be sung by the singers. 
 What was wanting in harmony was made up by fervent 
 devotion. The Groton Musical Association, I fear, would 
 find much to criticise in the musical method of that day. 
 However much it may have fallen short of scientific tests, 
 it inspired a religious zeal, and added a pious fervor to the 
 exercises. 
 
 It was the custom in the early days of New England life 
 to choose a committee " to seat the meeting-house," as it 
 was called; which meant to assign the seats to the congre- 
 gation during a certain length of time. This was done every 
 year or two, to meet the changes that would naturally take 
 place from death or other causes. The seats consisted of 
 long benches with backs, capable of accommodating six or 
 eight persons. The men were placed on one side of the 
 house, and the women on the other; and sometimes the 
 young folks had special places given to them. Separate 
 pews for families had not yet come into use. The seating 
 committee was considered an important one, but their de- 
 cisions were not always satisfactory. The seats in the 
 Groton meeting-house, however, were allotted by the town; 
 although in the record of the meeting on November 1 1, 1667, 
 there is a reference to a seating committee. Two public 
 meetings, only one week apart, were held when they were 
 assigned, " according to a rulle of proportion," as the ex- 
 pression was at a subsequent meeting. In the second Groton 
 meeting-house, built but not finished in the year 1680, the 
 seats were assigned, first, according to station or " ofis " ; 
 secondly, according to age ; and, thirdly, wealth or " money." 
 The votes at these two meetings were as follows :
 
 85 
 
 Att a Town mee[tin]g held 24 io m [1666.] 
 
 It was agreed & by vote Declared y t all the lower seates in the 
 new meeting house that now is : should be deuided six for men 
 & six for women, And also the two front seats of the Gallery : 
 the best prouision that the town can prouide both for the Min- 
 ister and also for the people to sit upon, against the next Lords 
 Day come seauenight and euery one to be placed in their places 
 as they shall continue for the future 
 
 Att a Generall Town meeting held 31 th io m 1666 ffbr better 
 pceeding in setling seates for the women as well as for men It 
 was agreed & by vote declared that the ffront Gallery on the 
 north side of the meeting house should be devided in the midle ; 
 and the mens that shall be placed there; their wiues are to be 
 placed by their husbands as they are below 
 
 It appears from the following entry that Mr. Willard's 
 salary was continued during another year. A part of it was 
 to be paid in " country pay," according to the custom of 
 that time, and the prices for the different articles of food 
 seem to be fair. They are based on the silver money of that 
 period, paper currency not yet having come into circulation. 
 
 Att a generall Towns meetting held io th 9 1667 It was 
 agreed and by vote declarded to giue vnto Mr Willard our 
 pastor for his maintenance for this present yeare beginning the 
 29 th 7 m should haue sixty pounds, to be paid at two payments 
 the one halfe to be paid into to him, betwixt this and the last 
 of March next: and the other half of the pay to be paid vnto 
 him by the last of September next after the date hereof. And 
 for quality ; the major p* of the Towne agreed y* one third p* 
 each inhabitant shloud pay his third p* of his proportion ; in 
 wheat at 5 s p bushell or porke aft] 3 pence p pound or butter 
 at 6 pence p pound fo . . . thirds in Indian corne at 3 s p 
 bushelle: or other ... at the price currant as it passeth be- 
 twixt . . . amongst ourseleues. 
 
 This meeting seems to have been adjourned ; at any rate, 
 another meeting was held the next day. Timothy Allen, the 
 sexton, lived near to the meeting-house, which was, per- 
 haps, one reason why he was chosen to the office.
 
 86 
 
 Att a generall Towns meetting held II th 9 mth 1667 The towne 
 agreed with Thimothy Allen to swe[ep] the meetinge house & 
 to puide water ffor the babtizing of the towns children from time 
 to time, for this yeare ensuing, and the s d Thimothy alien is to 
 haue twenty shillings allowed him for his labor in the next 
 townes rate 
 
 At the same meettinge it was agreed that the seats in the 
 meetinge should be mad in a pleaine and desent and comly 
 manner, and euery seuerall company (that ar now present in- 
 habitants and as they are now placed by the towne and the 
 Committey formerly chosen,) they should build their seates at 
 their owne charge, And all the fronteers both aboue and below, 
 shall be at the charge of the laying the foundation sills for 
 the seates that are behind them ; And what euer any maior p* 
 of any company that are placed together in any seat shall agre 
 to build their seats the minor are hereby inioyned to pay with 
 their neighbors and it was further agreed that whereas the 
 seates are larger than the present inhabitants do fill vp then 
 when any shall placed hereafter in any seate or seates y* then 
 they are hereby enioyned to pay an equall pportion to be & with 
 those that haue laid down the pay for the building of the seates 
 
 In order to keep complete the historical chain of facts, I 
 make the following extracts from the town records, which 
 comprise everything found there relating to the minister or 
 the meeting-house, from this time to the destruction of the 
 town : 
 
 The : 8 of the 10 moth [1668.] It was this day voted by the 
 mayior part of the towne that the ministfer have] sixty fiue 
 pounds for this yeare beginning the twenty nine of September 
 68 shall shall [sic] be Raysed the one halfe vpon the Accom- 
 dations and the other halfe vpon all the visible estat of the 
 towne will longley Richard blood and sum others declaring 
 the Contrarie by voyt 
 
 [1669.] 
 
 it was voted that our pastors maintenance should be Raysed 
 the one halfe vpon the Acomidations and the other halfe vpon 
 the visible estat of the towne and the sum to be sixtie fiue 
 pounds as followeth
 
 87 
 
 first to pay 30 pounds in Corne and tenn pounds in provision 
 and what is wanting in provision to be payd in Corne and . . . 
 tewnty fiue pounds to be payd in ... seasonnablelye or other- 
 wayes in Corne 
 
 [December 15, 1669.] 
 
 [At] the same meeting were chosen [John P]age and John 
 Nutting by the [town] to see that Mr Willard haue maintenance 
 duely and truly payd him and that they bring the towne a gen- 
 erall acquitance : 
 
 Agreed with Timothy Allen for the keeping the meeting house 
 cleane for twenty shillings and to be payd in his town charges 
 
 At a generall towne meeting 12 of the II th month 1669 agreed 
 vpon voted and agreed. vpon that all publik charges excepting 
 the ministers shold be raised vpon the accomedations till the 
 towne see good to repeall it 
 
 At a generall towne meeting Novem I [ I ] 670 It is this day 
 agreed vpon and voted that Mr Willards maintenance and all 
 other Towne charges shalbe raised for this present yeare the 
 one halfe vpon accomodations and the other halfe vpon visible 
 estate 
 
 At the same meeting agreed vpon that Mr. Willard should 
 haue sixty five pound for this present yeare and a sixth pt 
 shalbe payd in flesh provision that is to say in merchentable 
 pork beef butter and cheese betwixt this and chrismas mer- 
 chentable wheat five shill per bush barley 45 per bush rye 45 
 pease 45 and Indian cor[n] flesh meat to be payd . . . per 
 pound and butter at 6 ... 
 
 [December 12, 1670.] 
 
 At the same meeting agreed with Timothy Allen to keep 
 the meeting housse cleane for this following year for twenty 
 shill 100. 
 
 [February 27, 1670-71.] 
 
 Also agreed vpon at the same meeting that all thos seats that 
 are yet to build in the meeting house shalbe built in a generall 
 way also a committee chussen to treat with thomas Boydon to 
 build them (viz) Sergent James Parker corporall Knop John 
 Pag Ellis Barron and Nathaniell lawrance
 
 At a Generall towne meeting held October 16 1671 This day 
 agreed vpon by the towne and voted that Mr Willard shall haue 
 sixty fiue for this year ensueing and that he shall hau his wholl 
 yeares pay by the latter end of december and the maner of his 
 pay as followeth one third p* of his pay in prouision and english 
 corne and those that cannot pay in prouision and in english 
 corne they are to pay their Indian corne at two shill and three 
 pence the bushell soe as to answer that third p* of their pay 
 which was to be payd in English corn and prouision and the rest 
 of their pay they are to pay at prise currant (that is) their 
 Indian corne 3 s per bush wheat at 5 s per bush e11 pease Rye 
 barley at 4 s per bush and pork and beeffe at 3 d per pond and for 
 the maner of their payment to be raised as it was the last year 
 the one half vpon the accommodations and the other vpon the 
 estate. 
 
 At the same meeting were chusen Sergent william lakin and 
 nathaniell lawrance and that they shall se that Mr Willards pay 
 shalbe brought in and faithfully payd to him according to the 
 agreement of the towne 
 
 At a Towne meeting held Sept 16 1672 It was agreed vpon 
 and by vote declared that their shalbe a committee chusen by the 
 towne which Committee shall haue power to seat euery man 
 according to their best discretion and that euery man shall pay 
 to the value of the seat they sit in the seates also beeing 
 valued according to their proportion and disproportion by this 
 committee chussen and the committee chussen and the names 
 of the men are these 
 
 Sergent Parker -) f j ames knop \ 
 
 Sergent Lakin y and < V 
 
 Tho= Tarball ) ( J ohn Morsse ) 
 
 Att a generall Towne meeting held Octo 14 1672 It was this 
 day agreed vpon and by vote declared that Mr Willard shall haue 
 for this present year eighty pound and the maner of his pay as 
 followeth a third part of his pay a followeth In english corne 
 and prouision wheat at five shil p bushell Rye barley and pease 
 at four shill pr bushell pork and beefe at 3 d p pound and all such 
 as cannot pay his third part of his pay in english corn and 
 prouision they shall pay In Indian corn at 2 shill p bushell 
 and the remainder of his pay In Indian Corn at 3 shill p bushell 
 his fire wood also above his eighty pound
 
 8 9 
 
 and furder these persons here set downe doe promise and 
 Ingage to git Mr Willard hay mowing making and fetching 
 home for eight shilling p load at a seasonable time (viz) in the 
 midle of Jully 
 
 Sergent Parker \ Timothy Allen 
 
 Rich= Blood / Ellis Barron 
 
 James ffiske , Thomas Smith 
 
 Tho= Tarball Se j John Morsse 
 
 sergent Lakin \ Joseph gilson 
 
 Rich= holden ) Pelleg Lawrance 
 
 At the same meeting and by vote declared that Major Willard 
 shalbe a f re commoner amongst vs for feed for cattell wood and 
 timber 
 
 At a generall towne meeting held The 7 th of the 9 th month 
 1672 It was this day agreed vpon and by vote declared that all 
 Inhabitans in the towne shalbe seated in the meeting house ac- 
 cording to a rulle of proportion impartially (by the towne or by 
 a committee chussen by the towne) according to their best dis- 
 cretion and the seates to be valued and each man to pay accord- 
 ing to the seat they sit in and they are to place in the seats below 
 in the body of the meeting house sixe persons in a seate and to 
 fill vp the first and second seat first and to sit fiu persons vnder 
 the window and five persons in a seat in the front gallery and 
 eight persons in a seat in the east and west gallery the per- 
 sons that are first to be seated are maried persons and also such 
 single persons as may and ought according to a rulle of pro- 
 portion be seated with them and the other young persons to be 
 seated till they have filled vp all the seates that are already 
 builded and all such persons as want seates after this done they 
 haue liberty granted to them by the towne at the sam meeting 
 to build them themselves or their parents for them at their owne 
 cost and charge in such a place or places as are thought 
 most meete and convenient by the towne and those that are to 
 build them and the towne haue voted to submit to the comitees 
 order herein 
 
 and the commitee chussen by the towne at the same time the 
 persons are as followethe 
 
 Sergent Parker ~\ j ames Knop 
 
 Richard Blood [ and 
 
 Joseph Parker } J ohn Morsse
 
 9 o 
 
 At a Generall towne meeting held Nouember 13 1672 It was 
 this day agreed vpon and by vote declared that the remainder of 
 the pay that is still behind for the building the seates in the 
 meeting house shalbe raised in a generall way notwithstanding 
 all other actes done to the contrary either by towne or commitee 
 
 William Longley seni descenting 
 
 At a meeting of the select men no 13 72 A Towne rate made 
 for the defraying of seuerall towne depts and put into the con- 
 stables hand to gather (viz) 
 
 for shuts for the windows of the meeting house I o o 
 
 At a Generall towne meeting held Janevary 13 1672 This day 
 agreed vpon and by vot declared that their shalbe a commit 
 chossen for to seat the persons in the meeting house according 
 to their best discretion and at the sam time a commitee chosen 
 and their names are thess 
 
 Maior Willard ~\ C sergent L^^ 
 
 Sergent Parker v and 4 
 
 James ffiske ) ( John Lakin 
 
 At a meeting of the sellect men febr 26 72 Agreed vpon by 
 the sellect men that this division of land which is granted by 
 the towne to the seuerall Inhabitants shalbe as followeth by 
 proportion their shalbe one acre to one shill= disbursement in 
 mr Willards Rat and we doe also agree that of this land that 
 was prohibited shalbe only Indian hill and the hill behind 
 Nath= Lawrances 
 
 and we doe furder agree that euery Inhabitant shall haue an 
 equall proportion in these lands according to disbursements in 
 mr Willard rat and for the rest of their proportion shalbe else 
 wheir wheir [sic] it is most convenient for them either Joyning 
 to their medowes or of Oake land on this sid the Riuer 
 
 only Mr Willard shall haue a proportion to a forty shilling 
 disbursement the town consenting here to 
 
 At a Generall Towne meeting held no: 19 1673 This day 
 agreed vpon and by vote declared that Mr Willard rat shalbe 
 raised ptly by vissible estat and partly by accommodations what- 
 soeuer votes hau past formerly to the contrary as also it was 
 agreed vpon that euery man hence forward shall haue their 
 draughts of land according to their disbursements and those y*
 
 haue them not shall haue them mad vp and that he shall haue 
 eighty pound for this present yeare and a fourth part of this 
 payment to be payd in money and the other sixty pound to be 
 payd in all sorts of graine at price currant as the court haue 
 determined and in prouision and ten pound for his firewood 
 which is to be payd in by tim preffixd and if not then to pay 
 their proportion in corne or prouision and also agreed vpon 
 that this twenty pound in money is to be payd in to Cap 4 Parker 
 and to Richard Blood by th last of August or the first of 
 septem- next as also henceforward he shall haue a quarter 
 of his payment in money yearly 
 
 At a Generall Town meeting held October 20 1675 Agreed 
 vpon and by vote declared that our Reuerand Pastor shall 
 haue eighty pound for this present year sixty 1 in Corne and 
 prwisifons] forty pound of it to be payd betwixt this and y e 
 twenty fiue of December next ensueing and the other 20! to be 
 payd in the spring of the yeare vnlesse god by some speciall 
 prouidence Doe preuent and the other 20! to be payd in money 
 the last of august or the first of September in the year 1676 
 
 and 40 cord of wood to be proportioned according to euery 
 mans proportion to be caryed in now pressently 
 
 At a Generall Towne meeting held no= 8 1675 It was this 
 day agreed vpon and by vote declared that their should be a 
 committe chussen to treat with Mr willard about sending down 
 to the generall court to Enforme and supplicat to them that we 
 may haue payd to vs what is our due from the countrey and 
 also that the Billit of the souldiers may be vpon the countreys 
 account and also agreed vpon that if this would not doe for to 
 stand it out at law with them 
 
 and the commitee chussen was Cap* Parker Leiftenant Lakin 
 William Longley seni= John Page 
 
 Nearly one-and-twenty years had passed since the little 
 settlement in the wilderness was begun, and it was fast 
 approaching its majority. The new town had enjoyed a 
 moderate share of prosperity, and was slowly working out its 
 destiny. The founders were poor in this world's goods, but 
 rich in faith and courage. They had now tasted the hard- 
 ships of frontier life, but not as yet felt the horrors of savage 
 warfare. The distant thunders of a threatening storm were
 
 9 2 
 
 beginning to be heard, and the occasional flashes put the 
 early settlers on their guard. Philip's War had broken out, 
 and the outlying settlements were exposed to new dangers. 
 The inhabitants of this town took such precautions as seemed 
 needful, and trusted in Providence for the rest. They were 
 just beginning to prepare for the work of another season, 
 when a small band of prowling Indians alarmed the town 
 by pillaging eight or nine houses and driving off some cattle. 
 This occurred on March 2, 1676, and probably was a suffi- 
 cient warning to send the inhabitants to the garrison-houses, 
 whither they were wont to flee in time of danger. These 
 places of refuge were usually houses surrounded by a strong 
 wall of stone or timber built up as high as the eaves, with a 
 gate-way, and port-holes for the use of musketry. 
 
 In Groton there were five such garrison-houses, and under 
 their protection many a sleepless, anxious night was passed 
 by the inmates. Four of these houses were very near each 
 other, and the fifth was nearly a mile away. The sites of 
 some of them are well known. One was Mr. Willard's 
 house, which stood near the site of the High School; an- 
 other was Captain Parker's house, which stood just north 
 of the hall in which we are now assembled ; and a third was 
 John Nutting's house, on the other side of James's Brook. 
 The fourth was probably north of John Nutting's, but per- 
 haps south of Mr. Willard's. There is a tradition that one 
 stood near the house formerly owned and occupied by the 
 late Eber Woods, which would make the fifth garrison-house 
 " near a mile distant from the rest." 
 
 It is recorded in the inventory of his estate, on file in the 
 Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge, that Timothy 
 Cooper,* of Groton, was " Sleine by the Indeins the Second 
 day of march 1675-6." Cooper was an Englishman by 
 birth, and lived, probably, somewhere between the present 
 site of the Baptist meeting-house and the beginning of 
 Farmers' Row. It is not known that there was other loss of 
 
 * John Cooper, of Weston Hall, England, in his will, written November 21, 
 1654, and proved the next year, mentions his "brother Timothy Cooper now in 
 New England," with children. The will is on file in the Registry of Probate, 
 London.
 
 93 
 
 life at this time; but the affair was serious enough to alarm 
 the inhabitants. They sought refuge immediately in the 
 garrison-houses, as the Indians were lurking in the neighbor- 
 hood. On March 9, the savages again threatened the be- 
 leaguered town, and, by a cunningly contrived ambush, man- 
 aged to entrap four men at work, of whom one was killed 
 and one captured, while the other two escaped. This second 
 assault must have produced great alarm and consternation 
 among the people of the town. The final and principal at- 
 tack, however, came on the I3th, when the enemy appeared 
 in full body, thought to be not less than four hundred in 
 number. The inhabitants at this time all were gathered into 
 the several garrison-houses for protection. During the pre- 
 vious night the savages scattered throughout the town, and 
 the first volley of shot on the morning of the I3th was the 
 signal for the general burning of the town ; and in this con- 
 flagration the first meeting-house of Groton was destroyed. 
 With its thatched roof it must have burned quickly. In a 
 very short time nothing was left but a heap of smoking em- 
 bers. Although it had never been formally dedicated to 
 religious worship, it had been consecrated in spirit to the 
 service of God by the prayers of the minister and the devo- 
 tion of the congregation. In this assault John Nutting's 
 garrison was taken by stratagem. The men defending it 
 had been drawn out by two Indians apparently alone, when 
 the savages in ambush arose, and killed one of the men, 
 probably John Nutting himself, and wounded three others. 
 At the same time the garrison-house, now defenceless, was 
 attacked in the rear and the palisades pulled down, allowing 
 the enemy to take possession. The women and children, 
 comprising those of five families, escaped to Captain Parker's 
 house, situated just this side of the brook and north of this 
 building. 
 
 There is a tradition, which is entitled to credence, that 
 John Nutting was killed while defending his log-house fort 
 during Philip's War. His wife's name appears a few months 
 later in the Woburn town records as " Widow Nutting," 
 which is confirmatory of the tradition.
 
 94 
 
 The Indians were a cowardly set, and never attacked in 
 open field. They never charged on works in regular column, 
 but depended rather on craft or cunning to defeat their ad- 
 versary. The red " hellhounds " as they were sometimes 
 called by our pious forefathers were always ready to 
 attack women and children, but afraid to meet men. The 
 inhabitants of the town were now safely and securely housed, 
 and were masters of the situation. The enemy could do little 
 more than to taunt and jeer them from time to time with 
 insulting remarks. The main body of the savages passed 
 the following night in " an adjacent valley," which cannot 
 now be identified, but some of them lodged in the garrison- 
 house which they had taken; and the next morning, after 
 firing two or three volleys at Captain Parker's house, they 
 departed. They carried off a prisoner, John Morse, the 
 town-clerk, who was ransomed a short time afterward. 
 The following reference to him in an undated letter, written 
 by the Reverend Thomas Cobbet to the Reverend Increase 
 Mather, shows very nearly the time of his release : 
 
 May y e I2th Good wife Diuens and Good wife Ketle vpon 
 ransom paid, came into concord. & vpon like ransom presently 
 [a] fter John Moss of Groton & lei f tenant Carlors Daughter of 
 Lancaster, were set at liberty & 9 more w*out ransom : ( Mather 
 Manuscripts in the Prince Collection, at the Boston Public 
 Library, i. 76.) 
 
 The ransom for John Morse was paid by John Hubbard, 
 of Boston, and amounted to " about five pounds." Morse's 
 petition to the Council to have Hubbard reimbursed is found 
 in the Archives (Ixix. 48) at the State House. 
 
 The population of Groton at the time of its destruction 
 was about three hundred inhabitants. The Reverend Wil- 
 liam Hubbard, in his Narrative, printed in the year 1677, 
 estimates the number of families at sixty, and five persons 
 to a family may be considered a fair average. The same 
 authority says that there were forty dwelling-houses, besides 
 other buildings, burned in this assault, and only fourteen or 
 fifteen houses left standing.
 
 95 
 
 Fortunately the loss of life or limb on the part of the 
 inhabitants of the town was small, and it is not known that 
 more than three persons were killed of whom one was 
 Timothy Cooper, and another, without doubt, John Nutting 
 and three wounded ; two were made prisoners, of whom 
 one escaped from the savages and reached Lancaster, and 
 the other, John Morse, was ransomed. 
 
 The lot of these early settlers was, indeed, hard and bitter ; 
 they had seen their houses destroyed and their cattle killed, 
 leaving them nothing to live on. Their alternative now was 
 to abandon the plantation, which they did with much sadness 
 and sorrow. The settlement was broken up, and the inhab- 
 itants scattered in different directions among their friends 
 and kindred. During the next autumn John Monaco, or 
 one-eyed John, as he was sometimes called, the chief 
 leader in the assault, was brought to the gallows in Boston, 
 where he suffered the extreme penalty of the law. 
 
 In the early spring of 1678, just two years after the 
 attack, the old settlers returned to re-establish the town. Un- 
 daunted by their bitter experience, they came back to begin 
 life anew in the wilderness, with all its attendant hardships. 
 It does not appear that the inhabitants were molested by the 
 Indians during this period to any great degree, but they were 
 by no means leading lives of ease or security. At times 
 troops were stationed here by the Colonial authorities for 
 the protection of the town; and the orders and counter- 
 orders to the small garrison tell too well that danger was 
 threatening. In the mean while King William's War broke 
 out ; and this time the enemy had material and sympathetic 
 aid from the French in Canada. The second attack on the 
 town came in the summer of 1694, and the accounts of it 
 I prefer to give in the words of contemporaneous writers. 
 Sometimes there are discrepancies in such accounts ; but, as 
 a whole, they constitute the best authority. 
 
