people of Marlborough," says he, somewhat indignantly, "wanting a few of fifty families, do take that low advantage to ease their purses of this common charge."

What reception this proposal met with, we are not informed. It was most certainly an expedient that promised the happiest consequences, and worthy of the liberal and philanthropic mind of its author. How close is the resemblance between this plan, conceived more than one hundred and fifty years since, and that of the Indian schools recently established at Brainerd, Eliot, Mayhew, and other places in the United States ?*

The people of Marlborough, notwithstanding the severity of Gookin's censure, have not been behind other towns in New England in their attention to schools. Owing to the troubles which ensued, soon after the date of Gookin's Historical Collections, they felt themselves unable to meet the expense of a public school for several following years. At length, however, in 1698, Benjamin Franklint was employed as a school master in Marlborough, from the first of November, 1696, to the last of March, 1697, at eight shillings per week; "he engaging carefully to teach all such youth as com or are sent to him, to read English once a day, att least, or more, if need require; also to learn to write and cast accounts." The school was kept in Isaac Wood's house, which was then unoccupied.

*1 Hist. Col. I. p. 220.

This person was probably an uncle of Doctor Benjamin Franklin. In the first volume of Franklin's Works, edited by his grandson, William Temple Franklin, page 6, is the following account of the person referred to above. "My grandfather had four sons, who grew up, viz: Thomas, John, Benjamin and Josiah. Benjamin was bred a silk dyer, serving an apprenticeship in London. He was an ingenious man. I remember, when I was a boy, he came to my father's, in Boston, and resided in the house with us for several years. There was always a particular affection between my father and him, and I was his godson. He lived to a great age. He left behind him two quarto volumes of manuscript of his own poetry, consisting of fugitive pieces addressed to his friends. He had invented a short hand of his own, which he taught me, but not having practiced it, I have now forgotten it. He was very pious, and an assiduous attendant at the sermons of the best preachers, which he reduced to writing according to his method, and had thus collected several volumes of them. He was also a good deal of a politician; too much so, perhaps, for his station. There fell lately into my possession, in London, a collection he made of all the principal political pamphlets relating to public affairs, from the year 1641 to 1717; many of the volumes are wanting, as appears, by their numbering; but there still remains eight volumes in folio, and twenty in quarto and octavo. A dealer in old books had met with them, and knowing me by name, having bought books of him, he brought them to me. It would appear that my uncle must have left them here, when he went to America, which was about fifty years ago. I found several of his notes in the margins. His grandson, Samuel Franklin, is still living in Boston."

Jan. 10, 1698-9. The town voted to build a school house. After this, Mr. Jonathan Johnson was employed as a school master for many years in succession.

The Indian Plantation was laid out agreeably to the following report of the Commissioners appointed as aforesaid.

"WHIPSUPPENICKE THE 19th OF JUNE, 1659. "The Committee appointed by the Gen. Court to lay out a Plantation for the Indians of 6000 acres at the above named place, having given Mr. Eliot* a meeting and duly weighed all his exceptions in the behalf of the Indians; first, what hath beene formerly acted and returned to the Gen. Court, do judge meete in way of complyance, that the bounds of the Indian Plantation bee enlarged unto the most westerly part of the fence, that now standeth on the west side of the Hill or planting field called Ockoocangansett, and from thence to bee extended on a direct north line untill they have their full quantity of 6000 acres: the bounds of their Plantation in all other respects, wee judge meete that they stand as in the form returned; and that their full complement of meadow by Court Grant, may stand and bee exactly measured out by an artist within the limits of the aforesaid lines, when the Indians, or any in their behalf, are willing to be at the charges thereof: provided alwaies that the Indians may have noe power to make sale thereof, of all or any part of their abovesaid lands, otherwise than by the consent of the Hond Gen1 Court; or when any shall be made or happen, the Plantation of English there seated may have the first tender of it from the Court; which caution wee the rather insert, because not only a considerable part of the nearest and best planting land is heereby taken away from the English (as we are informed) but the nearest and best part of their meadow, by estimation about an hundred acres in one place, that this north line doth take away, which tendeth much to the detrimenting of the English Plantation, especially if the lands should bee impropriated to any other use than the Indians proposed, that is to say, for an Indian Plantation, or for the accommodating their Plantation, they should bee deprived thereof."

The celebrated John Eliot, minister of Roxbury, commonly called the Apostle of the Indians.

people of Marlborough," says he, somewhat indignantly, “wanting a few of fifty families, do take that low advantage to ease their purses of this common charge."

What reception this proposal met with, we are not informed. It was most certainly an expedient that promised the happiest consequences, and worthy of the liberal and philanthropic mind of its author. How close is the resemblance between this plan, conceived more than one hundred and fifty years since, and that of the Indian schools recently established at Brainerd, Eliot, Mayhew, and other places in the United States ?*

The people of Marlborough, notwithstanding the severity of Gookin's censure, have not been behind other towns in New England in their attention to schools. Owing to the troubles which ensued, soon after the date of Gookin's Historical Collections, they felt themselves unable to meet the expense of a public school for several following years. At length, however, in 1698, Benjamin Franklint was employed as a school master in Marlborough, from the first of November, 1696, to the last of March, 1697, at eight shillings per week; "he engaging carefully to teach all such youth as com or are sent to him, to read English once a day, att least, or more, if need require; also to learn to write and cast accounts." The school was kept in Isaac Wood's house, which was then unoccupied.

