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ACTON IN HISTORY.

COMPILED FOE THE MIDDLESEX COUNTY HISTORY.

PUBLISHED BY

J. W. LEWIS & CO., OF PHILADELPHIA,

with

MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS ADDITIONAL,

i; v

REV. JAMES ELETCHER.

Copyright is!hi isy J, W. Lewis Go., transferred ro Rev. .ia.mks Fletcher.

PHILADELPHIA am. BOSTON: J. W. LEWIS & CO., 1890.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.

Thanks are hereby expressed to the publishers, J. W. Lewis & ('(>.. of Philadelphia, for their generosity and courtesy in providing the printed extras for the Acton Local, a1 such reduced rates.

To the owners of the expensive c'hoice steel plates, — for the tree use of the same.

To Rev. F. I'. Wood, for his accommodation in the matter of engraving blocks. To the Pratt Brothers, for their indulgence in the same line.

To George C. Wright, for furnishing the new photo-electrotype block of the oil painting of ('apt. Isaac Davis' wife, which has never before been printed for the public eve. The oil painting was a remarkable likeness of the venerable lady, taken by the best artist when she was in her 92d year. It was photographed by Mr. Wright, several years ago in New York, where he found it with some of the descendants. He has had this photograph photo-eleetro- typed for the uses of the Acton Local. It is a rare, historic gem.

Thanks are also due to Mrs. Winthrop E. Faulkner for the photo-electrotype engraving of the crayon sketch of her husband, a fine facsimile of the original.

To Arthur H. Cowdry, M. I)., of Stoneham, for the block of his father, so highly prized by all.

To lion. William A. Wilde, who again has shown his appreciation of his birthtown by the gilt of the frontispiece picture of this book, and also of the photo-electrotype of his own person.

To Horace F. Tattle, for his gratuitous services, of the last winter months, in drawing and compiling the original for the lithographic map of Acton.

To the public in general, for their response, in interest and subscriptions, to the work, which is now submitted to them in trust.

JAMES FLETCHER.

Acton, Mass.. Dec. 1^. 18U0.

ACTON IN HISTORY.

COMPILED BY REV. JAMES FLETCHER.

(ONI E N T S .

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Revolutionary Preliminaries	250,1-2-:!	The Davis Guards1 Reception	284
The Faulkner Homestead	253-4	The civil War Record. Bj Lut'.ici- Conant, Est	1. 2S4-7
(Hi. Winthrop E. Faulkner	255
('apt. Isaac Davis' Route to North Bridge	255	Hon. William A. Wilde
Luther Blancbard	256	The Tablet List by Julian Tuttle . . . .	280
James II ax-ward	257	The Congregational Church	200
Aimer Hosmer	257	Rev. James T. Woodbury	■'00
Mrs. Mehitable Piper	257
Rev. .1. T. Woodbury's S]>eeeli	. 357-61		20:!
Capt. Isaac Davis	261		204-5
Capt. Isaac Davis' Wife	201-2
Men of the Revolution	263	Graduates of College	200-7
The French ami Indian War	- 204
The Second Meeting' House	. 204-5		299-0
William D. Tuttle's Sketch	20(5-0	Deaths of the Oldest Persons	301
A. A. Wyman's Sketch	. 269-76	Biographical Sketches
Mrs. John Hapgood's Sketch of West Acton	27(1-1

PHILADELPHIA AND BOSTOX: .1. W. LEWIS & ('(>.. 1^00.

AN

HISTORICAL SKETCH

OF THE

TOWN OF ACTON.

BY

REV. JAMES FLETCHER.

REPRINTED FROM THE "HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS

AN HISTORICAL SKETCH

OF THE

TOWN OF ACTON.

The hope of rescuing from the wreck of oblivion some of the precious | relics of the past has been the solace of care in the preparation of this work.

Hearty thanks are here expressed and acknowledgments made to those ' who have contributed with the pen anil the memory in aid of the sketch.

William D. Turtle, Esq., the town clerk, and his son, Horace P., have rendered important assistance in gathering facts from the town records.

