Full text of "Chronicles of Danvers (old Salem village) Massachusetts, 1632-1923"

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CHRONICLES OF DANVCRS

OLD SALEM VILLAGE

Harriet Silvester Tapley

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I Chronicles of Danvers

I (OLD SALEM VILLAGE)

MASSACHUSETTS

1632 - 1923

By Harriet Silvester Tapley

With Numerous Illustrations

The Danvers Historical Society

Danvers, Massachusetts

1923

Printed by

NEWCOMB & GAUSS

SALEM, MASS.

1923

To THE Memory of
REV. ALFRED PORTER PUTNAM, D. D.,

1827-1906

A Loyal Son of Danvers

Whose love for the Town of his birth, through a long
Life of Distinguished Service in great centers of
activity, was unabated, and whose devoted labor in the
field of local history produced a rich harvest, invaluable
to future generations.

FOREWORD.

The following pages were written in 1898, with the
intention of bringing out a book for the use of the public
schools in the study of local history. Circumstances
prevented its publication at the time, and it is now
offered, with much additional matter, as a chronological
record of the principal events in the nearly three hun-
dred years of community life in this important section
of old Essex County.

Cordial thanks are due to all who have assisted in
the work, and especially to the Essex Institute, Peabody
Historical Society, Society for the Preservation of New
England Antiquities, Peabody Institute Library, Dan-
vers, and the Danvers Mirror Press, for courtesy in
loaning cuts.

The author is also greatly indebted for valuable
information to previous historians of Danvers, including
Rev. Charles W. Upham, Judge Alden Perley White,
Samuel P. Fowler, Rev. J. W. Hanson, Sidney Perley,
Esq., Andrew Nichols, Rev. Alfred P. Putnam, D. D.,
Ezra D. Hines, Rev. Charles B. Rice, D. D., Dudley
A. Massey, Frank Cousins, and others.

H. S. T.
April, 1923.

CONTENTS.

PAGES

I. When We Belonged to Salem 1-41

II. The Old Town of Danvers 42-175

III. Danvers Since the Division 176-212

IV. Old and Historic Estates 213-248

V. Civil History 249-262

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Annunciation Church, .... facing -page 179

Baptist Church, 90

"Battle of Bunker Hill," Trumbull's Painting of, . . 64

"Battle of Stillwater," Broadside, 92

Bell Tavern and Lexington Monument, .... 68

Berry Tavern, 54, 55

Bishop, Bridget, Warrant Eeturn, ..... 24

Black, Major Moses, House of, 90,115

"Brooksby," Residence of Mrs. William Austin Smith, . 144
Browne, Mary Burnet, ....... 36

Browne, Hon. William, ....... 86

Browne, Hon. William, House of, 37

"Burley Farm," Residence of George Augustus Peabody, 240, 241

Calvary Church, 178

Collins House, 104

Crane River, ......... 21

Crane River and Water Street, 90

Danvers Centennial Celebration, ..... 161

Danvers Historical Society House, ..... 199

Danvers Home for the Aged^ ...... 206

Danvers Square in 1836, ....... 125

Danvers State Hospital, . . . . .193

Driver House, ......... 225

Eastern Railroad, First Timetable of, . . • . 155

Endecott, Governor John, ....... 5

Endecott House, 9

Endecott Pear Tree, 4

Endecott-Piemont-Leech Tavern, ..... 55

First Church, 1701-1786, 40

First Church of 1891, 201

Folly Hill, 39

Fowler, Samuel, House of, 118-120

(ix)

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Essex

Gardner, Lt. George, House of,

General Court Act of 1676,

"Glide," Ship, .

Goodale, Isaac, House of, .

Haines, Thomas, House of.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Poem by,

Holten, Judge Samuel,

Holten, Judge Samuel, Residence of,

Holten, Samuel, Newspaper Clipping Referring to his

idency of Congress,
Hooper, Hon. Robert,
Houlton-Dempsey House,
Houlton-Wilkins House,
Howe Residence,

Hutchinson, Col. Israel, Birthplace of,
Hutchinson, Col. Israel, Home of, . . .
Hutchinson-Kimball House, ....
Independent Agricultural School of the County of

Ipswich Road, .

Jacobs, George, House of, ....

Jacobs, George, Trial of, .... .
Jordan Lodge, A. F. & A. M,, Signatures of Members
"Leslie's Retreat at North Bridge,"

"The Lindens,"

"Locust Lawn," .......

Log Cabin in Harrison Campaign,

Maple Street Church,

"Maplebank,"

"Maplewood," Newhall-Massey House,

"Margaret," Ship,

Methodist Episcopal Church,

Naumkeag House, ......

Needham, Anthony, House of, .

Newburyport and Dan vers and Georgetown Railroads,

table of ....... .

Nichols, John, House of, .... .

Nurse, Rebecca, House of, ....

Pres-

129
20

121
43
33

169
58
59

58
64

224

193

of, 105, 110
69
233-235
215, 224
137
179
225
214
121
136
55
128

Time-

154
16
29

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

^'Oak Knoll,"

Omnibus on Salem and Danvers Koute,

Osborn, Sir Danvers, and Birthplace of,

Page, Col. Jeremiah, Kesidence of,

Page, Capt. Samuel, Masonic Punch Bowl of,

Page, Capt. Samuel, Residence of.

Page, Capt. Samuel, Ship Lantern of,

Peabody, George, .....

Peabody, George,British War Vessels Conveying
Peabody, George, Inscription on Envelope sent by,
Peabody, George, Timetable Issued for Funeral of,
Peabody Farm Entrance, and Summer House,
Peabody Institute, .....

Peabody Institute Library, Delivery Room,
Peabody Medal, ......

Peabody Reception Arch at Danversport,

Peabody Reception Arch on High Street,

Peabody Reception, Arch on Maple Street,

Petition for Separation from Salem,

Phillips-Lawrence- Sanders House,

Plan of a part of Danvers Highlands, 1730,

Pope, Amos, Almanac of,

Pope, Amos, Birthplace of.

Porter, Gen. Moses,

Porter, Gen. Moses, Birthplace of.

Porter, John, House of,

Porter, Zerubbabel, Shoe Factory of,

Porter-Bradstreet House,

Porter's River, ....

Prince, Dr. Jonathan, House of,

Prince-Osborne House,

Putnam, Rev. Dr. Alfred Porter,

Putnam, Dr. Amos,

Putnam, Hon. Elias, House of, .

Putnam, Gen. Israel, .

Putnam, Gen. Israel, Birthplace of,

Putnam, Col. Jesse, House of.

Remains of

229

184
42
68
111
114
114
165
172
161
174
240, 242, 243
168, 169
173
172
160
160
164
41
225
49
100
101
74
101
12
101
16
12
65
25
198
43
206
64, 74
75, 214
206

Xll

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Putnam, Judge Samuel,

Putnam, Judge Samuel, Residence of,

Putnam, Thomas, House of,

Putnam Home, .

Putnam-Clark House,

Putnam-Crawford House,

Putnam -Perry House,

Putnam-Preston Peabody House,

Putnam-Sears House,

Putnam's Pond and Mill,

Rea-Dodge House,

Rea-Putnam- Fowler House,

Read, Hon. Nathan, .

Read-Crowninshield-Porter House,

"Riverbank," Residence of John Frederick

St. John's Preparatory School, .

Silvester, Joshua, Residence of,

Skelton's Neck Division,

Starting for the Ohio,

Summer House on the Peabody Farm,

Town Hall and High School,

Training Field and Upton Tavern,

Unitarian Church,

Universalist Church, .

Upton Tavern, Peabody,

Wadsworth, Rev. Benjamin, House of.

Waters River and Beverly Shore,

Waters River and Endecott Grant,

Whittier, John Greenleaf, .

Hussey,

66
67
115
207
13
25
104
48
185
67
184
48
97
96, 97
232
200
175
32
93
240
192
frontispiece
178
124
145
91
38
9
228

"Danvers may well be proud of her history. She is
one of a group of towns which has done as much for the
liberties of the nation and the world as any other equal
population on the continent."

— Hon. Robert Bantoul, Jr., 1852.

I. WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM.

1632-1752.

THE EARLY SETTLERS AND WHAT
THEY FOUND HERE.

Boundaries. — The Town of Danvers is, approxi-
mately, five miles from east to west and four from north
to south. It is bounded on the north by Wenham and
Topsfield, east by Wenham, Beverly and Salem, south
by Peabody, west by Topsfield and Middleton.

Early Settlement and Name. — Reports had
reached England, through men engaged in the fishing
industrj^ that there was an excellent opportunity in the
region of Cape Ann for fishing and farming. The re-
ports were so encouraging that in 1628, John Endecott,
with a company called the "Dorchester Company," set
sail from Dorchester, England, and in the autumn of
that year landed at Naumkeag, or Salem, as the white
settlers soon named it. Endecott was a man of daunt-
less courage; benevolent, though austere; firm in his
convictions and of a rugged nature. Craving religious
toleration in the land of his birth, he oftentimes forgot
to exercise that spirit toward his associates of the new
world. In this new country the Dorchester Company
not onl}^ expected to profit in a commercial way, but to
be able to enjoy that religious freedom which they had
longed for in their native land.

Territory Comprising Salem. — Endecott and his
company found nine houses and about one hundred

(1)

2 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

people in the territory called Salem, which then com-
prised besides the present city of that name, Beverly,
Manchester, Wenham, Marblehead, Danvers, Peabody,
Middleton and a part of Topsfield. The people they
found already there were called "Planters." They had
recently come from the vicinity of Gloucester, where
the fishing business had not reached their expectations,
and were about to try their fortunes in and around
Naumkeag. Among them Roger Conant was the most
prominent. He was a fisherman, and built the first
house in Salem. He was born in Budleigh, England,
in 1591, and died in Salem, 19 Nov., 1679. Cotton
Mather spoke of him as "a most religious, prudent and
worthy gentleman."

First Grant. — John Endecott, who had been elected
Governor of the new colony before they embarked from
England, brought with him legal papers which con-
veyed to six of the men of his party all the land included
in the present Essex County, and portions of Norfolk,
Suffolk and Middlesex counties. This was called a
grant, and was obtained in England from the "Council
for New England," which had charge of all the settle-
ments in this part of the country.

Government. — The colony now had a Governor, but
as yet no method had been suggested whereby the colo-
nists could have a voice in conducting the affairs of the
plantation. Thus early did thej^ declare themselves in
favor of a government by the people. The year follow-
ing the settlement, a corporation was formed under
Charter^ from Charles I of England, called "The Gov-
ernor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New
England," which continued for fifty-five years. It gave
power to the freemen of the Company to elect each year
a governor, deputj^ and eighteen assistants, who made

J A duplicate is in the Salem Athenaeum.

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 8

the laws and settled all questions of dispute. These
men constituted the Great and General Court. To be-
come a freeman, each person was required to be a
respectable member of the church and take oath before
the Great and General Court that he would uphold the
government. jNIatthew Craddock was the first home
governor elected. He was a prosperous merchant of
London, who aided the colonists, in large measure, with
monc}^ and influence. Salem's history as a town dates
from about the year 1G33.

Condition of the Country and of the Early
Settlers. — The colonists became fishermen of neces-
sity.^ To the disappointment of manj^ the soil near the
coast was found to be unsuited to prosperous farming,
but the sea was swarming with fish of all kinds. The
Indians of this region had lived upon fish for genera-
tions, were occupied in this pursuit more generally than
in hunting, and the white settlers also soon found in this
business a lucrative emplo5^ment. Their fishing boats
were called shalloi^s, which were large boats with a deck,
something like a ship's long-boat.

The Indian tribes around Salem had been depleted
by sickness to a great extent during the few years pre-
vious to Endecott's arrival, and consequently did not
give the colonists the trouble that was experienced in
other sections of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, yet
there was always constant fear of attack. Added to
this, sickness without medical aid, scarcity of food and
shelter, and a climate to the severity of which they were
unaccustomed, the early company suffered untold mis-
ery during the first winter.

The Naumkeag Tribe. — The Naumkeags, who oc-
cupied the land in this region, were, in the years of their

1 See Gilbert L. Streeter's "Storj' of Winter Island and Salem Neck,"
in Essex Institute Hist. Coll., Vol. xxxiii.

4 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

strength, a prosperous, numerous and powerful tribe.
Nanepashemet.^ was the chief of this tribe. He was
killed in 1619. When the settlers arrived from England,
the chief's wife or squaw was living in Salem with her
three sons. She afterwards became the squaw of an
Indian priest, and left the settlement. Her son George
succeeded to all the country of the tribe, which extended
from the Naumkeag to the Mystic river, thereby rising
to the dignity of old Nanepashemet, as far as amount
of territory was concerned. His Indian name was Win-
napurkitt, but he was often called George Rumney
Marsh" or No Nose. He died in 1684, transferring his
extensive claims to a relative, who attempted to hold
them against the settlers. But it was of no avail, and
in 1686, for the sum of 40 pounds, Salem bought all the
Indian title^ to her territorj'-, as did other towns round
about. Thus effectually did the early settlers, here as
in other parts of the country, crowd out the original
owners of the territory. George left descendants, but
they were simply wanderers in the land which their
fathers had trod in majestj^

GRANTS TO SALEM FARMERS.

First Settlers in Danvers. — As the settlers could
find no suitable land for cultivation near the sea, quite
naturally those who wished to engage in farming gradu-
ally pushed back into the country, away from the coast.
For this reason that part of old Salem known as
Brooksby, now Peabody,^ was settled by men from the
Company who were granted tracts of land for farms
as early as 1635. About the same time land was taken

1 Indian name of Marblehead.

2 Eunmey Marsh was the name given to the present Chelsea.

3 The deed by which Salem came into possession of the territory now
hangs in City Hall.

4 Danvers and Peabodj^ were one town until 1855.

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GOVERNOR JOHN ENDECOTT

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 5

up in what is now Danvers by Richard Weston at
Danvers Highlands, and Richard Waterman near by,
probably at Beaver Brook. They soon removed to
Providence, R. I., where they were reckoned among
the leading citizens, being prominently identified with
the founding of the first Baptist Church in America, at
that place. Weston sold his estate to Richard Ingersoli
and William Haynes, and Waterman's was incorpo-
rated in that of John Putnam.

Endecott Grant. — Governor Endecott received the
first Colonial gi-ant made by the Great and General
Court at its session on July 3, 1632, on account of the
great service he had rendered the colony. It consisted
of 300 acres of land in the present Danversport, and
was bounded on the east by Danvers river, then called
Wooleston, known to the Indians as Orkhussunt; on
the north by Crane, then called Duck river, known to
the Indians as Conamabsquenooncant ; and on the south
by Waters, then Cowhouse river, known to the Indians
as Soewamapenessett. This neck of land, as it was
termed, had an Indian name, Wahquainesehcok, which,
in English, means "Birchwood." The year following,
the Governor set about clearing the farm, built a house,
cultivated the land, and named his new estate "Orchard
Farm."^ Rich in natural beauty, the farm developed
under the personal care of its owner into the most at-
tractive estate of the colony. The house was situated on
a knoll overlooking the beautiful streams of water, across
the street from the house now standing on the estate.

As there were no roads through the woods, or bridges
in this part of Salem, at this time, the Governor was
obliged to make the trip between his home and Salem
town by water, and many a day did he embark in his
shallop, near the present iron works, for the scene of

1 Now the farm of Williami C. Endicott, Esq., on Endicott street.

6 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

his Colonial duties. The Governor's old spring of water
is yet to be seen in a cove of Waters river.

"Shaded spring whereof he drank,
On the pleasant willow-bank."

In the Endecott burying ground at "The Pines," so-
called, lie the remains of several generations of Ende-
cotts. This property is still owned by a descendant of
the Governor. Governor Endecott was buried in King's
Chapel burying ground, Boston.

Endecott Pear Tree. — The Governor was a lover
of trees of every description, and in the early days of
his settlement at "Orchard Farm," he gave much atten-
tion to the native fruits of the countrj^ His orchard of
pear trees, supposed to have been sent from England
previous to 1640, were the first cultivated fruit-bearing
trees in New England, the planting of which was an
event of great interest. The last representative of the
orchard is still in existence, near the site of the Gover-
nor's house. It is said that this tree was planted by the
Governor's own hands. It is known throughout the
country as "The Endecott Pear Tree," and as it stands
in the pasture, solitary and alone, its marvellous age
written in its decaying branches, it recalls to mind a
nation's history. Governor Endecott little thought

"That when centuries had passed.
Bloom and fruitage still would last,
Still a growing, breathing thing,
Autumn, with the heart of spring."

The Governor was also said to be the first to plant the
"white weed," which has proved such an annoyance to
farmers. It was cultivated for its beauty and for me-
dicinal purposes.^

1 See Charles M. Endicott's "Biography of the Governor."

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 7

Early Dwelling Houses. — The houses of the early
settlers were very similar to one another in construction,
differing only in size and appointments, according to
the wealth of their occupants. Each man was without
a doubt the architect of his own habitation, and often-
times he was the carpenter as well. The better class of
houses^ were two stories high, the upper story jutting
out a foot or two beyond the lower; some of these had
peaks on each side of the roof, forming small chambers.
The timbers were very large, hewn by hand, and no
attempt was made to encase any of the beams in the
rooms. Such houses had small windows, with diamond-
shaped panes, and the walls were "daubed" with clay
and sometimes whitewashed. One large chimney served
for the large kitchen fireplace. Houses of the farmers
were for the most part plainly built, often with a long
sloping roof at the back called a "leanto."

Means of Travel and Communication. — On ac-
count of the nature of the country, covered as it was
with forests and rocks, the early settlers used the rivers
almost exclusively for means of communication. It
was easy and convenient, and they had little time to
spend in laying out roads in this wilderness. Canoes
made of the trunks of pine trees hollowed out had been
in use by the Indians, but the colonists needed some-
thing more substantial, and the flat-bottom boat of the
dory style was invented. After a while, paths from
one farm to another were made by constant passing, and
later when horses began to be used the path became
a "bridle road" that led from village to village, over
which the heavy two-wheeled ox-carts travelled. Every
one could ride a horse. The Yankee boy, "riding horse
to plough," learned full familiarity with equestrian atti-
tudes and became a fearless horseman, and the Yankee

1 See Pickering house, Salem.

8 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

girl acquired the spirit of freedom and contempt of
danger.

Before long, the sound of wheels began to be heard.
The richer among the colonists remembered that the
man of wealth at home in England always kept his car-
riage. They would do the same. And with the intro-
duction of wheeled vehicles, better roads became a neces-
sity. But now the streams, which had formerly aided
in communication, became the worst of obstacles, so
that ''ferries" were established where the water was too
deep to be forded. As yet the colonists were not suffic-
iently endowed with this world's goods to construct
bridges.

First Road in Danvers. — The road known as "The
Old Ipswich Road," was the first highway in use in the
town. It commences at Conant street, where Danvers
joins North Beverly and runs over Conant, Elm, Ash
and Sylvan streets, and on through Peabody. This road
was originally an old Indian trail, and was in use by the
white settlers as early as 1630. In the British Museum,
London, is an old map of this vicinity, which shows this
ancient way as having been laid out previous to 1634.
The General Court appropriated money for its improve-
ment in 1643. Many distinguished people have passed
over it, as it was for years the only direct route from
Ipswich and surrounding towns to Boston. In 1634,
Governor John Winthrop rode from Boston on a visit
to his son, John Winthrop, Jr., in Ipswich ; the Mathers,
Justices Hawthorne and Curwen, of witchcraft days,
and Rebecca Nurse on her way to Salem jail; the Eng-
lish Governor, General Thomas Gage and his English
troops ; Capt. Henry Dearborn, afterward Secretary of
War under Jefferson; John Adams, Josiah Quincy, and
John Quincy Adams often used this old road. Benedict
Arnold and his troops, with the celebrated Capt. Daniel

ASH STREET
A portion of the Old Ipswich road, laid out as a highway from Boston to Ipswich before 1634

^f^

HOULTON-liEMl'SKY HOUSE, CEN TRI', STKEET
Built by Joseph Houlton probably soon after 1670

WATERS RIVER AND ENDECOTT GRANT

THE ENDECOTT HOUSE ON "ORCHARD FARM "
Built in the early part of the i8th century. Now owned by William Crowninshield Endicott

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 9

Morgan, took this road on their memorable march from
Cambridge to Quebec in 1775; and it was along this
road that the bodies of the Danvers men slain in the
Battle of Lexington were brought to their homes, made
desolate by that first engagement in 1775.

Skelton's Grant. — Rev. Samuel Skelton, the first
minister of the new colony, who arrived in Salem in
1629, was granted by the Colonial government five
years later, the other neck of land at Danversport, com-
prising 200 acres. It was bounded on the east by Por-
ter's river, on the south by Porter's and Crane river,
and on the west by Crane river. This portion of the
town received the name of "Skelton's Neck." The
Indian name was Wahquack, and it was afterwards
called "New Mills." Skelton was a Puritan of the
strongest type, rugged, enduring, and possessed of a
brilliant mind. He was educated at Clare Hall, Cam-
bridge, England, and died in Salem. His election to
the office of minister was by ballot, the first instance
of this method of choice in the new world.

Humphrey's Grant. — These two grants, Endecott's
and Skelton's, gave the Governor and minister a pre-
sumptive title to all the town north of Waters river.
The remaining grantee, created by the Colonial gov-
ernment, was John Humphrey, who in 1635 received
a gift of a large number of acres in that part of the town
now Peabody, near the Lynnfield line, together with a
pond and island. This pond is known as Humphrey's
pond, and upon the island in its midst the first settlers
erected a fortification, as a retreat from the Indians.

Other Early Settlers. — Subsequent landowners
by grant or purchase were : Thomas Read, where now is
"Oak Hill," Peabody; Townsend Bishop, at the iSTurse
farm; William Alford at Cherry Hill; Richard Inger-
soll, east side of Porter's river; Hugh Peters, east of

10 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

Frostfish brook; Elias Stileman, north of Bishop;
Thomas Gardner in West Peabody ; Daniel Rea in Put-
namville; Richard Hutcliinson at Whipple's hill; Major
William Hathorne at Hathorne Hill; Capt. Richard
Davenport in Putnamville ; Job Swinerton near Bishop ;
Robert Goodell, near Swinerton; Jacob Barney, Law-
rence, John and Richard Leach in East Danvers;
Charles Gott, at the "Burley Farm"; Allen Kenniston,
Thomas Smith, near the Topsfield line; William Nich-
ols, the present Ferncroft district; Joseph Houlton,
near the First Church; Thomas Preston, between Ende-
cott and Bishop; Joseph Pope, south of the Danvers
and Peabody line.

The Militia; Cutting Out the Red Cross. — As
soon as the colonists arrived, military companies were
organized for protection from the Indians, and the men
of this district were not slow in joining. In 1631, the
General Court ordered that each Captain should drill
or "train" his men, as it was called, every Saturday.
This rule was somewhat modified in the years which
followed. It was during one of these trainings in 1634
that Governor Endecott cut the red cross from the flag.
The colors then consisted of a green field with a white
union, having upon it the red cross of England. At
that period a strong opposition was felt against every
symbol of Popery, and the bold act of Endecott was
secretly approved by the principal men of the colony.
This act was construed in England as one of rebellion,
and for the sake of pacifying the people in the mother
country, the General Court summoned Endecott to
appear before that body. His punishment was the loss
of his election as assistant.

"The discipline of the Colonial soldier was severe at
this time, for we read that it was enacted that 'any dis-
obeying his officer should be set in the stocks or be

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 11

whipped.' Military officers also directed the arms that
men should carry in going from home, and particularly
when attending church. The sight of a stalwart citizen
of Danvers today, heavily armed and marching up and
down the sidewalk in front of a church door, narrowly
watching every approach, while Sunday morning ser-
vice was in progress, and the subsequent exit of the
congregation, each man with a heavy matchlock carry-
ing a bullet of fifteen to the pound, on his shoulder,
would strike us as rather odd. But it was quite the cor-
rect thing in the sixteen-forties."

Pequot War. — New settlers began to take up their
abode in the large tract of land afterward named Dan-
vers. The houses were scattered, but the settlement
sustained a healthy growth. In 1636, the Pequot War
broke out, and on August 25 of that year, ninety men,
among whom were doubtless a few from Danvers, under
command of Endecott, volunteered their services. The
results of this expedition were the destruction of much
corn and other property of the Indians. Two soldiers
were killed. The trip consumed three weeks. The fol-
lowing year another company from Salem joined the
jNIassachusetts force under Stoughton for the purpose
of again attacking the Pequots. In this engagement
none were lost.

SETTLEMENT AND LIFE AT SALEM
VILLAGE.

Founding of Salem Village. — The first real set-
tlement of any proportions in the territory now covered
by Danvers and Peabody was the locality called Salem
"Village" or "Farms," comprising all of the present
Danvers Highlands. In 1638, the "seven men" or
selectmen of Salem granted to Rev. John Phillips the

12 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

right to establish a village there, on the condition that
lie would settle and build up the place. This he agreed
to do, but he did not fulfill his promise and returned to
England. With him, however, it is supposed that such
men as Hutchinson, Goodale, Flint, Needham, Buxton,
Swinerton, Andrews, Fuller, Walcott, Pope, Rea, Fel-
ton, Osborn, and others came to the new village and
remained. These families may be regarded as among
the founders of Salem Village. The Village included
all the land, not then occupied, between Waters river
and the Ipswich river. The people were engaged in
farming, from which they derived the name of "The
Farmers," to distinguish them from the people of Salem
town. Active, industrious, frugal and intelligent, they
were well fitted to make fertile and profitable farms
out of what was then but a rough wilderness. A vast
amount of patient labor must have been required to first
break the soil and make the rough places smooth.

John Putnam's Grant. — It is to be remembered
that all grants before mentioned were made by the Gen-
eral Court. The selectmen of Salem, as a town govern-
ment began to assume shape, also granted land to indi-
viduals. Among the early grants was that of John
Putnam, about 1640. Putnam had come from Buck-
inghamshire, England, with his wife and three sons, and
as a family thej^ were thrifty and sturdy and embodied
all the characteristics of the early settlers of the better
class. His farm included the land along Whipple's
brook, from Putnam's mill on Sylvan street to the house
in which Gen. Israel Putnam was born, corner New-
bury and Maple streets in Danvers. The house in which
he lived was situated by the side of the old well, which
may still be seen near "Oak Knoll," on Summer street.
He was born at Aston Abbots, England, about 1580;
died in Salem Village, now Danvers, December 30,

PORTER'S RIVER, LOOKING FROM ELLIOTT STREET AT FROSTFISH BROOK
TOWARD DANVERSPORT

JOHN PORTER HOUSE

Built about 1647. Destroyed by fire, September, 1865.

Copied from a memory sketch made by Mrs. Mary Weston Dodge

O o

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 13

1662. From him are descended all of the name of Put-
nam in this country.

Downing and Cole Grants. — Other large grants
made about this time (1635-38) were to Emanuel
Downing/ comprising 500 acres in the vicinity of Mount
Pleasant, Peabody, and also the land in the eastern part
of the present Danvers, between Beaver Brook and
Conant street; and to Robert Cole, 300 acres in the
vicinity of the Rogers farm, "Oak Hill," Peabody.
Downing was a lawyer of the Inner Temple. His sec-
ond wife was Lucy Winthrop, sister of the Governor.
He was father of Sir George Downing, a member of
the first class graduated from Harvard, and for whom
Downing street in London, the residence of the Prime
Minister of England, was named.

John Porter Estate. — In 1644, John Porter came
from Hingham, where he had lived a short time, and
according to tradition sailed up Porter's river, then
called "Frost Fish river," and settled on its banks at a
point rear of the present Unity Chapel. He had bought
from Samuel Sharp the entire territory now known as
Danvers Plains, 300 acres, for the meager sum of one
hundred and ten pounds of English money. A few
years later he purchased the Downing grant just men-
tioned and other estates, becoming the landowner of the
time. What is known today as "The Plains," was called
"Porter's Plain" for years, in honor of John Porter.
This pioneer built his house on a pleasant knoll just up
from the river bank, the location of which can still be
traced. He was a man of Puritan integrity and an
intimate friend of Governor Endecott throughout the
latter's life. Porter was a tanner by occupation, and
is said to have estabhshed the first tannery in New Eng-

1 See "No. 10 Downing Street," by Ezra D. Hines, in Danvers His-
torical Collections, Vol. 9.

14 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

land. He shipped at least two consignments of leather
to the Barbadoes. In civil life he had the highest posi-
tions within the gift of his townsmen; in time of peril
he gave his services loyally to his country ; in the church
he was willing to bear a full share of responsibility.
From John Porter are descended all the Danvers
Porters and many of that name throughout the country.

Dissatisfaction at Salem Village. — During the
next twenty years, as the population of the Village in-
creased, from time to time dissatisfaction began to show
itself among the people. The "Farmers" were obliged
to ride or walk to Salem town for the transaction of all
business, both public and private, and for public wor-
ship. Some wished to be set off from Salem as a sepa-
rate town, while others expressed themselves as content
if liberty should be granted them to establish a separate
parish, still retaining their connection with the town of
Salem. They were then paying for the support of the
minister at Salem town, as well as their proportion of
the town rate, and they rebelled against maintaining a
church whose services, on account of the distance, they
could seldom enjoy.

In 1667, the farmers petitioned the General Court
for relief from serving on the military watch in Salem
town, as they claimed that it left their families at home
improtected. They had appealed to the county court
without effect, and the town continuing to warn them
"in his Majesty's name and per order of the Militia,"
they obeyed rather, as they said, to avoid trouble than
because they thought it was their duty. Major Denni-
son, the commander of their regiment, being predis-
posed in their favor. Some of them lived ten miles
from Salem town, and the nearest were five miles, which,
including travel to the sentry place, totaled about eleven
miles that many had to march with arms and ammuni-

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 15

tion. This was, in their estimation, more than a sol-
dier's march who was under pay. Further, "the distance
of our houses one from another, some a mile, some fur-
ther, it beinf;' difficult to send one neighbor to another
on dark nights in a wilderness so little cleared and ways
so impassible. When one man is taken away from many
of our families, of the rest, some are young, some sickly
and weak not able to help themselves, much less to make
any resistance if violence be offered. The news that we
are to watch, strikes like darts to the Hearts of some
of our wives that are weak. The advantage that Indi-
ans have by knowledge that such and such families are
left destitute of help for two or three miles about, for
example there were 19 warned for one night and had
they all gone it would have cleared the strength of two
or three miles. Salem, a populous town of near 300
able persons, with a fort, pleads that these are danger-
ous times and they are not able to keep a watch without
us. These times are not as dangerous to Salem town
as to our selves, for we know of no obligation upon the
enemy first to assault Salem Towne when they may
come to shore at divers other places and come upon us
by land and meet neither with fort nor 400 men under
the warning of an alarm. Hath Salem town not more
cause to send help to us than we to go to them. We
have not 50 persons for watch, they a compact town,
we so scattered that 6 or 8 watches will not secure us
and so far from the town that Cambridge Village or
INIilton may as easy go to Boston to watch as we to
Salem, and leave their families in a great deal more
safety because they have towns near to help them."
This petition was signed by Job Swinerton, Sr., Robert
Goodell, Philip Knight, Jonathan Knight, Isaac
Goodell, Zachery Goodell, Robert Prince, Joseph
Houlton, Jonathan Walcott, Xathaniel Ingerson, Rob-
ert Moulton, John Smith, Nathaniel Carrill, Job Swin-

16 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

erton, Jr., Thomas Flint, Giles Cory, Thomas Small,
Benjamin Woodrow, John Leach, Joshua Rea, James
Hadlock, John Porter, Richard Hutchinson, Jacob
Barney, Jr., Jacob Barney, Sr., Richard Leach, Na-
thaniel Putnam, Joseph Hutchinson, Henry Kenny,
Joseph Porter, John Putnam. As a result, the colony
decreed that all "Farmers' who lived four miles from
the Salem meeting house should be exempt.^

Petition for the New Parish and Boundaries. —
At length, in 1670, a formal petition- was presented
to the town of Salem, asking for a separate parochial
organization. The petitioners were Thomas Small, Lott
Kellum, John Smith, John Buxton, John Wilkins,
Jonathan Knight, Philip Knight, Thomas Flint, John
Hutchinson, Richard Hutchinson, Job Swinerton, Rob-
ert Goodale, Nathaniel Putnam, Thomas Fuller, John
Putnam, Bray Wilkins, John Gingill, Nathaniel Inger-
soU, Thomas Putnam. To this the Villagers received
a sort of half-hearted assent.

Another petition presented to the General Court in
1672 gave them the authority to organize a parish, hire
a minister, and erect a meeting house, the inhabitants
of the Village to be taxed for the support of the same.
Thus they were released from longer paying taxes to
Salem town for the support of preaching. The new
parish, called "Salem Village Parish," included all the
families living in the territory now covered by Danvers
(except Danversport), about half of Peabody and a
portion of Beverly.

