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diff --git a/43810.txt b/43810.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d7708ba..0000000 --- a/43810.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2165 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Woodstock, by Clarence Winthrop Bowen - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Woodstock - An historical sketch - -Author: Clarence Winthrop Bowen - -Release Date: September 24, 2013 [EBook #43810] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOODSTOCK *** - - - - -Produced by Turgut Dincer and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - WOODSTOCK - - AN HISTORICAL SKETCH - - BY - - CLARENCE WINTHROP BOWEN, PH.D. - - READ AT ROSELAND PARK, WOODSTOCK, CONNECTICUT, AT THE BI-CENTENNIAL - CELEBRATION OF THE TOWN, ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1886 - - NEW YORK & LONDON - G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS - The Knickerbocker Press - 1886 - - COPYRIGHT BY - CLARENCE WINTHROP BOWEN - 1886 - - Press of - G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS - New York - - -As a full history of Woodstock has been in preparation for several -years and will, it is hoped, be published in the course of another -year, this brief sketch is issued as it was read at the Bi-Centennial -Anniversary of the town. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - I. INTRODUCTION 7 - - II. THE SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY - AND OF ROXBURY 8 - - III. THE NIPMUCK COUNTRY AND THE VISIT OF - JOHN ELIOT TO THE INDIANS AT WABBAQUASSET, - OR WOODSTOCK 12 - - IV. THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW ROXBURY, OR - WOODSTOCK 20 - - V. THE CHANGE OF THE NAME OF NEW ROXBURY - TO WOODSTOCK 28 - - VI. THE GROWTH OF THE NEW TOWNSHIP--1690-1731 32 - - VII. ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS 36 - - VIII. THE TRANSFER OF WOODSTOCK FROM MASSACHUSETTS - TO CONNECTICUT 43 - - IX. MILITARY RECORD 46 - - X. EDUCATIONAL MATTERS 53 - - XI. DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS 55 - - XII. CHARACTERISTICS OF WOODSTOCK 58 - - XIII. CONCLUSION 61 - - INDEX 63 - - - - -I. - - -The history of the town of Woodstock is associated with the beginnings -of history in New England. The ideas of the first settlers of Woodstock -were the ideas of the first settlers of the Colony of Plymouth and -the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The planting of these colonies -was one of the fruits of the Reformation. The antagonism between the -Established Church of England and the Non-Conformists led to the -settlement of New England. The Puritans of Massachusetts, at first -Non-Conformists, became Separatists like the Pilgrims of Plymouth. -Pilgrims and Puritans alike accepted persecution and surrendered the -comforts of home to obtain religious liberty. They found it in New -England; and here, more quickly than in the mother country, they -developed also that civil liberty which is now the birthright of every -Anglo-Saxon. - - -II. - -The settlement of Woodstock is intimately connected with the first -organized settlement on Massachusetts Bay; and how our mother town -of Roxbury was first established is best told in the words of Thomas -Dudley in his letter to the Countess of Lincoln under date of Boston, -March 12, 1630-1: - - "About the year 1627 some friends, being together in Lincolnshire, - fell into discourse about New England and the planting of the - gospel there. In 1628 we procured a patent from his Majesty for - our planting between the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River on - the South and the River of Merrimack on the North and three miles - on either side of those rivers and bay ... and the same year we - sent Mr. John Endicott and some with him to begin a plantation. In - 1629 we sent divers ships over with about three hundred people. Mr. - Winthrop, of Suffolk (who was well known in his own country and - well approved here for his piety, liberality, wisdom, and gravity), - coming in to us we came to such resolution that in April, 1630, we - set sail from Old England.... We were forced to change counsel, - and, for our present shelter, to plant dispersedly." - -Settlements were accordingly made at Salem, Charlestown, Boston, -Medford, Watertown, and in several other localities. The sixth -settlement was made, to quote further from the same letter to the -Countess of Lincoln, by "others of us two miles from Boston, in a place -we named Rocksbury."[1] - -The date of settlement was September 28, 1630, and just three weeks -later the first General Court that ever sat in America was held in -Boston. The same year the first church in Boston was organized.[2] -Roxbury, like the other settlements of Massachusetts Bay, was a little -republic in itself. The people chose the selectmen and governed -themselves; and as early as 1634, like the seven other organized towns, -they sent three deputies to Boston to attend the first representative -Assembly at which important business was transacted. The government -of Roxbury, like the other plantations, was founded on a theocratic -basis. Church and state were inseparable. No one could be admitted -as a citizen unless he was a member of the church. Many of the first -settlers came from Nazing, a small village in England, about twenty -miles from London, on the river Lee. Morris, Ruggles, Payson, and -Peacock, names read in the earliest records of Woodstock, were old -family names in Nazing. Other first inhabitants of Roxbury came from -Wales and the west of England, or London and its vicinity. Among the -founders were John Johnson, Richard Bugbee, and John Leavens, whose -family names are well known as among the first settlers of Woodstock. -All were men of property[3]; none were "of the poorer sort." In 1631 -the Rev. John Eliot, a native of the village of Nazing, arrived with a -company of Nazing pilgrims. Eliot, though earnestly solicited to become -pastor of the church in Boston,[4] accepted the charge of the church -in Roxbury, which was organized in 1632,[5] and was the sixth church, -in order of time, established in New England. Another name equally -prominent in the earliest years of the history of Roxbury was that of -William Pynchon, afterwards known as the founder of Springfield in -Massachusetts. Only Boston excels Roxbury in the number of its citizens -who have made illustrious the early history of the Massachusetts -colony.[6] Among the early settlers of Roxbury who themselves became, -or whose descendants became, the early settlers of Woodstock, were the -Bartholomews, Bowens, Bugbees, Chandlers, Childs, Corbins, Crafts, -Griggses, Gareys, Holmeses, Johnsons, Lyons, Levinses, Mays, Morrises, -Paysons, Peacocks, Peakes, Perrins, Scarboroughs, and Williamses.[7] - -In 1643 the towns within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts had grown -to thirty, and Roxbury did more than her share towards the organization -of the new towns. In fact, Roxbury has been called the mother of -towns, no less than fifteen communities having been founded by her -citizens.[8] Among the most important of these settlements was the town -of Woodstock, whose Bicentennial we this day celebrate. - - -III. - -A glance at the country about us previous to the settlement of the -town, in 1686, shows us a land sparsely inhabited by small bands of -peaceful Indians, without an independent chief of their own, but who -paid tribute to the Sachem of the Mohegans, the warriors who had -revolted from the Pequots. Woodstock was a portion of the Nipmuck[9] -country, so-called because it contained fresh ponds or lakes in -contrast to other sections that bordered upon the sea or along running -rivers. Wabbaquasset, or the mat-producing place, was the name of the -principal Indian village, and that name still exists in the corrupted -form of Quasset to designate a section of the town. Indians from -the Nipmuck[10] country took corn to Boston in 1630, soon after the -arrival of the "Bay Colony"; and in 1633[11] John Oldman and his three -Dorchester companions passed through this same section on their way to -learn something of the Connecticut River country; and they may have -rested on yonder "Plaine Hill," for history states that they "lodged -at Indians towns all the way."[12] The old "Connecticut Path" over -which that distinguished band[13] of colonists went in 1635 and 1636 to -settle the towns of Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford, passed through -the heart of what is now Woodstock.[14] This path so famous in the -early days of New England history, came out of Thompson Woods, a little -north of Woodstock Lake, and proceeding across the Senexet meadow, ran -west near Plaine Hill, Marcy's Hill, and a little south of the base of -Coatney Hill. For more than fifty years before the settlement of the -town, this historic path near Woodstock Hill was the outlet for the -surplus population of Massachusetts Bay and the line of communication -between Massachusetts and the Connecticut and New Haven colonies. -But the most noteworthy feature in the description of the Indians of -the Nipmuck country is that as early as 1670 they were formed into -Praying Villages. Evidently the instructions of Gov. Cradock in his -letter of March, 1629, to John Endicott had not been forgotten. In that -letter he said: "Be not unmindful of the main end of our plantation -by endeavoring to bring the Indians to the knowledge of the gospel." -In the heart of one man at least that idea was paramount. John Eliot, -the Apostle to the Indians, was not content to be simply the pastor of -the church of Roxbury for nearly sixty years. Amid his countless other -labors he preached the gospel to the Indians of the Nipmuck country. -The first Indian church in America had been established by him at -Natick in 1651; and, in 1674, he visited the Indian villages in the -wild territory about these very hills. As he found it, to quote his own -words,[15] "absolutely necessary to carry on civility with religion," -he was accompanied by Major Daniel Gookin, who had been appointed, in -1656, magistrate of all the Indian towns. Maanexit was first visited -on the Mohegan or Quinebaug River, near what is now New Boston, where -Eliot preached to the natives, using as his text the seventh verse of -the twenty-fourth Psalm: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye -lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the king of glory shall come in." - -Quinnatisset, on what is now Thompson Hill, was the name of another -Praying Town. But a quotation[16] from the homely narrative of Major -Gookin is the best description of Eliot's memorable visit to Woodstock: - - "We went not to it [Quinnatisset], being straitened for time, but - we spake with some of the principal people at Wabquissit.