Bay State Monthly, Volume I, No. 2, February, 1884 by Various

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David Child had a store, about the beginning of the century, at the
south corner of Main and Pleasant Streets, nearly opposite to the site
of the Orthodox meeting-house, though Pleasant Street was not then laid
out. It was afterward occupied by Deacon Jonathan Adams, then by Artemas
Wood, and lastly by Milo H. Shattuck. This was moved off twelve or
fifteen years ago, and a spacious building put up, a few rods north, on
the old tavern site across the way, by Mr. Shattuck, who still carries
on a large business.

Alpheus Richardson kept a store, about the year 1815, in his
dwelling-house, at the south corner of Main and Elm Streets, besides
having a book-bindery in the same building. The binder's shop was
continued until about 1850. It is said that this house was built
originally by Colonel James Prescott, for the use of his son, Abijah, as
a store; but it never was so occupied.

Joseph and Phineas Hemenway built a store on the north corner of Main
and Elm Streets, about the year 1815, where they carried on a trading
business. They were succeeded by one Richardson, then by David Childs;
and finally by John Spalter, who had for many years a bookstore and
binder's shop in the building, which is now used as a dwelling-house.
At the present time Mr. Spalter is living in Keene, New Hampshire.

About the year 1826, General Thomas A. Staples built and kept a store
on Main Street, directly north of the Union Church. He was followed
successively by Benjamin Franklin Lawrence, Henry Hill, and Walter
Shattuck. The building was burned down about ten years ago, and its site
is now occupied by Dr. David R. Steere's house.

In the year 1847 a large building was moved from Hollis Street to
the corner of Main and Court Streets. It was put up originally as a
meeting-house for the Second Adventists, or Millerites as they were
called in this neighborhood, after William Miller, one of the founders
of the sect; but after it was taken to the new site, it was fitted up in
a commodious manner, with shops in the basement and a spacious hall in
the second story. The building was known as Liberty Hall, and formed a
conspicuous structure in the village. The post-office was kept in it,
while Mr. Lothrop and Mr. Andruss were the postmasters. It was used as a
shoe shop, a grocery, and a bakery, when, on Sunday, March 31, 1878, it
was burned to the ground.

The brick store, owned by the Dix family, was built and kept by Aaron
Brown, near the beginning of the century. He was followed by Moses
Parker, and after him came ---- and Merriam, and then Benjamin P. Dix.
It is situated at the corner of Main Street and Broad-Meadow Road, and
now used as a dwelling-house. A very good engraving of this building is
given in The Groton Herald, May 8, 1830, which is called by persons who
remember it at that time a faithful representation, though it has since
undergone some changes.

Near the end of the last century, Major William Swan traded in the house
now occupied by Charles Woolley, Jr., north of the Common near the old
burying-ground. It was Major Swan who set out the elm-trees in front of
this house, which was the Reverend Dr. Chaplin's dwelling for many
years.

Two daughters of Isaac Bowers, a son of Landlord Bowers, had a dry-goods
shop in the house owned and occupied by the late Samuel W. Rowe, Esq.
About the year 1825, Walter Shattuck opened a store in the building
originally intended for the Presbyterian Church, opposite to the present
entrance of the Groton Cemetery. There was formerly a store kept by one
Mr. Lewis, near the site of Captain Asa Stillman Lawrence's house, north
of the Town Hall. There was a trader in town, Thomas Sackville Tufton by
name, who died in the year 1778, though I do not know the site of his
shop. Captain Samuel Ward, a native of Worcester, and an officer in the
French and Indian War, was engaged in business at Groton some time
before the Revolution. He removed to Lancaster, where at one time he was
town-clerk, and died there on August 14, 1826.

The Groton post-office was established at the very beginning of the
present century, and before that time letters intended for this town
were sent through private hands. Previous to the Revolution there were
only a few post-offices in the Province, and often persons in distant
parts of Massachusetts received their correspondence at Boston. In
the Supplement to The Boston Gazette, February 9, 1756, letters are
advertised as remaining uncalled for, at the Boston office, addressed to
William Lakin and Abigail Parker, both of Groton, as well as to Samuel
Manning, Townsend, William Gleany, Dunstable, and Jonathan Lawrence,
Littleton. Nearly five months afterward these same letters are
advertised in The Boston Weekly News-Letter, July 1, 1756, as still
uncalled for. The name of David Farnum, America, appears also in this
list, and it is hoped that wherever he was he received the missive. The
names of Oliver Lack (probably intended for Lakin) and Ebenezer Parker,
both of this town, are given in another list printed in the Gazette of
June 28, 1762; and in the same issue one is advertised for Samuel
Starling, America. In the Supplement to the Gazette, October 10, 1768,
Ebenezer Farnsworth, Jr., and George Peirce, of Groton, had letters
advertised; and in the Gazette, October 18, 1773, the names of Amos
Farnsworth, Jonas Farnsworth, and William Lawrence, all of this town,
appear in the list.