Explanation of "The Parish." — This territory
was set off for parish purposes only. A parish in those
days did not signify what it does today. It was distinct

1 Mass. Archives, Vol. 112, leaf 175,

2 The orig-inal is to be seen at the First Church parsonage. A copy
is at Town Hall.

JOHN NICHOLS HOUSE
Built about 1679. Opened as " Ferncroft Inn " in 1S92 Destroyed by fire May 11, 1906

.OK.LK-IKADSTREET HOUSE, LOCUST STRKET

Built about ,665. on land originally granted to Emanuel Downing, by Joseph Porter, who received

the land as his portion upon marriage with Anna, daughter of Major William Hathorne.

Came into possession of Captain Dudley Bradstreet about 1810

WHEN TTE BELONGED TO SALEM 17

from the church organization. The parish was, in
reahty, the town, and in the parish meeting all matters
relating to the schools, roads, raising of men and money
in time of war, as well as the support of preaching,
were discussed and acted upon, as in the town meetings
of the present day. So that these old parish records are
substantially the records of town business up to the
time the Town of Danvers was set off from Salem
(1752).

It was understood that no church organization was
to be formed at first in the new district. The Salem
church was unwilling to part at once with such a large
number of its members. Consequently, during the first
few years of the existence of the parish, the people still
retained their membership in the old church at Salem.

First Meeting; First Meeting House. — The
"Farmers" held their first meeting on November 11,
1672, levied their taxes and engaged Mr. Bayley, a
young man of twenty-two, a graduate of Harvard, as
their first minister at the small salary of forty pounds
a year. Mr. Bajdey was a well-meaning man, but he
was inexperienced, and disagreements between him and
tile people characterized his pastorate. The following
year (1673) the first meeting house was erected. It
was a small, rude wooden structure, 34 feet long and
28 feet wide. In addition to money paid by the people
to build the house, butter and wheat were accepted,
which being choice articles in those days could be
readilj^ exchanged for nails and glass. The windows of
glass were made to swing outward in opening, and in
general appearance it was similar to other houses of
that period. It was situated on land given by Joseph
Hutchinson, in the field now corner of Hobart and
Forest streets.

18 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

Mr. Bayley afterwards became a physician, removing
t«) Roxbury. He died in 1707. Subsequent ministers
have been: George Burroughs, 1680-83; Deodat Law-
son, 1684-88; Samuel Parris, 1688-96; Rev, Joseph
Green, 1698-1715; Rev. Peter Clark, 1717-68; Rev.
Benj. Wadsworth, 1772-1826; Rev. M. P. Braman,
1826-61; Rev. C. B. Rice, 1863-94; Rev. C. M. Geer,
1894-97; Rev. H. C. Adams, 1897-1910; Rev. C. S.
Bodwell, 1910-14; Rev. A. V. House, 1914.

Salem Village Militia and Training Place. — A
marked feature of the men of Salem Village was their
military spirit. In 1671 a military company was
formed. Adults of every description joined it, includ-
ing men much beyond middle life. Titles of rank once
obtained in the militia were never forsaken by the
"Farmers." Their training place from the earliest times
was the "Common" at Danvers Highlands, which was
given by Deacon Nathaniel Ingersoll in his will of 1709,
to the inhabitants of Salem Village for a training place
forever. Here the sturdy yeoman learned the manual
of arms; here the minute-men rallied for the march to
Lexington ; and in all the wars of this country this spot
has been the scene of numberless drills. The boulder
which marks the field, bears the following inscription :

Deacon Nathaniel Ingersoll
1634-1719

GAVE THIS LAND TO THE INHABITANTS

OF Salem Village as

A Training Place Forever.

to the memory of him, and of the

brave men who have gone hence

to protect their homes and to

serve their country, this stone

is erected by the

Town, 1894.

when we belonged to salem 19

Salem Village in King Philip's War;^ The
Narragansett Fight. — The Village was largely repre-
sented in all the engagements of the terrible war known
as "King Phihp's War" (1675-76) . Philip was an able
and great Indian leader. From the moment the wliite
man landed, he saw the doom of the Indian sealed. He
had exchanged the rude bow and arrow for the English
musket, and flattered himself that he would be the more
prepared to meet the redman's foe. For many years he
remained friendly to the settlers, but his nature revolted
at the growing encroachments of the English, and in
1675 he struck the fearful blows that sent consternation
throughout the Colony. He fought bravely for two
years, his warriors surprising, attacking and burning
towns all over the colony, but at last he was surrounded
by a force of English soldiers, and shot as mercilessly as
he had dealt with the colonists. At the storming of
Narragansett Fort, December 19, 1675, were five men^
from Salem Village, who served in Capt. Prentice's
troop of horse,^ and seven^ in the command of Major
Samuel Appleton. Capt. Joseph Gardner, who was a
man of much importance in Salem, commanded a com-
pany, nine^ of whom were from the Village. Captain
Davenport, another native of Salem Village, had com-
mand of a force and fell in the fight. When killed, he
was dressed in a buff suit. These men in the heart of
the winter penetrated the fastnesses of the Indians and

1 See "Soldiers in King- Philip's War," by Rev. G. M. Bodge.

2 They were Thomas Putnam, Jr., Thomas Flint, Sr., Joseph Hutch-
inson, Henry Kenney and Thomas Howard.

3 Horse companies were composed of fifty men, with a captain, lieu-
tenant, trumpeter, quartermaster, sergeants, clerk, corporals and cor-
net, the latter in place of the drummer of the foot companies,

4 They were Israel Herrick, Thomas Abbey, John Raymond, Robert
Leach, Samuel Hebbert, Stephen Butler, Samuel Verry.

5 They were Joseph Houlton, Jr., Tliomas Flint, Thomas Kenney,
John Stacey, Eleazer Lyndsey, Thomas Bell, Charles Knight, Isaac
Reed, William Hathorne.

20 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

in the face of a fearful fire attacked the forts of the
enemy. There were nine^ others from the Village in
the Narragansett fight, making a total of thirty-eight
in that expedition alone. Eight more" were in Capt.
Nicholas Page's company of troopers in the expedition
against Mount Hope, the home of Phihp, the same
year.

Villagers Killed at Bloody Brook. — By far the
most terrible engagement of the war was the famous
conflict at Bloody Brook, in Deerfield, on Sept. 18,
1675, when Capt. Thomas Lothrop and seventy- one of
his men, almost entirely from Essex county, were slain
by the Indians. Capt. Lothrop was one of the tax
payers of Salem Village, although his home was in the
present Beverly. He married Bethia Rea, who lived at
the Rea-Putnam-Eowler house, off Locust street, Put-
namville. She was the daughter of Daniel Rea, who
was granted land in that locality in 1632, and who prob-
ably built the house now standing, owned by the Fowler
estate. His undaunted courage had won for him much
fame in the earlier Indian wars, and many young men
from the best families in the colony eagerly joined his
company. For this reason, the companj?^ was known
as "The Flower of Essex." They were surprised when
off their guard by a band of Indians, and a wholesale
slaughter ensued. Indeed, the brook near by was said
to have been dyed red with the blood of the soldiers,
from which fact it has always been known as "Bloody

1 They were Joseph Proctor, Nathaniel Ingersoll, Wm. Osborn, Jo-
seph Needham, Francis Coard, Benj. Wilkins, John Whipple, Daniel
Wilkins.

2 They were! John Dodge, Win. Dodge, Joseph Herrick, Thomas Abbey,
Wm. Kaymond, Thomas Raymond, Thomas Putnam, Jr., Eobert Leach,
Peter Pi-escott. — Massachusetts Archives.

GENERAL COURT

HeU at Bofton the i^- of May
16-16

For defraying the Charges already expended upon the VVarre,
and other Charges arifing in the further profecution thereof,
It is Ordered by thisCourt and the Authority thereof, that there
Hiall be ten fingle Countrcy Rates forthwith alTcfTcd, and collcdcd
according to Lsw, to be paid in fpecie as formerly*, and to abate one quar-
ter part to any that fha'I pay money. Alfo that the Seled Men be allowed
,and impowf red to rate luch by Will and Doom as are known to be men
of ability, whole eQatcs in a great meafurelye out of the reach of the
Law being undifcovcredjWithout abatement on accoifnt of any mans pay-
ing for importation of Goods, and in cafeof aggrievanceby ovcr-valua-
tio.i, relict be to given to fuch in fuch a way as the Liw provides: Provided,
that (uch frontier Towns as are confiderably weaknedin mens Perfons
orEftarcs by the Enemy, be allowed ameer abatement of their propor-
tions in the Rates, their Conditon being by their Dcputycsorothcrs ap-"
pointed, reprefcnted to this Court at their next SelTions :• And where any
jPerfons in any of ihe Towns have disburfcd for the publick relating
to the Wjrr, they (liall be allowed and paid the fame out of the Rates of
fuch Towns where they dwells and that this fliallbe in the toom of all
bills for aiTcfling of Rates paffed this SelTions of Court.

By the COURT Edward ^an>fon Sccr.

ACT OF THE GENERAL COURT IN 1676, FOR THE RAISING OF MONEY TO
DEFRAY EXPENSES OF THE INDIAN WAR

From a broadside in tlie Essex County Quarterly Court Files

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 21

Brook." The brave captain and ten young men from
the Village were among the massacred/

"But beating hearts, far, far away.
Broke at the story's fearful truth,
And maidens sweet, for many a day
Wept o'er the vanished dreams of youth ;
By the blue distant ocean-tide
Wept 3^ears, lono- years, to hear them tell
How bv the wild wood's lonelv side
The 'Flower of Essex' fell." '

Erection of Watch House. — According to the
custom of the early settlers, a watch house was erected
in 1676 on the rise which is now the parsonage pasture
at Danvers Highlands. Formerly there was a consider-
able elevation at this point, being a favorable place for a
watch house, which was designed for observation and
defence against the Indians. It was probably a strong
building of logs. This elevation was called "Watch
House Hill" for many years.

Killed by the Indians. — When the settlers of Sa-
lem landed, the Indians had vacated their former haunts,
and thus history has no tales of mJdnight massacre and
sudden ambuscade in this immediate locality. However,
when men wandered into the outskirts of the town
through what was then a wilderness they took their lives
in their hands. In 1689, John Bishop and Nicholas
Reed, and the following year, Godfrey Sheldon, all
young men, were killed by the Indians in the woods.

Chukch Organized. — It was not for seventeen
years (1689) after the Salem Village Parish was set

1 Killed from the Villao-e weTe : Thomas Dayley, Edward Trask,
Josiah Dodpre, Peter Woodbury. Joseph Raich, Thomas Buckley, .Joseph
Kincr. Piobert Wilson, James Tufts, Thomas Smith, the latter a native
of Ne'\vburv, but then a resident of the Villa^'e.

22 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

off from Salem, that the church itself was organized.
A covenant or agreement was drawn up, to which the
people assented in order to become members, in much
the same manner as at present. The new organization
was called "The Church of Christ at Salem Village,"
and was the beginning of the First Church, Danvers
Highlands, of today.^

THE PROVINCE CHARTER; THE WITCH-
CRAFT DELUSION.

The New Charter. — After the surrender of the
Colonial Charter (1684) until 1692, the government
was in the hands of a president and council for a time.
Then Sir Edmund Andros took the reins of govern-
ment, but he levied taxes in such an abhorrent fashion
and behaved in general in such an obnoxious manner,
that when William and Mary came to the throne in
England, he was recalled.

King William was determined to form a new govern-
ment in Massachusetts. It was to be known as the
Province of Massachusetts Bay, and included the Ply-
mouth Colony and the Province of Maine, in addition to
the Massachusetts colony. The Charter was received
in 1692, and in the spring of that year Sir William
Phips, the new Governor, arrived in Boston.

How THE New Charter Differed from the Old.
— The new Charter provided that the officers of the new
Province should consist of a Governor, Deputy-Gover-
nor and Secretary, to be appointed by the King, instead
of the people. This restricted the liberty of the people,
and may be regarded as the source of all future troubles
with the mother country. The Charter provided that

1 The records of the Church have been restored, and are deposited
in the First Church parsonage at Danvers Centre.

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 23

the twenty-eight councillors should be chosen by the
people, and gave each town the authority to send two
deputies to the General Court. But for all this seeming
freedom, the power was in the hands of the King, and
the colonies became henceforth dependencies of the
Crown.

The Witchcraft Delusion; First Symptoms. —
The covenant to which the people subscribed in the new
church at Salem Village certainly promised better things
than what followed in the terrible tragedy known as
the witchcraft delusion, which broke out in 1692. The
delusion originated in the family of Rev. Samuel Par-
ris,^ the pastor of the church, who, instead of prevent-
ing the spread of the trouble as he might easily have
done in the beginning, rather urged on the accusations
and persecutions. Parris had been a merchant in the
West Indies before entering the ministry, and the study
of the gospel seemed not to modulate his naturally
grasping nature. He brought with him an Indian
woman named Tituba, as a servant, who, like others of
Iier race, was full of strange weird tales, which she re-
lated to the amusement of the children of the neighbor-
hood. This was an age of superstition, and the stories
had a bad effect upon the easily excited natures of the
people. Children of varying ages were accustomed to
meet eveninfr's at INIr. Parris's house for the practice of
palmistry and other magic arts, in which Tituba and
her stories figured prominently. Soon the young girls"
began to practice the little tricks they had learned, and

1 Parris was in trouble with his parishioners continually, and at the
close of the witchcraft delusion he became even more unpopular. At
last, after many disp^ites, he resigned in 1696.

2 They were Elizabeth Parris, aged 9, daughter of the minister,
Abigail Williams, aged 11. Ann Putnam, aged 12, daughter of Thomas
Putnam, the parish clerk, iViary Walcott, Mercy Le^\'^s and Elizabeth
Hubbard, aged 17, Elizabeth Booth, Susannah Sheldon, ISfary Warren
and Sarah Churchill, adults.

24 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

excited by the sport and the impression they made on
their parents and friends, they foohshly continued their
antics until they were in reaHty wrought up to a point
of frenzy.

To say that their parents and friends were shocked
at their actions does not half express it. They knew
not whether to scold or to pity, and with their natural
tendency to attribute everything they could not under-
stand to the supernatural, they thought the evil spirit
had taken possession of them. Then they held prayer
meetings for the benefit of the afflicted ones. At last
Dr. Griggs^ was called, and he calmly and without hesi-
tation pronounced it witchcraft." Thus did ignorance
place the seal of doom upon the Village.

More Strange Actions; The First Accused. —
The condition of affairs as soon as it became known
that there were witches in the Village is not difficult to
imagine. The people at once gave way to superstitious
fears, and such a commotion was never seen before, and
has not been seen since in the new world. If these chil-
dren had become witches, surely someone must have
bewitched them, the people reasoned, and the thing to
do was to find the guilty ones. Accordingly, the ques-
tion was put to the "afflicted children," as they were
called, "Who has bewitched you? Give us the names!"
By this time the children had become so frightened at
the great excitement which had grown out of their first
harmless tricks, that they seemed almost about to con-
fess that it was their own willful desire for a sensation
that had started the whole trouble. But the fear of the
older people was contagious, and stimulated by the
urgent supplications of their parents and friends to tell

iThe first physician at Salem Village. He lived near Folly Hill,
then known as Leach's Hill. See Danvers Historical Collections,*Vol. 6.
2 See Oliver Wendell Holmes' "The Broomstick Train."

^ ^ «i

"^ ,X'K?

I N^r^

1^^

&•■

--7'

^hm

mm.

'^.^3z^

L •

PUTNAM-CRAW FOR D HOUSE

Built in i6q7, by Sergt. Thomas Putnam, whose daughter, Ann Putnam, was one of

the " afflicted children '' of i6g2

PRINCE-OSBORNE HOUSE

Built about 1660, by Robert Prince, whose widow Sarah (Prince) Osborne was accused of

witchcraft. The house was removed in 1916 from Spring Street to Maple Street,

and remodelled into a modern dwelling.

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 25

who had cast such a spell upon them, they began to cry
out against the old Indian woman, Tituba, and other
poor, half-crazy women of the neighborhood.

Still they were not satisfied, and these young "play
actors" added to their accomplishments by interrupting
the minister in the midst of his discourse with crazy
speeches, by having fits and fainting spells, and by
accusing persons of their acquaintance of pinching them
and sticking pins^ into them. At first onlj^ feeble-minded
outcasts were accused, but before the delusion ended
some of the most prominent and saintly people of the
neighborhood became victims. It is also significant
that many of the victims had been previously mixed up
in the petty quarrels of the neighborhood, and it ap-
peared to be a good chance to pay off old grudges.

Examinations of Accused. — The first of the ac-
cused were examined in the meeting house before a large
concourse of people by the magistrates, Jonathan Cor-
win^ and John Hathorne.^ They were the Indian wo-
man, Sarah Good, a poor beggar,and Sarah Osborn,^
whose mind was imbalanced. Sarah Good testified that
Sarah O shorn had bewitched her, and the latter was
taken to Boston jail where she soon died. Tituba, the
cause of the awful delusion, was allowed her freedom,

1 Somef of these pins used in the prosecutions are now to be seen
in tlie oflRee of the Clerk of the Courts, Salem.

2 His house is now known as the "Old Witch House." corner North
and Essex streets, Salem, where it is supposed some of the examina-
tions took place.

3 Son of Major Wm. Hathorne, and was born in Salem, August 4,
1641. He served on the bench of the Superior Court until his resig-
nation in 1712. He died in Salem, May 10, 1717.

4 Wife of Robert Prince, who built, in 1660, the house formerly on
Spring street, moved in 1916 to IMaple street. After his death she
married Alexander Osborn, who had comei here from Ireland, a redemp-
tioner. It is said that Sarah Prince bought out his time of the man
he was serving, hired him to work on her farm, and afterward
married him.

26 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

her foolish prattle seeming to convince the officials that
she was a victim of others' sorcery.

Action Taken by Ministers and Magistrates;
Cotton Mather. — Soon the contagion spread, and no
one in the neighborhood was safe from accusation. The
slightest movement from the ordinary course was suffi-
cient to cause arrest and perhaps imprisonment and
death. Even the ministers, particularly Rev. Nicholas
Noyes^ of the Salem church, were drawn into the pop-
ular delusion, and instead of attempting to suppress it,
they considered it their duty to aid the persecutions and
in that way to fight the Evil One. The magistrates,
also, whose superior knowledge ought to have given
them more common sense, did all in their power to sen-
tence the accused. TsTo wonder is it that the common
people believed in witchcraft, when such leaders as these
gave it their sanction and support.

Cotton Mather was one of the most cruel and bitter
adversaries. He was the most learned person in the
country, which makes his behavior in this crisis seem
almost unaccountable. He attempted to incite a similar
movement in Boston, but failed, and then he redoubled
his energy in the Salem affair. He was extremely well
satisfied with his own ability in everj^ direction,^ and
believed he was doing God's work when he obtained
the sentence of death upon his helpless victims.

Giles and Martha Corey. — Giles Corey, one of the
most unpopular men in the Village, over eighty years
of age, was a constant attendant at the examinations
in the meeting house. He became infatuated with the

1 Graduate of Harvard in 1667. Ordained pastor of Salem church,
1683.

2 "He was ambitious, and would he leadino-, sword in hand, to
annihilate someone or something. In the name of God he would
conquer, and make Cotton Mather famous. Most men hoped to become
ang-els, but nothincr. if we may .iudg-e from his own ^vords. w^ould have
contented him but to be an archangel." — Upham's Outlines.

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 27

proceedings, much to the discomfort of his wife Martha,
who was a good Christian woman. She stands out as
one of the few who did not beheve in witchcraft. For
her persistency in declaring against the popular belief,
she was arrested, and was among the first executed,
September 22, 1692, on Gallows Hill. She protested
her innocency to the last. Giles, filled with retribution
at his wife's imprisonment, came to his senses, but it
was too late. He, too, was arrested on April 19, 1692,
and excommunicated from the church. By this time he
had full}'- awakened to the monstrosity of the prevailing
delusion. Brought to trial, he refused to speak a word
either in refutation or acknowledgment of the charges
against him. This was a penal oflFence according to an
old English law, the punishment consisting of laying
the prisoner nearly naked on the bare floor of a prison
cell and placing a heavy iron weight upon his chest until
he should make reply. This was Giles Corey's expia-
tion. The old man never spoke. He died three days
before his wife was executed, a martyr to ignorance and
superstition.

Rebecca Xurse. — Among the people of Salem Vil-
lage there were none more respected than Francis Nurse
and his wife Rebecca. They lived comfortably on the
Townsend-Bishop farm,^ and withheld themselves from
the prevalent superstition. Rebecca Nurse was seventy
years of age, a pious Christian woman, the mother of a
large family, and at this time in feeble health. This
saintly woman was meted out as a victim of the insane
delusion, and when two of her friends called to tell her

1 Townsend Bishop erected this house in 1636, on a grant of land
which was made to him by tlie town of Salem in that year. It
adjoined the! Governor Endecott g'rant. It was afterwards bong-ht by
tlie Governor, and later passed into the hands of Nurse. It is now
the property of the Rebecca Nurse Association, which purchased the
estate in 1907.

28 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

of the dreadful calamity about to befall her, she received
the news with calm resignation as she did later the ex-
aminations to which she was subjected. A paper sii^ned
by thirty-nine of her friends^ of the highest respectability
in the Village, attesting her blameless character, was
offered at her trial. This together with her firmness in
answering to the charges against her, induced the jury
to bring in a verdict of "Not Guilty." This infuriated
the mob. The magistrates were frightened, ordered the
verdict withdrawn, and sentenced the poor woman to
death. She was executed, and her body thrown with
others into holes among the rocks of Gallows Hill,
witches not being allowed Christian burial. As she
ascended the scaffold she said, "I am innocent, and God
will clear my innocency." Family tradition says that
her husband and sons recovered her body and buried it
under the pines near her old home, where a monument
was erected to her memory in 1 885 by the Nurse Asso-
ciation. The following inscription is engraved thereon:

"Oh, Christian Martyr! who for truth could die,
When all about thee owned the hideous lie,
The world redeemed by Superstition's sway
Is breathing freer for thy sake today."

— Whitiier.

Joseph Putnam's Protestations. — One of the
brightest spots, if there were any such in those trying
times, was the conduct of Joseph Putnam. He was a
young man of only twenty-two, yet he dared to declare
himself unequivocally against the whole witchcraft pro-
ceedings from the beginning. Such a course required a
courage of which the people of today can have little con-
ception. He fearlessly absented himself from meeting,

1 a stone to the memory of these loving friends has been erected
in the Nurse burying ground.

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REBECCA NURSE HOUSE

Built abiLit 1636, by Townsend Bishop. Purchased by Governor Endecott, in 1648.

Later in possession of the Rev. John Allen, of Boston, who sold to Francis Nurse, in 1678.

House open to visitors upon payment of a small admission fee

THE TRIAL OF GEORGE JACOBS
From a painting by Matteson, in possession of the Essex Institute, Salem

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 29

which meant much in those days when everybody at-
tended service, and even went so far as to take his infant
child to Salem to be baptized. He pronounced the
whole thing a delusion and a fraud, notwithstanding
his brothers were very active in the accusations.
Strangely enough, too, while others who had uttered
only the faintest protestations against the proceedings
were executed, Joseph Putnam was left severely alone.
Probably they thought that it would be easier to con-
vict feeble old women than a man in the vigor of youth.
For six months he kept one of his horses under saddle
night and day, ready to ride out of the country should
he be accused. He and his family were constantly armed,
and he gave fair warning that if anybody attempted
to arrest him, it would be at the peril of life. Had
there been more Joseph Putnams, there would have been
no witchcraft delusion. He was the father of Gen.
Israel Putnam. His brother, Thomas Putnam, was the
father of Ann Putnam, before mentioned.

George Jacobs. — Another of the victims of the mania
was George Jacobs, an old man, of unusual height and
with long white locks. He lived with his son and family
in the house still standing at the Jacobs farm off Waters
street, Danversport. The whole family, except the
small children, were accused, but the grandfather was
the only one executed, on August 19, 1692, the son flee-
ing for his life. When on trial he said: "Well, burn
me or hang me, I will stand in the truth of Christ."
The bod}^ of George Jacobs was found by the grandson
of the aged man after the execution, and strapping it
on the back of a horse, he brought it to the farm and
buried it.

The Rich Accused; The Last Days. — It seemed
at last as if the only way to prevent accusation was to
become an accuser, and a perfect panic ensued. Not

30 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

only were the poor attacked, but those of the highest
standing in the community became victims, and even
the ministers came in for a share of the pubhc dis-
approval. Rev. Mr. Burroughs, a former minister at
Salem Village being among those who lost their lives.

But the last days were at hand, and the death blow
was given the panic when the wife of Rev. John Hale,
of the Beverly church, was accused. She was a noble
woman, and so unjust seemed such a charge that the
people suddenly awoke to a realization of the awfulness
of the situation. From that time the storm ceased, and
the most outrageous tragedy ever enacted in the moral
world was over. Governor Phips ordered that no more
cases of witchcraft be tried. The prisons were full of
suspected witches. The doors were now opened and
the occupants once more stepped out into God's free
air. Twenty had sacrificed their lives during the delu-
sion. They were: Bridget Bishop, Sarah Good, Sarah
Wildes, Elizabeth How, Rebecca Nurse, Susanna Mar-
tin, George Burroughs, John Proctor, George Jacobs,
John Willard, Martha Carrier, Martha Corey, Mary
Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Margaret Scott,
Wilmot Reed, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Giles
Corey, Sarah Osborn.

SCHOOL ESTABLISHED; DEMANDS FOR

A TOWN.

The New Meeting House. — It was now nearly
thirty years since the first meeting house was built. It
was considerably out of repair, was becoming too small
for the increasing population, and as the scene of so
many examinations during the witchcraft daj^s the asso-
ciations were decidedly unpleasant. In 1700 the parish
voted to erect a meeting house on Watch House Hill,

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 31

the land being given by Deacon Nathaniel Ingersoll.
The dimensions of the new building were 48 by 42 feet.
It had a sort of tower and a hip roof, and there were
galleries within. The cost was three hundred and thirty
pounds, old tenor, which sum was raised partially by
subscription. It was over a year in process of construc-
tion, and is supposed to have been built by Capt. Thomas
Flint. The "Farmers" showed natural shrewdness in
one instance, at least, which is worthy of mention.
They voted that all who had their way to the meeting
house shortened b}^ the change of location should do the
work of levelling the new ground, and they clinched it
by further declaring that the building should not "be
raised" until levelling had been completed. It was in
this building that all the town affairs were conducted
up to 1752.

Seating of the Meeting House. — It was the old
custom to appoint a committee to "seat the meeting
house," that is, to assign the seats to the various persons
in the parish. They were seated first according to age,
then office, and last, taxes. Families were separated,
the men on one side, the women on the other, rough
benches serving as seats in the body of the house. This
custom prevailed for many years.

Early French Wars. — Salem Village was repre-
sented in all the early French and Indian wars. During
Queen Anne's war (1702-13) eight men from the Vil-
lage were impressed into service to help man the "Fly-
ing Horse" of Salem (1703).^ This was an armed
cruiser which was fitted out in Salem for protection
from the maraudings of Spanish pirates along the coast.
On July 3, 1706, a garrison was stormed at Dunstable,
and Holyoke, son of Edward Putnam of Salem Village,

1 See Hanson's "History of Danvers," page 39.

32 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

and three other soldiers were killed. August 28, 1708,
upon alarm that the French and Indians were attacking
Haverhill, a company of foot and troop of horse from
the Village hastened to the rescue of the inhabitants,
and pursued the flying Indians for some distance.
Rev. Joseph Green, the worthy pastor of the church,
seized his gun and joined with his parishioners in the
pursuit.

Middle Precinct Set Off. — Like the people of the
Village, those residing in the section now Peabody, de-
sired to set up a parish of their own. Some had been
connected with the Village parish, but the majority
were members of the church in Salem. They, too, found
the distance to Salem too great, and in answer to a
petition presented at the town meeting in Salem in 1710,
a lot of land was granted,^ and the Middle Precinct was
established. A meeting house 51 by 38 feet was com-
pleted the following year. The first pastor was Rev.
Benjamin Prescott. At the request of Bray Wilkins,
that part of the present town of Middleton known in
early days as "Bellingham's Grant," was also included
in the Middle Precinct.

Judge Timothy Lindall. — Early in the 18th cen-
tury, people of Salem began to look to Danvers, still
called Salem Village, as a place for permanent resi-
dence. Thus it happened that in 1715 Judge Timothy
Lindall purchased at "Porter's Plain," so-called, a large
tract of land and a house which had been built by Israel
Porter in the latter part of the 17th century. Here he
lived until his death in 1760, cultivating his farm and
entering into the religious and civil life of the com-
munity. The memory of Judge Lindall is still pre-
served by "Lindall Hill," which was a part of his farm,

1 The site of the South Church, Peabody Square.

X. s

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HOULTON-WILKINS HOUSE, CENTRE STREET
Built by John Houlton, before 1692

THOMAS HAINES HOUSE, CENTRE STREET
Built probably soon after 16S1

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 33

the house in which he lived, of the 17th century lean-to
type, situated at the corner of Locust and Poplar streets,
having been demolished when the George W. Fiske
house was erected in 1882.

Judge Lindall came from one of the most distin-
guished families in Massachusetts, his father, Timothy
Lindall, being a prominent merchant and owner of ves-
sels in Salem, and his mother belonging to the Verens,
that well-known family which figured as court officials
for years. Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth, President of
Harvard College, was his cousin, whose nephew later,
curiously enough, came to Danvers as pastor of the
First Church, the church which Judge Lindall attended
and to which he presented a silver communion cup. He
graduated from Harvard in 1695, at the age of eighteen,
and for twenty years thereafter was a successful mer-
chant in Boston and Salem. By his first wife, Jane
Pool, he had five children, and by his second wife,
Bethiah Kitchen, daughter of the Salem merchant Rob-
ert Kitchin, he had two. Of all this family but one
survived, Jane, who married Francis Borland of Boston
and by intermarriages of later generations with the
Winthrops, was the ancestor of Hon. Robert C. Win-
throp. Thomas Lindall Winthrop, a great-grandson
of Judge Lindall, owned "Lindall Hill" from 1760-
1795, when he sold to William Burley, who owned "Bur-
ley Farm." Judge Lindall acquired an ample fortune
and was able to follow his natural inclinations, which
seem to have led him to politics. He served as Repre-
sentative, Speaker of the House, Member of the Coun-
cil, and was appointed Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas in 1729. He was buried in the Charter Street
Cemetery, Salem.

The First School; How Established. — It speaks
well for the early settlers that they made provision for

34 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

the education of their children. There had been schools
in Salem town for many years, and it had been neces-
sary for the Village children to attend school there. A
school is said to have been held near Dr. Griggs' at
Folly Hill, about 1692, but that is outside the present
limits of Danvers. The parish was growing rapidly
now, and in 1708 the minister, Rev. Joseph Green,^
determined to have a "good schoolmaster to teach their
children to read and write and cypher and everything
that is good." He made known his desires to the people,
who, in general, approved of his plan, and he then set
about building a schoolhouse. Deacon Ingersoll, always
liberal and public spirited, gave the land at the upper
end of the training field for the purpose, and the min-
ister paid for the building out of his own salary, assisted
by a few whom he had succeeded in interesting. This
was the first schoolhouse erected in the present town of
Danvers.

First Teacher. — The building once started, the min-
ister was not willing to wait for its completion. He
hired a room in a house near by, and engaged Mrs.
Katherine Deland to teach, bearing all the expenses
himself. This school continued to be supported for
several years at private expense in the new schoolhouse.

Since 1701, the Villagers had been endeavoring to
induce the town of Salem to establish a school in their
midst, but it was not till 1712 that the request was
granted. Mrs. Deland was the recipient of five pounds
a year for two years, the money being furnished by
Salem; at the expiration of this time she was succeeded
by Samuel Andrew. He received seven pounds, forty
shillings per year. Later the custom of holding school
sessions at houses in different parts of the Village was
inaugurated, and the schoolhouse was deserted. From

1 See his diai'y, Essex Institute Collections.

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 85

this time to the incorporation of the district of Danvers
(1752) the parish conducted all matters relating to the
schools.

Wills Hill Set Off. — Parish affairs seem to have
run along smoothly during the next fourteen years,
and the people were happy and united, but the residents
at Wills Hill, now Middleton,^ began to clamor for a
separation on the ground of distance from the meeting
house at the Village, just as a half century before the
Villagers had asked to be released from the mother
church at Salem. The petition was renewed several
years, and finally in 1728 twenty-four from the Village
parish received letters of dismissal to the new church
at Middleton.