 Cotton Mather, in his Magnalia, thus refers to it : 
 
 Nor did the Storm go over so : Some Drops of it fell upon 
 the Town of Groton, a Town that lay, one would think, far 
 enough off the Place where was the last Scene of the Tragedy.
 
 9 6 
 
 On July 27. [1694,] about break of Day Grot on felt some 
 surprizing Blows from the Indian Hatchets. They began their 
 Attacks at the House of one Lieutenant Lakin, in the Out-skirts 
 of the Town; but met with a Repulse there, and lost one of 
 their Crew. Nevertheless, in other Parts of that Plantation, 
 (where the good People had been so tired out as to lay down 
 their Military Watch} there were more than Twenty Persons 
 killed, and more than a Dozen carried away. Mr. Gershom 
 Hobart, the Minister of the Place, with part of his Family, was 
 Remarkably preserved from falling into their Hands, when they 
 made themselves the Masters of his House ; though they Took 
 Two of his Children, whereof the one was Killed, and the other 
 some time after happily Rescued out of his Captivity. (Book 
 vii. page 86.) 
 
 Charlevoix, a French missionary in Canada, gives from 
 his own standpoint another version, as follows : 
 
 The Abenaqui chief was Taxous, already celebrated for many 
 exploits, and commendable attachment to our interests. This 
 brave man, not satisfied with what he had just so valiantly 
 achieved, chose forty of his most active men, and, after three 
 days' march, by making a long circuit, arrived at the foot of a 
 fort [at Groton] near Boston, and attacked it in broad day. 
 The English made a better defence than they did at Pescadoue 
 [Piscataqua]. Taxous had two of his nephews killed by his 
 side, and himself received more than a dozen musket balls in 
 his clothes, but he at last carried the place, and then continued 
 his ravages to the very doors of the capital. (" History of New 
 France," iv. 257, Shea's edition.) 
 
 The following reference to the assault is found in the 
 report, made October 26, 1694, by M. Champigny to the 
 Minister Pontchartrain. The original document is in the 
 Archives of the Marine and Colonies at Paris; and I am 
 indebted to Mr. Parkman, the distinguished historian, for 
 a copy of it. 
 
 These Indians did not stop there ; four parties of them have 
 since been detached, who have been within half a day's journey 
 of Boston [i.e., at Groton], where they have killed or cap- 
 tured more than sixty persons, ravaged and pillaged every thing
 
 97 
 
 they found, which has thrown all the people into such conster- 
 nation that they are leaving the open country to seek refuge in 
 the towns. 
 
 A " Relation " of an expedition by Villieu also mentions 
 the assault. A copy of the paper is found among the Ar- 
 chives at the State House, in the volume marked " Docu- 
 ments collected in France" (iv. 260, 261). The writer 
 gives the date of the attack some days later than is usually 
 assigned. He says : 
 
 On the 30, the Indians of the Penobscot, not having taken as 
 many prisoners and as much booty as those of the Kennebec, 
 because they had not found enough to employ themselves ; at 
 the solicitation of Villieu and Taxous, their chief, some fifty of 
 them detached themselves to follow this last person, who was 
 piqued at the little that had been done. They were joined by 
 some of the bravest warriors of the Kennebec, to go on a war 
 party above Boston to break heads by surprise (casser des tetes 
 a la surprise), after dividing themselves into several squads of 
 four or five each, which cannot fail of producing a good effect. 
 
 Judge Sewall, in his Diary, printed in the Massachusetts 
 Historical Collections (fifth series, v. 391), writes: 
 
 Friday, July 27. Groton set upon by the Indians, 21 persons 
 kill'd, 13 captivated, 13 badly wounded. About 9. night, Mr. 
 Lodowick comes to Boston. Between 10. and n. there is an 
 Alarm through the Town kept up till near day-break. Mr. 
 Brattle was arriv'd at Col. Shrimpton's, then he told me of 
 Mr. Lodowick's unhappiness in coming just then. During the 
 Alarm, Mr. Willard's little daughter Sarah dies, buried on 
 Sabbath-day a little before Sunset. 
 
 The Reverend John Pike makes the following reference 
 to the assault, in his Journal, printed in the Proceedings of 
 the same Society, for September, 1875: 
 
 July 27. The enemy fell upon Groton ab* day-break, killed 
 22 persons & Captivated 13 (xiv. 128). 
 
 '3
 
 9 8 
 
 Governor Hutchinson, in his " History of the Province 
 of Massachusetts Bay," published during the following cen- 
 tury, writes : 
 
 Having crossed Merrimack, on the 27th of July [1694,] they 
 fell upon Groton, about 40 miles from Boston. They were re- 
 pulsed at Lakin's garrison house, but fell upon other houses, 
 where the people were off their guard, and killed and carried 
 away from the vicinity about forty persons. Toxus's two 
 nephews were killed by his side, and he had a dozen bullets 
 through his blanket, according to Charlevoix, who adds, that 
 he carried the fort or garrison and then went to make spoil at 
 the gates of Boston ; in both which facts the French account is 
 erroneous (ii. 82). 
 
 In this assault the loss on the part of the inhabitants was 
 considerably greater than when the town was destroyed in 
 the former attack. It is said that the scalps of the unfortu- 
 nate victims were given to Count de Frontenac, Governor of 
 Canada. It is too late now to give the names of all the 
 sufferers, but a few facts in regard to them may be gathered 
 from fragmentary sources. The families that suffered the 
 worst lived for the most part in the same general neighbor- 
 hood, which was near the site of the first meeting-house. 
 Lieutenant William Lakin's house, where the fight began, 
 was situated in the vicinity of Chicopee Row. 
 
 The following list of casualties, in part conjectural, is 
 given as an approximation of the loss sustained by the 
 town : 
 
 Killed Captured 
 
 John Longley's family 7 3 
 
 Rev. Mr. Hobart's " i I 
 
 John Shepley's 4? I 
 
 James Parker, Jr/s " 2 3? 
 
 Alexander Rouse's 2? I 
 
 Mr. Gershom Hobart, the minister, whose house was cap- 
 tured in this assault, lived where the Baptist meeting-house 
 now stands. One of his boys was killed, and another, Ger- 
 shom, Jr., was carried off. There is a tradition extant that
 
 99 
 
 a third child was concealed under a tub in the cellar, and thus 
 saved from the savages. Judge Sewall writes in his Diary, 
 under the date of May I, 1695, tnat 
 
 Mr. Hobarts son Gershom is well at a new Fort a days 
 Journey above Nerigawag [Norridgewock], Masters name is 
 Nassacombewit, a good Master, and Mistress. Master is chief 
 Captain, now Bambazeen is absent. 
 
 It is not known exactly when he was rescued from cap- 
 tivity, but probably not long afterwards. The inscription 
 on the Shepley monument says that " the Indians massacred 
 all the Sheples in Groton save a John Sheple 16 years old 
 who the carried captive to Canada and kept him 4 years, 
 after which he returned to Groton and from him descended 
 all the Sheples or Shepleys in this Vicinity," but there is no 
 record to show how many there were in this family. Mr. 
 Butler, in his History (p. 97), makes the same statement, 
 but does not mention any number. In this list it is placed at 
 five, which is conjectural. Shepley lived near where the 
 Martin's Pond road starts off from the North Common. 
 The knowledge which the boy John obtained of their lan- 
 guage and customs while a prisoner among the Indians was 
 of much use to him in after-life. Tradition relates that, 
 when buying furs and skins of them, he used to put his foot 
 in one scale of the balance instead of a pound weight. In 
 the summer of 1704, while he and thirteen other men were 
 reaping in a field at Groton, they were attacked by about 
 twenty Indians. After some skirmishing, Shepley and one 
 of his comrades, Butterfield by name, succeeded in killing 
 one of the assailants, for which act they each were allowed 
 four pounds by the Government. He was the direct ances- 
 tor of the late Honorable Ether Shepley, formerly Chief 
 Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Maine, and of 
 the late General George F. Shepley, formerly a Justice of the 
 Circuit Court of the First Circuit of the United States. 
 
 A petition to the General Court, dated May 31, 1699, and 
 signed by Josiah Parker, says that " James Parker Jun r 
 Brother to yo r humble Pet? r was Killed with his Wife, sev-
 
 IOO 
 
 eral of his Children also were then carryed away Captive." 
 The number of these children is put at three, which is also 
 conjectural. The site of Parker's house is unknown. The 
 late Reverend James D. Farnsworth, in a manuscript ac- 
 count of William Longley, now in the library of the New 
 England Historic, Genealogical Society, says that " two of 
 his neighbors named Rouse " were killed in the same mas- 
 sacre. Alexander Rouse lived in the neighborhood, and 
 this reference is to his family. There was one " Tamasin 
 Rouce of Grotten " received January 17, 1698-95, on board 
 the "Province Galley" at Casco Bay; and she, doubtless, 
 was a daughter of Alexander. (Archives, Ixx. 399.) Two 
 commissioners had been sent to Casco Bay, to make a treaty 
 of peace with the Indians, and to bring away the captives. 
 One of the commissioners " took certain Minutes of Re- 
 markable Things from some of the Captives," and Cotton 
 Mather, in his Magnalia, gives his readers what he calls 
 " a Taste of them." Mather speaks of the little girl, and 
 says that 
 
 Assacombuit sent Thotnasin Rouse, a child of about Ten 
 Years old, unto the Water-side to carry something. The Child 
 cried : He took a Stick and struck her down : She lay for Dead : 
 He took her up and threw her into the Water : Some Indians 
 not far off ran in and fetch'd her out. The Child we have now 
 brought Home with us. (Book vii. page 95.) 
 
 Among the " Nams of thos Remaining Still in hands of 
 the french at Canada," found in a document at the State 
 House, are those of " Lidey Langly D[Douer] gerl " and 
 " Jn Shiply boy oy r River." In this list the residences of 
 both these children are incorrectly written, Lydia's being 
 given as Dover, New Hampshire, and John's, as Oyster 
 River. The name of Thomas Drew appears in the same list 
 as of Groton, which is a mistake, as he was of Oyster River. 
 (Massachusetts Archives, xxxviii. A 2.) 
 
 This expedition against Groton was planned in part by 
 the Indians at a fort called Amsaquonte above Norridgwock, 
 in Maine. It was arranged in the plan of operations that 
 also Oyster River now Durham, New Hampshire
 
 IOI 
 
 should be attacked on the way ; and the assault on that town 
 was made July 18, nine days before the one on Groton. At 
 Oyster River more than ninety persons were either killed or 
 captured ; the prisoners from the two towns appear to have 
 been taken to Maine, where they were thrown considerably 
 together during their captivity. Governor William Stough- 
 ton issued a proclamation, January 21, 1695, wherein he 
 refers to the " tragical outrages and barberous murders " at 
 Oyster River and Groton. He says that several of the pris- 
 oners taken at these places " are now detained by the said 
 Indians at Amarascoggin and other adjoining places." 
 (Documents relating to the Colonial History of New York, 
 ix. 613, 614.) 
 
 Hezekiah Miles, alias Hector, a friendly Indian, at one 
 time a prisoner in the enemy's hands, made a deposition 
 before the Lieutenant-Governor and Council, at Boston, 
 May 31, 1695, stating 
 
 that in the month of July 1694. there was a gathering of the 
 Indians at the said new Fort [Amsaquonte] and preparations 
 to go forth to war, and that two or three days before they in- 
 tended to set out, they kild and boyld several dogs, and held a 
 Feast, where was present Egeremet, Bomaseen, Warumbee, & 
 Ahasombamet with divers others, of the chief among them, they 
 discoursed of falling upon Oyster River and Groton ; and Boma- 
 seen was to command one of the Companys & the day before 
 they intended to set forth, myself with ffour Indians more were 
 dispatched away to Canada with a Letter from the Fryar and 
 were upon our Voyage thither and back again about ffourt? 
 days and brought down about two barrels of powder, shot pro- 
 portionable & some fire armes. About the time of our return, 
 the Indians came in after the mischief done at Oyster River & 
 Groton, and in particular, I saw Bomaseen in his Canoo, which 
 was well laden, there was two English Captives, some scalps, 
 and a large pack of Plunder brought in that Canoo, and Boma- 
 seen two or three days after his return home went away to 
 Canada. (Archives, viii. 39.) 
 
 Ann Jenkins, in a deposition given June n, 1695, testifies 
 that she was captured July 18, 1694, at Oyster River, and 
 that she
 
 IO2 
 
 with nine Captiues more were Carried up to penecook & were 
 Left with Three Indians & that party went to Groaten Boma- 
 zeen being their Commander In nine dayes they returned & 
 brought twelue Captiues & from thence with their Cannoes 
 sometimes a float & sometimes Carried untill that we Came to 
 Norridgeawocke which tooke us fifteen dayes & staied about 
 two months there then dispersed into the woods twoe or thre 
 families in a place & kept Removeing toe and froe staieing 
 about a week in a place untill they brought vss down to pema- 
 quid & delivered vss to Capt March. (Archives, viii. 40.) 
 
 I come now to the sad story of the Longley family, which 
 is commemorated by one of the monuments dedicated to- 
 day. William and Deliverance Longley were living, with 
 their eight children, on a small farm perhaps a mile and a 
 quarter from this hall, on the east side of the Hollis road. 
 Their house was built of hewn logs, and was standing at the 
 beginning of the present century. The old cellar, with its 
 well-laid walls, was distinctly visible forty years ago, and 
 traces of it could be seen even to the present time. On the 
 fatal morning of July 27, 1694, the massacre of this family 
 was committed. The savages appeared suddenly, coming 
 from the other side of the Merrimack River, and began the 
 attack at Lieutenant William Lakin's house, where they were 
 repulsed with the loss of one of their number. They fol- 
 lowed it up by assaulting other houses in the same neighbor- 
 hood. They made quick work of it, and left the town as 
 speedily as they came. With the exception of John Shep- 
 ley's house, it is not known that they destroyed any of the 
 buildings; but they pillaged them before they departed. 
 They carried off thirteen prisoners, mostly children, who 
 must have retarded their march. There is a tradition that 
 early in the morning of the attack the Indians turned Long- 
 ley's cattle out of the barn-yard into the corn-field, and then 
 lay in ambush. The stratagem had the desired effect : Long- 
 ley rushed out of the house, unarmed, in order to drive the 
 cattle back, when he was murdered, and all his family either 
 killed or captured. The bodies of the slain were buried in 
 one grave a few rods northwest of the house. A small apple-
 
 io 3 
 
 tree growing over the spot, and a stone lying even with the 
 ground, for many years furnished the only clew to the final 
 resting-place of this unfortunate family, but these have now 
 disappeared. 
 
 William Longley was town-clerk in the year 1687, an< ^ 
 also from 1692 till his death in 1694; and, only one week 
 before he was killed, he had made entries in the town rec- 
 ords. His father, William Longley, Sen., had also been 
 town-clerk during the years 1666 and 1667, and died on 
 November 29, 1680. The father was one of the earliest 
 settlers of the town, as well as the owner of a thirty-acre 
 right in the original Groton plantation. Lydia, John, and 
 Betty were the names of the three children carried off by the 
 savages, and taken to Canada. Lydia was sold to the 
 French, and placed in the Congregation of Notre Dame, a 
 convent in Montreal, where she embraced the Roman Cath- 
 olic faith, and died on July 20, 1758, at the advanced age of 
 eighty-four years. Betty died soon after her capture, from 
 hunger and exposure; and John, the third child, remained 
 with the savages for more than four years, when he was 
 ransomed and brought away, much against his own will. 
 At one time during his captivity he was on the verge of 
 starving, when an Indian kindly gave him a dog's foot to 
 gnaw, which for the time appeased his hunger. He was 
 known among his captors as John Augary. After he came 
 home, his sister Lydia wrote from Canada, urging him to 
 abjure the Protestant religion; but he remained true to his 
 early faith. 
 
 Their grandmother, the widow of Benjamin Crispe, made 
 her will, April 13, 1698, which was admitted to probate on 
 the 28th of the following December; and in it she remem- 
 bered these absent children as follows : 
 
 I give and bequeath Vnto my three Grand-Children y* are in 
 Captivity if they returne Vizdt three books one of y m a bible 
 another a Sermon booke treating of faith and the other a psalme 
 book. 
 
 The old lady herself certainly had read the " Sermon 
 booke treating of faith," and it must have been to her a
 
 IO4 
 
 great consolation in her trials. Fortunately for her own 
 peace of mind she never knew that her grand-daughter had 
 embraced the Roman Catholic faith. The knowledge of this 
 fact would have been to her an affliction scarcely less than 
 the massacre of her daughter's family. 
 
 John Longley returned about the time that his grand- 
 mother died. The following paper signed by him is found 
 among the Knox manuscripts, now in the possession of the 
 New England Historic Genealogical Society : 
 
 John Longley of Groton of about fifty four Years of age 
 Testifyes & Saith That he was Taken Captive by the Indians 
 at Groton in July 1694. and Lived in Captivity with them More 
 than four Years ; And the Two Last years and an half at Pe- 
 nobscot as Servant to Madocawando of S"? Panobscot And he 
 was always Accounted as Chief or One of y? Chief Sachems or 
 Captains among the Indians there and I have Often Seen the 
 Indians Sitting in Council Where he always Sat as Chief : And 
 Once in perticuler I Observed a present was made him of a 
 Considerable Number of Skins of Considerable Vallue As an 
 Acknowledment of his Superiority. 
 
 JOHN LONGLEY 
 
 Midd? SS. Groton July 24* 1736. 
 
 Deacon John Longley above named personally appearing 
 Made Oath To y? Truth of the above written Testimony. 
 Before me Benj?- Prescott Jus* of peace 
 
 (Knox Manuscripts, Waldo Papers, L. 13.) 
 
 In the month of July, 1877, I was in Montreal, where I 
 procured, through the kindness of the Mother Superior at 
 the Congregation of Notre Dame, a copy of the record of 
 Lydia's baptism, of which the following is a translation : 
 
 On Tuesday, April 24, 1696, the ceremony of baptism was 
 performed on an English girl, named Lydia Longley, who was 
 born April 14, 1674, at Groton, a few miles from Boston in New 
 England. She was the daughter of William Longley and De- 
 liverance Crisp, both Protestants. She was captured in the 
 month of July, 1694, by the Abenaqui Indians, and has lived 
 for the past month in the house of the Sisters of the Congrega-
 
 105 
 
 tion of Notre Dame. The godfather was M. Jacques Le Ber, 
 merchant; the godmother was Madame Marie Madeleine Du- 
 pont, wife of M. de Maricourt, Ecuyer, Captain of a company 
 of Marines : she named this English girl Lydia Madeleine 
 
 [Signed] LYDIA MADELEINE LONGLEY, 
 MADELEINE DUPONT, 
 LE BER, 
 M. CAILLE, acting curate. 
 
 I now pass over the period of one generation, leaving be- 
 hind Indian attacks and massacres, and approach a subject 
 with pleasanter associations. 
 
 One day near the close of winter, in a house at the other 
 end of the street, there was considerable commotion and 
 excitement when the announcement was made that "it's a 
 boy." It was in the family of Benjamin and Abigail 
 (Oliver) Prescott, and it was on the 2oth of February, 1726, 
 according to the old style of reckoning. In due course of 
 time the baby was christened William, and his earliest expe- 
 riences, we may venture to say, were much like those of 
 other little ones. Of course all the women and children in 
 the neighborhood came in to see the young pilgrim, and 
 pinched his nose and punched his cheeks to their hearts' 
 content. He came of a sturdy stock, and his family name at 
 that time was the most distinguished one in the annals of 
 Groton. 
 
 Jonas, the progenitor, was the son of John and Mary 
 (Platts) Prescott, and was born at Lancaster, in June, 1648. 
 He was a blacksmith by trade, and owned the mill in the 
 south part of Groton, now within the limits of Harvard. 
 It is said that a grant of land made by the town, about the 
 year 1675, when it was much in need of a blacksmith, in- 
 duced him to remove nearer to the village. He built a 
 house and shop on the lot, which was situated on the easterly 
 side of James's Brook, perhaps a third of a mile south of 
 Lawrence Academy. He bought lands, until he became 
 one of the largest owners of real estate in the town. 
 
 Jonas married, December 14, 1672, Mary, daughter of 
 John and Mary (Draper) Loker, of Sudbury, and they had
 
 io6 
 
 four sons and eight daughters. Two of the sons died 
 young; but all the other children lived to grow up and 
 have families. The eight daughters, with one exception, 
 married Groton men, and were blessed with a numerous off- 
 spring. Jonas rilled many important positions in the town, 
 and represented it in the General Court during the years 
 1699 an d 1 7 Q S '> ne died on December 31, 1723, aged seventy- 
 five years. 
 
 His youngest son, Benjamin, was a man of strong char- 
 acter and commanding appearance; and, like his father, 
 filled many places of usefulness. He was married on June 
 n, 1718, to Abigail, daughter of the Honorable Thomas and 
 Mary (Wilson) Oliver, of Cambridge; and they had three 
 sons and four daughters. He lived near the old homestead, 
 having built a house a little easterly of his father's, where 
 he died on August 3, 1735, at the age of forty-two years, 
 after a short illness caused by over-exertion while haying. 
 His three sons were all remarkable men, and exerted much 
 influence in shaping public affairs during an important 
 period. 
 
 William, the second son of Benjamin, settled on a large 
 estate owned by his father, in that part of Groton, now in- 
 cluded in Pepperell, which lies near the State line. He was 
 a lieutenant in the expedition sent in the year 1755 to re- 
 move the French Neutrals from Nova Scotia, and a colonel 
 of Minute Men enrolled in this neighborhood in 1774. As 
 commander of the American forces at the Battle of Bunker 
 Hill, June 17, 1775, his name will never be forgotten. In 
 later years, at various times he filled the offices of town- 
 clerk, selectman, and representative in the General Court. 
 He was the father of William Prescott, the lawyer and 
 jurist, and the grandfather of William Hickling Prescott, 
 the distinguished historian. He died on October 13, 1795, 
 aged sixty-nine years, and was buried at Pepperell; his 
 widow died on October 21, 1821, at the advanced age of 
 eighty-eight years. 
 
 In modern times certain captious critics have tried to 
 deprive Colonel Prescott of the distinction of commanding
 
 ID; 
 
 the American forces at Bunker Hill. They never would 
 have attempted this act of injustice when the old hero was 
 alive; for then he had too many soldiers who had fought 
 under him, and had heard him giving orders on that event- 
 ful day, to allow the fact to be disputed. It was the uni- 
 versal testimony of all his military comrades, as I believe 
 it will be of impartial history, that the commandership of 
 that battle belongs to him. The circumstances surrounding 
 the army at the beginning of the Revolution were such that 
 there may have been but little formality in assigning a com- 
 mand; but there is no evidence that Prescott received an 
 order from any officer on that memorable field, while he 
 himself acted under orders from General Ward. 
 
