Last will and testament of James Deneson credited as the first settler in Southbridge Massachusetts
Dublin Core
Title
Last will and testament of James Deneson credited as the first settler in Southbridge Massachusetts
Subject
Deneson, James--Will; Deneson, James--Estate; Will--James Deneson--Southbridge; Southbridge (Mass.)--James Deneson; Deneson, Experience; Historic documents--Southbridge (Mass.); Historic documents--Sturbridge (Mass.)
Description
The last will and testament of James Deneson (also known as James Dennison) and a schedule of his property. The original is a two-sided handwritten document, written on 10th of May, 1777.
This document was presented to the Town of Southbridge by Randall Towne of Danielson, Connecticut on December 29, 1988.
The dedication reads: "Presented by my daughter, Sarah Towne, on behalf of my grandfather the late Maurice D. Town (stet.) of Southbridge and my parents Chester L. Towne of Sturbridge and his wife the late Delores B. Towne. Thanks to them this artifact has been saved and only when I found out the importance of it did this event come to pass." [Randall Towne, December 29, 1988].
The original document is on display in the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall, Southbridge.
The Town of Southbridge Agrees as follows:
Whereas Randall Towne of Danielson, Connecticut desires to give the authenticated copy of the will of his ancestor, James Denison, to the Town of Southbridge, and whereas, the Town of Southbridge, a Municipal Corporation of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts desires to accept said gift, in consideration of the mutual promises contained herein and in consideration of the mutual promises contained herein and in consideration of the undertaking of the execution of the purpose of this agreement, the parties do hereby agree and covenant as follows:
1. The Town of Southbridge agrees to accept said will and to take appropriate measures to preserve said document and to appropriate sufficient funds to effect said preservation.
2. The Town of Southbridge agrees to permanently display said document for public viewing in the Jacob Edwards Library or some other public building within the Town.
3. The Town of Southbridge agrees that if at any time the will of James Denison should be removed from the Town, the will shall be returned to the aforesaid Randall Towne or to his heirs.
4. Randall Towne agrees to give said will to the Town of Southbridge, subject to the above conditions.
This agreement shall be binding on the heirs, executors, administrators and successors of the parties to this agreement.
Quoting from the Southbridge Historical Album 1816-1966 Sesquicentennial, "In 1792 forty-two petitioners applied to the General Court for land grants lying between Oxford and Brimfield, Brookfield and the Province line. The request was granted and an association of "proprietors" was formed, one of whom was James Deneson. On one of the lots he received in a drawing, July 1730, was a shelter formed by rocks. He settled in that cave in the fall of 1730 and began clearing his land.
There is a story that while working on his land he heard the sound of an ax from over the hills. He signalled on a tree trunk and began walking toward the sound of the answering signals of the unknown person. They saw each other on opposite banks of the river and each felled a pine tree across the river so that the tops met to form a crude bridge. They scampered to the middle and there they met. There is some disagreement as to the identity of the other person.
Deneson abandoned his shelter shortly after when sounds of prowling animals, bears or wolves, made it impractical to remain. That shelter is today easily visited on Dennison Hill. In 1901 it was marked for posterity by the Quinebaug Historical Society.
Deneson returned to work his land and was the first to bring his family into the wilderness. His daughter, Experience, born August 31, 1732, was the first white child born here. The first school was in his barn - conducted only during the summer as the barn was needed for storing hay in September. He became an important man and was elected 17 times as Selectman of what was then Sturbridge."
This section of Sturbridge became part of Southbridge on February 15, 1816 when the latter town was incorporated. The land is that mentioned in the Deneson will.
This document was presented to the Town of Southbridge by Randall Towne of Danielson, Connecticut on December 29, 1988.
The dedication reads: "Presented by my daughter, Sarah Towne, on behalf of my grandfather the late Maurice D. Town (stet.) of Southbridge and my parents Chester L. Towne of Sturbridge and his wife the late Delores B. Towne. Thanks to them this artifact has been saved and only when I found out the importance of it did this event come to pass." [Randall Towne, December 29, 1988].
The original document is on display in the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall, Southbridge.
The Town of Southbridge Agrees as follows:
Whereas Randall Towne of Danielson, Connecticut desires to give the authenticated copy of the will of his ancestor, James Denison, to the Town of Southbridge, and whereas, the Town of Southbridge, a Municipal Corporation of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts desires to accept said gift, in consideration of the mutual promises contained herein and in consideration of the mutual promises contained herein and in consideration of the undertaking of the execution of the purpose of this agreement, the parties do hereby agree and covenant as follows:
1. The Town of Southbridge agrees to accept said will and to take appropriate measures to preserve said document and to appropriate sufficient funds to effect said preservation.
2. The Town of Southbridge agrees to permanently display said document for public viewing in the Jacob Edwards Library or some other public building within the Town.
3. The Town of Southbridge agrees that if at any time the will of James Denison should be removed from the Town, the will shall be returned to the aforesaid Randall Towne or to his heirs.
4. Randall Towne agrees to give said will to the Town of Southbridge, subject to the above conditions.
This agreement shall be binding on the heirs, executors, administrators and successors of the parties to this agreement.
Quoting from the Southbridge Historical Album 1816-1966 Sesquicentennial, "In 1792 forty-two petitioners applied to the General Court for land grants lying between Oxford and Brimfield, Brookfield and the Province line. The request was granted and an association of "proprietors" was formed, one of whom was James Deneson. On one of the lots he received in a drawing, July 1730, was a shelter formed by rocks. He settled in that cave in the fall of 1730 and began clearing his land.
There is a story that while working on his land he heard the sound of an ax from over the hills. He signalled on a tree trunk and began walking toward the sound of the answering signals of the unknown person. They saw each other on opposite banks of the river and each felled a pine tree across the river so that the tops met to form a crude bridge. They scampered to the middle and there they met. There is some disagreement as to the identity of the other person.
Deneson abandoned his shelter shortly after when sounds of prowling animals, bears or wolves, made it impractical to remain. That shelter is today easily visited on Dennison Hill. In 1901 it was marked for posterity by the Quinebaug Historical Society.
Deneson returned to work his land and was the first to bring his family into the wilderness. His daughter, Experience, born August 31, 1732, was the first white child born here. The first school was in his barn - conducted only during the summer as the barn was needed for storing hay in September. He became an important man and was elected 17 times as Selectman of what was then Sturbridge."
This section of Sturbridge became part of Southbridge on February 15, 1816 when the latter town was incorporated. The land is that mentioned in the Deneson will.
Publisher
C/WMARS http://www.cwmars.org/
Date
1777-05-10
Relation
Is part of Town of Southbridge archive on display in the Town Clerk's office
Format
text/html
Language
en-US
Type
text
Files
Collection
Citation
“Last will and testament of James Deneson credited as the first settler in Southbridge Massachusetts,” Digital Commonwealth , accessed May 22, 2013, http://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/items/show/1341.
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