Tales of Tyot-Birth And Babyhood of Tiot

The Sap Of Revolution Against The Crown To Stir With The Building Of The First Church Edifice Of The Norwood Cong’I Society.

Eighth Tale Of Tiot

By WIN EVERETT

Next Sunday the First Congregational Church of Norwood will celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the present edifice. In 1936 the church will mark its two-hundredth birthday. The latter event has a great deal more than religious interest to the church members and the people of Norwood. Because, as we now know, when the church was organized on June 23. 1736 the farmers of this immediate section were not only present, at the birth of a new town, Norwood, but were also making an impudent gesture with the thumb towards their Sovereign, the King of England. By nineteen years of bickering brawl and revolt, with the “Great and General Court” of Massachusetts Colony, which was the direct representative of the King, with their neighbors in West Dedham, and even among themselves, they had blasted away from Dedham a new church Precinct which gave them their first taste of civic independence and responsibility. In their own. language, “the farmers felt their oats.” The American Revolution was the next logical step.

Aristocratic Feudal Rule

This farmer’s revolt must be considered as a great deal more important than the act of a group of people who wanted to worship in their own church. You must remember that the Great and General Court of Boston recognized only one church—the Orthodox Congregational Society And for this recognition the church placed itself under the thumb of the Court just as a feudal vassal or tenant was under the protection and orders of his overlord. And the Court was. in turn, directly responsible to the King.

Since everybody in every town had to go to church a specified number of months each year and pay heavy church taxes, the Court had to make this possible by one church building in each town or town precinct. This church society then acted pretty much as the town government.—collecting the taxes for church and state, administering education, and many other 2. duties for which it accounted to the General Court. In a1! moral and in most municipal matters, the church’s word was law And it remained so until other church creeds became strong enough in New England to make this Puritan System impossible and to separate the church and state. The system did, however, kill two birds with one stone in a pioneer society. So you can see the importance of our little revolution of 1717-1736.

Original Records Exist Today

The only written history of this quarrel of the Puritan forefathers is inscribed in the records of the Norwood Congregational church and those of the Great and General Court in Boston. The former is in the handwriting of Rev. Thomas Balch, first minister of the church, and are kept safely, as they should be. in the vaults of the Norwood Trust Co. Some day they may be printed in full, as they should be. As church records, they are mere antiques. As history, they are alive and human. And the story of this first civic battle of Norwood, while it was grimly serious to the actors in it, is very amusing reading today.

Social Life Only in Church

For one’s reaction, after reading the actual record, is to think, “Well! Of all the stubborn, narrow, cantankerous, mean, and disagreeable people, these were the folks! The ‘good old days! Huh!” But in justice to these ancient fellows, just keep this picture in mind: They were small farmers of straight, jig-headed British decent, isolated way out in the woods, miles from the scant civilization of Dedham village. They were uneducated, as we understand it today. Some of them couldn’t write their names. The only book they were familiar with was the Bible. There were no newspapers, no theatres, no playing cards, no clubs or lodges no social life at all except visiting each other’s homes, meeting on the street, and, most important, meeting at compulsory church once a week. The result was that religion and church affairs were practically their sole life interest, outside of family and business life. It took the place of our athletic sports, radio, movies, politics, boots, and magazines. automobiles, and everything else which makes our life so complicated and colorful. In short, if I may say it without meaning to be sacrilegious, they got a tremendous kick out of religion and the salvation or damnation of their souls.

Now let us try to untangle this row, without using too many confusing dates and details. I haven’t access to the original records but am greatly indebted to Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Baker of Westwood. John Gilhooly, Ralph Fogg, and the ‘late Deacon Francis Tinker’s “History of Norwood” for the following facts:

Westwood, Norwood One Precinct

In 1717 there were about, twenty amines living in what is now Norwood and fewer than that In present Westwood. I set it at twenty because in 1790 there were only 28 people who founded the first Norwood library, and you can be sure they represented the heads of about every family in town.

The Norwood and Westwood people pleaded with the General Court in 1717 for a separate precinct, or at least their own meeting house, so they need not crawl down the narrow, muddy road to Dedham village by horse-back or ox cart every Sunday to attend the one. official meeting house Also, they didn’t want to pay the ministerial tax in Dedham as they wore holding private services in their homes.

In effect., they said “Gosh! The traffic conditions are terrible. Bring the church nearer to us, on the outskirts, since we know darn well you won’t fix the roads!”

In 1722 the West Dedham folks said the same thing to the Court. But. it was not until 1730, after many petitions and meetings, that the Court set West and South Dedham off together as one precinct It was a whale of a big precinct, too! For you must remember that up to 1730 the town of Stoughton included our Neponset meadows, all the “Ink Mill Section.” all of South Norwood, much of East Walpole and Walpole. Apparently, South Dedham was originally bounded by the

Hawes Brook on the South.

