Chapter I: Front Matter

THE

BAY STATE MONTHLY.

_A Massachusetts Magazine_.

VOL. II.

NOVEMBER, 1884.

No. 2.

* * * * *

GROVER CLEVELAND.

By HENRY H. METCALF.

Save only that of Ulysses S. Grant, no name in America has come from comparative obscurity into national eminence in so short a time as that of GROVER CLEVELAND.

The fame of Grant was wrought out through the exigencies of a great civil war, in which the unity of the Republic was the issue involved. The distinction which Cleveland has achieved comes of valiant service in another field of conflict, wherein the issue involves the perpetuity and dominance of the great principles which constitute the framework and fibre of republican government itself. Under ordinary circumstances, probably, neither Grant nor Cleveland would have risen above the plane of every-day life. The same, too, might perhaps justly be said even of Washington. In the history of human progress it will be seen that every great crisis involving the triumph of the principles and tendencies which make for the moral, social, or political advancement of mankind has developed a leader endowed with the special qualities demanded by the occasion.

The brilliant and self-assertive men who press forward to leadership in ordinary times, whether impelled by mere love of notoriety, personal ambition, or an honest desire to promote the welfare of their fellow-men, seldom become masters of the situation when a supreme emergency arises. They may set in motion great contending forces; they may precipitate conflicts whose ultimate outcome brings inestimable benefit to mankind; but other hands and other minds are required to direct the issue and shape the result. The master spirit of the occasion is born thereof. Ulysses S. Grant had absolutely no part in bringing about that great conflict of ideas and systems which culminated in the war of the rebellion; nor had he even figured prominently in the field of military achievement until long after hostilities were commenced, and the struggle had assumed proportions entirely unforeseen by, and actually appalling to, not only the people themselves, but those In control of active operations in the field. But the emergency developed the man required to meet it, and Grant came to the front.

So, too, in this later and greater conflict, which is to test the virtue and determine the durability of popular government--whose outcome is to decide whether political parties are to be the mere instruments through which the people express their will, and whose relations can be changed as the public good may seem to require, or whether the government itself shall be subordinated to party, and its functions prostituted for the perpetuation of party ascendency and the aggrandizement of corrupt and selfish individuals--the leader in whom the hopes of those who contend for the supremacy of the popular will, the surbordination of party-power to public welfare, and the administration of the government in the interests of the whole people, are now thoroughly centred, is one who has gained no distinction in shaping partisan contests, and won no laurels in the halls of legislation or the forum of public debate. He is, simply, the man who, in the last few years, first in one, and then in another still more important position of official responsibility, has demonstrated more emphatically than any other in recent times (possibly because circumstances have more generally drawn attention in his direction) his thorough devotion to the doctrine that public office is a public trust; and has, therefore, been selected as the best representative and exponent of the popular idea in the great political conflict about to be brought to an issue.

The purpose and scope of this brief article permit no detailed account of the private life or public career of Grover Cleveland. Those who have cared to do so have already familiarized themselves with the same through the ordinary channels; yet, as a matter of record, a few salient facts may be presented.

Grover Cleveland was born in the village of Caldwell, near Newark, New Jersey, March 18, 1837. His paternal ancestry was of the substantial English stock.

I. Aaron Cleveland, an early settler in the valley of the Connecticut. He was liberally educated, and, ardently devoted to the interests of the Church, he determined to take holy orders, and returned to England for confirmation therein. Coming back to America he settled in the ministry at East Haddam, Conn. Some fifteen years later, in August, 1757, he died, while on a visit to Philadelphia, at the residence of his friend, Benjamin Franklin, then publisher of the _Pennsylvania Gazette_, who spoke of him, in an obituary notice in his paper, as "a gentleman of a humane and pious disposition, indefatigable in his ministry, easy and affable in his conversation, open and sincere in his friendship, and above every species of meanness and dissimulation."

II. Aaron Cleveland, born at East Haddam, Conn., February 9, 1744. He was a hatter by trade and located in Norwich, which town he represented in the Legislature, where he introduced a bill for the abolition of slavery, of which institution he was a determined opponent. Subsequently he became a Congregational clergyman, and a power in that denomination. He died at New Haven in 1815.

III. William Cleveland, second son of the above, a silversmith by occupation, also dwelt in Norwich. His wife was Margaret Falley. He was prosperous in business, respected in the community, and deacon of the church of which his father had been pastor for a quarter of a century previous to his decease.

IV. Richard Falley Cleveland, second son of William, born in 1804, graduated from Yale in 1824 with high honors. He, too, became a clergyman, having adopted the Presbyterian faith, and pursued his studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, after serving a year as a tutor in Baltimore, where he made the acquaintance of Miss Anne Neale, daughter of a prominent law publisher of Irish birth, with whom he united in marriage after completing his studies, in 1829. He was located in pastorates, successively, at Windham, Conn.; Portsmouth, Va.; Caldwell, N.J., and Fayetteville, N.Y. Subsequently, moved by failing health, he sought a change, and, as agent of the American Home Missionary Society, located at Clinton. Two years later he returned to pastoral service, though still In feeble health, establishing himself and family at Holland Patent, a few miles north of the city of Utica. Here he died suddenly, a few weeks after his removal, leaving to his wife and nine children no other fortune than the legacy of an honorable name, and the enduring influence of a true and devoted life.

V. Grover Cleveland, third son and fifth child of Richard Falley and Anne (Neale) Ceveland, was sixteen years of age when his father died. The sad event necessarily marked a turning-point in his career. He was forced to look life and duty seriously in the face, and he proved himself equal to the emergency. It had been a cherished hope of his boyhood that he might secure the benefit of a classical education at Hamilton College, from which his eldest brother, William (now a Presbyterian clergyman at Forestport, N.Y.), had then recently graduated. But this was now out of the question. He had not only to provide for himself, but he felt bound to aid his mother in the support of the younger members of the family. The idea of the college course, for which he had partially fitted himself in the preparatory school at Clinton, was relinquished, and the battle of life commenced in earnest. He had already learned something of the lesson of self-reliance, having served for a year or more as a clerk in a grocery at Fayetteville, and he soon secured a situation as an assistant in the Institution for the Blind in the city of New York, where his brother William was then engaged as a teacher. Here he remained nearly two years, faithfully discharging the duties assigned him, and promptly forwarding to his mother such portion of his moderate wages as remained after providing for his own personal necessities. The situation, however, grew irksome. As the young man's capabilities developed his ambition was aroused. There was no way of advancement open before him here, and he felt that his duty to himself, as well as others, demanded that he make the best practicable use of the powers with which he was endowed. Returning home for a short visit, and taking counsel with his mother, he soon set out for the "West," the field toward which ambitious young men have turned, with hearts full of hope, for the last half century.