The historical map prepared by Horace F. Tuttle for the history, and which it was hoped could be published in the same, is a valuable acquisi- tion for future reference lis important items are given. It should be printed and doubtless will be soou. Rev. Dr. Knowlton, Rev. F. P. Wood, Rev. Mr. Heath, A. A. Wyman, Esq., Horace Hosnier and his daughter Bertha, Deacon Samuel Hosnier, Mrs. John Hapgood, Mrs. Lottie Klagg, Luther Conant, Esq., Moses Taylor, Esq.. and Luke Smith have rendered essential service in gathering up the fragments that nothing be lost.

The Centennial address of Josiah H. Adams, Esq., Shattuck's " History of Concord " and the "Colonial History " of Charles H.C. Walcott have been freely consulted in the compilation.

The history of Acton seems to the writer in the review like a romance dropped freshly from the skies. It is in reality a plain tale of persons and events which have consecrated for all time this locality.

James Fletcher.

Coloxial Period. — Acton, tweuty-four miles northwest of Boston, has on the north Littleton and Westford ; on the east Carlisle and Concord ; on the south Sudbury. Maynard and Stow ; and on the west Boxboro' and Littleton.

Acton at its incorporation, July 21, 1735, was bounded by Sudbury, Concord, Billerica, Chelmsford, Westford, Littleton and Stow, which then included Boxborough. The principal part of what is now Carlisle, then belonging to Old Concord, was set off as a part of the new town, Acton.

The Carlisle District of Acton was incorporated as a separate town in 1780; the easterly part of Old Concord was incorporated in the new town of Bed- ford in 1729 ; and the southerly part of Old Concord was incorporated in the new town of Lincoln in 1754, so that from 1754 to 1780 the township of Acton was larger than that of Concord, though much behind in wealth and population. At the time of Concord's in- corporation, in 1635, what is now the Acton territory was not a part of Concord, but was granted to Con- cord a few years after by the name of the " Concord Village," or the new grant covering nearly the pres- ent boundaries of Acton. The Willard Farms in- J eluded in the act incorporating Acton in 1735 had, previous to that act, been granted to Concord.

When Acton was made a town the statute bounded } it on the east by " Concord old Bounds,'' from which it appears, as before stated, that it includes no part of the original Concord and that the dividing line be- I

tween the two towns is a portion of the old Concord on that side.

The Acton boundary extended leads to a heap of lichen-covered boulders, surmounted by a stake.

This ancient monument is near the top of a hill in the southwesterly part of Carlisle, and undoubtedly marks the old northwest corner of Concord.

It was identified and pointed out to Chas. H. Walcott, of Concord, on the ground by Major B. F. Heald, of Carlisle, who says that he has often heard his father and other ancient men, long since deceased, speak of this bound as marking the old Concord corner.

Everything goes to corroborate this testimony. The place was commonly known by the name of " Berry Corner," and was the original northeast corner of Acton, but in 1780 (statute passed April 28, 1780) a portion of that town near this point was included in what was then constituted the District of Carlisle, and subsequently formed a part of the town of the same name (Carlisle did not acquire all the legal characteristics of a town until February 18, 1805—3 Special Laws, 497).

Thomas Wheeler and others who came to Concord about 1639, found the most convenient of the lands already given out, and in 1642 petitioned for a grant of land on the northwest, which was conceded on coudition that they improved the grant within two years. Most of the lands were granted to Concord for feeding.

They were not very accurately defined, being found upon actual survey to contain a greater number of acres than nominally specified in the grants.

A settlement was begun on these grants as early as 1656 and possibly a few years earlier. The Shepherd and Law families were among the first settlers.

Many of the meadows were open prairies affording, with little or no labor, grass in abundance.

Some of the uplands had been cleared by the In- dians and were favorite places for feeding. In those days the " new grant " was familiarly called, and with some reason, " Concord's sheep pasture."

In 1666, in pursuance of an order from the General Court, Richard Beers, of Watertown, and Thomas Noyes, of Sudbury, laid out the new grant, or Con- cord Village, as it was called, comprising the present

ACTON.

239

territory of Acton and portions of Carlisle and Lit- tleton, and made their return in the following year.