*1 Hist. Col. I. p. 220.

This person was probably an uncle of Doctor Benjamin Franklin. In the first volume of Franklin's Works, edited by his grandson, William Temple Franklin, page 6, is the following account of the person referred to above. "My grandfather had four sons, who grew up, viz: Thomas, John, Benjamin and Josiah. Benjamin was bred a silk dyer, serving an apprenticeship in London. He was an ingenious man. I remember, when I was a boy, he came to my father's, in Boston, and resided in the house with us for several years. There was always a particular affection between my father and him, and I was his godson. He lived to a great age. He left behind him two quarto volumes of manuscript of his own poetry, consisting of fugitive pieces addressed to his friends. He had invented a short hand of his own, which he taught me, but not having practiced it, I have now forgotten it. He was very pious, and an assiduous attendant at the sermons of the best preachers, which he reduced to writing according to his method, and had thus collected several volumes of them. He was also a good deal of a politician; too much so, perhaps, for his station. There fell lately into my possession, in London, a collection he made of all the principal political pamphlets relating to public affairs, from the year 1641 to 1717; many of the volumes are wanting, as appears, by their numbering; but there still remains eight volumes in folio, and , twenty in quarto and octavo. A dealer in old books had met with them, and knowing me by name, having bought books of him, he brought them to me. It would appear that my uncle must have left them here, when he went to America, which was about fifty years ago. I found several of his notes in the margins. His grandson, Samuel Franklin, is still living in Boston."

Jan. 10, 1698-9. The town voted to build a school house. After this, Mr. Jonathan Johnson was employed as a school master for many years in succession.

The Indian Plantation was laid out agreeably to the following report of the Commissioners appointed as aforesaid.

"WHIPSUPPENICKE THE 19th of JUNE, 1659. "The Committee appointed by the Gen. Court to lay out a Plantation for the Indians of 6000 acres at the above named place, having given Mr. Eliot* a meeting and duly weighed all his exceptions in the behalf of the Indians; first, what hath beene formerly acted and returned to the Gen. Court, do judge meete in way of complyance, that the bounds of the Indian Plantation bee enlarged unto the most westerly part of the fence, that now standeth on the west side of the Hill or planting field called Ockoocangansett, and from thence to bee extended on a direct north line untill they have their full quantity of 6000 acres: the bounds of their Plantation in all other respects, wee judge meete that they stand as in the form returned; and that their full complement of meadow by Court Grant, may stand and bee exactly measured out by an artist within the limits of the aforesaid lines, when the Indians, or any in their behalf, are willing to be at the charges thereof: provided alwaies that the Indians may have noe power to make sale thereof, of all or any part of their abovesaid lands, otherwise than by the consent of the Houd Gen1 Court; or when any shall be made or happen, the Plantation of English there seated may have the first tender of it from the Court; which caution wee the rather insert, because not only a considerable part of the nearest and best planting land is heereby taken away from the English (as we are informed) but the nearest and best part of their meadow, by estimation about an hundred acres in one place, that this north line doth take away, which tendeth much to the detrimenting of the English Plantation, especially if the lands should bee impropriated to any other use than the Indians proposed, that is to say, for an Indian Plantation, or for the accommodating their Plantation, they should bee deprived thereof."

Signed by

* The celebrated John Eliot, minister of Roxbury, commonly called the Apostle of the Indians.

VOL. II.

19

The account given of this Plantation by Capt. afterwards, Maj. Gen. Gookin, of Cambridge, who visited it in 1674, more than one hundred and fifty years since, will be interesting to those who have not already seen it.

"Okommakamesit, alias Marlborough, is situated about twelve miles north northeast from Hassanamesitt, (Grafton) about thirty miles from Boston westerly.

"This village contains about ten families, and consequently about fifty souls. The quantity of land appertaining to it is six thousand acres. It is much of it good land, and yieldeth plenty of corn, being well husbanded. It is sufficiently stored with meadow, and is well wooded and watered. It hath several good orchards upon it, planted by the Indians and is in itself a very good plantation. This town doth join so near to the English of Marlborough, that it (we might apply to it what) was spoken of David in type and our Lord Jesus Christ, the antitype, "Under his shadow ye shall rejoice:" but the Indians here do not much rejoice under the Englishmen's shadow; who do so overtop them in their number of people, stocks of cattle, &c. that the Indians do not greatly flourish, or delight in their station at present.

"Their ruler here was Onomog, who is lately deceased, about two months since; which is a great blow to that place. He was a pious and discreet man, and the very soul as it were of that place. Their teacher's name is **** Here they observe the same decorum for religion and civil order, as is done in other towns. They have a constable and other officers, as the rest have. The Lord sanctify the present affliction they are under by reason of their bereavements; and raise up others, and give them grace to promote religion and good order among them."

From this account, which is given by an eye witness, it is pretty evident that a spirit of jealousy and envy against their more prosperous neighbors of the English Plantation, was even then rankling in their hearts and we are not much surprised to learn that, in the calamitous war which broke out in the following year between the English and Indians, known by the name of King Philip's war, some of these half civilized sons of the forest were found among the enemy, at the place of their general rendezvous, in the western part of Worcester County, a few days previous to their desolating march

*Hutchinson says his name was Solomon, judged to be a serious and sound Christian. p. 167.