His proposed destination was Cleveland, Ohio; his cherished ambition the study and practice of the law. He was accompanied on his journey by a young friend of kindred aspirations. Arriving at Buffalo he called on an uncle, Mr. Lewis F. Allen, who had a fine stock farm, just out of the city, and who finally induced him to remain there, promising to secure him admission to a law office in Buffalo. He remained with his uncle for a time, assisting him in the preparation of the manuscript of the "American Herd Book," a work upon which he was then engaged; but in the course of a few months (in August, 1855) he secured admission as a student in one of the best known law offices of the city--that of Rogers, Bowen, & Rogers. Blessed with good health and industrious habits, with an earnest determination to succeed, he entered upon the work before him. For a time he boarded at his uncle's house, taking the long walk to and from the office at morning and night; but after a few months he was enabled to be of such assistance in the office in clerical and other work, that, from the modest compensation allowed, he secured lodgings in the city and provided for all his humble wants.

After four years of unremitting study and toil, he was admitted to the Erie county bar, having laid the foundation for future professional success in a thorough mastery of legal principles and all the details of practice, and in those well-established habits of thought and application by which his subsequent life has been so fully characterized. He had gained, also, the confidence and esteem of his preceptors and employers, and after his admission continued with them as confidential clerk in charge of the office business, receiving a salary which enabled him, then, to contribute materially to the assistance of his mother in providing for the wants of the family and maintaining the comforts of the humble home in Holland Patent, toward which his fondest thoughts have turned in all the years of his busy life, and where such periods of recreation as he has felt warranted in indulging have mainly been spent.

In 1863 Mr. Cleveland received an appointment as assistant district attorney for Erie county, a strong testimonial to the legal abilities of so youthful a practitioner, considering the array of professional talent in the county and the responsibilities of the position. The war was then in progress; two brothers, one the next older, and the other younger than himself, had enlisted in the Union army; and when, a few months after his appointment, as he had fairly familiarized himself with the details of important cases intrusted to his care, he was himself drafted, he pursued the only practicable course, and provided a substitute for the service. In the fall of 1865, while yet serving as deputy, he was unanimously selected by the Democratic Nominating Convention as candidate for district attorney. The county was strongly Republican, but young Cleveland received a support beyond his party strength and was beaten, by a few hundred majority only, by the Republican nominee, Lyman K. Bass, then and since his warm personal friend.

Upon the expiration of his term of service as deputy district attorney, in January, 1866, he entered actively into practice, having formed a partnership with the late Isaac K. Vanderpoel, a prominent lawyer and ex-State treasurer. The burden of the labor fell to the share of the junior partner, and through his close attention to the interests of clients the business of the firm soon became extensive and the income fairly remunerative. Three years later the partnership was dissolved, through the election of Mr. Vanderpoel as police judge, and soon after the new firm of Cleveland, Laning, & Folsom was formed. In 1870 Mr. Cleveland was urged by leading Democrats of Erie county to accept the party nomination for sheriff. The proposition was by no means in accordance with his desires or inclinations. The office, although a most important one in a large and populous county, and commanding liberal compensation in fees, was a most thankless one in many respects: its duties, always delicate and exacting, sometimes disagreeable in the extreme, and its responsibilities great. It was felt, however, that the acceptance of this nomination by one who so thoroughly commanded the confidence of the people, and whose professional training and experience gave him superior qualification for the office, would insure to the county ticket of the party, with due care in the selection of other candidates, the strength necessary to success in the election. As a loyal member of the party to whose principles he had ever been devotedly attached, and in the support of whose cause he had labored in every consistent capacity since becoming a voter, he finally yielded, accepted the nomination, and, as had been hoped, was duly elected along with the entire ticket. He administered the office, upon which he entered in January following, upon strict business principles, and to the eminent satisfaction of the courts, the bar, and the public at large, during the full term of three years. There were no duties, however irksome, from which he shrank; no responsibilities which he failed to meet in a becoming manner; and when, on the first of January, 1874, his term expired and he returned to his legal practice, it was with a larger measure of popular esteem than he had ever before enjoyed.

In resuming professional labor he formed a partnership with his friend and former antagonist, Lyman K. Bass, Mr. Wilson S. Bissel also becoming a member of the firm. Now thirty-seven years of age, with mental powers thoroughly developed, and a capacity for labor far greater than that with which most men are favored, he was eminently well equipped for substantial achievement in his chosen field of effort; and it is not too much to say that, in the next seven years, during which he gave uninterrupted attention to the work, he accomplished as much in the way of honest professional triumph as any lawyer in Western New York. He sought no mere personal distinction, but put his heart into his work, and practically made his clients' interests his own. His judgment was sound, his industry indefatigable, his integrity unquestioned. He was eminently well fitted for judicial service, but could never be induced to put himself in the way of preferment in that direction. He was always the "working member" of the firms with which he was connected. As an advocate, he made no pretensions to brilliancy; but in the preparation of cases, and in the cogent statement of principles involved, as well as in the effective presentation of pertinent facts, he found no superiors, and few equals, among his associates at the bar.

Caring nothing for the pecuniary rewards of labor, beyond the provision for his own modest wants and the comfort of those, in a measure, depending upon his assistance, Mr. Cleveland has accumulated no large fortune; although, with the opportunities at hand, had he made wealth his object, he might have secured it. On the other hand, he has befriended many a poor client to his own cost; and, while failing in many cases to collect the fees which were his due, he has contributed to public and private charities with a liberal, but unostentatious hand. Though he has never posed as a "working-men's candidate" for official preferment, the laboring people of his city and section have long known him as the true and sympathetic friend of every honest son and daughter of toil.

When, in the autumn of 1881, the people of the great city of Buffalo, the third in the Empire State in population, and the second in commercial importance, tired of the corruption, the robbery, and oppression of the ring rule, which had fastened its grip upon them under long years of Republican ascendency, turned at last to the Democratic party for relief, the Democracy of the city saw in Grover Cleveland the one man of all others with whom as their candidate for mayor, they might reasonably hope to win, not simply a partisan triumph, but a victory for honest government in which all patriotic citizens might well rejoice. Much against his own will, after repeated solicitation on the part of leading Democrats, and many Republicans, who appreciated his character and fitness, he again consented to become the candidate of his party for responsible office; and, at the election which followed, so great was the desire for a change in municipal matters, and so general the confidence in Mr. Cleveland as the man under whose direction the needed reform might be effected, that his majority for mayor was about three thousand five hundred, or nearly the same figure with which the Republican ticket had ordinarily triumphed.

Entering upon the duties of his office as mayor, January 1, 1882, he soon gave practical assurance of the fact that the people of Buffalo had made no mistake in the selection of their chief municipal servant. In his first message to the Common Council, which was replete with sound, practical suggestions, he said:--

It seems to me that a successful and faithful administration of the
government of our city may be accomplished by constantly bearing in
mind that we are the trustees and agents of our fellow-citizens,
holding their funds in sacred trust to be expended for their
benefit; that we should at all times be prepared to render an
honest account to them touching the matter of its expenditure; and
that the affairs of the city should be conducted as far as possible
upon the same principles as a good businessman manages his private
concerns.