[17] ... - Wabquissit ... lieth about nine or ten miles from Maanexit, upon - the west side, six miles of Mohegan River, and is distant from - Boston west and by south, about seventy-two miles. It lieth about - four miles within the Massachusetts south line. It hath about - thirty families, and one hundred and fifty souls. It is situated in - a very rich soil, manifested by the goodly crop of Indian corn then - newly ingathered, not less than forty bushels upon an acre. We came - thither late in the evening upon the 15th of September, and took - up our quarters at the sagamore's wigwam, who was not at home: but - his squaw courteously admitted us, and provided liberally, in their - way, for the Indians that accompanied us. This sagamore inclines to - religion, and keeps the meeting on sabbath days at his house, which - is spacious, about sixty feet in length and twenty feet in width. - The teacher of this place is named Sampson; an active and ingenious - person. He speaks good English and reads well. He is brother - unto Joseph, before named, teacher at Chabanakougkomun[18] ... - being both hopeful, pious, and active men; especially the younger - before-named Sampson, teacher at Wabquissit, who was, a few years - since, a dissolute person, and I have been forced to be severe - in punishing him for his misdemeanors formerly. But now he is, - through grace, changed and become sober and pious; and he is now - very thankful to me for the discipline formerly exercised towards - him. And besides his flagitious life heretofore, he lived very - uncomfortably with his wife; but now they live very well together, - I confess this story is a digression. But because it tendeth to - magnify grace, and that to a prodigal, and to declare how God - remembers his covenant unto the children of such as are faithful - and zealous for him in their time and generation, I have mentioned - it. - - "We being at Wabquissit, at the sagamore's wigwam, divers of the - principal people that were at home came to us, with whom we spent a - good part of the night in prayer, singing psalms, and exhortations. - There was a person among them, who, sitting mute a great space, at - last spake to this effect: That he was agent for Unkas, Sachem of - Mohegan, who challenged right to, and dominion over, this people of - Wabquissit. And said he, Unkas is not well pleased that the English - should pass over Mohegan River to call his Indians to pray to God. - Upon which speech Mr. Eliot first answered, that it was his work to - call upon all men everywhere, as he had opportunity, especially the - Indians, to repent and embrace the gospel; but he did not meddle - with civil right or jurisdiction. When he had done speaking, then I - declared to him, and desired him to inform Unkas what I said, that - Wabquissit was within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and that - the government of that people did belong to them; and that they do - look upon themselves concerned to promote the good of all people - within their limits, especially if they embraced Christianity. Yet - it was not hereby intended to abridge the Indian sachems of their - just and ancient right over the Indians, in respect of paying - tribute or any other dues. But the main design of the English was - to bring them to the good knowledge of God in Christ Jesus; and to - suppress among them those sins of drunkenness, idolatry, powowing - or witchcraft, whoredom, murder, and like sins. As for the English, - they had taken no tribute from them, nor taxed them with any thing - of the kind. - - "Upon the 16th day of September[19] being at Wabquissit, as soon - as the people were come together, Mr. Eliot first prayed, and then - preached to them, in their own language, out of Mat. vi., 33: - _First seek the kingdom of heaven and the righteousness thereof, - and all these things shall be added unto you._ Their teacher, - Sampson, first reading and setting the cxix. Ps., 1st part, which - was sung. The exercise was concluded with prayer. - - "Then I began a Court among the Indians, and first I approved - their teacher, Sampson, and their constable, Black James,[20] - giving each of them a charge to be diligent and faithful in their - places. Also I exhorted the people to yield obedience to the - gospel of Christ and to those set in order there. Then published - a warrant or order, that I had prepared, empowering the constable - to suppress drunkenness, Sabbath breaking, especially powowing and - idolatry. And, after warning given, to apprehend all delinquents - and bring them before authority to answer for their misdoings; the - smaller faults to bring before Watasacompamun, ruler of the Nipmuck - country; for idolatry and powowing to bring them before me: So we - took leave of this people of Wabquissit, and about eleven o'clock - returned back to Maanexit and Chabanakougkomun, where we lodged - this night." - -History fails to locate the spot where John Eliot's sermon to the -Indians of Woodstock was delivered, but tradition points to "Pulpit -Rock," so-called, under the aged chestnut trees of the McClellan farm -near the "Old Hall"[21] road. - -But Eliot's good work in the Nipmuck country was destroyed when King -Philip's war broke out in 1675. In August of that year a company of -Providence men journeyed as far as Wabbaquasset, thinking that possibly -King Philip himself had escaped thither.[22] They found an Indian fort -a mile or two west of Woodstock Hill, but no Indians. A party from -Norwich in June of the following year also found deserted Wabbaquasset -and the other Praying Villages. Desolation and devastation followed -the disappearance of the Red Man. The Nipmuck country became more a -wilderness than ever, forsaken of its aboriginal inhabitants whose -barbaric tenure could not stand against a superior civilization. - - "Forgotten race, farewell! Your haunts we tread, - Our mighty rivers speak your words of yore, - Our mountains wear them on their misty head, - Our sounding cataracts hurl them to the shore; - But on the lake your flashing oar is still, - Hush'd is your hunter's cry on dale and hill, - Your arrow stays the eagle's flight no more, - And ye, like troubled shadows, sink to rest - In unremember'd tombs, unpitied and unbless'd."[23] - - -IV. - -The time had now arrived for the white man to make a settlement at -Wabbaquasset. In May, of 1681, the General Court of Massachusetts -Bay had given to William Stoughton and Joseph Dudley the care of -the Nipmuck country, with power to ascertain the titles belonging -to the Indians and others, and a meeting of the claimants was held -the following month at Cambridge, at which John Eliot rendered much -assistance as interpreter. Dudley and Stoughton purchased all the -claims, and the following year,[24] the whole Nipmuck country became -the property of Massachusetts Bay. Jurisdiction over the country had -already been claimed, under the terms of the Massachusetts charter. -Many of the inhabitants of the town of Roxbury now felt that they could -improve their condition and increase their usefulness by forming a -settlement in some desirable portion of the new country. Undoubtedly -their pastor, John Eliot, had told them of the beauty and fertility -of the country about the Praying Villages of Maanexit, Quinnatisset, -and Wabbaquasset.[25] Town meetings to arrange for a new settlement, -were held in Roxbury in October of 1683.[26] A petition was signed, -by a number of representative citizens of the town, asking that the -General Court might grant to them a tract seven miles square about -Quinnatisset, in the Nipmuck country. All save six of the thirty-six -who signed this petition, afterwards became settlers of the new town, -and of the five selectmen of Roxbury who presented the petition to -the General Court, three[27] represented families prominent in the -early history of Woodstock. The General Court at once granted[28] -the petition provided the grant should not fall within a section to -be reserved for Messrs Stoughton and Dudley, and Major Thompson, and -provided also that thirty families should be settled on the plantation -within three years from the following June, "and mainteyne amongst -them an able, orthodox, godly minister."[29] In 1684 Roxbury accepted -the terms of the General Court, and sent Samuel and John Ruggles, -John Curtis, and Edward Morris, as a committee of four, to "view the -wilderness and find a convenient place." - -As Quinnatisset had been in part already granted, the committee -reported[30] a territory "commodiose" for settlement at "Seneksuk and -Wapagusset and the lands ajasiant." A committee was therefore appointed -to draw up an agreement for the "goers," as they were called, to sign. -In 1685,[31] in answer to the petition of Edward Morris, deputy in -behalf of the town of Roxbury, the General Court extended the limit -of the time of settlement from June 10, 1687, to Jan. 31, 1688, and -granted freedom from rates up to that time.