On January 12, 1669, a lease was made by Con- cord to Captain Thomas Wheeler, for the term of twenty-one years, of two hundred acres of upland and sixty acres of meadow, lying west of Nashoba Brook, in consideration of which he agreed to pay a yearly rent of £5 alter the expiration of the first seven years, and to build a house forty feet in length, eighteen feet wide and twelve feet stud, " covered with shingles, with a payer of chimnes," also a barn forty feet long, twenty-four feet wide, and twelve feet stud. These buildings were to be left at the end of the term tor the use of the town, with thirty acres of land in tillage and sufficiently fenced.

He agreed further, and this was the main pur- pose of the lease, to receive and pasture the dry cattle belonging to the town's people, not to exceed one hundred and twenty in number nor to be fewer than eighty.

The cattle were to be marked by their owners and delivered to Captain Wheeler at his house, and the price was fixed at two shillings a head, payable one- third in wheat, one-third in rye or pease, and one- third in Indian corn.

The owners were to " keep the said herd twelve Sabboth dayes yearly, at the appointment and accord- ing to the proportion by said Thomas or his heires allotted."

The number of cattle received under this agree- meut fell below the lowest limit, and, in January, 1673, the terms of the contract were so modified that Captain Wheeler was entitled to receive one shilling per head.

The town of Concord laid out a road to Thomas Wheeler's mill, the first grist-mill in Acton, located on the present site of Wetherbee's mill, as is proved by the foundations of the old mill found when dig- ging for the present mill.

The canal now used is essentially the same as then used.

The mill was tended for the most part by women. A Mrs. Joseph Barker had charge among the last.

Going up from that site to the present saw-mill we find on the east side of the dam, near the road, the abutments of what were old iron works, called at the time a forge.

Here they had a trip-hammer and other implements and conveniences for working in iron. Joseph Har- ris made the latches and the iron-work from this forge for the first meeting-house.

The ore, which was smelted with charcoal, was bog iron ore found in the vicinity, some rods southwest. The building for the storing of the charcoal was a little distance up the old road going west, beyond the old walls. The charcoal bed is easily determined by striking a spade into the ground.

The old road went south of the present saw-mill and wound around near the old wall up to the brook

at the foot of the hill, and there followed up the stream on the right side.

Captain Thomas Wheeler's house, supposed to be the first dwelling-house deserving the name, was west of the brook, not far from the wall where the old lilac bushes still stand, which belonged to hia garden plot.

The spring near the brook, now enclosed in a bar- rel, was Captain Wheeler's well. There are evidences of an old orchard opposite on the south side of the brook. The Canadian plum-trees near by are said to have come from the stones of plums which the sol- diers brought on their return from Canada in the French and Indian War.

Mrs. Joseph Barker, who tended the mill, lived at one time in Captain Wheeler's house. John Barker's house was a little to the right, on the east side of the stream, and farther west of Thomas Wheeler's house and bam .

Captain Thomas Wheeler died in 1676, from wounds received in his fight with the Indians at Brookfield. He was born a leader of men in war and peace. The narrative of the expedition of Cap- tain Edward Hutchinson, after hostilities had begun at Plymouth, written by Captain Thomas Wheeler, is the epic of Colonial times. He was so associated with the first start in the settlement and business ac- tivities of Acton, before its incorporation, that we give space to the excellent synopsis of his narrative, by Charles H. Walcott, the Colonial historian of Con- cord :

" Captain Hutchinson was commissioned by the Council at Boston to proceed to the Nipmuck coun- try, so called, in what is now Worcester County, and confer with the Indians there for the purpose of pre- venting, if possible, any extension of Philip's influ- ence in that direction.

" Captain Thomas Wheeler, of Concord, who was already advanced in years, and had commanded the western troop of horse ever since its organization, was ordered to accompany Hutchinson with an escort of twenty or twenty-five men of his company. Ac- cordingly they set out from Cambridge and arrived at Quabaug, or Brookfield, on Sunday, August 1st. Here they received information that the Indians whom they expected to meet had withdrawn to a place about ten miles distant towards the northwest. A detachment of four men was sent forward to assure them of the peaceable character of the expedition, and a meeting was agreed upon for the next morn- ing, at eight o'clock, on a plain within three miles of the town.