It suffices to say that, so far as the mayor himself was concerned, and so far as his power and influence extended, he lived up fully to the letter and spirit of this suggestion. Although hampered by an adverse political majority in the Common Council, still measurably under the influence of the old rings, and more intent upon preventing the mayor from winning public favor which might, perchance, inure to the benefit of his party (though standing himself entirely beyond party in his relations to the public welfare), than upon the faithful discharge of their own duties, he succeeded, by the force of his own earnest personality, by searching investigation into the workings of all the departments of city affairs, by the ruthless exposure and denunciation of various corrupt schemes of jobbery and plunder, and by the persistent recommendation of measures and methods which commended themselves to his judgment, in accomplishing much in the way of the reform for which his election had been sought. He used the veto power with a vigor and a significance which had characterized the action of no predecessor in the office, and often regardless of the fact that its exercise might be distorted by designing enemies, personal or political, to insure him at least the temporary disapprobation of large classes of citizens; but he used it only when fully satisfied, through patient research and careful deliberation, that duty and obligation imperatively required it. It is conceded that in his brief year's administration he saved a million of dollars to the city treasury, stamped out numerous abuses, and stimulated the spirit of faithful devotion in various branches of the municipal service. Men of all parties unite in saying that the city of Buffalo was never favored with the services of a more faithful, conscientious, and thoroughly impartial executive head.

But he was not to continue the work of administrative reform in that particular field of labor. The people had called him "up higher." His reputation as a true Democrat, an honest reformer, and a faithful public servant, had spread abroad through the State, and when the Democratic State Convention assembled in the early autumn of that year it was clearly apparent that the nomination of Grover Cleveland, the reform mayor of Buffalo, as the candidate of the party for the supreme magistracy of the Empire State, was the one certain guaranty of overwhelming Democratic victory at the polls. That nomination was promptly made, and the result which followed was without parallel in the annals of American political history. He was elected governor by a majority of nearly two hundred thousand, and, although internal dissensions in the Republican party, then existing, contributed largely to the general result, the most significant feature of the election is found in the fact that the largest relative Democratic gain was made in his own county of Erie, where he received upwards of seven thousand majority against more than three thousand majority for Garfield in the last presidential election, showing him strongest before the people where his personal character and attributes, as well as his qualifications for positions of high public trust, are most thoroughly known.

As governor of New York, which position he has occupied for the last twenty months, first with a Democratic and later with a Republican legislature, Mr. Cleveland has followed the same rule of official conduct adopted for his guidance in other positions. Mindful of all proper obligations to his own political party, he has never permitted party demands to stand in the way of his duty to the public and the State. Believing, to quote his own language, "in an open and sturdy partisanship which secures the legitimate advantages of party supremacy," he also believes that parties were made for the people, and declares himself "unwilling, knowingly, to give assent to measures purely partisan which will sacrifice or endanger the people's interests." In the office of governor, as well as in that of mayor, he has made vigorous but discriminate use of the veto power, and in the one case, as in the other, it has invariably been found, upon candid investigation, that his action has been taken under a profound sense of the binding authority of the fundamental law, and with an unflinching regard for the rights and interests of the whole people,--however violent, at times, may have been the denunciation of demagogic opponents, or clamorous the protests of those who sought merely temporary advantages in particular directions, regardless of ultimate results upon the general welfare. In this, as in other positions, his general line of action has been such as to command the hearty approval of patriotic men of all parties; and if he has incurred the hostility of any, it has been through his opposition to the schemes of corrupt rings and the purposes of selfish individuals, which he regarded detrimental to the public good; or through his support of wholesome measures, calculated to protect the body politic, and thwart their illegitimate designs in other directions.

And now, Grover Cleveland stands before the people of the whole country the duly nominated candidate of the Democratic party for the highest office in the gift of the Republic; while his candidacy is indorsed and enthusiastically supported by tens of thousands of pure and unselfish men of the opposite party, who see, through his election, the only hope of a return to constitutional methods and honest practices in the administration of the Federal Government, without which ere long the complete and irremediable subversion and destruction of the government itself will be accomplished. This candidacy comes not through his own seeking. Grover Cleveland never sought an office in all his life. He has consented to serve his fellow-citizens in public station only at their solicitation and command. He has served them faithfully and well so far as he has been called, and none need fear that, if called to still higher responsibilities and a broader field of duty, he will not prove equal to the emergency--equally true to himself and his trust.

Grover Cleveland is a man "cast in nature's noblest mould." Of commanding presence, with a physical development commensurate with his mental powers, thoroughly democratic in habit and manner, accessible to all, meeting the humblest and highest upon equal terms, sympathizing heartily with the honest laborer in every field of action, frank and outspoken in his opinions, hating hypocrisy and sham with all his soul, fighting corruption and dishonesty wherever he finds them, respecting the opinions and listening to the suggestions of others, but acting invariably in accordance with his own convictions of right, he fills the perfect measure of honest manhood; and whether he be President of the American Republic, or simple citizen, he will never, it is safe to assume, forfeit either his own self-respect, or the confident regard of his fellow-men.

* * * * *

BOUNDARY LINES OF OLD GROTON.--IV.

BY THE HON. SAMUEL ABBOTT GREEN.

About this time it was proposed to form a new township from Groton, Lancaster, and Harvard, including a small parcel of land, known as Stow Leg, a strip of territory perhaps two hundred rods in width and a mile in length, lying west of the Nashua river. This "Leg" had belonged originally to Stow, but by the incorporation of Harvard had become wholly detached from that town. The proposed township covered nearly the same territory as that now occupied by Shirley. The attempt, however, does not appear to have been successful. The following covenant, signed by certain inhabitants of the towns interested in the movement, is on file, and with it a rough plan of the neighborhood; but I find no other allusion to the matter either in petitions or records.