[32] At town meetings held -in Roxbury, during the same year, it was arranged that one half of -the grant should belong to the new settlers and one hundred pounds in -money be given to them in instalments of twenty pounds a year, and the -other half of the grant should belong to "the stayers" in consideration -of the aid given "the goers." The southern half of the grant was the -portion subsequently occupied by "the goers." Actual possession, -however, was not taken until April of the following year. On the second -page of the cover of the old and musty first volume of records of the -proprietors of New Roxbury, afterwards called Woodstock, are these -words: - - "April 5, 1686. - - "These are the thirteen who were sent out to spy out Woodstock as - planters and to take actual posession: Jonathan Smithers, John - Frissell, Nathaniel Garey, John Marcy, Benjamin Griggs, John Lord, - Benjamin Sabin, Henry Bowen, Matthew Davis, Thomas Bacon, Peter - Aspinwall, George Griggs, and Ebenezer Morris." - -These thirteen planters, or the "Old Thirteen" as they have always been -called, were visited in May or June[33] by a committee who had been -appointed to ascertain the bounds of the grant. The last meeting of the -"goers to settle" was held in Roxbury, July 21st; their first meeting -in New Roxbury was held August 25th. A committee of seven, consisting -of Joseph Griggs, Edward Morris, Henry Bowen, Sr., John Chandler, Sr., -Samuel Craft, Samuel Scarborough, and Jonathan Smithers, having been -appointed to make needful arrangements preliminary to the drawing of -home lots, that drawing took place on the twenty-eighth of August, -or, by the new style of reckoning time, exactly two hundred years ago -to-day. - -Say the old records: "After solemn prayer to God, who is the Disposer -of all things, they drew lots according to the agreement, every man -being satisfied and contented with God's disposing." Would that the -words of that prayer and the picture of that scene could to-day be -reproduced! Surely the spirit of the Puritans of 1630 was the spirit -of that band of pilgrims in 1686 on yonder hill. These are the honored -names of the first settlers: Thomas and Joseph Bacon, James Corbin, -Benjamin Sabin, Henry Bowen, Thomas Lyon, Ebenezer Morris, Matthew -Davis, William Lyon, Sr., John Chandler, Sr., Peter Aspinwall, John -Frizzel, Joseph Frizzel, Jonathan Smithers, John Butcher, Jonathan -Davis, Jonathan Peake, Nathaniel Garey, John Bowen, Nathaniel Johnson, -John Hubbard, George Griggs, Benjamin Griggs, William Lyon, Jr., John -Leavens, Nathaniel Sanger, Samuel Scarborough, Samuel Craft, Samuel -May, Joseph Bugbee, Samuel Peacock, Arthur Humphrey, John Bugbee, Jr., -Andrew Watkins, John Marcy, Edward Morris, Joseph Peake, John Holmes, -and John Chandler, Jr. - -Of that list of thirty-nine,[34] Benjamin Sabin, Nathaniel Sanger, -Nathaniel Garey, John Hubbard, Matthew Davis, and George Griggs -afterwards moved to Pomfret; Peter Aspinwall and his step-sons, the -sons of John Leavens, went to Killingby; and Arthur Humphrey and others -became the first settlers of Ashford. A few returned to Roxbury. But -a large share of the original settlers lived and died in Woodstock, -including Edward and Ebenezer Morris, Jonathan and Joseph Peake, James -Corbin, Thomas and Joseph Bacon, Henry Bowen, William and Thomas Lyon, -John Chandler, Sr., and John Chandler, Jr., John Butcher, Nathaniel -Johnson, Joseph and John Bugbee, John Marcy, John Holmes, and perhaps -a few others. As an illustration of the ages of the pioneers in 1686, -it may be mentioned that Benjamin Griggs was nineteen; Joseph Bacon -and Andrew Watkins, twenty; John Bugbee, John Chandler, Jr., James -Corbin, and Jonathan Davis, twenty-one; Peter Aspinwall, Matthew Davis, -John Frizzel, and Lieut. Ebenezer Morris, twenty-two; John Butcher and -Nathaniel Garey, twenty-three; John Bowen and John Marcy, twenty-four; -George Griggs, John Holmes, and Samuel May, twenty-five; Thomas Bacon, -twenty-eight; Samuel Peacock, twenty-nine; William Lyon, Jr., and -Nathaniel Sanger, thirty-four; Thomas Lyon, thirty-eight; Nathaniel -Johnson, thirty-nine; Benjamin Sabin and Samuel Scarborough, forty; -Joseph Peake, forty-one; Joseph Bugbee and John Leavens, forty-six; -Samuel Craft and Jonathan Peake,[35] forty-nine; Deacon John Chandler, -fifty-one; Lieut. Henry Bowen, fifty-three; Edward Morris, fifty-six; -and William Lyon Sr., sixty-five.[36] - -The first one of the thirty-nine to die was Lieut. Edward Morris, -whose gravestone bears the date of 1689, the oldest in the county.[37] -The last one of the thirty-nine to die was Thomas Bacon, who lived -to be ninety-six years of age. To show the extreme ages of some of -the Woodstock people, it may here be said that Paraclete Skinner, now -living, remembers Deacon Jedediah Morse, who died in 1819 at the age -of ninety-three, and Deacon Morse was seventeen years old when Col. -John Chandler, a first settler, was living; and thirty-two years of -age the year that Thomas Bacon, another first settler, died. That is, -an inhabitant of this town remembers one who knew some of the first -settlers of Woodstock. Lieut. Henry Bowen, one of the first settlers, -attained the age of ninety. Deacon Morse's grandmother, who came in -April of 1687 to Woodstock with her husband Jonathan Peake, Jr.,[38] -likewise lived to be ninety, lacking twelve days. One of the oldest -persons that ever lived in Woodstock was Sarah, the daughter of -Jonathan Peake, Jr., and the mother of Deacon Morse, who reached the -age of ninety-nine, lacking forty-four days, and who had about her -while living three hundred and nineteen descendants.[39] The combined -ages of Thomas Bacon, Sarah Morse, and Paraclete Skinner is now two -hundred and eighty years. Time alone can tell to what figure their -combined ages may attain! - -But what a small number in that list of first settlers have descendants -bearing the same family name among the citizens of Woodstock to-day! -Only James Corbin, William Lyon, John Chandler, Nathaniel Johnson, -Benjamin Griggs, Henry Bowen, Joseph Bugbee, Nathaniel Sanger, and John -Marcy! But Woodstock is proud to own among the descendants of the first -settlers influential and honored citizens of many towns and cities, and -some of them, I rejoice to say are here to-day. - -The first settlers of Woodstock had the right stuff in them to succeed. -After the home-lots were chosen highways were laid out, a grist-mill -and saw-mill built, bridges constructed, new inhabitants brought in, -and every thing possible was done to make the settlement permanent. A -general meeting of the inhabitants was held July 2, 1687, when "John -Chandler, Sr., Nathaniel Johnson, Joseph Bugbee, James White, and James -Peake, were chosen to order the prudential affairs of the place as -selectmen, for the year ensuing." - - -V. - -An effort was now made to get a confirmation of the grant occupied -by the new settlers, but as long as Sir Edmund Andros was the Royal -Governor of the Province, it was impossible. A delay ensued until -William and Mary became sovereigns of Great Britain. The new settlers -had not yet an organized town government. The settlement, like the -first settlements in Windsor and Hartford, received its name from the -mother town.[40] But the New Roxbury people wished to have a name -of their own and a town of their own. At the beginning of the year -1690 they chose a committee of three to petition the General Court to -substitute a new name for that of New Roxbury. The committee at once -conferred with the mother town, for on Jan. 13, 1690, Roxbury held -a town meeting at which it was voted to request the General Court -to allow the settlement in the Nipmuck country to become a town, -to confirm the grant and to give a suitable name. The New Roxbury -committee pressed their claims, and on March 18, 1690, the General -Court confirmed the grant and voted that the name of the plantation -be Woodstock. We owe the name of Woodstock to Capt. Samuel Sewell[41] -who was Chief-Justice of Massachusetts from 1718 to 1728. He has been -called "a typical Puritan" and "the Pepys of New England,"--the man who -judged the witches of Salem and afterwards repented of it.[42] In 1690, -when Count Frontenac's[43] forces were coming down from Canada upon -the settlements of the United Colonies, and Massachusetts determined -to ask the help of Connecticut in protecting the upper towns on the -Connecticut River, Captain Sewell rode past Woodstock on his way to -Connecticut. He was no doubt on business of state, being one of the -Governor's Counsellors, and one of a Committee of Seven of the Council -with the same power as the Council to arrange "for setting forth the -forces."[44] The proximity of New Roxbury to Oxford in Massachusetts -suggested to him, he tells us, the name of a famous place near old -Oxford in England. - -In his Diary of March 18, 1689/90, Capt. Sewell, says: - - "I gave New Roxbury the name of Woodstock, because of its nearness - to Oxford, for the sake of Queen Elizabeth, and the notable - meetings that have been held at the place bearing that name in - England, some of which Dr. Gilbert[45] informed me of when in - England. It stands on a Hill. I saw it as I [went] to Coventry, but - left it on the left hand. Some told Capt. Ruggles[46] that I gave - the name and put words in his mouth to desire of me a Bell for the - Town."[47] - -Though Judge Sewell, years after his first visit had social -relations[48] with some of the inhabitants of Woodstock, there is -no evidence to show that he ever gave a bell to the town or to the -church.[49] But he gave us something better, a good name,--the name of -Woodstock, associated with the memories of Saxon and Norman Kings, the -spot where King Alfred translated "The Consolations of Philosophy," -by Boethius, the birthplace of the poet Chaucer, the prison of -Queen Elizabeth.[50] History and romance[51] have made illustrious -the names of Woodstock and Woodstock Park, and "the notable meetings" -spoken of by Judge Sewell as having taken place in Old England have -been transferred to the settlement in New England. Surely the name of -Woodstock, as applied to the little village of New Roxbury, has proved -to be no misnomer. - -It should be said that the western part of the town, when it became -a settlement years after, revived the old name of New Roxbury. The -church in West Woodstock belonged to what was called the Parish of New -Roxbury, or the Second Precinct of Woodstock.