History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

426 HISTOHY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ties. The subject of a bell for the meeting-house
agitated the public mind of Wiiltluim for several
years, but finally the revolutionists triumphed, and
in 1815 an appropriation was voted to have one.
Again, in 1814. it was voted not to have any
bliuds put upon the uieeting-house, nor " to pay
for the one Mr. Ripley put on " ; however, the suc-
ceeding year the town voted to pay for the " pulpit
blind." In ISIS the stove came in as a disturb-
ing element. It would appear by the record that
some person or persons, not having the traufpiillity
and sanctity of the church before their minds, had
placed a stove in the meeting-house, and asked
the town to sanction an act already committed.
That was enough. The town in its dignity rose
equal to the occasion, and voted, first, not to pur-
chase the stove in the meeting-house, and, second,
to order it out of the meeting-house. A spirit of
concession, however, prevailed ; the last vote was
reconsidered, and at the next meeting (in April)
the sovereigns voted to accept the stove as a pres-
ent from the ladies of "Waltham, said stove to
remain town property. Tlie threatened revolution
was averted by female diplomacy.
In 1812 the town voted to pay those soldiers
who should be drafted as the quota of Waltham
$15 per month (including the pay of the govern-
ment), and $1.25 per day for each day they should
be under military discipline. To those familiar
with the extent to which party spirit was carried
prior to and during the War of 1812, it will not
be a matter of surprise to learn tliat Pastor Ripley
preached a sermon to which some of his parishion-
ers took exception. This dissatisfaction finally
culminated in the insertion of an article in the
warrant of a town-meeting, the purport of which
was to know the mind of the town in regard to
ascertaining from Mr. Ripley upon what conditions
he would resign his pastorate. On tliis the town,
by a vote of sixty-six to fil'ty-six, derided to lake
no action. The subject was brought up twice in
iSl.'J with a very similar result, and in 1814 the
malcontents, who in the mean time liad discf)iitinned
attendance at the regidar meeting and employed
Rev. Elisha Williams, a Baptist from Boston, to
preach more acce])table .sermons (first in the school-
house, afterwards in the liall of a tavern where the
Crntnl llnu.,.n,,w stands), leliinied to the „n-ni;,l
fi,,rk. In lSl;;tl,e F;,e|,,n Vdlag,' ( Lower I'Inee)
was set l n,'!
At the l.iuii nie.liMtr 111 M.nrh, I sir., a commit-
tee ap[)ointed in Decendjer of the previous year to
.
I reconsideration
ascertain who had been in the service of the gov-
ernment during the war with Great Britain, and
what sums the town siiould in justice pay them,
submitted the following list of names, with sums
annexed : Joseph Hoar, Jonas Lawrence, Elijah
Lawrence, Nathaniel Stearns, Richard Wellington,
Jacob Lawrence, Amasa Harrington, John Sander-
son, 2d, Alexander H. Piper, John Simonds,
Henry Fisk, Richard Cutter, Isaac Farwell, William
Goss, Darius Wellington, Jacob Ryan, Timo-
thy Morris, Daniel Emerson, William Trask,
Thomas Barnes, Abel Hubbard, and William
Clark, $4.68 each; and James Jones, Noah Hardy,
John Cole, William B. AVinch, and Otis Puffe'r,
$17.80 each. xVmong those serving the government
during the war may be mentioned David
Stearns, who was purser on board the Wasp at the
time of her battle with the Frolic.
In 1815 an affair occurred which deserves
mention from the rarity of such incidents : The
legal number of voters petitioned the selectmen to
call a town-meeting to act on the enforcement of
the collection of certain highway taxes and the
of certain abatements; the selectmen
neglected to issue the warrant, whereupon the
interference of a justice of the peace was solicited
and obtained, and the meeting ordered by him in
accordance with the law in such cases. In 1817 the
town voted to set off the Boston ^lanufacturing
Company's estates for a school-district, and discontiiat
of the Cotton and Woollen Company.
] tinue
:
1 Certain
In 1818-19 the town voted to send no representa-
tive.
acts of the Rev. Mr. Ripley, such as
teaching a school, etc., appear to have cither
stirred up a new feeling against him, or to have
aff'orded a pretext for further opposition, for at a
town-meeting in January, 1820, four articles ap-
])ear in the warrant, charging him with neglect of
duty and causing dissension, and calling for his
dismissal. These articles the town, by a vole of
sixty-four to twenty-six, refused to consider. At
the same meeting it was voted to allow the Boston
Manufacturing CompaTiy to enlarge the meeting-
house at their own expense, in a manner agreed
upon by the town and corporation, the company
to have all ])rotits arising from the sale or rental
,.r til,, extra pews. .Vt' the Mandi meeting an
elloM «:is mad,' 1,1 s,r if lb,- town u ,.nl,l appoint
a imnmill,,' (if lifleen — three from each district
to iiii,i\i,w Mr. Ki])ley and try to induce hitn
to gi\e up liis school, but the jiroject was (lis-
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