42 FACTS RELATING TO GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 



EARLY RECOLLECTIONS. 



Among my early recollections was a stage-driver, Henry 

 Lewis Lawrence by name, who drove a coach from Groton 

 to Lowell and afterward to Fitchburg. He lived in the three- 

 story building at the south corner of Broad Meadow road 

 and Main street, opposite to the northerly corner of the com- 

 mon. Mr. Lawrence was the second son of Daniel Hall and 

 Kezia (Shattuck) Lawrence, of Pepperell, where he was born 

 on November 8, 1808. His mother had ten children, who all 

 lived to grow up to manhood or womanhood, and all but one 

 was married. His eldest sister, Kezia, was the wife of Moses 

 Gill of Groton, a well-known innholder, whom many persons 

 still remember. 



The mother died on October 4, 1822 — the day after 

 giving birth to her tenth child — aged 41 yrs. 6 mos. and 

 3 days. 



On December 20, 1832, Henry L. Lawrence married, at 

 Westford, Martha H. Leighton of that town ; and they had 

 three children born at Groton as follows : WiUiam Henry, on 

 October 14, 1834; George Lewis, on August 14, 1836; Maria 

 Augusta, on January 9, 1839. 



These two boys I knew very well and used to play with 

 them, though they were somewhat younger than I was. We 

 went to the same school, old District No. i, which stood op- 

 posite to the academy grounds. Many years ago Willard 

 Torrey gave me a list of the scholars that attended this 

 school in the winter of 1839-40, when he was a school com- 

 mittee man. At that time Edmund Dana Bancroft was the 

 teacher, and the paper is printed in the Groton Historical 

 Series (III. 151). According to this list the salary of the 

 master was eighteen dollars a month. 



Both these boys served in the army during the War of the 

 Rebellion with great credit to themselves, and for that reason 

 I write this notice of them. 



" Billy" Lawrence, as I used to call the elder of the brothers, 

 was mustered into the service of the United States on May 25, 



