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Vol- 1 February 2002. 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
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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 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
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What's In a Name??
The following is from Vol.III of the Historical Series.
The book is no longer available for sale, but there are
copies in the Boylston Public library, the Boylston Museum
research library and the Allen County Public Library
[Fort Wayne, IN.] You might want to take a look at
Volume I, as there are drawing, sketches and photos
in the book that I cannot include in this email.
"Boylston Before the Construction of the Wachusett Reservoir"
By Norman H. French, A. Sc
In 1893, the Massachusetts Legislature authorized the Metropolitan
District Commission to survey areas of land in order to determine
the best area for a reservoir to improve Boston's water supply.
As a result of this survey, lands and properties were taken by
Eminent Domain by the State, and the construction of the
Wachusett Reservoir began on August 7, 1895. This construction
was in accordance with an Act of the General Court of
Massachusetts of 1895.
The Reservoir was completed on June 5, 1905 when the last stone
in the dam at Clinton was put in place.
Damming the Nashua River took a total of 12,680 acres of land,
of which 2,761 were in Boylston. There were also 10.95 miles
of roads, and three of Boylston's six schools: 1. Six Nation
School, 2. Sawyer's Mills School, and 3. West School.
Tons of topsoil and hundreds of trees were removed form the water
basin known as the "Nashua River Valley." The dam at Clinton
is a massive structure, being 207 feet high and 944 feet long. The
entire reservoir shoreline in 37 miles long, and the water covers
6 1/2 square miles. The depth at the site of "Sawyers Mills" is
100 feet; at the dam it's 129 feet; and the average depth is 48 feet.
Before the building of the Reservoir, there were two main parts of
Boylston: "Boylston Center" and the "Village of Sawyers Mills."
The latter was located about three miles northerly form Boylston
Center, and in the narrowest part of the Reservoir, three miles
south of the dam. Destruction of this village, commonly known
as "Sawyers Mills", but known to the railroad world as "Boylston
Station" on the Central Massachusetts Railroad, brought a
sizeable loss in taxable property to Boylston.
Sawyer's Mills was a manufacturing settlement of a little more
than a dozen buildings, and a mixture of all nationalities working
at the mill when the mill bell rang for the last time on April 9,
1899. Demolition of the buildings in the Sawyer's Mills area
was completed by the fall of that same year, 1899.
The history of the mills begins in 1713, when Joseph Sawyer, son
of Thomas Sawyer of Lancaster entered into an agreement to
build a saw mill on the Nashua River. He apparently did not build
a saw mill until 1728 in the area that was later called "Sawyers
Mills." He was succeeded in the miller's trade by his son, Aaron, Sr.
When Aaron, Sr. died his Real Estate included about 500 acres
of land, a dwelling house and barns, an oil mill, and other out-buildings.
The personal property included one negro boy, ten years of age,
and valued at 50 pounds. Aaron Sawyer, Sr. was followed at
Sawyers Mills by his son, Lieutenant Aaron Sawyer. This son
was especially prominent in the early town offices of Boylston.
As a young man he served in the military service of the Colonies
as a soldier form Lancaster during the Revolutionary War.
Upon the Incoporation of Boylston in 1786, he was chosen as
the first Town Clerk, and served in that office during the year.
He was a member of the Board of Selectmen for six years,
an Assessor fo 13 years, a member of the School Committee
in 1808, and the Moderator at thirty-four Town Meetings of
which nine were the Annual Town Meeting. Aaron, Jr. served
on nearly all of the major town committees, and continously
held office in the precinct organization of the First Precinct
in Boylston. During the administration of President John
Adams, Aaron held the office of Assistant Revenue Assessor
for the Seventh Massachusetts District. As a Land Surveyor,
and under the Resolve of the General Court, he surveyed
the Town, and made the first map of Boylston in 1795.
More next month.
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Tidbits
from the BHS scrapbooks -
1941
Boylston lost a valuable, generous hearted and life-long
resident in the sudden death of Loring Henry Reed, which
occurred at 10:20 last Saturday [May 31] morning at
his home on Cross Street, as he was preparing to make
a business trip to Clinton.
Mr. Reed was born on the home farm, December 11,
1870, where he had always lived and was the son of the
late Henry L. and Martha A. Reed, both natives of
Boylston.
Hewas a quiet, unassuming citizen and was much
interested in the welfare of the First Congregational Church
of Boylston, with which he untied when a young man.
He served as its auditor for a number of years.
Mr. Reed was a dairy farmer and assisted by his son,
Henry Sherwin, he carried on a milk route, in Clinton,
which his father started more than 40 years ago.
His companion and helpmate, Mrs. Elizabeth Hastings
[Bray] Reed, died Feb. 20 last.
Mr. Reed is survived by a son, H. Sherwin Reed, the latter's
wife, her mother, and two daughters, Shirley H. and Janet W.,
all residing on the home farm and a sister, Mrs. Esther M.
wife of Principal Calvin H. Andrews of Worcester High
School of Commerce.
Funeral services were held Monday afternoon in the Congregational
Church. A display of floral tributes surrounded the casket.
Rev. John E. Morgan, the pastor, officiated and read Sam
Foss' poem, "A House by the Side of the Road." Walter
Morrill, of Worcester, rendered " I Know That My Redeemer
Liveth" and " Abide With Me" as organ selections. Internment
was in Pine Grove Cemetery.
June 1938
One of Boylston's most respected citizens, Rober Bernard
Andrews, 57 years of age, a farmer, died at 8:10 Saturday
morning, June 11, following a short illness of pneumonia at
his home on Main Street.
He was the son of Robert H. and Nancy [Van Wyman]
Andrews, and was born Sept. 27, 1880, in Brooklyn, NY.
