Table Of ContentLITTLETON, MASS.
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
HARWOOD.
1^
I --1
CORNELL
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
-0
FROM
Date Due
^^^^z^^
FRAGILE PAPER
Please handle this book
with care, as the paper
is brittle.
{ar«^
Cornell University Library
F 74L72 H34
Historical sicetch of the.town of Littjet
3 1924 028 838 823 ^0""^
oiin
f^-v^
Cornell University
Library
The book
original of this is in
the Cornell University Library.
There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.
http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028838823
<
m
J
Q
<
J
<!
X
o
:
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH
TOWN
LITTLKTON
-OK
BY HEKBEET JOSEPH HAKWOOD.
[Reprintedfrom the "History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts."']
CHAPTER I. TheIndians of this neighborhood w^ere among the
firstto listen to Eliot's preaching, and Tahattawan
the elder, sachem of Nashobah, was, according to
Theorigin ofthe Indian town ofNashpbah, which Shattuck's"History ofConcord," one ofthefirstcon-
once occupied the greater part of the territory now verts.
Littleton,istraceabledirectly toEev. John Eliot, the Eev. Thomas Shepard, ofCambridge, in his "Clear
apostleto the Indians and the translatorofthe Bible Sunshine of Gospel," speaking of the Indians and
into theIndian language. Hebegantopreach tothe Mr. Eliot'spreaching, says: "Thelasteffectwastheir
Indians in 1646 at Nonantum, a part of Newton. desireofhavinga town given themwithinthebounds
Many becameconvertedtoChristianityandexpressed ofConcordnear unto thfe English.''
a desire to become civilized and to live more like Amongthe ordersandregulations for the Indians,
white people. Eliotadvised them to adopt the gov- agreed to at Concord, January, 1646,is thefollowing
ernment which Jethro proposed to Moses forthe Is- "29. They desirethey may be a town and either
raelites in the wilderness (Exodus xviii. 21), and to dwell on thisside ofBeaverSwamp (inLincoln)orat
choose rulers ofhundreds, of fiftiesand of tens; he the EastsideofMr. Flint's Pond."
also advised that they live in towns apart from the Itwould seem from these factsthatthe prayingIn-
whitepeople,and accordingly obtained from theGen- diansofthis vicinity haditinrnind toform a townin
eral Court a grant of territory at Natick, where the or near Concord for several years before they were
"prayingIndians," as they were called, formed tjieir granted theNashobah plantation, and that they had
firsttownin1651. discussed differentlocalities.
Other towns of the same kind were formed soon It would be interesting if we knew more about
after,and among them Nashobab. Eliot's preaching to the Nashobab Indians, that he
\it
;;
LITTLETON.
stood on such a spot on such a day, that he came session of all Massachusetts, with very little regard
again on such aday, etc., etc.; hutIhavebeen una- to the Indians, who had occupied it from time im-
bletofindany record of his coming to this Ticinity. memorial, should gravely grant back to them a
That both Eliot and Gookin came here I have no small portion with restrictions; butsuch is always
doubt, foritis known that they were in the habit of our "Indian policy."
goingabout to all the settlements ofpraying Indians. The white people took possession of all the land
From the fact that Tahattawan the elder was in theColony by virtue of their charter from the
amongthe first ofthe convertswe may conclude that Crown of England, and the Crown protected them
hefirst listenedto Eliot's preaching atNewton orin merely by its power.
thatneighborhood, and it maybethatby his invita- Thus we see why it is that Indian deeds areand
tion the apostle afterwards cameup into the wilder- were of little value in conveying a title, for the
ness beyond Concord; but these are mere conjec- Indians, having no stable government, had no power
tures. to enforce a title, and therefore a title acquired
In May, 1654, Mr. Eliot petitioned the General from Indians could not stand against one from the
Courtforthe incorporation of several Indian towns Crown.
the part of the petition which interests us reads as Daniel Gookin, in his "Historical Collections of
follows: "First, therefore the inhabitantsofNashoba the Indians in New England," chapter vii. § 10,
living7 or 8 miles west of Concord, desire to have says : "Nashobah is the sixth praying Indian town.
liberty to make atowne in y'place, with due accom- This village is situated, in a manner, in the centre,
modations thereunto. And though Concord have between Chelmsford, Lancaster, Groton and Concord.
some conditional grants of lands y* way, yet I under- It lieth from Boston about twenty-five miles west
stand that weshall havea lovingandChristianagree- north west. The inhabitants are about ten families,
mentbetwixtthemandthe Indians." and consequentlyabout fiftysouls.
