>          <<<<<<<<>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>
>          ================================================
>                          PotpourrEMAIL
>          ================================================
>          <<<<<<<<>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>
>          ================================================
>          Vol. 2, No. 7, 1 January 2001. Circulation: 100 and growing!
>          (C) 1999 Boylston Historical Society and Museum
>          7 Central St., PO Box 459, Boylston, MA 01505
>          boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com 508-869-2720
>          Editors: Betty L. Thomas and Judith Haynes
>          Boylston Historical Society and Museum Web Page:
>          http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/
>          To subscribe or unsubscribe to the PotpourrEmail, or
>          to submit information to be included in the PotpourrEmail,
>          e-mail info to: boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
>          CONTENTS. Welcome; What's in a name?; Tidbits;
>          Book of the Month; BHS News;
>          On The Web; Humor
> ================================================
> <<<<<<<<>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>
> ================================================
> Welcome to our email newsletter! For those of you who are not
> members of BHS and don't receive the snailmail newsletter, it is called
> The Potpourri. Sooooo, we thought the appropriate name for this version
> would be PotpourrEMAIL. This email version is not meant to repeat or
> copy the snailmail version, but to complement it, with the addition of
> topics of interest to those with computer and web capabilities. If you
> have a story to tell, information to impart, a good genealogy joke,
computer
> or web genealogy info, a Boylston genealogy Query, or anything that would
> be of interest to our readers--please email us at:
> boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
>
> ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
> What's In a Name??
> "Names of Places" by G.L. Wright
> Volume I in the Historical Series
> Four Natural Ponds
> There are a number of natural ponds in the town of Boylston.  The largest
> of which lies in the easterly part of the town near the Northborough Town
> Line, and is known as "Rocky Pond" on account of the numerous granite
> boulders with which the bottom is covered.  The pond has borne this name
> for more than two hundred years, and was so called in the records of the
> Massachusetts By Colony as early as about 1686, when John Brigham, the
> first white settler of Northborough made a survey of a parcel of land
> containing 200 acres lying in the wilderness northerly of Rocky Pond, and
> between it and the Lancaster town line.  This was allocated to Thomas
James
> of Framingham on account of causalities and depredations suffered by him
> and his family from the Indians.  This pond contains, according to a
survey
> made by Gardner Smith, forty acres.  This survey was made under a Resolve
> of the General court in 1830.  An outlet from the pond flowing
> southwesterly passes into the old Harbor Brook, and thence into the
Assabet
> River at Northboro.  For many years the water power from this pond was
> controlled by the Northborough Cotton Mfg. Co.  Sewall Pond, in the
> southerly section of the Town, is a part of the Blackstone Watershed, and
> contains according to reliable sources, eleven acres.  It lies on the line
> dividing the two sections of the Sewall Grant of  1,500.  In the early
> plans and descriptions of the Sewall Farm it is called "Grass," or "Grassy
> Pond."  This pond is noted for its great depth...
> The third of the natural ponds in Boylston is a body of water known as
> Spectacle Pond.  This body of water is adjacent to, and tributary to
Sewall
> Pond.  It contains, according to the "Historical Sketch of Boylston"
> published by Matthew Davenport, Esq. in 1830, about 23 acres.  it is
> divided into two sections, and takes somewhat the form of a pair of
> spectacles, from which resemblance it supposedly takes its name.  This
name
> appears in deeds and records prior to the year 1800, and is probably the
> earliest proper name of the pond.  It has, however, at various times been
> known by the name of the owner of the farm upon which the greater part of
> it is situated.  It was also known at one time as "Prout Pond"  from the
> large quantity of horned-prout taken from it...
> The fourth and last chain of ponds is "Spruce Pond" and its  tributaries
> known as the "Flagg Ponds."
> At some remote period, Spruce Pond was probably considerably larger than
it
> is now, and a large portion, if not all, of the quagmire now surrounding
it
> was covered with water.  This pond is also tributary to Sewall Pond, and
> they are both mentioned in the layout of the Town road in Shrewsbury in
> 1729-1730.
>
> ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
> Tidbits
> Will of Widow Thankful Whitney
> [BHS collection # 93.198.1 -  this has been scanned is
> available to to be sent via attachment to interested parties.]
> In the name of God Amen, this second day of July Anno Domini one thousand
> seven hundered and eighty I Thankfull Whitney of Shrewsbury in the county
> of Worcester Widow being infirm in body but of sound mind and memory
> praised be God do make and ordain this my last will and Testament that is
> to say [unreadable] and first of all I commend my Immortall soule into the
> hands of God who gave it and my body I recommend to the Earth to be buried
> in a decent Christian manner according to the discretion of my Executor
> nothing doubting but at the generall ressurection I shall but recieve the
> same again by the mighty powers of God.  And as to [unreadable]such
worldly
> Estate where with it hath pleased God to bless me in this life I give and
> dispose of it in manner following.