 Besides the three spots marked by the monuments dedi- 
 cated to-day, there are other places in this town that might 
 well be designated in a special manner; and I trust that 
 the time is not far distant when they also shall have their 
 commemorative stones. 
 
 The site of the second meeting-house, near the Chaplin 
 school-house, is one of these places. 
 
 Another spot well deserving to be marked with a memo- 
 rial stone is the place from which Sarah, John, and Zecha- 
 riah Tarbell were carried off by the Indians, on June 20, 
 1707. They were children of Thomas and Elizabeth 
 (Wood) Tarbell, who had a large family, and lived on 
 Farmers' Row, near Mr. James Lawrence's house. Sarah 
 was a girl thirteen years of age, John a lad of eleven years, 
 and Zechariah only seven at the time when they were taken 
 by the savages. They were near kindred of the Longley 
 family, who had been massacred thirteen years before. 
 
 The story of their capture and captivity is a singular one, 
 and sounds like a romance. They were picking cherries 
 early one evening, so tradition relates, and were taken 
 by the Indians before they had time to get down from the 
 tree. It should be borne in mind that the date of capture, 
 according to the new style of reckoning, was July I, when 
 cherries would be ripe enough to tempt the appetite of youth- 
 ful climbers. These children were carried to Canada, where,
 
 io8 
 
 it would seem, they were treated kindly, as no inducement 
 afterward was strong enough to make them return to their 
 old home. The girl, Sarah, was sold to the French, and 
 placed in a convent at Lachine, near Montreal; but what 
 became of her subsequently I am unable to state. 
 
 Thomas Tarbell, the father of these children, made his 
 will September 26, 1715, which was admitted to probate six 
 weeks later. After making certain bequests to different 
 members of his family, he says : 
 
 all the rest & residue of my Reall Estate I give to be Equally 
 divided between my three children, John, Zachery, & Sarah 
 Tarbell, upon their return from Captivity, or In Proportion 
 unto any of them that shall return, & the rest, or the parts be- 
 longing to them that do not return, shall be Equally divided 
 among the rest of my children. 
 
 In the summer of 1877 I visited Montreal, as I have be- 
 fore mentioned, where I procured, through the kindness of 
 the Mother Superior at the Congregation of Notre Dame, 
 the record of Sarah's baptism, of which the following is a 
 translation : 
 
 On Monday, July 23, 1708, the ceremony of baptism was per- 
 formed on Sarah Tarbell, who was born at Groton in New 
 England, October 9, 1693. Her parents were Thomas Tarbell 
 and Elizabeth Wood, both Protestants, and she was baptized 
 by the minister shortly after her birth. Having been taken by 
 the savages on Monday, June 20, 1707, she was brought to 
 Canada ; she has since been sold, and has lived with the Sisters 
 of the Congregation of Notre Dame, established at Lachine, 
 where she abjured her religion on May I. Her godfather was 
 M. Jacques Urbain Robert de Lamorandiere, Secretary of 
 M. 1'Intendant; and^her godmother was Madame Marguerite 
 Bonat, wife of M. Etienne Pascaud, the deputy treasurer of 
 the King in this country. 
 
 Her name Sarah has been changed to Marguerite. 
 
 [Signed] MG TB BONAT, 
 
 PASCAUD, 
 LAMORANDIERE, 
 MERIEL, PRETRE,
 
 109 
 
 The boys remained with their captors at Caughnawaga, 
 an Indian village on the right bank of the St. Lawrence 
 River, directly opposite to Lachine; and subsequently mar- 
 ried squaws, and became chiefs of the tribe. Nothing fur- 
 ther in regard to them is learned until April 20, 1739, when 
 their case was brought before the Council and House of 
 Representatives, in Boston. At this time Governor Belcher 
 made a speech, in which he said that 
 
 There are lately come from Canada some Persons that were 
 taken by the Indians from Groton above thirty Years ago, who 
 (its believed) may be induced to return into this Province, on 
 your giving them some proper Encouragement : If this Matter 
 might be effected, I should think it would be not only an Act 
 of Compassion in order to release them from the Errors and 
 Delusions of the Romish Faith; but their living among us 
 might, in Time to come, be of great Advantage to the Province. 
 
 The matter was referred to a committee, but no definite 
 result was reached. Nearly forty years after their capture, 
 Governor Hutchinson met them in the State of New York, 
 and, in his " History of the Province of Massachusetts Bay," 
 refers to them thus : 
 
 I saw at Albany two or three men, in the year 1744, who 
 came in with the Indians to trade, and who had been taken at 
 Groton in this, that is called Queen Ann's war. One of them 
 
 Tarbell, was said to be one of the wealthiest of the Cag- 
 
 nawaga tribe. He made a visit in his Indian dress and with 
 his Indian complexion (for by means of grease and paints but 
 little difference could be discerned) to his relations at Groton, 
 but had no inclination to remain there (ii. 139). 
 
 Some years after this time these two boys now grown 
 up to manhood, and occupying the position of chiefs 
 moved up the St. Lawrence River, accompanied by several 
 others, all with their families, and established the village 
 of St. Regis. 
 
 Many interesting facts in regard to these Tarbell brothers 
 may be found in Dr. Franklin B. Hough's " History of St. 
 Lawrence and Franklin Counties, New York," published at
 
 no 
 
 Albany, in the year 1853. St. Regis is pleasantly situated 
 on the right bank of the St. Lawrence River, the boundary 
 line separating the State of New York from Canada running 
 through it. A part of the village comes within the limits 
 of Franklin County ; and Dr. Hough has gathered some of 
 the traditions in regard to them still extant in that neighbor- 
 hood. From the peculiar position of St. Regis, it was agreed, 
 during the last war with England, that the Indians should 
 remain neutral, though the agreement was often broken. In 
 the summer of 1852 the tribe numbered about eleven hun- 
 dred persons, of whom it is said that not one was of pure 
 Indian origin. 
 
 In former years the St. Regis Indians had certain rights 
 in a land reservation in the State of New York; and more 
 than once treaties were made between the governor of the 
 State and the chiefs of the tribe, among whom were de- 
 scendants of these Tarbell boys. A treaty was signed on 
 February 20, 1818, in behalf of the Indians, by Loran Tar- 
 bell and Thomas Tarbell, and two other chiefs. Another 
 treaty was signed on September 23, 1825, by eleven chiefs 
 and trustees of the tribe, including Peter Tarbell, Thomas 
 Tarbell, Mitchel Tarbell, Louis Tarbell, and Battice Tarbell. 
 Some of these names, I am sure, will sound familiar to the 
 older ones in this audience. It is very likely that Battice is 
 the same as Sabattis, an Indian name, which is said to be a 
 corruption of Saint Baptiste. 
 
 Dr. Hough writes about one of the earlier members of 
 the family as follows : 
 
 A half-breed Indian, who usually was known as PETER THE 
 BIG SPEAK, was a son of Lesor Tarbell, one of the lads who had 
 been stolen away from Groton by the Indians, and who subse- 
 quently became one of the first settlers who preceded the found- 
 ing of St. Regis. 
 
 He was a man of much address and ability as a speaker, and 
 was selected as the mouthpiece of the tribe on the more impor- 
 tant occasions that presented themselves (p. 182). 
 
 Dr. Hough is wrong when he says that Lesor was the 
 name of one of the captured boys. It is perfectly well
 
 Ill 
 
 known that their names were John and Zechariah, but it is 
 not improbable that one of their sons was named Lesor. If 
 this was the case, it was intended, doubtless, for Eleazer, 
 the name of their youngest brother, who was less than two 
 months old when they were carried off. It certainly would 
 be a very touching tribute to their childish recollections that 
 they should have remembered this little babe at home, and 
 carried him in their thoughts for so many years. 
 
 In the year 1772 the Reverend Mr. Ripley and Lieutenant 
 Taylor went on a mission to Canada, in order to induce some 
 Indian children to join the Charity School at Hanover, New 
 Hampshire. They returned September 21, bringing with 
 them eight boys from Caughnawaga, and two from Lorette, 
 a village near Quebec. Among these lads was a descend- 
 ant of one of the Groton Tarbells. (A Continuation of 
 the Narrative of the Indian Charity School, by Eleazer 
 Wheelock, D.D., 1773, pp. 39, 40.) 
 
 A Frenchman, of the name of Fovel, visited St. Regis in 
 the year 1826, and induced one of the Tarbell family, whose 
 Indian name was Joseph Torakaron, to accompany him to 
 Europe. Torakaron was to travel in the character of an 
 Indian chief, and Fovel was to act as interpreter and agent. 
 They sailed from New York, and, after reaching Paris, 
 they obtained an interview with Charles X; and so favor- 
 able was the impression produced on the mind of the king, 
 that he presented them with three fine paintings, besides 
 some money. Subsequently they went to Rome, where they 
 were presented to the Pope, who gave them some books and 
 plate for the service of the church. (Dr. Hough's History, 
 &c., p. 1 66.) 
 
 In the summer of 1877 I visited St. Regis, where I met a 
 grandson of one of the Tarbell boys who were carried off. 
 He was more than eighty years old, could speak only the 
 Indian language, and I had to communicate with him 
 through an interpreter. In this way I learned that he was 
 aware of the fact that his grandfather had been captured, 
 when a boy, from a town near Boston, and that he had rela- 
 tives still living there. What interested me exceedingly
 
 112 
 
 was the physical resemblance between him and some of his 
 collateral kindred who lived and died at Squannacook, within 
 my recollection. He was a man of ordinary size, with a 
 sunburnt face and gray hair, though somewhat bald. There 
 was but little appearance of Indian blood in his veins, and 
 he would have passed anywhere for a good-looking old 
 man. He lived with one of his sons in a small house that 
 was clapboarded and painted, and one of the best in the 
 village, where, surrounded by his grandchildren, he was 
 passing the declining years of his life in comfortable ease. 
 I was interested to learn from the Reverend Francis Mar- 
 coux, the parish priest, that the Tarbells were among the 
 most prominent families of the settlement, where there are, 
 perhaps, forty persons who bear the name. They keep up, 
 in a great measure, the same given names that are common 
 among their kindred in this neighborhood. The inhab- 
 itants of St. Regis, for the most part, retain the English 
 names of their fathers, and, besides, have Indian ones. 
 
 A third spot that might appropriately be marked by the 
 town is the place where John Shattuck and his eldest son 
 John, a young man in his nineteenth year, were murdered 
 by the Indians, May 8, 1709. They were returning from 
 the west side of the Nashua River, where Mr. Shattuck 
 owned land, and were attacked just as they were crossing the 
 Stony Fordway, below the dam, near the Hollingsworth 
 Paper-mills, where they were killed. At the time of his 
 death Mr. Shattuck, was one of the selectmen of the town. 
 [A memorial stone with a suitable inscription was placed 
 near the bridge in December, 1882.] 
 
 A remarkable fatality seems to have followed Mrs. Shat- 
 tuck' s kindred. Her husband and eldest son were killed by 
 the Indians, as has just been mentioned. Her father, James 
 Blood, was likewise killed, September 13, 1692. So also 
 were her uncle, William Longley, his wife and five children, 
 July 27, 1694; and three others of their children were car- 
 ried away into captivity at the same time. A relative, James 
 Parker, Jr., and his wife were killed in this assault, and 
 their children taken prisoners. Her step-father, Enosh Law-
 
 "3 
 
 rence, received a wound in an engagement with the Indians, 
 probably in the same attack of July 27, 1694, which almost 
 wholly prevented him from earning a livelihood for himself 
 and family. The three Tarbell children, who were carried 
 off to Canada by the Indians, June 20, 1707, were cousins 
 of Mrs. Shattuck. John Ames, who was shot by the savages 
 at the gate of his own garrison, July 9, 1724, was the father 
 of Jacob, who married her niece, Ruth Shattuck. And lastly, 
 her son-in-law, Isaac Lakin, the husband of her daughter 
 Elizabeth, was wounded in Lovewell's fight at Pigwacket, 
 May 8, 1725. These calamities covered a period of only one 
 generation, extending from the year 1692 to 1725. 
 
 The task which you assigned me is now done ; and I need 
 not assure you that it has been a labor of love. I will end 
 it by saying that the lesson of these monuments will be lost, 
 if it does not teach us to study the example and to imitate the 
 virtues of the founders of the town.
 
 AN 
 
 HISTORICAL ADDRESS 
 
 JULY 12, 1905 
 
 ON THE CELEBRATION OF THE 
 
 Two HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
 SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN
 
 TO THE MEMORY 
 OF 
 
 of <0roton 
 
 TO WHOM IN MANY WAYS THE PRESENT INHABITANTS 
 OWE SO MUCH 
 
 THESE PAGES ARE INSCRIBED
 
 HISTORICAL ADDRESS 
 
 ON this interesting occasion we all miss the presence of one 
 whose form and figure were familiar to every man, woman, 
 and child in town ; and only a few months ago we were all 
 looking forward to the time when he would take a promi- 
 nent part in these exercises of to-day. Some of us remem- 
 ber the Bi-centennial Celebration which took place a half- 
 century ago, and a few of us now in this assembly were 
 present at that gathering. We recall the grace and dignity 
 with which he, as President of the day on that occasion, 
 performed the duties of his office, both in the meeting- 
 house where the historical address was given, and in the tent 
 where the after-dinner speeches were made. Whenever or 
 wherever his services were needed, whether in the councils 
 of the State or the Nation, they were always cheerfully 
 rendered ; and in this quiet village his aid and advice, often 
 sought by his townsfolk, were always freely given. In 
 many walks of life, both lofty and lowly, his absence will 
 be keenly felt ; but here among his old-time neighbors more 
 than elsewhere, the loss is a personal one, and comes home 
 to us all. We miss him now at this time more than words 
 can tell. When death strikes such a man, who has led a 
 blameless life, and whose bodily frame has become en- 
 feebled by the infirmities of age, his removal is not a cause 
 for sorrow; but rather it is an occasion for devout grati- 
 tude to Heaven and for heartfelt thanksgivings that he was 
 spared to us during so many years. Life is at the longest 
 only a short period of probation, and birth is but the begin- 
 ning of death. The noble example of such a character is as 
 lasting as the countless ages of time, and is never lost, for 
 the continuity of life keeps up the thread of connection. 
 He died at an advanced age in the fulness of all his mental 
 and intellectual powers, which seemed to strengthen as the
 
 I2O 
 
 years rolled by. Truly he was the Grand Old Man of the 
 Commonwealth ! As long as the town of Groton shall have 
 a municipal existence, the memory and traditions connected 
 with the name of Boutwell will be counted among her rich- 
 est treasures. 
 
 The story of this town has been told so many times, both 
 in printed book and public address, that now I shall not 
 repeat the tale. I might give a narrative of the trials and 
 troubles, suffered equally by brave men and hardy women, 
 during the first century of the settlement ; I might tell how 
 the town was attacked by the Indians and burnt, and how 
 the inhabitants were driven away from their homes and 
 compelled for a while to abandon the place; how on vari- 
 ous occasions men were killed by the savages, families 
 broken up, and children carried off into captivity; and how 
 oftentimes from the failure of crops they were pinched by 
 want ; and how they endured other privations, but a 
 rehearsal of these facts at this time would be as tedious as 
 a twice-told tale. Instead of describing the sad and dread- 
 ful experiences of the early settlers, and the destruction of 
 their homes by fire and hideous ruin, I shall confine myself 
 to other topics, and speak of some of the conditions of 
 their day, bringing the account down to a later period, and 
 touching on a few of the more important events in our 
 local history. 
 
 In early Colonial days a town did not become a municipal 
 corporation by formal vote of the General Court, with 
 power to act as one person, but a grant of land, sometimes 
 containing many thousand acres, was made to a body of 
 men under certain conditions, which was practically a quasi 
 form of incorporation. The most important of these con- 
 ditions was the speedy settlement of a Godly minister, and 
 often another condition was that those persons who re- 
 ceived land should build houses thereon within a stated 
 period of time. Sometimes a board of selectmen was 
 named by the Legislature, who should look after the pru- 
 dential affairs of the town until their successors were 
 chosen. In those days this course was substantially the 
 only formality needed in order to give local self-govern-
 
 121 
 
 ment to a new community. The term " prudential affairs " 
 was a convenient expression, intended to cover anything 
 required by a town which prudence would dictate. 
 
 In the early records of the Colony the proceedings of 
 the General Court, as a rule, were not dated day by day, 
 though there are many exceptions, but the beginning 
 of the session is always given, and occasionally the days 
 of the month are entered. These dates in the printed edi- 
 tion of the Records are frequently carried along without 
 authority, sometimes covering a period of several days, or 
 even a week or more; and for this reason often it is im- 
 possible to tell the exact date of any particular legislation 
 unless there are contemporary documents on file which bear 
 on the subject. In a few instances papers are found among 
 the State Archives or elsewhere, which fix the date of such 
 legislation as is wanting in the official reports. 
 
 For these reasons it is impossible to tell to a dot or a 
 day, with entire certainty, when the town of Groton began 
 its municipal life or official existence, or, in other words, 
 when it was " incorporated," as the modern expression is. 
 Without any doubt the date was near the end of May, 
 1655, Old Style. It must have been after May 23, as on 
 that day the General Court began its session; and it was 
 before May 29, when the next entry in the records ap- 
 pears. Fortunately there is still preserved among the 
 manuscripts of the New-England Historic Genealogical 
 Society a contemporary record of the action of the Gen- 
 eral Court in regard to the matter. This interesting old 
 paper, officially attested by Edward Rawson, Secretary of 
 the Colony, and by William Torrey, Clerk of the Depu- 
 ties, was given to that Society by the late Charles Woolley, 
 for many years an honored resident of Groton. This 
 document was signed on May 25, the day when the As- 
 sistants, or Magistrates as they are often called, granted 
 the petition, and apparently at the same time the House 
 of Deputies took concurrent action. At that period the 
 Assistants formed the body of law-makers which is 
 known to-day as the State Senate; and at that time the 
 
 16
 
 122 
 
 House of Deputies corresponded to the present House of 
 Representatives. 
 
 It may be proper to add that the Groton Historical So- 
 ciety owns a contemporary copy of the record made near 
 the time of the Grant by Edward Rawson, Secretary of the 
 Colony, which is dated May 23, 1655. It was found 
 among- the papers of the late John Boynton, a former town- 
 clerk of Groton, and it may have been sent, soon after the 
 settlement of the town, to the selectmen for their infor- 
 mation and guidance. Perhaps the Secretary took the first 
 day of the General Court, as in England before April 8, 
 1793, all laws passed at a session of Parliament went into 
 effect from the first day, unless there was some clause to 
 the contrary. 
 
 But whatever the date, be it a few days more or less, 
 the substance is always of greater importance than the 
 shadow; so it is of less moment to learn the exact time 
 of the order than it is to know that the town has now 
 reached the ripe old age of two centuries and a half, and 
 that she wears the dignity of her increasing years like a 
 crown of glory. 
 
 Besides Groton the only two other towns established in 
 the year 1655 by the Colony of Massachusetts Bay were 
 Billerica and Chelmsford; and singularly enough all three 
 were contiguous townships, lying in the same county, and 
 all three " incorporated " within a very few days of each 
 other. It should be borne in mind that originally the 
 town of Westford was a part of the territory of Chelms- 
 ford. Why these three adjoining towns were thus created 
 at this particular time may not have been a mere coinci- 
 dence. It may have been the result of a certain condition 
 of political " ins " and " outs " at that early period of 
 Colonial history which now cannot be explained. 
 
 The Charter, duly given by Charles I, was abrogated 
 by the English courts in the summer of 1684. The action 
 was considered by the Colonists as little short of a gross 
 outrage, and caused much confusion in public affairs as 
 well as hard feeling among the people. Says Palfrey, in
 
 123 
 
 his "History of New England" (iv. 5), "The charter 
 of Massachusetts, the only unquestionable title of her citi- 
 zens to any rights, proprietary, social, or political, had been 
 vacated by regular process in the English courts." It was 
 vacated by a decree in Chancery, on June 21, 1684, which 
 was confirmed on October 23 of the same year. On May 
 25, 1686, Joseph Dudley, a native of Roxbury, under a 
 commission from King James II, became President of New 
 England, with jurisdiction over the whole region. This 
 office he held for seven months, until December 30, when 
 Edmund Andros became Governor of New England, ap- 
 pointed by James II. He proved to be a highly arbitrary 
 officer, and was deposed by a revolution of the people, on 
 April 1 8, 1689. Andros was followed by Simon Brad- 
 street, who was Governor from May 24, 1689, to May 14, 
 1692. He was the grandfather of Dudley Bradstreet, an 
 early minister of this town, which gives an additional in- 
 terest to his name at the present time. During this period 
 another Charter, signed by William and Mary, on Octo- 
 ber 7, 1691, and now known as the Second Charter, be- 
 came operative. Under this instrument the Colony was 
 made a Province, which is a lower grade of political ex- 
 istence, as it has fewer privileges and more restrictions as 
 to the rights of the people. From June, 1684, when the 
 First Charter was vacated, till May, 1692, when the Second 
 Charter went into operation, the time is generally spoken 
 of as the Inter-Charter period, and is an exceptional one 
 in the history of Massachusetts and New England. 
 
 The first settlers of the town came here less than one 
 generation after the Colonial Charter of Massachusetts 
 Bay was granted by Charles I. They represented a rugged 
 race, willing to undergo hardships in daily life, and ready 
 to meet dangers from any source. Under calamitous con- 
 ditions they pushed into the wilderness and made their 
 homes in a region little known to the white man. They 
 were a brave band, and took their trials and troubles with 
 a readiness worthy of all praise. The new township lay 
 on the frontiers, and all beyond was a desolate wild. It
 
 124 
 
 stood on the outer edge of civilization, and for a time 
 served as a barrier against Indian attacks on the inlying 
 settlements. The lot of a frontiersman, even under favor- 
 able conditions, is never a happy one, but at that period, 
 particularly when cut off from neighbors and deprived of 
 all social and commercial intercourse with other towns, 
 and in an age when newspapers and postal privileges were 
 unknown, his lot was indeed hard. In after-years this 
 experience told on the settlers to their credit and benefit, 
 and made the bold character that cropped out in later 
 generations when there was need of such stuff. In their 
 make-up they had the gristle which hardened into bone. 
 The laws of heredity are not well enough known for us 
 to trace closely Cause and Effect; but the lives led by the 
 early pioneers of the Colony had their fruitage in the wars 
 of the next century. These laws work in a subtle and 
 mysterious way and cannot be defined, but the hardships 
 of one generation toughen the fibre and sharpen the skill 
 of the next. Given a strong body and a high standard 
 of morality, and the offspring will show the inherited traits. 
 Every farmer in this town knows that a strain of blood 
 and breed will tell on his domestic stock. As flowers, by 
 a process not revealed to us, select the tint of delicate 
 colors from the swampy bogs of nature, so the toils of life 
 weave the warp and the woof which make up noble char- 
 acter. " The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good 
 and ill together." Heredity and environment when they 
 work in harmony plough deep and send forth a rich 
 harvest. 
 
