Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 10.djvu/175

 Historical Sketch of West Dunstable.

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��HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST DUNSTABLE. By Charles S. Spauldixg.

��Almost all the aucesfors of the pioneer settlers of "West Dunstable Precinct, or what formerly belonged to the ancient township of Monson, and now incorporated within the boundaries of Mollis, were of Ger- man origin, whose famil}' names date far back into the Middle Ages, and were of Gaultic or Celtic extraction, belonging to the Caucasian race, re- taining all the indomitable will, per- severance, and energy, mingled with those sterling qualities so character- istic of the Anglo Saxons ; and were peculiarly fitted to become the ances- tors of those resolute conquerors of the forests and lakes of New Eng- land — men who had been persecuted in the Old World alike for religions and political opinions. Driven from their homes, they came to the wilder- ness of America, where ' they could enjoy greater -freedom, and worship God according to the dictates of their consciences, leaving behind them a land where they could boast of their old baronial establishments, their ruined castles and deserted monas- teries, their magnificent cathedrals and their grreat universities. They had monuments of the times of the Druids, — an abiding evidence that England for two centuries had been a Eoman province. The religion of the Britons was a part of their govern- ment, and the priests possessed great power over their subjects. No species of superstition was ever more terrible than theirs ; and persecution for opin- ion's sake was tolerated in Great Britain, even as late as the migration

��of our immediate ancestors, who came over about the year 1630, and settled in the towns of Braintree, Hatfield, Reading, Andover, Tewksbury, and Chelmsford. Actuated by a spirit and resolution which showed what manner of men they were, they pushed forward, encountering and overcoming obstacles of such magni- tude as would seem to appal the stoutest heart, determined to estab- lish Ijomes for themselves and their descendants, thoroughly imbued with the spirit of emigration. Adhering to those sound principles with which their education had endowed them, they ultimately achieved fame and success for themselves and their pos- terity.

In August, 1655, Capt. Simon Wil- lard and Edward Johnson, surveyors, who were employed by the provincial court of Massachusetts, came from Woburn with an exploring company, which usually consisted of a guard of eight or ten men, to protect the sur- veyors from Indian invasion as they penetrated the unbroken forests. They are supposed to be the first white men ever in this section, — traversing the Merrimack iMver and its tributaries, going up Penichuck brook to Peni- chuck ford, also exploring what has been known for a period of over two hundred years as the Witch Brook Valley, and embraced that portion of West Dunstable which it is my pur- pose to describe in this sketch. The following traditional story is told rel- ative to its discovery : Witch Brook was discovered by those who belonged

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