[52] - - -VI. - -The most pressing duty for our ancestors to perform, after securing -a name and legalized status for the town, was the settlement of "an -able, orthodox, godly minister." The Rev. Josiah Dwight, a graduate of -Harvard College in the class of 1687, received the appointment, and -was installed October 17, 1690, receiving L40 the first year, L50 the -second, and L60 the third year and thereafter. It was with difficulty, -however, that these sums were paid, and when, some years after, the -account was settled by the payment of what was due, he gave a receipt -in full "from the beginning of the world to May 6, 1696." A home lot -was allowed Mr. Dwight according to the original drawing of lots, and -arrangements were made to build a home for him immediately after his -settlement. The following year,[53] it was determined to construct a -house of worship, which was completed early[54] in 1694. This was the -first meeting-house in Windham County, and here gathered, on Sabbath -days, the settlers from miles around. The people of Pomfret attended -church in this rude structure until 1715, when their own society was -organized. - -The officers of the new town elected in 1690[55] were John Chandler, -Sr., William Bartholomew, Benjamin Sabin, John Leavens, and Joseph -Bugbee, as selectmen, and John Chandler, Jr., as town clerk. All -of those men to-day have descendants in Woodstock or its immediate -vicinity. At that time, the men of Woodstock imposed a fine of one and -six pence upon every one who failed to attend the town meeting, and six -pence an hour for tardiness. Disputes regarding titles to land, and the -boundary line dividing the north half of the town, and disputes with -the mother-town regarding this northern half, which belonged to Roxbury -according to the terms of the grant, were vexatious, and not in every -respect creditable to Woodstock. But Roxbury's interest in the northern -half of Woodstock continued till 1797, when the lands had all been sold -or become individual property. Large tracts, however, were held by -Roxbury and Woodstock speculators for many years afterward. - -Troubles with the Indians, who returned to their old hunting and -fishing haunts after the settlement of the town, broke out in 1696,[56] -and again in 1700 and 1704, and even as late as 1724. When a war broke -out abroad, there was trouble with the Indians at home. When an Indian -outbreak was threatened, the town received some military assistance -from the colony government. Such threatened outbreaks retarded the -progress of the settlement. - -After discussing the question for several years, the town determined, -in 1719,[57] to erect a new meeting-house near the burying-ground, -instead of at the south end of the village, where the old building -stood, yet so straitened were the people in their circumstances that -they applied to the General Court in Boston, requesting that the -unoccupied lands of the residents and non-residents of the town be -taxed to the extent of L250, to be applied to the building of a church. -As the non-residents' lands were almost entirely in the north half of -the grant, and belonged to Roxbury people, Roxbury stoutly opposed -the tax in a memorial to the General Court. When the General Court -refused the petition, Woodstock asked to be excused from sending her -representative to Boston. The town's representative at this time, in -fact the first and only representative for many years, was Captain John -Chandler, who, like his father Deacon John Chandler, was one of the -first settlers. He surveyed lands in Woodstock and neighboring towns, -and owned large tracts of territory in Connecticut and Massachusetts. -To avoid the necessity of sending to Boston to have deeds recorded -and wills proven, Captain Chandler tried to get the consent of the -General Court in 1720 for the formation of a new county, to be called -Worcester County, of which Woodstock should be a part, but a delay -ensued until 1731, when Captain, now Colonel, Chandler was successful. -Woodstock became one of the most prominent towns of Worcester County, -and John Chandler was made Chief-Justice of the Court of Common Pleas -and General Sessions.[58] - - -VII. - -Ecclesiastical affairs have been so interwoven with town affairs, -that it is impossible to give a sketch of Woodstock without giving a -history of the churches. It may, however, be done briefly, as others -have been appointed to speak specially for the different church -organizations of the town. Though the first minister, the Rev. Josiah -Dwight, was of the "Standing Order," so-called, and believed in the -Cambridge platform, yet he was suspected of theological looseness and, -besides many idiosyncrasies, was accused of "speculating in the wild -lands of Killingly." The first settlers had no end of trouble with -him, especially regarding money matters, and he was finally removed -September 3, 1726. The next regular minister was Rev. Amos Throop, -who was installed May 24, 1727. Like Mr. Dwight, he was a graduate -of Harvard College, and came to Woodstock at the age of twenty-five. -Naturally he found fault when the town attempted to pay him his salary -in the depreciated currency of the time. But the eight years of his -ministry endeared him to the settlement, and his sudden death in -1735[59] was keenly felt by his parishioners. The town assumed the -expense of his gravestone, upon which may be read these words: - - "O cruel death, to snatch from us below, - One fit to live within the spheres on high; - But since the great Creator orders so, - Here at his feet he doth submissive lie." - -During the pastorate of Mr. Throop the western part of the town[60] -had received some settlers, mostly the sons of Woodstock's first -settlers. In 1727 Joshua Chandler took possession of some land that had -been given him by his father, Col. John Chandler, and representatives -of the families of Child, Corbin, Lyon, Aspinwall, Bugbee, Morris, -Marcy, Morse, Payson, Perrin, Johnson, Frizzel, Griggs, and Paine soon -followed. In 1733[61] the town arranged to have a school-house built -in this part of the town, and, the settlers increasing, West Parish -desired[62] to have religious services of its own for four months of -the year at the expense of the whole town. This request, it was argued, -was only fair, inasmuch as the western half was obliged to contribute -to the support of the Church on the Hill. But the town refused[63] to -assume any of the charges. After trying the experiment for two winters, -the West Parish people found the expense of supporting both ministers -to be too great a burden, and they therefore again asked[64] the help -of the town, and were refused. They still persisted, and petitioned[65] -that the western half might be formed into a distinct township. Town -meetings were held, and at last permission was given[66] them to -address the General Court in Boston on the subject. But their petition -to the General Court was dismissed. The West Woodstock people, however, -insisted on the formation of a parish where they could worship God -in their own fashion, and not be obliged to aid any church outside -of their parish. They were willing to give up all idea of a town of -their own. This modified request was now made to the town[67] and to -the General Court.[68] The General Court complied by passing an act in -1743,[69] incorporating the district as "The West Parish of Woodstock." -A meeting was at once held,[70] at which it was determined to survey -the line dividing the two portions of the town. West Parish was now -called by the old name of New Roxbury. These acts were afterwards -approved by the General Assembly of Connecticut when Woodstock withdrew -from under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts.[71] In 1747 Rev. Stephen -Williams was ordained pastor. - -The church[72] on the Hill was under the pastorate of Rev. Abel S. -Stiles, who had been ordained in 1737.[73] But the fact that Mr. -Stiles was a graduate of Yale College[74] instead of Harvard, as his -two predecessors had been, and his family connections[75] were all -with Connecticut, his parishioners were led to believe that he would -favor the "Saybrook Platform" of faith, rather than the "Cambridge -Platform," and if there was one thing our ancestors abhorred quite as -much as Episcopacy or popery it was the "Saybrook Platform." To be -tainted with that form of faith, as was the case with Mr. Stiles after -his settlement in Woodstock, was heresy indeed, and Woodstock was -determined, according to her grant of 1683, to have none other but an -"able, orthodox, godly minister." Instead of attending the Association -of Ministers in Massachusetts, Mr. Stiles preferred the meetings of the -Windham County Association in Connecticut, and when Woodstock became a -part of Connecticut the troubles with Mr. Stiles increased. Councils -were held. Pastor and parishioners tried to discipline each other. -The General Assembly of Connecticut was appealed to. Threats--even -violence was resorted to. But without going into the details of this -long-protracted struggle, let it be said that there were two parties -in the controversy, one side sympathizing with Mr. Stiles in his more -liberal theological views, and the other side at first insisting -on a minister who should conform in all respects to the "Standing -Order," and afterwards opposed to Mr. Stiles personally as well as -theologically. The Stiles party had favored, while the anti-Stiles -party had opposed, the annexation of Woodstock to Connecticut. The -result of the quarrel was a break in the church in 1760. The North -Society was constituted by act[76] of the General Assembly, and Mr. -Stiles and his followers went to Muddy Brook. Thus was formed the Third -Congregational Church of Woodstock, and here Mr. Stiles continued to -preach until his death in 1783.[77] When it was determined in 1831, -by the church in East Woodstock, to build a new meeting-house on the -spot of the old one erected in 1767, the people in Village Corners -objected to the location and formed a society of their own--the Fourth -Congregational Church of Woodstock. - -After the departure of Mr. Stiles the First Church was without a pastor -for three years. Much time was spent in "going after ministers." The -young Yale graduates who preached on trial did not please the church, -whose sympathies were still with Massachusetts. Finally the Rev. Abiel -Leonard, a graduate of Harvard College,[78] was installed on June 23, -1763. Of the twelve churches asked to assist in the ordination only -one[79] was a Connecticut organization. In fact it was not until the -year 1815 that the church, after an adherence to the Cambridge order -of faith for a hundred and twenty-five years, finally accepted the -"Saybrook Platform," and joined the Connecticut association. The church -was prosperous under Mr. Leonard. Largely owing to his influence the -quarrel between the First and Third Churches was healed.