" There was some apprehension of treachery, but prominent citizens of Brookfield not only expressed confidence in the good intentions of the savages, but declared their own willingness to be present at the conference, and Hutchinson decided that theappoint- I ment must be kept. The Indians, however, did not I appear, and this fact, together with other suspicious

240

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

circumstances, led the sagacious Wheeler to think that to venture further would be unwise. But Hutchinson was unwilling to abandon his mission with nothing accomplished, and, in deference to his wishes, the order was given to advance towards a swamp where the savages were supposed to be lurk- ing.

" As they proceeded the narrowness of the path, with the swamp on one side and a rocky hill on the other, forced men and horses to march in single file.

"Suddenly the war-whoop resounded, and the ad- vancing column was assailed by a volley of arrows and bullets discharged from behind trees and bushes, kill- ing eight men, wounding five, and throwing the line into disorder, which was materially increased by the difficulty of turning about or passing by in the strait- ened passage-way.

" Captain Wheeler spurred his horse up the hillside, when, finding himself unhurt and perceiving that some of his men had fallen under the fire of the enemy, who were now rushing forward to finish their work, he turned about and dashed boldly forward to attack them.

" The movement separated him for a few moments from his men. A well-directed shot killed his horse and brought the old man to the ground wounded, and it would soon have been all over with the brave captain, had not his son Thomas, who was also wounded, come to his rescue.

"Quickly dismounting, he placed his father in the saddle, and ran by his side until he caught another horse that had lost his rider, and so the two escaped with their lives, but suffering severely from their wounds.

" This was merely the beginning. Hutchinson had received a wound that caused his death in a few days, and now the task of extricating the command from its perilous situation devolved upon Captain Wheeler. It was performed in masterly fashion. Keeping to the open country and avoiding the woods, they re- traced their way, with the assistance of friendly In- dian guides, to the village of Brookfield, took posses- sion of one of the largest and strongest houses, and fortified as best they could.

" They had not long to wait before the enemy ap- peared in superior numbers, and attacked the strong- hold with vigor.

" The captain's disability brought to the front Lieu- tenant Simon Davis, another Concord man, who fought and prayed with a fervor that reminds one of the soldiers of Cromwell. To him, associated with James Richardson and John Fiske, of Chelmsford, the direction of affairs was entrusted.

" Two men, dispatched to Boston for assistance, were unable to elude the vigilance of the besiegers, and were obliged to return.

" The Indians piled hay and other combustibles against the side of the house and set fire to them, thus forcing the English to expose themselves in their

efforts to extinguish the flames. Their bows shot arrows tipped with ' wild fire,' which alighted on the buildings within the enclosure and set them afire.

" To get their combustible materials close to the walls, a remarkable engine, fourteen rods long, was > constructed by the savages of poles and barrels, which | they trundled forward on its menacing errand. For three days and nights this horrible warfare continued.

"The besieged were compelled to witness the mutila- tion of their dead comrades who had fallen outside, and to endure as best they could the jeers and taunts of the foe.

"Rain came to the assistance of the little band by putting out the fires of their assailants and rendering it difficult to kindle new ones. Davis, who is said to have been of a ' lively spirit,' exhorted his men to remember that God was fighting on their side, and to take good aim before firing.

" The prayers and hymns of the soldiers, borne out on wings of fire and smoke, were answered by cries of the unregenerate heathen, who gave utterance to hid- eous groanings in imitation of the singing of psalms.

"Twice did brave Ephraim Curtis attempt to make his way through the enemy's line to go for succor. Twice was he compelled to return baffled. The third time, by great exertion and crawling for a considera- ble distance on his hands and knees, he succeeded in reaching Marlborough, where he gave the alarm, and on the evening of the 4th the garrison was overjoyed at the arrival of their old neighbor and friend, Major Willard, with a force of forty-six soldiers and five Indians, who, hearing at Marlborough of their dis- tress, had altered his course to come to their relief.

"Towards morning the Indians departed, having set fire to all the houses, except that which sheltered the whites.

"It has already been stated that Captain Wheeler was severely wounded, and his son was detained at Brookfield for several weeks by the injuries he had received.

