"Preserving the Past for the Future"
Vol. 5, No.9 - 1 March 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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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
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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
Alle ! n County Public Library [Fort Wayne, IN.] There are drawings,
sketc hes and photos in the book that we cannot include
in this Email.
"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
The Date 1705
For a century after the writing of Mathew Davenport's Historical Sketch of Boylston (1830), it was assumed by inhabitants and historians alike that the date of the first Sawyer settlement, in what is now Boylston, was in 1705. This error is traceable to a quotation in Mr. Davenport's work:
"...It is uncertain when Thomas (Sawyer) first settled in that part of Lancaster now Boylston...but he made his will there in March 1705..."
And so it was that time after time we see the date 1705 given as that of the ! earliest settlement. Even Mr. Wright used the date in his earlier writings, but, as we have seen, soon began to doubt its accuracy. Mr. Davenport was laboring under severe handicaps in writing his historical essay, as he himself states:
"...the early records of one of these towns (Lancaster) are not to be found.
Add to these the extreme uncertainty of traditionary accounts obtained from the aged inhabitants..."
Thus we see that he relied heavily on uncertain oral traditions, and that he was unable to verify the facts because of the lack of Lancastian records. Those records are now available, and were available to both Mr. Wright and to Mr. Harlow.
Mr. Davenport may have assumed that the term-South Lancaster applied only to that area now contained in Boylston, but this is definitely not the case. In fact, the area of Thomas Sawyer, Jr.'s saw mill was on Sterling Street in Lancaster, at the point known as the Four ponds not in Bo ! ylston territory: The Thomas Sawyer who made a will in 1705 was in fac t Thomas Sawyer, Sr., the grandfather of Joseph. He died in 1706, and never did settle in Boylston. Nor did his son, Thomas Sawyer, Jr., who built a saw mill in Lancaster proper. But, Mr. Davenport might not have been able to check these facts. We find that this erroneous date was even included in Sawyer family genealogies compiled in the latter part of the 19th century. Even today, the date of 1705 continues to be used by some in referring to the first settlement of Boylston. In fact, as we have previously stated, the first mention of any building on the Nashua in Boylston was not made until 1713. May we emphasize that even if Joseph did build a mill in 1713, this alone would not constitute settlement, for in history, a settlement must constitute the establishment of an inhabitance, a dwelling place.
In sum, the facts-as researched by Mr. Wright, Mr. Harlow, and this author, just do not support these early dates of settlement.
< ! FONT face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">The Log Cabin
The log cabin, alluded to previously, was located northeasterly of Sawyers Mills, and the exact location may be seen on the Map of 1856 under the name "Micah Howe". According to tradition, a good-sized elm tree grew near the site of the cabin, and was long a natural marker for this early settlement.
SUMMATION
To recap then, Joseph Sawyer apparently moved from Bolton to what is now Boylston as early as 1721, but definitely no later than 1728. The date of 1723 cannot be lightly dismissed, and must be considered in any discussion of first settlers.
Joseph Sawyer died on July 10,1737, at the age of 55 years, and is buried in the Old Burial Field in Lancaster. At the time of his death he had built a house, a barn, a corn and grist mill, a saw mill, a blacksmith's shop, and owned 396 acres of land on the Nashua, ! plus 129 acres situated elsewhere, with a total value of 2,300 English Pounds. Not bad for a man who began his adult career as a simple wheelwright and blacksmith.
His son, Joseph Sawyer, Jr., was born around 1705. He married Tabitha Prescott on May 19, 1731 at Lancaster (she was the daughter of Capt. John and Dorothy Howe Prescott.) He inherited l 1/2 shares of his father's property. He had 5 children: Aaron, Moses, Sarah, Joseph III, and Tabitha. He died in the early 1740's, in what is now Boylston.
Joseph Sawyer, III was born April 23, 1738. He married Agnes Dunsmoore on August 20, 1761 in Lancaster. In 1753 he received 22 1/2 acres of his father's land, plus the "mansion house", and the old log cabin, which was still standing. By 1762, he had built a new home, and had disposed of his father's house and the old log cabin. The location of his dwelling may be seen on the 1856 Map, under the name of Micah Howe, and on the 1870 Map, under that of James E. Ball.
Thus did t ! he Sawyer family firmly establish itself on Boylston land, and create the complex later known as the Sawyer's Mills.