[80] In 1775, -on the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, Mr. Leonard was made -Chaplain of the Third Regiment of Connecticut troops. The church, at -the request of the commander, Colonel, afterwards General, Israel -Putnam, granted the necessary leave of absence. The following year -Washington and Putnam joined in writing a letter[81] to the church at -Woodstock asking for a continued leave of absence for Mr. Leonard, -praising him in the highest terms, and saying: - - "He is employed in the glorious work of attending to the morals of - a brave people who are fighting for their liberties--the liberties - of the people of Woodstock--the liberties of all America." - -Agreeable a gentleman as Mr. Leonard was, he was suddenly superseded -while on a visit to Woodstock, and on receiving the mortifying news -when _en route_ to join the army he at once committed suicide. - -If ever there was an "able, orthodox, godly minister," of the true -Massachusetts type, such as old Woodstock always loved to have, he was -the Rev. Eliphalet Lyman, who was ordained in 1779. Although a graduate -of Yale College,[82] he fulfilled the conditions of the Cambridge -Platform, and continued pastor of the First Church for forty-five -years, and was warmly interested in the religious and educational -development of the town. He was the last of the historic ministers -of Woodstock. He was respected and he was feared. The boys stopped -playing ball when "Old Priest Lyman," in cocked hat and knee breeches, -remembered by some of you here to-day, walked up the common. - - -VIII. - -It should now be related how Woodstock, settled under Massachusetts, -became a part of the State of Connecticut. Massachusetts claimed -Woodstock, because the grant was supposed to lie within her chartered -bounds as surveyed in 1642, and that claim was what Major Daniel -Gookin referred to when he rebuked the agent of Uncas in 1674, during -his visit with John Eliot, at Woodstock. But Massachusetts did not -believe that the line of 1642 was wrong when she confirmed the grant -to the Roxbury settlers. She even censured Woodstock for daring to ask -Connecticut to confirm a portion of the grant that fell south of this -line. Though Connecticut justly held she was entitled to Woodstock, -according to the terms of her charter, she was, nevertheless, willing -to forego her claim to this town, provided Massachusetts would allow -her to have the jurisdiction over other territory claimed by both -colonies. But the repeated attempts to settle the controversy failed, -and it was not till 1713 that an agreement was finally concluded. For -the privilege of having jurisdiction over Woodstock and the other -towns claimed by both sides, Massachusetts agreed to compensate -Connecticut, by giving her unimproved lands in Western Massachusetts -and New Hampshire. These lands were therefore called "equivalent -lands," and were sold by Connecticut for $2,274, and the money given -to Yale College. Woodstock was entirely satisfied with this agreement, -as all her associations were with Massachusetts. But in 1747 the town -thought that her taxes, which had been increased owing to the French -and Spanish wars,[83] would be lighter, and her privileges greater, -if she followed Suffield, Enfield, and Somers "in trying to get off -to Connecticut." So Woodstock applied to Connecticut, claiming that -the agreement of 1713 had been made without her consent. After much -deliberation, Connecticut voted in 1749 to receive the town, and -declared the agreement of 1713 not binding. Woodstock was delighted at -being received into Connecticut, and at a memorable town meeting[84] -made Thomas Chandler and Henry Bowen the first members of the General -Assembly. Though Woodstock has since 1749 been a part of this State, -Massachusetts would never formally yield jurisdiction over the town, -and even as late as 1768 warned the inhabitants not to pay taxes to -Connecticut. In fact had it not been for the Revolution, Massachusetts -might still be claiming Woodstock.[85] It might be added that -Woodstock, in being annexed to Connecticut, lost about three thousand -acres north of the colony line. This strip of land was known as the -"Middlesex Gore" for forty-five years, and was annexed to Dudley and -Sturbridge in 1794. - -After becoming a part of Connecticut, Woodstock was anxious that the -northern half of Windham County should be made into a separate county, -of which Woodstock should be the shire-town, but as Pomfret also -desired the county seat, and as the State seemed unwilling to act, the -project fell through.[86] - - -IX. - -Woodstock's military glory is something of which she may well be proud. -Representatives of the Morris, Bowen, Hubbard, and Johnson families, -who came to Woodstock in 1686, fought under Captain Isaac Johnson, of -Roxbury, in King Philip's War, and were in the famous Narragansett -battle in 1675, when Captain Johnson was killed.[87] For the first -forty years after the settlement of the town the Indian troubles made -every man acquainted with the use of fire-arms, and when in later years -there appeared no danger at home, our ancestors were ready to fight -abroad either savage or foreign foes. In 1724, Colonel John Chandler -received orders from Boston to impress twenty Woodstock men for the -frontier service,[88] which meant that they should fight Indians in -Central Massachusetts. When the news of the war between France and -Great Britain was received in Boston in 1744,[89] fifty[90] men from -Colonel Thomas Chandler's[91] regiment guarded the frontier, and -history declares that this regiment, commanded by a Woodstock man, -rendered efficient service in the capture of Louisburg in 1745.[92] In -1748, before the treaty of Aix la Chapelle had been signed,[93] the -death was chronicled of several Woodstock men who had gone up into New -Hampshire to fight[94] the Indians with a company of colony troops. In -the French and Indian War[95] for the conquest of Canada, the families -of Bacon, Bugbee, Child, Corbin, Chandler, Frizzel, Griggs, Holmes, -Lyon, Marcy, McClellan, Manning, Peake, and Perrin had representatives -who distinguished themselves in the service. Woodstock and Pomfret -boys composed the company of Captain Israel Putnam in this war. The -McClellan and Lyon of the Seven Years' War were the McClellan and Lyon -of the Revolution, and were of the same family as the McClellan and -Lyon so celebrated and so much beloved in our own Civil War. - -The service rendered by Woodstock during the Revolution was most -valuable. The town voted to purchase as few British goods as possible, -and sent sixty-five fat sheep to Boston as a contribution to alleviate -what the town records call "the distressed and suffering circumstances" -of that city. Captain Elisha Child, Charles Church Chandler, Jedediah -Morse, Captain Samuel McClellan, and Nathaniel Child, were appointed -a committee[96] "for maintaining a correspondence with the towns of -this and the neighboring colonies." The spirit of revolution, which had -been growing, rose to fever-heat when the powder stored in Cambridge -by the patriots was removed, in September of 1774, to Boston. The news -flew as fast through the New England towns as horses' hoofs could -take it. A son of Esquire Wolcott brought the news to Curtis' tavern -in Dudley, and a son of Captain Clark carried it to his father's -house in Woodstock, where it was carried to Colonel Israel Putnam in -Pomfret.[97] The young men of Woodstock did not wait for the call to -arms. They hurried to Cambridge, and, with the inhabitants of that and -other towns, were with difficulty restrained from marching into Boston -to demand, with their loaded muskets, the return of the powder. At the -very beginning of the Revolution Woodstock was eager to do its duty. -When the cry went through New England that blood had been shed at that -"birthplace of American liberty," the historic Lexington, one hundred -and eighty-nine men from Woodstock answered that call.[98] Ephraim -Manning, Stephen Lyon, Asa Morris, and William Frizzel were officers -in Colonel Israel Putnam's regiment when that regiment was stationed -at Cambridge, while Captain Samuel McClellan had charge of the troop -of horse, of which John Flynn was trumpeter. Captain Nathaniel Marcy, -Captains Elisha and Benjamin Child, Lieut. Josiah Child, Captain Daniel -Lyon, Jabez and John Fox, Samuel Perry, and many other Woodstock men, -rendered services in this war equally efficient. When Samuel Perry, -in his old age, used to go up to the store on Woodstock Hill in the -evening, the boys would ask him to tell them about the battle of Bunker -Hill, and would always ask if he had killed any of the British in that -battle. "I don't know whether I killed any," was his reply, "but I took -good aim, fired, and saw them drop!" Another Woodstock name, always -honored at home as another of the same family name is to-day no less -honored abroad, was Dr. David Holmes He had served as surgeon in the -French war, and-- - - ----"lived to see - The bloodier strife that made our nation free, - To serve with willing toil, with skilful hand, - The war-worn saviors of the bleeding land."