 It was once wittily said by a writer, so distinguished 
 in his day that I hardly know whether to speak of him 
 as a poet or a physician, but whom all will recognize as 
 the Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, that a man's edu- 
 cation begins a hundred years before he is born. I am 
 almost tempted to add that even then he is putting on 
 only the finishing touches of his training. A man is a 
 composite being, both in body and soul, with a long line 
 of ancestry whose beginnings it is impossible to trace;
 
 125 
 
 and every succeeding generation only helps to foster and 
 bind together the various and innumerable qualities which 
 make up his own personality, though they be modified 
 by countless circumstances that form his later education, 
 and for which he alone is responsible. 
 
 The first comers to Massachusetts brought from their 
 English homes a love of personal freedom and liberty. 
 For generations this feeling had not been encouraged there 
 by the royal authorities; and its growth, hampered by 
 many obstacles, had been slow. These settlers were a 
 hard-working set and a God-fearing people, and of the 
 right stock to found a nation. Here the new conditions 
 enabled them to give free scope to their actions, and the 
 natural drift of events was all toward individual independ- 
 ence in its widest sense. There was no law against either 
 conventicles or non-conformists, and for that period of 
 time there was great liberality of sentiment on the part 
 of the Colonists. For centuries the microbic atoms of in- 
 dependence had been kept alive in England, and from one 
 generation to another they handed down the germs which 
 developed in the new world, and bore fruit in the Ameri- 
 can Revolution. From the time of King John, who, on 
 June 15, 1215, signed the Great Charter of the Liberties 
 of England, the recognition of human rights was advanc- 
 ing in the mother country slowly but steadily; and the 
 new settlers here, infected with similar ideas, brought with 
 them the spirit of these political principles. The develop- 
 ment of broad views was gradual, but on every advance 
 the wheels were blocked behind, and the gain was held. 
 Each separate step thus taken led finally to the Declaration 
 of Independence, which was the crowning point of political 
 freedom. Based on this instrument, and following it closely 
 both in spirit and in point of time, was the written Con- 
 stitution of the United States, which has served as a model 
 for so many different governments. 
 
 Less than one generation passed between the time when 
 the Charter of Charles I was given to the Colony of Mas- 
 sachusetts Bay and the date when the grant of Groton
 
 126 
 
 Plantation was made by the General Court. The Charter 
 was given on March 4, 1628-9, and the grant of the 
 town was made in May, 1655, the interval being a little 
 more than twenty-six years. At that period scarcely any- 
 thing was known about the geography of the region, and 
 the Charter gave to the Governor and other representa- 
 tives of the Massachusetts Company, on certain conditions, 
 all the territory lying between an easterly and westerly line 
 running three miles north of any part of the Merrimack 
 River and extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, 
 and a similar parallel line running three miles south of 
 any part of the Charles River. Without attempting to 
 trace in detail, from the time of the Cabots to the days 
 of the Charter, the continuity of the English title to this 
 transcontinental strip of territory, it is enough to know 
 that the precedents and usages of that period gave to Great 
 Britain, in theory at least, undisputed sway over the re- 
 gion, and forged every link in the chain of authority and 
 sovereignty. 
 
 At the time of the Charter it was incorrectly supposed 
 that America was a narrow strip of land, perhaps an 
 arm of the continent of Asia, and that the distance across 
 from ocean to ocean was comparatively short. It was known 
 then that the Isthmus of Darien was narrow, and there- 
 fore it was supposed that the whole continent also was 
 narrow. New England was a region about which little 
 was known beyond slight examinations made from the 
 coast line. The rivers were unexplored, and all knowledge 
 concerning them was confined to the neighborhood of the 
 places where they emptied into the sea. The early naviga- 
 tors thought that the general course of the Merrimack was 
 easterly and westerly, as it runs in that direction near the 
 mouth; and their error was perpetuated inferentially by 
 the words of the Charter. By later explorations this strip 
 of territory has since been lengthened out into a belt three 
 thousand miles long, and stretches across the whole width 
 of a continent. The cities of Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, 
 Buffalo, Detroit, and Milwaukee all lie within this zone,
 
 127 
 
 on territory that once belonged to the Massachusetts Com- 
 pany, according to the Charter granted by King Charles. 
 
 The general course of the Merrimack, as well as its 
 source, soon became known to the early settlers on the 
 coast. The northern boundary of the original grant to 
 the Colony of Massachusetts Bay was established under a 
 misapprehension; and this ignorance of the topography of 
 the country on the part of the English authorities afterward 
 gave rise to considerable controversy between the adjoin- 
 ing Provinces of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. So 
 long as the territory in question remained unsettled, the 
 dispute was a matter of little practical importance; but 
 after a while it assumed grave proportions and led to much 
 confusion. Grants made by one Province clashed with 
 those made by the other; and there was no ready tribunal 
 to decide the claims of the two parties. Towns were 
 chartered by Massachusetts in territory claimed by New 
 Hampshire; and this action was the cause of bitter feel- 
 ing and provoking legislation. Massachusetts contended 
 for the tract of land " nominated in the bond," which 
 would carry the jurisdictional line fifty miles northward, 
 into the very heart of New Hampshire ; and, on the other 
 hand, that Province strenuously opposed this view of the 
 case, and claimed that the line should run, east and west, 
 three miles north of the mouth of the Merrimack River. 
 In order to settle these conflicting claims a Royal Com- 
 mission was appointed to consider the subject and estab- 
 lish the contested line. The Commissioners were selected 
 from the councillors of the Provinces of New York, New 
 Jersey, Nova Scotia, and Rhode Island, men supposed 
 to be free from any local prejudices in the matter, and 
 impartial in their feelings; and without doubt they were 
 such. The board, as appointed under the Great Seal, con- 
 sisted of nineteen members, although only seven served in 
 their capacity as Commissioners. They met at Hampton, 
 New Hampshire, on August i, 1737; and for mutual con- 
 venience the Legislative Assemblies of the two Provinces 
 met in the same neighborhood, the Assembly of New
 
 128 
 
 Hampshire at Hampton Falls, and that of Massachusetts 
 at Salisbury, places only five miles apart. This was done 
 in order that the claims of each side might be considered 
 with greater despatch than otherwise they would receive. 
 The General Court of Massachusetts met at Salisbury, in 
 the First Parish Meeting-house, on August 10, 1737, and 
 continued to hold its sessions in that town until October 20, 
 inclusive, though with several adjournments, of which one 
 was for thirty-five days. The printed journal of the House 
 of Representatives, during this period, gives the proceed- 
 ings of that body, which contain much in regard to the 
 controversy besides the ordinary business of legislation. 
 Many years previously the two Provinces had been united 
 so far as to have the same governor, at this time Jona- 
 than Belcher, but each Province had its own legislative 
 body and code of laws. 
 
 The Commissioners heard both sides of the question, 
 and agreed upon an award in alternative, leaving to the 
 king the interpretation of the charters given respectively 
 by Charles I and William and Mary. Under one inter- 
 pretation the decision was in favor of Massachusetts, and 
 under the other in favor of New Hampshire; and at the 
 same time each party was allowed six weeks to file objec- 
 tions. Neither side, however, was satisfied with this in- 
 direct decision; and the whole matter was then taken to 
 the king in council. Massachusetts claimed that the Mer- 
 rimack River began at the confluence of the Winnepesaukee 
 and the Pemigewasset Rivers, and that the northern boun- 
 dary of the Province should run, east and west, three miles 
 north of this point. On the other hand, New Hampshire 
 claimed that the intention of the Charter was to establish 
 a northern boundary on a line, running east and west, 
 three miles north of the mouth of the Merrimack River. 
 In this controversy Massachusetts seems to have based her 
 claim on the letter of the contract, while New Hampshire 
 based hers on the spirit of the contract. 
 
 The strongest argument in favor of Massachusetts was 
 the fact that she had always considered the disputed ter-
 
 129 
 
 ritory as belonging to her jurisdiction ; and before this 
 period she had chartered twenty-four towns lying within 
 the limits of the tract. These several settlements all looked 
 to her for protection, and naturally sympathized with her 
 during the controversy. As just stated, neither party was 
 satisfied with the verdict rendered by the Royal Commis- 
 sioners; and both sides appealed from their judgment. 
 The matter was then taken to England for a decision, 
 which was given by the king, on March 4, 1739-40. His 
 judgment was final, and in favor of New Hampshire. It 
 gave to that Province not only all the territory in dispute, 
 but a strip of land fourteen miles in width lying along 
 her southern border, mostly west of the Merrimack, 
 which she had never claimed. This strip was the tract of 
 land between the line running east and west three miles 
 north of the southernmost trend of the river, and a similar 
 line three miles north of its mouth. By the decision many 
 townships were taken from Massachusetts and given to 
 New Hampshire. The settlement of this disputed question 
 was undoubtedly a great public benefit, but at the time it 
 caused a good deal of hard feeling. The new line was 
 established by surveyors officially in the spring of 1741. 
 
 In regard to the divisional line between the two Prov- 
 inces lying east of the Merrimack, there was much less 
 uncertainty, as, in a general way, it followed the bend of 
 the river, and for that reason there was much less con- 
 troversy over the jurisdiction. Many of you, doubtless, 
 have noticed on a map the tier of towns which fringe the 
 north bank of the Merrimack, between the city of Lowell 
 and the mouth of the river; and, perhaps, you have won- 
 dered why those places, which from a geographical point 
 of view belong to the State of New Hampshire, should 
 come now within the limits of Massachusetts. The ex- 
 planation of this seeming incongruity goes back to the date 
 of the first Charter, now more than two hundred and 
 seventy-five years ago. 
 
 Thus far I have given an account of this dispute in 
 some detail, as the town of Groton was a party to the con- 
 
 17
 
 130 
 
 troversy and took a deep interest in the result. It was 
 by this decision of the king that the town lost all that 
 portion of its territory which lies now within the limits 
 of the city of Nashua ; but it did not suffer nearly so much 
 as our neighbor, the town of Dunstable, suffered by the 
 same decision. At that time she received a staggering 
 blow, and her loss, indeed, was a grievous one. Originally 
 she was a large township containing 128,000 acres of land, 
 situated on both sides of the Merrimack ; and she was so 
 cut in two by the running of the new line that by far the 
 larger part of her territory came within the jurisdiction 
 of New Hampshire. Even the meeting-house and the 
 burying-ground, both so closely and dearly connected with 
 the early life of our people, were separated from that por- 
 tion of the town still remaining in Massachusetts ; and this 
 fact added not a little to the animosity felt by the inhab- 
 itants when the disputed question was settled. It is no 
 exaggeration to say that throughout the old township and 
 all along the line of the borders from the Merrimack to 
 the Connecticut, the feelings and sympathies of the people 
 were wholly with Massachusetts. 
 
 Thus cut in twain, there were two adjoining towns bear- 
 ing the same name, the one in Massachusetts, and the other 
 in New Hampshire; and thus they remained for nearly 
 a century. This similarity of designation was the source 
 of considerable confusion which lasted until the New 
 Hampshire town, on January i, 1837, took the name of 
 Nashua, after the river from which its prosperity largely 
 is derived. 
 
 By the same decision of the king our other adjoining 
 neighbor, Townsend, for at that time Pepperell had not 
 as yet taken on a separate municipal existence, was 
 deprived of more than one quarter of her territory; and 
 the present towns of Brookline, Mason, and New Ipswich 
 in New Hampshire are reaping now the benefit of what 
 she then lost. 
 
 Enough of the original Groton Plantation, however, was 
 left to furnish other towns and parts of towns with ample
 
 material for their territory. On November 26, 1742, the 
 west parish of Groton was set off as a precinct. It com- 
 prised all that part of the town lying on the west side of 
 the Nashua River, north of the old road leading from 
 Groton to Townsend, and now known as Pepperell. Its 
 incorporation as a parish or precinct allowed the inhab- 
 itants to manage their own ecclesiastical affairs, while in 
 all other matters they continued to act with the parent 
 town. Its partial separation gave them the benefit of a 
 settled minister in their neighborhood, which in those days 
 was considered of great importance. 
 
 It is an interesting fact to note that in early times the 
 main reason given in the petitions for dividing towns was 
 the long distance to the meeting-house, by which the in- 
 habitants were prevented from hearing the stated preach- 
 ing of the gospel. At the present day I do not think that 
 this argument is ever urged by those who favor the divi- 
 sion of a township. 
 
 On April 12, 1753, when the Act was signed by the 
 Governor, the west parish of Groton was made a district, 
 the second step toward its final and complete separation 
 from the mother town. At this period the Crown authori- 
 ties were jealous of the growth of the popular party in the 
 House of Representatives, and for that reason they frowned 
 on every attempt to increase the number of its members. 
 This fact had some connection with the tendency, which 
 began to crop out during Governor Shirley's administra- 
 tion, to form districts instead of towns, thereby withhold- 
 ing their representation. At this date the west parish, 
 under its changed political conditions, took the name of 
 Pepperrell, and was vested with still broader powers. It 
 was so called after Sir William Pepperrell, who had suc- 
 cessfully commanded the New England troops against 
 Louisburg; and the name was suggested, doubtless, by 
 the Reverend Joseph Emerson, the first settled minister 
 of the parish. He had accompanied that famous expedi- 
 tion in the capacity of chaplain, only the year before he 
 had received a call for his settlement, and the associations
 
 132 
 
 with the commander were fresh in his memory. The 
 hero of the capture of Louisburg always wrote his sur- 
 name with a double " r " ; and for many years the district 
 followed that custom, and like him spelled the name with 
 two " r "s, but gradually the town dropped one of these 
 letters. It was near the beginning of the nineteenth century 
 that the present orthographic form of the word became 
 general. 
 
 In the session of the General Court which met at Water- 
 town, on July 19, 1775, Pepperell was represented by a 
 member, and at that time practically acquired the rights 
 and privileges of a town without any special act of incor- 
 poration. Other similar districts were likewise represented, 
 in accordance with the precept calling that body together, 
 and thus they obtained full municipal rights without the 
 usual formality. The precedent seems to have been set by 
 the First Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, which met 
 in the autumn of 1774, and was made up of delegates 
 from the districts as well as from the towns. It was a 
 revolutionary step taken outside of the law; and the in- 
 formality led to a general Act, passed on August 23, 1775, 
 which legalized the change. 
 
 Shirley, unlike Pepperell, was never incorporated as a 
 precinct, but was set off as a district on January 5, 1753, 
 three months before Pepperell was set off as one. In the 
 Act of Incorporation the name was left blank, as it was 
 previously in the case of Harvard, and soon afterward in 
 that of Pepperell, and " Shirley " was filled in at the 
 time of its engrossment. It was so named after William 
 Shirley, the Governor of the Province at that period. It 
 never was incorporated specifically as a town, but became 
 one by a general Act of the Legislature, passed on August 
 23, 1775. While a district it was represented in the ses- 
 sion of the General Court which met at Watertown, on 
 July 19, 1775, as well as represented in the First Provin- 
 cial Congress of Massachusetts, and thus tacitly acquired 
 the dignity of a town, which was afterward confirmed by 
 the Act, just mentioned.
 
 133 
 
 These two townships, Pepperell and Shirley, were the 
 first settlements to swarm from the original Plantation. 
 With the benediction of the mother they left the parent 
 hive, and on all occasions they have proved to be dutiful 
 daughters in whom the old town has always taken a deep 
 pride. In former years, before the days of railroads, these 
 two towns were closely identified with Groton, and the 
 social intercourse between them was very intimate. If the 
 families of the three towns were not akin to one another, 
 in a certain sense they were neighbors. 
 
 The latest legislation connected with the dismemberment 
 of the original grant, and perhaps the last for many 
 years to come, is the Act of February 14, 1871, by which 
 the town of Ayer was incorporated. This enactment took 
 from Groton a large section of territory lying near its 
 southern borders, and from Shirley all that part of the 
 town on the easterly side of the Nashua River which was 
 annexed to it from Groton, on February 6, 1798. 
 
 Thus has the old Groton Plantation, during a period of 
 two hundred and fifty years, been hewn and hacked down 
 to less than one half of its original dimensions. Formerly 
 it contained 40,960 acres, while now the amount of taxable 
 land within the town is 19,850 acres. It has furnished, 
 substantially, the entire territory of Pepperell, Shirley, and 
 Ayer, more than one half of Dunstable, and has contributed 
 more or less to form five other towns, namely, Harvard, 
 Littleton, and Westford, in Massachusetts, besides Nashua 
 and Hollis, in New Hampshire. 
 
 The early settlers of Groton, like all other persons of that 
 period of time or of any period, had their limitations. 
 They were lovers of political freedom, and they gave the 
 largest liberty to all, so far as it related to their physical 
 condition; but in matters of religious belief it was quite 
 otherwise. With them it was an accepted tradition, per- 
 haps with us not entirely outgrown, that persons who 
 held a different faith from themselves were likely to have 
 a lower standard of morality. They saw things by a dim 
 light, they saw " through a glass darkly." They beheld
 
 134 
 
 theological objects by the help of dipped candles, and they 
 interpreted religion and its relations to life accordingly. 
 They viewed all ecclesiastical matters through chinks, while 
 we who live two hundred and fifty years later can bring to 
 our aid the electric light of science and modern discovery. 
 We have a great advantage over what they had, and let 
 us use it fairly. Let us be just to them, as we hope for 
 justice from those who will follow us. Let us remember 
 that the standards of daily life change from one century 
 to another. Perhaps in future generations, when we are 
 judged, the verdict of posterity will be against us rather 
 than against the early comers. More has been given to us 
 than was given to them, and we shall be held answerable 
 in a correspondingly larger measure. It is not the number 
 of talents with which we have been entrusted that will tell 
 in our favor, but the sacred use we make of them. In 
 deciding this question, two centuries and a half hence, I 
 am by no means sure of the judgment that history will 
 render. Do we as a nation give all men a square deal? 
 The author of the Golden Rule was color-blind, and in its 
 application he made no difference between the various races 
 of mankind. This rule applied to the black man equally 
 with the white man. Do we now give our African brother 
 a fair chance? It is enough for us to try to do right, and 
 let the consequences be what they will. " Hew up to the 
 chalk line, and let the chips fly where they may," once said 
 Wendell Phillips. We hear much nowadays about the 
 simple life, but that was the life lived by the settlers, and 
 taught to their children, both by precept and example. 
 Austere in their belief, they practised those homely virtues 
 which lie at the base of all civilization; and we of to-day 
 owe much to their memory. They prayed for the wisdom 
 that cometh from above, and for the righteousness that 
 exalteth a nation; and they tried to square their conduct 
 by their creed. 
 
 The early settlers were a plain folk, and they knew little 
 of the pride and pomposity of later times. To sum up 
 briefly their social qualities, I should say that they were
 
 135 
 
 neighborly to a superlative degree, which means much in 
 country life. They looked after the welfare of their 
 neighbors who were not so well off in this world's goods 
 as they themselves, they watched with them when they 
 were sick, and sympathized with them when death came 
 into their families. In cold weather they hauled wood for 
 the widows, and cut it up and split it for them; and when 
 a beef " crittur " or a hog was killed, no one went hungry. 
 When a man met with an accident and had a leg broken, 
 the neighbors saw that his crops were gathered, and that 
 all needful work was done; and after a heavy snow-storm 
 in winter, they turned to and broke out the roads and pri- 
 vate ways with sleds drawn by many yoke of oxen be- 
 longing in the district. Happily all this order of things is 
 not yet a lost art, but in former times the custom was more 
 thoroughly observed, and spread over a much wider region 
 than now prevails. When help was needed in private house- 
 holds, they never asked, like the lawyer of old, " And who is 
 my neighbor ? " They always stretched out their hands to 
 the poor, and they reached forth their hands to the needy. 
 
 To us it seems almost pathetic, certainly amusing, to see 
 how closely they connected their daily life with the affairs 
 of the church. As a specimen I will give an instance 
 found in the note-book of the Reverend John Fiske, of 
 Chelmsford. He records that James Parker, James Fiske, 
 and John Nutting wished to remove from Chelmsford and 
 take up their abode in this town. The subject of their 
 removal was brought before the church there in the autumn 
 of 1661, when they desired the "loving leave" of their 
 brethren so to do, as well as prayers that the blessing of 
 God might accompany them to their new homes. The 
 meeting was held on November 9, 1661, when some dis- 
 cussion took place and considerable feeling was shown. 
 Mr. Fiske, the pastor, shrewdly declined to commit himself 
 in the matter; or, according to the record, declined to 
 speak on the question " one way or the other, but desired 
 that the brethren might manifest themselves." At the 
 conference one brother said that there was no necessity for
 
 136 
 
 the removal, and hoped that the three members would give 
 up their intention to remove, and would remain in Chelms- 
 ford. Reading between the lines it seems as if this town 
 had invited the three men to settle here; and Brother 
 Parker speaking for them ("in the plural number") said 
 that God's hand was to be seen in the whole movement. 
 The same hand which brought them to Chelmsford now 
 pointed to Groton. Apparently the meeting was a pro- 
 tracted one, and " scarce a man in the Church but pres- 
 ently said the grounds, the grounds." This was another 
 form of calling for the question, in other words, for the 
 reasons of the removal, whether valid or not. While the 
 decision of the conference is not given in exact language, 
 inf erentially it was in favor of their going, as they were 
 here in December, 1662. James Parker was a deacon of 
 the Chelmsford church; and perhaps there had been some 
 slight disagreement between him and a few of the other 
 members. Evidently he was one of the pillars of the body 
 at Chelmsford ; and at once he became a deacon at Groton. 
 To us now it is amusing to see what a commotion in the 
 church was raised because these three families purposed 
 to remove to another town. " Behold, how great a matter 
 a little fire kindleth." Fortunately for this town James 
 Parker, James Fiske, and John Nutting with their house- 
 holds came hither to live, where they all became useful and 
 influential citizens far above the average. In his day James 
 Parker was the most prominent man in Groton, filling 
 many civil and military positions; the next year after 
 coming James Fiske was chosen selectman, and later town- 
 clerk; and John Nutting was appointed surveyor of high- 
 ways. There are in this audience, doubtless, at the present 
 moment many descendants of these three pioneers who had 
 so many obstacles thrown in their way before taking up 
 their abode here. If these families had not removed hither 
 at that early period, perhaps their descendants now would 
 be celebrating anniversaries elsewhere rather than here, and 
 might never have known what they lost by the change in 
 their respective birthplaces. Without being able to call 
 them by name or to identify them in any way, to all such
 
 137 
 
 I offer the greetings of this gathering on the good judg- 
 ment shown by their ancestors. 
 
 This town took its name from Groton, Co. Suffolk, 
 England, which was the native place of Deane Winthrop, 
 one of the original petitioners for Groton Plantation. His 
 name stands at the head of the list of selectmen appointed 
 in 1655 by the General Court; and to-day we should give 
 him the title of Chairman of the Board. He was a son 
 of John Winthrop who came to New England in 1630 as 
 Governor of Massachusetts; and it was in compliment to 
 him that the name of his birthplace was given to the town. 
 Without much doubt he was a resident here for a few 
 years; and in this opinion I am supported by a distin- 
 guished member of that family, now deceased, who some 
 time ago wrote me as follows: 
 
 BOSTON, 27 February, 1878. 
 