Pioneers from Danvers. — Among pioneer commu-
nities settled by people from this immediate locality was
that of New Salem in the western part of Massachu-
setts. As early as 1729 Joseph Andrews and others
petitioned the General Court for a grant of land there,
but it was not until 1734 that Salem men with their
families migrated to that then far wilderness. The
reason given in the petition for removing from Salem
was that it was "the most ancient town in the Province
and they were very much straightened in lands whereon
to settle themselves and their children." In addition
to the fact that there was a scarcity of unappropriated
land in Salem, the allurement of pioneering was also
an important factor, an instinct which so strongly char-
acterized our New England forbears. Among those
from Salem Village who settled in New Salem were
John Buxton, John Preston, Jonathan Darling, Israel
Andrew, Samuel Foster, Benjamin Holten, Amos Put-
nam, James Clough, and many from Peabody and
Salem town. Later, in 1797, two of these pioneer fom-

3 Middleton was ineorpoi-ated in June, 1728.

36 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

ilies, the Houltons and Putnams, again felt the call, and
leaving New Salem journeyed to the uninhabited re-
gions of Maine and founded Houlton. As did their
fathers, they opened the wilderness and established
homes on the rugged and inhospitable frontier.^

Steps Toward a Town. — The project which for
sixt}^ years had agitated the people of the Village and
Middle Precincts was not abandoned. The desire for
a complete separation from Salem could not be over-
come. The demand for a division was constantly re-
newed, until in 1733 a formal petition- was sent to the
town of Salem. It stated as the principal reason, that
a great number of the Villagers lived five or six miles
from the town house and some even more than that, and
it was extremely difficult for them to attend the town
meetings. The petition was set aside. Seven years later
(1740) the inhabitants of the Middle Precinct appointed
a committee to confer with the "Farmers" at the Vil-
lage in regard to joining forces in an attempt to be set
ofi' as a distinct township. But Salem was determined
to hold all her villages intact, and defeated this project
by promising to maintain two schools in the Village
territory and one at the Middle Precinct. But still the
farmers were not pacified. The people of the two pre-
cincts desired to manage their own affairs, and time only
multiplied their reasons and desires for a separation.

Browne's Folly. — About 1740, William Browne, a
wealthy merchant of Salem, erected an elegant mansion
for a country home on the summit of Folly Hill. The
building consisted of two wings two stories high, con-
nected by a spacious hall, much in the shape of the
letter H. He named the place "Browne's Hall." The

1 See "Salem and New Salem," by Rev. A. V. House, in Danvers Hist.
Coll., Vol. 5, p. 90,

2 See Hanson's "History of Danver.s," page 44.

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WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 37

floor of the hall was painted in imitation of mosaic, and
the finish of the house was most costly throughout, cor-
responding to the wealth of its owner. At the foot of
the hill stood the farmhouse connected with the place,
while on the hill was a building adjacent for the domes-
tics, all of whom were negroes. Here the wealthy mer-
chant hospitably entertained many distinguished guests.

William Browne was born in Salem, May 7, 1709,
and graduated at Harvard in 1727, in the class with
Thomas Hutchinson and Jonathan Trumbull. In 1737
he married INIary Burnet, granddaughter of the cele-
brated Bishop of Salisbury, who was not then 15 years
of age. He married, second, Mary, daughter of Philip
French, Esq., of Brunswick, N. J. He was a repre-
sentative to the General Court and a member of the
executive council. He died April 27, 1763, and was
buried in Charter Street burying ground, Salem. This
hilP and the lane along its base was one of the favorite
haunts of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

In 1755 a tremendous earthquake occurred in this
vicinity. Glass was broken, chimneys destroyed, and
great consternation created. It has been stated that
Browne's Hall was so shaken "that the owner dared no
longer reside in it, and practically acknowledging that
its ambitious site rendered it indeed a folly, he pro-
ceeded to locate it on humbler ground."

It was moved to the corner of Liberty and Conant
streets, where it remained with all its furniture until
after the Revolution. Its owner had died and the prop-
erty passed into the hands of Richard Derby of Salem.
Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of the neglected
house being the scene of schoolboy maraudings, and of

1 In 1848 it was made a coast survey station. It is 207 feet above
half-tide level of the ocean. From the! top can be seen Mt. Monadnock,
hills in Chelmsford, and the Blue Hills of Milton. See "Browne Hill
in History," by Ezra D. Hines ; also Holmes' "The Broomstick Train."

38 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

one of the closets in the house which no one dared enter.
It was supposed that an evil spirit was confined therein.
He writes: "One day some schoolboys happened to be
playing in the deserted chambers, and took it into their
heads to develop the secrets of this mysterious closet.
With great difficulty and tremor they succeeded in
forcing the door. As it flew open, there was a vision
of people in garments of antique magnificence, gentle-
men in curled wigs and tarnished gold lace, and ladies
in brocade and quaint headdresses, rushing tumultu-
ously forth and tumbling upon the floor. The urchins
took to their heels in huge dismay, but crept back after
a while, and discovered that the apparition was com-
posed of a mighty pile of family portraits."

Hawthorne further writes, concerning the house and
hill:

"This eminence is a long ridge, rising out of the level
countr}^ around like a whale's back out of a calm sea,
with the head and tail beneath the surface. Along the
base ran a green and seldom trodden lane, with which
I was very familiar in my boyhood; and there was a
little brook, which I remember to have dammed up till
its overflow made a mimic ocean. When I last looked
for this tiny streamlet, which was still rippling freshly
through my memory, I found it strangely shrunken;
a mere ditch indeed, and almost a dry one. But the
green lane was still there, precisely as I remembered it ;
two wheel tracks, and the beaten paths of the horses'
feet, and grassy strips between ; the whole overshadowed
b}' tall locust trees and the prevalent barberry bushes,
which are rooted so fondly into the recollections of every
Essex man.

"From this lane there is a steep ascent up the side of
the hill, the ridge of which affords two views of very
wide extent and variety. On one side is the ocean, and

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 39

Salem and Beverly on its shores; on the other, a rural
scene, almost perfectly level, so that each man's metes
and bounds can be traced out as on a map. The be-
holder takes in at a glance the estates on which different
families have long been situated, and the houses where
they have dwelt and cherished their various interests,
intermarrying, agreeing together, or quarreling, going
to live, annexing little bits of real estate, acting out their
petty parts in life, and sleeping quietly under the sod
at last. A man's individual affairs look not so ver}''
important when we can climb high enough to get the
idea of a complicated neighborhood. But what made
the hill particularly interesting to me, were the traces
of an old and long vanished edifice, midway on the
curving ridge and at its highest point. A pre-revolu-
tionary magnate, the representative of a famous Salem
family, had here built himself a pleasure house, on a
scale of magnificence which, combined with its airy site
and difficult approach, obtained for it and for the entire
hill on which it stood, the traditionary title of 'Browne's
Folly.' Whether a folly or no, the house was certainly
an unfortunate one.

"The proprietor^ had adhered to the Royalist side,
and fled to England during the Revolution. The man-
sion was left under the care of Richard Derby ( an ances-
tor of the present Derby family), who had a claim to
the Browne property through his wife, but seems to have
held the premises precisely as the refugee left them, for
a long term of years, in the expectation of his eventual
return. The house remained with all its furniture in
its spacious rooms and chambers, ready for the exile's
occupancy, as soon as he should reappear. As time went
on, however, it began to be neglected, and was accessible
to whatever vagrant, or idle schoolboy, or berrying party
might choose to enter through its ill-secured windows.

1 William Browne bequeathed this property to his sou, William
Burnet Browne.

40 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

"The ancient site of this proud mansion may still be
traced (or could have been ten years ago) upon the
summit of the hill. It consisted of two spacious wings,
connected by an intermediate hall of entrance, which
fronted lengthwise upon the ridge. Two shallow and
grass-grown cavities remain of what were once the deep
and richly-stored cellars under the two wings; and be-
tween them is the outline of the connecting hall, about
as deep as a plough furrow, and somewhat greener than
the surrounding soil. The two cellars are still deep
enough to shelter a visitor from the fresh breezes that
haunt the summit of the hill; and barberry bushes clus-
tering within them offer the harsh acidity of their fruits,
instead of the rich wines which the colonial magnate
was wont to store for his guests.

"There I have sometimes sat and tried to rebuild in
mjT^ imagination, the stately house, or to fancy what a
splendid show it must have made even so far off as in
the streets of Salem, when the old proprietor illuminated
his many windows to celebrate the King's birthday.

"I have quite forgotten what story I purposed writing
about 'Browne's Folly,' and I freely offer the theme and
site to any of my young townsmen who may be afflicted
with the same tendency towards fanciful narratives
which haunted me in my youth and long afterwards."

The house was afterwards sold in three parts. The
middle or hall section became a sort of annex to the old
hotel which occupied the site of the present Berry Tav-
ern. This hall was subsequently the scene of many in-
teresting occasions. It was used for headquarters of the
officers of the militia on state occasions; the selectmen
of the town met here; lectures and dances were given;
and it was the meeting place of the Jordan Lodge of
Masons. It was last moved to a point further up Maple
street, where it was destroyed in the fire of 1845. It

FIRST CHURCH

Where the first Dan vers Town Meetings were held.

Second meeting house of the organization.

Built in 1701, demolished in 1786.

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PETITION OF THE "VILLAGE" AND "MIDDLE PRECINCT" FOR SEPARATION

FROM SALEM, 175'
From the original in possession of the Essex Institute, Salem

WHEN WE BELONGED TO SALEM 41

has been said that the house on Maple street, opposite
the Hook and Ladder house was a part of Browne's
Hall, but it is not authenticated.

Renewed Demands for a Town. — It was now eleven
years since an official attempt had been made toward
separation from Salem, but the people were gathering
strength for the final struggle. In 1751 the Village
and Middle parishes agreed between themselves to strike
the parent town a vigorous blow, declaring themselves
in favor of incorporation as a town. A committee con-
sisting of Daniel Eppes, Jr., Malachi Felton and John
Proctor for the Middle Precinct, and Samuel Flint,
Cornelius Tarbell and James Prince for the Village,
was instructed to labor with the people of Salem, a large
number of whom were opposed to the secession, and
also to present their claim to the General Court.

II. THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS.

1752-1855.

BEGINNING OF DANVERS; NEW MILLS.

Incorporation as a District; Ho ay Different
From Town. — The efforts of the citizens were at last
crowned with success, and in the year 1752 the District
of Danvers was incorporated.^ Although many privi-
leges were thus gained, the prayer of the petitioners was
not fully granted. Instead of a Town, they found them-
selves only a District, and as such were cut off from
sending a delegate to the General Court. The King had
charged the Governor to consent to the making of no
new towns, unless the right to send representatives be
reserved. In other words, no new towns should be
incorporated, but in case a portion of a large town
wished to be separated, it should be incorporated as a
District, with all the power and privilege of a town,
except — the most important factor of all — ^it should
have no representation in the government of the colony.
This was the popular course of the King to prevent the
power from getting into the hands of the people. It
was not pleasing to the citizens.

The Name Danvers;- Whence it Came. — It has
never been determined with accuracy just how Danvers

1 See Hanson's History, page 51, for Act of Incorporation. Also
"llow Danvers Became a Town," by Eben Putnam.

2 There are but two other towns of the name in this country :
Danvers, McLean County, 111., and Danvers, Montana, both named for
this town.

DR. AMOS PUTNAM

From the earliest Putnam portrait known

Now in possession of the Danvers Historical Society

THE ISAAC GOODALE HOUSE, SALEM VILLAGE (PEABODY)

Built about i66S

^■Or,^2ihey>^ -^y^nrrri, .

l~^^AU ^

^jCX^.^.:

CHICKSANDS PRIORY, COUNTY OK BEDFORD, ENGLAND
Birthplace of Sir Danvers Osborn as it appeared in 1730.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 43

received its name. There was an English family by the
name of Danvers, which came originally from D'Anvers
(Antwerp), Belgium. In the latter part of the 17th
century, Sir Peter Osborne — a name common to old
Danvers — married Eleanor Danvers, their grandson.
Sir Danvers Osborne, being Governor of New York in
1753. He was born in 1715, and married Lady Mary
Montague, daughter of the Earl of Halifax.

When the District of Danvers was incorporated,
Lieut. Governor Phips was in office, and it is probable
that he suggested the name through gratitude to his
patron,^ Danvers Osborne. It has been stated that this
portion of Salem was called Danvers as early as 1745.-

FiRST Town or District Meeting; District
Limits. — The meetings of the inhabitants of the new
District were to be held at the Village and Middle Par-
ishes alternately, and officers chosen first from one and
then the other. The first call or warrant for a town
meeting was addressed to Daniel Eppes, and was signed
by fifteen citizens of the two parishes. On the fourth of
the following March the first annual meeting was held
and officers elected as follows: Daniel Eppes, Esq., mod-
erator; Daniel Eppes, Jr., clerk; James Prince, treas-
urer; Daniel Eppes, Jr., Capt. Samuel Flint, Deacon
Cornelius Tarbell, Stephen Putnam, Samuel King,
Daniel Gardner and Joseph Putnam, selectmen.

The new district included the territory occupied by
the present towns of Danvers and Peabod5\ The citi-
zens were allowed to pay their highway taxes by work-
ing on the roads, a custom which existed for many years.

"New Mills" or Danversport Settled. — In the
year 1754, if one could have made a path through the
woods to the banks of Crane river, near Danversport,

1 See Hanson's History, p. 57.

2 See Felt's Annals of Salem.

44 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

a small house might have been seen floating on a raft
down the river. The man who was propelling it was
Archelaiis Putnam. He had been on a prospecting tour
through the woods, and finding excellent opportunities
for conducting grist mills at "Skelton's Neck," decided
to move down his cooper's shop. He lived in the house
on his father's farm, known later as the Judge Putnam
place, and it was easy to move the building down the old
country road to the banks of Crane river, from which
point the way was of necessity by water, as there was
no road to that part of the town. From the raft it was
landed on the site, next the Danversport station, of the
old Bates morocco factory, which was demolished in
1920 by the Creese & Cook Co., and later moved across
the street. Here he and his family lived in the first
house erected at Danversport. His daughter, Sarah
(Putnam) Fowler, was the first white child born at
Danversport, in 1754. She died Nov. 19, 1847, aged
93 years. The next year his brother John moved down,
and together they built a grist mill, which marked the
beginning of that business at Danversport, where is now^
the George H. Parker Grain Company. The name of
the locality subsequently became changed from "Skel-
ton's Neck" to "New Mills," by which it was known for
about a hundred years.

The whole of that region was then covered with a
heavy growth of trees, and so dense was the foliage that
Putnam's wife once became lost in going from the house
to the mill, and was only able to find her way by follow-
ing the sound of her husband's voice. Foxes were plenty
in the woods, from which fact Fox hill received its name.
As soon as the mill was established a private way was
laid out from the Plains to enable the people to carry
their corn to the grist.

THE OLD TOAVN OF DANVERS 45

HIGHWAY CONTROVERSY AT THE NECK.

Road from Plains to Neck Laid Out; Beginning
OF Trouble. — The people in the northern part of the
town, as well as those residing in the towns of Wenham,
Beverly, Topsfield, Middleton and Boxford, recognized
at once the advantage of this new way to the Neck.
Two good mills had been erected where there was a
great head of water, more than sufficient to run these
mills in the driest seasons. Heretofore the people of
Danvers had been obliged to travel some distance, espe-
cially in dry times, to get their corn ground. Accord-
ingly in 1755 a petition was presented to the Court of
Sessions of the County of Essex, for a highway to be
laid out from John Porter's tavern (the present Berry
Tavern) to Putnam's mills, where Parker's mill now
stands. The petition was granted, and the owners of
the land between these two points were given liberty to
cut and carry away the wood along the line of the pro-
posed highwa5\ They were John Porter, Benjamin
Porter, Joseph Putnam, Ginger Andrew, John An-
drew, Wm. Browne, Esq., and Rev. Peter Clark. This
act was the beginning of a controversy in which petty
animosities and sectional jealousies bore no small part
in the proceedings of town, county and province for
seventeen years.

The Opposition Party. — No sooner had these en-
terprising farmers obtained the new road, than the
people who lived in the present Highlands and Tapley-
ville districts, mindful of their own interests, and not
willing to see the travel turned in another direction,
petitioned the following year (1756) that the new road
just laid out be discontinued, and that another road
from their section of the town be made to the mills for
their accommodation. They took the ground that the

46 CHRONICLES OF DANVEES

greater part of the population of Danvers was confined
to their section, and that for this reason a larger num-
ber of inhabitants would be benefited. This was no
doubt true, as the settlement at this time was to a large
extent in the northern part of the town. The Court did
not see fit to grant their petition, and more clouds
gathered.

Road to Salem; Why Opened. — The inhabitants
of the Neck, always aHve to their own interests in a
commercial way, soon began to consider a continuance
of the road from Crane River bridge at the grist mill
to the North bridge, Salem. They saw it would be the
means of bringing travel from the northern towns, which
formerly went by the way of Beverly and the ferry^ to
Salem, through Danvers. The people of the towns above
Danvers were greatly pleased at the prospect of a road
through to Salem, because the distance to Salem and
Marblehead, where they disposed of their produce,
would be much shortened for them. Everybody rejoiced
over the prospect of the new road, except the residents
of the western part of the town, whose pangs of jealousy
were intensified as they saw new avenues of trade opened
up. The Neck people were well aware of this oppo-
sition, and were satisfied to progress slowly in the ac-
complishment of their plan. Their first move was to
get the town to lay out a private way between Crane
river bridge and Waters river. Several individuals
owning land between these two points petitioned the
selectmen in 1760 for such a way, which was duly
granted, on the pretext that these gentlemen owned
land on the Salem side of Waters river and were desir-
ous of a road to reach it. Having accomplished so
much, of course it became necessary to invent some
means of getting across Waters river. They could not

1 For many years there was a ferry across the river where Essex
(Beverly) Bridge now is. The bridge was built in 1789.

THE OLD TOWN OF DAXVERS 47

ford the stream, and in order to reach their land on the
opposite bank a bridge must be built. So a rude bridge
was constructed, and the Neck people had the satisfac-
tion of seeing so much of the way to Salem laid out.

War Begun in Earnest. — This highway affair be-
gan to assume gigantic proportions. When the fact of
the building of the bridge came to the ears of the oppo-
sition party, a terrific commotion was raised in town
meeting, in September, 1760. It was voted to forbid
the completion of the bridge and to make complaint to
the General Court. This was an open declaration of
war. The Neck people resolved to continue their sinu-
ous methods no longer, but to fight it out in a hand-to-
hand conflict. They boldly petitioned the Court of
General Sessions to lay out the whole way from the
Porter Tavern to the North Bridge, Salem, as a county
highway. With this petition came also other petitions
of a like nature from the neighboring towns, until the
Court's conmiittee was nearly buried in the avalanche
This act bade defiance to the opposition. The war had
begun in earnest.

Grounds for Opposition; The Road Laid Out. —
Then came the Town of Danvers before the Court of
Sessions with a memorial, opposing in most vigorous
language this new way. It claimed that the town could
not afford to maintain so much extra highway — as she
was paying more for support of highways than any
other town in the Province — especially for the benefit
of out-of-town travel largely ; that the old road by Rob-
ert Hooper, Esquire's country seat ("The Lindens")
to the South Meeting house was of sufficient accommo-
dation, without the expense of the new way, and while
a mile of travel might be saved by the new road, one
hundred families, shopkeepers and tradesmen on the old
road would be the losers by the division of traffic; and

48 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

not least important of all, that the building of the bridge
over Waters' river prevented the passage of vessels up
the stream. Waters' river was then navigable for a
mile above the bridge, and there were two landing places
where the water was eight to ten feet deep at half tide.
All these complaints were just, no doubt, but they
proved of no avail in stemming the tide of enthusiasm
for the new road. In May, 1761, it was laid out as a
County highway, but hostilities were in no wise sus-
pended.

Highways a Burden to the Town; Incorpora-
tion OF "Neck of Land." — The increased area of high-
ways which the building of the road to Salem had
thrown upon the town to support, was the occasion of
fresh outbursts of alarm and disapproval from the voters
from time to time. They attempted in every conceiv-
able way to rid the town of the burden, and petition
after petition was addressed to the County and the
Province for relief. The maintenance of bridges was a
heavy expense, entailing constant repairs. Recognizing
the inestimable value of the road to Salem today, it is
amusing to read in their petition that "the new way and
bridge are a great hurt and damage to the town of
Danvers," and that the voters bewail the fact that the
town should "pay so much money for what is a great
disadvantage to them."

Unhappy divisions arose, and finally the courageous
residents of the Neck took upon themselves that which
the Province, the County and the Town, in turn, re-
fused to do, namely, the support of the highway and
bridges from the Porter Tavern to the North Bridge,
Salem. "The Neck of Land" was duly incorporated
as a separate district by act of the General Court in
1772. The residents were exempt from taxation for
the support of other highways in Danvers, and the town

THE PUTNAM-PRESTON-PEABODY HOUSE

Built probably about 1682. Destroyed by fire, May 21, 1904.

REA-PUTNAM-FOWLKR HOUSE, OFF LOCUST STREET

The western end built by Daniel Rea. previous to 1636. The eastern end added by Deacon

Edmund Putnam, about 1759. Owned by Hon. Elias Putnam in 1820.

Came into possession of the Fowler family about 1850.

'■'"■'^f^

,,'^^"

-'^,^.

rt Vi- >■■ '** ^^^•■'•'^ ^

_:j

PLAN OF A PART OF DANVERS HIGHLANDS

Drawn in 1730 by Joseph Burnap, surveyor, for His Majesty's Superior Court at Ipswich
in connection with the final settlement of the estate of Nathaniel Ingersoll

From the original in the Suffolk County Court Files

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 49

was relieved of the new road, — a condition which con-
tinued seventy j'^ears.

The new district comprised about three hundred acres
and included, besides the present Danversport, all the
land between Elliott and High streets, Conant street
being the northern boundary. Its inhabitants held meet-
ings,^ elected officers, and conducted all business per-
taining to roads, irrespective of the rest of the town.

FRENCH WAR; SLAVES; THE OLD
TAVERN.

Danveks Men in the French and Indian War. —
Danvers men were always ready to render assistance in
time of war, and during the French and Indian troubles
(1754-63) one hundred and thirty-nine served in the
different engagements at Crown Point, Louisburg,
Fort William Henry, Lake George and Ticonderoga,
and at the Plains of Abraham. Danvers men were with
Sir William Pepperrell, who was later acting Governor
of Massachusetts, 1756-58, during the war known as
King George's War (1744-48), when the English cap-
tured the famous stronghold of Louisburg on Cape
Breton Island, one of the most difficult feats of that
period. Louisburg was known to be more strongly
fortified than any other place in the whole country, and
that these untrained New England farmers and fisher-
men dared attempt to take it seemed the height of fool-
ishness. For weeks they besieged the fortress, and their
indomitable courage and persistency won them the vic-
tory. The news that Louisburg had been taken was
received by the world as a remarkable achievement, and
in England the colonists were accorded unstinted praise
for their brave work. And so when the summons came

1 The records of the "Neck" are at the Town Hall.

50 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

later to help drive the French completely from the
country by the capture of Quebec, Danvers men rallied
eagerly to the call. They were nearly all young men,
averaging not more than twenty-one years, and they
gained an experience that served them well at the break-
ing out of the Revolution in 1775.

French Neutrals; Their Exile from Acadia. —
The year 1755 will ever be memorable for one of the
most cruel and inhuman acts ever perpetrated by the
English. After reducing the forts of the French at
Nova Scotia, they proceeded to make prisoners of about
one thousand of the inhabitants of the farming villages
along the coast. These the English huddled into their
ships, without regard to the union of families, and set
sail for Massachusetts, stopping occasionally along the
way to leave a few of the unfortunate exiles. In this
wa}'' the simple and unsuspecting Acadians were scat-
tered all through the Province, children were torn from
their parents, and husbands and wives were separated
from one another, never to meet again, as told by Long-
fellow in "Evangeline." A few of these people, who
were called French Neutrals, drifted to Danvers, as to
other neighboring towns, and as they had no money
they immediately became town charges. In 1759 Dan-
vers paid twenty pounds for their support, and eight
years later (1767) they were again beneficiaries of the
town. They apparently left the town about that time.

Slave-Holding in Danvers. — Slaves were never
very numerous in Massachusetts. Danvers had its pro-
portion of blacks, upon the whom the yoke of bondage
rested but lightly, however. Nearly all families of
prominence, including the ministers, kept their slaves,
and they played an important part in business trans-
actions. They were treated as servants, and often en-
deared themselves to the families under whose care they

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 51

came. In the Wadsworth cemetery is a stone "In mem-
ory of Phebe Lewis, who died Jan. 10, 1823, aged 49
years." She was a negro who had been brought up in
the family of Dr. Wadsworth, the minister of the First
church. For years she had been a member of the church,
and in writing her epitaph the minister called her "an
ornament to the Christian profession."

A story is told of one slave. Cud jo by name, owned
by a family in the northern part of the town as early as
1740. Cud jo resented something his mistress said and
swore he would take her life. The family, aware of his
ungovernable temper, was filled with consternation at
his threat, and the master concocted a plan to dispose
of him. Pretending to give him a holiday, he allowed
Cud jo to take a load of potatoes to Salem to load on
a vessel there. He took his fiddle with him, and the
sailors, who had been let into the secret, induced him
into the cabin, where he kept up a continual "fiddling,"
stopping occasionally to "rosin his bow," until the ves-
sel was well under way. When he went on deck, he
found himself bound for a southern clime, consigned to
the same account as his potatoes.

When the town was set off (1752) there were twenty-
five slaves owned in Danvers, sixteen of whom were
women. The following receipts show the method of
disposing of negroes at this date :

"Received of Mr. Ebenezer Jacobs of Danvers the
sum of Fourty five Pounds six shillings and Eight pence
Lawfull money, which is in full Satisfaction for a Negro
Boy Named Primus Which I have this Day sold to the
s'd Jacobs.

"45. 6. 8d. Daniel Epes Jun.

"Danvers Aprill ye 30th 1754."

52 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

Primus Jacobs was a soldier in the Revolution. He
served six 3^ears.

The other receipt is as follows:

"Danvers, Apr. 19, 1766.
"Rec'd of Mr. Jeremiah Page Fiftj^ Eight pound
thirteen shillings & four pence lawfull money and a
Negro woman called Dinah, which is in full for a Negro
woman called Combo, and a Negro girl called Gate,
and a Negro child called Deliverance or Dill, which I
now Sell and Deliver to ye said Jeremiah Page.
"Witness Jona Bancroft

Ezek Marsh John Tapley."

Dill grew up in the family of Col. Jeremiah Page.
It was she who figures in the story of the tea party on
Ihe gambrel roof, told in verse by Lucy Larcom. The
poem runs:

"They followed her with puzzled air,
But saw, upon the topmost stair.
Out on the railed roof, dark-face Dill
Guarding the supper board, as still
As solid ebony."

The negro woman Dinah seems not to have fared very
well in the \^ears that followed. Her master, IMajor
John Tapley, was killed in the French and Indian war,
and a special town meeting was called in 1773 to see
what disposition the town wished to make in regard to
her. As a result, the selectmen were instructed to have
her properly cared for, and she continued a town charge
until her death.

Milan Murphy was a veteran of the Revolution. He
was called "Colonel" and was the victim of all sorts of
pranks. He was a prominent figure at the 'Lection day
festivities, when he marched wearing his old three-cor-

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 53

nered hat and a blue coat with brass buttons, all the
while singinf? to the accompaniment of his old violin.
A large clump of willows off Pine street, near Otis,
which this negro set out, received the name of "Milan's
Willows." In 1818 he was made a Revolutionary pen-
sioner.

The following story has been related concerning the
slaves owned by Lt. Stephen Putnam, who lived where
Judge Alden P. White's residence in Putnamville now
stands :

"Some time in the month of May, 1737, a small vessel
might have been seen moving slowly down a river which
empties into the Gulf of Guinea. The officers on board
were cold and unfeeling, agreeing well with the in-
human traffic in which they were employed. They pur-
chased captured negroes at low rates and brought them
to Xew England, where they were sold at prices which
gave large gains to the traders. Among those who
landed at Boston in that summer of 1737 were two dark
curly-headed children, one a boy of four years, the other
a girl of twenty months, whose bright, sparkling eyes
gave promise of future activity of mind and body. The
bo}'- was purchased by a man in Lynnfield, and the girl
by Lt. Stephen Putnam, for the sum of £20, and her
weight was twenty pounds, avoirdupois. She was taken
into the family and brought up side by side with his
children, ten in number, some of whom were older and
some younger than Rose. As soon as old enough she
was given the task of taking care of the children and
assisting her mistress in the work of the family. I can-
not say that she ever attended school, but she learned
her letters, and was able to read a little in her Bible,
and was constant in attendance at church, walking three
miles. She could remember the minister's text, but per-
haps she took as much pleasure in the social meeting of
her friends during the intermission hours as in the ser-

54 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

men. She occupied a chair near the door, which gave
her a good opportunity to see the people as they entered,
and she noticed their attire and was observant of the
changing fashions of those days. She was long remem-
bered by the boys and girls of the parish for her gener-
ous distribution of apples, pears and cucumbers in their
season, with which her capacious pockets were well filled.
After the death of her master she remained with her
mistress, Miriam Putnam, who lived to the age of
ninety-two. Then her time was divided among their
three surviving sons, Phineas, Aaron and Stephen,
where she was made welcome, though past labor. She
died at the house of one of these friends and was buried
in the little graveyard on the hill, now known as the
Preston Street Cemetery. The children of her master
cared kindly for her in her old age, and though no stone
marks the grave of this warm-hearted slave, yet the
place is known, and plants, the evergreen, box and daf-
fodils, have been placed there to mark the spot."

"Lt. David Putnam owned and lived in the house still
standing on Maple street, near Newbury, known now
as the birthplace of his brother, Major-General Israel.
It was David who built the large front addition to the
original house. His slave woman was called Kate, and
in 1784 she set out three willow trees at the east side
of the house and close by the running brook, the last of
which had to be cut down recentty (1916) on account of
decajang branches."

Incorporation as a Town. — It was now five years
since the town had been set off from Salem as a District.
As the troubles with Great Britain increased, the town
had a still stronger desire to be represented in the Gen-
eral Court. Accordingly, a petition urging that the

.. ^^

NAUMKEAG HOUSE, NORTH DANVERS.

[■C. RERKY

Built in 1838.
From a lithograph made in 1852.

[p k i- f, f f r f

^. 'i|

THE ENDECOTT-PIEMONT-LEECH TAVERN

On the old Ipswich Road (Sylvan Street)

Used as a tavern from 1762-1806. Here John Adams and Josiah Quincy, Jr., frequently

stopped on their way from Boston to Ipswich.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 55

District be incorporated as a town was presented to the
General Court. The Royal Governor Hutchinson did
all in his power to prevent such action, but his protests
were in vain. On June 9, 1757, the petition was granted.
The population of the town, including Peabody, was
about 2,000 at this time. From this year dates Danvers'
existence as a town.

The Old Tavern. — Certainly as early as 1745, and
no one knows how many years before, there was a tavern
at the corner of High and Conant streets. At this time
the house was kept by John Porter, who probably built
it. It was a good location in the early days for a
hostelry, on account of the large amount of travel over
the old Ipswich road, providing entertainment for all
who chanced to pass that way. And as the population
in the vicinity increased, the tavern became the common
resort of the villagers. Here all the questions of the
times were discussed, the public affairs of the colonies
in the "times that tried men's souls." This was also the
place for the celebration of public events, where impor-
tant meetings for the welfare of the town were held, and
still later, where many and varied entertainments and
dances contributed to the social life of the community.

This old tavern site was sold by Col. Jethro and
Timothy Putnam at the beginning of the 19th century
(1804) to Ebenezer Berry, who came from Andover.
It passed into the hands of his son, Eben G. Berry,
who, in 1838, sold the old building and erected the pres-
ent one, which was remodelled in 1898. It is now the
property of Louis Brown. ^

3 For the history of other old taverns of Danvers, see Danvers His-
torical Collections, Vol. 8.

56 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

NEARING THE REVOLUTION; JUDGE

HOLTEN; DANVERS OPPOSES THE

STAMP ACT.

MuTTERiNGs OF DISCONTENT. — The attitude of the
King toward the Province was growing more pro-
nounced with every year. Each new law was made
with the evident intent to deprive the people of that
liberty and power for which they longed. The people
were fast becoming slaves. They recognized the fact,
and mutterings of discontent began to be distinctly
audible. In 1765 the Stamp Act was the beginning of
hostilities. Kindred to the spirit of the times were the
citizens of Danvers, and this same year — ten years be-
fore the Battle of Lexington — they foresaw the inevit-
able struggle. They instructed their representative in
the General Court, Thomas Porter, to use all his influ-
ence toward a repeal of the infamous Stamp Act, and
against any internal taxes except those imposed by the
General Court. They further declared that they were
willing to be subject to the "Greatest and best of Kings,"
but they thought men of "envious and depraved minds"
had advised him wrought and their grievance was such
as "cannot but be resented by every True Englishman
who has a Spark of Generous Fire Remaining in His
Breast."