We the Subscribers being Inhabitants of the Extream Parts of
Groton Lancaster and Harvard as allso the Proprietors of the Land
belonging to the Town of Stow (which Land is Scituate, Lying and
being Between the Towns above said Namely Groton Lancaster and
Harvard) Do Covenant and Promise to and with Each other And We Do
Hereby of our own Free Will and Motion In the Exercise of Love and
Charity Towards one another with Mutual Consent in the strongest
Manner Binding our Selves the Subscribers each and every of us
Conjointly one to another (for the Gosples Sake) Firmly Covenanting
and Promising to and with Each other that we will as Speedely as
may be with Conveniency Petition the Several Towns to which we
Respectively belong and Likewise the Great and General Court That
we may be Erected or Incorporated into a Destinct and separate
Township of our Selves with those Lands within the Bounds and
Limits Here after Described viz Beginning at the River called
Lancaster [Nashua] River at the turning of Sd River Below the Brige
called John Whits Brige & Runing Northerly to Hell Pond and on
Still to the Line Betwixt Harvard and Groton Including John Farwell
then to Coyecus Brook Leaveing the Mills and Down Said Brook to the
River and down Said River to the Rye ford way then Runing Westerly
to the Northerly End of Horse Pond & so on to Luningburg Line,
Including Robert Henry & Daniel Page and then Runing Southerly
Extendig Beyound Luningburg So far Into Lancaster as that Running
Easterly the Place on which Ralph Kindal formerly Lived Shall be
Included and so on Running Easterly to the Turn in the River first
mentioned

Moreover we Do Covenant Promise and Engage Truly and Faithfully
that will Consent to and Justifie any Petition that Shall be
Prefered in our names and behalf to our Respective Towns and to the
Great & General Court for the Ends and Purposes above Mentioned

Furthermore we Do Covenant Promise and Engage as above that we will
advance money for and Pay all Such Reasonable and necessary Charges
that may arise in the Prosecuting and Obtaining our Said Petitions
and that we will Each and Every of us Respectively Endever to
Promote and Maintain Peace Unity Concord and Good Agreement
amoungst our Selves as Becometh Christians

And now haveing thus Covenanted as above Said We Do Each and Every
one of us who have Hereunto Subscribed Protest and Declare that
Every Article and Parigraph and Thing Containd in the above Writen
Shall be Absolutely and Unacceptionably Binding in Manner and form
as above Declared and Shall So Continue upon and Against Each and
Every one of us untill we are Erected or Incorporated Into a
Township as above said or that Provedance Shall Remove us by Death
or Otherways any thing to the Contrary Notwithstanding

Witness our Hands the Eight Day of December one Thousand Seven
Hundred and Fourty Seven and in the Twentieth Year Of His Majesties
Reign Georg the Secund King &c

Harvard

Richard hall
Jon'n Bigelow
Joseph Hutchins
Simeon Farnsworth
Timothy hall
Phenihas Farnsworth
Amos Russll
Johnathan--Read (His mark)
Jonathan Read iu
Abijah Willard

Groton
Samuel Hazen
Joseph Preist
Samell flood
John pearce
Charles Richards
Daniel Page
John Longley jn'r
Abijah Willard
Manasser Divoll
John Osgood
Abijah Frost
John Peirce hous rite

Lancaster
Henry Haskell
John Nicholls
Thomas Wright
William Willard
Joshua Johnson
Daniel Willard
Joseph Priest
William Farmer
Joseph Bond
Henry Willard
Benjamin Willard
Jacob Houghton
Corp Elias Sawyer
Amos Am Atherton (his mark)

Stow
John Houghton Ju
John Sampson
Joseph Brown
Hannah Brown
Samuel Randal
Benjamin Samson

[Massachusetts Archives, CXV., 220-222.]

Hell Pond, mentioned in this covenant, is situated in the northwest part of Harvard, and so called "from its amazing depth," says the Reverend Peter Whitney, in the History of Worcester County (page 158).

Two years after this covenant was signed, another attempt was made to divide the town, but it did not succeed. The lines of the proposed township included nearly the same territory as the present ones of Shirley. The following references to the scheme are found, under their respective dates, in the printed Journal of the House of Representatives:--

A Petition of sundry Inhabitants of _Groton_ and _Lunenburg_,
praying they may be erected into a distinct and seperate Township
or Precinct, agreable to the Plan therewith exhibited, for the
Reasons mentioned.

Read and _Ordered_, That the Petitioners serve the Town of
Lunenburg, and the first Parish in _Groton_, with Copies of this
Petition, that they shew Cause, if any they have, on the 29th of
_December_ next, if the Court be then Sitting, if not on the first
Friday of the next Sitting of this Court, why the Prayer thereof
should not be granted.

Sent up for Concurrence.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 100), November 30,
1749.]

_Samuel Watts_, Esq; brought down the Petition of sundry
Inhabitants of _Lunenburg_ and _Groton_, as entred the 30th of
_November_ last, and refer'd. Pass'd in Council, _viz_. In Council
_December_ 29th 1749. Read again, with the Answer of the Town of
_Lunenburg_, and _Ordered_, That the Consideration of this Petition
be refer'd to the second Wednesday of the next Sitting of this
Court. Sent down for Concurrence.

With a Petition from sundry Inhabitants of _Lunenburg_, praying to
be set off from said Town of _Leominster_. Pass'd in Council, _viz_
In Council _December_ 29th 1749. Read and _Ordered_, That the
Petitioners serve the Town of _Lunenburg_, with a Copy of this
petition, that they shew Cause, if any they have, on the second
Wednesday of the next Sitting of this Court, why the Prayer thereof
should not be granted.

Sent up for Concurrence.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 143), December 29,
1749.]

_John Chandler_, Esq; brought down the Petitions of _John Whitney_,
and others of the westerly Part of _Groton_, and the easterly Part
of the Town of _Lunenburgh_, and _Edward Hartwell_, Esq; and others
of said Town, Pass'd in Council, _-viz._ In Council _April_ 4th
1750. _Ordered_, That _Samuel Watts, James Minot_, and _John Otis_,
Esqrs; with such as the honourable House shall join, be a Committee
to consider the Petitions above-mentioned, and the several Answers
thereto, hear the Parties, and report what they judge proper for
the Court to do thereon.

Sent down for Concurrence.

Read and concur'd, and Mr. _Rice_, Capt. _Livermore_, Col.
_Richards_, and Mr. _Daniel Pierce_, are joined in the Affair.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 214), April 5,
1750.]

_Joseph Wilder_, Esq., brought down the Report of a Committee of
both Houses, on the Petition of _John Whitney_, and others, as
entred the 30th of _November_ last, and refer'd. Signed _James
Minott_, per Order.

Pass'd in Council, _viz._ In Council _June_ 21, 1750. Read and
_Voted_, That this Report be not accepted, and that the Petition of
_John Whitney_ and others therein refer'd to, be accordingly
dismiss'd, and that the Petitioners pay the Charge of the
Committee.

Send down for Concurrence. Read and concur'd.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 41), June 22, 1750.]

A Petition of sundry Inhabitants of the westerly Part of _Groton_,
and the easterly Part of _Lunenburg_, praying that their Memorial
and Report thereon, which was dismiss'd the 22'd of _June_ last,
may be revived and reconsidered, for the Reasons mentioned.

Read and _Ordered_, That Mr. _Turner_, Mr. _Tyng_, and Major
_Jones_ with such as the honourable Board shall join, be a
Committee to take this Petition under Consideration, and report
what they judge proper to be done thereon. Sent up for Concurrence.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (pages 76, 77), October 3,
1750.]

_John Greenleafe_, Esq.; brought down the Petition of sundry
Inhabitants of _Groton_ and _Lunenburg_, as entred the 3d Currant,
and referr'd. Pass'd in Council, _viz_. In Council _October_ 3d
1750. Read and nonconcur'd, and _Ordered_, That this Petition be
dismiss'd.