" It is easy to believe that the Captain and the re- mainder of his troop received a hearty welcome on their return home. The town kept the 21st day ol October, 1675, as 'a day of praise and thanksgiving to God for their remarkable deliverance and safe re- turn.* It was a battle in which Concord men were foremost in the display of courage and the rarer qual- ities that constitute good leadership.

" The Indians appear to have behaved very badly from the beginning. They were guilty of an unpro- voked and treacherous assault upon a party whose purpose was one of peace and friendship. The mis- sion was an honorable one and faithfully discharged; and Wheeler and his men are deserving of praise for all time as brave soldiers who acquitted themselves nobly under the most trying circumstances."

Nathan Robbins appears to be the first owner of the land after Wheeler, and the land has passed from father to son ever since.

ACTON.

241

Acts of Incorporation. — An act to incorporate the town of Acton, passed July, 17'i-j.

" Whereas the inhabitants and proprietors of the Northwesterly part of Concord, in the County of Middlesex, culled the Village or New Grant, have represented to this court that they labor under great difficulties by reason of their remoteness from the place of public worship and therefore desire that they and their estates, together with the farms called Wlllard Farms, may beset off a distinct and separate township for which they have also obtained the consent of the town of Concord :

" Be it therefore enacted by his Excellency the Governor, Council and Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that, the said Northwesterly part of Cjncord, together with the said farms be, and hereby are set off, constituted and erected iuto a dis- tinct and separate township by the name of Acton, and agreeably to the following boundaries, namely, beginning at the Southwest corner of Concord old hounds, then Southwesterly on Sudbury and Stow line till itcoinesto Littleton line, then hounded Northerly by Littleton, West- ford and Chelmsford, then Easterly by Billerica till it comes to the Northwest corner of Concord old bounds anil by said boundi to the place first mentioned.

"And that the inhabitants of the lands before described and bounded he and hereby are vented with all the town privileges aud immunities that the inhabitants of other towns within this Province are or by law ought to be vested with.

•' Provided that the Slid inhabitants of the said town of Actou do, within three years from the publication of this Act, erect and finish a suitable house for the public worship of God and procure and settle a learned orthodox minister of good conversation aud make provision for his comfortable and honorable support."

This vicinity was called Concord Village in those days.

Here was a happy, independent, industrious com- munity, owning their lands, worshiping God in their own way and educating their children.

For seventeen years all went well, till Sir Edmund Andros appeared in Boston and tried to overthrow the charter which was served by the people as their safeguard and protection.

He prohibited town-meetings except once a year to choose officers.

Puritan flesh and blood could not stand this. Their town-meetings meant business, and now they were ordered to give them up. Taxes were laid without consulting those who were to pay them, and, worst of all, Andros declared all land titles null and void.

When the people showed their deeds from the In- dians he said he cared no more for an Indian's signa- ture than he did for the scratch of a bear's paw.

Then they pleaded what we in late days have called squatter sovereignty. But he said that no length of possession could make valid a grant from one who had no title.

Then the people rose to defend their homes and the rights of Englishmen.

On the 19th of April, 1689, the Concord Company, commanded by John Heald, the first selectman of Acton after its incorporation, marched to Boston to assist in the revolt which overthrew the Andros gov- ernment.

In this way the men of Concord and Acton ante- dated the original 19th of April, which has since be- come the red-letter day in our history.

The First Meeting-House.— We will retrace our steps by the old Brooks tavern, to the spot opposite 16

where now stands the stately school building of the Centre District.

We will have to pause a long time here before com- prehending the situation. It is the spot where stood for seventy years that old landmark of the past — the first meeting-house of the town of Acton.

If you have seen the striking picture in the pamphlet of the centennial celebration, you will have been helped to an impression of the house and its surroundings.

You must stand yourself on that hill of Ziou, for such it was to our early forefathers, and view the landscape o'er. On the south is the road that leads through the woods to the resting-place of the dead. On the east rises Annursneak Hill, hiding from view the peaceful homes of Mother Concord.