Thepetition is dated Boston, 4th ofthe 3d (May), "Thedimensionsofthisvillageisfourmiles square.
1654. The land is fertile and well stored with meadows
In the General Court records, under date of 14th and woods. It h^h good ponds for fish adjoining
ofMay, 1654, is thefollowing: to it. The people live here, as in other Indian vil-
"Inana'tothe peticonofMr.Jno.Elliott,onbehalf of seuerallIn- lages, upon plantingcorn, fishing, hunting andsome-
dians,theCourt graunte hie request,viz.: libertyfor the inhabitants times labouring with the English. Their ruler, of
ofNashop [Nashobah] and tothe inhabitantsofOgkoontiquonkames late years, was John Ahatawance [Tahattawan], a
t[oMaerrlebctorsoeuugerha]llanIdndajlasnottoontnheesiinnhatbhietapnltascoefsHparospnoeumnedseudc,howt^bhc[oGnrvaefjteonn]t pious man. Sincehis decease, Pennakennit [orPen-
acomodacon to each,provided they pfjudicenot any former graunts nahannit] isthechief. Their teacheris named John
norshalltheydisposeofitwU<outleavefirsthadandobtajned-fromthis Thomas, a sober and pious man. His farther was
Court," murthered by the Maquas in asecret manner,ashe
Inreference to theincorporation of Nashobah, Mr. was fishingfor eels at his wear,some years since, dur-
Shattuck, in his "History ofConcord," says: ingthe war. He was a pious and useful person, and
"Nashobah,lying nearNagogPond,partly in Littleton andpartly in that place sustained a great loss in him. In this
jlcfon,asnowbounded, accordinglybecamean Indiantown; andhere village, as well iu other old Indian plantations,
apartofthe PrayingIndians in Concord,with others in thevicinity, they have orchards of apples whereof they make
gatheredand adoptedcivil and religious order,and had a Rulerand
othermunicipaloificere,thoughnochurchwasformed. Suchaswere cider, which some of them have notthe wisdom and
entitledto Christian ordinances probably went to Natickto celebrate graceto use for their comfort,butare prone to abuse
thecommunionafterachurchwasorganizedthere in1660." unto drunkenness.
Letus hope thatthelastpartofthequotation from "And althoughthe laws be strict to suppress this
Mr. Shattuck is more trustworthy tha»x the first; sin, and some of their own rulers are very careful
he gives no authority for saying that Nashobah and zealous in the execution of them, yet such is
was "partly in Acton," and I am inclined to think the madness and folly of man naturally, that he
that he drew on his imagination for the statement, doth eagerly pursue after that which tendeth to his
as I am unable to find any authority for it what- own destruction.
ever, while, on the contrary, I have been able to "I have often seriously considered what course to
locate the original Nashobah with tolerable accur- take to restrain this beastly sin of drunkenness
acy, as I shall show hereafter, and am morally cer- among them; but hitherto cannot reach it. For if
tain that the town of Concord never had a valid it were possible, as it is not, to prevent the Eng-
titleto one inch of the land where the Indian town lish selling them strong drink yet they, having a
;
was laid out, and consequently that it was never native liberty to plant orchards and sow grain, as
"partly in Acton," which, as we all know, was set barley and the like, of which they may and do
offfrom Concord. make strong drink that doth inebriate them, so that
We will drop the question of boundary for the nothing can overcome and conquer this exorbitancy
present and take it up later. It may seem a little butthe sovereigngrace ofGod in Christ,which is the
peculiar that the white people, who had taken pos- onlyantidotetopreventand mortify thepoisonofsin.
V
I
^;
^^-^^
;/^S^^r^'^/{'