Sent down for Concurrence.

Read and nonconcur'd, and _Ordered_, That the Petitioner serve the
Town of _Lunenburg_ with a Copy of this Petition, that they shew
Cause, if any they have, on the second Wednesday of the next
Sitting of this Court, why the Prayer thereof should not be
granted.

Sent up for Concurrence.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 93), October 9,
1750.]

A Memorial of _John Whitney_ and others of the Southwesterly Part
of _Groton_, praying that their Petition exhibited in _November_
1749 may be revived, and the Papers prefer'd at that Time again
considered, for the Reasons mentioned.

Read and _Ordered_, That the Petition lie on the Table.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 64), October 9,
1751.]

_Ordered_, That the Petition of _John Whitney_ and others of the
Southwesterly Part of _Groton_, lie upon the Table.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 81), January 3,
1752.]

The Memorial of _John Whitney_ and others, as entred _October_ 9th
1751, Inhabitants of the Southwesterly Part of _Groton_ and the
Eastwardly Part of _Lunenberg_, setting forth that in _November_
1749, they preferred a Petition to this Court, praying to be set
off from the Towns to which they belong, and made into a distant
[distinct?] and seperate Town and Parish, for the Reasons therein
mentioned; praying that the aforesaid Memorial and Petition, with
the Report of the said Committee thereon, and all the Papers
thereto belonging, may be revived, and again taken into
consideration.

Read again, and the Question was put, _Whether the Prayer of the
Petition should be so far granted as that the petition and Papers
accompanying it should be revived_?

It pass'd in the Negative. And _Voted_, That the Memorial be
dismiss'd.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 92), January 9,
1753.]

The discussion in regard to the division of the town resulted in setting off the district of Shirley, on January 5, 1753, three months before the district of Pepperell was formed. In the Act of Incorporation the name was left blank, as it was in the one incorporating Pepperell, and "Shirley" was filled in at the time of its engrossment. It was so named after William Shirley, the governor of the province at that period. It never was incorporated specifically as a town, but became one by a general Act of the Legislature, passed on March 23, 1786. It was represented, while a district, in the session of the General Court which met at Watertown, on July 19, 1775, as well as in the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, and thus tacitly acquired the powers and privileges of a town, which were afterward confirmed by the act just mentioned.

The act for establishing the district of Shirley is as follows:--

Anno Regni Regis Georgii Secundi Vicesimo Sexto.

An Act for dividing the Town of Groton and making a District by the
Name of....

Whereas the Inhabitants of the Southwesterly part of the Town of
Groton by Reason of the Difficulties they labour under being remote
from the place of the publick worship of God have addressed this
Court to be Sett off a Separate District whereunto the Inhabitants
of Said Town have Manifested their Consent Be it therefore enacted
by the Lieutenant Governour Council and House of Representatives
that the Southwestwardly part of the Town of Groton Comprehended
within the following boundaries viz begining at the the [_sic_]
mouth of Squanacook River where it runs into Lancaster [Nashua]
River from thence up Said Lancaster River till it Comes to Land
belonging to the Township of Stow thence Westwardly bounding
Southwardly to said Stow Land tilll it comes to the Southwest
Corner of the Township of Groton thence Northwardly bounding
westwardly to Luningburgh and Townsend to Squanacook River
afores'd thence down said River and Joyning thereto to the mouth
thereof being the first bound--Be and hereby is Sett off from the
said Town of Groton and Erected into a Separate and Distinct
District by the name of ... and that the Inhabitants thereof be and
hereby are Vested with all the powers priviledges and Immunities
which the Inhabitants of any Town within this Province do or by law
ought to Enjoy Excepting only the Priviledge of choosing a
Representative to represent them in the Great & General Court, in
choosing of whom the Inhabitants of Said District Shall Joyn with
the Inhabitants of the Town of Groton, as heretofore has been
Usual, & also in paying said Representative

Provided nevertheless the Said District Shall pay their
proportionable part of all such Town County Parish and Province
Charges as are already Assessed upon the Town of Groton in like
manner as though this Act had never been made.

And Be it further Enacted that M'r Jn'o. Whitney be and hereby is
impowred to Issue his Warrant directed to Some principal Inhabitant
in s'd District requireing Him to Notifie & warn the Inhabitants of
S'd District qualified by law to vote in Town affairs to meet at
Such Time & place as shall be therein Set forth to Choose all such
officers as Shall be Necessary to manage the affairs of s'd
District

In the House of Rep'ives June 4, 1752

Read three several times and pass'd to be Engross'd

T. HUBBARD Spk'r.

Sent up for concurrence

In Council Nov'r. 28, 1752 Read a first Time 29 a second Time and
pass'd a Concurrence

THO's. CLARKE Dp'ty Secry.

[Massachusetts Archives, CXVI., 293, 294.]

This act did not take effect until January 5, 1753, when it was signed by the governor.

On June 3, 1771, thirty years after Groton Gore had been lost by the running of the provincial line, the proprietors of the town held a meeting, and appointed Lieutenant Josiah Sawtell, Colonel John Bulkley, and Lieutenant Nathaniel Parker, a committee to petition the General Court for a grant of land to make up for this loss. They presented the matter to that body on June 7, and the following entry in the records gives the result:--

The Committee on the Petition of _Josiah Sartel_, and others,
reported.

Read and accepted, and _Whereas it appears to this Court, That the
Proprietors aforesaid, had a Grant made to them by the General
Court in_ April 1735, _of Ten Thousand, Eight Hundred Acres of
Land, in Consideration of Land taken from said_ Groton _by_
Littleton, _Major_ Willard _and_ Read's _Farms being prior Grants,
and for their extraordinary Suffering in the former Indian Wars and
in_ June 1736 _said Grant was confirmed to said Proprietors, since
which Time, the said Proprietors have been entirely dispossessed of
said Land by the running of the Line between this Province and_
New-Hampshire: _And whereas it appears there has been no
Compensation made to the said Proprietors of_ Groton, _for the
Lands lost as aforesaid, excepting Three Thousand Acres granted in_
November _last_, to James Prescot, William Prescot, _and_ Oliver
Prescot _for their Proportion thereof_. Therefore _Resolved_, That
in Lieu thereof, there be granted to the Proprietors of _Groton_,
their Heirs and Assigns forever, Seven Thousand and Eight Hundred
Acres of the unappropriated Lands belonging to this Province, in
the Western Part of the Province, to be layed out adjoining to some
former Grant, and that they return a Plan thereof, taken by a
Surveyor and Chainmen under Oath into the Secretary's Office,
within twelve Months for Confirmation.

Sent up for Concurrence.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 44), June 13, 1771.]

These conditions, as recommended by the report of the committee, appear to have been fulfilled, and a grant was accordingly made. It lay on the eastern border of Berkshire county, just south of the central part, and was described as follows:--

The Committee on a Plan of a Tract of Land granted to the
Proprietors of _Groton_, reported.

