History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

process of construction a freshet occurred in the
river by which the trestle-work and a part of one
span of the bridge were carried away. Fifteen or
twenty men were precipitated into the river, yet
all were saved. This bridge is not only of great
convenience, but also adds much to the scenic
beauty of the village.
T/ie Centennial Record, pp. ^I, containing many
particulars in respect to the town, was published
by the Young People's League in 1876. The
town officers for this year were Luther Butter-
WAKEFIELD. 399
WAKEFIELD.
BY CHESTER W.
TITS town is old, though its
inline is new. Its history, as
the abode of white men, runs
back to 1639, when, under a
special grant of land from the
General Court to the town of
Lynn of " four miles square,"
it was settled by families coin-
\\\'S mostly from Lynn, and
I'lok the name of Lynn Vil-
lage. This grant included the
territory substantially within the limits of tiie pres-
ent towns of AYaketiekl and Reading. Tlie first
settlement was made in what is now Wakefield,
and in 1644, seven houses having been erected,
seven families located, and a humble church edifice
built, the village was made a town corporate,
with the name of Reading. In 1651 a second
grant of territory was made to the township of
two miles square, including substantially what is
now North Reading. In 1713 the inhabitants of
the last-named territory, " having become of suffi-
cient and competent numbers to call, settle, and
maintain a Godly, learned, orthodox minister,"
were incorporated as a distinct parish by the name
of tlie North Precinct of Reading, the remaining
portion of the town being known as the First Par-
ish. Li 1769 the northwesterly part of the First
Parish, the part then called Woodend, was incor-
porated by the name of the West Parish of Read-
ing, forming the nucleus of the present town of I
field, Cyrus Butterfiekl, and Oliver Felker, selectmen
j Howard Coburn, town-clerk ; and John G.
Upton, town-treasurer.
Tyngsborough is the birthplace of John S.
Sleeper, Esq., editor of the Boston Journal from
1834 to 185-i. He was born here September 21,
1794. He was mayor of Roxbury from 1856 to
1858, and author of Tales of the Ocean, 1843 ;
Salt IFater BiilMes, 1854; Jack in the Forecastle,
1860; and Mark Rowland, 1867. He
was a graceful and effective writer.
Reading. In ISH the old town was divided, and
the First or South Parish, then commonly known
as the Old Parish, including the present territory of
Wakefield, was incorporated as a new town under
the name of South Reading.
The causes that niduced the First Parish, the
oldest and largest settlement, thus to separate from
her younger sisters, to forego in part the prestige
and charm of its time-honored name, and to sur-
render its ancient and valued archives and records,
and other manuscript property, were principally
political ones. The town of Reading, in 1812,
consisted of three well-defined parishes, namely,
tlie Old Parish, now Wakefield; the North Par-
ish, called the Precinct, now North Reading ; and
the West Parish, or Woodend, now Reading. The
Old Parish was then almost unanimously of the
Democratic-Republican party, supporters of Presi-
dent Madison and his administration, then in
power, and in favor of fighting old England for
her insults to our seamen and our ilag; while the
otJier two parishes, with a similar unanimity, were
of the Federal party, unfavorable to Madison's ad-
ministration, and violently opposed to a war with
England. The South Parish was the largest of the
three in population and voters, but not equal to
the two others. Political feeling rose to a high
pitch, and parties were very bitter towards each
other. As a consequence, the citizens of the South
Parish were excluded from town offices, and were
without influence in municipal affairs. Such a