History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

each otlier in ofRce, are William Stevens, Zacliariah
Hildrith, Timothy Fessenden, Eliiib Cioing, Heze-
kiah Richardson, William Archibald, Isaac Spauld-
ing, James Adams, and Isaac Kidder ; and of the
North Company are John Campbell, Jonathan
Wallace, Samuel Brooks, Joseph Adams, Walter
Hastings, John Waugii, and George Wallace.
Tliese were prominent townsmen in their day,
wjien it meant something to be the commander of
a military company. In 1817 Levi Warren, Wal-
ter Hastings, and others petitioned for the charter
of an independent company, which was granted;
and soon after it was organized under the name of
the Townsend Light Infantry, which was kept alive
till 1S5£. It was a well-disciplined, fine-looking
corps. It invariably appeared on parade with excellent
music, and received on muster-days many
compliments from military men during the thirty-
five years of its existence. The organization of
this company left the number of soldiers in town
liable to do military duty so small that they were
enrolled in one company. The military spirit in
Massachusetts began to wane about 18£5, previous
to which time the training and muster days were
looked forward to with much interest. In 1837
the legislature passed a law making all military
duty voluntary, which resulted in the disbanding
of the entire un-uuiformed militia of the common-
wealth.
There was little interest manifested in military
affairs until 1861, when the life of the nation was
threatened by the Southern slaveholders. The
part taken by Townsend in that terrible civil war
was very creditable, both to its young men who
enlisted and entered the service, and to the tax-
payers who poured forth their treasures without
stint hi the cause of patriotism and for the preser-
vation of the Union. The town sent to the field
three commissioned officers, and, including one
drafted man and substitutes, two hundred and
sixty-seven men, of whom one hundred and sixty-
one were voters in this town at the time when they
volunteered. Of the Townsend men included in
this number thirty-four lost their lives, — twelve in
action, and twenty-two by starvation in Rebel pris-
ons, by disease, or other casualties of war. In
Company E, 33d Massachusetts Regiment of Vol-
unteers, were twenty-six Townsend men, twelve
of whom were either killed in action or died in the
army. At present there is no military company in
towii and, in fact, the commonwealth itself is in
TOWNSEND. 385
guns were pointed towards devoted Sumter in
1S61. Our legislators and the people profess the
most profound respect for the memory of Wash-
ington, forgetting his parting advice : " In time
of peace prepare for war."
The ecclesiastical history of Townsend, like that
of most New England towns, is replete with inter-
est. There were settlers here, in the easterly part
of the town, two or three years before a church
was gathered, who were acustomed to attend public
worship at Groton. The extreme poverty of these
men, together with the long controversy with Old
Dunstable (before mentioned), is supposed to be
the principal reason why Townsend did not receive
its charter about the same time that Lunenburg
was incorporated (17^8). The meeting-house was
built in 1730, and probably there was occasional
preaching in it for some time before a church was
gathered. There is nothing left on record concern-
ing the religious status of the town previous to
1734, when a call was extended to Phineas Hemenway
to become the town's minister. A copy of
Mr. Hemenway's acceptance of this call is in the
town records, dated July 22, 1734. He was or-
dained on the 16th of October, at which time the
church, consisting of sixteen male members, was
gathered. The names of these members are Phineas
Hemenway, Joseph Stevens, William Clark, Nathaniel
Tailor, Daniel Tailor, Joseph Baldwin, Joim
Stevens, James McDonald, John Wallis, Samuel
Manning, Jacob Baldwin, Samuel Clark, John
Slowen, Benjamin Tailor, Isaac Spaulding, and
Jeremiah Ball. The wives of some of these men
were soon after admitted to the churcii. Belonging
to this body, also, were some of the negro slaves
owned by the wealthiest citizens whose names
appear above. During Mr. Hemenway's pastor-
ate the church increased from sixteen to seventy-
nine members.
Rev. Phineas Hemenway was born at Framingham,
April 26, 1706. He was the son of Joshua
and Rebeckah Hemenway, of Roxbury. The father
settled in Framingham in 1691, and was one of
the founders of the Church of Christ in that town,
October 8, 1701, at which time he was chosen
deacon. He had enjoyed the advantages which
Roxbury afforded, and received a superior education
for the time. He was town schoolmaster in 1706.
He was a man of decided convictions and earnest
piety. In doctrinal belief he agreed with Edwards
in church polity he was a strict Congregationalist,
about the same defenceless condition as when the as opposed to the Presbyterian tendencies of the
;