"Preserving the Past for the Future"


Vol. 5, No.10 - 1 April 2004 Circulation: 250 and growing!
(C) 1999-2004 Boylston Historical Society and Museum
7 Central St., PO Box 459, Boylston, MA 01505
potpourremail@boylstonhistory.org   508-869-2720
Editors: Betty L. Thomas and Judith Haynes
Boylston Historical Society and Museum Web Page:
http:www.boylstonhistory.org


CONTENTS. Welcome; "The History of Boylston 1642-1741";
 Tidbits; 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 joke, computer
or web genealogy info, a Boylston genealogy query, or anything that would
be of interest to our readers--please Email us at:
potpourremail@boylstonhistory.org

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general email: info@boylstonhistory.org

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"The History of Boylston 1642-1741"

The following is from Vol.II of the Historical Series.
This book is no longer available for sale, but there are bound
copies of all the Historical Series books in the Museum's Fuller
Research Library, the Boylston Public Library, the DAR Library and the
Allen County Public Library [Fort Wayne, IN.]

"The History of Boylston 1642-1741"
A Critical Edition of the Papers of George L. Wright
by William O. Dupuis
Volume II in the Boylston Historical Series
Revised edition 1978

CHAPTER 6
 
"The First Settlers of Boylston" by William O. Dupuis
 
Samuel Bennett
Samuel Bennett, son of George and Lydia Linton Bennett, was born July 22, 1665 in Lancaster. 
ed Mary "?" about 1690 in Lancaster. He acquired land on what is now Linden 
Street in 1722, and proceeded to build a garrison house, or stockade fort. 
Bennett is mentioned as one of the founders of the First Parish Church in Shrewsbury 
in 1723, thus clearly putting him on Boylston land by that time. He was a house-wright 
by trade, and raised a family of 8 children. He died July 6, 1742 in Shrewsbury, 
{Boylston was then partly in Shrewsbury) and is buried in the Old Burial Field in 
Lancaster.   Bennett's land was in that portion of Boylston which then belonged to 
Shrewsbury, and his settlement almost certainly took place in about 1722.
 
Deacon John Keyes
Deacon Keyes was born in Sudbury or Chelmsford about 1668, the son of Elias and 
Sarah Blanford Keyes. He married Sarah Prescott, the daugh­ter of John Prescott II, 
of Lancaster on April 20, 1700. John and his family probably settled on what is now 
Cross Street between 1719 and 1723. The reason for assuming this is that his last 
child, Elkanah, was born in Lancaster in 1718, and he was ! still listed as an 
Assessor for Lancaster at the beginning of 1719, a nd John was one of the founders 
of the Church in Shrewsbury in 1723. So, between those two dates he and his wife 
and 10 children came to settle in the area of Boylston, which then belonged to 
Shrewsbury. He was a weaver by trade, and migrated to Lancaster when he was about 
12 years old.   John Keyes' dwelling was also a garrison house, used to protect 
the inhabitants against the raids of marauding Indians. He was very active in 
civic affairs, being elected Shrewsbury Town Clerk in 1727 and 1730; Selectman 
in 1727, 29, 33 and 34; Assessor in 1727, 28,29,30, 31,32,33 to 41, and 43. He 
was one of the founders of the Second Parish in 1743, and was elected one of its 
first Deacons in that same year. He was also a Justice of the Peace.  
He died in Boylston on September 15, 1753, in his 86th year, and is buried in the 
Old Burial Ground, in Boylston Centre.
 
CONCLUSION
We thus have three contenders and three dates: Sawyer-around 1723; Bennett in 1722, 
and Keyes in 1719-23. It is only fair to point out that with the scarcity and 
vagueness of primary sources, the possi­bility of error in determining the 
identity of the first settler is ever present. The fact that we are dealing 
with such a short time span (36 months or less) makes the task even more difficult. 
In deference to the three families involved, we can bestow the title of "First 
Settlers" on all of them, and hope that in the future, evidence will become 
available that will either completely substantiate our conclusions, or be factual 
enough to warrant a change in our opinion.   It is interesting to note that Mr. 
Wright always favored John Keyes for the honor of First Settler and by studying 
the dates we must admit that there is a strong probability that he was correct 
in his assumption. In fact, on a Map drawn by Mr. Wright showing the loca­tions 
of various historic sites, he has placed the date "1720" next to the name of 
John Keyes.   ! ; Personally, I believe that Deacon Keyes was indeed the first 
permane nt settler on Boylston land. The claim of the Sawyer family does not 
seem to coincide with the documentary evidence and even if the Sawyer Mill was 
built in 1713 or so this does not imply that a settlement accompanied it. 
As for Samuel Bennett. he could not have arrived here prior to 1722, since 
in the deed by which he purchased his land, we read that in June of 1722 he 
was still a resident of Lancaster, not of Shrewsbury. Deacon Keyes. on the 
other hand. acquired his land, house lot 42, on December 30, 1718. Every 
document seems to point to the fact that he settled about 1720, thus making 
him the first permanent settler:

-Continues next month-


Tidbits 
These "letters" are from the editor's {Betty Thomas] family archives.  
They aren't exactly letters, but notes written on the back of cards.  
If you have letters, notes, post cards or any thing written during WW II, 
please bring it to our April program to read and share.  See below for date and time.
Also don't forget the BHSM WW II Memories page on our web site.
http://boylstonhistory.org/ww2form.htm

You can fill in your memories, hit submit and they will become part of the 
BHSM archives.
http://boylstonhistory.org/ww2form.htm
 

BHSM News

2004 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!
------------------------------------------------
ONGOING
        "We Were There" exhibit
        Exhibit focuses on the World War II military careers of three Boylston soldiers...
        Victor Delnore, Fenton Bean, and Florence Swenson Tobiesen Smith.
        The exhibit is open during normal open hours.
        
        On our Web Site:
        Share your memories of WW II ...whether you were in the service, at home,
        at school, or college.
        Fill in the form and hit submit...it's as easy as that!
        http://www.boylstonhistory.org/ww2form.htm
               
        "Town Remembrances" - -until ! June 2004
        Stories, thoughts, descriptions of places and people, family life or just rambling through the
        "old days" - BHSM invites Boylston citizens of all ages to come in and have their "Town
        Remembrances"  recorded on Audio and /or Video tape.  By appointment ONLY - Dates are
        going quickly so call BHSM NOW  to reserve YOUR  date.

April thru June
        "Boylston's Unknown Citizens" a traveling exhibit.  Look for it! on these 
		dates and places.
        Baystate Auto - Mar.31- Apr. 9
        Boylston Post Office - Apr. 12-23
        Boylston Light Dept. - Apr. 26- May 7
        Cyprian Keyes Golf Club - May 10-21
        BHSM - May 22-31

April
        "World War II - Letters Home and Back"
        Thursday April 15     7:30 pm at the museum
        We invite the public to bring and read their World War II letters, cards, notes, 
		or postcards. The material doesn't have to be Boylston related and can be from 
		or to anyone in the WWII era.  The staff and board will read letters from the 
		BHSM archives.

May     
        Pine Grove Cemetery Documentation"
        Saturday and Sunday, May 1 & 2   1pm to 4pm
        We need lots of volunteers for this !!  We will be photographing gravestones 
		[35 mm or  digital], mapping the grave lots, transcribing the gravestones, 
		and filling out gravestone      condition reports. 
        Call the museum if you can help or if you have photographic equipment - 
		508-869-2720
        
        Memorial Day Open House & Attic Sale on the Green
        Monday May 31   10am - 2 pm
        If you would like to help in the museum or at the Attic sale, please call  
		508-869-2720
        We are also collecting items to sell at the attic sale, so if you would like 
		to donate items for the sale, you can drop them off. 

June    
        Annual Meeting and Dinner
        Thursday June 10, 2004 - 6pm to 9 pm - cash bar at 6pm, dinner at 7pm
        at the Manor in West Boylston
        $25 / person  Members and Friends welcome.  For tickets call the museum.
 
-----------------------------------------------------------
Visit the gift shop.
We have gift certificates.
Membership makes a great gift too!!
http://www.boylstonhistory.org/gift.htm

On the Web

World War II Memories Submission Form
http://boylstonhistory.org/ww2form.htm

A collection of WW II letter from the front
http://www.private-art.com/

Letters from Home
http://home.att.net/~merkki/letters_from_home.htm

WW II letters of Harmon Buckley
http://www.lawrence.edu/staff/maym/harmonbuc ! kley/

A War in Letters
http://americanhistory.about.com/library/prm/blwarinletters.htm

The Rutgers Oral History Project
http://fas-history.rutgers.edu/oralhistory/home.html

World War II Letters and Journals
http://www.teacheroz.com/WWII_Oral_History.htm

What did you do in the War Grandma?
http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/WWII_Women/WomenInWWII.html

WW II letters and diaries
http://www.questia.com/popularSearches/world_war_ii_letters_and_diaries.jsp

Humor:
census record--
1900 U.S. Federal Census: Tucker County, West Virginia

Carr   Jesse A.   Head    
Carr   Virginia   Wife    
Carr   Margaret   Daughter
Carr   Joseph C.  Son     
Carr   Lula C.    Daughter
Carr   Wilbert    Clone   

And we thought clones were something new!


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Written by -author's name, e-mail address, and URL, if given-
Previously published by PotpourrEMAIL,
PotpourrEmail, Vol. 5, No.10 - 1 March 2004.
Please visit Boylston Historical Society and Museum's main
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Boylston Historical Society and Museum
7 Central St., POB 459
Boylston, MA  01505
www.boylstonhistory.org
508-869-2720



 

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