 MY DEAR DR. GREEN, It would give me real pleasure to 
 aid you in establishing the relations of Deane Winthrop to the 
 Town of Groton in Massachusetts. But there are only three 
 or four letters of Deane's among the family papers in my pos- 
 session, and not one of them is dated Groton. Nor can I find 
 in any of the family papers a distinct reference to his resi- 
 dence there. 
 
 There are, however, two brief notes of his, both dated " the 
 16 of December, 1662," which I cannot help thinking may have 
 been written at Groton. One of them is addressed to his 
 brother John, the Governor of Connecticut, who was then in 
 London, on business connected with the Charter of Connecti- 
 cut. In this note Deane says as follows : 
 
 " I have some thoughts of removing from the place that I 
 now live in, into your Colony, if I could lit of a convenient 
 place. The place that I now live in is too little for me, my 
 children now growing up." 
 
 We know that Deane Winthrop was at the head of the first 
 Board of Selectmen of Groton a few years earlier, and that 
 he went to reside at Pullen Point, now called Winthrop, not 
 many years after. 
 
 I am strongly inclined to think with you that this note of 
 December, 1662, was written at Groton. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 SAMUEL A. GREEN, M.D. ROBT. C. WlNTHROP. 
 
 18
 
 138 
 
 During my boyhood I always Had a strong desire to visit 
 Groton in England, which gave its name to this town and 
 indirectly to six other towns in the United States. Strictly 
 speaking, it is not a town, but a parish; and there are 
 technical distinctions between the two. More than fifty 
 years ago I was staying in London, and as a stranger in 
 that great metropolis, even after many inquiries I found 
 much difficulty in learning the best way to reach the little 
 village. All my previous knowledge in regard to the place 
 was limited to the fact that it lay in the county of Suf- 
 folk, near its southern border. After a somewhat close 
 study of a Railway Guide, I left London in the month of 
 October, 1854, for Sudbury, which is the only town of 
 considerable size in the immediate neighborhood of Groton. 
 After changing trains at a railway junction, of which the 
 name has long since faded from my memory, I found 
 myself in a carriage alone with a fellow-passenger, who 
 was both courteous and communicative, and thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the country through which we were passing. 
 On telling him the purpose of my visit, he seemed to be 
 much interested, and told me in return that he was very 
 familiar with the parish of Groton; and he had many 
 questions to ask about our good old town, which I was 
 both able and glad to answer. It soon turned out that 
 my hitherto unknown friend was Sir Henry E. Austen, 
 of Chelsworth, Hadleigh, who, on reaching Sudbury, gave 
 me a note of introduction to Richard Almack, Esq., of 
 Long Mel ford, which I used a day or two afterward with 
 excellent results. From Sudbury I drove in a dog-cart to 
 Boxford, where I tarried over night at the White Horse 
 Inn, and in the morning walked over to Groton, less than 
 a mile distant. This place the object of my pilgrimage 
 I found to be a typical English village of the olden time, 
 very small both in territory and population, and utterly 
 unlike any of its American namesakes. Its history goes 
 back many generations, even to a period before Domes- 
 day Book, which was ordered by William the Conqueror 
 more than eight hundred years ago, and which registers
 
 139 
 
 a survey of lands in .England made at that early date. 
 The text is in Latin, and the words are much shortened 
 by various contractions. The writing is peculiar and hard 
 to read; but it gives some interesting statistics in regard 
 to the place. 
 
 On reaching the end of my trip I called at once on the 
 rector, who received me very kindly and offered to go with 
 me to the church, which invitation I readily accepted. He 
 expressed much interest in the New England towns bear- 
 ing the name of Groton, and spoke of a visit made to the 
 English town, a few years previously, by the Honorable 
 Robert C. Winthrop, of Boston, which gave him great 
 pleasure. We walked over the grounds of the old manor, 
 once belonging to John Winthrop, first Governor of Massa- 
 chusetts ; and Groton Place, the residence of the lord of the 
 manor at that time, was pointed out, as well as a solitary 
 mulberry-tree, which stood in Winthrop' s garden, and is 
 now the last vestige of the spot. In strolling over the 
 grounds I picked up some acorns under an oak, which 
 were afterward sent home to my father and planted here, 
 but unfortunately they did not come up. I remember with 
 special pleasure the attentions of Mr. R. F. Swan, post- 
 master at Box ford, who took me to a small school of little 
 children in that parish, where the teacher told the scholars 
 that I had come from another Groton across the broad 
 ocean. He also kindly made for me a rough tracing of 
 the part of the parish in which I was more particularly 
 interested; and as I had left the inn at Boxford when he 
 called, he sent it by private hands to me at the Sudbury 
 railway station. All these little courtesies and many more 
 I recollect with great distinctness, and they add much to 
 the pleasant memories of my visit to the ancestral town, 
 which has such a numerous progeny of municipal descend- 
 ants in the United States. 
 
 Of this large family our town, now celebrating the two 
 hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its birth, is the eldest; 
 and as the " first-born, higher than the kings of the 
 earth."
 
 140 
 
 The next child in the order of descent is the town in 
 Connecticut, younger than this town by just half a cen- 
 tury, and during the Revolution the scene of the heroic 
 Ledyard's death. It was so named in the year 1705, dur- 
 ing the Governorship of Fitz-John Winthrop, out of re- 
 spect to the Suffolk home of the family. In population 
 this is the largest of the various towns bearing the name, 
 and contains several thriving villages. It is situated on the 
 east bank of the Thames River, in New London County. 
 
 The next town in age is the one in Grafton County, 
 New Hampshire, which was originally granted by the 
 Legislature of that State as early as July 3, 1761, under 
 the name of Cockermouth, and re-granted on November 22, 
 1766; but the present name of Groton was not given until 
 December 7, 1796. It was chosen by certain inhabitants 
 of the place, who were connected either by birth or through 
 kindred with this town. The population is small, and the 
 principal pursuit of the people is farming, though there are 
 eight or ten sawmills within its limits. Mica is found in 
 great abundance, and forms the basis of an important in- 
 dustry. There is a Spectacle Pond, lying partly within the 
 town, of which the name may have gone from this neigh- 
 borhood. There are two villages in the township, the one 
 known as North Groton, perhaps the more important, and 
 the other situated near the southerly border, and known 
 as Groton. Between these two villages, in the centre of 
 the territory, are the town-house, and an old burying- 
 ground where fifteen years ago I examined many of the 
 epitaphs and found a few family names that are still 
 common here in our Old Burying-ground. 
 
 The fourth child in the municipal family is the town 
 of Groton, Caledonia County, Vermont, a pretty village 
 lying in the Wells River valley, and chartered on Octo- 
 ber 20, 1789, though the earliest settlers were living there 
 a few years before that date. The first child born in the 
 town was Sally, daughter of Captain Edmund and Sally 
 (Wesson) Morse, who began her earthly pilgrimage on 
 September 2, 1787. The father was a native of our town,
 
 141 
 
 and principally through his influence the name of Groton 
 was given to the home of his adoption among the foot-hills 
 of the Green Mountains. Wells River runs through the 
 township in a southeasterly direction, and with its tributaries 
 affords some excellent water-power along its course. This 
 stream rises in Groton Pond, a beautiful sheet of water, 
 and empties into the Connecticut at Wells River Junction, 
 a railway centre of some importance. 
 
 My visit to the town was made on' July 26, 1890, and 
 while there I called on the Honorable Isaac Newton Hall, 
 one of the oldest and most prominent citizens of the place, 
 who kindly took me in his buggy through the village, point- 
 ing out on the way the various objects of public interest. 
 Mr. Hall, to whom I was under great obligations, died in 
 Chicago, while there on a visit, November 30, 1893, aged 
 85 years and 6 months. The Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 situated at one end of the village street, had some memo- 
 rial windows, of which two had inscriptions, as follows : 
 
 Capt Edmund Morse 
 
 Born Groton Mass 1764 
 
 Died Groton Vt 1843 
 
 Sally Morse Hill 
 
 Born 1787 Died 1864 
 
 The First Person Born in Groton 
 
 Before leaving the place I walked through the bury ing- 
 ground and examined some of the epitaphs, but none of the 
 names reminded me particularly of the parent town. 
 
 The next town of the name is Groton, Erie County, Ohio, 
 which was settled about the year 1809. It was first called 
 Wheatsborough, after a Mr. Wheats, who originally owned 
 most of the township. It lies in the region known as the 
 Fire Lands of Ohio, a tract of half a million acres given by 
 the State of Connecticut in May, 1792, to those of her 
 citizens who had suffered losses from the enemy during 
 the Revolution. Like many other places in the neighbor- 
 hood, the town took its name from the one in Connecticut.
 
 142 
 
 Late in the autumn of 1889 I happened to be in Nash- 
 ville, Tennessee, as a member of a committee on business 
 connected with the Peabody Normal College in that city, 
 of which ex-President Hayes was chairman. On telling 
 him incidentally that on my return homeward I purposed 
 to tarry for a day or two at Groton, Erie County, Ohio, he 
 kindly invited me to make him a visit at his home in 
 Fremont, which was very near my objective point; and 
 he said furthermore that he would accompany me on my 
 trip to that town, which offer I readily accepted. On the 
 morning of November 27 we left Fremont by rail for- 
 Norwalk, the shire town of Huron County, a county 
 in which the township of Groton formerly came, where 
 we alighted, and at once repaired to the rooms of the 
 Firelands Historical Society. Here we were met by sev- 
 eral gentlemen, prominent in the city as well as in the 
 Historical Society, who showed us many attentions. We 
 had an opportunity there to examine various objects of 
 interest connected with the early history of that part of 
 the State. Then taking the cars again on our return, we 
 proceeded as far as Bellevue, where we left the train. 
 Here at a livery-stable we engaged a buggy and a pair of 
 horses, without knowing exactly to what part of the town- 
 ship I wished to go, as I was then told that there was no 
 village of Groton, but only scattered farms throughout the 
 town. One man, however, said that there was a place 
 called Groton Centre, which name seemed to me very 
 familiar, and so thither we directed our course. After 
 driving over muddy roads for five or six miles, we inquired 
 at a farm-house the way to Groton Centre, where we were 
 told that a school-house in sight, half a mile off, was the 
 desired place. There was no village whatever to be seen 
 in any direction; and the building was the public voting- 
 place, on which account the neighborhood received the 
 name. The town is entirely agricultural in its character, 
 and the land is largely prairie with a rich soil. It is small 
 in population, and does not contain even a post-office. The 
 inhabitants for their postal facilities depend on Bellevue
 
 143 
 
 and Sandusky, adjacent places. I was told that its early 
 settlers came largely from Connecticut and Pennsylvania; 
 and I thought that I could detect the origin of some of 
 them by the different styles of construction as seen in their 
 houses and barns still standing, whether they came from 
 the one or the other of the two States. 
 
 Another town bearing the good name of Groton, which 
 I have visited, is the one in Tompkins County, New York. 
 More than eighteen years ago I found myself at Cortland, 
 Cortland County, New York, where I had gone in order 
 to see the venerable Mrs. Sarah Chaplin Rockwood, a na- 
 tive of this town. She was a daughter of the Reverend 
 Dr. Chaplin, the last minister settled by the town, and at 
 that time she was almost one hundred and two years old. 
 By a coincidence she was then living on Groton Avenue, 
 a thoroughfare which leads to Groton, Tompkins County, 
 a town ten miles distant. Taking advantage of my near- 
 ness to that place, on May 4, 1887, I drove there and was 
 set down at the Groton Hotel, where I passed the night. 
 Soon after my arrival I took a stroll through the village, 
 and then called on Marvin Morse Baldwin, Esq., a lawyer 
 of prominence, and the author of an historical sketch of 
 the place, published in 1868, but who is now deceased. 
 The town was formed originally, on April 7, 1817, from 
 Locke, Cayuga County, under the name of Division; but 
 during the next year this was changed to Groton, on the 
 petition of the inhabitants, some of whom were from 
 Groton, Massachusetts, and others from Groton, Connecti- 
 cut. The principal village is situated on Owasco Inlet, 
 a small stream, and is surrounded by a rolling country of 
 great beauty. The population is small, and the business 
 chiefly confined to a machine-shop and foundry, several 
 carriage-shops, and the making of agricultural implements. 
 The town supports a National Bank and also a weekly 
 newspaper, and has railway communication with other 
 places. 
 
 In all these visits to the several towns of the same name, 
 I have interested myself to learn the local pronunciation
 
 144 
 
 of the word. I have asked many persons in all ranks of 
 life and grades of society in regard to the matter, and 
 without exception they have given it " Graw-ton," which 
 every " native here, and to the manner born " knows so 
 well how to pronounce. It has never been Grow-ton, or 
 Grot-ton even, but always with a broad sound on the first 
 and accented syllable. Such was the old pronunciation in 
 England, and by the continuity of custom and tradition 
 the same has been kept up throughout the various settle- 
 ments in this country bearing the name. 
 
 The latest town aspiring to the honor of the name of 
 Groton is in Brown County, South Dakota. It was laid 
 out about twenty-two years ago on land owned by the 
 Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company. I 
 have been informed that various New England names were 
 selected by the Company and given to different townships 
 along the line, not for personal or individual reasons, but 
 because they were short and well sounding, and unlike 
 any others in the Territory of that period. 
 
 At some future day, if my life be spared long enough, 
 I may pay my respects to this youngest child of the name 
 and visit her township. In that case I will describe her 
 personality and place her in the family group with her 
 elder sisters. 
 
 During two centuries and a half the long period of 
 time now under consideration many changes have taken 
 place in the customs and manners of our people. Some of 
 these are entirely forgotten, and traces of them are found 
 only in the records of the past; and I purpose to allude 
 to a few. In this way a survival of their knowledge may 
 be kept up, which will help the present generation in some 
 degree to catch the attitude of its ancestors. 
 
 In the early days of New England marriages were per- 
 formed by magistrates only, or by other officers appointed 
 for that particular purpose. It was many years before 
 ministers of the Gospel were allowed to take part in the 
 ceremony. At a town meeting held here, on December 15, 
 1669, the selectmen were authorized " to petition to the
 
 145 
 
 [General] Court for one to marry persons in our towne " ; 
 and it is probable that before this time persons wishing to 
 be joined in wedlock were obliged either to go elsewhere 
 in order to carry out their intention, or else a magistrate 
 or other officer was brought for the occasion. At that 
 period the population of the town was small, and the mar- 
 riages were few in number; and before this date only 
 eight couples are found as recorded of Groton. Perhaps 
 these marriages were solemnized by a Commissioner of 
 Small Causes, who was authorized equally with a magis- 
 trate to conduct the ceremony. These officers were em- 
 powered to act in all cases within the jurisdiction of a 
 magistrate, and were approved, either by the Court of 
 Assistants or by the County Courts, on the request of any 
 town where there was no resident magistrate. They were 
 three in number in each of such towns, and were chosen 
 by the freemen. 
 
 Another instance of a change in early customs is found 
 in connection with funerals, which formerly were conducted 
 with severe simplicity. Our pious forefathers were opposed 
 to all ecclesiastical rites, and any custom that reminded 
 them of the English church met with their stern disap- 
 proval. And, furthermore, prayers over a corpse were 
 very suggestive of those offered up for the dead by the 
 Roman church ; and to their minds such ceremonies savored 
 strongly of heresy and superstition. A body was taken 
 from the house to the grave, and interred without cere- 
 mony ; and no religious services were held. Funeral prayers 
 in New England were first made in the smaller towns be- 
 fore they were in the larger places, though Chief-Justice 
 Sewall, in his Diary (i. 93), under date of August 19, 1685, 
 gives an early instance which happened at Roxbury. In 
 describing the services he says that " Mr. Wilson prayed 
 with the Company before they went to the Grave." Their 
 introduction into Boston was of so uncommon occurrence 
 that it caused some comment in a newspaper, as the follow- 
 ing extract from " The Boston Weekly News-Letter," De- 
 cember 31, 1730, will show: 
 
 '9
 
 146 
 
 Yesterday were Buried here the Remains of that truly 
 honourable & devout Gentlewoman, Mrs. SARAH BYFIELD, 
 amidst the affectionate Respects & Lamentations of a numer- 
 ous Concourse. Before carrying out the Corpse, a Funeral 
 Prayer was made, by one of the Pastors of the Old Church, 
 to whose Communion she belong'd ; which, tho' a Custom in 
 the Country-Towns, is a singular Instance in this place, but 
 it's wish'd may prove a leading Example to the general Prac- 
 tice of so Christian & decent a Custom. 
 
 At a funeral the coffin was carried upon a bier to the 
 place of interment by pall-bearers, who from time to time 
 were relieved by others walking at their side. The bearers 
 usually were kinsfolk or intimate friends of the deceased; 
 and they were followed by the mourners and neighbors, 
 who walked two by two. After the burial the bier was left 
 standing over the grave ready for use when occasion should 
 again require. 
 
 Many years ago an old citizen of this town told me that 
 once he served as a pall-bearer at the funeral of a friend 
 who died in Squannacook Village (West Groton). It took 
 place near midsummer, in very hot weather; and he re- 
 lated how the procession was obliged to halt often in order 
 to give a rest to the bearers, who during their long march 
 were nearly prostrated by the heat. 
 
 Hearses were first introduced into Boston about 1796, 
 and into Groton a few years later. In the warrant for the 
 Groton town-meeting on April 4, 1803, Article No. 7 was 
 
 To see if the town will provide a herse for the town's use, 
 and give such directions about the same as they shall think fit. 
 
 In the Proceedings of that meeting, after Article No. 7, 
 it is recorded : 
 
 Voted that the town will provide a herse for the Town's 
 use. 
 
 Voted and chose James Brazer, Esq r Jacob L. Parker, and 
 Joseph Sawtell 3? a Committee and directed them to provide 
 a decent herse at the Town's expence.
 
 147 
 
 From the earliest period of our Colonial history training- 
 days were appointed by the General Court for the drilling 
 of soldiers; and at intervals the companies used to come 
 together as a regiment and practise various military exer- 
 cises. From this custom sprang the regimental muster, so 
 common before the War of the Rebellion. 
 
 During a long time, and particularly in the early part 
 of the nineteenth century, many such musters were held 
 here. A training-field often used for the purpose was the 
 plain, situated near the Hollingsworth Paper-mills, a mile 
 and a half northerly from the village. Sometimes they 
 were held on the easterly side of the road, and at other 
 times on the westerly side. During my boyhood musters 
 took place, twice certainly, on the eastern slope of the hill 
 on the south side of the Broad Meadow Road near Far- 
 mers' Row; and also, once certainly, in the field lying 
 southeast of Lawrence Academy, near where Powder House 
 Road now runs. 
 
 Musters have been held on land back of the late Charles 
 Jacobs's house, and, in the autumn of 1850, in a field near 
 the dwelling where Benjamin Moors used to live, close by 
 James's Brook, in the south part of the town. The last 
 one in Groton, or the neighborhood even, took place on 
 September 13 and 14, 1852, and was held in the south part 
 of the town, near the line of the Fitchburg Railroad on its 
 northerly side, some distance east of the station. This 
 was a muster of the Fifth Regiment of Light Infantry, 
 and occurred while Mr. Boutwell was Governor of the 
 Commonwealth; and I remember well the reception which 
 he gave to the officers on the intervening evening at his 
 house, built during the preceding year. 
 
 Akin to the subject of military matters, was a custom 
 which formerly prevailed in some parts of Massachusetts, 
 and perhaps elsewhere, of celebrating occasionally the an- 
 niversary of the surrender of Yorktown, which falls on 
 October 19. Such a celebration was called a " Corn- 
 wallis " ; and it was intended to represent, in a burlesque 
 manner, the siege of the town, as well as the ceremony of
 
 148 
 
 its surrender. The most prominent generals on each side 
 would be personated, while the men of the two armies 
 would wear what was supposed to be their peculiar uni- 
 form. I can recall now more than one such sham fight that 
 took place in this town during my boyhood. In 10 Gushing, 
 252, is to be found a decision of the Supreme Judicial 
 Court of Massachusetts, enjoining a town treasurer from 
 paying money that had been appropriated for such a 
 celebration. 
 
 James Russell Lowell, in his Glossary to " The Biglow 
 Papers," thus defines the word : " Cornwallis, a sort of 
 muster in masquerade; supposed to have had its origin 
 soon after the Revolution, and to commemorate the sur- 
 render of Lord Cornwallis. It took the place of the old 
 Guy Fawkes procession." Speaking in the character of 
 Hosea Biglow, he asks, 
 
 Recollect wut fun we hed, you 'n' I an' Ezry Hollis 
 
 Up there to Waltham plain last fall, along o' the Cornwallis ? 
 
 He further says in a note : " i hait the Sight of a feller 
 with a muskit as I du pizn But their is fun to a cornwallis 
 I aint agoin' to deny it." 
 
 The last Cornwallis in this immediate neighborhood came 
 off about sixty years ago at Pepperell; and I remember 
 witnessing it. Another Cornwallis on a large scale oc- 
 curred at Clinton in the year 1853, in which nine uni- 
 formed companies of militia, including the Groton Artil- 
 lery, took part. On this occasion the burlesque display, 
 both in numbers and details, far outshone all former at- 
 tempts of a similar character, and, like the song of a swan, 
 ended a custom that had come down from a previous cen- 
 tury. At the present day nothing is left of this quaint 
 celebration but a faded memory and an uncertain tradition. 
 
 The first settlers of Massachusetts brought with them 
 from England a good supply of seeds and stones of vari- 
 ous fruits, grains, and vegetables, which were duly planted. 
 In this way was begun the cultivation of apples, pears, 
 peaches, plums, cherries, wheat, rye, barley, oats, beans,
 
 149 
 
 peas, potatoes, hops, currants, etc., and in the course of 
 a few years they raised fair crops of all these products. 
 
 As early as 1660 all inn-holders and tavern-keepers were 
 required to have a license in order to be allowed to carry 
 on their business; and they were obliged to be approbated 
 by the selectmen of the town and to be licensed by the 
 County Court. At the same time a restriction was placed 
 on makers of cider, who were not allowed to sell by retail, 
 except under certain conditions ; " and that it be only to 
 masters of families of good and honest report, or persons 
 going to Sea, and they suffer not any person to drink the 
 same in their houses, cellars or yards." This reference, 
 found in " The Book of the General Lawes and Libertyes " 
 (Cambridge, 1660), shows that at an early date in the 
 history of the Colony the prohibitory principle was recog- 
 nized by legislative enactment, and that it is by no means 
 a modern idea. The reference shows furthermore that 
 cider was made by the settlers at an early period. Few 
 persons of the rising generation are aware of the great 
 quantities of cider made fifty or seventy-five years ago 
 on almost every farm in an agricultural community. I 
 am placing the estimate within moderate bounds when I 
 say that every good-sized farm in Groton had an apple 
 orchard and a cider mill on the premises. Many a farmer 
 would make all the way from ten to thirty barrels of 
 cider for home use, besides what he would sell elsewhere 
 or make into vinegar; and this large stock was kept in 
 the cellar. There are now in this audience men and women 
 who remember how years ago they used to suck sweet cider 
 through a long rye straw, as it ran from the pres. At 
 such times the children were often as thick as honey bees 
 round the bung-hole of a hogshead of molasses in summer 
 time. 
 
