SETTLEMENT
The south part of Prescott, which was taken from Pelham,
was probably first settled, as the latter town contained about,
forty families in the year 1742. At this time New Salem had,
just commenced to receive settlers.
Some of the first settlers in Prescott were the McConkeys
(afterwards Conkeys), McMillins, (later Millins and Mellen)
Grays, Crossetts, Peirces and Berrys.
There were four Conkey brothers, John, William, Alexander
and Thomas. The last three settled along the banks of the
Swift River near "Bobbinville". John lived on Prescott Hill
near the location of the Congregational parsonage. The house
used by William Conkey, not far from "Rattlesnake mountain"
and near the "old east cemetery", was still standing in 1910, and
on a heavy stone over the ancient fireplace there was neatly chis-
eled the inscription, "William Conkey, June Ye 21 st. 1776."
In all probability the McConkeys and McMillins were the
first to settle in the territory of what was afterwards Prescott.
Their settlement was about 1740.
The Crossett family came from the north of Ireland and
settled in Pelham about the year 1750. WiUiam Crossett settled
in the south part of the valley, (afterwards Prescott),^and one of
them settled in the north part of the town. James Crossett,
father of Liberty, passed his life on the original Crossett place
and was a man of great influence and sterling worth.
The Berry family settled in town about 1755, coming from
Rutland, Massachusetts, and finally settled on the old farm
occupied for many years by Betsy Berry, a descendant, and later
by her nephew, Charles Berry, until sold to the Water Commis-
sion. The great grandfather of John Berry (father of Charles),
was a cloth weaver as well as a farmer. He had four sons,
James, Alexander, and two others, who went west. James locat-
ed on the Gilbert place, and Alexander on the old farm. He had
four sons, John, James, Lockes and Alexander. John settled on
the old place, and died there in January 1873, at the advanced
age of eighty-four years. He had two children, John and Betsy.
John lived on the farm south of the Berry farm. He had several
children: Monroe, Charles, Annie, Henry and Frank. John
Berry died in June, 1901, the largest man to live in Prescott. He
weighed 354 pounds at one time.
Probably the earliest tavern was kept by William Conkey,
in the old house where Milo Abbott lived. And it is affirmed
that it was in and around this old inn that the first Revolutionary
soldiers from these parts were recruited. Shays, the commander
of Shays' rebellion was a resident of that part of Pelham, after-
wards in the town of Prescott. And it is said he mustered his
first recruits at this ancient inn. This building was two stories
high with capacious rooms and was conveniently fitted for this
purpose.
PINE GROVE CEMETERY
The latest cemetery to be made in Prescott was a private
one, "Pine Grove cemetery". There was an association organ-
ized in about 1880, which Appleton Pierce, Daniel Pierce, CD.
Powers, Fred Peirce and others in the town were responsible for
forming. Ellis White gave the land which was situated on the
Newhall place, about one third of a mile south of the North Pres-
cott chui'ch, on the east side of the road going to Atkinson Hol-
low. It included an area of about one and three-fourths acres
of high and dry soil.
Ellis White made all of the pickets for the fence which sur-
rounded it, by hand; Oscar Titus and Linus Peirce got out the
stone posts; Daniel Pierce, Waldo Peirce, Fred Peirce, Edward
Freeman and others helped to make the fence and paint it. The
stone posts were bought of Joseph Stone for two shillings apiece.
Everybody who owned a lot and signed the by-laws was con-
sidered a member of the Cemetery Association.
Hannah (Cole) Pierce was the first person buried in this
cemetery. She died January 29, 1881, and her husband, Apple-
ton Pierce, was the second. He died May 20, 1881.
In the beginning, these lots (four burial lots) were sold for
$5.00 each. Later they were sold for $10.00. About one half of
the lots were sold. Among those owning lots were: E. M. and
William Fisher, Daniel T. Pierce, Leslie M. Pierce, Lillie B.
34
Coolidge, Appleton Pierce, Ellis White, Joseph White, George L.
Johnson, Orison Powers, James P. Vaughn, M. E. Powers,
Howard A. Vaughan, Martin Vaughan, Frank Wolff, Joseph A.