He came to Boylston after the death of his parents, when
he was seven years old and made his home with his father's
cousin, John Thomas Andrews and family. Lately he lived
in the home of Mrs. Henrietta M. Andrews until his marriage
to Miss Mary T. Kimball, of Boylston, who died in December, 1936.
A daughter, Miss Mabel E., survives her father. He also
leaves a brother, Bernard E. Andrews, of Blauvelt, NY and
two sisters, Mrs. James Probert, of Union City, Iowa, and
Mrs. Ernest Morse of Grand Rapids, Iowa.
Mr. Andrews was a most industrious citizen, faithful to his
home and to the Boylston Congregational Church with
which he united May 6, 1900. He had served as its
assistant treasurer more than 28 years. He was an
active member of Boylston Grange.
Funeral services were held Monday afternoon from the
Congregational Church. The casket was covered and
surrounded by handsome floral emblems of love and
respect, including tributes from the sisters, who were
unable to attend. The brother, with his wife and sons,
Robert E. and Charles B. Andrews, of Blauvelt, NY
and a delgation from the Worcester High School of
Commerce, of which his cousin, Calvin H. Andrews
is principal, were among the mourners.
Rev. John E. Morgan, the pastor, officiated and
Organist Walter A. Morrill rendered selections.
Interment was in Pine Grove Cemetery, where
a committal service was conducted.
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Book of the Month
SALE!!!!!
"Not As Strangers: Immigration in Boylston 1740-1930"
by William O. Dupuis
This is a two volume set, spiral bound, 8x11 size, almost
200 pages. The set includes histories of the immigrating
groups, family information, census information, family
photos, occupations, town offices held, excerpts form
the payrolls of the Lancaster Mills located at Sawyers
Mills, tenants in the mill owned buildings, Boylston
school lists, and more.
WAS $6 for the two volume set.
NOW ONLY $4 for the two volume set!!!! plus shipping
visit the online gift shop for more info:
http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/gift.htm
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BHS News
Beginners Genealogy Workshops
with Betty Thomas
Classes include how to get started, where to look,
what to look for, how to keep your data,
and all instructional materials.
PRE - REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Deadline extended, there are still some spaces!
CLASS SIZE LIMITED FOR EACH SESSION
Chose the Session/class that fits your schedule:
Adults: pick one:[ this is a 2- day workshop]
Session 1 - Feb 12 & 14 1pm to 3 pm
Session 2 - Feb 15 & 22 1pm to 3pm
member - $30 per session
nonmember - $45 per session
Children: pick one: [ this is a 1 day class]
Kids class 1 - Feb 18 1pm to 2:15pm
Kids class 2 - Feb 19 1pm to 2:15pm
member - $10
nonmember - $15
**Adult [free] MUST accompany child for kid's class.
Call the museum 508-869-2720
for more info on pre-registering
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2001 - 2002 PROGRAMS and EVENTS
All Programs open to the public and
held at the Society (unless otherwise noted).
7 Central St., Boylston
Donations at the door are gratefully accepted!
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Event - Thursday, Feb. 14, 2002 at 7:30 pm
"Be Our Valentine" Exhibit -
Grand Opening Reception and Talk
This gala is FREE and open to the public!
Late 19th and Early 20th century valentines on
display and a talk by William Dupuis on the
History of Valentines.
The exhibit will run through September 2002 and be
open during normal open hours and at regular
museum admission.
[Members - $2 Non-Members - $3]
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Program - Thursday, March 21, 2002 at 7:30 pm
"The Life and Times of John W. Partridge"
by William O. Dupuis - BHS Curator
A slide lecture on a Civil War soldier from Boylston
who left behind over 100 letters detailing his war experiences.
Members - $2 Non-Members - $3
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Program - Thursday, April 18, 2002 at 7:30 pm
"Genealogy on the Internet"
by Betty Thomas - BHS Computer Services Dir.
Find out what you need to know about
doing genealogy on the Internet.
Members - $2 Non-Members - $3
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Event - Monday, May 27, 2002, 10am to 2pm
"Memorial Day Open House" Come and visit!!!
Free Museum admission
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Visit the gift shop
http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/gift.htm
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On The Web
LAURA INGALLS WILDER
http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/notable/laura.htm
Samuel Beckett On-Line Resources and Links Pages
http://home.sprintmail.com/~lifeform/Beck_Links.html
An Archive of Texts to Lieder and other Classical Art
Songs (Kunstlieder, Mélodies, Canzoni, Romansy,
Canciones, Liedje, Canções, Sånger, Laulua, etc.) as
well as many choral works and other types of classical vocal pieces
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/
WebMonkey - the web developer's resource
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/index.html
The New England Historical and Genealogical Society
http://www.nehgs.org/
Mass. Historic Commission
http://www.state.ma.us/sec/mhc/
The History Net
http://history.about.com/
The Conservation Center for Art and Historic
Artifacts (CCAHA)
http://www.ccaha.org/
The Victorian Web
http://65.107.211.206/victov.html
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Humor -
Repinted from "Rootsweb Review"
According to Brenda Normandin harrow444@hotmail.com the following is a
true story gleaned from "Byrd Family Notes" and the handwritten notes
of I. M. Byrd, originally from Yancey County, North Carolina and later
of Victory, (Jackson County) Oklahoma.
One morning Newt Byrd's wife, Tilda, sent him after wood so she could
cook breakfast -- instead he went westward (during California Gold
Rush) and returned 12 years later with no gold, but he stopped at the
woodpile and took in the wood.
"Here, Tilda, is the wood to cook breakfast," he is reputed to have
told her.
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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. 3, No.8 - 1 February 2002. Please visit
Boylston Historical Society and Museum's main Web page at
http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/
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.
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boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
508-869-2720
Boylston Historical Society
PO Box 459
Boylston, MA 01505
Web Page: http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/
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