 Many plants were brought originally to New England 
 from other countries for their medicinal virtues, and many 
 were introduced by chance. Some have multiplied so rapidly 
 and grown so plentifully in the fields and by the roadside, 
 that they are now considered common weeds. Wormwood,
 
 tansy, chamomile, yarrow, dandelion, burdock, plantain, cat- 
 nip, and mint all came here by importation. These exotic 
 plants made their way into the interior, as fast as civiliza- 
 tion extended in that direction; though in some instances 
 the seeds may have been carried by birds in their flight. 
 
 Dr. William Douglass, in " A Summary, Historical and 
 Political, of the first Planting, progressive Improvements, 
 and present State of the British Settlements in North 
 America," published at Boston (Volume I. in the year 
 1749, and Volume II. in 1753), says: 
 
 Near Boston and other great Towns, some Field Plans which 
 accidentally have been imported from Europe, spread much, 
 and are a great Nusance in Pastures, ... at present they have 
 spread Inland from Boston, about 30 Miles (ii. 207). 
 
 According to this statement, the pioneers of some of 
 these foreign plants or weeds had already reached the 
 township of Groton near the middle of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury. Dr. Douglass gives another fact about the town 
 which may be worthy of preservation, as follows : 
 
 There are some actual Surveys of Extents which ought not 
 to be lost in Oblivion ; as for Instance, from Merrimack River 
 due West to Groton Meeting-House are 12 miles; from Groton 
 Meeting House (as surveyed by Col. Stoddard, Major Fulham, 
 and Mr. Dwight, by Order of the General Assembly) to North- 
 field Meeting-House W. 16 d. N. by Compass, are 41 Miles 
 and half (i. 425 note). 
 
 Such surveys, as those given in this extract, before the 
 days *of railroads were of more interest to the public than 
 they are now ; but, as the author says, they " ought not to 
 be lost in Oblivion." 
 
 The greatest advance in social and moral life during the 
 last one hundred and twenty-five years has been in the 
 cause of temperance. Soon after the period of the Revo- 
 lution there arose an abuse of spirituous liquors, perhaps 
 induced in part by the return home of young men from the
 
 army, who while absent had acquired the habit of drinking 
 to excess. There was no public occasion, from a wedding 
 to a funeral, or from the ordination of a minister to the 
 raising of a house or barn, when rum in its many Protean 
 shapes was not given out. It was set on the festive side- 
 board, and used freely both by the old and young; and 
 sometimes even the pastor of the church yielded to the in- 
 sidious seduction of the stimulant. Liquors were sold at 
 retail at most of the trading-shops in town, and at the three 
 taverns in the village. The late Elizur Wright, an emi- 
 nent statistician, and nearly eighty years ago a resident 
 of Groton, once told me in writing that, according to an 
 estimate made by him at that period, the amount of New 
 England rum sold here in one year was somewhat over 
 28,000 gallons. This quantity applied to rum only, at 
 that time the common tipple in the average country village, 
 and did not include other alcoholic stimulants. The 
 amount was not a guess on his part, but was taken from 
 the books of dealers in the fluid, who had kindly complied 
 with his request for the amount of their sales during the 
 previous year; though it should be added that some of the 
 buyers lived in neighboring towns. Ex pede Herculem. 
 We judge of the whole from the specimen. 
 
 It is generally supposed that the huge department stores 
 in the large cities are a modern institution, so far as they 
 relate to the variety of articles sold; but in this respect 
 they are only an imitation of the old-time country store. 
 Fifty years ago the average trading-shop kept about every- 
 thing that was sold, from a pin to a plough, from silks and 
 satins to stoves and shovels, and from tea and coffee to 
 tin dippers and cotton drilling, flour, all kinds of dry-goods 
 and groceries, molasses, raisins, bricks, cheese, hats, nails, 
 sperm oil, grindstones, boots and shoes, drugs and medi- 
 cines, to say nothing of a supply of confectionery for chil- 
 dren ; besides a daily barter of any of the aforesaid articles 
 for butter and fresh eggs. The traders were omnivorous 
 in their dealings, and they kept on hand nearly everything 
 that was asked for by the customers. In this respect they
 
 152 
 
 have set an example to the proprietors of department stores, 
 who offer for sale an equally miscellaneous assortment of 
 goods. 
 
 Within the last three-quarters of a century, perhaps the 
 most useful invention given to mankind, certainly one very 
 widely used, has been the common friction match. Ap- 
 parently it is so trifling and inconspicuous that among the 
 great discoveries of the nineteenth century it is likely to be 
 overlooked. This little article is so cheap that no hove'l 
 or hamlet throughout Christendom is ever without it, and 
 yet so useful that it is found in every house or mansion, 
 no matter how palatial, and in every vessel that sails the 
 sea. Bunches of matches are made by the millions and bil- 
 lions, and broad acres of forests are cut down each year 
 to supply the wood ; and in every home they are used with- 
 out regard to waste or economy. " No correct statistics 
 of match making can be given, but it has been estimated 
 that six matches a day for each individual of the population 
 of Europe and North America is the average consumption." 
 (The American Cyclopaedia, New York, 1883.) Perhaps 
 no other invention of the last century comes so nearly in 
 touch with the family and household in all parts of the 
 civilized world as this necessity of domestic life. 
 
 I have mentioned these facts in some detail as the fric- 
 tion match has had such a close connection with country 
 life in New England, as elsewhere. In early days when 
 fire was kept on the domestic hearth, from month to month 
 and from year to year, by covering up live coals with ashes, 
 sometimes from one cause or another it would go out ; and 
 then it was necessary to visit a neighbor to " borrow fire," 
 as the expression was. If the distance was short, live coals 
 might be brought on a shovel; but if too far, a lighted 
 candle could be carried in a tin lantern and would furnish 
 the needed flame. Often a flint-and-steel was used for 
 striking fire, but sometimes even this useful article was 
 wanting. I have heard of instances where a man would 
 fire off a gun into a wad of tow and set it on fire, and 
 thus get the desired spark to start the blaze.
 
 153 
 
 Another invention, which has come into general use 
 within the last sixty years, and has changed the destinies 
 of the world, is Morse's electric telegraph. In the sending 
 of messages it practically annihilates space, and has worked 
 wonders in science and in the every-day affairs of life. By 
 means of it the words of Puck become a reality when he 
 says: 
 
 I '11 put a girdle round about the Earth 
 In forty minutes. 
 
 If the ocean telegraph had been in operation at that time, 
 the battle of New Orleans, on January 8, 1815, would not 
 have been fought. It took place a fortnight after the treaty 
 of peace had been signed at Ghent, though the tidings of 
 the treaty were not received in this country until a month 
 after the action. The chances are that Andrew Jackson 
 would never have been President of the United States if 
 he had not gained that battle ; nor would Martin Van Buren 
 have succeeded to the same high office if as Secretary of 
 State or as Vice-President he had not been associated with 
 Jackson. This will serve as an illustration of the influence 
 which the telegraph may have on human affairs. 
 
 Little short of fifty years ago I spent an evening with 
 Professor Morse at his rooms in Paris, and he told me a 
 thrilling tale of the circumstances which led up to his great 
 discovery of the application of electricity to the sending of 
 messages; and how the thought first came to him many 
 years before, when in a packet ship on the voyage from 
 Havre to New York. I have often regretted that I did 
 not then write down at once my recollections of the visit, 
 while they were fresh in memory ; but unfortunately I did 
 not do so. 
 
 A telegraph office in this village was opened on Saturday, 
 March 20, 1880, and the first message along its wires was 
 sent to Nashua, New Hampshire. The office was in the 
 railway station, where it has since remained. 
 
 The telephone office here was first opened on Friday, 
 April 29, 1 88 1, in the building at the south corner of Main
 
 154 
 
 Street and Station Avenue, where it still remains; and 
 there are now more than one hundred and twenty sub- 
 scribers to the line, who in the ordinary activities of life 
 use the modern method of talking with their unseen 
 friends. 
 
 By the side of the investigations connected with this 
 address I am reminded that the First Parish Meeting-house 
 is now one hundred and fifty years old. During one half 
 of this period it was the only designated place of worship 
 within the limits of the town; and for these seventy-five 
 years it was the centre of the religious life of the people. 
 From its walls went forth all the efforts that made for the 
 highest and noblest traits of human nature. It was the 
 fourth meeting-house used by the town, and stands on the 
 site of the third building, a spot which was by no means 
 the unanimous choice of the town when that structure was 
 built; and the usual controversy then took place over the 
 site. It was begun in 1714, and was two years in process 
 of building. In early times there was always much con- 
 tention in regard to the local position of the house, some 
 wanting it put in one place, and others in another, accord- 
 ing to the convenience of their respective families. Mr. 
 Butler, in his History of Groton, says : " But the momen- 
 tous affairs of deciding upon a spot on which to set a public 
 building, and choosing and settling a minister, are not 
 usually accomplished without much strife and contention, 
 and are sometimes attended with long and furious quar- 
 rels and expensive lawsuits" (p. 306). The Reverend 
 Joseph Emerson, the first minister of Groton West Parish, 
 now known as Pepperell, explains the cause thus : "It hath 
 been observed that some of the hottest contentions in this 
 land hath been about settling of ministers and building 
 meeting-houses; and what is the reason? The devil is a 
 great enemy to settling ministers and building meeting- 
 houses; wherefore he sets on his own children to work 
 and make difficulties, and to the utmost of his power stirs 
 up the corruptions of the children of God in some way to 
 oppose or obstruct so good a work."
 
 155 
 
 With no desire on my part to dispute Mr. Emerson's 
 theory in regard to this matter, I think that the present 
 generation would hardly accept his explanation as the cor- 
 rect one. 
 
 For some months, perhaps for one or two years, before 
 the present house of worship was built, the question of a 
 new structure was considered and discussed at town- 
 meetings. It was then in the air, and finally the matter 
 took concrete shape. On May 6, 1754, the town made 
 definite plans for a raising of the frame; and on such 
 occasions at that period of time rum was supposed to be 
 needed, not only to bring together a crowd to help along 
 the work, but also to give strength to the workers. At 
 that meeting the following vote was passed : 
 
 at a Legal meeting of the Inhabitants at Groton qualleyfied 
 by Law for voting in Town affairs assembled Chose Cap* 
 bancroft moderator for s d meeting 
 
 The question was put which way they would face the 
 meetinghouse and the major vote was for facing s d house to 
 the west 
 
 Voted that The meeting house Com tee prouide one hogshead 
 of Rum one Loaf of white Shuger one quarter of a hundread 
 of brown Shugar also voted that Deacon Stone Deacon farwell 
 Lt Isaac woods benje Stone Lt John Woods Cap t Sam 11 Tar- 
 bell Amos Lawrence Ensign Obadiah Parker Cap* bancroft 
 be a Com tee and to prouide Victuals and Drink for a hundread 
 men and If the people Dont subscribe anough then the Com tee 
 to purchas the Remainder up on the Towns Cost. 
 
 Voted that The Com tee that Got the Timber for The meet- 
 ing house haue Liberty with such as shall subscribe thear to 
 to build a porch at the front Dore of the meeting house up 
 on their own Cost 
 
 Then voted that the Select men prouide some Conuiant place 
 to meet in upon the Sabbath Till further order. 
 
 According to Joseph Farwell's note-book the raising took 
 place on May 22, 1754, which day fell on Wednesday, 
 and lasted until Saturday, May 25. It is to be hoped that 
 during these three days no accident happened on account 
 of the liquid stimulant. Probably the work on the build-
 
 156 
 
 ing- was pushed with all the speed then possible and avail- 
 able; and, probably too, it was used for worship long be- 
 fore it was finished. During this period of interruption in 
 the public services it is very likely that the Sunday meet- 
 ings were held at the house of the minister, Mr. Trowbridge, 
 who then lived near the site of the present High School 
 building. 
 
 According to Farwell's note-book, on August 18, 1754, 
 Mrs. Sarah Dickinson became a member of the church, the 
 first person so admitted in the new meeting-house. She 
 was the widow of James Dickinson, who had died only 
 a few weeks before, and was buried in the old graveyard. 
 According to the same authority, the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper was administered in the new building for 
 the first time on November 15, 1754. 
 
 The early settlers did not believe much in outward cere- 
 mony; and the new meeting-house was never formally 
 dedicated by a special service. Perhaps, when the house 
 was first opened for worship, Mr. Trowbridge preached a 
 sermon in keeping with the occasion ; and very likely in his 
 prayer he made some allusion to the event. We are told 
 that the prayer of the righteous man availeth much. The 
 homage paid to the Creator of the universe each Sunday, 
 both by the pulpit and the pews, would consecrate any such 
 structure to its high purpose. Simple in their religious 
 faith, the worshippers had no use for ecclesiastical forms. 
 Not alone by their words, but by their thoughts, they dedi- 
 cated the meeting-house. Sometimes words not spoken have 
 more meaning than those which are uttered. 
 
 The Common, in front of the present meeting-house, was 
 a place closely connected with the life of the town. Here 
 at an early period the two militia companies used to meet 
 and drill at regular times, known as training-days. On the 
 Common the two companies of minute-men rallied on the 
 morning of that eventful nineteenth of April, and received 
 their ammunition from the town's stock, which was stored 
 in the Powder-house near by. Here they took farewell of 
 friends and families, knowing full well the responsible
 
 157 
 
 duties that rested on their shoulders, and the dangers that 
 threatened them. These men marched hence on that memo- 
 rable day as British subjects, but they came back as in- 
 dependent citizens who never knew again the authority of 
 a king. 
 
 In that house Mr. Dana, a young and rising lawyer of 
 Groton, pronounced a eulogy on General Washington, 
 which was delivered on Saturday, February 22, 1800, a 
 few weeks after his death. The military companies of 
 the town attended the exercises. Miss Elizabeth Farns- 
 worth (1791-1884) as a little girl was present on the 
 occasion, and Mrs. Sarah (Capell) Gilson (1793-1890), 
 though not present at the exercises, remembered the event; 
 and they both gave me their faint recollections of the day. 
 
 The meeting-house was remodelled in the year 1839, 
 when it was partially turned round, and the north end of 
 the building made the front, facing the west, as it now 
 stands. Formerly the road to the easterly part of the town 
 went diagonally across the Common, and passed down the 
 hill to the south of the meeting-house; and there was no 
 highway on the north side. Before this change in the build- 
 ing was made, the town-meetings were always held in the 
 body of the house; and the voting was done in front of 
 the pulpit. In my mind's eye I can see now the old 
 pulpit, with the sounding-board overhead, which I well 
 remember. 
 
 The town-clock in the steeple, so familiar to every man, 
 woman, and child in Groton, was made by James Ridg- 
 way, and placed in the tower some time during the spring 
 of 1809. It was paid for in part by the town, and in 
 part by private subscription. Mr. Ridgway was a silver- 
 smith and a clock-maker, who during the war with Eng- 
 land (1812-1815) carried on a large business in this 
 neighborhood. He afterward removed to Keene, New 
 Hampshire, where he lived for many years. His shop was 
 situated on Main Street, nearly opposite to the Groton 
 Inn, but it disappeared a long time ago.
 
 158 
 
 The bell of the meeting-house was cast in the year 1819 
 by Revere and Son, Boston, and, according to the inscrip- 
 tion, weighs 1128 pounds. 
 
 On this interesting occasion we are all glad to have 
 present with us the venerable Zara Patch, a native of 
 Groton and the oldest inhabitant of the town. His an- 
 cestry in both branches of the family runs back nearly to 
 the beginning of the settlement, and in his person is rep- 
 resented some of the best blood of old Groton stock; and 
 we welcome him at this time. He is the last survivor of 
 nineteen citizens who signed the call for the due observ- 
 ance of the bi-centennial anniversary, on October 31, 1855, 
 which was issued in the preceding May. 
 
 Fifty years ago the town had a celebration of the two- 
 hundredth anniversary of its settlement, similar to the one 
 we are now holding. On that occasion Governor Boutwell 
 was President of the day, and the Reverend Arthur Buck- 
 minster Fuller, a younger brother of Margaret Fuller, 
 of a family once resident here, made the historical ad- 
 dress, which was delivered in the Congregational Meeting- 
 house. Colonel Eusebius Silsby Clark, who lost his life 
 in the War of the Rebellion, at Winchester, Virginia, on 
 October 17, 1864, was the Chief Marshal. Of his six aids 
 on that day John Warren Parker and myself are the sole 
 survivors, and the only representatives of those who had 
 an official connection with the exercises; and now we are 
 left the last two leaves on the branch. At that celebration 
 Mr. Parker was also one of the Committee of Arrange- 
 ments; and we are all glad to see him present on this 
 occasion. 
 
 Groton is a small town, but there are those who love 
 her and cherish her good name and fame. She has been 
 the mother of many a brave son and many a fair daugh- 
 ter, dutiful children who through generations " arise up 
 and call her blessed." She is the Mount Zion of a large 
 household. Of her numerous family, from the nursling 
 to the aged, by her example she has spared no pains to 
 make them useful citizens and worthy members of society.
 
 159 
 
 In former years she was relatively a much more important 
 town than she is now. At the time of the first national 
 census in 1790, in population Groton was the second town 
 in Middlesex County, Cambridge alone surpassing it. In 
 order to learn the true value of some communities, and 
 to give the inhabitants of Groton their proper rank, they 
 should be weighed and not counted; and by this standard 
 it will be found that the town has not lost even in rela- 
 tive importance. Bigness and greatness by no means are 
 synonymous words, and in their significance there is a wide 
 difference. In all our thoughts and all our deeds, let us 
 do as well by the town as she has done by us. 
 
 Fellow Townsmen and Neighbors, the stint you set 
 me is now done. On my part it has proved to be not a 
 task, but a labor of love. If anything that I may have 
 said shall spur others to study the history of an old town 
 that was typical of life among plain folk in the early days 
 of New England, and one that has left an honorable record 
 during the various periods of its existence, my aim will 
 have been reached.
 
 APPENDIX
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 The Name of Grolon 
 
 I AM indebted to the courtesy of Dr. Edward Mussey 
 Hartwell for the following paper on the origin of the name 
 of Groton. From any other source I could not have ob- 
 tained such a scholarly essay on the subject; and it places 
 me under great obligations to him. Dr. Hartwell passed 
 his boyhood in Littleton, where his father's family be- 
 longed; and he fitted for college mostly at Lawrence 
 Academy, so that he has inherited an historical interest in 
 the neighborhood. 
 
 STATISTICS DEPARTMENT. 
 BOSTON, July 3, 1905. 
 
 HON. SAMUEL A. GREEN, Librarian, 
 
 Massachusetts Historical Society. 
 
 DEAR DR. GREEN, What follows contains the gist of my 
 notes on Groton. For the sake of conciseness and brevity, I 
 forbear ( i ) from fully describing the sources whence my cita- 
 tions are derived, and (2) from quotation of authorities re- 
 garding the linguistic affinities of the components of the word 
 Groton. However, I may say that I can support every state- 
 ment by documentary evidence that seems conclusive to me. 
 
 Groton occurs as a place name both in England and the 
 United States. Groton in England, which is situated in the 
 County of Suffolk, appears to be a small parish of some 1560 
 acres, of which 39 are in common. The " Dictionnaire des 
 Bureaux de Poste " published at Berne in 1895, gi yes six post- 
 offices in various parts of the United States having the name 
 of Groton. Two of them, viz., Groton, Massachusetts, and 
 Groton, Connecticut, date from Colonial times, i. e., from 1655 
 and 1705 respectively, and numbered among their original 
 grantees or proprietors members of the Winthrop family whose 
 ancestral seat was Groton in the Babenberg Hundred, County 
 Suffolk, England, whence it is reasonable to suppose all Grotons 
 in this country have derived their name. Among them Groton, 
 Mass., is the most ancient. The name (spelt Gr oaten} appears
 
 1 64 
 
 in a vote of the General Court dated May 29, 1655, to grant 
 a new plantation at Petapawag to Mr. Deane Winthrop and 
 others. In later records of the General Court, e. g., May 26, 
 1658, the form Groten appears ; and in the same records under 
 date of November 12, 1659, both Groten and Gr oaten appear. 
 
 The Manor of Groton in Babenberg Hundred in the Liberty 
 of St. Edmund and the County of Suffolk, England, according 
 to the Domesday Book ( 1086) belonged to the Abbey of Bury 
 St. Edmund's in the time of Edward the Confessor (1042- 
 1065). In 1544 the request of Adam Wynthorpe to purchase 
 " the Farm of the Manor of Groton (Suffolk) late of the Mon- 
 astery of Bury St. Edmund's " was granted by Henry VIII. 
 (into whose hands it had come when the monasteries were sup- 
 pressed) for the sum of 408. i8s. 3d. Governor John Win- 
 throp, grandson of Adam Wynthorpe, was Lord of the Manor 
 of Groton in 1618. In 1630 or 1631 he sold his interest therein 
 for 4,200. I find the name of this manor spelt variously at 
 different times as follows : 
 
 1. Grotena (a) in Domesday Book in 1086. 
 
 (b) in Jocelin de Brakelond's Chronicle in 1200. 
 
 (c) in the Hundred Rolls in 1277. 
 
 2. Grotene (a) in Joe. de Brakelond about 1200. 
 
 (b) in the Patent Rolls, 1291 and 1298. 
 
 3. Grotowa in Joe. de Brakelond about 1200. 
 
 4. Grotone (a) in Joe. de Brakelond about 1200. 
 
 (b) in the Patent Rolls in 1423. 
 
 (c) in Dugdale's citation of a MS. of 1533, 
 
 5. Groton (a) in Dugdale's citation of a MS. of I4th 
 
 Century. 
 
 (b) in Records of the Augmentation Office, 1541 
 and 1544. 
 
 Jocelin de Brakelond was a monk of Bury St. Edmund's 
 who, as Chaplain of the Abbot, wrote the Chronicle which bears 
 his name. It covers the period 1173-1203, i. e., the incumbency 
 of Abbot Samson. The frequent mention of Groton in this 
 Chronicle, written just at the beginning of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury, may be accounted for by the fact that the Abbey and cer- 
 tain claimants named de Cokefeld had a law-suit over lands at 
 Groton. 
 
 Since 1541 Groton appears to have been the form of the name 
 of the English manor, parish or hamlet. It may be remarked : 
 ( i ) that " de Grotena " is found as a personal name in the 
 Hundred Rolls, 1297; and " de Grotton " in the Scotch Rolls, 
 1327 ; while a holding named Grotton, " late of the Monastery
 
 of Delacres in Staffordshire," is mentioned in the records of 
 the Augmentation Office, 1547; and Grotton, a railway station 
 in Lancashire, is mentioned in a " Comprehensive Gazetteer of 
 England and Wales," a recent but undated work. 
 