To the north of Annursneak is Strawberry Hill, whose brow strikes but eight feet below the brow of the former, having a view more commanding and more accessible. To the north and west are the delectable Hills, and towering above them all in the distance, Watatuck, Monadnock and Wachusett, old, familiar faces to every Acton boy and girl.

The building of this meeting-house is associated with the organization of Acton as a separate incor- porated town. (See act of incorporation.) The location and erection of a meeting-house soon began to agitate the people. In October of the year of incorporation it was voted not to build that year, but " to set the meeting-house in the Center." By the centre was meant the point of intersection of lines drawn to the extreme limits of the town. This decision was not satisfactory to all the inhabitants.

At a meeting holden November 10, 1735, it was pro- pounded whether the town would not reconsider their vote to have the meeting-house in the centre, and " agree to set it at some place near the center for con- venience.'' It was voted not to reconsider. It was also voted not to do anything towards building the meeting-house the ensuing year.

At a meeting on the first Monday in December the same year it was again proposed to the town to re- consider the previous action, with reference to the lo- cation. The article was dismissed. But the minority had another meeting warned for December 29th, " To see if the Town will reconsider thar vote that they will set thare meeting-house in the Center, and agree to set it on a knowl with a grate many Pines on it, Laying South Easterly about twenty or thirty Rods of a black oak tree, whare the fire was made the last meeting, or to se if the Town will agree to set thare meeting-house on a knowl the North of an oak tree whare they last met, or to see if the Town will chuse two or three men to say which of the places is most convenient, or to se if the Commity think that knowl whereon stands a dead pine between the two afore- said knowls, or to say which of the three places is most convenient."

At this meeting the location was changed to the

242

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

first "knowl" mentioned in the warrant. The site of the first meeting-house (a little to the south of where the Centre School-house now stands, near the two elms) was twenty or thirty rods southeast of the geo- graphical centre of the town, as it was before the in- corporation of Carlisle.

At the meeting which finally decided the location of the house, it was voted to begin that year and the dimensions were fixed upon.

The house was to be forty-six by thirty-eight feet in length and width and twenty feet in height.

At the next meeting (January 2, 173G) the former vote was reconsidered, and the vote was to have the house forty-six by thirty-six and " 21 feet between joynts."

Voted, " That all the inhabitants of the town should have the offer to work at giting the timber for the house by the Commity."

Voted, "That Samuel Wheeler, Jonathan Parlin, Simon Hunt, John Shepherd and Daniel Shepherd be a Commity to manage ye affair of giting the tim- ber for ye meeting-house."

Voted, " That the Commity should have six shil- lings per day for thar work, and the other Laborers five shillings per day."

Voted, " That there should be a Rate of seventy pounds made and assessed on the inhabitants of the town of Acton towards setting up the frame of the house."

May 10, 1736, it was voted " That the Selectmen should agree with Madam Cuming for ye land for ye meeting-house to stand on."

The deed of the land of the first meeting-house in Acton was dated January 25, 1737, signed by "Anne Cummings, wife of Mr. Alexander Cummings, Sur- geon, now abroad, and attorney of said Alexander Cummings, being empow-ered and authorized by him."

This deed is written in a bold, large-lettered style, and is very plain to read — as but few specimens of penmanship seen in ancient or modern times.

It is in a fine state of preservation in the keeping of the town clerk.

The style of it reminds one of John Hancock's signature to the Declaration of Independence.

September 15, 173G, the town voted "To frame and Rai.-e thar meeting-house before winter, and John Heald, Thomas Wheeler and Simon H::nt were chosen a Commity impowered to Regulate and Inspect and order ye fnming and Raising ye meeting- house in Acton and like wise to agree with Carpen- ter or carpenters to frame ye house."

At the same meeting it was decided to do nothing about preaching for the en-uing winter.

November 1, 1736, Voted, " That they would board and shingle ye roofs and board and clap-board ye aides and ends, make window frames and casements and make ye door and crown of doors and windows, put troughs round, build ye pulpit and lay ye lower '

floor, ye work to be done by ye first of November next."

May 30, 1737, Voted, "To underpin the meeting- house by working each man a day."

Those who were delinquent were required to work a day " at high ways, by order of ye surveyor, more than thare equal part other ways wood have been."