Stacy, Oliver L. Wood, James D. Barnes, Wells Wheeler, Joseph
N. Shaw, David Peirce, E. White, William G. Hamilton, Her-
man E. Powers, Oscar A. Titus, William I. Thresher, Mrs.
George R. Paige, Foxwell T. Pierce, Park Hannum, Hosea T.
Hunt, J. W. Vaughn, L. A. Upton, Charles D. Powers, Henry R.
Cook, Edward A. Freeman, Ira Alden, Joseph Stone, Nelson
Whitaker, Elmer M. Aiken, Joseph N. Hamilton, J. D. Stone,
F. W. Wheeler, Herbert W. Barnes, Elmer A. Berry, Charles J.
Berry, George H. Berry, Charles Wheeler, Dexter M. Vaughan,
J. Andrus Hemenway, Jane Ashley, David B. Lawless, Charles
Hamilton, Henry E. Shaw, Howard I. Shaw, Criton G. Haskins,
R. Wheeler, Henry M. Haskins, Rector Reed, C. Welden, S. Lee
Haskins, Asa Moore, Henry N. Grover, William Dickey, Arthur
Barrows, Walter 0. Shaw, Carl W. Brown, Dr. Walter A. Clark,
Ed. P. Mitchell, Charles C. Tinkey, William L. Newton, W. 0.
Miller, CM. Brooks, William H. Jones, Frank A. Pettengill,
Ellis A. Thayer and Gould, Homer R. Blinn, Carl M. Pierce.
Bodies in two of the lots on April 1, 1942 were Joseph White,
his brother, Ellis White and wife, Hannah Almira (Pierce)
White, Appleton Pierce and wife Hannah (Cole) Pierce, their son,
Daniel T. Pierce and wife, Ellen A. (Peirce) Pierce. These
bodi es were m.oved from Pine^rove cemetery to the South cem- ,
etery, Orange, Massachusetts, October 20, 1943, by the Water
Commission. The body of Elizabeth Peirce, first wife of Mad-
ison Peirce, was also moved, and the stone on the lot was also
moved from Fish Hill cemetery, Prescott, to the Quabbin Park
cemetery.
'■ The Metropolitan Water Commission bought land in the
town of Ware for a cemetery wherein to re-locate all the bodies
it was necessary to remove from the cemeteries of the towns
bought up for the reservoir, including the three in Prescott,
Town House, Fish Hill and Pine Grove. The new burial ground,
given the name of Quabbin Cemetery, spreads over a large area
*-4n which there is no segregation of graves according to towns.
The writer's ancestors on both sides were born for many'
generations back, in Prescott, long before its incorporation, as
35
were some who rebelled at the thought of eventually being buried
in Ware. At the time Prescott was taken by eminent domain,
the writer owned a lot in Pine Grove Cemetery which, if it had
been possible, she would have been happy to retain. Second
choice, then, was South Cemetery in Orange, since it was nearer
the homes of the living members of the family. Accordingly,
the bodies of Appleton Pierce, Hannah Pierce, Daniel T. Pierce,
Ellen A. Pierce, Joseph White, Ellis White and Almira White
were removed to South Cemetery.
On May 23, 1942, payment was received for Pine Grove
Cemetery from the Water Commission and on July 9, in that
year, an acre of land was bought from Charles Doubleday of the
South road in Orange. Later, this land with a sum of money
received from the sale of the cemeterj^ was presented by Henry
White and the writer to the Prescott Historical Society, Inc., for
future establishment of an historical museum.
Two days were spent taking down the fence around Pine
Grove Cemetery, August 16th and 23rd and the fence was moved
away to storage September 15th. It was saved with the plan in
mind that it eventually enclose the plot on which the museum
will be erected. Edward and Elsie Goodreau, Alvin and Ethel
Brown and their children, Ruby and Henry White and Ruby's
nephew, Robert Sisson, Carl and Eva Pierce and the Harry Cool-
idge family, Harry, Lillie and Ellen, performed this work.
Jennings-Crossett — Francis Jennings of Prescott and Sarah
Crossett of Shutesbury, June 21, 1832, by Samuel
Henry, Justice of Peace.
a son to James and Mary (Upton) Barnes.
Berry: — Henry John, born September 26, 1866, in Prescott
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