Read and accepted, and _Resolved_, That the Plan hereunto annexed,
containing three Thousand nine Hundred and sixty Acres of Province
Land, laid out in Part to satisfy a Grant made by the Great and
General Court at their Sessions in _June_ 1771, to the Proprietors
of Groton, in Lieu of Land they lost by the late running of the
_New-Hampshire_ Line, as mention'd in their Petition, laid out in
the County of _Berkshire_, and is bounded as followeth, viz.
Beginning at a Burch Tree and Stones laid round it the Southwest
Corner of _Tyringham-Equivalent_ Lands standing on the East Branch
of _Farmington_ River; then North eighteen Degrees East in the West
Line of said _Equivalent_ five Hundred and sixty-one Rods to a
small Beach Tree and Stones laid round it, which Tree is the
Southeast Corner of a Grant of Land called _Woolcut's_ Grant; then
running West eighteen Degrees North in the South Line of said Grant
two Hundred and forty Rods to a Beach Tree marked I.W. and Stones
laid round it, which is the Southwest Corner of said Grant; then
running North eighteen Degrees East in the West Line of said Grant
four Hundred Rods to a Heap of Stones which is the Northwest Corner
of said Grant; then running East eighteen Degrees South two Hundred
and forty Rods in the North Line of said Grant to a large Hemlock
Tree and Stones laid round it, which is the Northeast Corner of
said Grant; it is also the Northwest Corner of said _Equivalent_,
and the Southwest Corner of a Grant called _Taylors_ Grant; then
running North eighteen Degrees East one Hundred and sixty Rods in
the West Line of said _Taylors_ Grant to the Northwest Corner of
the same; then running East nine Degrees South in the Line of said
_Taylors_ Grant eight Hundred Rods to a Stake and Stones standing
in the West Line of _Blanford_, marked W.T. then running North
eighteen Degrees East in said _Blanford_ West Line five Hundred and
thirty Rods to a Beach Tree and Stones laid round it which is the
Northwest Corner of said _Blanford_; then running East ten Degrees
South forty-two Rods in the North Line of said _Blanford_ to a
Stake and Stones which is the Southwest Corner of _Merryfield_;
then running North ten Degrees East in said _Merryfield_ West Line
three Hundred and three Rods to a Heap of Stones the Southeast
Corner of _Becket_; then running West two Degrees South in said
_Becket_ South Line four Hundred and twenty-six Rods to the
Northeast Corner of a Grant of Land called _Belcher's_ Grant; then
running South in the East Line of said _Belchers_ Grant two Hundred
and sixteen Rods to a small Maple Tree marked T.R. which is the
Northwest Corner of a Grant of Land called _Rand's_ Grant; then
running East in the North Line of said _Rand's_ Grant two Hundred
and fifty Rods to a Hemlock Pole and Stones laid round it, which is
the Northeast Corner of said _Rand's_ Grant; then running South in
the East Line of said _Rand's_ Grant three Hundred and thirty-one
Rods to a Hemlock Tree marked and Stones laid round it, which is
the Southeast Corner of said _Rand's_ Grant; then running West in
the South Line of said _Rand's_ Grant two Hundred and fifty Rods to
a Beach Pole marked T.R. the Southwest Corner of said _Rand's_
Grant; then running North in the West Line of said _Rand's_ Grant
eighty-three Rods to the Southeast Corner of said _Belcher's_
Grant; then running West bounding North three Hundred and
forty-eight on said _Belcher's_ Grant and four Hundred and
fifty-three Rods on a Grant called _Chandler's_ Grant, then running
North on the West Line of said _Chandler's_ Grant four Hundred and
sixty to said _Becket's_ South Line; then running West in said
_Becket_ South Line twenty Rods to a Stake and Stones the North
West Corner of additional Lands belonging to the Four _Housatonick_
Townships; then running South two Degrees West one Thousand four
Hundred and eighty-eight Rods in the East Line of said additional
Lands to the Place where the said East Line crosses said
_Farmington_ River; then Southerly or down Stream three Hundred and
thirty Rods to the first Bounds, bounding Westerly on said River,
be accepted, and is hereby accepted and confirmed unto the
Proprietors of _Groton_ aforesaid, their Heirs and Assigns forever.
_Provided_ the same doth not exceed the Quantity aforementioned,
nor interfere with any former Grant.

Sent up for Concurrence.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (pages 182, 183). April
24, 1772.]

I am unable to say how or when this territory was disposed of by the proprietors. Seven or eight years before this time, James, William, and Oliver Prescott, acting for themselves, had petitioned the General Court for a tract of land to make up their own losses. They were the sons of the Honorable Benjamin Prescott, through whose influence and agency the original Groton Gore was granted, and they were also the largest proprietors of the town. The following extracts from the Journal of the House relate to their application:--

A Petition of _James Prescot_, and others, Children and Heirs of
_Benjamin Prescot_, late of _Groton_, Esq; deceased, praying a
Grant of the unappropriated Lands of this Province, in
consideration of sundry Tracts which they have lost by the late
running of the Line between this Government and _New-Hampshire_.

Read and committed to Col. _Clap_, Col. _Nickols_, Col. _Williams_
of _Roxbury_, Col. _Buckminster_, and Mr. _Lancaster_, to consider
and Report.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 187), January 12,
1764.]

On February 3, 1764, this petition was put over to the May Session, but I do not find that it came up for consideration at that time. It does not appear again for some years.

A Petition of _James Prescot_, Esq; and others, praying that a
Grant of Land may be made them in Lieu of a former Grant, which
falls within the _New-Hampshire_ Line.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 129), November 2,
1770.]

This petition was referred to a committee consisting of Dr. Samuel Holten, of Danvers, Colonel Joseph Gerrish, of Newbury, and Mr. Joshua Bigelow, of Worcester.

The Committee on the Petition of _James Prescot_, Esq; and others,
reported.

Read and accepted, and _Resolved_, That in Lieu of Lands mentioned
in the Petition, there be granted to the Petitioners, their Heirs
and Assigns, Four Thousand Four Hundred Acres of the unappropriated
Lands belonging to the Province, to be laid out in the Westerly
Part thereof, adjoining to some former Grants, provided they can
find the same; or Five Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty Acres of
the unappropriated Lands lying on the Easterly side of _Saco_
River; it being their Proportion in said Grant: And return a Plan
thereof taken by a Surveyor and Chainman under Oath, into the
Secretary's Office within Twelve Months.

Sent up for Concurrence.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 156), November 14,
1770.]

The Committee appointed to consider the Plan of two Tracts of Land granted to _James Prescot_, Esq; and others, reported.

