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Page 15 text:
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In the Spanish campaign of 1740, Ruggles organized a company of 100 men at his own expense and marched them from Cape Cod to Boston, whereupon he received a commission as Captain. In 1753, he moved his family to Hardwich, which at that time was on the frontier. He was elected the town’s representative to the General Court. He established the Hardwich Agriculture Fair, an annual affair which continues to be held at the present time. The Brigadier was heard frequently to remark that the time would come when the colonies would “fall off from the parent state, as ripe fruit from the tree.” However, he believed the Whigs (the rebels’ political representatives) were shaking the tree for selfish economic reasons and the result eventually would prove disasterous for the colonies and the old country alike. His influence upon his professional colleagues was strong — so much ' so that it was said that “every Worcester County lawyer but one became a Loyalist refugee.’’ However, his own family itself was deeply divided. His wife refused to leave Hardwick when the war erupted. His favorite brother, his eldest son and many of his nephews were active Whigs. His brother-in-law was sent to the House of Representatives in his place. Word was received at Hardwick during August 1774 that Ruggles had been appointed to the Maudamus Council, a body loyal to the Crown. The Brigadier set out along the road from Hardwick to Boston. His neighbors gathered, under arms, to prevent his journey to take the oath. Timothy made it to Boston. After Ruggles’ departure from the town, the mansion in which he lived was plundered of its guns, and the Brigadier’s best English stallion poisoned. Timothy Jr. was placed under house arrest and the others were placed in the town pound to be fed bread and water. He never saw his home or wife again, but he regretted even more the abandonment of the sword which he had carried through the French and Indian War. He died at age 63 and was buried in Nova Scotia. n
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Page 14 text:
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Colonel Bigelow has been described as a man of fine personal appearance. His figure was tall and commanding, his posture erect and martial, and his step, one of the most graceful in the army. Since he had a flair for military life, he was deeply skilled in the science of war. The troops under his command and instruction, exhibited the highest degree of discipline. The Colonel possessed a vigorous intellect, an ardent temperment, and a generous heart. At White Marsh, Pennsylvania, about 14 miles from Philadelphia, Colonel Bigelow was recognized by General Washington as the same Captain Bigelow whom he had seen at Cambridge with a company of minutemen from Worcester. Washington introduced him to his fellow officers as the man who vanquished the former Loyalists from his own native town. When his term of service was finally over, he returned to Worcester for a few years. However, because he was unable to meet the debts incurred in support of his family during his absence, he was cast in Debtor’s Prison (located at the former County Jail in Worcester). Another famed militiaman from the Worcester area, was Timothy Ruggles. It has been said of Ruggles that if he had been willing . to be a rebel, then he, not Washington would have been commander in chief. But Timothy’s life took another course. Timothy Ruggles, more commonly known in those times as “Brigadier Ruggles’’ was born in Rochester, Massachusetts on October 20, 1711. As an adult he stood well over six feet tall. His complexion was dark and his physical appearance was handsome, with a stron and , commanding face. He graduated from Harvard College in 1732 and although trained as a minister, became a lawyer. He was admitted to . the Bar at Plymouth in 1733. In 1735, he married a widow named Bathesheba Bourne Newcomb, who inherited ownership of a tavern and two shops upon the death of her first husband. Although she had a ' prominent background, the general’s foes referred to her as “Nut-brown Kate.’’ i 10
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