I find no record of a post-rider passing through Groton, during the
period immediately preceding the establishment of the post-office;
but there was doubtless such a person who used to ride on horseback,
equipped with saddle-bags, and delivered at regular intervals the weekly
newspapers and letters along the way. In the year 1794, according to the
History of New Ipswich, New Hampshire (page 129), a post-rider, by the
name of Balch, rode from Boston to Keene one week and back the next.
Probably he passed through this town, and served the inhabitants with
his favors.

Several years ago I procured, through the kindness of General Charles
Devens, at that time a member of President Hayes's cabinet, some
statistics of the Groton post-office, which are contained in the
following letter:--

Post-Office Department, Appointment Office,
Washington, D.C., September 3, 1877.

Hon. CHARLES DEVENS, Attorney-General, Department of Justice.

_Sir_,--I have to acknowledge the receipt of a communication
from Samuel A. Green, of Boston, Massachusetts, with your endorsement
thereon, requesting to be furnished with a list of postmasters at the
office of Groton, in that State, from the date of its establishment to
the present time.

In reply, I have the honor to inform you, that the fire which consumed
the department building, on the night of the fifteenth of December,
1836, destroyed three of the earliest record-books of this office; but
by the aid of the auditor's ledger-books, it is ascertained that the
office began to render accounts on the first of January, 1801, but the
exact day is not known, Samuel Dana, was the first postmaster, and the
following list furnishes the history of the office, as shown by the
old records.

Groton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Office probably established in
November, 1800. Samuel Dana began rendering accounts January 1, 1801.
Wm. M. Richardson, October 1, 1804.

From this time the exact dates are known.

Abraham Moore, appointed postmaster January 31, 1812.

Eliphalet Wheeler, August 20, 1815.

James Lewis, September 9, 1815.

Caleb Butler, July 1, 1826.

Henry Woods, January 15, 1839.

George S. Boutwell, January 22, 1841.

Caleb Butler, April 15, 1841.

Welcome Lothrop, December 21, 1846.

Artemas Wood, February 22, 1849.

George H. Brown, May 4, 1849.

Theodore Andruss, April 11, 1853.

George W. Fiske, April 22, 1861.

Henry Woodcock, February 13, 1867.

Miss Hattie E. Farnsworth, June 11, 1869, who is the present incumbent.

Each postmaster held the office up to the appointment of his successor,
but it is probable that Mr. Boutwell and Mr. A. Wood, although regularly
appointed, did not accept, judging by the dates of the next postmasters.

As to the "income" of the office, to which allusion is made, it is very
difficult to obtain any of the amounts; but the first year and the last
year are herewith appended, as follows:--

Fiscal Year
(1801) (1876)
First quarter, $1.91 First quarter, $314.15
Second " 2.13 Second " 296.94
Third " 2.93 Third " 305.71
Fourth " 5.29 Fourth " 294.28

For the year, $12.26 For the y'r, $1,211.08

Trusting the foregoing, which is believed to be correct, will be
acceptable to you, I am, sir, respectfully,

Your ob't serv't,

JAMES H. MARR,

Acting First Ass't P.M. General.

It will be seen that the net income of the office, during the first
seventy-five years of its existence, increased one hundred fold.

West Groton is a small settlement that has sprung up in the western part
of the town, dating back in its history to the last century. It is
pleasantly situated on the banks of the Squannacook River, and in my
boyhood was known as Squannacook, a much better name than the present
one. It is to be regretted that so many of the old Indian words, which
smack of the region, should have been crowded out of our local
nomenclature. There is a small water-power here, and formerly a sawmill,
gristmill, and a paper-mill were in operation; but these have now given
way to a factory, where leather-board is made. The Peterborough and
Shirley branch of the Fitchburg Railroad passes through the place, and
some local business is transacted in the neighborhood. As a matter of
course, a post-office was needed in the village, and one was established
on March 19, 1850. The first person to fill the office was Adams
Archibald, a native of Truro, Nova Scotia, who kept it in the
railway-station.