Read and accepted. _Resolved_, That both the above Plans, the one
containing Four Thousand one Hundred and thirty Acres, the other
containing two Hundred and seventy Acres, delineated and described
as is set forth by the Surveyor in the Description thereof hereunto
annexed, be accepted, and hereby is confirmed to _James Prescot_,
Esq; and others named in their Petition, and to their Heirs and
Assigns in Lieu of and full Satisfaction for Four Thousand four
Hundred Acres of Land lost by the late running of the Line between
this Province and _New-Hampshire_, as mention'd in a Grant made by
both Houses of the Assembly, A.D. 1765, but not consented to by the
Governor. _Provided_ both said Plans together do not exceed the
Quantity of Four Thousand four Hundred Acres, nor interfere with
any former Grant.

Sent up for Concurrence.

[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 73), June 22, 1771.]

It is evident from these reports that the Prescott brothers took the forty-four hundred acres in the westerly part of the province, rather than the fifty-eight hundred and eighty acres on the easterly side of the Saco river, though I have been unable to identify, beyond a doubt, the tract of land thus granted. I am inclined to think however, that it is the one mentioned in the Memorial of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Incorporation of Middlefield, Massachusetts, August 15, 1883. The town is situated on the westerly border of Hampshire County,--forming a jog into Berkshire,--and was made up in part of Prescott's Grant. A map is given in the "Memorial" volume (page 16) which shows that the Grant was originally in Berkshire county, very near to the tract of land given to the proprietors of Groton.

Professor Edward P. Smith, of Worcester, delivered an historical address on the occasion of the anniversary, and he says:--

Prescott's Grant, the nucleus of the town, appears as a large
quadrilateral, containing more than a thousand acres in the north
and west part of the town. Who the Prescott was to whom the grant
was made is not known, further than that he must have been some one
who had rendered military or other services to the State. That he
was the Prescott who commanded at Bunker Hill is, indeed, possible;
but, as the grant was probably made before the Revolutionary War,
that supposition seems hardly tenable. (Page 15.)

By an act of the General Court, passed February 25, 1793, a large section of territory was taken from Groton and annexed to Dunstable. This change produced a very irregular boundary between the two towns, and made, according to Butler's History of Groton (page 66), more than eighty angles in the line, causing much inconvenience. The following copy from the "Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts" gives the names of the families thus transferred:--

An Act to set off _Caleb Woods_, and others, from _Groton_, and to
annex them to _Dunstable_.

BE _it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same_, That
_Caleb Woods, Silas Blood, Amaziah Swallow, Nathaniel Cummings,
Ebenezer Procter, Silas Blood_, jun. _Silas Marshall, Levi Parker,
Amos Woods, Isaac Lawrence, Peter Blood, Caleb Blood_, jun. _Henry
Blood, Caleb Woods_, jun. and _Silas Marshall_, jun., together with
their families and estates, and also the estates of Doctor _Jonas
Marshall_, the heirs of Captain _Solomon Woods_, deceased, and
_Joseph Parkhurst_, which they now own in said _Groton_, be, and
they are hereby set off from the town of _Groton_, in the county of
_Middlesex_, and annexed to _Dunstable_, in said county, and shall
hereafter be considered a part of the same, there to do duty and
receive privileges, as the other inhabitants of said _Dunstable.
Provided, nevertheless_, That the persons above-mentioned shall pay
all taxes that have been legally assessed on them by said
_Groton_, in the same manner as if this Act had never been passed.

[This act passed _February_ 25, 1793.]

The zigzag line caused by this act was somewhat modified by the two following ones, passed at different times a few years later. I think that the very irregular boundary between the two towns, with its eighty-six angles, as mentioned by Mr. Butler, was produced by the subsequent annexations to Dunstable.

An Act to set of _Nathaniel Lawrence with_ his Estate, from the
Town of _Groton_, and annex them to the Town of _Dunstable_.

BE _it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same_, That
_Nathaniel Lawrence_ of _Groton_, in the county of _Middlesex_,
together with his estate, which he now owns in that town, be, and
hereby is set off from said town of _Groton_, and annexed to the
town of _Dunstable_, in the same county; and shall hereafter be
considered as part of the same; there to do duty and receive
privileges as other inhabitants of said town of _Dunstable:
Provided nevertheless_, That the said _Nathaniel Lawrence_ shall be
holden to pay all taxes that have been legally assessed on him by
said town of _Groton_, in the same manner as if this Act had not
been passed.

[This act passed _January_ 26, 1796.]

An act to set off Willard Robbins with his estate from the town of
_Groton_, in the county of _Middlesex_, and to annex the same to
the town of _Dunstable_, in the same county.

Sec. 1. BE _it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives,
in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same_. That
Willard Robbins, of _Groton_, in the county of _Middlesex_, with
his estate, be, and hereby is set off from said town of _Groton_,
and annexed to the town of _Dunstable_, in said county, there to do
duty and receive privileges in the same manner as other inhabitants
of the said town of _Dunstable_.

Sec. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the said Willard Robbins
shall be holden to pay and discharge all legal assessments and
taxes, that have been assessed upon him by said town of _Groton_
prior to the passing this act.

[This act passed _June_ 18, 1803.]

The boundary between the two towns now remained unchanged until February 15, 1820, when another act was passed by the Legislature making a further surrender of territory. It took a considerable parcel of land and gave it to Dunstable, thereby straightening and simplifying the jurisdictional line, which at this time formed but five angles.

In the autumn of 1794 a plan of Groton, Pepperell, and Shirley was made by Dr. Oliver Prescott, Jr., which gives a few interesting facts. The following notes are taken from the copy now in the office of the Secretary of State. It will be seen that Dr. Prescott refers to the land set off by the Act of February 25, 1793:--

This Plan contains the Bounds of three Towns, viz. Groton,
Pepperrell & Shirley,--all which, together with whatsoever is
delineated on said Plan, was taken by an actual Survey, agreeably
to a resolve of the General Court, passed June 25, 1794, & under
the Inspection of the Selectmen & Committee's from the respective
towns, appointed for that purpose in the month of Sept'r. 1794.

By OLIVER PRESCOTT, Ju'r. Surveyor.

The reputed distance of Groton from Cambridge [the shire-town] is
Thirty two Miles, & from Boston Thirty five miles; The River Nashua
is from 8 to 10 rods in width. The River Squannacoock 4 or 5 rods
in width. In Groton are twenty natural Ponds, six of which are
delineated on the Plan, by actual Survey. Several of the other
Ponds are in size, nearly equal to those on the plan, & may in the
whole contain about two Thousand Acres. There are no Mines in said
Town, except one of Iron Ore, nearly exhausted. Every other Matter
directed to be delineated, described or specifyed, may be found on
the Plan.

SAM'll LAWRENCE }
ZACH'h FITCH } Committee.
OLIVER PRESCOTT Ju'r.}

The reputed distance of Pepperrell from Cambridge is thirty seven
miles; from Boston forty Miles.

The River Nissitisset is about four Rods in width.

The reputed distance of Shirley from Cambridge is thirty five
Miles; & from Boston thirty Eight Miles.