 The Latinized " in Grotena " and " Grotenam " of the Domes- 
 day Book give rise to the suggestion that Groten has the force 
 of an adjective (meaning gravelly, gritty, stony or sandy), 
 which served to characterize a tract of land, or perhaps a hill, 
 a pit, a ham, or a ton. I take grot to be one form of the Old 
 English greot, grut (Middle English, greet, gret, and Modern 
 English, grit), meaning gravel. , 
 
 The following is a series of forms in which variants of greot 
 seem to have an adjectival force: 
 
 (1) Grcotan edesces lond, relating to land in Kent, in a charter 
 
 dated 822. Possibly greotan may stand for greatan, 
 meaning big. 
 
 (2) Gretenlinkes, in Hampshire, in a land charter of 966. 
 
 (3) Gretindun (later Gretton in Dorsetshire), mentioned in a 
 
 charter of 1019. 
 
 (4) Gretenhowe, the name of Gretna in Scotland, in 1376. 
 
 (5) Grotintune, a manor in Shropshire, Domesday Book, 1086. 
 
 (6) Gratenton (?), a manor in Berkshire, Domesday Book, 
 
 1086. 
 
 On the other hand, the form Greotcw may be the dative plural 
 of greot (for greotwwf) used in a locative sense. " at the 
 gravels," since Gravelai and Gravclei occur as place names in 
 Domesday Book and Gravell occurs in the Hundred Rolls, 
 temp. Edw. I. 
 
 The following scheme, derived from various standard lexi- 
 cons, exhibits the etymological affinities of Greot (grit) : 
 
 Old Middle Modern 
 
 Saxon Griot, griet, cf. English and cf. English, German 
 
 greot, German, and Norse. 
 
 English Greot, grut, Greot, Greet, Grit, grot, grout. 
 
 grot, grit, gryt, gret, 
 
 High German Grioz, Griesz, Gries, Gruse, Graus. 
 
 Norse: 
 
 IcclandicGr]6t(griot), Grjot Grjot, Gryttn. 
 
 Danish and 
 
 Norwegian Grjot, Grjot, Gryt (e), Gruus, Grus, Gryttn. 
 Swedish Grus, Grytt. 
 
 Old Frisian gret. 
 Low German grott.
 
 1 66 
 
 Grot, for great, appears to be an old and rather rare form. 
 It should be stated that British place (and personal) names 
 having- Grct are much more numerous than those having Grot 
 in the first syllable. Gretton is the name of several manors men- 
 tioned in Domesday, e.g., the present Girton (formerly called 
 Gritton) (cf. Girton College), near Cambridge (Cambs.) and 
 Gretton in Northamptonshire, still called Gretton. The last 
 was Gretton (gryttune in 1060), Greton in 1086, Gretton in 
 1277, 1678, and 1895. 
 
 Other forms besides Gretton are : Gret-a = Gritwater, a 
 stream in Cumberland, cf. Greta-mar sc (= Grit- water-marsh?), 
 821; Greta-bridge = Gritwater bridge, Gret-ford, Gret-ham, 
 Gret-land, Gret-well. Southey, the poet, lived at Greta Hall. 
 
 Greta river in Cumberland had its counterpart in Grjotd, in 
 the eleventh century in Iceland, translated Gritwater by Dasent 
 in " The Burnt Nial." Gryttnbakki = Gravel hill or Gravel 
 bank, is the name of (i) a modern post-office in Iceland and 
 (2) another in Denmark. Grytten is a place name of today in 
 Norway. 
 
 The Icelandic (Old Norse) Gr jot- garth meant stone fence. 
 Akin to garth (gard) are the Norwegian gaard and Swedish 
 gar d, a landed estate or homestead ; and the English Cloister- 
 garth, yard, garden, and orchard (ort-geard). 
 
 Ton in Groton, Boston, etc., is related to M. E. Ton (Tone), 
 O. E. tun, tune, O. Norse tun, O. Frisian tun, O. H. German 
 taun, and German zaun, a hedge or fence. Ton and tun origi- 
 nally meaning an enclosing hedge or fence, meant also, field, 
 yard, manor, hamlet, village and town or city. 
 
 Garth (yard) presents a parallel series of similar meanings, 
 e. g., O. Norse for Constantinople was Myckel-gaard, i. e., the 
 Great City. 
 
 I think that Groton stands for Grot-ton (cf. Gretton, Grit- 
 ton) and is practically equivalent to the Icelandic Gr jot-garth, 
 and that your suggestion in 1876 as to the meaning of Groton 
 was a happy one. Floreat Grotena! 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 EDWARD M. HART WELL.
 
 167 
 
 List of Indian Words 
 
 The following Indian names, applied by the early settlers 
 to streams, ponds, or places, in the original township of 
 Groton and neighborhood, for the most part are still in 
 common use. The spelling of these words varies, as at first 
 they were written according to their sound and not ac- 
 cording to their derivation. In the absence of any correct 
 standard either of spelling or pronunciation, which always 
 characterizes an unwritten language, the words have be- 
 come so twisted and distorted that much of their original 
 meaning is lost ; but their root generally remains. It is 
 rare to find an Indian word in an early document spelled 
 twice alike. In the lapse of time these verbal changes have 
 been so great that an Indian now w r ould hardly recognize 
 any of them by sound. Even with all these drawbacks such 
 words furnish one of the few links in a chain of historical 
 facts connecting modern times with the prehistoric period 
 of New England. As the shards that lie scattered around 
 the site of old Indian dwellings are eagerly picked up by 
 the archaeologist for critical examination, so these isolated 
 facts about place-names are worth saving by the antiquary 
 for their philological value. " Gather up the fragments that 
 remain, that nothing be lost." 
 
 Babbitasset formerly the name of a village in Pepperell, now 
 
 included in East Pepperell. 
 
 Baddacook a pond in the eastern part of the town. 
 Catacoonamug a stream in Shirley, which empties into the 
 
 Nashua. 
 Chicopee a district in the northerly part of the town, and 
 
 applied to the highway approaching it, called Chicopee Row. 
 Humhaw a brook in Westford. 
 Kissacook a hill in Westford. 
 Massapoag a pond lying partly in Groton and partly in 
 
 Dunstable.
 
 i68 
 
 Mulpus a brook in Shirley. 
 
 Nagog a pond in Littleton. 
 
 Nashoba the old name of the Praying Indian village in Lit- 
 tleton, now applied to a hill in that town as well as to a brook 
 in Westford. 
 
 Nashua a river running through the township, and empty- 
 ing into the Merrimack. 
 
 Naumox a district, near the Longley monument, lying west 
 of the East Pepperell road; said to have been the name of 
 an Indian chief. 
 
 Nissitisset applied to the neighborhood of Hollis, New 
 Hampshire, and to a river and a hill in Pepperell. 
 
 Nonacoicus a brook in Ayer, though formerly the name was 
 applied to a tract of land in the southerly part of Groton, 
 and is shortened often to Coicus. 
 
 Nubanussuck a pond in Westford. 
 
 Petaupaukett a name found in the original petition to the 
 General Court for the grant of the town, and used in con- 
 nection with the territory of the neighborhood; sometimes 
 writen Petapawage and Petapaway. 
 
 Quosoponagon a meadow " on the other side of the riuer," 
 mentioned in the land-grant of Thomas Tarbell, Jr. ; the 
 same word as Quasaponikin, formerly the name of a tract 
 of land in Lancaster, but now given to a meadow and a hill 
 in that town, where it is often contracted into Ponikin. 
 
 Shabikin, or more commonly Shabokin, applied to a district in 
 Harvard, bordering on the Nashua, below Still River village. 
 
 Squannacook a river in the western part of the town flowing 
 into the Nashua; a name formerly applied to the village of 
 West Groton. 
 
 Tadmuck a brook and a meadow in Westford. 
 
 Unquetenassett, or Unquetenorset a brook in the northerly 
 part of the town ; often shortened into Unquety. 
 
 Waubansconcett another word found in the original petition 
 for the grant of the town, and used in connection with the 
 territory of the neighborhood.
 
 169 
 
 List of Towns 
 
 established in the two Colonies, before the township of Groton 
 was granted in 1655, together with the year when they are first 
 mentioned in the records of the General Court. 
 
 PLYMOUTH COLONY. 
 
 1620 
 
 1633 
 
 1637 
 
 1638 
 
 
 
 1639 
 
 Plymouth 
 
 Scituate 
 
 Duxbury 
 
 Bamstable 
 
 Sandwich 
 
 Yarmouth 
 
 7 
 
 1639 
 
 Taunton 
 
 8 
 
 1641 
 
 Marshfield 
 
 9 
 
 1643 
 
 Eastham 
 
 10 
 
 1645 
 
 Rehoboth 
 
 ii 
 
 1652 
 
 Dartmouth 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS-BAY COLONY. 
 
 I 
 
 1630 
 
 Charlestown 
 
 19 
 
 1640 
 
 Braintree 
 
 2 
 
 " 
 
 Salem 
 
 20 
 
 " 
 
 Salisbury 
 
 3 
 
 " 
 
 Boston 
 
 21 
 
 1641 
 
 Haverhill 
 
 4 
 
 " 
 
 Dorchester 
 
 22 
 
 " 
 
 Springfield 
 
 5 
 
 " 
 
 Watertown 
 
 2 3 
 
 1642 
 
 Gloucester 
 
 6 
 
 " 
 
 Medford 
 
 24 
 
 " 
 
 Woburn 
 
 7 
 
 " 
 
 Roxbury 
 
 25 
 
 1643 
 
 Wenham 
 
 8 
 
 1631 
 
 Lynn 
 
 26 
 
 1644 
 
 Hull 
 
 9 
 
 H 
 
 Cambridge 
 
 27 
 
 " 
 
 Reading 
 
 10 
 
 '633 
 
 Marblehead 
 
 28 
 
 1645 
 
 Manchester 
 
 ii 
 
 1634 
 
 Ipswich 
 
 29 
 
 1646 
 
 Andover 
 
 12 
 
 1635 
 
 Newbury 
 
 3 
 
 1648 
 
 Topsfield 
 
 13 
 
 H 
 
 Hingham 
 
 31 
 
 1649 
 
 Maiden 
 
 14 
 
 " 
 
 Weymouth 
 
 32 
 
 1650 
 
 Medfield 
 
 15 
 
 " 
 
 Concord 
 
 33 
 
 1653 
 
 Lancaster 
 
 16 
 
 I6 3 6 
 
 Dedham 
 
 34 
 
 May, 1655 
 
 Groton 
 
 17 
 
 1639 
 
 Rowley 
 
 35 
 
 " " 
 
 Billerica 
 
 18 
 
 " 
 
 Sudbury 
 
 36 
 
 a a 
 
 Chelmsford
 
 170 
 
 Distinguished Citizens 
 
 AMONG the distinguished men who have made their homes 
 in the town of Groton are two Governors of the Common- 
 wealth, one United States Senator, four other members of 
 Congress, beside a Delegate to the Continental Congress, two 
 members of the President's Cabinet, an Assistant Secretary of 
 State, various Justices and Chief-Justices of different Courts, 
 three Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, 
 an Attorney-General of the Commonwealth, a President of the 
 State Senate, and three members of the Executive Council. 
 
 English Oaks 
 
 I HAVE on my place at Groton four oak saplings growing from 
 acorns sent me, in the autumn of 1904, from Groton, England. 
 They are to-day rather small specimens of what they may 
 become, if they live to maturity. When they are of suitable 
 size, it is my intention to have them transplanted in some 
 spots closely associated with the history of the town. It is 
 hoped that thus they will tend to foster and keep alive an 
 interest between the English Groton and its namesake here, 
 places connected by sentiment, though separated in age by 
 centuries of time and in distance by thousands of miles. 
 
 Together with the acorns some beech-nuts also were sent 
 me from the manor of Groton, which were duly planted, but 
 the saplings died the second year. Several small elms came in 
 the same collection, but none of them outlived the removal.
 
 Town Seal 
 
 THIS design of a seal for the town of Groton was adopted 
 on April 4, 1898. It is a simple one, and is intended to typify 
 the character of the inhabitants. 
 
 The Bible represents the faith of the early settlers who went 
 into the wilderness and suffered innumerable privations in 
 their daily life as well as encountered many dangers from 
 savage foes. Throughout Christendom to-day it is the corner- 
 stone of religion and morality. 
 
 The Plough is significant of the general occupation of the 
 inhabitants. By it the early settlers broke up the land and 
 earned their livelihood; and ever since in the tillage of the 
 soil it has been an invaluable help to their successors.
 
 First Parish Meeting- House, Groton 
 
 THIS cut, taken from a drawing made in the year 1838, by 
 John Warner Barber, originally appeared in his Historical 
 Collections of Massachusetts (Worcester, 1839). I* represents 
 the First Parish Meeting-house before it was remodelled in 
 1839, when it was partially turned round, and the north end 
 made the front, facing the west. The Academy building, on 
 the right of the meeting-house, was enlarged in the autumn 
 of 1846, and subsequently burned on July 4, 1868. The fence 
 was built round the Common in front of the meeting-house, 
 in the autumn of 1842, the last post being placed at the 
 northwest corner on October 3 of that year.
 
 INDEX
 
 INDEX 
 
 Abenaqui Indians, the, 36, 37, 104. 
 
 Acadia, 51. 
 
 Acadians in Groton, 51. 
 
 Ahasombamet, 101. 
 
 Albany, N. Y., 47, 109, no, 126. 
 
 Allen/Timothy, 81, 85, 86, 87, 89. 
 
 Almack, Richard, 138. 
 
 Almy, Job, 46. 
 
 Amarascoggin, 101. 
 
 Ames, Jacob, 49, 113. 
 
 , John, 49, 113. 
 
 , name of, 50. 
 
 Amherst, N. H., 56, 57, 61. 
 
 Amsaquonte, 100, 101. 
 
 Andros, Edmund, governor of New 
 
 England, 123. 
 Androscoggin, 41. 
 Archives of the Marine and Colonies, 
 
 the, 96. 
 Assacombuit, 100. See also Nassa- 
 
 combeivit. 
 
 Augary, John. See Longley, John. 
 Austen, Sir Henry E., 138. 
 Ayer, Mass., 133, 168. 
 
 Baldwin, Marvin Morse, 143. 
 
 Bambazeen (Bomaseen), 99, 101, 102. 
 
 Bancroft, Capt. Benjamin, 155. 
 
 , Lieut., 39. 
 
 , name of, 50. 
 
 Baptist Meeting-house (Groton), 30, 
 60, 92, 98. 
 
 Barber, John W., his "Historical Col- 
 lections of Massachusetts," 172. 
 
 Barnstable, Mass., 74, 169. 
 
 Barron, Ellis, 79, 87, 89. 
 
 Bay, the, road to, 33, 71. 
 
 Belcher, Gov. Jonathan, 46, 109, 128. 
 
 Belknap, Rev. Jeremy, quoted, 58. 
 
 Bellevue, Ohio, 142. 
 
 Berwick, Me., 35. 
 
 Bigelow, Hon. Timothy, 57. 
 
 Billerica, Mass., 33, 122, 169. 
 
 Blanchard family, the, 62. 
 
 Blood, James, 112. 
 
 John, 15. 
 
 Joseph, 22. 
 
 name of, 18. 
 
 Richard, 15, 72, 74, 77, 86, 89, 91. 
 
 Robert, 15. 
 
 Bonat, Marguerite, 108. 
 
 "Book of the General Lawes and 
 Libertyes," the, 149. 
 
 Boston, 14, 22, 25, 29, 30, 31, 34, 46, 
 47, 52, 61, 95, 98, 145, 146, 150, 169; 
 census returns, 12; early route from 
 Groton, 33 ; correspondence between 
 Overseers and Groton, 53-54; stage- 
 coach line to Groton, 60. 
 
 "Boston News-Letter," the, quoted, 
 
 4i> 145- 
 
 Boston Public Library, the, 94. 
 Boutwell, Governor, 71, 81, 119, 120, 
 
 147, 158. 
 
 Bowers, Capt. Jerathmel, 44. 
 Boxford, England, 138, 139. 
 Boydon, Thomas, 87. 
 Boynton, John, 122. 
 Bradstreet, Lieut. Dudley, 51. 
 
 , Rev. Dudley, 44, 50, 51, 123. 
 -, Simon, 123. 
 
 Brakelond, Jocelin de, 164. 
 Brattle, William, 97. 
 , Thomas, 25. 
 
 Brattleborough, Vt., 51. 
 Brazer, James, 146. 
 "Brief History of the Warr with the 
 Indians in New-England," Mather's, 
 
 3- 
 
 Broad Meadow (Groton), 28, 147. 
 Brookfield, Mass., 24. 
 Brookline, N. H., 130. 
 Brown, killed by Indians, 44. 
 Browne, Benjamin, 46. 
 Buffalo, N. Y., 126. 
 Bulkley, John, 56. 
 
 Bunker Hill, the battle of, 58, 106, 107. 
 Butler, Caleb, 62; his "History," 15, 
 
 42, 62, 71, 99, 154. 
 Butterfield, Samuel, 43, 44, 99. 
 Byfield, Mrs. Sarah, 146. 
 
 Cagnawaga Indians, the, 109. 
 
 Caille, M., 105. 
 
 Cambridge, 17, 29, 55, 58, 106, 159, 
 
 169. 
 Canada, 35, 36, 37, 38, 44, 45, 47, 5> 
 
 61, 100, 101, 103, 107, 108, 109, no, 
 
 "3- 
 Carlor [Kerley], Lieut. Henry, 94.
 
 176 
 
 Gary, Mathew, 38. 
 
 Casco, Me., 35. 
 
 Casco Bay, 38, 100. 
 
 Caughnawaga, 47, 48, 109, in. 
 
 Century, a, why celebrated, n. 
 
 Chamberlain, John, 50. 
 
 Champigny, 96. 
 
 Chaplin, Rev. Daniel, 56, 59, 143. 
 
 Chaplin Schoolhouse (Groton), the, 
 
 72, 107. 
 Charles I, charters of, 122, 123, 127, 
 
 128. 
 
 Charles X., in. 
 Charles River, 14, 126. 
 Charlestovvn, Mass., 32, 58, 169. 
 
 N. H., 51. 
 Charlevoix, 36, 96, 98. 
 Charters of Massachusetts, 122-123, 
 
 126, 127, 128, 129. 
 Chelmsford, Mass., 33, 42, 44, 122, 
 
 135, 136, 169. 
 
 Chicopee Row (Groton), 98, 167. 
 Chubbuck, John, 35. 
 Clark, Col. Eusebius Silsby, 158. 
 Clary, John, 74. 
 Clinton, Mass., 148. 
 Cobbet, Rev. Thomas, 94. 
 Cockermouth. See Groton, N. H. 
 Coleman, Thomas, 56. 
 "Columbian Centinel," the, 60. 
 Commission to establish line between 
 
 Massachusetts and New Hampshire, 
 
 the, 127129. 
 Common (Groton), the, 62, 156, 157, 
 
 172. 
 
 , the Middle, 72. 
 
 , the North, 71, 99. 
 
 Concord, Mass., 26, 57, 94, 169. 
 
 , N. H., 22, 34, 102. 
 
 Connecticut Historical Society, its 
 
 Collections, 21. 
 Connecticut River, 51. 
 "Continuation of the Narrative of the 
 
 Indian Charity School," Wheelock's, 
 
 in. 
 Cooper, John, 92. 
 
 , Timothy, 15, 18, 30, 92, 95. 
 
 Corey, Aaron, 59, 60. 
 "Cornwallis," a, 147, 148. 
 Cortland, N. Y., 143. 
 Crispe, Mrs. Benjamin, 103. 
 
 Dana, Samuel, 157. 
 
 , Rev. Samuel, sketch of, 55-57. 
 
 Dana School (Groton), the, 57. 
 Danforth, Jonathan, 17, 18. 
 
 , Rev. Samuel, 72. 
 
 Davis, Dolor, 18. 
 , John, 42. 
 
 Davis's Fordway, 42. 
 
 Deerfield, Mass., 46. 
 
 Denison, Major-General, 24. 
 
 Dennie, Joseph, 59. 
 
 Desertion of frontier towns, an act to 
 
 prohibit, 38. 
 Detroit, 126. 
 Devens, Goodwife, 94. 
 Dickinson, James, 156. 
 
 , Mrs. Sarah, 156. 
 
 , Thomas, 22. 
 
 Dickson, Walter, 42. 
 
 "Dictionnaire Genealogique des Fa- 
 milies Canadiennes," 37. 
 
 Division, N. Y., 143. 
 
 Dix family, the, 62. 
 
 "Documents relating to the Colonial 
 History of the State of New York," 
 34, 41, 101. 
 
 Domesday Book, 19, 20, 138, 164, 
 165. 
 
 Dorchester, Mass., 14, 169. 
 
 Douglass, Dr. William, his "Summary, 
 Historical and Political," 150. 
 
 Dover, N. H., 100. 
 
 Drew,, Thomas, 38. 
 
 Dudley, Gov. Joseph, 45, 123. 
 
 Dunstable, Mass., 25, 34, 49, 50, 130, 
 
 !33 J 67- 
 
 Dunstable highway, the, 71. 
 Dupont, Madeleine, 105. 
 Durham, N. H., 41, 100, 101. 
 
 Egeremet, 101. 
 
 Eliot's church in Roxbury, 73. 
 
 Emerson, Dearborn, 60. 
 
 -, Rev. Joseph, 131, 154. 
 
 Everett, Edward, 52. 
 Exeter, N. H., 39. 
 
 Fairbanks, Lieut. Jabez, 49. 
 
 Fairfield, William, 46. 
 
 Farmer, Daniel, 50. 
 
 Farmers' Row (Groton), 30, 45, 92, 
 
 107, 147. 
 Farnsworth, Ebenezer, 51. 
 
 , Elizabeth, 157. 
 
 , Rev. James D., 100. 
 
 , Matthias, 44, 45. 
 
 , name of, 18. 
 
 Farrington, Matthew, 15, 18. 
 Farwell, Deacon, 155. 
 
 , Joseph, his note-book, 155, 156. 
 
 Firelands Historical Society, the, 142. 
 
 First Parish Meeting-house (Groton) 
 the, 154-158, 172. See also Meeting- 
 house in Groton. 
 
 Fiske, James, 74, 89, 90, 135, 136. 
 
 , Rev. John, 135.
 
 177 
 
 Fitchburg, Mass., 61. 
 
 Flint, George, 61. 
 
 Foot Company, the, 35. 
 
 Fort Dummer, 50, 51. 
 
 Fovel, in. 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, 29. 
 
 Franklin County, N. Y., no. 
 
 Fremont, Ohio, 142. 
 
 French and Indian War, the, 51. 
 
 Frontenac, Count de, 37, 98. 
 
 Fryeburg, Me., 50. 
 
 Fuller, Rev. Arthur Buckminster, 158. 
 
 Fuller, Margaret, 158. 
 
 "Galaxy," the, 48. 
 
 Garrison-houses in Groton, 92. 
 
 George, Horace, 60. 
 
 Gilson, Joseph, 89. 
 
 , name of, 18. 
 
 , Mrs. Sarah (Capell), 157. 
 
 Gonvil and Caius College, 73. 
 
 Grant, Goodman, 79. 
 
 Grantham (Groton), 32. 
 