The new precinct boundaries of 1730 started at Purgatory Swamp, followed the river to the present Ink Mill district. then took in the Hawes neighborhood on Sumner street, then westward to the Dover line (Dover was then called Springfield), then north to include the settled part of West-wood. in a wide sweep around the general neighborhood of the present white, Unitarian church atop the hill, then eastward, back to Purgatory Swamp. This is only a rough outline of the new bounds. But they give you an idea of the great size of the new Precinct-. And this immense area, made by adding so much of the then wide area of Stoughton, was the first fly that got into the ointment of peace and goodwill.

Where Was the John Ellis House?

At first, the West and South folks were much pleased that they had a Precinct, at last, and could have their own church. They held their first meeting on Oct. 22. 1730 at the home of John Ellis. Now there is some present discussion as to just where this house stood.

Mr. J. H. Tuttle of the Dedham Historical Society. Mr. Ernest Baker of Westwood and Miss Anna Ellis of Norwood say it stood on the northwest, corner of Clapboardtree Street and Washington Street, and that a part of it is still standing, having been moved around the corner up Clapboardtree Street hill a bit.

On the other hand, in an address made by Mrs. Marcia M. Winslow before the Norwood Woman’s Club and published in “The Messenger and Central Norfolk Democrat.” December 19, 1903, she says that Jabez Sumner told her that this historic John Ellis house stood quite a ways east on what is now Ellis Avenue, almost to the superhighway It descended to John’s son Rufus and from him to Albert Ellis. Mr. Sumner’s mother was John Ellis’ daughter, so the house belonged to his grandmother. He got his information from her when he was a boy. Certainly, she should have known the location of the John Ellis homestead where the Congregational church was born.

And just to make the soup a little richer, the writer will state that the late Fred Day told him that this house (or one close to it) which Jabez Sumner said was the John Ellis house, was originally built by Captain William Bacon, whose farm included all the present Ellis neighborhood eastward to the meadows, and that it was the oldest house in Norwood. Mr. Day tried at one time, he said, to interest people in preserving the edifice as a historical headquarters, but without success. Capt. Bacon originally owned the farm where Mrs. Emma L. Shattuck’s home on Winter and Walpole streets stands today, and sold it to the Guild family when he moved to the present Ellis section of town Anyway, here is a question which local history sharks, with more knowledge than the writer ought to settle — and settle right.

Vanished Saw Mill May Mark Spot

May the writer offer a modest theory on this question? Others have studied local history so much more deeply that I hesitate to advance my superficial knowledge at this time. But I call attention to the following concise and expressive accounts taken from the Dedham town records:

“May 13. 1717—It was further proposed if it be the mind of the town that the estates of the persons at the old sawmill and other person’s estates Jiving five miles (Norwood and Westwood at present) from the meetinghouse shall be assessed to the minister’s salary freeing them of their head money to the place where they constantly hear (Ed. Religious service) and being under the hand of the receiver that they hear someone. Voted in the affirmative.”

“March 7. 1721—This day the inhabitants of this town living at or near the old sawmill did present their petition to the town desiring the town to free them from paying to the minister of this town in order to have preaching amongst themselves Voted in the negative.”

On the 1851 map of Dedham you will see marked on Purgatory Brook, far back in the woods on the west side: of Washington (Centre) street, “F. F’b’s Mill.” A narrow lane still runs into this mill-site from Clapboardtree Street. In fact, what is said to be the remaining part of the John Ellis house now stands beside it. It is known that this was a very ancient mill. Why couldn’t it be the same mill which was mentioned as “old” in 1717? If it is. “the persons at the old sawmill”.

In 1717 there were about, twenty amines living in what is now Norwood and fewer than that In present Westwood. I set it at twenty because in 1790 there were only 28 people who founded the first Norwood library, and you can be sure they represented the heads of about every family in town.

The Norwood and Westwood people pleaded with the General Court in 1717 for a separate precinct, or at least their own meeting house, so they need not crawl down the narrow, muddy road to Dedham village by horseback or ox cart every Sunday to attend the one. official meeting house. Also, they didn’t want to pay the mentioned in the 1717 record could hardly be other than the John Ellis family and neighbors.

And equally true, the John Ellis house must have been near the mill on the corner of Clapboardtree Street and the Dedham-So. Dedham highway. This theory would allow Capt. William Bacon to be living where Mr. Day said he lived at this period, i. e., the owner of all the land now held by the Peter Fisher and Ellis families. It is true there was a “Turn Mill” on this brook in 1851 which stood on Clapboardtree Street north-east of Peter Fisher’s, then owned by Caleb Ellis. But this was a much more modern mill than the other.