Excerpt from History of the Town of Weston: Massachusetts, 1630-1890 It is scarcely a debatable question, in the opinion of the writer of these lines, as to whether this or any other town history is worth writing and publishing. The story of any town is worth telling, and the story of any man's life is worth narrating, either briefly or at length. So, when requested to edit this History of the Town of Weston by the late Colonel Daniel S. Lamson, I was glad to address myself to the task of getting the manuscript into shape and seeing it through the press. In these annals of a quiet neighborhood and these outlines of homely but strong and sturdy lives, the good colonel has limned for us, with praiseworthy toil and zeal, many a pleasant little sketch of scenes in the past life of Weston. His work is meritorious for its graphic anecdotes, its annals of the church and of the town meetings, and especially for its full account of Weston in the Revolution, and for its pronounced patriotic tone throughout. Such features of the work as the description of the grand wagon-freight routes from the North to the South along the coast and paralleling the Alleghany Range in the days before railroads; of the farmer-lads' wagon-freighting of wood to Boston from far New Hampshire and Vermont; or of the great trunk stage-road between Boston and New York which passed through Weston, the logical results thereof being visits to the town by Presidents Washington and Adams, events upon which the citizens prided themselves not a little, - these things, including minute accounts of the schools and of the business enterprises of the community, arc interesting reading and cheer one's way through the dryer details. I take it that the latter arc not intended for consecutive reading at all, but for consultation or peeping into on rainy days when the mood serves. In other words, a town history is, to a large extent at least, a reference book, however interesting it may be. And how, then, do our ancestors look to us? What is the verdict on them? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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Established in 1713 as a Puritan town, Weston, Massachusetts, has been a center of farming, industry, estates, and now, suburban life. Weston traces the changes in the city from the colonial period into the 20th century, with emphasis on the developments of the Progressive era (19001920), a time in which the areas most admirable features were established. At the turn of the century,Weston was a community enjoying peace and prosperity while addressing the changes brought about by the transportation and industrial revolutions. Roads and railroads connected Weston to the greater Boston area, and the Hews Pottery, Hobbs Tannery, and Hastings Organ Factory gave the town some experience with the effects of the industrial revolution. Industry virtually disappeared from the town by 1935, but during the estate era, which lasted from the 1880s to the 1950s, estates and land were sold to build housing for the new suburbanites. Photographs from the Weston Historical Society as well as private sources illustrate the changes in town life and landscapes; memoirs from residents and the Weston Column of the Waltham Free Press tell the story of a community that has maintained its independent and unique character for more than 200 years.

The 16th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was one of a few Massachusetts regiments whose history was not recorded. From 1861-1864, it was deeply embroiled in the operations of the Army of the Potomac. Suffering from a lack of skilled leadership and later from horrific living conditions, the 16th saw heavy casualties. Of more than 1300 men, 112 were killed in battle, 360 were wounded and 52 died from their wounds. Disease claimed 115 and 65 were taken as prisoners of war, 32 of them dying in Confederate prisons. Another 344 went home afflicted with wounds or disease as disability discharges. This comprehensive biographical sketch chronicles for the first time the story of the 16th Massachusetts and the lives of most of its men, with all available genealogical details provided.