Delegate to Faneuil Hall Convention. — On the
twentieth of September, 1768, a meeting was held at the
North meeting house, when Dr. Samuel Holten was
chosen to represent the town at a convention of dele-
gates from the different towns in the Province, to be
held in Faneuil Hall, Boston, two days later. The
convention continued several days, and the difficulties
between the colonies and the mother country were fully
discussed.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVEKS 57

Samuel Holten; His Early Life. — All things
considered, Dr. Samuel Holten was probably the most
remarkable man the town of Danvers has ever pro-
duced. He was born, June 9, 1738, in a house not now
standing, off Prince street. It was his parents' intention
to send him to college, and to this end he spent four
years at study in the family of the Rev. Peter Clark,
pastor of the PMrst church. At the age of twelve, how-
ever, his health failed and the plan was given up. After
a time he recovered sufficiently to begin the study of
medicine with Dr. Jonathan Prince,^ with whom he
made rapid progress. At the age of eighteen, Dr. Prince
advised him to begin practice on his own account, which
he did, settling first in Gloucester, but later in his native
town.

His Public Service. — His first active part in public
life, outside his own town, was in the Provincial conven-
tion before mentioned, which was the first called without
Royal authority. He sustained an active part in the
deliberations and distinguished himself for that earnest-
ness and strength which always characterized him. He
was also in the Provincial (State) Congress of 1775,
was an active member of the General Committee of
Safety and a member of the Executive Council under
the provisional government. With the beginning of
the Revolution he gave up his practice and devoted him-
self assiduously to his country.

In 1776^ he was appointed one of the Judges of the
Court of Common Pleas of Essex County, performing
the duties of that office about thirty-two years, presiding

1 Dr. Prince had a large practice in this and neighboring' towns.
He lived upon tlie southern slope of Hathorne hill, on Newbury street,
opposite Ingersoll street, at a spot now marked by a cluster of pines.
This house is now located corner Forest and Hobart streets, and is
Known as the Hook house. He died in 1753.

' See Funeral Sermon by Dr. Wadsworth.

58 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

half that time ; and he was Justice of the Court of Gen-
eral Sessions of the Peace thirty-five years, acting as
Chief Justice of the same fifteen years.

In 1777 Dr. Holten was one of the delegates from
Massachusetts at the Yorktown Convention that framed
the "Articles of Confederation," being forty years old
when his sphere of usefulness so broadened, and at some
time presided over that body, thus occupying tempo-
rarily "the first seat of honor in his country."

He served five years in the State Senate and twelve
in the Governor's Council. Five years he served in
Congress under the Confederation, and two under the
Federal Constitution, ill health alone preventing him
from continuing longer. From 1796 to 1815 he was
Judge of Probate for Essex County.

In his native town, he filled almost every responsible
position. Not only was he chosen selectman, town clerk,
assessor and treasurer, but he was the arbitrator in
many a case of dispute, for which he was peculiarly well
adapted. He was often called upon to write petitions
and other public documents, which called for clear and
forceful diction.

Personal Appearance and Character. — Judge
Holten was in form majestic, of graceful person, "his
countenance pleasing, his manners easy and engaging,
his talents popular, his disposition amiable and benevo-
lent, and of good intellectual powers." He was not a
brilliant man and perhaps not a great man in ability
for any one line of action, but he was great in capacity
for general accomplishments, and of tactful mind. He
was faithful to every trust, a man of unswerving integ-
rity, always to be relied upon.^ He was a man of Chris-
tian principle, and once remarked that it was a happy

1 See llev. Dr. Rice's "History of the First Parish," and "Some Per-
sonal Characteristics of Judge Holten," in Danvers Historical Col-
lections, Vol. 10.

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THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 59

circumstance that the qualities of right living had been
engrafted in his mind before he mixed with the world
around him. "His was a high type of manhood, apt to
be rare, and certain alwaj^s to be needed."

Last Years. — The residence of Judge Holten during
the greater part of his life was the house now owned
and restored by Gen. Israel Putnam Chapter, D. A. R.,
corner Centre and Holten streets, which was built by
Benjamin Holten about 1670. From this house he went
forth to participate in the great councils of the country,
those councils which made it possible for the people of
today to enjoy the opportunities and privileges of the
United States of America. He died on January 2, 1816,
at the age of 78 years, and was buried in the cemetery
in Tapleyville which bears his name. He left three
daughters, but no son to perpetuate the name. The
poet has well said of him :

"A heart from which the milk of kindness gushed,
A love, which all the evil passions hushed,

. . . Such a life
Of quiet glory in an age of strife.
The peaceable supporter of a host
Whose daring battles are our country's boast.
Is worth our study."

Tea Taboo at Town Meeting. — The year 1770 was
distinguished by the Non-Importation Agreement, the
refusal of the merchants of Boston and other towns to
import tea, upon which a tax still remained, and they
recommended that all who were disposed to resist the
tyranny of England should refrain from the use of
tiiat beverage. On May 28, 1770, the people of Dan-
vers in town meeting assembled, pledged themselves to
neither import, buy or use tea until the tax should be
removed. A committee was appointed to convey a copy

60 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

of the vote to every family in town for signatures ; they
were instructed to publish the names of any who refused
to sign the paper, as enemies of the country.

Some Tea Episodes. — There seems to have been one
person found in the town who refused to comply with
this order. He lived in the south part of the town, now
Peabody, and the story runs that as a punishment he
was obliged by his neighbors to furnish a bucket of
punch at old Bell Tavern, a famous hostelry, and to
repeat over his cup the following couplet:

"I, Isaac Wilson a Tory I be,
I, Isaac Wilson, I sell tea."

It is said that however willing the men may have been
from patriotic considerations to deny themselves the
luxury of tea, they found some difficulty in preventing
the women of the household from occasionally partaking
of the forbidden beverage. The story is told that cer-
tain husbands at the South parish grew suspicious of a
large coifee-pot that was seen migrating from place to
place at quiltings, and surmised that tea-drinking was
being carried on by their good dames. The practice was
effectually stopped by the discovery one night, while
one of the dames was in the act of concealing the tea
grounds behind the back-log, of a good-sized toad, which
had doubtless been placed in the coffee-pot by some of
the men to cure them of the scandalous habit. It prob-
ably had the desired effect.

Another incident is told of the Page house. There
is a family tradition that on one occasion after the
drinking of tea had been prohibited in the household, the
wife of the owner invited a few friends who were calling
upon her, to go to the roof of the house and indulge in
a sip of the forbidden drink, appeasing her conscience
by arguing that ''Upon a house is not within it."^

1 See Lucy Larcom's poem, "A Gambrel Eoof."

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 61

Miss Anne L. Page, granddaughter of Colonel Page,
has written concerning Dill, who figured in the "Tea
party" episode:

"Deliverance, or 'Dill,' as she was always called, was
the youngest of the three named in the bill of sale before
mentioned, and was then only a child. The valuable
part of the purchase, in the buyer's estimation, must
have been the two elder ones. Dill's mother and sister.
These two died in a year or two. Dill lived to good old
age and, with other members of the family, I attended
her funeral in St. Peter's church in Salem, of which
church she was a member. I think her death occurred
sometime in the forties. She made up for the loss upon
the other two. Combo and Cate, for she was a faithful
nurse to the children and became a cook of renown. I
remember when she came to the homestead, to spend a
day, each year, we children liked to stay in the kitchen
with Dill, who told us stories and made gingerbread for
us that was always of the best.

"In return for her faithful service she was always
treated kindly in my grandfather's family. My Aunt
Carroll once told me that the children did not dare tease
Dill for fear of their grandfather's displeasure, and as
she stood by his coffin in 1806 she was heard to say, 'He
was a good man.' African trade was carried on by
people in Salem and vicinity, and then vessels often
returned with a few slaves as a part of their cargo.
These slaves found a ready sale, for the New England
conscience still slumbered and slept, so far as slavery
was concerned. It is a well authenticated fact that slaves
of both sexes were commonly held as family slaves, even
by many of the clergy, who sometimes acquired them
by purchase, and sometimes as presents from their
parishioners.

"Miss Lucy Larcom gives Dill a place in the poem of
'The Gambrel Roof,' but this was by way of poetic

62 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

license. Dill loved to tell us stories of 'the goings on'
in the old time, and would never have omitted the story
of the roof-party if she had known it. Besides, the tea-
drinking was, and had to be, a profound secret between
the three tea-drinkers who went slyly up the scuttle
stairs, and sat on the roof and drank their tea that
afternoon. Mrs. Page, the hostess, died within the year.
Mrs. John Shillaber, by whom the account of the event
was transmitted, moved to Salem soon after it happened.
It was only in her old age, when all who would have
been disturbed by it had been gone many years, that
she told the story to her daughters. It was from the
lips of one of the daughters that I heard the story, as
she told it to my father and mother, neither of whom
had been born at the time the event occurred. Had the
least hint of the affair been given at the time. Colonel
Page would have felt disgraced, and perhaps would
have been mobbed, so strong was the feeling against
using tea.

"In her last years Dill lived in a small, unpainted
house in North Salem, now North street, with a willow
tree at the door, on which in sunmaer a parrot in a green
cage hung, and called to horses in imitation of drivers
of teams as they passed the house.

"Dill wrote verses. Anstis, her daughter, told me
that when 'Ma'am wanted to rhyme up' she would take
a basket and go into the woods and bring home some
poetry. I could see where the woods might be an inspi-
ration, but the basket seemed irrelevent. One of the
verses in a poem of some length, ran thus:

'The minister he stands in the pidpit so high
And tells us from the Bible that we all must die.'
The refrain between each verse ran:

'They stole us from Africa, the home of the free.
And brought us in bondage across the blue sea.'

THE OLD TO^Y^ OF DANVERS 63

"Peace to her memory. Stolen from Africa, but not
exactly the 'home of the free,' from a little ignorant,
friendless, black child, she came to be an unusually
intelligent, amiable. Christian woman."

A Firm Stand ; Strong Resolutions. — During the
next three years the people of Danvers continued awake
to the difficulties that were besetting the colonies. The
arrival of the British troops and the massacre of several
Americans in the streets of Boston were not events cal-
culated to produce a quieting effect upon the people.
In January, 1773, the feelings of the inhabitants of
Danvers were forcibly expressed in a set of resolutions,
which for strength and boldness never have been equalled
in the town. They declared that the rights of the colo-
nists had been greatly infringed upon by the mother
country, pointing out in detail their various grievances ;
that they stood "ready, if need be, to risk their lives and
fortunes in defence of those liberties which our fore-
fathers purchased at so dear a rate;" that their repre-
sentative be instructed to "earnestly contend for the just
rights and privileges of the people that they may be
handed down inviolate to the latest posterity;" to use
his influence toward a strict union of all the Provinces
on the continent, and not to swerve as much as a hair's
breadth in standing resolutely for all the privileges
which they had a right to enjoy. A committee consist-
ing of Dr. Samuel Holten, Tarrant Putnam, Jr., and
Capt. Wm. Shillaber, was appointed at this meeting to
confer with the Committee of Correspondence of the
town of Boston, to whom a copy of the resolutions was
sent.

Gen. Gage's Arrival; The Hooper House. —
Early in June 1774, the people of Danvers were treated
to a somewhat unwelcome surprise in the arrival of the
Royal Governor, Gen. Thomas Gage. Finding Boston

64 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

a little warm for his royal constitution, he changed the
seat of government to Salem, making his headquarters
at the "Hooper House," now known as "The Lindens,"
formerly the residence of the late Francis Peabody,
Esq., and now of Ward Thoron, Esq. This house, which
is still one of the finest mansions to be found in the
country, was no less attractive in General Gage's time.
It was built about 1754 by Robert Hooper, a wealthy
merchant of Marblehead, who, once a poor boy, rose to
great wealth, and for a time nearly monopolized the
fishing business of that town. He was known as "King"
Hooper, partly from the style in which he lived, but
more especially on account of his personal honor and
integrity. He had decidedly Tory^ proclivities, and the
story is told that once during the Revolution, a com-
pany of patriots on the way to join the army, appropri-
ated to their use the large leaden balls which ornamented
"King" Hooper's gateposts. The owner came to the
door and remonstrated with the soldiers, using such
vigorous epithets not in sympathy with their cause, that
a shot was fired from the squad of men. The bullet
missed its mark and entered the panel of the front door,
which door has been preserved. Many important coun-
cils took place in this house when the Governor enter-
tained the prominent men of the official circle.

The question was often asked, why General Gage
happened to bring troops to Danvers, and the answer
has been given that the General was an officer of dis-
tinction in the British army, at one time Governor of
Montreal, and for ten years had been commander-in-
chief of the British forces in America. It was necessar}'"
to give such a prominent man all the protection needed,

- The only Tories, natives of Danvers, were Rev. William Clark, son
of Rev. Peter Clark, who in 1768 was an Episcopal clergjonan in
Quincy, and was afterwards confined in a prison ship in Boston har-
bor ; and James Putnam, who went to Halifax, became a judge of the
Supreme Court and died at St. Johns in 1789.

GEN. ISRAEL PUTNAM (at left, with sword raised)
COL. THOMAS KNOWLTON (central figure standing), of Boxford.
From Trumbull's " The Battle at Bunker's Hill."

BIKTHPLACK OF CUL. ISRAEL HUTCHINSON, CENTRE STREET
Built in 1726 for his father, Elisha Hutchinson

L)R. JONATHAN PRINCE HOUSE, HOBART AND FOREST STREETS

Built on Newbury Street, opposite Ingersoll, by John Darling soon after 1680 ; owned

by Dr. Prince in 1734 ; by Capt. Jonathan Ingersoll in 1794; by Capt. Joseph

Peabody in 1827. Removed to its present location in 1845 by John

Hook. Now known as the Hook- Hay House.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVEES 65

and the soldiers were there to enforce by their presence
his arbitrary measures. The days were spent with se-
rious meetings by those favorable to the royal cause,
but the nights were given to revelry and dancing by the
younger guests at the mansion, when the officers of the
regiment took part and made the scene picturesque with
their bright scarlet uniforms.

Mr. Hooper was early suspected of disloyalty, and
a letter was sent to him by the Committee of Safety of
the town of Danvers, requesting him to explain his
views and the reasons of his Tory conduct. His reply
was read at a town meeting, January 1, 1775, and it
was unanimously voted not satisfactory.

Of "King" Hooper's family, Stephen, his eldest son,
removed to Newburyport and became a prosperous
merchant. Joseph graduated from Harvard and en-
gaged in foreign trade in Marblehead, removing to New-
buryport near the close of the Revolution; he was said
to have become a loyalist, and his property was con-
fiscated, after which he went to England, where he died.
Robert was a merchant of Marblehead, as was also
Swett. All of these children were, of course, familiar
with Danvers, as they probably passed many summers
at the mansion here. Robert Hooper died at Marble-
head and was buried on May 23, 1790, when all the
vessels in the harbor were dressed in mourning and the
procession exceeded anything known before in honor
of a merchant.

Presence of Soldiers; How RECEnrED. — The first
two months of the Governor's residence were marked
by no conspicuous events. The people did not take
kindly to having the representative of the Crown of
England in their midst, and the feeling was greatly
intensified when in the latter part of July two companies
of the Sixty-fourth Royal Infantry from Castle Wil-

66 CHRONICLES OP DANVERS

liam were dispatched to attend the Governor in Danvers.
The presence of Red Coats in the town created great
consternation, but on the whole they were under good
disciphne and behaved well.

A daughter of Archelaus Putnam often told the story
that one day two officers surprised her in Colonel Hutch-
inson's orchard at New Mills. To one who commenced
to climb the fence, the other said, "Wait till the girl
goes away; do not frighten her." Governor Gage often
conversed with Colonel Hutchinson. He was affable
and courteous, and once, while sitting on a log before
the door, he said, "We shall soon quell all these feelings
and govern all this," sweeping out his arm with an ex-
pressive gesture.

The soldiers were encamped in the field opposite the
house. They were always watchful against surprise,
realizing the hostility of the people round about, and
occasionally were under arms all day. Many pranks
were played on the troops. At the drum call to arms,
Aaron Cheever, disguised, dashed in on horseback,
shouting: "Plurry to Boston! The devil is to pay!"
The following September, General Gage decided that
his presence was wanted in Boston, and the troops made
a night march to that place. A large oak in the field,
used as a whipping post in the camp, and afterwards
called "King George's Whipping Post," was cut down
and the timber used in building the frigate "Essex" at
Salem in 1799. Trees were hauled from many of the
neighboring towns to be used for this purpose. The
iron staple upon which the British soldiers were strung
up for the lash, was found imbedded in the wood, which,
strangely enough, became the stern-post of the "Essex,"
one of the most important vessels in the next war with
England (1812). There are several unmarked graves
of British soldiers in the field on the south side of

JUDGE SAMUEL PUTNAM

,768- 1853

From a daguerreotype

RESIDENCE OF JUDGE SAMUEL PUTNAM, HOLTEN STREET
Built as a Summer Residence about 1805, near the old Nathaniel Putnam house,
which he demolished in 1818

POND STREET, SHOWING PUTNAM'S POND AND MILL

THE OLD TOWN OF DANYEES 67

Sylvan street, rear of the residence of the late Israel W.
Andrews, Esq.

There was one interested observer of the troops,
Samuel Putnam, a lad of seven years, who a few months
later, played the fife as the soldiers under Benedict Ar-
nold marched by his home on their way to Quebec.
This distinguished man was destined to devote his life
to peaceful pursuits, being born at too late a day (1768)
to engage in the Revolution. At the age of ten he began
fitting for college at Andover, graduating from Har-
vard in 1787, in the class with John Quincy Adams.
His inclination was toward law as a profession, and he
established himself in Salem, where he became one of
the most renowned advocates in the state. No lawyer
of his time was better versed than he in the principles
of common, and especially commercial law. In 1814,
upon the death of the distinguished jurist Chief Justice
Sewall, he was appointed judge of the Supreme Judicial
Court of this Commonwealth, holding that high office
28 years. It has been said of him that "no man ever held
the scales of justice more even; none was ever more in-
tent upon making righteous decrees, none ever more
fearless and independent in his decisions, none more so-
licitous for the deliverance of the wrongfully accused,
and none more indignant against all trickery, lying and
fraud." Judge Putnam received the degree of LL.D.
from Harvard in 1825. He was an hospitable man, and
delighted to show his friends over his old paternal estate
in Danvers, on Holten street, near the pond. He was a
lover of nature, and the setting-out of trees was one of
his especial pleasures. Kind-hearted and charitable, the
advisor of many a young business man, and enjoying
the confidence and esteem of the community, he died in
Boston, July 3, 1853.'

1 See Biographical Sketch of Judge Samuel Putnam and Sarah
(Gooll) Putnam in Danvers Historical Collections, Vol. 10,

68 chronicles of danvers

England Renounced; Preparations for the
Struggle. — During the winter of 1774-75 the mutter-
ings grew more intense. Revolution was in the air. On
November 21, the town voted to consider itself no longer
subject to the laws of England, but to adhere strictly
to the doings of the Provincial Congress. As yet there
had been no rupture, no engagement, but they eagerly
prepared for the worst, and to this end each man was
provided with "an effective fire-arm, bayonet, pouch,
knapsack, thirty rounds of cartridges and balls." Drills
were instituted and the constant tread of feet gave warn-
ing of the storm which was about to break upon them.

The Militia of Danvers. — From the close of the
French and Indian war to this period, Danvers had sup-
ported two militia companies, which were attached to
the 1st Regiment of Essex County. In 1775, one was
in command of Samuel Flint, and the other, which was
composed chiefly of men in the southern part of the
town, was commanded by Samuel Eppes. There were,
in addition to the regular militia, six other companies
of "minute men." These were called "Alarm Compan-
ies," and stood ready to fight at a moment's notice.

British Repulsed at North Bridge^ Salem. —
Richard Skidmore^ was a wheelwright at New Mills
and had recently made some gun carriages. He served
in all the wars, a drummer at the siege of Louisburg,
a soldier and privateersman in the Revolution, and a
member of the alarm list of 1814.

"A patriot, too, his drum he beat
In three wars at his country's call ;
Beating the onset, not retreat,
He came victorious out of all."

1 See Hanson's history, page 104.

RESIDENCE OF COL. JEREMIAH PAGE, KLM STREET.
Built for him in 1754.
The room on the left of the front entrance was used as an office by Gen. Gage, the Royal Governor,
in 1774. This house was the scene of the tea party episode related by Lucy Larcom in her poem,
" A Gambrel Roof "

BELL TAVERN AND LEXINGTON MONUMENT.
In the South Parish (now Peabody).

Z -I

f^ E

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 69

The guns themselves were concealed somewhere in
North Salem, it is supposed. A report to this effect
had reached Boston, and Colonel Leslie was sent with
a detacliment of British regulars to find and destroy
them. He landed from a transport at Marblehead on
February 26, 1775, and marched overland to Salem.
News of the approach of the soldiers flew like lightning.
The alarm spread for 40 miles, and in a few hours, it
is said, 40,000 men would have been on the spot. By
the time Leslie had reached the North Bridge in Salem,
the draw was raised, and the opposite side of the river
defended by men from Danvers and Salem, armed with
muskets, pitchforks, clubs and other rude weapons, who
dared them to proceed at peril of their lives. Among
them was Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth, pastor of the
First Church, who shouldered his musket and hastened
to the scene. There were three British regulars to every
one American. The British Colonel was greatly en-
raged when he saw that the draw had been raised and
his plans thwarted, but deciding that discretion was the
better part of valor he finally agreed to return to Mar-
blehead if he could be allowed to cross the bridge and
so obey orders. This he did, and then the regulars
marched back to the transport. Just as the retreat was
made. Captain Eppes' company of militia arrived from
Danvers, armed and ready for battle. This was the
first armed resistance to the encroachment of the British
in this country. Here, nearly two months before the
Battle of Lexington, the people of Danvers and Salem
repulsed the foe, and but for the discretion of Leslie,
the War of the Revolution would have commenced at
the North Bridge.

70 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION; FAMOUS
OFFICERS FROM DANVERS.

The Call to Arms ; Battle of Lexington. — Two
months after the repulse at North Bridge, the British
instituted a similar search for stores supposed to be con-
cealed at Concord. This was the eighteenth of April.
Early on the morning of the nineteenth, they were met
by the patriot yeomen of Lexington and Concord and
forced to retreat. The news of a battle had reached
Danvers early on that warm April morning. About
nine o'clock the hurried hoof-beats of a messenger's
horse were heard in the streets. The man did not dis-
mount, but called in a loud voice, as he galloped along:
"There's a battle at Lexington! We have met the
British! Hurry to help!" The companies of Danvers
did not wait for a second call.

"Swift as the summons came they left
The plow, 'mid furrow, standing still.
The half-ground corn grist in the mill,
The spade in earth, the axe in clift.

"They went where duty seemed to call.
They scarcely asked the reason why;
They only knew they could but die.
And death was not the worst of all."

Capt. Samuel Flint and Capt. Asa Prince with their
men from the Village, Capts. Samuel Eppes, Gideon
Foster and Caleb Lowe and their companies from the
south part of the town, Capt. Jeremiah Page and his
minute men from the Plains, Capt. Israel Hutchinson
with the "New Mills" and Beverly men, and Deacon
Edmund Putnam and his Putnamville and Beaver
Brook men, 303 in all, old and young alike, ran sixteen

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 71

miles and more to the scene of carnage. Over fences,
through fields, scaling stone walls, and then marching
on the highway, they hastened on. They started about
10 o'clock; they reached Menotomy (now Arlington)
at about two in the afternoon. The British were said
to be on the retreat into Charlestown. The Dan vers
men with others stationed themselves in the yard of
Jason Russell, in the centre of Menotomy, where bun-
dles of shingles served as a barricade, and awaited the
approach of the enemy. Rumor had deceived the men
as to the force of the British. It was their expectation
to here intercept their retreat. But suddenly and un-
expectedly the enemy came in sight, descending the hill
near by in solid column on their right, while on the left
a large flank guard was rapidly advancing. The Dan-
vers men were caught in a trap, but they fought desper-
ately and gallantly. The British, too, were desperate.
Enraged at their defeat and harassed by the Provin-
cials, who had fired upon them from behind stone walls
and trees on their retreat, they now saw a chance for
revenge. Some of the Americans were driven into a
cellar nearby, where horrible deeds were committed, and
here and in the yard seven of Danvers' young men fell,
and two more were wounded. The dead were: Benja-
min Daland, Jr., Henry Jacobs, Jr., George South-
wick, Jr., Samuel Cook, Jr., Eben Goldthwait, Perley
Putnam and Jotham Webb. Danvers lost more men
than any other town except I^exington.

Captain Foster, with some of his men on the side of
the hill, finding themselves nearly surrounded, made an
effort to gain the pond. Thev crossed directly in front
of the British column. On the north side of the road
they took position behind a ditch wall. From this re-
doubt thev fired upon the enemy so long as any of them
were within range of their muskets. Some of them
fired eleven times, with two bullets at each discharge.

72 CHRONICLES OF DANVEES

Jotham Webb, one of the killed, had been married
only a few weeks. When the call came, he put on his
wedding clothes, saying, "If I die, I will die in my best
clothes."

"A gallant hero, too, was Webb,
Nor deemed his nuptial suit too fine
In which to act a soldier's part
And pour his gifts at Freedom's shrine ;

"But donned his best, and kissed his bride,
And sped to make the sacrifice —
The wedding garb his glory shroud,
The fatal ball his pearl of price."

The house in which Webb lived is stiU standing, off
Merrill street, having been removed from Water
street.^

It was a sorrowful group that congregated that night
in Colonel Hutchinson's house at New Mills, to wait for
the news from the battle. There were women whose
husbands had seen many a bloody battlefield in the old
wars, who knew full well what a dreadful battle meant ;
there were young women, born and bred in an atmos-
phere of peace; and there were little children clinging
to the older ones with childish trust, feeling that some
awful thing was about to happen. Only one man was
left at New Mills that night, illness alone preventing
him from joining the company. On the evening of the
20th, several men on horseback drove up to the house,
escorting a horse-cart, which bore a precious burden.
On the kitchen floor of that house the dead were un-
rolled from the bloody sheets, and the next morning
were taken away for burial. Such was Danvers' part
in the first battle of the Revolution.

1 See Danvers Historical Collections, Vol, 8, p. 24.

the old town of danvers 73

Period of Watchfulness; The Revolution. —
After the battle, the town of Danvers voted to establish
two watches of thirteen men each, whose duty it was to
guard the town every night. A penalty awaited any
one who refused to do duty in this direction. Strict
rules were laid down against the firing of any guns
except in cases of alarm or actual engagement. The
watches were discontinued in July, when Congress pro-
vided a guard for seaport towns.

The expectation of an outbreak was realized on the
memorable 17th of June, when the battle of Bunker
Hill was fought, in which a large number of Danvers
men participated. During the following terrible eight
years' struggle for independence, the men of this town
bore an honorable and important part.^ Money was

5 For the names of soldiers see "Military and Naval Annals of
Danvers," published by the town, 1896.

The following gravefs of Revolutionary soldiers have been located :

Walnut Grove Cemetery — Summit Ave., Samuel Cheever, Thomas
Putnam, Nathan Putnam, Capt. Samuel Page ; Myrtle Ave., Brig.-Gen.
Moses Porter, Benjamin Porter ; Fern Ave., Stephen Putnam ; Mag-
nolia Ave., Asa Tapley ; Elm Ave., Johnson Proctor ; Aster Path, Allen
Putnam.

High Street Cemetery — John Josslyn, Capt. Edmund Putnam, Col.
Jeremiah Page, Col. Israel Hutchinson, Nathaniel Webb, Jonathan
Wait, David Tarr, Capt. Jeremiah Putnam, Richard Skidmore, Ben-
jamin Porter.

Holten Street Cetoetery — Hon. Samuel Holten, Col. Jethro Putnam,
Rogers Nourse, John Kettelle, Michael Cross.

Wadsworth Cemetery — Col. Enoch Putnam, Timothy Putnam, Daniel
Tow^ne.

Putnamville — Capt. Benjamin Putnam.

Preston Street— Levi Preston, Phineas Putnam, Phineas Putnamj
Jr., Archelaus Dale, George Wyatt.

Beaver Brook, Spring Street — John Nichols, James Prince.

Putnam Cemetery, near Hospital — Deacon Joseph Putnam.

Off Green Street — Amos Tapley, Simon Mudge, John Preston, Daniel
Putnam, Lieut. Gilbert Tapley.

Pope's Lane — Nathaniel Pope, Nathaniel Pope, Jr.

Rebecca Nurse Burying Ground — Matthew Putnam, Francis Nurse.

Rear "The Lindens" — Dr. Amos Putnam, Nathan Putnam.

Jacobs Cemetery, Gardner's Hill — Capt. Seth Richardson.

In 1895, the town made an appropriation for the purchase of
markers for the graves of Revolutionary soldiers, since which time
the patriotic societies have decorated these graves annually.

74 CHEONICLES OF DANVERS

raised and the services of hundreds of its citizens were
freely given, so it was truthfully said that

"On every field where victory was won,
The sons of Danvers stood by Washington."

Dr. Amos Putnam was one of the most influential
citizens of the town at this time. He was born in Dan-
vers, October 11, 1722. He studied medicine and prac-
ticed in this town until the opening of the French and
Indian war, when he entered the Colonial service as
surgeon, serving six months. During the Revolution
he was a member of the Committee of Safety and was
always a firm and outspoken patriot. He practiced in
Danvers over half a century, and died on July 26, 1807,
and was buried in a family lot in rear of the "Lindens."
The portrait from which the accompanying cut was
made is the most ancient Putnam portrait known.

GEN. ISRAEL PUTNAM.

A Revolutionary hero of whom Danvers will always
be proud was Gen. Israel Putnam, whose biography is
really a matter of national history. In the house now
standing at the corner of Newbury and Maple streets,
he first saw the light on January 7, 1718, in a back room
which is still preserved with all its ancient furnishings.
The old part of the house was built probably about 1641
by Lieut. Thomas Putnam, his grandfather, and came
into possession of the General's father, Joseph Putnam.
His boyhood was distinguished by strength and courage,
and with hard work on the farm and plenty of athletic
exercise he laid the foundation of a vigorous constitu-
tion. At the age of twenty-one he married Hannah
Pope, and soon removed to Pomfret, Conn., in the
vicinity of which he made his home ever after. It was

H
t3 o

BIRTHPLACE OF GEN. ISRAEL PUTNAM

HOME OF COL. ISRAEL HUTCHINSON, WATER STREET

Built by Samuel Clark, son of Rev. Peter Clark, about 1760. He exchanged houses in

1762, with Col. Israel Hutchinson, who then lived in the Hutchinson-Clark house

now on Essex Street. Here were brought the bodies of the Danvers men

slain in the Battle of Lexington. Demolished when the Danvers-

port railroad station was erected in 1889

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 75

there that he had the famous encounter with the wolf
in her den. The neighborhood had been greatly excited
at the meanderings of the wolf, but no one had the cour-
age to attack her. Putnam, with his usual fearlessness,
came to their rescue, entered the cave and shot the wolf,
much to the relief of the people.

His first service for his country was in the French
and Indian War. He commanded a company at Ticon-
deroga, where he attracted much attention on account
of his undaunted courage. When the Revolution broke
out he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Upon receiving the news of the Battle of Lexington, in
his Connecticut home, he left his plough in the furrow,
and seizing his coat from a tree where it hung, turned
his horse loose, and hastened to the scene of the conflict.

Commissioned a Major-General by George Wash-
ington, who had been appointed Commander-in-chief of
the armies, he commanded the American forces at the
Battle of Bunker Hill. Here, as elsewhere, he dis-
played the utmost bravery and calmness. It was at this
time that he gave the famous command to his men:
"Don't fire until you can see the whites of their eyes,"
the wisdom of which was realized when it was seen how
great had been the destruction of the enemy. Through
all the years of the war he distinguished himself. "He
dared to lead where any dared to follow." His courage
was sometimes of a reckless type, as when (1778) on
horseback he plunged down the hundred stone steps at
Horseneck, Conn., to escape death at the hands of the
British, a feat which would have been sure death to
anyone but Putnam. He was not a man of learning;
his education had been such as could be obtained occa-
sionally winters in the district school, but he had a large
amount of good judgment, common-sense and love of
country that completely eclipsed all consideration of
his ignorance of books. Washington was his friend,

76 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

and all the great generals and leaders of his time were
loud in their praise of "Old Put," as his devoted soldiers
loved to call him. George Washington wrote General
Putnam, June 2, 1783:

"Your favor of the 20th of May I received with much
pleasure. For I can assure you that among the many
worthy and meritorious officers with whom I have had
the happiness to be connected in service through the
course of this war, and from whose cheerful assistance
in the various and trying vicissitudes of a complicated
contest, the name of a Putnam is not forgotten, nor will
be but with that stroke of time which shall obliterate
from my mind the remembrance of all those toils and
fatigues through which we have struggled for the pres-
ervation and establishment of the rights, liberties and
independence of our country. Your congratulations on
the happy prospects of peace and independent security,
with their attendant blessings to the United States, I
receive with great satisfaction, and beg that you will
accept a return of my gratulations to you on this aus-
picious event, an event in which you have a right to par-
ticipate largely, from the distinguished part you have
contributed toward its attainment."