The following is a list of the postmasters, with the dates of their
appointment:--

Adams Archibald, March 19, 1850.
Edmund Blood, May 25, 1868.
Charles H. Hill, July 31, 1871.
George H. Bixby, June, 1878.

During the postmastership of Mr. Blood, and since that time, the office
has been kept at the only store in the place.

A post-office was established at South Groton, on June 1, 1849, and the
first postmaster was Andrew B. Gardner. The village was widely known
as Groton Junction, and resulted from the intersection of several
railroads. Here six passenger-trains coming from different points were
due in the same station at the same time, and they all were supposed to
leave as punctually.

The trains on the Fitchburg Railroad, arriving from each direction, and
likewise the trains on the Worcester and Nashua Road from the north and
the south, passed each other at this place. There was also a train from
Lowell, on the Stony Brook Railroad, and another on the Peterborough and
Shirley branch, coming at that time from West Townsend.

A busy settlement grew up, which was incorporated as a distinct town
under the name of Ayer, on February 14, 1871.

The following is a list of the postmasters, with the dates of their
appointment:--

Andrew B. Gardner, June 1, 1849.
Harvey A. Wood, August 11, 1853.
George H. Brown, December 30, 1861.
William H. Harlow, December 5, 1862.
George H. Brown, January 15, 1863.
William H. Harlow, July 18, 1865.

The name of the post-office was changed by the department at Washington,
from South Groton to Groton Junction, on March 1, 1862; and subsequently
this was changed to Ayer, on March 22, 1871, soon after the
incorporation of the town, during the postmastership of Mr. Harlow.

The letter of the acting first assistant postmaster-general, printed
above, supplements the account in Butler's History of Groton (pages
249-251). According to Mr. Butler's statement, the post-office was
established on. September 29, 1800, and the Honorable Samuel Dana was
appointed the first postmaster. No mail, however, was delivered at the
office until the last week in November. For a while it came to Groton
by the way of Leominster, certainly a very indirect route. This fact
appears from a letter written to Judge Dana, by the Postmaster-General,
under date of December 18, 1800, apparently in answer to a request to
have the mail brought directly from Boston. In this communication the
writer says:--

It appears to me, that the arrangement which has been made for
carrying the mail to Groton is sufficient for the accommodation of
the inhabitants, as it gives them the opportunity of receiving their
letters regularly, and with despatch, once a week. The route from
Boston, by Leominster, to Groton is only twenty miles farther than by
the direct route, and the delay of half a day, which is occasioned
thereby, is not of much consequence to the inhabitants of Groton.
If it should prove that Groton produces as much postage as Lancaster
and Leominster, the new contract for carrying the mail, which is
to be in operation on the first of October next, will be made by
Concord and Groton to Walpole, and a branch from Concord to
Marlborough.

I am, respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,

JOS. HABERSHAM.

The amount of postage received from the office, after deducting the
necessary expenses, including the postmaster's salary, was, for the
first year after its establishment, about twelve dollars, or three
dollars for three months. In the year 1802 it was thirty-six dollars, or
nine dollars for three months, a large proportional increase. At this
time the mail came once a week only, and was brought by the stage-coach.

Samuel Dana, the first postmaster, was a prominent lawyer at the time of
his appointment. He was the son of the Reverend Samuel Dana, of Groton,
and born in this town, June 26, 1767. He occupied a high position in the
community, and exerted a wide influence in the neighborhood. At a later
period he was president of the Massachusetts Senate, a member of
Congress, and finally chief-justice of the circuit court of common
pleas. He died at Charlestown, on November 20, 1835.

Judge Dana kept the post-office in his own office, which was in the same
building as that of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, another noted lawyer.
These eminent men were on opposite sides of the same entry; and they
were generally on opposite sides of all important cases in the northern
part of Middlesex County. The building stood on the site of Governor
Boutwell's house, and is still remembered as the medical office of the
venerable Dr. Amos Bancroft. It was afterward moved away, and now stands
near the railway-station, where it is occupied as a dwelling-house.
Judge Dana held the office during four years, and he was succeeded by
William M. Richardson, Esq., afterward the chief-justice of the superior
court of New Hampshire. Mr. Richardson was a graduate of Harvard College
in the class of 1797, and at the time of his appointment as postmaster
had recently finished his professional studies in Groton, under the
guidance of Judge Dana. After his admission to the bar, Mr. Richardson
entered into partnership with his former instructor, succeeding him as
postmaster in July, 1804; and the office was still kept in the same
building. During Judge Richardson's term, the net revenue to the
department rose from nine dollars to about twenty-eight dollars for
three months. He held the position nearly eight years, and was followed
by Abraham Moore, who was commissioned on January 31, 1812.