"The work of pinting the underpining was let out to Jonathan Billings for 2£ 10s., which work he engaged to do spedily and Do it Wei."

Public worship was first held in the meeting-house in January, 1738.

At the time of Mr. Swift's ordination, November, 1738, it was far from being finished.

May 15, 1745, Voted, " To raise twenty pounds, old tenor, for finishing the meeting house that year."

Not till two years after this was the house com- pleted. One should read the several dates in order to get a full impression of the slowness and difficulty of building a meeting-house in those colonial times.

There is a tradition that Lord Acton, of England, for whom the town may possibly have been named, offered a bell for the house of worship, but, having no tower, and the people feeling too poor to erect one, the present was declined.

When the house was finished (so-called), in 1747, there were no pews, except on the lower floor adjoin- ing the walls of the house, and these were but sixteen in number. The four pews which were under and over each of the gallery stairs were built at intervals some years after. Several of the pew-holders from time to time obtained leave of the town to make a new window for their own accommodation and at their own expense. Each seems to have consulted his own fancy, both as to size and location. Little windows, in this way, of different sizes and shapes, came to be placed near the corners of the building.

In the body of the house, on each side the broad aisle, were constructed what were then called the body seats, and these together with the gallery were occu- pied by all who, through poverty or otherwise, were not proprietors of a pew.

Both in the body seats and in the gallery the men were arranged on the right of the pulpit and the women on tne left, so that while the pew-holder could sit with his wife at church, all others were obliged to keep at a respectful distance.

The custom of "seating the meeting-house," as it was called, was found necessary, and was well calcu- lated to prevent confusion and to insure particularly to the aged a certain and comfortable seat.

To give the better satisfaction the committee were usually instructed to be governed by age and the amount of taxes paid for the three preceding years. In the year 1757 they were also instructed to be gov- erned by " other circumstances," at their discretion.

The report of that committee was not accepted and a new committee was chosen with the usual instruc- tions.. What the " other circumstances" were does

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not appear. But it should have been known that any circumstances which depended on the estimation and discretion of a committee would fail to give satisfac- tion in a matter of such peculiar delicacy.

The new committee, however, seem to have restored harmony, and the same practice was continued during the existence of the old meeting-house.

Special instructions were given in favor of negroes, who were to have the exclusive occupation of the " hind seat " in the gallery.

How the youthful eyes lingered on the heels of Quartus Hosmer as they disappeared in his passage up the gallery-stairs, and how eagerly they watched the re-appearance in the gallery of his snow-white eyes, made more conspicuous by the eel-skin ribbon which gathered into & queue his graceful curls!

He lived at the house then occupied by Mr. Hosmer, near the turnpike corner on the way from the Centre to the South, midway between the two villages.

In 1769 " the hind parts " of the body seats were removed and four new pews were erected in their place. They were occupied by Thomas Noyes, Daniel Brooks, Joseph Robbins and Jonathan Hosmer. In the same year the house was new covered and glazed. In 1783 four other other pews were built and another portion of the body seats was removed. Three of these were sold and the fourth was " assigned for the use of the clergyman. It was through the banis- ters of this pew " old Mother Robbins," who sat in the body seats, used to furnish the centennial orator, Josiah Adams, Esq., the son of the pastor, those marigolds, peonies, and pink roses, decorated and perfumed with pennyroyal, southernwood, and tansy. She was indeed a most interesting old lady. No other public building has existed in the town so long as this stood. It was the house in which the first minister, Mr. Swift, preached during the whole of his long ser- vice of thirty-seven years, and in which Mr. Moses Adams, the second minister, officiated during the period of thirty years.

It was used not simply for religious worship, but for town-meetings. Here the money was voted for the first public schools, here the roads were laid out, here the poor were provided for, here Acton took its munic- ipal action preliminary to the Revolutionary War, and here the first vote was passed recommending the Con- tinental Congress to put forth the Declaration of Inde- pendence. The house stood and was used for these public purposes until 1808, when it was forsaken and after a few years torn down.