In that famous painting, "The Battle of Bunker
Plill," the face and form of Putnam is distinctly seen.
It was copied from a portrait painted from life by John
Trumbull.^

General Putnam died on May 19, 1790, at his home

1 Trumbull also sketched numerous portraits on drumheads and old
pieces of deerskin during his service in the army with Washington.
Among them are two in which he is in council with General Putnam
and Benedict Arnold, one in which Washington is issuing a military
order to Putnam, and another in which Putnam is seated on a drum,
Washington standing by his side with his hand on the old general's
shoulder.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 77

in Brooklyn, Conn., and was buried with military
honors/

His monument bears this inscription :

"Passenger — If thou art a soldier drop a tear over
the dust of a hero who, ever attentive to the lives and
happiness of his men, dared to lead where any dared to
follow. If a patriot, remember the distinguished and
gallant services rendered thy country by the patriot who
sleeps beneath this marble. If thou art honest, gener-
ous, and worthy, render a cheerful tribute of respect to
a man whose generosity was singular, whose honesty
was proverbial, who raised himself to universal esteem
and offices of eminent distinction by personal worth and
a useful life."

GEN. MOSES PORTER.

Forty-seven years in the service of his country — that
is the record of Gen. Moses Porter, who was born in a
house on Locust street, at Porter's hill, on March 26,
1736. This house, which was demolished in 1902, when
the Watts residence was erected, was built early in the
18th century. It was the home of Zerubbabel Rea,
later the home of Dr. Caleb Rea, whose sister married
Benjamin Porter, the father of the General. When
but eighteen years of age, he caught the patriotic enthu-
siasm of the times, hastened to Marblehead, and enlisted
in an artillery company for the fight at Bunker Hill.
Here he was the last to leave the guns. He was at the
siege of Boston, the campaign on Long Island and at
New York, and at White Plains, doing valiant service
under Generals Washington and Knox. He crossed
the Delaware with Washington, took part in the battles

5 A fine equestrian statue of Putnam has be;en erected in Brooklyn,
and a tablet placed by Gen. Israel Putnam Chapter, D. A. R., marks
his birthplace.

78 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

of Trenton and the Brandywine, was wounded at Fort
INIifflin, and then helped to strengthen and hold West
Point.

At the close of the Revolution, he was ordered to the
northwestern frontier to fight the Indians. His long
service there was remarkable for great achievements.
In his capacity of engineer, he was of inestimable value
to the country. At Fort Detroit he was the first to
unfurl the stars and stripes over Michigan soil. Then
he commanded the forces at Fort Mackinaw, later Fort
Niagara, and leading his men down through western
Pennsylvania to the Red river region, kept at bay the
threatening forces of Spaniards and Mexicans. He then
pushed on to New Orleans through a great trackless
wilderness.

Just at this time (1812) the country was threatened
with another war with England, and he was called to
civilization once more to put the Atlantic coast in a state
of defence. He built new forts and stationed batteries
all the way from New York to Maine, and when the
struggle finally came, he was sent again to Fort Niagara
to take command of the frontier against the English,
with the rank of Brigadier-General. Finally he was
placed in command at Fort Norfolk, Va. This was
the great event of his life. All eyes were turned to
Norfolk, and for long, anxious months the great and
proud naval squadrons of England moved back and
forth, in and out the bays, ready to pounce upon their
prey. But Porter was there. He so fortified the main
points and increased his forces and kept them well drilled
and ready for attack, having at last 10,000 men under
him, and yet thousands of them sick, that the enemy
did not dare make him a visit, and finally put to sea.
Again he was retained in service after peace was de-
clared, and when the country was divided into great

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 79

geographical departments, at the head of which was
placed some old distinguished veteran, General Porter
was made successively commander, first of the 1st in
Northern New York, with his headquarters at Green-
bush; then of the 3d, with his headquarters at New
York City; then of the 4th, with his headquarters at
Philadelphia, and finally of the 2d, with headquarters
at Boston, near the scene of his youthful glory. Estab-
lishing his headquarters afterwards in Watertown and
Cambridge, he died in April, 1822, and was first buried
with public honors on the ground of the old Stone
Chapel, Boston, the stores of the city being closed and
a great military pageant taking place in his honor.
His old war-horse was led in the long procession which
followed his remains and in which were celebrated gen-
erals and colonels and naval commanders who, like him-
self, had been defenders of the country in many a notable
campaign. His remains were later removed to Walnut
Grove Cemetery, Danvers.

General Porter was an able as well as a brave man,
but his modesty prevented him from taking any credit
to himself. Quiet and unassuming, he served his coun-
try faithfully to the end of a long life. He was un-
married. A large tray taken from the English by
General Porter, silver drinking cups and other trophies
of the Revolution, have been handed down in the Porter
family.

GEN. GIDEON FOSTER.

This worthy Revolutionary hero was born in that part
of the old town of Danvers, now Peabody, on Feb. 24,
1749. In his early days he improved the limited oppor-
tunities for an education, so that he became an excellent

80 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

draughtsman, a fine penman and a skillful surveyor.
He had considerable mechanical genius, having planned
and constructed all the machinery used in his mills.

Gideon Foster organized a company of "Minute
Men," when the colonies were threatened by English
oppression, who were at the North bridge encounter at
Salem, and later at the Battle of Lexington. After
this engagement he was stationed at Brighton, and was
at the scene of the Battle of Bunker Hill, although he
did not participate in it. Being ordered to escort a load
of ammunition to Charlestown, he met the Americans on
the retreat after the fight. Their ammunition was gone,
and Captain Foster and his men, with their hands and
dippers, filled the troops' horns, pockets and hats, and
whatever else they had that would hold powder. At
the same time the enemy's shot were constantly whistl-
ing by, but they worked on, wholly unmindful of the
danger.

In the State militia, during times of peace, he ren-
dered good service, advancing step by step, until, in
1801, he was elected Major General by the Legislature.
"He was chosen commander of a company of 'exempts'
during the War of 1812, and he never lost his military
ardor, but to the last the sound of the drum was music
to his ear. He was nurtured in that school of patri-
otism which taught that opposition to tyrants is obedi-
ence to God. Liberty and love of country were his early
and abiding passions." General Foster was honored
by his fellow-citizens with many town offices, and he also
served in the State Legislature. He lived to be ninety-
six years of age, the last commissioned officer of the
lievolution. He died Nov. 1, 1845, and was given a
military funeral.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 81

COL. ISRAEL HUTCHINSON.

Israel Hutchinson^ was born in 1727 in an old house
on Centre Street, near where it crosses Newbury.
Ijittle is known of his early life, but when he reached
manhood, he is mentioned as a member of a scouting
party penetrating the wilderness of Maine in perilous
Indian warfare. The next position of prominence was
when, as Captain, he fought so nobly at the Heights of
Abraham in the capture of Quebec. Hutchinson had
gained valuable experience at Lake George and Ticon-
deroga. The English had been trying to take Quebec,
the stronghold of the French, for three months, but had
failed. It seemed next to impossible to get into a posi-
tion to reduce the fortress, situated as it was on such an
elevation. Finally there was discovered a narrow bridle
path leading upwards through the woods to the summit.
This was the only chance the English had.

In the early morning of the 13th of September, 1759,
Captain Hutchinson and his men, with others, floated
down the St. Lawrence river, without the use of oars,
for silence must be preserved. They touched at a little
cove and the sentinels who guarded this secret path,
were overpowered. Hutchinson and his men pulled
themselves up by catching roots, branches and stones,
and digging out steps in the mountain side as they ad-
vanced. By daylight they had reached the summit.
The French could not believe their eyes when they be-
held this band of Englishmen on the Plains of Abraham.
A terrific battle took place, as a result of which Quebec
became an English possession. Capt. Israel Hutchin-
son, then thirty-two years of age, escaped uninjured
from the awful conflict.

1 The monument which has been erected to his memory near the
Danvefrsport station, stands near the site of his liome.

82 CHRONICLES OF DANVEBS

Sixteen years later, Captain Hutchinson with his
company of minute men marched from his home at
Danversport to Lexington, on the 19th of April, 1775.
For his meritorious conduct here he was appointed Lieu-
tenant-Colonel of the 19th Massachusetts Regiment,
with headquarters at Cambridge. At sunset of June 16,
1775, Lt.-Col. Hutchinson marched from Cambridge
common to Bunker Hill. At midnight they began to
throw up a redoubt, and by sunrise of the following day
they disclosed to the astonished British a fort that rose
out of the night as if by magic. All that morning, in the
terrible heat, exhausted and famished, without food or
water, that handful of men waited for the attack of the
British. And when it came, with what determination
both sides fought is recorded in history. Hutchinson
was rewarded after the battle by appointment as Colonel
of the 27th Regiment of the Army of the United
Colonies.

On the night of the famous retreat from Long Island
(Aug. 29, 1776) to the mainland, Hutchinson and his
men helped save Washington and his forces from cap-
ture and possible destruction. Washington had been
caught like a rat in a trap, and his only means of escape
was by transports to the mainland. He ordered every
transport that could be found to set out at once, adding
"they must be manned by some of Col. Hutchinson's
men." A heavy easterly storm was raging. At 8 in
the evening the boats were ready, manned by Hutch-
inson's Danvers and Salem men, but for three hours
they waited before the tempest abated sufficiently to
embark. Fortunately, a heavy fog settled down, which
concealed the doings of Hutchinson, until the army was
removed to a place of safety. At Newark and Trenton,
the name of Colonel Hutchinson is found, but Christmas
night of 1776 is second to none of the other great events

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 88

in his life. With Washington he crossed the Delaware
to attack the Hessians at Trenton. The men were rag-
ged and half fed. It was a bitter winter night. The
wind howled from the northeast and by midnight a driv-
ing snow storm was raging. Undaunted, they strug-
gled on through the ice in the river and at four the next
morning they appeared before the enemy, surprised
them and forced them to surrender. Such was the mili-
tary life of Colonel Hutchinson.

In 1777, and for nineteen years thereafter, Colonel
Hutchinson represented Danvers in the General Court,
and for two years he was a member of the Governor's
Council.

In personal appearance he was of medium height,
quick in his movements, while dignified and courteous
in his manner. He was affable, social and generous.
After his long public service he spent his declining years
in the quiet of his home, attending to his mill. His life
of activity was a blessing to the people among whom he
lived ; a leader of men, he inspired others to noble action.
His industry was one of his most noticeable qualities,
to the extent that his neighbors used it as a byword and
predicted that he would sooner or later lose his life in
his mill. The prediction proved true, for in March,
1811, at the age of eighty-four years, while removing
ice from the water-wheel, he received injuries which
caused his death on the 15th of that month. He was
buried in High street cemetery.

COL. JEREMIAH PAGE.

About the middle of the 18th century a man named
Andrews, who lived in Putnamville, needed some bricks
to build a chimney, and went to Medford to get them.
Andrews told the brickmaker that there was good clay

84 CHRONICLES OF DANYERS

in Danvers, and asked him to send someone to com-
mence working it. Accordingly his son, then twenty-
one years of age, came to Danvers, boarded in Andrews'
family, married one of his daughters, and commenced
the manufacture of bricks. This young man was Jere-
miah Page.

He built the house on Elm street — now removed to
Page street by the Danvers Historical Society — soon
after his settlement in town, and with his own hands
brought from the woods near by the elm trees which
grew to such enormous proportions and surrounded the
old house. He was a staunch patriot and was captain
of a militia company before the Revolution. While
General Gage was stationed in Danvers, he occupied
the front room of the house as an office, from the win-
dows of which, it is said, there was an uninterrupted
view of Salem harbor. At the breaking out of the
Kevolution, he led a company of minute men to Lex-
ington from the door of his house, which was the assem-
bly place agreed upon. He was commissioned Lieu-
tenant-Colonel of the Eighth Essex Regiment in 1776.
The same year he performed duty at Horseneck, being
among those drafted for the relief of New York. He
was in the famous Battle of White Plains, Oct. 18,
1776. A year later he resigned and spent the remainder
of his days at home, taking an active part in town affairs.
He died June 8, 1806, and was buried in High street
cemetery.

COL. ENOCH PUTNAM.

Another distinguished son of Danvers was Col.
Enoch Putnam.^ Born Feb. 18, 1732, in the old Put-

1 A plain gold ring given by Enoch Pntnam to his wife, bearing the
inscription "Kemember the giver — E. P.," is in the possession of one
of his great, great granddaughters.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 85

nam homestead near "Oak Knoll," he followed the oc-
cupation of farmer during his early years. He served
in a militia company before the Revolution, and at the
breaking out of the war, hastened to Lexington as sec-
ond lieutenant in Capt. Israel Hutchinson's company.
The following month (May, 1775) he received a Cap-
tain's commission. In 1778 he is found as Lieutenant-
Colonel in command of the Eighth Essex Regiment,
serving in this rank until 1780. The next year he was
in command of re.gulars raised for three months, at West
Point, and on the 14th of November, 1782, he was
appointed a full Colonel.

After his retirement from the army, he served the
town in many important capacities. He died in 1796,
and was probably buried in Wadsworth cemetery,
although no stone marks his grave.

REV. BENJAMIN BALCH.

Rev. Benjamin Balch, who resided in New Mills
from 1774-1784, was a character who figured in some
of the most thrilling events of the Revolution. He
graduated from Harvard in 1763, and while preaching
in Machias met his future wife, a pretty Irish girl and
a member of his congregation, the daughter of Morris
O'Brien. Her brother, Col. Jeremiah O'Brien, has been
credited with winning the first naval victory of the war,
while another brother, Capt. John O'Brien, was a noted
shipowner of Newburyport, Boston and New York,
from which family, curiously enough, the Rev. Jeremiah
Chaplin, pastor of the Baptist Church at New Mills, in
a later generation, took his bride. The O'Briens were
most ardently devoted to the cause of the colonies.

Benjamin Balch was chosen, in 1775, lieutenant of
the New Mills Alarm company that marched to the

86 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

Battle of Lexington. From that time his patriotic ser-
vices were continuous, serving as Chaplain in the army
until 1778, when he was appointed Chaplain of the
frigate "Boston," on which two of his sons were serving.
In 1781 he was assigned to the famous frigate "Alli-
ance," Capt. James Barry, built in Salisbury, and said
to have been the first frigate built for the Continental
Congress, and his services in that year were marked by
interesting events consequent upon the activity of that
vessel under her gallant commander, and the leadership
of John Paul Jones. Balch earned the designation of
the "fighting parson," when in a perilous engagement
with two British vessels he armed himself and fought
with the others in a desperate and successful struggle
in which the "Alliance" captured both vessels. At the
close of the war he resumed preaching, and died in Bar-
rington, N. H., in 1815.^

OTHERS HIGH ON ROLL OF HONOR.

There were many other Danvers men on the roll of
honor during the war. Major Caleb Low served in the
Indian wars and in the Revolution under Washington;
Major Sylvester Osborne, who, at sixteen years of age,
rushed to the Lexington fight; Capt. Samuel Eppes,
who hurried to Lexington in advance of his regiment;
Capt. Samuel Flint, the only commissioned officer from
Danvers killed in the Revolution, which occurred at
Stillwater in 1777, the hero of the French wars, who,
when asked where he could be found on a certain day,
replied, "Where the enemy is, there you will find me";
Capt. Samuel Page, son of Col. Jeremiah Page, who
served all through the Revolution; Capt. Dennison

1 See Danvers Historical CollectioBS, Vol. 7, p. 86. Balch 's son
William married Mary, daughter of Rev. Dr. Benjamin Wadsworth of
Danvers.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 87

Wallis, who, when nineteen years old, received twelve
bullet wounds in the fight at Lexington ; Capt. Jeremiah
Putnam, a faithful officer to the end of the war; Capt.
Asa Prince, who, in attempting to escape from the
hands of the British on June 17th, 1775, dislocated his
ankle, and courageously thrust the bone back into the
socket and renewed his flight; Capt. Levi Preston and
Capt. Johnson Proctor, worthy sons of the south part
of the town; and Capt. Edmund Putnam, the "fighting
deacon," who, at the head of his company of minute
men, marched to Lexington; Seth Richardson of "New
Mills," afterwards a well-known sea captain, who en-
listed at sixteen and saw some of the hardest service, at
Valley Forge, Monmouth and Hubbardston, under
Captain Page;- — these and many more grandly fought
for the freedom of America.

"God give us grace to know full well,
Who sowed the seed that we might reap ;
And, while eternal harvests grow,
Let memory her jewels keep."

EDUCATION AND BUSINESS DEVELOP-
MENTS AFTER THE REVOLUTION.

Shipbuilding Introduced at New Mills. — Al-
most as soon as Archelaus Putnam had built his grist
mills, sharp-eyed men from the shipbuilding towns saw
an opening at New Mills for their business. The first
to engage in the business here was Timothy Stephens
of Newbury, an enterprising and skillful builder, from
whom many young men learned the trade and estab-
lished "yards" of their own. During the Revolution
several privateers were built at New Mills for use in
the service, besides merchant ships for the trade. When

88 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

the war broke out, the firm of Pinder, Kent & Fowler
had a contract to build a large ship for a London house,
but the impending hostilities prevented them from rig-
ging and fitting her. So long as she remained on the
stocks, the builders could get no pay, and the English
agent, Capt. John Lee, who was superintending the
building refused to allow her to be launched. How-
ever, all the ship carpenters mustered one night and
slid her into the water. A lawsuit was the result. The
New Mills builders never received their pay, and the
good ship, floating with the tides, rotted in the river.

The privateers "Harlequin," "Jupiter" and "Grand
Turk," were built here during the Revolution, and the
Kents continued this business for many years, being
succeeded by Ira Story in the middle of the nineteentli
century.

Danvers' First Printing Office. — About the time
of the Revolution, there appears to have been a print-
ing office in Danvers. It was located in a small build-
ing, next adjoining Bell Tavern, in what is now Pea-
body, and the printer was Ezekiel Russell, who had been
engaged in the business in Salem. Here were printed
books of various kinds, and "Bickerstaff's Boston Al-
manac" (1779), a publication containing much advice,
not to mention correct forecasts of wind and weather
for New England, accompanied by crude illustrations.
The printing office was the receptacle for old rags, sail-
cloth, junk, or anything that could be converted into
paper — a scarce article just at this time. Bibles, school
books and religious books were kept on sale in this pub-
lication office "at Danvers, near Boston," as the adver-
tisement reads. Russell discontinued his business and
removed to Boston about 1782.

First School at Putnamville. — The children of
Putnam ville had the benefit of a school as early as 1777;

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 89

a schoolhouse was built on a small ledge near the corner
of North and Locust streets, and here many of the men
and women who afterward made Putnamville one of
the busiest and most prosperous sections of the town,
received their early education. Not long after this, a
new building was erected (1787) very near the old one.
This later one had an interesting and varied history.
After generations of use as a schoolhouse, it became
the shoe factory of Elias Putnam (1812), having been
moved to another part of Putnamville, and a new school-
house erected on the site. Here it was the scene of
many hot political as well as religious debates. Here,
when liberal thought in the churches began to show it-
self, its advocates, the early Universalists, held their
first meetings. And when its usefulness as a factory
was ended it was moved to Tapleyville (1832), where
it was remodeled into a tenement house, remaining
standing until the Tapley school was erected (1896).

Primitive Shoemaking; First Shoe Factory in
United States. — In the early days before the Revolu-
tion, the business of making shoes was confined to little
shops, built by the farmers near their houses. Here,
during the winter months, when work on the farm was
suspended, the time was profitably spent with the ham-
mer and awl in the production of shoes for the neigh-
borhood.

About the time of the Revolution, Zerubbabel Porter,
brother of Gen. Moses Porter, was engaged in the cur-
rying of leather in a little shop which stood on Locust
street on a knoll in front of the residence of the late An-
drew C. Watts at Putnamville. It was a two-story build-
ing. The tanning was carried on in the basement for some
time, when the idea of manufacturing shoes occurred to
the owner. He hired several workmen to make shoes
from the leather which he was unable to dispose of in

90 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

his currying business. This, it is claimed, was the first
factory in the United States in which the owner em-
ployed a number of paid workmen in the manufacture
of shoes for outside trade over and above the demands
of people in the immediate locality. Porter was a man
of more than ordinary ability, intelligent, shrewd and
enterprising. He was born Sept. 6, 1759, and died
Nov. 11, 1845. He rapidly extended his business, even
to Southern ports, shipping the shoes, packed in barrels,
on board of coasters out of Salem. These shoes were
thick brogans, designed for the Southern slaves.

Soon another pioneer in the business, having served
a year's apprenticeship, one day in 1789 bought a side
of leather, and "set up for himself." This was Moses
Putnam. The shoes that he made from the side of
leather, he took in a saddle-bag to Boston, having hired
his father's horse, and sold them to good advantage.
With patient industry and well merited success Moses
Putnam continued fifty-seven years in the business, until
he became one of the wealthiest men in the county.

From this small beginning has grown the giant in-
dustry, which has been a benefit, not only to Danvers,
but to the country at large.

Inoculation; How Received. — For many gener-
ations the scourge of this country was the smallpox.
Hardly a family escaped, and in the earliest days whole
families were carried off by this terrible disease. In
England a remedy had been found that would prevent
the spread of the malady. It was called the process of
inoculation. In 1778, an attempt was made to intro-
duce it into Danvers, and a certain house was set apart
for the purpose of inoculating those who so desired, but
as in all great movements, there were those in Danvers
who were skeptical and treated the matter as absurd.

VIEW OF CRANE RIVER AND WATER STREET, DANVERSPORT

Left to Right : Wool Store of Moses Black, Jr. ; Coal and Wood Shed ; Brick House, built by Nathaniel
Putnam, in 1805; Houses of Major Moses Black; Black's Morocco Shop

From a lithograph made in 1S52

BAPTIST CHURCH

RESIDENCE OF THE REV BENJAMIN WADSWORTH, D. D.
Centre Street. Built in 1785.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 91

Feeling on the subject ran high. So great was the
opposition that in the following month a special town
meeting was held, which quite effectually and in no
uncertain tones stopped the practice immediately. After
a dozen years, the people evidently had their eyes opened
to the beneficial results obtained by the treatment, for
from that time there was no further attempt to prevent
its use, and, indeed, twenty years later the town enter-
tained such a high opinion of vaccination that a specialist
was paid to vaccinate the children of Danvers.

The Commonwealth. — Massachusetts became, by
the Articles of Confederation in 1781, one of the states
which formed the United States of America. The
States threw off the yoke of Great Britain with the
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Until the
Constitution was adopted in 1789, thej^ were governed
by Congress. From this period the Town of Danvers
is to be considered a part of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.

Baptist Society Foemed. — The population at New
Mills increased to such proportions that a church was
desired in the neighborhood. The Baptist society was
accordingly formed in 1781. A large number of Bev-
erly people attended the services. Two years later a
meeting house was erected, the timber for which was
cut on Lindall Hill, hewn by hand, and hauled to the
site of the new church. This building was sold in 1828,
when a new church was erected, to John A. Learoyd,
who moved it to the Plains and used it for j^^ears as a
currier's shop in the rear of his house on Maple street.
The ministers of the Church have been: Rev. Benjamin
Foster, 1781-1784; Rev. Thomas Green, 1793-1796;
Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, 1802-1818; Rev. James A. Bos-
well (ordained 1819), 1818-1820; Rev. Arthur Drink-
water, 1821-1829; Rev. James Barnaby, 1830-1832;
Rev. John Holroyd, 1832-1837; Rev. E. W. Dickinson,

92 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

1838-1839; Rev. J. Humphrey Avery, 1841-1842; Rev.
Joseph W. Eaton, 1843-1849, Rev. A. W. Chaffin,
1850-1862; Rev. Foster Henry, 1862-1865; Charles
F. Holbrook, 1865-1870; Rev. J. A. Goodhue, 1870-
1872; Rev. G. W. McCuUough, 1873-1876; Rev. Lucien
Drury, 1877-1883; Rev. Gideon Cole, 1884-1888; Rev.
C. F. Holbrook, 1889-1898; Rev. C. S. Nightingale,
1898-1903; Rev. C. H. Wheeler, 1903-1907; Rev. E. A.
Herring, 1907-1911; Rev. F. J. Ward, 1913-1917; Rev.
Walter G. Thomas, 1917.

Early Schooling at New Mills. — In all proba-
bility New Mills was one of the districts in which in
1777, it was voted to "set up a school for three months."
At all events there was a schoolhouse there as early as
1785, which stood, it is thought, near the Baptist church.
Of one of the early schoolmasters, Caleb Clark, the
following has been written: "He was in the habit of
whittling a shingle in school and for small offences
compelling the disobedient to pile the whittlings in the
middle of the room; when this was accomplished he
would kick them over, to be picked up again. He would
sometimes require them to watch a wire suspended in
the room, and inform him when a fly lighted on it.
For greater offences he would sometimes attempt to
frighten them into obedience by putting his shoulder
under the mantel-piece and threatening to throw the
house down upon them. It is said of the worthy peda-
gogue that when deeply engaged in a mathematical
problem he became so absorbed in the work as to be
wholly unconscious of anything transpiring around him,
and the boys, taking advantage of this habit, would
creep out of school and skate and slide by the hour
together."

Danvers Men in Shays' Rebellion. — After the
Revolution, Massachusetts, as well as the other original

o'^:''>i

• ->..V.'- 1

BROADSIDE, GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF THE

BATTLE OF STILLWATER

Printed and sold by Ezekiel Russell at his printing office

in Danvers

From the original in possession of the Peabody

Historical Society

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 93

states, was very heavily in debt. The people were im-
poverished by the long war and had no money to pay
their bills. The jails were full of poor debtors, the law
which permitted arrest for debt then being in effect.
There was an uprising in the western part of the State
(1786) known as Shays' Rebellion, in which Daniel
Shays enlisted two thousand farmers and others to put
a stop to further lawsuits for debt. They attempted to
attack Worcester county court house and jail, but the
"rebellion" was quelled by the militia, and Shays fled
to New Hampshire. Danvers sent fourteen men with
the Essex Regiment, to help put down the insurrection.

THE GREAT NORTHWEST; HON. NATHAN
READ'S EXPERIMENTS; WAR OF 1812.

The Great Northwest; Emigrants from Dan-
vers; The Ohio Company; Marietta Settled. —
The town of Danvers took an important part in the
settlement of the Northwest Territory. Previous to
1787, only a few traders and missionaries had penetrated
into the wilds of the west as far as Ohio. The govern-
ment had sent a man to survey the lands, who, upon
returning, gave such glowing accounts of the country
that Gen. Rufus Putnam of Rutland, a grandson of
Danvers, commenced to form a corporation for the colo-
nization of that region. Thus, what was called "The
Ohio Company" came into existence, to which the gov-
ernment granted five million acres of land.

The first party of emigrants to the new country set
out from Danvers, Dec. 1, 1787. This division was led
by Major Hafiield White of this town, in which there
were at least thirteen Danvers men, with several from
Hamilton and Essex. They travelled overland in a
long, ark-like looking wagon, covered with canvas and

94 CHRONICLES OF nANVERS

bearing the inscription on the outside in large letters:
"To Marietta on the Ohio." They were a vigorous set
of men, and their energy, determination and power of
endurance were well tested as they urged their way to
the great wilderness of the west in the dead of winter,
through deep snows, across ice-bound streams and over
almost impassable mountains.

Major White's division arrived at the Yohoigany
river on January 23, 1788, where, on February 14, they
were joined by General Putnam's company. Both par-
ties then engaged in making boats and laying in stores.
On the first of April, the whole company sailed up the
river to the confluence of the Muskingam and Ohio
rivers. Here on the 7th of the same month they landed
and began the settlement of Marietta, Ohio.^ Consid-
ering that General Putnam, the chief superintendent of
the Ohio company sprang from a Danvers family, that
it was from this town that the first division of the ear-
liest settlers of that great state took their departure, and
that Danvers furnished more men for the company than
any othpr town, it is not claiming too much to say that
not only the State of Ohio, but the Great Northwest is,
in a certain sense, the offspring of Danvers. In the
years which immediately followed, other small bands of
pioneers were organized in Danvers and vicinity for the
western settlement. Their life in a new home, so far
from friends and native haunts, was on the whole a hard
one, yet the wide prospects for business, the rich soil and
the congenial climate appealed to them. The Indians
for the most part gave them a wide berth at the outset,
but as the settlement grew the colonists were obliged
to live in the fort, and a strict watch was maintained
against Indian attacks. The story of their subsequent
life is the story of the hardship and privations of every

J Named in honor of Marie Antoinette of France, who had shown so
much friendship for our country.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 95

pioneer of the great west. There are many interesting
and vakiable letters^ still in existence, written from the
new settlement to friends and relatives in Danvers, in
which they related their adventures and also urged their
friends and families to follow them.

HafReld White did valiant service in the French and
Indian war and the Revolution. At Marietta he en-
gaged in the milling business, erected mills and became
a leading citizen. In person he is described as below
medium size, robust and thickset, very active and brisk
in his motions, prompt to execute any business on hand
in the most expeditious manner. His home was in the
southern part of old Danvers.

Danvers vs. Essex Bridge; A Sharp Conflict. —
In 175:8 it was proposed to build a bridge from Beverly
to Salem, to take the place of the ferry. This was con-
sidered a most wonderful undertaking. For many years
Danvers had enjoyed the advantage of travel from the
towns beyond Beverly to Boston, over the old Ipswich
Way and the Boston Road. The new bridge meant
that all this travel would now be turned to the more
convenient route through Beverly and Salem. The
same spirit which opposed so vigorously the road through
New Mills a quarter of a century before, arose in its
might and fought just as desperately to prevent the
erection of the Essex Bridge, commonly known as
Beverly Bridge. Danvers stood like a rock against the
overwhelming current. All the other towns in the
county directly concerned were as a unit in favor of
the bridge. They complained that the old road was
uneven and bad, that the snow through Danvers delayed
the mails, and that the distance to Boston was greater.
Single-handed, if need be, Danvers proposed to fight to

1 See extracts from their letters in Danvers Mirror of Nov. 10, 1877.

96 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

the bitter end for the preservation of her ancient pres-
tige,

"For if they once may win the bridge,
What hope to save the town."

Town meetings were held in which the citizens declared
that by building the bridge, their only channel to the
sea would be cut off and their shipping industry would
be ruined. A stormy time ensued, in which petitions
and remonstrances came thick and fast from the sturdy
sons of Danvers. At one time it looked as if they would
have a strong ally in the fishermen of North Salem,
whose fears were aroused and sympathies doubtless en-
listed by their Danvers neighbors. They, too, felt quite
sure that the days of their fisheries would soon be ended.
For months the war was waged. On one side, the whole
eastern part of the county clamoring louder and louder
for a bridge; on the other, Danvers and the North
Salem fishermen as solid as a rock against it. As a last
resort the opposition presented a most pleading peti-
tion. They quoted scripture. They rose to eloquence
and pathos. They summoned law and history to their
relief, and prostrated themselves with all humility at
the feet of the authorities to prevent such a dire calamity
as the building of Essex bridge. Col. Israel Hutchin-
son testified to the shorter route through Danvers. An-
other Danvers man called attention to the large ship-
ping interests of that season. They then had a fleet of
vessels at the Grand Banks and many in the coasting
trade. They sneered at Ipswich's clam-bait, ridiculed
Newburyport's ship-building, declared that an inch of
Beverly harbor was worth a fathom of Marblehead, and
posed as champions of the preservation of Beverly
harbor. All to no avail. Their selfish interests were
not gratified, and on November 17th, the General Court

VIEW OF THE READ-CROWNINSHIELD-PORTER HOUSE
ACROSS WATERS RIVER

HON. NATHAN READ

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 97

passed the bridge bill, which was certified by Samuel
Adams and approved by Gov. John Hancock, marking
one more step in the march of progress of Essex county.

To compensate for the alleged injury to shipping at
New Mills, the proprietors of the bridge agreed to pay
annually to the town of Danvers for fifty years the sum
of ten pounds, which was allowed (1789) the Neck of
Land people for the repair of the highways.

"Spite" or Liberty Bridge. — The same year (1788)
a wooden bridge was built over Porter's river by the
New Mills people, evidently with the intention of draw-
ing travel from Beverly in this direction. The bridge
was called "Spite" bridge by the witnesses of the recent
Essex bridge controversy, a name which clung to it for
years. It was later (1805) named Liberty Bridge.

Nathan Read ; His Experiments ; Other Inven-
tions. — In the summer of 1789, a man about thirty
years of age might have been seen in a small, lightly
built boat, moving up and down Waters river. The
man was Nathan Read, and the boat was propelled by
means of paddle-wheels operated by hand, an idea which
was later developed by Fulton with steam as the motive
power. Read was a graduate of Harvard, where he
had been tutor of Harrison Gray Otis and John Quincy
Adams, and at this time was an apothecary in Salem.
He was a thorough student, especially of scientific
branches. For some time he had been experimenting
in the hope of inventing a new motive power for the
propulsion of boats. With two paddle-wheels he made
successful trips across the river. Many distinguished
people were witnesses of the experiment, including Gov.
John Hancock. It is to be remembered that this was
eighteen years before Robert Fulton successfully ex-
perimented with steam on the Hudson.