Mr. Moore was a native of Bolton, Massachusetts, where he was born on
January 5, 1785. He graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1806,
and studied law at Groton with the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, and after
his admission to the bar settled here as a lawyer. His office was on
the site of the north end of Gerrish's block, and it was here that the
post-office was kept. During his administration the average income from
the office was about thirty-three dollars, for the quarter. In the
summer of 1815, Mr. Moore resigned the position and removed to Boston.

Eliphalet Wheeler, who kept the store now occupied by Mr. Gerrish, was
appointed in Mr. Moore's stead, and the post-office was transferred to
his place of business. He, however, was not commissioned, owing, it is
thought, to his political views; and Major James Lewis, who was sound
in his politics, received the appointment in his stead. Major Lewis,
retained Mr. Wheeler for a short time as his assistant, and during this
period the duties were performed by him in his own store. Shortly
afterward Caleb Butler, Esq., was appointed the assistant, and he
continued to hold the position for eight years. During this time the
business was carried on in Mr. Butler's law office, and the revenue to
the government reached the sum of fifty dollars a quarter. His office
was then in a small building,--just south of Mr. Hoar's tavern,--which
was moved away about the year 1820, and taken to the lot where Colonel
Needham's house now stands, at the corner of Main and Hollis Streets. It
was fitted up as a dwelling, and subsequently moved away again. At this
time the old store of Mr. Brazer, who had previously died, was brought
from over the way, and occupied by Mr. Butler, on the site of his former
office.

On July 1, 1826, Mr. Butler, who had been Major Lewis's assistant for
many years, and performed most of the duties of the office, was
commissioned postmaster.

Mr. Butler was a native of Pelham, New Hampshire, where he was born on
September 13, 1776, and a graduate of Dartmouth College, in the class of
1800. He had been the preceptor of Groton Academy for some years, and
was widely known as a critical scholar. He had previously studied law
with the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, though his subsequent
practice was more in drawing up papers and settling estates than in
attendance at courts. His name is now identified with the town as its
historian. During his term of office as postmaster, the revenue rose
from fifty dollars to one hundred and ten dollars a quarter. He held the
position nearly thirteen years, to the entire satisfaction of the
public; but for political heresy was removed on January 15, 1839, when
Henry Woods was commissioned as his successor.

Mr. Woods held the office until his death, which occurred on January 12,
1841; and he was followed by the Honorable George S. Boutwell, since the
Governor of the Commonwealth and a member of the United States Senate.
During the administration of Mr. Woods and Mr. Boutwell, the office was
kept in the brick store, opposite to the present High School.

Upon the change in the administration of the National Government,
Mr. Butler was reinstated in office, and commissioned on April 15, 1841.
He continued to hold the position until December 21, 1846, when he was
again removed for political reasons. Mr. Butler was a most obliging man,
and his removal was received by the public with general regret. During
his two terms he filled the office for more than eighteen years, a
longer period than has fallen to the lot of any other postmaster of
the town. Near the end of his service a material change was made in the
rate of postage on letters; and in his History (page 251) he thus
comments on it:--

The experiment of a cheap rate was put upon trial. From May 14, 1841, to
December 31, 1844, the net revenue averaged one hundred and twenty-four
dollars and seventy-one cents per quarter. Under the new law, for the
first year and a half, the revenue has been one hundred and four dollars
and seventy-seven cents per quarter. Had the former rates remained, the
natural increase of business should have raised it to one hundred and
fifty dollars per quarter. The department, which for some years before
had fallen short of supporting itself, now became a heavy charge upon
the treasury. Whether the present rates will eventually raise a
sufficient revenue to meet the expenditures, remains to be seen. The
greatest difficulty to be overcome is evasion of the post-office laws
and fraud upon the department.

Like many other persons of that period, Mr. Butler did not appreciate
the fact that the best way to prevent evasions of the law is to reduce
the rates of postage so low that it will not pay to run the risk of
fraud.