It would be a novel and impressive service could the persons of the present generation be transferred just for one day and witness the scene in that old meeting-house on the " knowl." We would like to catch just one look at that venerable row of the deacons' seat. We would like to see them there, each in his turn reading the psalm, a line at a time, and tossing it up for the use of the singers in the front gallery. We would like to hear the peculiar voices of James Bil-

lings and Samuel Parlin coming back as an echo. This practice of reading a line at a time, which, doubtless, had its origin in a want of psalm-books, be- came so hallowed in the minds of many that iis dis- continuance was a work of some difficulty.

In 1790 the church voted that it should be dis- pensed with in the afternoon, and three years after- wards they voted to abandon the practice.

On the Sabbath previous to the dedication of their second meeting-house, the people of Acton came from all directions, a whole family on a horse, toward the old meeting-house, to bid farewell to the place where their fathers had worshiped. After the whole town had come, entered the church, taken their seats in the old-fashioned square pews, sungsomeof Watts' hymns, and listened to a long and fervent prayer, their beloved minister, the Rev. Moses Adams, eloquently discoursed from the following text (Micah 2 : 10) : " Arise and let us depart, for this is not our rest." "Let us sing in his praise," the minister said. All the psalm-books at once fluttered open at " York."

A sprig of green caraway carries me there to tbe old village church and the old village choir.

" To the land of the leal they have gone with their song, Where the choir and the chorus together belong, Oh ! be lifted ye gates ! let me hear them again, Blessed song: blessed Sabbath. Forever. Amen."

Rev. John Swift, the First Pastor. — We come to the fine mansion now owned and occupied by Dea- con William W.Davis. Since its recent improvements it has become an important addition to the structural adornment of the Centre. It is near enough to the main avenue of the village to be easily seen, and, with its elevated front and majestic elm towering above the whole, it makes a fine perspective view on approach- ing the town from either road.

Mr. Eliab Grimes, who formerly occupied the place, was a successful farmer who tilled the land in the warm months of the year, and taught the schools in the winter, and had important trusts of service from the town as selectman and representative. Joash Keyes, David Barnard, Esq., in 1800; Deacon Josiah Noyes, in 1780 ; and Rev. John Swift, in 1740. One dwelling-house on this site was burned. Here is where Mr. Swift, the first pastor of Acton, for so long a period lived. Here we must pause long enough to get affiliated to the historical atmosphere, which seems to pervade the whole region around.

At a meeting of the town October 4, 1737, while the first meeting-house was being built, a committee was selected to supply the pulpit. The meetings were to begin the first Sunday in January. At a meeting on January 25, 1738, it was voted "to raise thirty pounds to glaze ye meeting-house, to raise fifty pounds to support preaching, and Joseph Fletcher should be paid for a cushing for ye pulpit out of the tax money." In the warrant for a meeting holden on March 28th was this article : " To se if ye town will appint a day for fasting and prayer to God, with

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

the advice and assistance of sum of ye Neighboring Ministers for further directions, for the establishing ye gospel among them, as, allso, who and how many thay will advise with, as, allso, to chose a commett to mannig ye affare and provide for ye Pulpit for ye time to come."

Voted "to appint ye last Thursday of March for fasting and prayer."

Voted "that thay will call in five of ye Neighboring Ministers for advice in calling a Minister, viz. : Mr. Lorin, of Sudbury; Mr. Cook, East Sudbury; Mr. Gardner, of Stow; Mr. Peabody, of Natick ; and Mr. Rogers, of Littleton. Also, voted ye Selectmen be a Committ to Mannig ye affare, and provide for ye pulpit for ye iutur.'' At this meeting John Cragin was appointed to take care of the meeting-house, and thus he became Acton's first sexton.

May 9, 1738, the town invited Mr. John Swift, of Framingham, to settle with them as minister. It was voted to give him £250 as a settlement, and an annual salary of £150, to be paid in semi-annual in- stalments in Massachusetts bills, which at the time was equivalent to about £117 settlement, and £70 salary. The contracting committee were John Heald, Samuel Wheeler, John Brooks, Amtniruham- mah Faulkner, Simon Hunt and Joseph Fletcher. The salary offered was to rise or fall with the price of the principal necessaries of life. In the year 1754, the following list of articles considered as principally necessary for consumption in a minister's family were reported by a town's committee,