Police Log 1893 – 1895

Five years for killing his wife didn’t satisfy residents,

June 29, 1893 – William A. Barrows has been sentenced to the Concord Reformatory for five years, one day to be solitary, for throwing a lighted lamp at his wife, causing her death.

June 30, 1893 – Public sentiment strongly disapproves the light sentence given W.A. Barrows for the brutal killing of his wife.

July 10, 1893 – The medical attendance of the Barrows woman cost owes $150.  Wrentham is expected to pay the bill.

July 28, 1893 – Patrick Farley has employed considerable of his time to good advantage to beautifying the grounds about the town house.  He works under no superintendence, and may prove a whole village improvement society in himself.

September 16, 1893 – Mrs. Ann Kearnes, a demented woman residing at the town home, strayed away from warden Clark’s protection Friday afternoon, and raised quite a ripple of excitement in the center of the town, until overseer Bartlett succeeded in getting her aboard one of the teams and started for the home.  The warden by this time had missed his charge, and met the committee, who gladly resigned their protege to his care.

By the time we get there it will be burnt to the ground anyway.

November 17, 1893 – At 5:30 this morning, a messenger from Braggville brought news of a fire at the west end, in a house owned by the Davoren estate.  An alarm was given, but owing to the distance the engineers ordered the steamers back, and went to the scene with a few firemen.

November 18, 1893 – Thursday night Officer Curran lodged 23 tramps in the lockup, and about half that number last night.

For once, it wasn’t an Irishman.

November 18, 1895 – The case of the little Frenchman arrested Friday night for disturbing the peace, came before the district court Saturday, and was continued for one week, in which time the court ordered him to leave the vicinity.

Pat Farley’s improved attitude lasted two years.

December 7, 1895 – The calling of the fire department in the midst of the severe snow storm which prevailed Thursday night was narrowly averted by the discovery by Officers Baker and Durfee that the person crying fire was Patrick Farley, who took this method of getting a night’s lodging in the lockup, with which he was accommodated.

Apparently, Holliston was in danger of becoming a nudist colony.

BY-LAWS TOWN OF HOLLISTON: Adopted by the Town, March 2, 1896:

Article V, Section 10.  No person shall bathe or swim in any of the waters within the town, in a state of nudity, in places exposed to public view, or in the immediate sight of the occupant or occupants of any dwelling-house, shop, or factory, or indulge in loud and boisterous conversation while bathing on the Sabbath Day, under penalty of not less than one nor more than twenty dollars for each offense.