Captain Welcome Lothrop succeeded Mr. Butler as postmaster, and during
his administration the office was kept in Liberty Hall. Captain Lothrop
was a native of Easton, Massachusetts, and a land-surveyor of some
repute in this neighborhood. Artemas Wood followed him by appointment on
February 22, 1849; but he never entered upon the duties of his office.
He was succeeded by George H. Brown, who had published The Spirit of the
Times--a political newspaper--during the presidential canvass of 1848,
and in this way had become somewhat prominent as a local politician. Mr.
Brown was appointed on May 4, 1849; and during his term the office was
kept in an ell of his dwelling-house, which was situated nearly opposite
to the Orthodox meeting-house. He was afterward the postmaster of Ayer.
Mr. Brown was followed by Theodore Andruss, a native of Orford, New
Hampshire, who was commissioned on April 11, 1853. Mr. Andruss brought
the office back to Liberty Hall, and continued to be the incumbent until
April 22, 1861, when he was succeeded by George W. Fiske. On February
13, 1867, Henry Woodcock was appointed to the position, and the office
was then removed to the Town Hall, where most excellent accommodations
were given to the public.

He was followed on June 11, 1869, by Miss Harriet E. Farnsworth, now
Mrs. Marion Putnam; and she in turn was succeeded on July 2, 1880, by
Mrs. Christina D. (Caryl) Fosdick, the widow of Samuel Woodbury Fosdick,
and the present incumbent.

The office is still kept in the Town Hall, and there is no reason to
think that it will be removed from the spacious and commodious quarters
it now occupies, for a long time to come. Few towns in the Commonwealth
can present such an array of distinguished men among their postmasters
as those of Groton, including, as it does, the names of Judge Dana,
Judge Richardson, Mr. Butler, and Governor Boutwell.

By the new postal law which went into operation on the first of last
October, the postage is now two cents to any part of the United States,
on all letters not exceeding half an ounce in weight. This rate
certainly seems cheap enough, but in time the public will demand the
same service for a cent. Less than forty years ago the charge was five
cents for any distance not exceeding three hundred miles, and ten cents
for any greater distance. This was the rate established by the law which
took effect on July 1, 1845; and it was not changed until July, 1851,
when it was reduced to three cents on single letters, prepaid, or five
cents, if not prepaid, for all distances under three thousand miles. By
the law which went into operation on June 30, 1863, prepayment by stamps
was made compulsory, the rate remaining at three cents; though a special
clause was inserted, by which the letters of soldiers or sailors, then
fighting for the Union in the army or navy, might go without prepayment.

[Footnote 1: Diary and Correspondence of Amos Lawrence, pages 24, 25.]

* * * * *

LOVEWELL'S WAR.

By John N. McClintock, A.M.

On the morning of September 4, 1724, Thomas Blanchard and Nathan Cross,
of Dunstable, started from the Harbor and crossed the Nashua River, to
do a day's work in the pine forest to the northward. The day was wet
and drizzly. Arriving at their destination they placed their arms and
ammunition, as well as their lunch and accompanying jug, in a hollow
log, to keep them dry. During the day they were surrounded by a party of
Mohawks from Canada, who hurried them into captivity.

Their continued absence aroused the anxiety of their friends and
neighbors and a relief party of ten was at once organized to make a
search for the absentees. This party, under the command of Lieutenant
French, soon arrived at the place where the men had been at work, and
found several barrels of turpentine spilled on the ground, and, to the
keen eyes of those hardy pioneers, unmistakable evidence of the presence
of unfriendly Indians. Other signs indicated that the prisoners had been
carried away alive. The party at once determined upon pursuit, and
following the trail up the banks of the Merrimack came to the outlet
of Horse-Shoe Pond in the present town of Merrimac, where they were
surprised and overwhelmed by a large force of the enemy. Josiah Farwell
alone of that little band escaped to report the fate of his companions.

Blanchard and Cross were taken to Canada. After nearly a year's
confinement they succeeded in effecting their own ransom and returned to
their homes. The gun, jug, and lunch-basket were found in the hollow log
where they had been left the year before.

Enraged by these and similar depredations, the whole frontier was
aroused to aggressive measures. John Lovewell, Josiah Farwell, and
Jonathan Robbins at once petitioned for, and were granted, the right to
raise a scouting party to carry the war into the enemy's country.

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