98 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

Ten years later (1799) he invented the first machine
for cutting nails, and forming a stock company, the
"Salem Iron Factory Company," bought the right to
establish iron works at Waters river, as the tide power
there had never been utilized/ Nathan Read moved
to Danvers, built the fine residence, now the Benjamin
Porter estate, where he lived until 1807, when he re-
moved to Belfast, Maine, dying there in 1849. He rep-
resented Danvers in the Legislature during his residence
here. Read was the first man in the United States to
receive a patent. The foundry business brought many
iron-workers into the town with their families. A nail
shop and an anchor factory were also established there,
but both were removed years ago; one occupied a place
in Calvin Putnam's lumber yard; the other was con-
verted into a barn near by. The anchors manufactured
were mostly of a size suitable for coasting and fishing
vessels. One important piece of work turned out there,
which will go down in history, was the forging of the
anchor for the United States frigate "Essex," built in
1799 by the people of Salem, and presented to the gov-
ernment.

The Iron Factory gradually gave up the manufac-
ture of anchors and nails, and iron rods and sheet iron
became the product. After 1807 it was under the man-
agement of Capt. Benjamin Crowninshield of Salem,
who purchased the Read house, continuing to own it
until his death in 1837, when it came into possession
of the Porter family. The "Danvers Iron Works" has
been owned since 1843 by Matthew Hooper, three gen-
erations of Sylvesters, John, Benjamin F., and Her-
bert W., and is now (1923) the property of the Massa-
chusetts Iron and Steel Company.

1 See "The Salem Iron Factory," by Francis B. C. Bradlee, in Dan-
vers Historical Collections, Vol. 6.

THE OLD TOAVN OF DANVERS 99

Amos Pope and His Almanacs. — In the latter part
of the 18th century, Amos Pope of Dan vers, a descend-
ant of Joseph Pope, one of the earhest settlers, at the
age of about nineteen, computed and published a series
of almanacs. He was the son of a farmer, educated
himself with books — many of which were imported from
England — sufficiently to become a schoolmaster. He
acquired a knowledge of mathematics, calculated eclipses
and also imbibed enough Latin to use it on occasion.
The first printed copy was brought out in 1792, and it
continued each year, with the exception of 1796, until
1798, being issued from the office of a Boston printer.
The first was entitled "An Astronomical Diary or
Almanack for the Year of our Lord 1792. By Amos
Pope, Philom," the last word probably an abbreviation
for Philemon — "a lover of learning." A suggestion of
inheritance as a reason for this young mathematician's
interest in science is given by a great-grandson. He
writes :

"Peter Folger, one of the foremost men of Nan-
tucket, and one whose biography shows him to have been
a scholar with a mind of unusual breadth and depth,
had among other children, two daughters. One, Abiah,
married Joseph Franklin and became the mother of the
great Benjamin. Another, Bethseda, married Joseph
Pope, and became the great-grandmother of Amos
Pope, making the great Benjamin own cousin to Amos
Pope's grandfather. He doubtless heard a great deal
about Benjamin Franklin, who died just at the time
young Amos was getting data for his first almanac, and
this young man may have copied somewhat in his aims
and aspirations from his worthy relative, the author of
the 'Poor Richard' almanacs. Both undoubtedly are
indebted to the Folger strain for their intellectual ca-
pacit\\ Many other Folger descendants had this stu-

100 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

dious characteristic, among them being William Oakes,
the famous botanist, own cousin to Amos, and that other
student, Maria Mitchell, well known for her astronom-
ical attainments."

It is said that his father was opposed to Amos' spend-
ing his time in studies and that he had sat many a night
without fire in his room, when the ink would freeze in
the stand. According to a note made by the almanac
maker himself, his royalty was about $10 per year, and
as the printer defrauded him out of the last three years
of even that small pittance, he gave up the work.

The 1793 edition contains the following modest
address :

"Kind Reader. — The favorable acceptance of my
former Calculations hath encouraged me to make my
appearance before a generous Publick another year.
I have added (more than is usual in works of this kind)
a Table of the Sun's Declination, with a Table to cor-
rect it for any degree of longitude, and do judge it will
be of service to the reader. I have aimed to render this
work both entertaining and useful. The Calculations
are made (with considerable labor and patience) from
the Tables published by the best Astronomers in Eu-
rope, and which I have always found to agree very
nearly with the truth. I have been very particular in
the Calculations of the Eclipses of the Sun and Moon;
and to satisfy the curiosity of some particular friends,
I have inserted a few Eclipses of Jupiter's first Satel-
lite; and only a few, because the calculation of a con-
siderable number would cost time and labor, to little or
no service to the reader; for those that are not favored
with Telescopes cannot observe them, and those that
are favored with Telescopes, I trust, can calculate
eclipses for themselves, therefore, I have inserted that
which appeared to be more beneficial to the Publick.

4^^ ASTRONOMICAL DlARYj ^\

|almanack,I

«^) For the Year of our Lord (k

792:

T--^ Being BISSEXTILE u>< LE \P-VEAR,

j' ' A N O T ilE al \ 1 I , >, 1 -1 o r

AMERICVN INDEPENDENCE.

TYPE s/uaEclip!e a/. •'i.v SUN, March 2i, I'yi. •^^

. ■: lor die McnJiaii ot Cj^ion. !
....■;.., ;Lac. 42 i^cg. 2j- miii. North) b-
tor the aJjicfnt States.

A M OS P O P E, F;w nA

/} O 6' r O A . c>

'dhv !oi,:, \V. Kol.^uM, No. 30,i/'-;j'<- 5^^

.1 .ih'j by the BooKsuLLEiLj in Town /^

i4'''^i^^'^<^- :^^vr-l-.j5"^-''^^'t^«ei- r^I*'^

\^r^'.-^ zv.A '\

'■J

ind Comil

TITLE PAGE OF THE AMOS POPE ALMANAC
From the original in possession of Jasper Marsh

BIRTHPLACE OF AMOS POPE
Built before 1700.

SHOE FACTORY AND CURRYING SHOP OF ZERUBBABEL PORTER
AND BIRTHPLACE OF GENERAL MOSES PORTER

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 101

That this work may prove useful, is the sincere wish
of the Pubhsher's most humble, and most obedient
servant, Amos Pope."

"Danvers, May 24th, 1792."

Mr. Pope died January 26, 1837, at the home of his
son, Zephaniah Pope, on Pope's Lane.

Some Old Taverns. — From the earliest settlement
Danvers has been well provided with taverns, Nathaniel
Ingersoll being the first licensed innholder, in 1677.
He was the leading man in the Village, a large land-
owner, deacon of the Village church, and captain of the
troop of horse, and his house was conveniently located
near the church, for in those days the tavern and the
meeting house were on very friendly terms. A portion
of his house is supposed to have been incorporated in
the present parsonage of the First Church.

Walter Phillips kept a tavern on Sylvan street, near
the Peabody line, in 1689, which business was continued
by the Putnams until 1753. Benjamin Holten had an
ordinary in the Judge Holten house in 1715, and it was
conducted by the family until Judge Holten's father
bought the house in 1752. The Upton tavern on Centre
street was built in 1717 by Walter Smith and conducted
by his family until it was sold to the Uptons in 1791.
It was a well-known hostelry; auctions were held here,
parish and school meetings convened here, and school
was kept in the hall. From the Uptons it descended
in the Hutchinson family to Elijah Hutchinson, whose
daughter still owns it.

Samuel Endicott kept a public house in the old Dale
house, now standing on Sylvan street, from 1762 to
1772, when John Piemont, an Italian, rented it and
conducted it during the time when Gage's troops were
encamped at the Hooper house. Here John Adams

102 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

and John Quincy Adams often stopped over night on
their way to Ipswich. This tavern Avas in later years
known as Leech's tavern, and used as such until about
1806.

Deacon Gideon Putnam's famous old tavern occu-
pied the site of the Richards building, corner Elm and
High streets. It was built about 1773 bj^ Dr. Andrew
Putnam, son-in-law of Jeremiah Page, and John Pie-
mont kept a public-house here from 1776 to 1780. Pie-
mont was the prime mover in the institution of the
United States Lodge of Masons in Danvers in 1778,
and was its first master. Gideon Putnam, having pur-
chased the property in 1777, succeeded Piemont in the
tavern business, and from that time until 1805 it was a
famous place for the entertainment of travellers. Here
the Deacon conducted a store also, which for years was
a busy place where the farmers brought their produce,
continued in later years by Jonas Warren, before men-
tioned. Deacon Gideon was a man of high principles,
represented Danvers in the General Court, and gave
to the country that most distinguished son, Judge
Samuel Putnam. He owned about two hundred acres
of land in the vicinity of the mill-pond ; partly inherited
and partly acquired. Putnam's mill on Sylvan street
was owned by his family from the very earliest settle-
ment, — at first located a little farther down the stream
near Ash street, — and in the eighteen-sixties the mill
rights were purchased by another Putnam of another
line — Otis F. Putnam — so that for about 250 years
this mill business has been conducted by men of the
Putnam name.

Early Libraries. — Several attempts to provide
reading for the people of the town were made early. In
1794 was established the "Danvers Social Library,"
probably at Judge Holten's, in the Highland section.

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN^^RS 103

It was owned in shares by different individuals, and the
books were loaned to stockholders. This institution
continued for about twent}^ years, the books remaining
having found their way into the ministerial library of
the First Chiu-ch. Dr. Rice says that "so far as we
may judge by these, the people were not harmed by
light or sensational reading from this library."

In 1808, the New Mills Social Library was formed
at Danversport, with the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Chaplin
as librarian, in whose kitchen the books were kept, the
"library" being open for the delivery of books on Mon-
day evenings. The minister, who in addition to his
duties at the Baptist Church, fitted young men for the
ministry, selected the books, which were said to have
included the best in English literature. One of the rules
of the library was not to damage the books when read-
ing them by the fireside, and also to avoid the drip of
the candle. Upon the formation of the New Mills
Lyceum, the library was removed to the brick school-
house, and continued but a few years.

Judge Benajah Collins. — One of the characters
of this period was Judge Collins, who came to Danvers
from liiverpool, Nova Scotia, in 1797, and purchased
of the heirs of Robert Hooper, the mansion on Sylvan
street, which was known during the next half century
or more as the "Collins house." His father had removed
in 17.59 from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia, being one of
the first settlers there. Judge Collins was connected
with the Eppes family, who sold their farm to E. H.
Derby, known now as the Rogers farm, so that he was
more or less familiar with the locality. He entertained
many of the prominent families of Salem and vicinity,
Dr. Bentley often recording in his diary a visit to the
mansion and with what great hospitality he was re-
ceived. The Judge had four daughters, of whom the

104 CHRONICLES OF DANA^RS

diarist writes: "Deborah was attentive, Triphenia silent
but sprightly, Hepsibah sweet, innocent and cheerful,
Ruth full of spirits, gaiety and fancy."

Upon the arrival of such a conspicuous personage as
Judge Collins in town, the officers of the First Parish
Church had a consultation, and it was decided to fit
up a special pew for him with cushions, carpet and other
accessories, as befitted his station. He was not averse
to making a grand appearance and duly impressed the
populace by riding to meeting in a yellow coach drawn
by two black spirited horses, making the gravel fly as
they drove up with a flourish to the door of the house
of worship. A coal-black negro on the box, with a
negro boy behind the coach, holding on by the tassels,
as footmen, added to the sumptuousness of the outfit,
and these servants never left the coach while the Judge
was attending service. It is said that when either Judge
Holten or Judge Collins took their seats, the congre-
gation rose, and that Parson Wadsworth, as he walked
up the broad aisle, was wont to make a slight bow of
recognition to the two magistrates.

During the War of 1812, Judge CoUins was supposed
to have been part owner in a small privateer fitted out
at Liverpool, which made sad work in destroying coast-
ers in New England, and in consequence he became
obnoxious to the people of Danvers. He died in 1820
at this residence, and was laid out in great state in
his broad hallway for a month before he was buried in
the tomb which he had prepared near his house. It was
said that when he lay in his coffin, by way of embalm-
ing he was enclosed with a bag of Sumatra pepper,
and when anyone came to view the body the pepper
was removed from the face by the wing of a goose!
His widow died in 1827, soon after which the family
removed from town. The house had various owners

THE PUTNAM-PERRV lluU.SL, .sLM.Mi.k .sTRtKT

Residence of the Hon. Timothy Pickering, 1801-1S04

Birthplace of Judg:e James Putnam, the Loyalist, whom Chief Justice Parsons called

"The best lawyer in North America. ' '

'/M

THE COLLINS HOUSE

From a wood-cut in "Gleason's Pictorial ' ' about iS

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SIGNATURES OF MEMBERS OF JORDAN LODGE, A. F. & A. M., INSTITUTED IN 1808

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 105

during the next few years, among them Nathan Tapley,
who rented it to a clergyman, and where a private school
was kept for a short time. Finally the estate was pur-
chased in 1860 by Francis Peabody, Esq., who made
extensive improA^ements while restoring it to its orig-
inal grandeur and beauty.

District School System Established. — For many
years there had been no system of separate school dis-
tricts, nor had there been any established rules for the
keeping of schools. One term they would be held in
one section of the town, and the next term in another.
Then again there would be nine or ten schools "set up,"
as it was called, and at one time there was such a lack
of proper instruction that the town was reprimanded
by the court for such neglect. Therefore, when in 1794
the town was divided into districts, quite as is the case
today, it marked a decidedly new epoch in the history
of the schools. System and order are always requisite
for the accomplishment of good work, and the "district-
ing" of Danvers proved no exception to the rule. Ten
years before it was required by law to have a school
committee (1816) Danvers commenced to choose one
annually. And twenty-two years before the State law
required committees to make annual reports, Danvers
compelled her committee to do so.

Fire Department First Organized. — The old days
of the Fire Department tell an interesting story. In
1800 Danvers purchased the first of those old-fashioned
contrivances — hand-engines. One was kept in the south
part of the town and the other at New Mills, until the
town became rich enough to supply the Highlands, Tap-
lej^^ille and the Plains. Engine-men or fire- wards were
chosen to man the engines, all of whom were required
to keep a leather fire-bucket, a bed-key and a canvas
bag hanging ready for use in the front entry of their

106 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

houses. Old-fashioned "rope" bedsteads were held to-
gether by locking with a key, consequently the fire-
wards carried keys in order to take down the beds in
case of fire. Long, narrow houses, built at convenient
intervals along the roadside, provided a shelter for lad-
ders, while carriages for sail-cloths and hose-carriages
were later added to the equipment of the department.
As the engines were worked by hand much rivalry be-
tween the different companies was created, especially
with the companies of neighboring towns, each trying
to outdo the other in the distance a stream could be
thrown. Musters were held, which proved the great
events of the year, the people from far and near turn-
ing out to witness the proceedings. To be chosen a
member of the Fire Department was the ambition of
almost every young man in town, and to be a member
of the Fire Club was to be in the social "swim" of the
community. The Danvers Fire Department was estab-
lished by Act of Legislature in 1830.

The first engine at Danversport was the "Niagara,"
a four-inch cylinder, a small tub, with air brakes. The
meetings of the company were held at Gould's tavern,
the brick house, known in later years as the Lang estate,
on Water street. The records of the company for 1808-
1857 have recently been acquired by the Danvers His-
torical Society.

The first engine at Danvers Plains was what is called
a Leslie tub, a suction engine, with side brakes. After-
ward the "General Putnam" was purchased.

Timothy Pickering. — Col. Timothy Pickering of
Salem, Secretary of State under Washington, and a
distinguished Revolutionary patriot, resided in Danvers
from 1801 to 1804. Retiring from public life, he com-
menced at once to gratify his aspirations for agricul-
tural pursuits, a subject in which he had been interested

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN^T:RS 107

from earliest life, and the man who had been intimately
associated with some of the greatest events in the his-
tory of the nation, began farming on the Dr. Archelaus
Putnam estate on Summer street, owned in later years
by the Perry family. This place was probably sug-
gested to him by Judge Holten, to whom Colonel Pick-
ering had written inquiring for a suitable location, as
it was in the hands of Eleazer Putnam, Holten's son-
in-law, at the time. Another reason, doubtless, for se-
lecting Danvers for a home was from the fact of its
being the summer residence of Judge Samuel Putnam,
whose wife was a niece of Colonel Pickering. Here he
cultivated his acres, and possessed of an ample fortune,
rendered the farm he occupied productive and profit-
able, and commanded every comfort and gratification
for himself and family. While living here, he was ap-
pointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas
and General Sessions of the Peace for Essex County.
He also engaged in a campaign for election to the
United States Senate as a Federalist, and was assailed
in most violent manner by his opponents, who sought
by every means, in those days of bitter party feeling,
to circulate stories derogatory to his honesty while in
charge of public funds. His son has written: "Colonel
Pickering remained quietly at his farm, taking no notice
of the storm of slander against him raging through the
district." A New York newspaper reported: "A south-
ern gentleman lately paid a visit to Colonel Pickering
at his farm in Essex. He found this worthy though
much abused citizen, not superintending a set of ill-fed
and worse-clad slaves; not amusing himself with cock-
fighting, horse-racing, or hunting for popularity at a
tavern or grog-shop; but literally, like another Cincin-
natus, guiding the plow; while two of his sons were
assisting in his rural labors. Such is the reply which this
celebrated citizen issues to the many slanders which

108 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

the insatiable, unrelenting malice of political enemies is
ever uttering against him." He was defeated for Con-
gress, but strangely enough, owing to the resignation
of the Senator whose term had not expired, Colonel
Pickering was appointed by the Legislature to fill the
unexpired term, and both he and his opponent, Jacob
Crowninshield, took their seats.

A scene in that session depicts most vividly the moral
courage of the man, at a time when the question of
giving the franking privilege to Aaron Burr was being
discussed.^ Burr, who had killed Hamilton but a few
months before, presiding, rose and said, "Is the Senate
ready for the question? Shall this bill be passed ?" He
paused, looking around to see if any Senator was pro-
posing to speak. Colonel Pickering rose. Burr recog-
nized him, "The Senator from Massachusetts," and sank
back into his seat. Their eyes met; neither quailed.
The Senate was awed into breathless silence. Colonel
Pickering spoke as follows:

"Mr. President: Who, sir, are dangerous men in this
republic? Not those who have reached the summit of
place and power, for their ambition is satisfied. I tell
you, sir, who are dangerous men. Those who have
ascended to the last round but one on the political lad-
der, and whose vaulting ambition will never be satis-
fied until they have stood upon the topmost round.
Sir, I vote against this bill."

It sent a thrill through the Senate. Not another
word was uttered. The vote was taken and the bill
defeated.

Colonel Pickering occupied this farm until the sum-
mer of 1804, when he removed to upper Beverly.

1 Related by his son, Octavius Pickering, in his "Memoirs." Colonel
Pickering was the first President of the Essex Agricultural Society.

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 109

War of 1812; Why Danvers Opposed It. — The
town, almost to a man, was decidedly opposed to another
war with England, and they took pains to say so in a
set of resolutions in town meeting. They had just re-
covered from the terrible struggle of the Revolution,
and now to be forced into war again with Great Britain
seemed to them the height of folly, ruinous to prosperity
and dangerous to the union, liberty and independence
of the United States. They had very sensible views on
the subject. They declared that war meant heavy taxes,
and a naval war, as this must needs be, would interfere
with all the country's commerce; that the burden of
heavy taxation to carrj^ on the war would have a ten-
dency to make the states dissatisfied and disrupt the new
Union. But, unfortunately, the opinion of the citizens
of Danvers, did not prove to be the sentiment of the
country at large, and war was soon declared to protect
the rights of American seamen.

Alarms ; How Danvers was Protected. — The war
once on, Danvers, in 1812 as in 1775, was ready with
men to defend the country. The people dreaded another
struggle with England, and especially those who lived
along the coast were in constant fear of attack from an
English man-of-war. Several from Danvers enlisted
in the navy, and an artillery company from this town,
under command of Capt. Jesse Putnam, was stationed
at Salem for some time.^ The uniform of the company
was a chapeau brass with long white plume tipped with
red, a long-skirted red coat with white trimmings, white
waistcoat, buff breeches with buckles at knee and long
boots, a sword worn in the belt over the shoulder, and
the hair was powdered and made up in a queue, which
hung over the coat collar.

1 See "Military and Naval Annals of Danvers" for names.

110 CHRONICLES OF DAN\T<:RS

At New Mills an "alarm company" of exempts was
formed, that is, men who were too old to enlist in the
war. It was a notable company, many of its members
having seen service in previous wars, including old sea
captains, shoe manufacturers, and, in fact, all the sub-
stantial men of the place. Their motto was "Always
Readj^," and the front yard of Capt. Samuel Page's
house was designated as the place of assembling. Other
companies were also formed in the southern and western
parts of the town. Twice during the war these com-
panies were called out on "false alarms." The first time
the artillery on the Beverly shore saw what they sup-
posed was a British barge headed toward Salem. They
aroused the neighborhood, and great consternation pre-
vailed until it was discovered that the much feared barge
was only a boat loaded with seaweed. On another occa-
sion, the artillery was alarmed at the sight of some fish-
ermen, and firing upon them the country was thrown
into commotion as far as the extreme limits of New
Hampshire. Earthworks, mounting two iron four-
pounders, were thrown up at Waters river, during the
war. The fears of the people were never realized, for the
conflicts between the English and Americans took place
many miles from Salem.

Freemasonry. — The first meetings, that later re-
sulted in the formation of Jordan Lodge, A. F. and
A. M., were held in the hall of the old Berry Tavern
in 1808. There had been no IVIasonic meetings in Dan-
vers for many j^ears, or since the old United States
Lodge, which was formed in 1778, disbanded. This
older lodge continued its meetings for four or five years.
Its membership was always small, about fifty, but they
were patriotic and influential men, among the first citi-
zens of the town. They included John Piemont, John
Stacev, Dr. Amos Putnam, Dr. Andrew Putnam, Col.

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SIGNATURES OF MEMBERS OF JORDAN LODGE, A. F. & A. M., INSTITUTED IN i8o8

INTERIOR VIEW OF CAPT. SAMUEL PAGE'S PUNCH HOWI,
SHOWING MASONIC EMBLEMS

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN\T:RS 111

Enoch Putnam, Col. Jethro Putnam, Capt. Samuel
Page, Rev. Benjamin Balch, Capt. Jeremiah Putnam,
Sergt. Richard Skidmore, Lt. John Kettelle, Lt. Sam-
uel Fairfield, and many from Beverly and Salem. When
the adjoining towns instituted lodges of their own, the
meetings of this lodge ceased. In 1805, the charter,
furniture, and other property of the old lodge, wliich
had been preserved by Richard Skidmore, tyler, was
burned in the fire which destroyed his house. Meetings
were held in Berry Tavern until 1810, when quarters
were secured in the south part of the town, there being
a larger membership there. In 1863, however. Amity
Lodge was instituted in this town, and in 1870 Mosaic
Lodge was formed, both of which have flourished, to-
gether with Holten Royal Arch Chapter, which was
constituted in 1872.

Temperance. — The use of liquor in the early days
was not confined to any class or condition. Everybody
used it to some extent. New England rum was always
present at house-raisings, and at the celebration of any
event, civil or religious. No ordination of a minister
was complete without a generous supply. The town
fathers could transact no business unless the town pro-
vided the "grog." At first the moderate use of such
stimulants did not prove an evil, but after the Revolu-
tion distilleries began to spring up in this country, flood-
ing it with liquors of all sorts and of doubtful quality.
Drunkenness began to be common, and during the first
quarter of the 19th century the evil was widespread.
The first temperance society in this country was forme4
in Massachusetts (1812). Three Danvers men joined
it, Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth, Judge Samuel Holten
and Joseph Torrey, and the next year these men formed
the first temperance society in Danvers and named it
"The Danvers Moral Society." At first its members

112 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

were not required to pledge themselves to total absti-
nence. This would have been too strict a rule to enforce
at that time, but they did have permission to post in a
public place the names of common drunkards. Such a
custom did not remain long in effect. The early pio-
neers in the temperance cause made a strong fight and
succeeded in stamping out in large measure the excesses
of the times.

First School Established at the Plains. — All
the children who lived at the Plains up to this period
had been obliged to go to New Mills to school. This
was too great a distance for the younger children and in
the first year of the 19th century a private school was
kept in a small building moved here from Middleton.
In 1816, however, the number of children had increased
so that a new school district was made and a house built
on the spot now occupied by the Colonial building.
Then came the brick school house (1838) on School
street, now the Central fire station, followed by the
Maple street building (1856).

Military Companies of Danvers. — After the Rev-
olution and before 1800 there were at least two militia
companies in town, composed of about fifty men each.
Up to 1817 one of the organizations was in existence.
The following year (1818) the Danvers Light Infantry,
M. M., was organized. The uniform consisted of a
blue swallow-tail coat with gold buttons, a white or buff
waistcoat and pantaloons, high stiff hat, larger at the
top than the base, with gold trimmings and a tall plume.
This company disbanded about 1850, and its last ap-
pearance as the Danvers Light Infantry was in 1861,
when over one hundred past members did escort duty
to the company of volunteers departing for the scene of
the Civil War. Captains Philemon Putnam, Samuel P.

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 113

Fowler, Eben Putnam, Simeon Putnam, Amos Pratt,
Jacob Perry, Asa Tapley, Nehemiah Fuller, Jesse
Tapley, Daniel Preston, Nathan Tapley, Gilbert Tap-
ley, Warren Porter, and others were at times command-
ers of the local company, the five latter receiving com-
missions as Colonel in the 3d Regiment of Infantry, 1st
Brigade, 2d Division, JNI. M., to which the Danvers
company belonged. Major Moses Black and Major
Joseph Stearns were also officers in this division.^

VILLAGES OF DANVERS.

Business at New Mills; Shipping. — After the
Revolutionary war, business at New Mills began to
increase until this village gained the reputation of being
the largest and busiest in town (1825). Vessels laden
with foreign goods were daily arriving at the wharves.
Storehouses were built to accommodate the wares until
they could be carried away by purchasers. There being
no railroad facilities in town at the time, nearly every-
thing came by water to New Mills. Quite a large ex-
port trade was also built up, the vessels which arrived
with foreign goods taking awaj'- shoes, potatoes, bricks,
and other products of Danvers, even as far as the coast
of Africa. Hanson says that during 1846 there were
157 arrivals at the various wharves, with cargoes of
wood, flour, corn, lime, salt, molasses and coal, while
this number was increased to 250 at the height of the
greatest prosperity. Many men of the place were either
masters or owners of merchant vessels which sailed to
foreign lands. This was a business in which great for-
tunes, for those days, were accumulated. The large
substantial houses at the Port, now so neglected, were
once the comfortable homes of those sea-kings, filled as

1 For names see Military and Naval Annals of Danvers, pp. 142-43.

114 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

they were with choice furnishings brought from the
British Isles, Russia, France and the Far East.

The leading merchant of the eighteenth century at
New Mills was Capt. Samuel Page, a veteran of the
Revolution, whose vessels sailed to all parts of the world.
The story of his service in the war has been related by
a grandson, who had it from the soldier's own lips:

"On April 19, 1775, when Samuel Page was twenty-
one years old, he was at work with his father in his
brick-j^ard. Between nine and ten o'clock A. M. the
news came of the British marching to Concord. His
father left his work and said, 'Don't you go, Sam!
You must stay at home and take care of your mother.'
He was a private in his father's company of militia,
but his patriotic ardor was so great he hurried to Lex-
ington. Snatching a linen coat, he met other young
men where now is the Lexington monument in Peabody.
They took a short cut across the country, and in four
hours they reached the British retreating through West
Cambridge. He fought by the side of Perley Putnam,
who is credited as being in the company of Capt. Israel
Hutchinson. In company ^vith others, he went into a
barnyard, and finding some shingles, they made a breast-
work of them, from behind which they fired at the
retreating British. So unexpected and fatal was the
assault upon the enemy's columns, that it brought them
to a halt. In loading his gun for another charge. Page
broke his ramrod, which was a wooden one, and turning
to Putnam, he asked him to lend him his; but at that
instant a shot from the enemy's flank guard laid Put-
nam dead at his feet."

He was commissioned Captain of the 7th Company
of the 8th Essex County Regiment and participated,
among others, in the battles of INIonmouth and Stony
Point. He was with Washington at the crossing of

SHIP'S CABIN LANTERN USED BY

CAPT. SAMUEL PAGE

From the original in possession of the

Peabody Museum, Salem

RESIDKNCE OF CAPT. SAMUKL PAGE, WATER STREET
From an oil painting in the possession of Miss Sara P. Fowler

THE THOMAS PUTNAM HOUSE, DANVERSPORT
Built about'1772. The home of Jotham Webb, one of the Danvers men killed at

Lexington. Used as a tavern by Benjamin Balch in 1782.
Water Street to off Merrill Street.

Removed from

WATER STREET, DANVERSPORT, FROM FOX HILL

From a pencil drawing made in 1832 by Maurice C. Oby
Showing the Major Moses Black House and Morocco Factory.

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN\T:RS 115

the Delaware, and in the severe winter of 1777 shared
in the suffering of the American army at Valley Forge.
He served in the campaign of 1779, and, with his com-
pany, was in the advance when the gallant Wayne
stormed Stony Point. As the fortress was to be cap-
tured at the point of the bayonet, Wayne ordered the
flints to be removed from the muskets. Page had pieces
of paper placed in the hats of his men to distinguish
them from the British. Then, silently and swiftly, with
the water rising above their waists, they surprised the
garrison and took the fort.

After the Revolution, he settled in what is now Dan-
versport. He had a fine mansion for those days, which
was regarded as one of the most aristocratic residences
of the town, occupying the present site of the Danvers
Coal Company's property on Water street. Behind it
he built a long dock for his vessels. He also erected
several large warehouses to accommodate his business.
His garden extended north somewhat over the site of
old Citizen's Hall.

Captain Page was full owner of ten vessels, mostly
schooners, and part owner of three more. He named
a schooner for each of his daughters, namely, "Sally,"
"Nancy," "Eliza," "Clarissa," "Rebecca," and also one
for his daughter "Betsey" who died in infancy. He also
named a schooner for his son "Jeremiah," and a brig
for his son "William." One of his schooners was named
"Two Brothers," and one "Five Sisters." Of all these
he was sole owner excepting the "Betsey." He also had
a ship, "Putnam," named probably for his wife, whose
master was at one time Nathaniel Bowditch, the
famous mathematician and navigator, and a brig "Re-
becca," perhaps named for his wife, also a schooner
^'Dolphin" and a schooner "Hawk," of which be was
sole owner. He sent these vessels to the Grand Banks

116 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

for fish, which was exchanged in France, Spain, Hol-
land, Russia, and the West Indies for fruit, mechanical
and agricultural tools, drj'^ goods and small wares, wines
and brandies. In 1799 and 1800 the French captured
two of his schooners, "Eliza" and "Sally," for which
his descendants in quite recent years obtained redress.

He was President of the New Hampshire Iron Co.
and a director of the Salem Iron Works, also a member
of the Salem Marine Society, and a strong temperance
advocate. He was a member of the General Court for
ten years, and nine years a selectman. He was also on
the school board. The people turned to him as coun-
sellor in town affairs, and as administrator of estates and
as referee he was often sought. He died September 2,
1814, aged 61 years, leaving a large estate. His grave
is in Walnut Grove cemetery.

Henry Fowler, William Endicott and Leonard Poole,
all of Danvers, had a thrilling experience on a trip to
the Fiji Islands in 1826. They embarked on the ship
"Glide," from Salem, for a cargo of Beche-de-Mer (a
sort of sea-slugs found on the reefs) tortoise-shell and
sandal-wood. The ship was wrecked and the men suf-
fered many hardships on the islands which they man-
aged to reach, and which were inhabited by cannibals.
Mr. Fowler lived in friendly relations with the savages
for some time, and was honored and respected by them.
A description of a cannibal feast upon human flesh is
graphically told by him in the Danvers Courier of Aug.
16, 1845. It was four years before Mr. Fowler re-
turned home. The story of these years has been printed
in a volume entitled "The Wreck of the Glide," pub-
lished in 1848.

Another thrilling shipwreck, in which Capt. Edward
Richardson of Danvers, when a young man in 1810,
was one of the company to survive, was that of the ship

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 117

"Margaret" of Salem. Sailing from Naples, she en-
countered a heavy gale four hundred miles from the
nearest land. A few who managed to escape in the
longboat were picked up, after spending several days
without food or water. A pamphlet written by Captain
Fairfield gives a detailed account of the sufferings of
the crew. Captain Richardson removed to New York
about 1832, where he became a prominent merchant and
a pioneer and leader in all seamen's welfare work in
Brooklyn and New York. His death occurred in 1870.