Catacoonamug & Mulpus Brooks are from one to two Rods in width. The
Plan contains every thing relative to the two last mentioned Towns
necessary to be described.

OLIVER PRESCOTT, Ju'r.

What is enclosed in this Blue line, contains about the quantity of
Land set off from Groton to Dunstable, by Act of the General Court,
passed February 25, 1793. As by said Act, the petitioners and their
Farms were set off, without specifying particular bounds, Accuracy
cannot be obtained, with respect to this Line, without very great
expence and Trouble.

By an act passed February 6, 1798, a considerable portion of territory lying on the easterly side of the Nashua river, in the south-west corner of Groton, was annexed to Shirley. This tract continued to form a part of Shirley until the incorporation of Ayer, on February 14, 1871, when its political condition was again changed, and its government transferred to the new town. The act authorizing the annexation is as follows,--and I give it entire in order to show the loose way of describing boundary lines during the latter part of the last century:--

An Act to set off certain Lands from the town of _Groton_, and
annex the same to the town of _Shirley_.

BE _it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same_, That a
tract of Land at the south western extremity of the town of
_Groton_, bounded by a line beginning at a large white oak stump,
on the southeast side of _Nashua River_, being the northwest corner
of the town of _Harvard_; thence running southeasterly on _Harvard_
line, as the town bounds direct, till it comes to the stump of a
pine tree lately fallen down, an antient bound mark in said town
line; thence northerly to a heap of stones by the road leading to
_Harvard_ at SIMON DABY'S southerly corner, thence northeasterly on
said SIMON DABY'S line to a pine tree marked, thence northerly to a
heap of stones on a ledge of rocks; thence northerly on said SIMON
DABY'S line to a heap of stones on a large rock; thence
northwesterly still on said SIMON DABY'S line to a stake and stones
in the roots of a pine tree, fallen down, in a valley, said SIMON
DABY'S northeast corner and SAMUEL CHASE'S southerly corner, thence
northerly on said SAMUEL CHASE'S line, to the road leading to ABIL
MORSE'S mill, at a heap of stones on the north easterly side of
said road, thence northeasterly on said SAMUEL CHASE'S line by said
road to a heap of stones, thence northeasterly on said CHASE'S
line, to a stake and stones at the end of a ditch at a brook;
thence down said brook to _Nashua River_, thence up said river, to
the bounds first mentioned, together with the inhabitants thereof,
be, and they are hereby set off from the town of _Groton_ and
annexed to the town of _Shirley_, there to do duty and receive
privileges in the same manner as other lands and inhabitants of the
said town of _Shirley_.

SECT. 2. _Provided nevertheless, and be it further enacted_, That
the said tract of land and the inhabitants thereof shall be liable
to be taxed by the town of _Groton_, their full proportion in a tax
to the amount of the debts now due from said town of _Groton_, in
the same manner as if this act had not been passed: _Provided_ such
tax be made and assessed within one year from the time of passing
this act; and shall also be liable to pay their proportion of all
state taxes that may be assessed on the town of _Groton_ until a
new valuation be taken.

[This act passed _February_ 6, 1798.]

All the changes of territorial jurisdiction thus far noted have been in one direction,--from Groton to the surrounding towns; but now the tide turns, and for a wonder she received, by legislative enactment, on February 3, 1803, a small parcel of land just large enough for a potato-patch. The annexation came from Pepperell, and the amount received was four acres and twenty rods in extent. The following is a copy:--

An act to set off a certain parcel of land from the town of
_Pepperell_, in the county of _Middlesex_, and to annex the same to
the town of _Groton_, in the same county.

BE _it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same_, That a
certain tract of land, bounded, beginning at the end of a wall by
the road leading by Zachariah Fitch's, in said _Groton_; thence
running easterly, by land of Jonas Fitch, to the _Nashua River_,
(so called;) thence up said river to said road, near the bridge
over the same river; thence, bounding by the same road, to the
bounds first mentioned, containing four acres and twenty rods, be,
and hereby is set off from said town of _Pepperell_ and annexed to
said town of _Groton_ forever.

[This act passed _February_ 3, 1803.]

The Worcester and Nashua Railroad was opened through the township of Groton in the month of December, 1848. It ran at that time a distance of eight miles through its territory, keeping on the east side of the Nashua river, which for a considerable part of the way was the dividing line between Groton and Pepperell. The railroad station for the people of Pepperell was on the Groton side of the river, and in the course of a few years a small village sprang up in the neighborhood. All the interests and sympathies of this little settlement were with Pepperell; and under these circumstances the Legislature, on May 18, 1857, passed an act of annexation, by which it became in reality what it was in sentiment,--a part and parcel of that town. The first section of the act is as follows:--

An act to set off a part of the Town of Groton, and annex the same
to the Town of Pepperell.

_Be it enacted, &c., as follows_:

All that part of the town of Groton, in the county of Middlesex,
with the inhabitants thereon, lying north of the following
described line is hereby set off from the town of Groton, and
annexed to the town of Pepperell, to wit: Beginning at the boundary
between said town of Groton and the town of Dunstable, at a stone
monument in the wall on land of Elbridge Chapman and land of Joseph
Sanderson, and running south, eighty-six degrees west, about six
hundred and sixty rods, to a stone monument at the corner of land
called the "Job Shattuck Farm," and land of James Hobart, near the
Nashua River and Worcester and Nashua Railroad; thence in same line
to the centre of Nashua River and the boundary of said town of
Pepperell: _provided, however_, that for the purpose of electing a
representative to the general court, the said territory shall
continue to be a part of the town of Groton, until a new
apportionment for representatives is made; and the inhabitants
resident therein shall be entitled to vote in the choice of such
representatives, and shall be eligible to the office of
representative in the town of Groton, in the same manner as if this
act had not been passed.

The latest legislation connected with the dismemberment of the original grant--and perhaps the last for many years to come--is the Act of February 14, 1871, by which the town of Ayer was incorporated. This enactment took from Groton a large section of territory lying near its southern borders, and from Shirley all that part of the town on the easterly side of the Nashua River which was annexed to it from Groton on February 6, 1798.

Thus has the old Groton Plantation, during a period of more than two centuries, been hewed and hacked down to less than one-half of its original dimensions. It has furnished, substantially, the entire territory of Pepperell, Shirley, and Ayer, and has contributed more or less largely to form five other towns. An examination of the accompanying map will show these changes more clearly than any verbal or written description.

* * * * *

SAILS.

The ship's white sails are all unfurl'd
To the salt breath of the sea;
And never a ship in all the world
Sails on with the wind more free.

For the white sails are white hopes of youth,
The breath of the future blows;
But whither the vessel flies, in truth,
There is no man that knows.

* * * * *

ELIZABETH.[1]

A ROMANCE OF COLONIAL DAYS.

BY FRANCES C. SPARHAWK, Author of "A Lazy Man's Work."

[Footnote 1: 1884, by Frances C. Sparhawk.]