 Greaton, 19. 
 
 Greene, William, 79. 
 
 "Grey Hound" tavern, the (Roxbury), 
 19. 
 
 Groaten River, Nashua River so 
 called, 21. 
 
 Grotena of Domesday Book, the, 19. 
 
 Groton, Conn., 19, 140, 143, 163. 
 
 Groton, England, 19, 20, 137-139, 163- 
 166, 170. 
 
 Groton, Mass., 143, 153, 158, 159, 169; 
 destroyed by Indians, 12, 22, 30-32, 
 93~95! township granted, 13, 70, 
 121-123, I2 6; petition for planta- 
 tion, 15-18; first selection of, 18; 
 origin of name, 19, 137, 163-166; 
 various spellings of name, 20 ; brand- 
 mark of, 21 ; complaint of improper 
 management by proprietors, 21, 22; 
 disturbed by Indians, 2226, 41 
 51, 91-105, 107-113; in Philip's 
 War, 25, 26, 29-33; petition for 
 relief from county charges, 33; so- 
 cial conditions in early days, 33- 
 34; garrison at, 35-36, 48, 49, 95- 
 98; second attack by Indians, 36- 
 40, 95-102; Acadians in, 51; cor- 
 respondence with Overseers of Bos- 
 ton, 53-54; in the American Revo- 
 lution, 54-58; connected with Shays's 
 Rebellion, 59; stage lines of, 59- 
 61; taverns in, 60; changes in, 
 62; meaning of monuments in, 69; 
 early meeting-houses and ministers, 
 70-91; garrison-houses of, 92; town 
 re-established after Indian attack, 
 
 95; character of early settlers, 123- 
 124, 133-136; deprived of territory, 
 130-133; connected with Deane 
 Winthrop, 137; pronunciation of 
 name, 144; early customs and 
 manners, 144-152; plants of, 150; 
 advance of temperance, 150-151; 
 First Parish Meeting-house, 154- 
 158; distinguished citizens, 170; 
 town seal of, 171. 
 
 Groton, N. H., 19, 140. 
 
 , N. Y., 19, 143. 
 
 , Ohio, 141, 142. 
 
 , S. D., 144. 
 
 , Vt., 19, 140-141. 
 
 Groton Artillery, the, 148. 
 
 Groton Historical Society, the, 122. 
 
 Groton Inn, the, 157. 
 
 Groton Musical Association, the, 84. 
 
 Groton Place, England, 139. 
 
 Hall, Hon. Isaac Newton, 141. 
 
 Hall brothers, the, 60. 
 
 Hampton, N. H., 127. 
 
 Hampton Falls, N. H., 128. 
 
 Hanover, N. H., in. 
 
 Hartwell, Dr. Edward Mussey, his 
 
 letter on name of Groton, 163-166. 
 Harvard, Mass., 105, 132, 133, 168. 
 Harvard College, 15, 26, 29, 75. 
 Haven, Richard, 15. 
 Haverhill, Mass., 35. 
 Hawkins, Dr. William, 25. 
 Hayes, Rutherford B., President of 
 
 the U. S., 142. 
 Healy, Nathaniel, 43. 
 Hector. See Miles, Hezekiah. 
 Henchman, Thomas, 25. 
 High School (Groton), the, 70, 92, 
 
 156. 
 
 Hill, Sally Morse, 141. 
 Hinckly, Thomas, 18. 
 "Historical Collections of Massachu- 
 setts," Barber's, 172. 
 "History of Massachusetts," Hutch- 
 
 inson's, 47, 98, 109. 
 "History of New England," Palfrey's, 
 
 123. 
 "History of New France," Shea's 
 
 edition, 36, 96. 
 "History of St. Lawrence and Franklin 
 
 Counties, N. Y.," Hough's, 109, 
 
 no, in. 
 ' ' History of the Wars of New-England," 
 
 Penhallow's, 41, 42, 43, 49. 
 Hobart, Rev. Gershom, 36, 42, 50, 70, 
 
 96, 98; his family, 98. 
 , Gershom, Jr., 98, 99. 
 
 Holden, John, 41.
 
 7 8 
 
 Holden, John, Jr., 41. 
 
 , Richard, 89. 
 
 , Stephen, 41. 
 
 Hollingsworth Paper-mills, the, 112, 
 
 147- 
 
 Hollis, N. H., 133, 168. 
 
 Hollis road, the, 102. 
 
 Holt, John, 61. 
 
 Homer, Rev. Jonathan, 43. 
 
 Homestead Acts, the, 18. 
 
 Hough, Dr. Franklin B., his "History 
 of St. Lawrence and Franklin Coun- 
 ties, N. Y.," 109, no, in. 
 
 Hubbard, John, 30, 94. 
 
 , Rev. William, his account of 
 
 Indian attack on Groton, 30, 94. 
 
 Hutchinson, Gov. Thomas, his "His- 
 tory of Massachusetts," 47, 98, 109. 
 
 "Indian Roll," the, 70. 
 
 Indian words, list of, 167-168. 
 
 Indians, 13, 69, 71, 107, no; destroy 
 Groton, 12, 22, 30-32, 93-95; cause 
 disturbances about Groton, 22-26, 
 2 9-33> 34, 4I-5 1 , 9 I ~ I 5, 107-113; 
 make second attack on Groton, 36- 
 40, 95-98. 
 
 Jacobs, Charles, 147. 
 
 James II, commissions from, 123. 
 
 James's Brook, 92, 105, 147. 
 
 Jenkins, Ann, 101. 
 
 Johnson, Edward, 15; his "Wonder- 
 Working Providence," 15, 73. 
 
 , Mrs., 51. 
 
 Journals of the Provincial Congress 
 of Massachusetts, 57. 
 
 Keene, N. H., 157. 
 Kennebec Indians, the, 97. 
 Kerley, Lieut. Henry, 94. 
 Kettle, Goodwife, 94. 
 King George's War, 50. 
 King William's War, 36, 95. 
 Knapp, Elizabeth, 28. 
 
 , James, 78, 79, 87, 88, 89. 
 
 Knox manuscripts, the, 104. 
 
 Lachine, Canada, 108, 109. 
 Lakin, Isaac, 113. 
 
 - , John, 15, 35, 36, 90. 
 
 Lakin, William, 15, 23, 78, 88, 89, 90, 
 
 91, 96, 98, 102. 
 Lamorandiere, Jacques Urbain Robert 
 
 de, 1 08. 
 Lancaster, Mass., 15, 21, 24, 25, 32, 
 
 34, 41, 42, 94, 95, 105, 168, 169. 
 Lancaster highway, the, 71. 
 
 Lawrence, Amos, 155. 
 
 Enosh, 40, 112. 
 
 James, 107. 
 
 John, 74. 
 
 Joseph, 74. 
 
 name of, 18. 
 
 Nathaniel, 23, 78, 87, 88, 90. 
 
 Peleg, 89. 
 
 Lawrence Academy, 105, 147, 163. 
 Lawrence farm, the, 45. 
 Le Ber, Jacques, 105. 
 Ledyard, William, 19, 140. 
 Leverett, Gov. John, 23. 
 Littleton, Mass., 133, 163, 168. 
 Locke, N. Y., 143. 
 Lodowick, Mr., 97. 
 Loker, John, 105. 
 
 , Mary (Draper), 105. 
 
 London, 31, 138. 
 
 Long Melford, England, 138. 
 
 Longley, Betty, 37, 103. 
 
 , Deliverance (Crisp), 37, 102, 
 
 104. 
 , John, 37, 38, 74, 103, 104; his 
 
 family, 98. 
 
 , Lydia, 37, 44, 45, 100, 103, 104. 
 
 , William, 37, 38, 74, 86, 90, 91, 
 
 IOO, 102, 103, 104, 112. 
 
 -, William, Sen., 103. 
 
 Lorette, in. 
 Louisburg, Cape Breton, 131. 
 Lovewell, Capt. John, 50. 
 Lovewell's fight, 113. 
 Lowell, Mass., 61. 
 
 Madocawando, 104. 
 
 "Magnalia Christi Americana," 28, 
 
 3 6 39, 95, I0 - 
 
 Main Street (Groton), 60, 62. 
 
 Maine, 37, 38, 101. 
 
 March, Capt., 102. 
 
 Marcoux, Rev. Francis, 112. 
 
 Maricourt, de, 105. 
 
 Marlboro, Mass., 25. 
 
 Martin, William, 15, 18. 
 
 Martin's Pond road, the, 99. 
 
 Mason, N. H., 130. 
 
 Massachusetts, charters of, 122-123, 
 126, 127, 128, 129. 
 
 Massachusetts-Bay Colony, list of first 
 established towns in, 169. 
 
 Massachusetts Historical Society, its 
 Proceedings, 43, 58, 97; its Collec- 
 tions, 28, 43, 53, 97. 
 
 Mather, Rev. Cotton, 41; his "Mag- 
 nalia," 28, 36, 39, 95, 100. 
 
 , Rev. Increase, 94; his "Brief 
 
 History," 30. 
 Mattapan, Mass., 14.
 
 179 
 
 Meeting-house in Groton, the first, 
 70-71, 77-91, 93; the second, 71- 
 72, 84, 107. See also First Parish 
 Meeting-house. 
 
 Meriel, 108. 
 
 Merrimack River, 15, 34, 50, 98, 102, 
 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 150, 168. 
 
 Middlesex County, Mass., 13, 25, 57, 
 
 59, 159. 
 
 Miles, Hezekiah, 101. 
 Miller, Rev. John, 26, 72; sketch of, 
 
 73-74- 
 
 , John, Jr., 74. 
 
 , Lydia, 74. 
 
 , Susannah, 74. 
 
 Milwaukee, Wis., 126. 
 
 Monaco, John, 95. 
 
 Monadnock, N. H., 49. 
 
 Montreal, 37, 47, 51, 103, 104, 108. 
 
 Moore, Capt. Jacob, 35. 
 
 Moors, Benjamin, 147. 
 
 , name of, 18. 
 
 Morse, Capt. Edmund, 140, 141. 
 
 , John, 30, 79, 88, 89, 94, 95. 
 
 , Sally (Wesson), 140. 
 
 Moseley, Capt. Samuel, 24. 
 My rick, John, 43. 
 
 Nashaway. See Lancaster, Mass. 
 
 Nashua, N. H., 61, 130, 133, 153; 
 meaning of word, 21. 
 
 Nashua River, 21, 49, 112, 131, 133, 
 167, 168. 
 
 Nashville, Tenn., 142. 
 
 Nassacombewit, 99. 
 
 Nerigawag. See Norridgewock. 
 
 "New and Further Narration of the 
 State of New England," 32. 
 
 New England, early ignorance con- 
 cerning, 126, 127. 
 
 New England Historic Genealogical 
 Society, the, 100, 104, 121. 
 
 "New England Historical and Gene- 
 alogical Register," 46; quoted, 15, 
 19. 
 
 New Hampshire, 50, 60, 61, 127, 128, 
 129, 130. 
 
 New Ipswich, N. H., 130. 
 
 New London, Conn., 49. 
 
 New Orleans, battle of, 153. 
 
 New York (state), no. 
 
 Newbury, Mass., 73, 169. 
 
 Newichewanick. See Berwick, Me. 
 
 "News from New England," 32. 
 
 Newton, Mass., 43 ; Homer's "History 
 
 of," 43- 
 
 Nicholson, Capt. Francis, 34. 
 Nonacoicus, 35. 
 Norfolk County, Mass., 25. 
 
 Norridgewock, 99, 100, 102. 
 Northfield, Mass., 150. 
 Norwalk, Ohio, 142. 
 Notre Dame (Montreal), the Con- 
 gregation of, 37, 103, 104, 108. 
 Nova Scotia, 51, 106. 
 Noyes, Capt. Oliver, 45. 
 
 , Thomas, 21. 
 
 Nutting, John, 30, 74, 76, 87, 92, 93, 
 
 95. r 35, *3- 
 
 , name of, 18. 
 
 , "Widow," 93. 
 
 Old South Church, Boston, 29. 
 Oliver, Mary (Wilson), 106. 
 -, Hon. Thomas, 106. 
 
 Oyster River. See Durham, N. H. 
 
 Page, John, 22. 
 
 Paige, John, 35, 87, 91. 
 
 Paine, Robert Treat, 27. 
 
 Palfrey, John G., his "History of New 
 
 England," 123. 
 Parish, Robert, 22. 
 Parker, Jacob Lakin, 146. 
 
 , James, 23, 24, 35, 74, 77, 78, 87, 
 
 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 135, 136. 
 , James, Jr., 40, 99, 100, 112; his 
 
 family, 98. 
 
 Serg. James, 27. 
 
 John Warren, 158. 
 
 Joseph, 21, 89. 
 
 Josiah, 40, 99. 
 
 name of, 18, 50. 
 
 Obadiah, 155. 
 
 Phinehas, 40. 
 
 Parkman, Francis, 96. 
 Partridge, Samuel, 54. 
 Pascaud, Etienne, 108. 
 Patch, Zara, 157. 
 Paugus, 50. 
 
 Peabody Normal College, 142. 
 Pemberton, Dr. Ebenezer, 29. 
 Pemigewasset River, 128. 
 Penacook. See Concord, N. H. 
 Penhallow, Samuel, his "History of 
 the Wars of New-England," 41, 42, 
 
 43, 49- 
 
 Penobscot, 104. 
 Penobscot Indians, the, 97. 
 Pepperell, Mass., 49, 106, 130, 131, 
 
 132, 133, 148, 154, 167, 168. 
 Pepperrell, Sir William, 131. 
 Pequawket, 50, 113. 
 Pescadoue. See Piscataqua. 
 Petapawage, former name of Groton, 
 
 17, 164, 168. 
 Petaupauket, 15, 168. 
 Philip's War, 25, 26, 29-33, 7. 9 3 , 93-
 
 i8o 
 
 Pigwacket. See Pequawket. 
 
 Pike, Rev. John, his Journal, 42, 
 
 .44, 97- 
 
 Piscataqua, 36, 96. 
 Pitcairn, Maj. John, 58. 
 Pleasant Street (Groton), 60. 
 Plymouth Colony, 74; list of first 
 
 established towns in, 169. 
 Pontchartrain, Minister, 96. 
 Pope, the, in. 
 Pound (Groton), the, 71. 
 Powder House Road, 147. 
 Pratt, John, 35. 
 Prescott, Abigail (Oliver), 105, 106. 
 
 Benjamin, 104, 105, 106. 
 
 John, 105. 
 
 Jonas, 35, 105, 106. 
 
 Mary (Platts), 105. 
 
 name of, 18, 50. 
 
 Oliver, 53, 57. 
 
 William, 106. 
 
 Col. William, 54, 55, 105, 106. 
 
 Mrs. William, 106. 
 
 William Hickling, 106. 
 
 Prince Collection, the, 94. 
 "Province Gaily," the, 38, 100. 
 
 Quaboag (Brookfield), 24. 
 
 Quebec, 38, 45. 
 
 Queen Anne's War, 47, 48, 109. 
 
 Rawson, Edward, 18, 25, 121, 122. 
 
 Read, John, 46. 
 
 Records of Massachusetts, quoted, 23. 
 
 Remington, Jonathan, 35. 
 
 Revere and Son, 158. 
 
 Revolution, the American, Groton in, 
 
 54-58- 
 
 Richardson, Jephthah, 60. 
 Ridgway, James, 157. 
 Ripley, Rev. Silvanus, in. 
 Rochester, N. Y., 126. 
 Rockwood, Mrs. Sarah Chaplin, 143. 
 Rogers, Rev. Ezekiel, 73. 
 
 , William, 47. 
 
 Rome, in. 
 Ross, Charley, 38. 
 
 , Christian K., 38. 
 Rouse, Alexander, 38, 100; his family, 
 
 98. 
 
 , "Tamasin," 38, 100. 
 
 Rowley, Mass., 73, 169. 
 
 Roxbury, Mass., 19, 72, 73, 76, 123, 
 
 145, 169. 
 
 St. Edmund, 20. 
 St. Francis Indians, 51. 
 St. Lawrence River, 109, no. 
 St. Madeleine, Sister. See Longley, 
 Lydia. 
 
 St. Regis, 47, 109, no, in, 112. 
 St. Regis Indians, the, no. 
 Salem, Mass., 46, 54, 169. 
 Salisbury, Mass., 128, 169. 
 Saltonstall, Gurdon, Governor of 
 
 Conn., 49. 
 
 Sandusky, Ohio, 143. 
 Sawtell, Joseph, 146. 
 
 , name of, 18. 
 
 , Richard, 74. 
 
 Seager, Ebenezer, 43. 
 , Henry, Jr., 43. 
 
 Sewall, Judge Samuel, his Diary, 97, 
 
 99, *45- 
 
 Shattuck, Elizabeth, 113. 
 , John, 48, 112. 
 , Mrs. John, 113. 
 , John, Jr., 48, 112. 
 , name of, 18. 
 , Ruth, 113. 
 
 Shays's Rebellion, 59. 
 
 Shea's edition of "History of New 
 
 France," 36, 96. 
 Shepley, Hon. Ether, 48, 99. 
 
 Gen. George F., 48, 99. 
 
 John, 48; his family, 98. 
 
 John, Jr., 48, 99, too, 102. 
 
 name of, 50. 
 
 Samuel, 15. 
 
 Shepley family, the, 99. 
 Sherman, Abigail. See Willard, Mrs. 
 Samuel. 
 
 , Rev. John, 27, 76. 
 
 Shirley, Mass., 132, 133, 167, 168. 
 , Gov. William, 132. 
 
 Shrimpton, Col. Samuel, 97. 
 Smith, John, 74. 
 , Thomas, 89. 
 
 Squannacook, 112, 146, 168. 
 
 Stage-coach lines of Groton, 50-61. 
 
 Stamp Act, the, 52. 
 
 State Archives, 121; quoted, 21, 24, 
 25; cited, 22, 30, 35, 38, 40, 41, 42, 
 43, 44, 48, 49, 58, 94, 97, 100, 101, 102. 
 
 Stoddard, Capt. John, 45; his "Jour- 
 nal," 46. 
 
 Stone, Benjamin, 155. 
 
 , Deacon, 155. 
 
 , name of, 18. 
 
 , Simon, 39, 40. 
 
 Stony Fordway, the, 112. 
 Stoughton, Gov. William, 41, 101. 
 Stow, Mass., 57. 
 Sudbury, England, 138. 
 
 -, Mass., 31, 42, 105, 169. 
 
 "Summary, Historical and Political," 
 
 Douglass's, 150. 
 Swan, R. F., 139. 
 Syracuse, 126.
 
 Tanguay, 1'Abbe" Cyprien, his "Dic- 
 
 tionnaire Genealogique," 37. 
 Tarbell, Battice, no. 
 
 Eleazer, in. 
 
 Elizabeth (Wood), 107, 108. 
 
 John, 44, 45, 107, 108, 109, no, 
 ii , 113. 
 
 Lesor, 110, in. 
 
 Loran, no. 
 
 Louis, no. 
 
 Mitchell, no. 
 
 name of, 18, 47. 
 
 Peter, no. 
 
 Capt. Samuel, 155. 
 
 Sarah, 44, 45, 107, 108, 113. 
 
 Thomas, 45, 50, 89. 
 
 Thomas (Indian), no. 
 
 Thomas, Jr., 22, 45, 46, 47, 74, 
 
 107, 108, 1 10, 168. 
 
 Zechariah, 44, 45, 107, 108, 109, 
 no, in, 113. 
 Taverns in Groton, 60. 
 Taxous, 36, 96, 97, 98. 
 Taylor, Col. William, 44. 
 
 , Lieut. Joseph, in. 
 
 Telegraph, the, influence of, 153. 
 
 Telegraph and Despatch Line, the, 61. 
 
 Telephone, 153. 
 
 Temperance, advance of, 150-151. 
 
 Temple, N. H., 55. 
 
 Thacher, Rev. Thomas, 29. 
 
 Thames River, Conn., 140. 
 
 Tinker, John, 18. 
 
 Tiverton, R. I., 46. 
 
 Tohaunto, Indian chief, 22. 
 
 Torakaron, Joseph, in. 
 
 Torrey, William, 18, 121. 
 
 Town incorporation, 14, 120, 121. 
 
 Towns, Massachusetts, list of first 
 
 established, 169. 
 Townsend, Mass., 130, 131. 
 Trimountaine, 14. 
 Trowbridge, Rev. Caleb, 156. 
 "True Account of the most Consider- 
 able Occurrences," etc., 31. 
 Tyng, Edward, 27. 
 , Eunice, 27. 
 
 Union and Accommodation Line, the 
 
 60. 
 "Useful Instructions," Willard's, 27 
 
 81-83- 
 Usher, Hezekiah, 35. 
 
 Vermont, 60, 61. 
 Villieu, 97. 
 Virginia, 73. 
 
 , Maj. Nathaniel, 35. 
 Waldron, Richard, 22. 
 Waltham, Mass., 15. 
 Ward, Gen. Artemas, 107. 
 Warumbee, 101. 
 Watertown, Mass., 14, 27, 76, 132, 
 
 169. 
 
 Waubansconcett, 15. 
 Webster, Rev. Samuel, 55. 
 Wells, Thomas, 46. 
 Wells River, Vt., 141. 
 Wenham, Mass., 46. 
 West Groton. See Squannacook. 
 Westford, Mass., 122, 133, 167, 168. 
 Weston Hall, England, 92. 
 Wheatsborough. See Groton, Ohio. 
 Wheelock, Eleazer, his "Continuation 
 
 of the Narrative of the Indian Char- 
 ity School," in. 
 Wheelock's, I. & S., 60. 
 White, Corporal, 35. 
 Whitney, Joshua, 79. 
 Wilder, Lieut., 41. 
 Willard, Col. Josiah, 51. 
 
 , Miriam, 51. 
 
 , Moses, 51. 
 
 , Rev. Samuel, 31, 51, 70, 92; 
 sketch of life, 26-29; his pastorate 
 in Groton, 74-91; his "Useful In- 
 structions," 27, 81-83. 
 
 , Mrs. Samuel, 27, 76, 80. 
 
 , Sarah, 97. 
 
 -, Major Simon, 24, 25, 26, 32, 90. 
 
 William and Mary, charters of, 123, 
 
 128. 
 
 Williams, John, 45. 
 Winnepesauke River, 128. 
 Winthrop, Mass., 137. 
 
 , Deane, 17, 19, 137, 164. 
 
 , Gov. Fitz-John, 137, 140. 
 
 , Gov. John, 19, 137, 139, 164. 
 
 , Robert C., 139; letter from, 137. 
 
 Witchcraft in Groton, 28. 
 Witt, John, 15, 18. 
 Woburn, Mass., 73. 
 " Wonder- Working Providence," John- 
 son's, 15, 73. 
 Woods, Eber, 92. 
 
 , Lieut. Isaac, 155. 
 
 , Lieut. John, 155. 
 
 , Samuel, 74, 78. 
 Woolley, Charles, 15, 121. 
 Worcester, Mass., 61. 
 Wright, Elizur, 151. 
 
 Yarmouth, Mass., 72, 74, 169.