-Continues next month-
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Tidbits
MAIL LOST AS FLAMES LEVEL HISTORIC BOYLSTON LANDMARK
Fire of Undetermined Origin Burns Two-Story, Frame Structure Containing Post Office and General Store Early This Morning With it.. Loss Estimated at $30,000 - Man Is Blown Through Window by Hot Air Blast While Attempting to Save Papers - Building Was Erected in 1810
Special Dispatch to The Gazette
BOYLSTON, May 27 [1929] -One man was injured, mail was destroyed and damage estimated at $30,000 resulted from a fire which destroyed the post office and general store conducted by Frank B. Vinton on the state highway in the Center early this morning. The building, erected in 1810, was one of the ! historic landmarks in the village.
< BR>Elmer H.Garfield was blown through a window by a hot-air explosion when, during the height of the blaze, he attempted to enter the building to save some of the mail and papers. He received burns of the hands and arms, and burns of lesser degree to the face. He was treated by Dr. Harry W. Trask of West Boylston.
The ringing of the church and school bells first aroused the residents. The fire apparently had been going some time, and the building was rapidly becoming a mass of flames when the department arrived on the scene. Aid was summoned from Worcester, Shrewsbury, West Boylston and Clinton.
Water from a well on the Fuller estate, across the road was rapidly exhausted by the pumpers, and the Clinton company laid a line of hose to a brook on Scar Hill road. The Boylston pumper coupled onto this and succeeded in containing the blaze to the one building. Water was pumpe ! d through 1700 feet of hose before the fire was finally extinguished. Huge clouds of smoke lit by the high flames were visible for miles, and despite the early hours hundreds of persons flocked to the scene. Absence of a high wind coupled with the out side assistance prevented a conflagration, it is believed.
It was a two-story frame building, the post office and general store being on the ground floor and an apartment on the second. The upper floor was vacant. The groceries with which the store was stocked were a total loss.
According to Mr. Vinton there was little mail in the building. The Saturday mail had been distributed and yesterday's mail was light. Most of it had been taken away during the open hours in the evening. As far as could be learned, there was no registered mail lost.
Officials today were at a loss to account for the blaze. The building was reduced t ! o ashes and this morning a chimney which had remained standing, had to be pulled down.
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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!
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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
On -Going
! ; "Town Remembrances" - Starting in J anuary 2004--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.
February thru May
"Boylston's Unknown Citizens" a traveling exhibit. Look for it ! on these dates and places.
Town Hall - Mar 1-15
Town House - Mar. 16-30
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
March
"The Banisters of Boylston" by Betty Thomas.
! Thursday March 18&nb sp; 7:30 pm at the museum
Experience the lives and loves of a 19th century Boylston Mill owner's family.
April
"World War II - Letters Home and Back"
Thursday April 15 7:30 pm at the museum
World War II letters from the BHSM archives will be read by the staff.
We invite the public to bring and read their World War II letters
! ; that night.
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Visit the gift shop.
We have gift certificates.
Membership makes a great gift too!!
http://www.boylstonhistory.org/gift.htm
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On the Web
The Stars and Stripes:
The American Soldiers' Newspaper of World War I,1918-1919
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sgphtml/sashtml/sashome.html
The Office of Coast Survey's Historical Map & Chart Collection http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/csdl/ctp/abstract.htm
National DAR library, Baltimore, MD
http://dar.library.net/
Old Bailey records from 1674 to 1834
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org
Biography.com
http://www.biography.com
The History Channel
http://www.historychannel.com
The History Place
http://www.historyplace.com
Human Prehistory: An Exhibition
http://users.hol.gr/~dilos/prehis.htm
web site for wordaholics, logolepts, and verbivores
http://pw1.netcom.com/~rlederer/index.htm
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Humor:
A couple goes on vacation to a fishing resort in northern Minnesota.
The husband likes to fish at the crack of dawn. The wife likes to read.
One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap.
Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out.
She motors out a short distance, anchors, and continues to read her book.
Along comes a game warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, "Good morning Ma'am. What are you doing?"
"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking "isn't that obvious?")
"You're in a restricted fishing area," he informs her.
"I'm sorry officer, but I'm not fishing, I'm reading."
"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."
"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the wo ! man.
"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.
"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment."
"Have a nice day maam", and he left.............
MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think
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Previously published by PotpourrEMAIL,
PotpourrEmail, Vol. 5, No.9 - 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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