Among other seafaring men, either natives or resi-
dents of Danvers, were Capt. Stephen Wilkins, Capt.
Charles Wilkins, Capt. Charles Rhoades, Capt. An-
drew M. Putnam, Capt. Horace B. Putnam, Capt. Seth
Richardson, Capt. Abel Richardson, Capt. Thomas
Cheever, Capt. Benjamin Porter, Capt. Nathaniel Put-
nam, Capt. Frank Putnam, Capt. Lewis Endicott,
Capt. George Putnam, Capt. George Johnson, Capt.
Henry Johnson, Capt. Thomas Johnson, Capt. Israel
P. Porter, Capt. James A. Johnson, Capt. Hiram
Putnam, Capt. Thomas Putnam, Capt. Samuel H.
Webster, Capt. Samuel Endicott, Capt. John Endi-
cott, Israel Endicott, W. J. C. Kenney, Jonathan
Smith, Philemon Putnam, Capt. Stephen Brown,
Capt. Parker Brown, Capt. Moses Endicott, Capt.
Joshua Goodale, Capt. Solomon Giddings, Captain
Elliott, Capt. William Cheever, Capt. Allen Putnam,
Captain Haskell, Capt. Albert Putnam, Capt. William
Johnson, Capt. Jeremiah Putnam, Capt. Caleb Oakes,
Capt. Benjamin Kent.

The shipyards, too, at New Mills, were lively places,
where there were always one or two vessels in process
of construction. The launching of these was an inter-
esting occasion. With brick-making, iron and nail
works, wheat mills and saw mills, tanneries, shoe shops,

118 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

and a good-sized country store, there must have been
busy times at New Mills in the old days.

Samuel Fowler, Jr., who was born in 1776, and died
in 1859, carried on an extensive milling and tanning
business near Liberty Bridge. His father, who was a
shipwright, removed to Danvers from Ipswich about
1765, and assisted in building, before and during the
Revolution, many vessels at New Mills, of some of
which he was part owner. He built the house corner
of High and Liberty streets, which is now owned and
preserved by the Society for the Preservation of New
England Antiquities. In 170d, he married Clarissa
Page, daughter of Capt. Samuel Page. His tanyard,
which remained in the family until about 1880, was one
of the longest-established in the country and was said
to have been the largest in the state, having 450 vats
for tanning sole leather. It occupied the land now
owned by the Widen-Lord Company on Liberty street.

One of the most prosperous pioneer shoe manufac-
turers in this section was Caleb Oakes, who learned the
business at Jonathan Porter's shop in Putnamville. He
started in business for himself and later moved to New
Mills, where he built up a large trade. He accumulated
a fortune and was most liberal in its distribution, espe-
cially among the poor and unfortunate.

His son, William Oakes, A. M., born in Danvers,
Juty 1, 1799, was a graduate of Harvard in 1820, and
a famous botanist. He studied law and began practice
in Ipswich in 1824, but abandoned it early for the study
of natural history. He was called "the most distin-
guished botanist of New England" by the American
Journal of Arts and Sciences, and his exploration of the
White Mountain region resulted in his wonderful com-
pilation, not only of the flora of that whole section, but
the geology, mineralogy and zoology as well. His "New

Courtesy " Old-Time New England "

MANTEL IN PARLOR CHAMBER, FOWLER HOUSE
This room still retains its old wall paper

Courtesy " Old-Time New England "

THE PARLOR OF THE SAMUEL FOWLER HOUSE

be
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^ o

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 119

England Flora" was in the hands of the printer in
1848 when his distinguished life came to a close, by acci-
dent on a ferry-boat between Boston and East Boston.
He had contributed to many scientific publications, but
his contributions to American botany were not to be
judged by these. It was said that there were few bot-
anists in the country who were not indebted to him,
directly or indirectly, for some portion of their knowl-
edge, and what he might have accomplished had his
life been spared, cannot be measured.

Parish Rate Abolished. — Up to this time (1828)
the law made in the first days of the church in this coun-
try, enforcing everyone to contribute to the support of
the minister, was still in effect. This was perfectly
legitimate during the many years when there were in
existence no religious bodies other than those of the
Congregational faith. But when new religious bodies
sprang into existence, the advocates of these new de-
nominations naturally rebelled against paying their
rates at the old First Church while also supporting the
church of their choice. So long as this old law existed,
the Congregational churches had a claim upon every
man in town. It now created much annoyance and
ill-feeling. The law was abolished in 1828.

Liberal Religious Thought; Universalist So-
ciety Formed. — The next year (1829) liberal thought
took shape in the formation of the Universalist Society.
Deacon Edmund Putnam, who had served as deacon
of the First Church twenty-three years, was the pioneer
in this faith. For fifteen years previous to this time
many of the Putnamville people were accustomed to
meet in the little shoe shop of Zerubbabel Porter to
discuss these "new-fangled ideas of God's grace" which
proclaimed universal salvation. This, in the eyes of the

120 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

old Congregationalists, was nothing less than rank
heresy, but the new cause gradually gained friends, and
drifting away from the mother church, the "Danvers
Universal Society" came into existence. The first
meetings were held in the schoolhouse at Putnamville,
where Ballon, the Streeters, Murray, and others often
preached. The new faith drew many members from
the First and Baptist churches. The old Baptist Church,
which had given way to a new one, was first rented,
then the society built (1832) the present Roman Cath-
olic church, and later (1858) the house of worship on
High street, whose twin towers can be seen from all
approaches to the town.

The ministers of this church have been: Rev. F. A.
Hodson, 1831-1832; Rev. W. H. Knapp, 1833-1836;
Rev. Samuel Brimblecom, 1836-1840; Rev. A. A.
Davis, 1840-1841; Rev. D. P. Livermore, 1841-1843:
Rev. S. C. Bulkley, 1843-1846; Rev. J. W. Hanson,
the pubhsher of a "History of Danvers," 1846-1848;
Rev. J. W. Putnam, 1849-1864; Rev. H. C. Delong,
186.5-1868; Rev. G. J. Sanger, 1868-1874; Rev. H. P.
Forbes, 1875-1880; Rev. F. A. Dillingham, 1880-1885;
Rev. W. S. WilHams, 1885-1886; Rev. C. B. Lynn,
1887-1890; Rev. W. H. Trickey, 1891-1897; Rev. Ed-
son Reifsnider, 1898-1903; Rev. Eugene M. Grant,
1904-1912; Rev. A. E. Wright, 1912-1915; Rev. George
A. Mark, 1915-1916; Rev. Ernest M. W. Smith, 1916-
1918; Rev. Gerhardt Dehly, 1918-1919; (Union with
Unitarian) Rev. E. H. Cotton, 1919-1921; Rev. Mr.
Hayes, 1921-1922; Rev. Llewellyn A. Owen, 1922.

Putnamville Wealthy and Prosperous. — For
more than a half century after Zerubbabel Porter
started his little shoe factory in Putnamville, that sec-
tion of the town enjoyed unusual prosperity. In fact,
it might have been called the centre of Danvers' business

Courtesy " Old-Time New England ' ' Copyright by Frank Cousins Art Co., 1911

THE FRONT DOOR AS SEEN FROM THE HALL, FOWLER HOUSE

SHIP " MARGARET " OF SALEM, John Crowninshield and William Fairfield, owners
Lost in 1810. Capt. Edward Richardson, of Danvers, was one of the survivors of the wreck

SHIP " GLIDE " OF SALEM, Joseph Peabody, owner

Wrecked in 1832, Henry Fowler, Leonard Poole and William Endicott of Danvers

being among the crew who weie saved

From the painting by " Anton Roux fils aine a Marseille, 1823," now in possession
of George Augustus Peabody, Esq.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 121

activity during the first half of the 19th century. Seven
shoe factories employed a large number of men, and
Samuel Fowle's box factory supplied the needs in that
direction. New families attracted by the prospect of
steady work, established themselves there and made
pleasant homes. The manufacturers made shoes — and
money. They hired teamsters to drive over the road to
Boston several times a week with loads of the manu-
factured product, which were disposed of at good prices.
The frequent visits of dealers from Boston, New York,
Philadelphia and Baltimore, and the regular number
of big covered wagons for the transportation of pur-
chases made this section a busy place.

One of the successful manufacturers was Hon. Elias
Putnam, who was born June 7, 1789, in Danvers. He
taught school in Putnamville, after taking a course at
Bradford academy, and then chose the life of a farmer
instead of the college education offered him. Shoe
manufacturing, however, soon claimed his attention, and
the remaining years of his short life were spent in that
occupation. He was one of the earliest Universalists,
represented the town in the Senate, and was influential
in securing railroad facilities for Danvers ; was the first
to suggest a bank for the town, and its first president;
was elected first president of Walnut Grove cemetery,
which was laid out at his suggestion, among others ; and
was a warm friend of education and always public
spirited. "He greatly desired to see slavery brought
to an end, but he was opposed to all rash and violent
measures to compass the result." His personal char-
acter was the noblest, and he delighted in doing good
to others. His services in the county and the town were
in constant requisition, on account of his strong mind
and excellent judgment. He enjoyed the entire confi-
dence of the community. No one in the town ever did

122 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

more for the prosperity of Danvers than did he. He
died July 8, 1847, while yet a comparatively young man.
The house which he built on Park street is now "The
Home for the Aged."

Business Start at The Plains; The Country
Stores. — While Putnamville was still at the height of
its commercial glory, the Plains began to show signs
of life. In 1830 several enterprising men, including
Samuel Preston, Capt. Eben Putnam and Joshua Sil-
vester, had begun the manufacture of shoes at the
Square, which bid fair to outrival Putnamville before
many years. In 1836 the population of the Plains was
only 130, but two years later the Salem Gazette com-
ments thus:

"Within a few years, some six or eight, between 30
and 40 dwelling houses and other buildings have been
added to this place, and several more, including a large
hotel, are going up at the present time. A few years
ago this was a village of a few scattered houses, and the
chief business besides agriculture was confined to two
stores. Now the place has a bank, several shoe manu-
factories, and shops of various kinds of artisans. The
place at present is fast branching out into streets and
building lots, many of them commanding a high price, —
the whole assuming quite a townlike appearance. All
this is attributed to enterprise and industry and to the
establishment of manufactures, — a never-failing cause
of thrift."

The shoe industry made rapid strides and for the
next half century was the principal manufacturing
business of the town. These were years of great pros-
perity for the shoe men. The southern and western
markets, which depended almost exclusively for their
supply upon New England, were every day opening
new sources of consumption. The increasing population

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 123

of the West alone created a demand which the local
manufacturers could by no means meet. The workmen
were receiving what they considered very high wages.
"We know of journeymen earning two and a half dol-
lars a day regularly and with ease," says a contempo-
rary account. Danvers was already well and favorably
known as a shoe town, and the quality of boots and
shoes turned out was the equal of any in the country.

The business has experienced many vicissitudes dur-
ing these years, according to the financial condition of
the country. In 1854 there were within the present
limits of the town thirty-five firms, making animalh'^
over a million and a half pairs, valued at over a million
dollars, and giving employment to about 2,500 persons.
In the first years of the shoe business a great and happy
change was wrought in many families in town. Sons
and daughters of parents of limited means no longer
"lived out." They could now help on the shoes and
keep within the home circle. It was the beginning of
a new era. The wealthy farmers, who had been accus-
tomed to employ them, found in the stalwart young men
and women of New Hampshire worthy substitutes, and
in this way commenced the drain of young people from
the hill towns of the northern states.*

1 Among the shoe manufacturers in the various parts of the town,
in addition to those mentioned, have been : Elias Endicott, Jonathan.
Putnam, Samuel Putnam, Jonathan Porter, Nathaniel Boardman,
Daniel Putnam, Daniel F. Putnam, Georg-e A. Putnam, Henry F.
Putnam, Elbridge Trask, Israel P. Boardman, Frederick Perley, Joseph
S. Black, John Sears, Eben Hutchinson, James Hutchinson, John C.
Butler, Alfred Fellows, John R. Langley, Joel Putnam, Israel H.
Putnam, Jesse Tapley, George Tapley, Aaron Putnam, William E.
Putnam, A. Alden White, Phineas Corning, Reed Jones, Abraham
Callahan, Henry Prentiss, Joseph G. Prentiss, Otis Mudge, Francis
Noyes, John M. C. Noyes, Nathaniel Sylvester, Joseph G. Prentiss,
N. Holten Boardman, Ira P. Pope, Charles H. Gould, Albert G. Allen,
George Howe, Albert Howe, Alden Demsey, Edwin Mudge, Edward
Hutchinson, Edmund Legro, Augustus Mudge, James Goodale, Melvin
B. Putnam, C. C. Farwell, J. E. Farrar, Silas Conant, James B.
Sawyer, Henry M. Merrill, E. Everett Eaton, Robert K. Sears, George

124 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

The country groceries, one at Perley's corner, kept
by John Perley and later A. Proctor Perley and Moses
J. Currier, and the other in the Richards building, kept
by Jonas Warren, later by Daniel Richards, came in
for their share of trade. In those days the country store
was a scene of great activity, and between the two on
Danvers Square there existed much rivalry. Both of
these establishments did an extensive business. Their
trade was chiefly with people in the back country, who
came to town with teams loaded with produce, which
they exchanged for a supply of fish, salt, molasses and
other staples. The store at which they could drive the
best bargain secured their trade. It is said that as many
as forty would arrive in one day, keeping the clerks
busy loading for the return trip well into midnight, and
giving the Square a bustling appearance.

Jonas Warren was one of the ablest business men
who ever lived in Danvers and an "up-and-down square
dealer." He was born in North Beverly, July 29, 1787.
Early he struck out for himself, coming to Danvers and
working as clerk in Gideon Putnam's grocery store,
corner Elm and High streets. Before many years he
bought the business, and his fairness and farsightedness
won for him a tremendous trade. In 1841, he sold out
at the Plains and opened a store at the Port, where he
became the pioneer of the wholesale flour and grain
business. The first to bring grain to this port by water,
from the cargoes of the many vessels in his employment,
he supplied a very extensive inland trade. He was a
constant supporter of the Unitarian faith. He was the

E. Martin, Walter A. Tapley, Granville W. Clapp, J. Albert Blake,
Henry Preston, Gilbert A. Tapley, Thomas Palmer, Fred and Reuben
Wilkins, Jeremiah Chapman, Jacob Cross, Daniel P. Pope, Malcolm
Sillars, Georg-e W. French, Joseph Crosby, B. Lewis Tibbetts, Austin
Huckins, Loring- Carleton, Joseph N. Smith, Georg'e H. Peabody, Charles
L. Elliott, C, A. Kieth, Patrick Sullivan, Martin Kelley, Fred U. French.

THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH

- £ ^

< CU °
12 CM

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 125

last survivor of the New Mills Alarm List of 1814, and
died Nov. 18, 1876, nearly 90 years of age, "leaving the
community the priceless example of the life of an hon-
est man, and to his family the legacy of an unspotted
name."

Daniel Richards was a native of Atkinson, N. H.,
and came to Danvers as a clerk for Mr. Warren in
1828. When the temperance movement was being agi-
tated, he started a temperance store in the building
corner Locust and Maple streets, from which the old-
time custom of selling liquor was excluded. Later, after
Mr. Warren moved to the Port, he bought the latter's
stand on the Square, then owned by Elias Putnam,
which he ever afterward conducted. He was for thirty
years president of the National Bank and a life trustee
of Peabody Institute. He built the grist mill at Libert}'^
bridge, which, later used as a rubber mill, was destroyed
by fire in 1898. He died in November, 1886.

A. Proctor Perley and his brother Nathaniel came
from Boxford in 1830 and bought out the general store
of John Perley, who had conducted the business at the
corner of JNIaple and Willow streets, as Conant street
was then known, since 1800 and possibly earlier. The
latter was a native of Georgetown, and after leaving
Danvers experienced a successful career in New York
and Philadelphia, amassing a considerable fortune, with
which he founded the Perley Free School in George-
town. Nathaniel Perley died in 1835, and Proctor Per-
ley took as a partner his brother-in-law, Moses J. Cur-
rier. The business was conducted under the firm name
of Perley & Currier for forty-five years, or until Mr.
Perley's death in 1881. In 1885, Mr. Currier retired
and the store was purchased by Charles N. Perley, son
of the senior partner, who, with his children, still con-
tinues it. It is thus the oldest established business in

126 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

town, having been conducted by the Perley family for
more than 125 years. For years this store was the ren-
dezvous for the townspeople generally, who, around the
big wood or coal fire, told stories, played jokes, discussed
all the topics of the day, and no doubt settled to their
own satisfaction, at least, all the great problems con-
fronting the nation. Mr. Perley was always alert and
full of native wit, and many tales are told of practical
jokes perpetrated by him on some unsuspecting towns-
man. He was popular with the whole community, and
his partner was also well and favorably known for miles
around.

These stores were a great accommodation to the shoe
manufacturers also, whose workmen were not paid in
money, but in orders for groceries, dry goods, or other
commodities. The shoe men had little cash on hand and
sold their shoes to the southern planters on six months'
notes, which were settled when the planters were paid
for their crops. This was, on the whole, a satisfactory
arrangement from the standpoint of the workman.
Everything could be procured in these stores, from a
salt fish to a new silk dress, and although they had not
much ready money to indulge in such luxuries as cakes
and lemonade on muster daj^s, yet they lived contented,
happy and peaceful lives.

Other Manufacturing in Danvers. — In years
gone by it was commonly said of Lynn that all the
inhabitants worked upon shoes except the minister —
and that he made his own. That can hardly be said of
Danvers. Although notablj^ a shoe town, other indus-
tries have occupied the attention of the people. The
manufacture of earthenware was introduced very early
into the southern part of the town by the Southwicks
and Osbornes. In the middle of the 18th century the
manufacture of bricks bj^ Deacon Joseph and Israel

THE OLD TOAVN OF DAN VERS 127

Putnam, on Conant street, was an important business,
followed by the Pages, John Fowler and Nathaniel
Webb, off High street, and in more recent years by
Day, Gray, Carr, Gallivan and others at Danversport
and East Danvers. It is claimed that Col. Jeremiah
Page was the first in Massachusetts to make "clapped"
bricks, which were shipped to many distant points.
Tanneries, as early as 1739, were established in the
Middle Precinct by Edward South wick, a business which
has always been maintained, there being in 1845, 61
tanneries of such influence that "the state of the leather
market determined the degree of prosperitj^ which the
town enjoyed." Now, of course, Peabody as a tanning
community is second to none in the country. Lumber,
iron, and the manufacture of leather, electric lamps,
crayons, knitted goods and neckties, have been and still
are valuable accessions to the business life of the town.

Banks Established. — The Square, which was no
more than a country cross-roads a few years before,
soon became a busy commercial center. The establish-
ment of the Village Bank about this time (1836) also
helped the growth of the Plains. It was started through
the efforts of Elias Putnam and other leading shoe
manufacturers, and it occupied the site at the corner
of Elm and Maple streets. It was later called the First
National Bank of Danvers, and in 1904, under a new
charter, the name was changed to the Danvers National
Bank. The present building was erected in 1854.

The Presidents of the National Bank have been:
Hon. Elias Putnam, 1836-1847; Moses Putnam, 1847-
1856; Daniel Richards, 1856-1886; Gilbert A. Tapley,
1886-1911; George O. Stimpson, 1911. Cashiers:
Samuel B. Buttrick, 1836-1841; William L. Weston,
1841-1884; Benjamin E. Newhall, 1884-1913; Ralph
S. Higgins, 1913.

128 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

This enterprise was followed later (1850) by the
organization of the Danvers Savings Bank, which, with
the Danvers Co-operative Bank, established in 1892,
have assisted very materially in building homes for the
people of the town.

The Presidents of the Savings Bank have been:
Gilbert Tapley, 1850-1859; Rufus Putnam, 1859-1876;
Israel H. Putnam, 1876-1884; Hon. Augustus Mudge,
1884-1902; Hon. J. Frank Porter, 1902; Dr. Charles
H. White, 1903-1910; Charles H. Preston, 1910-1916;
Joshua Armitage, 1916. Treasurers: William L. Wes-
ton, 1850-1884; Israel H. Putnam, 1884-1889; A.
Frank Welch, 1889-1902; Hon. J. Frank Porter, 1902-
1916; Charles H. Preston, 1916.

The Presidents of the Co-operative Bank have been:
Fletcher Pope, 1892-1893; Hon. Samuel L. Sawyer,
1893-1910; Jasper Marsh, 1910-1922; Harry E. Jack-
son, 1922.

Invention of Pegging Machine ; Its Introduc-
tion INTO England. — At this time the soles of shoes
were all sewed on by hand. It remained for a Danvers
man to invent the machine for pegging shoes, that is,
fastening the soles to the uppers by means of wooden
pegs. Samuel Preston, one of the largest manufactur-
ers of the day, was the inventor, and he obtained the
lirst patent ever issued for such a machine. The paper,
dated March 8, 1833, signed by President Andrew
Jackson, together with the original shoe, may be seen
at the Essex Institute.

Mr. Preston was born in Danvers, Nov. 12, 1792, and
served in important offices in town and church. He
served as secretary to the Danvers Moral Society, and
was a Deacon of the First Church for many years. He
represented the town in the General Court, 1842-1844;
selectman in 1850; school committee for several years;

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THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 129

trustee of the Danvers Savings Bank 42 years; first
superintendent of the First Church Sunday school in
1818; and held the office of notary public for 14 years.
He died June 21, 1878, while on a visit at Warner,
N. H.

He was married in 1822 to Lydia W. Proctor, by
whom he had several children, their daughter, Harriet
Waters Preston, becoming a writer of note. She began
her literary career about 1865 as a translator from the
French, and published many books throughout her life,
contributing also frequent critical papers to the At-
lantic Monthly and other magazines. She resided
abroad for many years, mostly in France and Great
Britain, and died in 1911 at Keene, N. H.

However, it was reserved for men of a later time to
bring to wonderful perfection what Mr. Preston created
as only a humble beginning. Twelve years later (1845)
another Danvers man, Joshua Silvester, conceived the
bold idea of crossing the ocean and introducing into
England the manufacture of pegged shoes. In addi-
tion to the establishment of a factory there, he was
employed by a New York concern to sound the English
market in regard to its acceptance of American made
leather, with a view to exporting large quantities to
that country. The Danvers Courier of Sept. 27, 1845,
comments upon the experiment as follows :

"It will be recollected by our readers that we pre-
dicted that the experiment of shipping leather to Eng-
land^ would fail on account of inveterate prejudice of
Englishmen to everything not English, and that this
prejudice must be overcome by a close imitation of their
own production in quality and appearance. Sufficient
time has now elapsed to know the results of the first

1 In 1910, the United States exported fifty million dollars' worth of
leather and leather goods to England and other countries.

130 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

shipments, which have all been unsuccessful and from
the cause above stated. We hope this failure will not
discourage further attempts to introduce this important
staple into the English market. We are convinced that
with our advantages for the cheap and rapid manufac-
ture of leather, we can undersell the British manufac-
turers and satisfy the people there of the equality, if
not the superiority, of our own tannage. We think
just the right mode of effecting this desirable object has
been hit upon by some highly respectable parties in the
leather trade in New York, who have engaged the ser-
vices of an experienced shoe man of this town, to go
to England and superintend the making of shoes of
American leather by English worlonen. It seems almost
certain that this undertaking will not only succeed but
be highly profitable to those concerned, as the difference
in the cost of our leather compared with the English
will afford a good chance for profit, and after the leather
is made up the difference of kind will be scarcely per-
ceptible to the purchaser. We think we do not over-
estimate the importance of the English market to the
leather trade, when we declare that it will be of as much
importance to that interest as the opening of the port
of China for the admission of cotton goods has been to
the manufacturers of cotton cloths.

"We heartily wish the project every degree of success,
not only on account of the enterprising individuals im-
mediately interested in it, but for the advantage it will
be to the whole leather trade of the country. Although
English prejudice is so strong against everything for-
eign that even educated men of the country believe that
one Englishman is equal to two Frenchmen, and that
there is no comfort beyond the shores of their little
Island, instances are not uncommon of this prejudice
having been overcome by Yankee ingenuity.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 131

"When we sent our beef and pork to England, Mr.
Bull turned up his nose at it until it was cut up and
packed in the British style, when it at once became quite
palatable. So it was with our butter and cheese, the
latter article particularly, which is now in great demand
and in extensive use in that country. John received
our wooden clocks, flattered as he was by the reflection
of his own bluff features as he looked into their mirrors,
and the superiority of Wenham Lake ice was too clear
not to be seen through, even by an Englishman. These
changes in the direction of articles of export, either
coastwise or foreign, are so familiar to those who recol-
lect the time when Danvers supplied Albany with wool
and the city of New York with sole leather, that they
need not be much astonished to find the staple manu-
facture of our town finding its way to a foreign market."

The business was started in Manchester upon the
arrival of six Danvers men who were selected by John
M. C. Noyes to teach the English the shoe-pegging
business, some to work on ladies' and misses', and others
on men's shoes. The men who went over were Jacob
Cross, Charles Story, Theodore Hobbs, Samuel Knight,
William Marshall and Charles F. Waitt, and they
sailed from Boston on the "Columbiana" in April, in
company with Mr. Noyes, being forty-eight days on the
trip. Shoe-pegging was a novelty then, and much in-
terest was manifested by all classes witnessing the pro-
cess of the manufacture by these Yankee workmen.
American tanned leather was sent over by Danvers
tanners,^ and the shoe pegs were obtained from Charles
P. Preston, and later from Norris & Preston.

1 Among' the firms of Danvers, Salem and vicinity from whom he
boug'ht leather to export, or later to whom he sold imported leather
to be made into shoes, -were the following- : A. F. Thompson & Co.,
B. F. Thompson & Co., J. A. Learoyd, Harris Munroe, O. Kimball,
J. R, Langley, Joseph Walden, D. C. Haskell, Pool & Jacobs, John G.

132 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

Previously only sewed work or a clog consisting of
a wooden sole with a leather upper nailed to the side,
had been sold there. They took a sole-leather splitting
machine, which was the first seen in England. The
prejudice against Yankee pegged shoes, however, was
very strong, and for a long time dealers could not be
induced to buy them, but eventually a good business
was established.

Regarding the introduction of American leather into
the English market and the success of the undertaking,
the Salem Gazette of Nov. 23, 1855, has this to say:

"In respect to cheapness of material our American
tanners have a decided advantage over those in Eng-
land, where not only hides have to be imported but
also the materials for tanning them. The bark used in
England is mainly imported, at much expense, from
the Baltic and Mediterranean countries. The cost of
leather in England, therefore, is much increased, and a
chance is offered our tanners to supply that market with
profit, since leather can here be made at less expense,^
and within the last ten years (since the new British
tariff) a considerable trade has been growing up in this
commodity. At first the English dealers had strong
prejudices against American leather, but these seem
to be so far removed that English houses are now en-
gaged in its importation. The English leather is gen-
erally regarded as superior to our own. The hides are
more carefully worked and cleansed there than by our
tanners, and more time is taken to perfect the change.

Gove, W. & M. Black, Jr., Caleb L. Frost. James M. Munroe, L. & W. S.
Belcher, Geo. L. Thayer, Daniel John.son, Boardman & Goiikl, I. H.
Putnam, Putnam & Fellows, Poland & Connors, W. H. Sargent, Boston
Japan Leather Co., S. Case & Sons, John Huse, Josiah Brackett, and
Benjamin Goodrido'e.

From 1846 to 1848, he bought of Pre'ston 256 barrels of shoe pegs
at $3 per barrel, which were shipped to Manchester in the ship
"Sunbeam" and other vessels.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 133

From one to one and a half years to double that time
is thought requisite to produce a good article. Particu-
lar care is taken with upper leather to insure a smooth
and even grain and give it a handsome color. English
sole leather is so well impregnated with bark as to be
nearly impervious to water, while ours absorbs water
freely. Yet it is said that American leather is more
durable than English, although it may not do so good
service while it lasts."

Lexington Memorial Erected. — Sixty years after
the Battle of Lexington, Danvers erected a monument
(1835) to the memory of her young men who were
killed on that memorable day. The occasion was made
one of great interest, especially from the fact that nine-
teen survivors of the Revolutionary War were present
and took part in the exercises. Twelve of these were
from Danvers: Gen. Gideon Foster, Sylvester Osborn,
Johnson Proctor, Levi Preston, Asa Tapley, Rogers
Nourse, Joseph Shaw, John Joscelyn, Ephraim Smith,
Jonathan Porter, Joseph Tufts, William Flint.

The shaft stands at the junction of Main and Wash-
ington streets, in what is now Peabody. On one side are
the names of the slain, followed by the words : Dulce et
decorum est pro patria mori ("It is sweet and glorious
to die for one's country" ) . On the reverse side, "Erected
by the Citizens of Danvers on the 60th Anniversary,
1835." The cost of the monument was $1,000.

First Postoffice Established. — The organization
of the Village Bank and the growing manufacturing
interests at Danvers Plains resulted in the establish-
ment of this section of the town as the business center.
New Mills falling back to second place. There was, of
course, immediate demand for a postoffice,^ all Danvers

1 See "History of the Danvers Postoffice," by Charles Newhall, in
Danvers Historical Collections, Vol. 7.

134 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

mail previous to this time having been received at the
Salem office. After several years of agitation the North
Dan vers postoffice was opened in 1837, with William
Wallis as the first postmaster, followed in a few months
by Thomas M. Bowen. Later postmasters have been:
Levi Merrill, 1846-1852; Daniel Emerson, 1852-1853;
Levi Merrill, 1853-1861; Sylvanus Shattuck, 1861-
1865; Joseph E. Hood, 1865-1886; Charles N. Perley,
1886-1890; Capt. G. W. Kenney, 1890-1891; Mrs. Ger-
trude S. Kenney, 1891-1896; Charles N. Perley, 1896-
1900; Charles Newhall, 1900-1916; R. T. Fennessey,
1916-1922; Maj. F. C. Damon, 1922.

In 1844 the New Mills postoffice was established,
Henry Potter being appointed postmaster. Later
postmasters have been: William Alley, 1849-1852;
James M. Trow, 1852-1853; David Mead, 1853-1886;
Henry Warren, 1886-1887; Anna E. Manassa, 1887-
1889; John P. Withey, 1889-1893; T. J. Gallivan,
1893-1897; J. W. Mead, 1897-1900.

The residents of Danvers Highlands and Tapleyville
were given the privilege of a local office in 1849, with
George W. French as postmaster, which later was re-
moved to Centre street. Later postmasters have been:
Henry Prentiss, 1855-1865; Albert H. Mudge, 1865-
1869; F. A. Wilkins, 1869-1895; G. C. Clancy, 1895-
1900.

N. P. Merriam was appointed postmaster of the
Tapleyville section in 1872. Other postmasters have
been: Daniel Fuller, 1885-1887; Norris S. Bean, 1887-
1891; Archie W. Sillars, 1891-1894; John A. Logan,
1894-1898; A. W. Sillars, 1898-1900.

The Hathorne office was the result of the building ot
the State Hospital, and was opened in 1878, with
Samuel S. Pratt in charge. Other postmasters have
been: G. W. Dudley, 1878-1880; J. W. Pierce, 1880-

THE OLI) TOWN OF DANAT:RS 135

1801 ; Andrew Xichols, Jr., 1891-1893; Mary E. Hines,
1893-1899; Joshua Nichols, 1899-1913; C. F. Skill-
ings, 1913-1921; Dennis M. Kelley, 1922.

Early Days of Tapleyville; The Carpet Busi-
ness. — Up to the time of the eighteen-thirties that por-
tion of Danvers known as "the Village," and more
recently as Tapleyville, was owned by a few families
and dotted with farmhouses separated b}^ acres of
highly cultivated land. Eighty years ago there were
but five houses there, tlie Tapley house on Pine street,
opposite Hyde, the Nurse house, the Tarbell house,
the old Tapley homestead on Hyde street, and the
Perley Tapley house, corner of Holten and Pine streets,
of which the first two and last mentioned are stand-
ing. Roughly speaking, Tapley^dlle comprises the area
described by a circle, using the Tapley school as a
pivotal point, and extending on the east to Putnam's
pond, on the south to Sylvan street, on the west
to Collins and Centre streets, and on the north to PIo-
bart street. Danvers Highlands had settled down with
the complacency of old age, content to be a populous
farming community. But Tapleyville was destined to
wake up. The Tapleys have been a numerous family
in the vicinity of Salem since 1660, when the emigrant
Gilbert Tapley came from Marldon, Devon, England,
and settled at Salem Neck. In the middle of the 18th
century, another Gilbert, a great-grandson of the emi-
grant, by alliance in marriage with the Putnam family,
came to the old Salem Village part of Danvers and
bought a farm, which has been known in later years as
the James Goodale estate at the Highlands. Gradually
acquiring more propertj^ he became one of the largest
landowners of this section, and was the progenitor of
all the Danvers and many of the Lynn families of the
name. Of his four sons, Asa became the possessor of

13G CHKONICLES OF DANA^RS

much of the land south of the Nurse house, between
Pine and ColHns streets and crossing Sylvan street to
the Endicott farm on Endicott street, and by marriage
with Elizabeth Smith further added to his estate the
land to the west as far as the Andover turnpike.