> First I order that my Just debt Legacy and Funerall Charges be paid out of
> my Estate by my Exceutor here after named.-------------
> Then I give and bequeath unto my Son Levi Whitney one Pewter Dish and five
> shillings lawfull money--------
> Item  I give and bequeath unto my Son Timothy Whitney one Pewter Dish and
> five shillings lawfull money-------
> Item  I give and bequeath unto my Son David Whitney one Pewter Dish and
> five shillings lawfull money---------
> The Pewter Dishes before mentioned are those three that are alike, and
what
> is before mentioned and given to my son is to be their whole share and
> Portion in my Estate------
> And all the rest and [unreadable] of my Estate I give and bequeath unto my
> son in law Nathan Banister and unto my daughter Sarah wife of the said
> Nathan and unto the children of my Daughter aformentioned and I do hereby
> constitute authorize make and ordain the before named Nathan Banister my
> sole Executor of this my last will and testament.  and I do herby utterly
> disallow revoke and dismiss all and every other former wills Legacies &
> Bequests, whatsoever, ratifying this and no other to be my last will and
> testament
> Signed Sealed Published
> Pronounced and Declared by the
> Said Thankfull Whitney
> as her Last              Thankfull  [signed with an X] Whitney
> Will and testament in [unreadable]                              Martin
> Nymphas Stacy
> Margaret Pratt
> Sam[el] Crosby
>
> * editors note - This document has a seal on it still. Seals of that era
> consisted of small bits of cut paper glued or attached by wax to the
> document.  The spelling, punctuation, and grammer are true to the orginal
> document.
> ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
> Book of the Month
> "Never Told Tales" by William O. Dupuis
> Stories of the Supernatural, murder, and mayhem
> Old Pot Publication - 1996.  112 pages with illustrations
> $14.95 plus shipping
> Visit the gift shop
> http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/gift.htm
> ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
> BHS News
> Event - Saturday, January 6 from 1 to 5 pm
> at the Congregational Church, Church St, Boylston.
> "Victorian Tea and Crafts" By the Senior Girl Scouts of Glens Falls, NY.
> Learn the art of Victorian High Tea. Crafts will also be Victorian in
nature.
> This event is especially for young people.
> Pre-registration Required, contact BHS at 869-2720 $3 per child - one
> parent free with each child
> ** This event has been changed from Dec. to the Jan. date.
>
> COMING UP
> Event - Photo Exhibit - Grand Opening
> Sunday, Feb. 18     2pm to 3:30 pm
> "Who Are They - Boylston's Unidentified Citizens
> Are they part of your family or an old neighbor or maybe someone
> you went to school with ??
> This is an interactive exhibit.  Each photo will have a place for
> viewers to leave their comments, ideas, and clues to the identity
> of the people in that photo.
> The exhibit will run through September 2001.
> Admission: Free
>
> Program - Thursday, March 18, 2001   7:30 pm
> " Land Distribution and the Origins of Shrewsbury"
> By Bob Cormier of the Shrewsbury Historical Society
> A slide lecture on the proprietors' Records, historical anecdotes,
glimpses
> at the Prior Grants, and a look at the Land that the Proprietors gave out.
> Admission: FREE
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Visit the gift shop
> http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/gift.htm
> ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
> On The Web
>
> A great map site!
> http://www.davidrumsey.com/
>
> Scots who settled in America
> http://www.chicago-scots.org/
>
> GENEALOGY SOFTWARE -- FREE DOWNLOADS
> LEGACY 3.0 is now free to download at
> http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/
>
> PERSONAL ANCESTRAL FILE (PAF) 4.04 "Order/Download Products"
> http://www.familysearch.org/
>
> AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERIES ONLINE
> http://www.prairiebluff.com/aacemetery/index.htm
>
> Photos - Family, Military, etc.
> http://www.ancientfaces.com/
>
> ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
> Humor
> TWO BROOMS
> Two brooms were hanging in the closet and after a while they got
> to know each other so well they decided to get married. One
> broom was, of course, the bride broom and the other the groom
> broom. The bride broom looked very beautiful in her white dress.
> The groom broom was handsome and suave in his tuxedo. The
> wedding was lovely.
> After the wedding at dinner, the bride broom leaned over and
> said to the groom broom, "I think I am going to have a little
> whisk broom!"
> "Impossible!" said the groom broom. "We haven't even swept
> together!"
>
> ================================================
> <<<<<<<<>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>
> ================================================
> PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from PotpourrEMAIL is granted
> unless specifically stated otherwise, PROVIDED: (1) the reprint
> is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the
> following notice appears at the end of the article:
> Written by 
> Previously published by PotpourrEMAIL,
> PotpourrEmail, Vol. 2, No. 7, 1 January 2001. Please visit
> Boylston Historical Society and Museum's main Web page at
> .
> This newsletter is distributed monthly, on the first day of the month,
> to all Boylston Historical Society members (who have email!),
genealogists,
> and friends who have a special interest in the history of the town of
> Boylston.
> ================================================
> <<<<<<<<>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>
> ================================================
>
>
>
> boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
> 508-869-2720
> Boylston Historical Society
> PO Box 459
> Boylston, MA  01505
> Web Page:  http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/index.shtml