[99] - -When Washington assumed charge of the troops in Cambridge, the Rev. -Abiel Leonard, the beloved pastor of the First Church at Woodstock, -preached most acceptably. Washington heard him and became his warm -friend. Woodstock's importance during the Revolution was considerable. -One line of stages between Woodstock and New London and another line -between Woodstock and New Haven and Hartford were established, which -carried the war news weekly to be distributed through the colony and -thence taken to New York. During the entire war Woodstock did more -than her share. While there were many from this town who served the -patriot cause with glory to themselves and honor to Woodstock, the -name of Capt., afterwards Gen., Samuel McClellan stands out the most -illustrious. When the currency of the Continentals had depreciated and -no funds were forthcoming with which to pay the soldiers, Gen., or more -exactly Col., McClellan advanced L1,000 from his own private purse to -pay the men of his regiment. But a memorial of the Revolution in which -Woodstock may well take the greatest pride is found in the historic -elm-trees in South Woodstock, planted by the wife of General McClellan -on receiving the news of the battle of Lexington. All honor to the -men of Woodstock who fought for and gained their liberties in the -Revolution, and all honor to their wives, who were equally patriotic at -home! - -In the War of 1812 Woodstock was also ready to do its duty. When Major -William Flynn, of Woodstock Hill, received the news, one evening just -after dark, that several British men-of-war were hovering about New -London, and that it was in danger of attack, he rode horseback about -the country during the night, to see officers and men and warn them -to assemble on the Common at noon the next day; but when he returned -to his home at sunrise he found the Common covered with soldiers -ready to go to New London immediately. The patriotic spirit always -characteristic of Woodstock was conspicuous in the War of 1812. - -Woodstock was no less patriotic during the Rebellion. When President -Lincoln called for volunteers to maintain the unity of the country, -this town did her full share in that struggle. Many of you remember -attending the funeral of General Nathaniel Lyon, who was killed at -the beginning of the war and was buried with military honors in our -neighboring town of Eastford. Though not a native of Woodstock, Gen. -Lyon was descended from an honored family which has been conspicuous -in the history of this town from the day of its settlement. But a -name even more illustrious is that of Gen. George B. McClellan, whose -grandfather was a native of Woodstock, and whose great-grandfather -was Gen. Samuel McClellan, and who himself, as a boy, visited the -town. You saw him beneath these very trees two years ago. You heard -him speak at that time words of love for Woodstock and words of -welcome to distinguished strangers. His voice is no longer heard, but -the name of General McClellan will be remembered as long as the name -of Woodstock itself shall last. Blessed then be the memory of Gen. -George B. McClellan! Woodstock will ever cherish his services and the -services of all its sons who fought for their country in the terrible -struggle between the North and the South! The graves in the different -burying-grounds of the town, that you annually decorate with flowers, -tell more eloquently than words what Woodstock did during the Civil -War. - - -X. - -Woodstock has never been negligent in the cause of education. As soon -as the settlement became an organized town, John Chandler, Jr., was -appointed to instruct the children to write and cipher. As the town -grew in population, it was divided into school districts. In 1739 -was established the United English Library for the Propagation of -Christianity and Useful Knowledge. Col. John Chandler was the moderator -at the first meeting, and the Rev. Abel Stiles, John May, Benjamin -Child, and Pennel Bowen, of Woodstock, and leading citizens of Pomfret -and Killingly, assisted in the organization.[100] It was Gen. Samuel -McClellan and his sons John and James McClellan, the Rev. Eliphalet -Lyman, William Bowen, Parker Comings, Nehemiah Child, Ebenezer Smith, -William Potter, Hezekiah Bugbee, Benjamin Lyon, Ebenezer Skinner, and -Amos Paine who established Woodstock Academy, at the beginning of the -present century, and the influence of that honored institution has been -deep and far-reaching. But who can measure the good done by Woodstock -Academy, or by the different churches and other organizations of the -town? Such institutions are our heritage, and our duty and privilege it -is to improve their character and transmit them to future generations, -with the memories and traditions of the town itself. - - -XI. - -Citizens of Woodstock, listen while I call the roll of some of the -distinguished men who have lived or were born in the town. Of the -first settlers was Col. John Chandler, probably the most distinguished -citizen that Woodstock had during its first century, the man who made -Woodstock known and respected throughout New England. His descendants -include the Rev. Thomas Bradbury Chandler, D.D., Winthrop Chandler, the -artist, the Hon. John Church Chandler, Judge John Winthrop Chandler, -and others, who have been prominent in Woodstock and throughout the -country. No one of the first settlers was more distinguished than -Edward Morris, who died three years after the town was settled. His -family was prominent in the history of old Roxbury, and all through -the last century in Woodstock. Commodore Charles Morris, a native[101] -of Woodstock and well known in the War of 1812, and his son, Commodore -George N. Morris, Commander in the Civil War of the United States -sloop-of-war _Cumberland_ in Hampton Roads, belong to the same family, -as well as the Hon. J. F. Morris, of Hartford, whom I am sure we are -glad to welcome as our presiding officer to-day. John Marcy, a first -settler, was the ancestor of Hon. William Leonard Marcy, Governor -of the State of New York, Secretary of War under President Polk and -Secretary of State under President Pierce. Abiel Holmes,[102] D.D., -LL.D., author of "Annals of America," and his father, Dr. David Holmes, -a surgeon in the French and Revolutionary wars, were born in Woodstock, -and were descended from John Holmes, a first settler. Abiel Holmes' -son, Oliver Wendell Holmes, though not born in Woodstock, will be -remembered, I am sure, for the beautiful tribute he paid his ancestors -in the poem he read in this very park in 1877. The name of Morse has -always been identified with Woodstock. Deacon Jedediah Morse held about -all the offices in town that he could lawfully hold, and was deacon -of the First Church for forty-three years. His son, the Rev. Jedediah -Morse, D.D., a graduate of Yale College and the father of American -geography, was also born in Woodstock. His grandson was Prof. Samuel -F. B. Morse, who was more widely known as the inventor of the electric -telegraph. Another Woodstock boy was General William Eaton[103] who ran -away, from home at the age of sixteen to enter the Revolutionary War, -and was distinguished during the first years of the century as the -protector of American commerce in the Mediterranean. Amasa Walker, too, -was born in Woodstock, the father of political economy in this country, -or better still, the father of Gen. Francis A. Walker, the respected -President of the School of Technology in Boston. Another honored name -in Woodstock is that of Williams, including Samuel Williams, Sr., the -Commissioner of Roxbury in the settlement of New Roxbury, the Rev. -Stephen Williams, the first pastor of the church at West Parish, and -Jared W. Williams, the Governor of Vermont and a native of this town. -Governors, members of Congress, men distinguished in law, theology, and -medicine, in trade and on the farm, have been born in Woodstock. The -roll of honor could be multiplied; but in speaking of the distinguished -men it would be impossible to forget the lessons taught, the struggles -endured, and the sacrifices made by the mothers of Woodstock, who all -through these two centuries have inspired their sons with feelings -that have made them industrious, honored, and religious. Praise be, -therefore, to the women of Woodstock! This town has the right to be -proud of such noble sons and daughters, and we have the right to be -proud that such a town as old Woodstock has nourished us and blessed us -with such memories and influences. - - -XII. - -What has the town done to make us proud of it? It has exerted an -influence for good upon the country wherever its inhabitants have -settled. Such settlements have been many. During the early history -of the plantation, Woodstock men assisted largely in the settlement -of Ashford, Pomfret, Killingly, and other neighboring towns. As the -surplus population increased, migrations were made to the wild regions -of Vermont and New Hampshire. Later came the settlements made by -Connecticut, in the provinces of New York and Pennsylvania, in which -Woodstock families were almost without exception represented. At the -close of the Revolution the wave of emigration extended still farther -West, and some of the oldest families in Ohio trace their ancestry back -to this very town. To-day Woodstock has its representatives in almost -every State in the Union, and the material growth and prosperity of -the country has been in full measure owing to the settlements made by -men from towns in New England like Woodstock. The ideas inherited from -Puritan ancestors and modified according to existing circumstances have -made towns, cities, even States, in which the whole country to-day -takes the warmest pride. The man who inherits New England traditions -from towns like Woodstock is worth more to the country than an army of -Anarchists and Socialists. - -Woodstock is distinguished, too, for its "notable meetings," inherited -from the Woodstock in England, of which Judge Sewell speaks. The first -"notable meeting" was when John Eliot preached to the Indians on Plaine -Hill. The second "notable meeting" was when the first settlers drew -their home lots in Wabbaquasset Hall. The third "notable meeting" -was at the funeral of Col. John Chandler in 1743, attended by the -leading men in the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut. The -church meetings of the last century, the town meeting when Woodstock -transferred its allegiance to Connecticut, meetings during the -Revolution, the old "training days" on Woodstock Common, have been -followed by no end of "notable meetings" during the present century. -But the one "notable meeting" that those of us present here to-day have -in mind, was when Ulysses S. Grant, General of the Army, Savior of the -Country and President of the United States, visited the town in 1870. - -But the chief glory of the town of Woodstock has been its love of local -law. The source of the power of the continental nations of Europe may -be traced back through the centuries to the village communities and -Teutonic townships. In the mark, tithing, and parish of England the -same principle of local self-government may be seen; and so our own -nation's greatness, through Anglo-Saxon inheritance, has its source, -not in the State, city, or county, but in the little school districts, -villages, and towns of New England. Woodstock has been like a miniature -republic, and has always believed in the supremacy of local law. Its -refusal to send its representative to the General Court at Boston -unless it could tax its own property as it pleased, and the refusal, -for political reasons, of its delegates at the State Convention in -1788 to vote for the ratification of the Constitution of the United -States, are instances of the extreme independence of Woodstock. What -it conscientiously believed, the town has never been slow to proclaim. -Tenacious as Woodstock has always been of its privileges and its -rights, its loyalty to the country, from the day the thirteen colonies -became a nation, has never been questioned. - - -XIII. - -I have given scarce more than a sketch in outline of what the history -of Woodstock has been during the two hundred years since that historic -band of brave boys and sturdy men, of deft-handed girls and sober -matrons, swarmed like bees from the Roxbury hive[104] and settled on -the Wabbaquasset hills. What Woodstock's history shall be remains for -you, men and women of Woodstock, to develop. The fathers have kept -bright the honest traditions and stout independence, the industrious -thrift and religious faith which their Puritan fathers brought to the -new settlement. The sons of this generation can be trusted to preserve -and transmit them to their descendants. You, men of Woodstock, have -your duties in the family, on the farm, toward your schools, and to -your churches. All that the fathers have done puts an added obligation -upon you. The improvement and development of the town depend on the -individual exertions of its citizens. If you are young, infuse some of -your own enthusiasm and intelligence into its different organizations. -If you are old, remember these institutions in a substantial way. -Woodstock will be what you make it. Michel Angelo saw in the block the -exquisite unsculptured statue. Many blows of the chisel were necessary -to disclose the perfect ideal to the eyes of a wondering world. In -thought, in plan, in ideal, this town has been almost a perfect -organization; but only those whose high vision is willing to pierce -through all encrusting imperfections shall be the artists whose toil -and sacrifices shall make this dear, noble, historic town of Woodstock -an honor to the State and a blessing to its citizens. It is said that -old John Eliot, from the high pulpit in Roxbury, used to pray every -Sabbath for the new settlers at Woodstock. The words of those prayers -are not preserved, but may the spirit of them come down through the -centuries to inspire the hearts of all who inherit the blood of the -early settlers of this ancient town. God, our fathers' God, bless old -Woodstock! - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Also spelt Roxberry, Roxborough, Rocksborough. - -[2] July 30, 1630. - -[3] Young's "Chronicles of Massachusetts," p. 396. - -[4] Winthrop's "Journal," by Savage, vol. i., p. 111. - -[5] "Ordained over the First Church, Nov. 5, 1632."--Eliot's tomb in -Roxbury. - -[6] "Memorial History of Boston," vol. i., p. 403. - -[7] Though the Williamses did not settle permanently in Woodstock till -some years after the first settlement, the family was most prominent in -Roxbury, and one of its representatives visited the grant officially in -1686. - -[8] Drake's "Town of Roxbury" and "Memorial History of Boston," vol. -i., pp. 401-422. - -[9] De Forest's "Indians of Connecticut," and Palfrey's "History of New -England," and Miss Ellen D. Larned's "History of Windham County." - -[10] Also "called the Wabbaquassett and Whetstone country; and -sometimes the Mohegan conquered country, as Uncas had conquered and -added it to his sachemdom." Trumbull's "History of Connecticut," vol. -i., 31. - -[11] September. - -[12] Winthrop's "Journal," by Savage, vol. i, 132. Palfrey's "Hist. of -New England," vol. i., 369. The same year (Nov. 1633), "Samuel Hall and -two other persons travelled westward into the country as far as this -[Connecticut] river." Holmes' "Annals," vol. i., 220. - -[13] Winthrop's "Journal," vol. i., 171. - -[14] Possibly some of the Dorchester emigrants, including Henry -Wolcott, William Phelps, and others, may have passed a little south of -this line. Dr. McClure's MSS., in the possession of the Connecticut -Historical Society: "In a conversation with the late aged and -respectable Capt. Sabin of Pomfret, Ct., he related to me the following -discovery, viz.: About forty years ago he felled a large and ancient -yoke about the north line of Pomfret adjoining Woodstock. On cutting -within some inches of the heart of the tree it was seen to have been -cut and chipped with some short tool like an axe. Rightly judging that -at the time when it must have been done the Indians so far inland were -destitute and ignorant of the use of iron tools, he counted the number -of the annual circular rings from the said marks to the bark of the -tree, and found that there were as many rings as the years which had -intervened from the migration of the Dorchester party to that time. -Hence 'the probability that they had journeyed along the north border -of Pomfret, and as they traveled by a compass, the conjecture is -corroborated by that course being nearly in a direct line from Boston -to the place of their settlement on the Connecticut River.'"--Stiles' -"History of Ancient Windsor," p. 26. - -[15] "Memorial Hist. of Boston," vol. i., 263. - -[16] "Historical Collections of the Indians in New England. By Daniel -Gookin, Gentleman, Printed from the original manuscript, 1792." See -"Collections Mass. Hist. Soc.," vol. i., First Series, pp. 190-192. - -[17] Wabbaquasset, or Woodstock. - -[18] Dudley. - -[19] 1674. - -[20] Black James was a distinguished Indian. He met Eliot again in -Cambridge in June of 1681, where a meeting of the claimants of the -Nipmuck country was held. The village and much of the land of the town -of Dudley was known years after the settlement of Woodstock as "The -Land of Black James and Company."--Ammidown's "Historical Collections," -vol. i., 406, 461. - -[21] Named after "Wabbaquasset Hall," built in the spring or summer of -1686. - -[22] Palfrey's "History of New England," vol. iii., 159. - -[23] Mrs. L. H. Sigourney's "Pocahontas." - -[24] Feb. 10, 1682. - -[25] Ellis' "History of Roxbury Town": "When the people of Roxbury came -to take up lands, they selected their locations amongst the praying -Indians or where Indians had been converted to Christianity.... This -certainly is a sure indication of the steady adherence of his [John -Eliot's] fellow-townsmen and their belief in the actual benefits of -his missionary labors." - -[26] Oct. 6, 10, and 17. - -[27] Joseph Griggs, John Ruggles, and Edward Morris. - -[28] Dec. 5, 1683. - -[29] "Records of the Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay in New -England," vol. v., 426. - -[30] Oct. 27, 1684. - -[31] Jan. 28th. - -[32] "Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in -New England," vol. v., 468. - -[33] Committee appointed May 14, 1686, and reported to Roxbury June -12th. - -[34] Though the name of John Ruggles was on the list of "goers" and a -house lot was drawn for him, he did not settle in Woodstock. The family -of Ruggles is prominent among the first settlers in Pomfret. - -[35] This Jonathan Peake was the father of Jonathan Peake, Jr., born in -1663, who came to Woodstock in April of 1687. - -[36] Lot 43 was given to Clement Corbin soon after the drawing of home -lots. The inscription of his rude gravestone reads: "Here lies buried -the body of Clement Corbin, aged 70, deceast August ye 1st, 1696." - -[37] The inscription on this small gravestone in the burying-ground on -Woodstock Hill is read with difficulty and is as follows: "Here lies -buried ye body of Lieu. Edward Morris, deceas'd September 14, 1689." - -Many of the first settlers now have no stones to mark their graves, and -perhaps never had. - -[38] At that time twenty-four years old. - -[39] MSS. of Deacon Jedediah Morse, in the possession of Henry T. -Child, of Woodstock. - -[40] Windsor was first called Dorchester and Hartford was first called -Newtown. - -[41] Born in England, son of Henry Sewell of Rowley, Mass., and -grandson of Henry Sewell, mayor of Coventry, England. In 1684, he -became an Assistant. - -[42] Memorial "History of Boston," vol. i., 210, 540. - -[43] Hildreth's "History of the United States," vol. ii., 130. -Trumbull's "History of Connecticut," vol. i., 401, 402. Palfrey's -"Hist. of New England," vol. iv., 46. Holmes' "Annals of America," vol. -i., 430, 431. Bancroft's "Hist. of the U. S.," vol. iii., 183. - -[44] "Collections of the Mass. Hist. Soc.," vol. v., Fifth Series, p. -315, foot-note. Palfrey's "Hist, of N. E.," vol. iv., 48, foot-note, -and appendix. The other six members of the Committee were Simon -Bradstreet (Governor), Sir William Phips (Governor, 1692-95), Maj. Gen. -Wait Winthrop, Maj. Elisha Hutchinson, Col. Samuel Shrimpton, and Maj. -John Richards. - -[45] Thomas Gilbert, D.D., of Oxford University, author of "Carmen -Congratulatorum." Judge Sewell visited him in England, and was shown -by Dr. Gilbert the Bodleian Library, "a very magnificent Thing." See -Sewell papers: Fifth Series, Mass. Hist. Soc. Collection, vols, v., -vi., vii. We may be allowed to suppose that Dr. Gilbert took Judge -Sewell to Woodstock, only eight miles from Oxford University, where -the latter perhaps was impressed for the first time with the name and -historical associations of Woodstock. - -[46] Capt. Ruggles of Roxbury, who died Aug. 15, 1692, of whom Sewell -says, in his Diary, Aug. 16th: "Capt. Ruggles also buried this day, -died last night, but could not be kept." - -[47] Proceedings of Mass. Hist. Soc. for Feb., 1873, p. 399. - -[48] Rev. Mr. Dwight, of Woodstock, dined with him Aug. 24, 1718, -and made a prayer at his court Nov. 7, 1718. Also see Diary, Jan. 2, -1724: "Paid Mr. Josiah Dwight of Woodstock in full, of his demands for -boarding Madam Usher there about six or seven weeks in the year 1718, -L2-11." John Acquittimaug, of Woodstock, an Indian, who lived to be -one hundred and fourteen years old, was entertained by Judge Sewell -in 1723. _Boston News-Letter_, Aug. 29, 1723. The wills of Woodstock -people were proved before "the Honorable Samuel Sewell, Judge of -Probate." MSS. of Martin Paine of South Woodstock. - -[49] Paraclete Skinner, of Woodstock, who remembers the second -meeting-house that was taken down in 1821, says that that structure -never had a bell. - -[50] While in custody at Woodstock, Queen Elizabeth, according to the -chronicler, Raphael Holinshed, wrote with a diamond on a pane of glass -in her room these words: - -"Much suspected--of me Nothing proved can be, Quoth Elizabeth, prisoner." - - -[51] Sir Walter Scott's novel of "Woodstock." - -[52] The last time that the name of New Roxbury, as applied to the name -of the whole town, appears in the Proprietors' Records of Woodstock is -March 18, 1689. The first time the name of Woodstock appears is May 26, -1690: Woodstock Records. - -[53] 1691. - -[54] March. - -[55] Town meeting November 27th and 28th. - -[56] Woodstock, at this time, was under the restrictions of frontier -towns. It was called a "frontier town" in 1695.--Mass. Hist. Society -Proceedings, 1871-1873, p. 395. - -[57] December 28th. - -[58] Lincoln's "History of Worcester County." - -[59] Sept. 7th. - -[60] Manuscript Records of Second Precinct of Woodstock, or Parish -of New Roxbury, in the possession of G. Clinton Williams, of West -Woodstock. - -[61] May 16th. - -[62] Petition to town Nov. 2, 1736. - -[63] July, 1737. - -[64] 1739. - -[65] Oct. 2, 1741. - -[66] April, 1742. - -[67] Letter of Aug., 1742, to selectmen. - -[68] Nov. 18, 1742. - -[69] Sept. 14th. - -[70] In the school-house Sept. 27th. - -[71] Line dividing East and West Parishes approved by General Assembly -of Connecticut in 1753, and name of New Roxbury approved in 1754. - -[72] The old First Church. See Records of First and Third -Congregational Churches, and Miss Larned's "History of Windham County." - -[73] July 27th. - -[74] Class of 1733. - -[75] He was the son of John Stiles, who belonged to one of the oldest -families of Windsor, and was the brother of Rev. Isaac Stiles, a -graduate of Yale College in the class of 1722, and was uncle of Ezra -Stiles, President of Yale College. President Stiles often visited -Woodstock after his uncle had settled at Muddy Brook, now called East -Woodstock. - -[76] Oct., 1761. - -[77] July 25th, at the age of 74. - -[78] Class of 1759. - -[79] Killingly. - -[80] Vote of First Church passed Dec. 8, 1766. - -[81] Letter dated Cambridge, March 24, 1776. - -[82] Class of 1776. - -[83] Hutchinson's "History of Massachusetts," vol. iii., 6-8; vol. ii., -363-396. - -[84] July 28, 1749. - -[85] Woodstock speaks of Massachusetts' repeated claims in a memorial -to Conn. Gen. Assembly, May 2, 1771. - -[86] Gen. Putnam was much interested in this project. A meeting to -promote the idea was held at his house in Pomfret, Feb. 11, 1771. The -State again refused the application for a new county, when Pomfret -applied in 1786 for a new county, "with Pomfret for shire-town." - -[87] Captain Johnson was the father of Nathaniel Johnson, and -father-in-law of Lieutenant Henry Bowen, both first settlers of -Woodstock. - -[88] "The Chandler Family," by Dr. George Chandler. - -[89] England declared war against France March 31st. - -[90] Seven hundred men from Massachusetts, of which Woodstock was then -a part, were impressed for this service. - -[91] Lieut.-Col. Thomas Chandler was the son of Col. John Chandler, -and was Woodstock's first representative to the General Assembly of -Connecticut. Ante p. 44. - -[92] The forces were furnished by New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and -Connecticut, and amounted to 4,070. - -[93] October 7th. - -[94] Fight at "Charlestown, No. 4," New Hampshire, May 2, 1748, in -which Peter Perrin and Aaron Lyon, of Woodstock, were killed. - -[95] Or the Seven Years' War (1753-1760). - -[96] At town meeting, June 21, 1774. - -[97] Miss Ellen D. Larned's "History of Windham County." - -[98] There is no evidence to prove the reiterated statement that one -hundred and eighty-nine Woodstock men fought at the battle of Bunker -Hill. This number was stationed at Cambridge, and some of them may have -been at Bunker Hill. - -[99] Oliver Wendell Holmes at Roseland Park, July 4, 1877. - -[100] Rev. Abel Styles subscribed the largest sum, L30. He was fond of -_belles-lettres_, and in a communication to his church, speaks of "his -beloved studies." Under his inspiration and instruction, Woodstock and -Pomfret young men entered Yale College. - -[101] 1784-1856. - -[102] 1763-1837. - -[103] 1764-1804. - -[104] Cotton Mather: "Massachusetts soon became like a hive overstocked -with bees, and many thought of swarming into new plantations." - - -INDEX. - - - - Academy, Establishment of, 53 - - Annexation to Connecticut in 1749, 44 - - - Bacon, Thomas, 26 - - Black, James, 17 - - Bowen, Lieut. Henry, 26 - - - Chandler, Captain John, 34 - - ---- Charles Church, 48 - - ---- Col. John, 55 - - ---- Col. Thomas, 47 - - ---- Hon. John Church, 55 - - ---- Judge John Winthrop, 55 - - ---- Rev. Thos. Bradbury, D.D., 55 - - ---- Winthrop, 55 - - Characteristics of the place and people, 58 - - Child, Captain Benjamin, 49 - - ---- Captain Elisha, 48, 49 - - ---- Lieut. Josiah, 49 - - ---- Nathaniel, 48 - - Church, First built 1694, 32 - - ---- Fourth Congregational, established 1767, 40 - - ---- Third Congregational, established 1760, 40 - - Churches, History of, 36 - - Connecticut, First members to General Assembly of, 44 - - "Connecticut Park," 13 - - Court, Establishment of, among Indians, 17 - - Cradock, Governor, 14 - - Curtis, John, 21 - - - Distinguished men of Woodstock, 55 - - Dudley, Joseph, 20 - - ---- Thomas, Letter of, to Countess of Lincoln, March 12, 1630-1, 8 - - Dwight, Rev. Josiah, first minister, installed October 17, 1690, 32 - - - Eaton, General William, 56 - - Education, progress of, 53 - - Eliot's visit to Woodstock, Narrative of, by Gookin, 15 - - - Families represented in French and Indian War, 47 - - Fines imposed for non-attendance at town meeting, 33 - - Fox, Jabez, 49 - - ---- John, 49 - - French and Indian War, Woodstock families represented in, 47 - - Frizzel, William, 49 - - Frontier service, Twenty men impressed for, 1724, 46 - - - General Court, First, in America, Boston, September 28, 1630, 9 - - Gookin, Major Daniel, magistrate of all Indian towns, 1656, 14 - - Grant, General U. S., Visit of, to Woodstock, 59 - - Gravestone of Edward Morris (oldest in county--1689), 25 - - - Holmes, Abiel, 56 - - ---- Doctor David, 56 - - ---- Oliver Wendell, 56 - - Home lots, Drawing lots for, 23 - - - Indian church, First, in America, established by Eliot at Natick - in 1651, 14 - - Indians, Religious instruction of, in 1629, 14 - - ---- Troubles with, 33 - - - King Philip's war, Consequences of, 18 - - - Leonard, Rev. Abiel, installed pastor, 1763, 40 - - ---- ---- appointed chaplain of Third Regiment of Connecticut, 41 - - ---- ---- death of, 41 - - Longevity of some of the present inhabitants, 26 - - Lots drawn for home lots, 23 - - Lyman, Rev. Eliphalet, ordained in 1779, 42 - - ---- "Old Priest," 42 - - Lyon, Captain Daniel, 49 - - ---- Stephen, 49 - - - McClellan, Captain Samuel, 48, 49 - - ---- Gen. Geo. B., 51 - - Manning, Ephraim, 49 - - Marcy, Captain Nathaniel, 49 - - ---- Hon. Wm. Leonard, 56 - - ---- John, 56 - - Massachusetts Bay, first organized settlement on, 8 - - "Middlesex Gore," 45 - - Military renown of men of Woodstock, 46 - - Minister, appointment of first, 32 - - Morris, Asa, 49 - - ---- Commodore Charles, 55 - - ---- George N., 55 - - ---- Edward, 21 - - ---- Hon. J. F., 56 - - Morse, Jedediah, 48, 56 - - ---- Rev. Jedediah, D.D., 56 - - ---- Samuel F. B., 56 - - ---- Sarah, 26 - - - Nipmuck country, Derivation of name, 12 - - ---- Description of, 12 - - ---- Desertion of, after King Philip's war, 18 - - ---- Purchase of, from Indians, 20 - - "Notable Meeting," 59 - - - Oldman, John, 12 - - "Old Thirteen," Names of, 23 - - - Perry, Saml., 49 - - Praying Villages, 14 - - Pulpit Rock, 18 - - Putnam, Capt. Israel, 47 - - Pynchon, William, 10 - - - Quinnatisset, 15 - - - Rebellion, Services of Woodstock, men in, 51 - - Refusal to send representatives to General Court at Boston, 60 - - Religious services among Indians, Description of, 15 - - Revolution, Company of one hundred and eighty-nine men formed - for service in, 48 - - ---- Service rendered by town during the, 47 - - Roxbury--Deputies sent to Boston Assembly, 1634, 9 - - ---- Early settlers' names, 10 - - ---- Eliot, Rev. John, pastor of First Church, established 1632, 10 - - ---- First settlers, where from, 9 - - ---- Founders' names, 10 - - ---- Prominent in organizing settlement of Woodstock, 11 - - ---- Settlement of, Sept. 28, 1630, 9 - - Ruggles, John, 21 - - ---- Samuel, 21 - - - Sampson, Indian teacher at Wabquissit, 15 - - School-house built 1733, 37 - - Selectmen, Names of first, 33 - - ---- Names of first, chosen by New Roxbury, 27 - - Settlement, Arrangements for, 21 - - ---- Committee appointed to find place suitable for, 21 - - ---- Name of, changed from New Roxbury to Woodstock, 28 - - ---- of other towns by Woodstock men, 58 - - ---- Petition for land for, 1683, 21 - - ---- Time granted for, 21 - - ---- ---- extended, 22 - - Settlers, Ages of first, 25 - - ---- Descendants of, now in town, 26 - - ---- Enterprise of, 27 - - ---- First death among, 25 - - ---- Names of first, 24 - - ---- Original thirteen, 23 - - Sewell, Capt. Samuel, 29 - - ---- ---- Extract from diary of, 30 - - Skinner, Paraclete, 26 - - Stages, Lines of, established between Woodstock and New London - and New Haven, 50 - - Stiles, Rev. Abel S., 39 - - Stoughton, Wm., 20 - - - Throop, Rev. Amos, 36 - - Trees planted by wife of General McClellan, 50 - - - Wabbaquasset, 12 - - Wabquissit, 16 - - Walker, Amasa, 57 - - ---- Gen. Francis A., 57 - - War of 1812, Woodstock men in, 51 - - West Parish of Woodstock, incorporated 1743, 38 - - ---- called New Roxbury, 38 - - Williams, Jared W., 57 - - ---- Rev. Stephen, 38, 57 - - ---- Samuel, Sr., 57 - - Women of Woodstock, 57 - - Woodstock Hill, 13 - - Worcester County formed, 1731, 35 - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Unusual spelling is as in the original. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Woodstock, by Clarence Winthrop Bowen - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOODSTOCK *** - -***** This file should be named 43810.txt or 43810.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/8/1/43810/ - -Produced by Turgut Dincer and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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