In 1843 Perley Tapley moved a building in which
Mathew Hooper had manufactured boxes near Felton's
corner to the brook at Hadlock's bridge, near the pres-
ent Tapleyville railroad station. This, in itself, was
not so remarkable a feat, for he had doubtless moved
other buildings before. He certainly did move many
afterwards, as anyone who lived eighty j^ears ago could
testify. But that particular move is worth recording,
because it marks precisely the psychological moment
when Tapleyville, or the "Village," awoke. Here
Perley and his brother Gilbert embarked in the carpet
business. The latter had been engaged in the shoe
business for many years, in a shop which was connected
with his house on Pine street. The carpet business was
a new enterprise for Danvers, and in order to carry it
on successfully skilled labor had to be obtained from
outside. Connecticut factory towns at first contributed
a few weavers, but it was not long before many families
from England and Scotland began to come in consider-
able numbers, until it became a problem to house them
within the confines of the "Village." Then it was that
Perley Tapley's skill as mover of buildings was used
to advantage. Houses from far and near began to roll
toward Tapleyville. Buildings of all descriptions were
moved and converted into dwellings, until Holten street
was a motley collection of houses made from anything
from a church steeple to a schoolhouse. The church
steeple was used as a shed in the rear of a Holten
street house. The schoolhouse, moved from Putnam-
ville, was torn down when the Tapley School was

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

THE OID TOWN OF DANVERS 137

built. Thus the "Village" grew in size and importance,
but not without many a friendly jibe upon the apparent
lack of "city planning."

A humorous squib in the Danvers Eagle, October 30,
1844, which was concocted on one of those trips that
leading South Parish men used to make to the North
Parish to hear Dr. Braman preach Fast Day and
Thanksgiving sermons, appeared under the heading,
"Taplejwille in 1844." It said:

"This celebrated city is now in a state of unexampled
prosperity. We are aware that, owing to the defects
of modern geography, it is not to be found on the maps.
But we know that the city exists, as we have been there
and seen its mayor and its corporation. It is situated
on one of those numerous streams that empty into the
Atlantic ocean, and contains as large a population as
its buildings will conveniently accommodate.

"There is one peculiarity which, we believe, is not
common to any other place. By the city regulations
it is provided that no house or other building shall be
erected within its territory, and the city is entirely com-
posed of buildings which have been moved into it, and
by these means it is constantly increasing. Nothing is
more common than to see houses of all sizes and shapes
and of every quaint style of architecture traveling into
the place and seating themselves down in some comfort-
able situation, to rest just so long as the mayor will
allow them to remain. We have never yet ventured to
spend a night in the city; we know so well the migra-
tory character of its buildings that we should expect
to find ourselves next morning — house and all — moving
off on wheels, drawn by 40-ox power. We had the
curiosity to look into the city hall when the council was
not in session, and found it ornamented with various
agricultural implements. Like the rest of the city it

138 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

looked like a travelling concern and was built of rough
slabs. We understand that it once took a tour of obser-
vation through Salem, and afterward returned to its
native place."

The "mayor" was, of course, Perley Tapley, and the
building last referred to was the famous "log cabin"
which had been conspicuous in the Harrison campaigji
procession in Salem. Rev. Dr. Alfred P. Putnam, in
reminiscences written several years ago, says: "The log
cabin was hauled all the way to Salem amidst the ut-
most enthusiasm. Suspended upon or set against the
sides were coon skins, hard cider barrels, and a variety
of rude or simple articles of furniture or husbandry,
all of which were generally among the peculiar accom-
paniments of such occasions in that never-to-be-forgot-
ten campaign. On a balcony stood a company of sing-
ers, who, all along the route, amused and delighted the
moving throng, or the farmers and villagers who came
out from their houses to hear the spirited and frequently
humorous pieces which rhj^msters had ground out so
plentifully for the popular ear. Much accustomed to
moving buildings, a man of great force and energy,
always prone to brisk physical activity, and favored
with a stentorian voice, Perley Tapley was well fitted
to make such a migratory scene as this as lively as pos-
sible. On that Independence day he was here, there
and everywhere. His was the voice that arose above
all the Babel noises of the hour; and on sped the rustic
habitation with its attendant carriages, quadrupeds, bi-
peds and all, until it entered Salem, threaded its way
through the streets, and finally reached and invaded
the crowded common amidst circumstances that beggar
all description. There never was such a stir, such com-
motion, such fun, such cheering, such enthusiasm. We
lads eagerly saw and enjoyed it all from beginning to

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 139^

end, now running alono'side the oxen or the cabin, again
advancing to the front or falhng behind, then jumping
aboard and thrusting ourselves in among the musicians,
and in manifold ways showing how much we shared
with Mr. Tapley himself, the responsibility of that cele-
bration by Danvers of the Fourth of July, 1840." The
cabin was built by W. J. C. Kenney and Simeon Put-
nam of Danvers, who were well-known carpenters of
that time, and people gazed in admiration at Mr. Tap-
ley's skill in managing the forty yoke of oxen, especi-
ally in turning corners. The throng on Salem Common
was addressed by Daniel Webster, who made one of his
famous, able and eloquent speeches upon the political
situation of the time.

Rev. O. S. Butler of Georgetown, in referring to the
humorous article quoted, in which the new settlement
at Tapleyville was so ingeniously ridiculed, says:

"I remember what a commotion the article produced
among the inhabitants of that enterprising village.
Perley Tapley was highly incensed, and justly so.
Gilbert Tapley, the other owner of the factory, said it
was beneath the notice of a dog. But the authorship
of that light artillery was never known, though diligent
search was made in and about several departments of
the Eagle office. In those early days it was the custom
of a few citizens of South Danvers to visit the suburbs
of the village once a year to listen to a sermon from
Rev. Milton P. Braman, who always made a special
effort to give his hearers the results of his reflections
and convictions during the year, on the state of the
community in general and its political aspects in par-
ticular. In the spring of '44, a party of gentlemen,
consisting of Fitch Poole, Jacob Perley, Isaac Hardy,
A. P. Phillips, John Peabody, and a boy, were passing
through the village of Tapleyville on their way to the

140 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

church. They discovered two or three buildings on
wheels, or in process of moving. Then and there a dis-
cussion arose as to whether those buildings were the
same as we saw the year before or a new installment.
Young Damon said they were the same; Fitch Poole
said no, but that Mr. Tapley had moved one building
a day on the average for several years. I have no
doubt that the little squib was born in that old coach,
but who gave it bodily form, I never shall tell. But 1
remember that at the next town meeting, which was
held in old Union hall, under the Universalist church,
South Danvers, Mr. Winthrop Andrews made quite a
point of the little fling at Tapleyville, as he was advo-
cating the improvement of the road from the Plains
to Tapleyville."

During its first year of business the carpet factory
was burned, but another was immediately erected. The
Danvers Courier, June 14, 1845, says that on June 13,
at half past twelve in the afternoon, the fire was dis-
covered in Wyatt B. Woodman's box mill connected
with the carpet factory, both of which were totally
destroyed. It started in a pile of shavings while the
men were absent at dinner. David Henderson was the
owner of the machinery and stock of the factory. "The
fire spread so rapidly that the Company connected with
the engine belonging to Tapleyville were obliged to
abandon it, and it was nearly destroyed. The firewards
immediately ordered the Niagara engine to be removed
to Tapleyville to take its place. Nothing is known of
the origin of the fire, but it is generally supposed to be
the work of an incendiary."

It is probable that the Tapleys owned the factory
itself and at that time had no interest in the business,
but after the fire they took over the business and erected
immediately another building 182 by 30 feet. This

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 141

factory was operated by a 25-horse-power engine, had
about 30 looms in use, employed 60 hands, used about
100,000 pounds of wool annually, and wove about
60,000 yards of carpeting each year, as Hanson tells us
in his history printed in 1848. From 1847 to 1866 the
owners were Gilbert Tapley and his son, the product
being ingrain and stair carpets, later making ingrain
only. The Salem Gazette of Dec. 18, 1860, says that
50 looms were then in operation and there were em-
ployed 100 men and 50 women, 200,000 pounds of wool
were used, and 100,000 yards of carpeting were turned
out annually. In February, 1865, the Danvers Carpet
Company was formed, with a capital of $100,000, Gil-
bert Tapley, president, the principal owners being resi-
dents of Newburyport. In May, 1875, it changed hands
again and became the Eagle Carpet Company, employ-
ing 100 hands and producing annually 150,000 yards
of woolen ingrain carpet, valued at $175,000. Gilbert
Augustus Tapley, son of the original owner, was the
treasurer and agent, and he continued to manage it
until the business was discontinued about 1880. The
factory was then converted into a morocco factory and
later occupied by Knapp and Downing. It was burned
in 1910.

It has been said that fourteen of the Scotch carpet
weavers and twenty of their sons were veterans of the
Civil war, seven of whom became commissioned officers,
and the same loyalty to the Union might also be re-
corded of the English, of whom there were fully as
many in the service. Upon the decline of the carpet
business, the shoe business was established, which for
many years has been the principal industry in Tapley-
ville. Nathaniel P. Merriam was another who was iden-
tified with the growth of this village, maintaining a

142 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

country store at the corner of Holten and Pine streets
for nearly forty years.

Col. Gilbert Tapley was the son of Asa and Eliza-
beth (Smith) Tapley, and was born April 30, 1793.
He was one of six brothers, Daniel, Asa, Nathan, Perley
and Jesse, who inherited good estates in this section of
the town. In early life he manufactured shoes, and
during the war of 1812 he, in common with others, took
the manufactured product to Baltimore and other cities
with teams of horses. This was in the time of the
embargo, when the coastwise trade in vessels was inter-
rupted. In the fall of 1813 he reached Baltimore, after
many weeks of hard travelling, and foimd that the
English were about to bombard the place. Here he
was pressed into the service by an artillery company, to
convey them to the point where the enemy was to land.
Colonel Tapley was successful in his business ventures
and became one of the leading citizens of the town. He
was always active in the First Church, serving on im-
portant committees, and when the Methodist Church
was built gave generously to the building fund, his son,
Gilbert A. Tapley, also contributing the lot on which
the church stands. He served as moderator, assessor
and on the school committee, was a trustee of Walnut
Grove cemetery, director of the Warren Bank of South
Danvers and president of the Danvers Savings Bank.
He was a prime mover in obtaining the Danvers and
Georgetown Railroad, now the Western Division line
from Newburyport to Boston. He was an ardent and
efficient worker in the temperance cause, and was iden-
tified with all good works until his death, which occurred
on Octobers, 1878.

"Neck of Land" No Longer a Separate District.
— The other sections of the town had become prosperous
villages since "The Neck of Land" was incorporated

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 143

in 1772, and the road to Salem, which had caused so
much controversy in the early days, was a necessity, not
only to the residents of New JNlills, but to the people of
the whole town. Consequently New Mills began to
regard it as no more than just that it should now be
relieved of tlie burden of supporting the highways, which
it had faithfully done for the past seventy years. As the
town of Danvers did not object, the act of incorporation
was repealed in 1840, since which time the roads at
Danversport have been included in the town's appro-
priation for highways.

Walnut Geove Cemetery Corporation. — This
cemetery, which was originally the grove and adjacent
lands of Judge Samuel Putnam, was consecrated in
1844, and comprises about 21 acres. Generally speak-
ing, the formation of the older portion is that of the
hillsides, gently sloping to meet in a central valley,
watered by brooks and adorned with a natural growth
of trees. The grounds have practically the same front-
age on each of three streets, Sylvan, Ash and Adams
streets. The large tract upon the Ash street side is
practically level, and, like the top of the hill on the
Adams street front, is unshaded. Thus, by combination
and contrast, the rich foliage of the grove and verdure
of the lawns which lie open to the sun, contributes each
to the beauty of the other. Adding to the natural fea-
tures of the landscape, the work that is constantly being
done in the care of the grounds, the Walnut Grove
cemetery is itself the best monument to those men in
whose wisdom and energy it had its origin, and is most
worthy of the pride so generally felt in it.

The presidents of the corporation have been: Hon.
Ehas Putnam, 1843-1844; Samuel Preston, 1844;
Samuel P. Fowler, 1845-1886; Dr. W. W. Eaton, 1887-

144 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

1910; George W. Fiske, 1910-1912; Lester S. Couch,
1912.

Other Cemeteries. — It is doubtful if there is an-
other town in New England which has within its pre-
cincts as many cemeteries, public and private, as old
Danvers, including Peabody, no les^ than 53 being
located when the vital records of the town were pub-
lished in 1910. In the early days there were little plots
set aside on nearly all the farms for burial purposes;
then later neighborhood grounds were laid out, which
were the forerunners of the large tracts given up to this
purpose today. Wadsworth cemetery on Summer
street was one of the earliest, controlled by the First
Church, and now cared for by an association. High
Street cemetery was in early use, several of the Revo-
lutionary soldiers having been buried there, but in 1805,
Colonel Page, whose land it was, "for ten cents" con-
veyed the plot to Israel Hutchinson, Jr., Thomas Put-
nam and Caleb Oakes, who were to "forever permit the
Inhabitants of that part of Danvers called the Neck
and all other persons who have been so accustomed, to
occupjT^ the same land as a Burying Ground . . . keep-
ing always the same ground inclosed with a decent fence
not less than five feet high at their own charge." Other
grounds^ in the present town of Danvers are the Nurse^
Endicott, Preston, Prince, Putnam at Hathorne,
Russell, Ilolten, Putnam, rear the "Lindens," Jacobs,
Hutchinson, Tapley and Preston, Putnam at Putnam-
ville, Swinerton, Goodale and Pope.

Irish Settlers. — From the first settlement of the
town there have been scattering Irish families through-
out the territory of Danvers. As early as the
time of the witchcraft delusion (1692) down through

1 See Danvers Vital Records, page 3.

z '^

S s

2; '5

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 145

the French and Indian wars and the Revolution, names
of people of Irish birth are found on the records. It
was not, however, until 1842 that the settlement of
Irish emigrants commenced.^ Probably the first at the
Plains was Cornelius Ryan, who came to town in 1844
to work for the masons who were constructing Elias
Putnam's shoe factory, now a portion of the Curtis
block on High street. He did not remain long, but
returned to Salem. Nearly all the emigrants of the
first years "worked out" for the farmers of the town,
the men often helping in the fields while their wives
assisted in the household affairs; but as soon as they
prospered they established little homes of their own.
The building of the Essex Railroad (1848) was the
means of bringing many more Irish families to town,
who, after the road was completed through Danvers,
remained here and found other occupations, in the shoe
shops, the brickyards, morocco factories, or on farms.
Many at a later date bought land and built houses in
the vicinity of Hobart street. This land belonged for
the most part to Capt. Andrew M. Putnam, whose
advice and assistance are gratefully remembered today.
These families have, in general, been thrifty and law-
abiding citizens, and many of the second and third gen-
erations are now prosperous, represented in many trades
and professions, interested in the progress of education,
ready to assist in all philanthropic movements, loyal to
the town of their birth and to the country which has
given them the opportunity of success.

Maple Street Church Organized. — With the in-
creased growth of the Plains, the question of a church
began to be agitated. The long distance to the First
Church was one of the reasons for the establishment of

1 The first to pay taxes in Danvers were Patrick Agan and Joliix
Kain, in 1842, Daniel Crowley followed in 1843.

146 CHRONICLES OF DAN^^RS

the Maple Street church (1844). For a time neigh-
borhood meetings were held at the residence of John A.
Learoyd, opposite Maple Street church, and, in fact,
the new society was practically formed in the parlor of
this house. The church edifice, which was erected soon
after, was burned (1850), the present building taking
its place. The annual town meetings were held for
several years in the first edifice, or until the Town Hall
was erected.

The ministers of this church have been: Rev. Richard
Tolman, 1846-1849; Rev. James Fletcher, 1849-1864;
Rev. WiUiam Carruthers, 1866-1868; Rev. James
Brand, 1869-1873; Rev. W. E. C. Wright, 1875-1882;
Rev. E. C. Ewing, 1882-1899; Rev. C. J. Hawkins,
1900-1902; Rev. Robert A. MacFadden, 1902-1909;
Rev. M. A. Shafer, 1910-1913; Rev. Dr. F. W. Mer-
rick, 1915-1921 ; Rev. Leon E. Grubaugh, 1922.

Samuel P. Fowler was one of the first deacons of this
church. He was born at New Mills, April 22, 1800,
and early developed a desire for reading and a taste for
natural history. He manifested a deep interest in church
and town affairs, serving in various offices, representing
the town in the Legislature, and holding the position
of overseer of the poor for forty-five years. His wife
was Harriet, daughter of Moses Putnam of Putnam-
ville. He was famous as a botanist and contributed
articles to many papers and magazines on this subject,
his beautiful garden on Cherry street attesting his great
love of flowers. Fond of historical research, his equal
in knowledge of local history could not be found, and
upon this subject, too, his pen was often used. A cor-
porator of the Danvers Savings Bank, a director of the
Danvers National Bank, a life trustee of Peabody In-
stitute, a publisher of several valuable books and pam-
phlets, a temperance worker, president of Walnut Grove

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 147

Cemetery Corporation, honored and respected by his
townspeople and the country at large, he passed away
in December, 1888, at the age of 89 years. His large
collection of valuable historical manuscripts and relics
were, after his death, presented to the Essex Institute.

ABOLITION; EXPORT OF ICE; MODES OF
TRAVEL; MEXICAN WAR.

Feeling Against Slavery; The Abolitionists. —
There was a constantly growing feeling in the North
in opposition to slave-holding. There were many Abo-
litionists at New Mills, who held that the business of
buying and selling negroes was not in accordance with
the constitution of the United States, which declares
that all men are born free and equal. At first their lot
was not a happy one. They were very outspoken on
the subject of slavery, and their candor incensed a great
many, their enthusiasm in the cause of the slave often
overpowering their better judgment, but their earnest-
ness was never doubted. Meetings were held as early
as 1834. A club was formed in 1838, called "The Young
Men's Anti-Slavery Society," and the cause of the slave
was eloquently pleaded, not only by local orators but
by some of the most noted Abolitionists in the country.
In 1842, the controversy had reached fever heat. Those
who did not profess to follow the doctrines of Garrison
or enter into the then unpopular movement, were de-
nounced by the anti-slavery supporters as false to the
principles upon which the country was founded, and as
lacking Christianity. So far did their enthusiasm carry
them that the society of Abolitionists at New Mills
declared that it was "inconsistent and unbecoming" for
them to celebrate the Fourth of July because there were
so many slaves in bondage in this free country. The

148 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

churches, because they did not at once champion the
Abolitionists' cause, were derisively called "the strong-
holds of slavery," and upon them the storm broke. Two
of the churches refused to open their doors to the meet-
ings of the Abolitionists. This was the occasion of new
charges and complaints. Feeling between man and
man at New Mills was wrought to a very high pitch.
The anti-slavery supporters, disappointed that the
churches did not favor a discussion of the subject in
the pulpits, resolved to come out from the congrega-
tions. This they did, and from this movement they
became known as "Come-outers." "On one occasion
the minister at the Baptist church was in the midst of
the service when one of the abolitionists present arose
and began an anti-slavery appeal. He was temporarily
choked off by a hj^mn, but as soon as the music ceased
he was at it again. Two men of the congregation, with
righteous indignation descended upon the intruder and
dragged him out of the house. Worship was broken
off. The congregation, or most of them, were thor-
oughly mad. The minister called for a sheriff, and
certain men jumped out of the window to run to the
Universalist church for an officer." Service was re-
sumed, but in came the same offender at a side door and
continued his disturbance. Subsequently, he and sev-
eral other "Come-outers," who took his part, were ar-
rested. But the fanaticism of the times gradually gave
way to saner action, and people began to more calmly
consider the great slavery question. Their enthusiasm
did not diminish, to be sure, but a wiser and more sj^s-
tematic plan of action resulted in the formation of a
new political party — the Republican — and ultimately
in the freedom of the slave.

"One must greatly admire the high moral standard of
these Abolitionists. Their adherence to the cause was

THE OLD TOAVN OF DANVERS 149

at great cost. Many of them were church members,
long and devotedly attached to the observances that
belonged to it, and they left it, not because they did
not believe in Christianity, but because of the very
strength and sincerity of their faith. They were ridi-
culed and anathematized for it, but here they took their
stand, and practically illustrated in their character and
daily life the principles they would make the law of the
land. They were tanners and curriers and shoemakers
and artisans and tillers of the soil, yet they were pos-
sessed of a high degree of intelligence. The future will
make small account of anj^ shortcomings which men may
see in the old Abolitionists. It is to their everlasting
honor that, at the time when millions of our fellow crea-
tures were groaning under insufferable bondage, and
church, state and people alike were deaf to their cries,
they were the first to rouse the public to a sense of duty
and needed action."

Among the men and women identified with the cause
in Danvers were Jesse P. Harriman, Richard Hood,
John Hood, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Merrill, Hathorne
Porter, Alfred R. Porter, Mr. and Mrs. John Cutler,
Mr. and Mrs. William Endicott, James D. Black,
William Francis, Henry A. Potter, Rev. Samuel
Brimblecom, John R. Patten, William Alley, Job
Tyler, Hercules Josselyn, Mr. and Mrs. Abel Nichols,
Mrs. Eben G. Berry, Miss E. H. Hutchinson, Miss
Irene Kent, Dr. and Mrs. Eben Hunt, Dr. Andrew
Nichols, Thomas Bowen, John R. Langley, Jonathan
Richardson, James F. Mclntire, Moses Black, Jr.,
Elias Savage, John D. Andrews, James M. Usher,
Charles W. Page, John Hines, Oliver C. Wait, James
Kelley, Archelaus P. Black, Winthrop Andrews,
George Kate, Joseph W. Legro, Benjamin Potter,
Ingalls K. Mclntire, Daniel Woodbury, Josiah Ross,

150 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

Edward Stimpson, Jonathan Eveleth, Charles Benja-
min, Samuel P. Fowler, Oliver O. Brown, Alexander
A. Leavitt, William Needham, Elbridge G. Little, Ira
P. Cloiigh, Abner S. Mead, Joseph Porter, Frederick
Howe, Col. Jesse Putnam, John A. Learoyd, Peter
Wait, Allen Knight, Francis P. Putnam, Ehas E. Put-
nam, Alfred Fellows.

Dr. Andrew Nichols was one of the prominent Abo-
litionists. He was born in Danvers, Nov. 22, 178.5,
graduated at Harvard Medical School, and practised in
the southern part of the town for nearly half a century.
He was a noted botanist and agriculturist, an ardent
anti-slavery and temperance man, a poet of more than
local repute, an inventor of much ability, and one of
the founders of the Unitarian church in Peabody. His
object was "to live for man, to work for humanitj^" He
died March 30, 1853, beloved and lamented by all.

Dr. Ebenezer Hunt, another Abolitionist, was born,
April 13, 1799, in Dracut. He graduated from Dart-
mouth College in the Medical Department in 1821.
Soon after, he settled at New Mills, where he practiced
his profession fifty years. In the temperance cause and
the anti-slavery movement he was firm and always had
the courage of his convictions. He became associated
with John G. Whittier in the slavery cause, retaining
the latter's friendship through life. At the age of 65
years he enlisted in the Civil War as assistant surgeon
of the 8th Regiment, by which service his health was
considerably impaired. Dr. Hunt was hospitable, sim-
ple in his habits, and his worth as a man and his skill
as a physician were fully appreciated by all who knew
him.

Hathorne Porter was another Abolitionist who was
very active during his short life in the cause of the slave.
He was son of Aaron and Eunice (Hathorne) Porter,

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 151

and was born in Salem, but at an early age went to
Putnamville to learn his trade at the home of his uncle,
Zerubbabel Porter. Settling finally in Danversport,
where he engaged in tanning and currying on his own
account, he became one of the leaders of the anti-slaverv
movement. He was also one of the earliest Univer-
sahsts. He died in 1845, at the age of forty-seven, and
thus did not live to see the result of the good work of
the party whose cause he so ardently espoused. He was
a nephew of Gen. Moses Porter. His residence at
Danversport was the brick house built by Nathaniel
Putnam in 1805, near Creese & Cook's factory, and
recently (1922) remodelled into a warehouse by that
company.

Newspapers. — In the early days Danvers depended
upon Salem and Boston papers for the news, the Salem
Gazette and Salem Register being widely circulated
here. In 1845 the Danvers Courier was established,
following the Danvers Whig and the Danvers Eagle,
two ephemeral political sheets. It was short-lived.
The South Danvers Wizard (1859) became the Pea-
body Press in 1869. The Danvers Monitor was estab-
lished in 1865. All these weekly papers were printed
in the southern part of the town, now Peabody. In
1871 the Danvers Mirror was established as a distinctly
Danvers paper, by H. C. Cheever, who sold the busi-
ness in 1875 to Charles H. Shepard. In 1890 Mr.
Shepard sold the business to Frank E. Moynahan, and
it is now (1923) conducted by his widow, Mrs. Magda-
lene DeNormandie Elmcre, who has changed the name
of the paper to the Danvers Herald.

The Great Fire. — Just as business was beginning
to get a good start at the Plains, everything was swept
away by a great fire (1845). An old newspaper says
of it: "It broke out in a small building belonging to the

152 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

dwelling house of Joshua Silvester, and was thought
to have been occasioned by sparks from the pipes of
some of the workmen, a pile of shavings probably ignit-
ing. The fire spread with great rapidity and seemed
at one time as if beyond all human control. Eighteen
buildings on either side of Maple street were destroyed.
There was great scarcity of water, it being necessary to
connect eight engines to obtain a single stream of water
upon the fire. The nearest body of water was Frost
Fish Brook. The alarm reached Salem about a quarter
past two, and several engines and fire companies imme-
diately started, guided by the direction of the smoke,
although it was not then known where the fire was nor
how imminent was the danger. Express messengers
arrived some time afterwards for assistance, when the
alarm was again sounded, and several more engines were
dispatched, making seven in all from Salem, preceded,
accompanied and followed by great numbers of citizens.
The progress over the length of dusty road was exceed-
ingly toilsome, with the almost vertical sun beating down
upon their unsheltered heads at a temperature of 120*^
to 130''. Some were very much overcome by the expo-
sure and fatigue. The loss was $80,000."

After this conflagration, building was resumed and
the Square widened, as it appears today, the west side
of Maple street up to that time having formed a junc-
tion with Elm street at about the location of the present
drinking fountain.

Wenham Lake Ice in England; The Danvers
Ice Company. — At about this time an important export
business, in which Danvers men were concerned, was
organized. It consisted of the shipment of ice^ from
Wenham Lake to England. The enterprise originated

1 See Articles by Eev. A. P. Putnam, D. D., in "Ice' and Refrigera-
tion."

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 153

with a few Salem men, and in 1846 a resident of Dan-
vers, returning from a business trip in England, having
noted the success of the business there, suggested to
several Danvers men, including Henry T. Ropes, Jo-
seph W. Ropes, W. I^. Weston and Daniel Richards,
the formation of a stock company for the same purpose.
This was accordingly done, and Henry T. Ropes was
delegated to go abroad and find a suitable location for
the opening up of the ice business. The field was thor-
oughly looked over, and it was decided to buy out the
Salem company's Liverpool trade. Here the Danvers
Ice Company was established. The ice was gathered
at Wenham Lake and shipped to Boston, where it was
packed in sawdust on a large vessel for the trip across.
It was genuine ice and of the purest qualitj^ and was
something which the English people were to appreciate
more and more, slow as they were to learn its uses
and virtues at first. The ice proved a curiosity to the
people, and blocks of this new, indispensable crystal
were placed on exhibition in the windows of London
and Liverpool. It created much talk and attracted
public notice. The Queen and Royal Family set their
seal of approval upon it, — a sufficient guarantee of a
great business. During the first years, the Danvers men
did not realize much from their investment, and three
of them concluded to withdraw, but Henry T. Ropes
was not to be dissuaded, and, in later years, he was re-
warded for his energy and perseverance by achieving
immense wealth and the well-earned title of "The Ice
King."

As soon as Mr. Ropes had his business well estab-
lished he discontinued the shipment of ice from Wen-
ham Lake, receiving the larger part of his supply from
Norway, but even at the present time the ice-wagons, it
is said, travel through the streets of London bearing
the sign "Wenham Lake Ice." The name and fame of

154 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

our neighboring sheet of water became so firmly rooted
in the early days of the trade that it was deemed not
wise, from a business standpoint, to change it when the
import from Norway began. The business was carried
on by Mr. Ropes' sons for many years.

Omnibus Line to Salem. — Up to this time there
had been no public mode of conveyance from this town
to Salem. Stage-coaches from Haverhill to Salem ran
inf requentljr ; people used their own carriages or walked,
as the case might be. In 1842, a man named Berry
came from the West to Danvers and started an omnibus
route, running a few trips each day. He sold out soon
to John Grout, who, in turn, about six years later, sold
out to Samuel W. Spaulding. Parker Webber bought
the route in 1865. A three-seated wagon, which had
accommodations on top for half a dozen, was the popu-
lar vehicle of transportation. The business increased
with every year, and larger and more commodious
coaches were provided as the traffic demanded them.
Through heat and dust of summer and the deep snows
of winter, blocking the roads nearly to the degree of
impassability at Gardner's Hill, the old coaches made
their daily trips. Fifteen cents for the ride each way
was deemed none too exorbitant a price to pay. The
Danvers terminus of the line w^as the Square, and pas-
sengers were content to walk to their homes, being as
yet uneducated in the convenience of the street car.
Even after the railroad came (1847) the equanimity of
the stage driver Avas not disturbed, and he drove on
unmindful of his iron competitor and apparently suf-
fering little financially from the innovation. Another
line from the Highlands through Peabody to Salem was
also established about 1849.

The occupation of the stage driver is gone. "Never
again shall we gather at the cottage gate as the clatter

IW k MIDDLE ROUTE

^EJT-V^ £3 lEir^

GEORGETOWN, TOPSFIEU) AND DANVERS,

Connt-eting at WEST I>A>VEIIS with Trains to and from SALE^I.

Train** from BRADF<»KD and C^ROTELAIVD connect witii this line

at GEOKGETOn > for BOST<>]\.

Depot in Boston, - Boston and Maine Depot, Haymarket Square.

" Bradford, At HaverhiU Bridge.

" Newburyport, - - - - 'West of the TunneL

FALL ABBANCEMEHIT.

01 m IFTER MOIDiT. OCTOBER 23. 1854.

"M' cc .4L M im' s turn: j%. %' k:

POB

I BOSTON.

FROM BOoTON.

NEWBURYPORT,

7.45, 11.00 a.m.

, 1.43, 5.00 P.M.

BOSTON, - -

S 0-5 A.M.

12.00 M.

3.00, 5.30 p.M

BYFIELD - - -

7.S7, 11.12

1.57, 5.12

W. DANVERS, -

8.45

I£.35

3.35,6 08

HAVER'L BRIDGE

7.45, 11. CO

1.45, 5.00

1 N. DANVERS, -

8.54

12.41

3.44, 6.18

GROVELA.NU, - -

7.90, 11.03

1.50, 5 03

"OPSFIELD, -

0.08

12.38

3..5S, 0.32

GEORGETOWN, -

8.03, 11.18

2.03, 5.18

BO.XFORD, - -

9.18

1.08

4.08, 6,39

BOXFORD, - - -

8.09, 11.25

2.09, 5.25

GEORGETOWN,

9.25

1.15

4.15, 6.46

TOPSFIELD, - -

8.18, 11.34

2.18,5 34

GROVELA.\D, -

9.31

1.21

4.21, 6.52

N. DANVERS, - -

8.33, 11 50

2.35, 5.5l>

BYFIELD, - -

9.32

1.21

4.21, 6.52

W. DA.\ VERS, - -

8.42. 11.58

2.43, 6.00

HAVE BRIDGE,

9.36

1.26

4.26, 6.57

Arrive at BOSTON,

9.19 12.40

3.23, ti.40

Ar. atNEWBP'T,

9.43

1.33

4.33, 7.04

NEWBURYPORT AIUD BRADFORD.

TRAINS LEAVE NKWBIRVPOK T FOR BRADFORD at 7.45 and II.'K) a.m., 1.45 ari.l 5.00 p.m..
BRADFORD FOR NEWBURYPORT at 8.40 a.m., and 1.45, ?..W and 6.20 p.m.
Leaving NEWBURVPORP at 7.J5 and 11 00 a.m., and 5.00 p.m., and BRADFORD at 8.40 a.m.
3.45 and 6.20 p.m., connect with Trains on the Boston & Me. Railroad to and fron LAWRENCE, and the West
and North ; also, with Trains poinj; East.

GEORGETOWN AND HAVERHILL BRIDGE.

TRAINS have GEORGETOWN for HAVERHILL BRIDGE at 8 05, 9.25, 11.18 am. and 1.15, 2.03, 4.15,

5.18 and fi.4(! p.m.

Leave HAVERHILL BRIDGE for GEORGETOWN at 7.45, 8.25, 11.00 a.m., 12.5-5, 1.45, 3 50, 5.00, 6 20 p.m.

33" Passengers are not allowed Baggage above $50 in value, or 80 lbs. in weight, without extra charge. F'or
furtlier particulars, see. Hallway Guide.

GEORGETOWN. OCTOBER 18, 1854.

C. S. TEJ^NEV, Sup't.

Pwia»;j«i<» eivS Bog^gff vW di? ttktti tram ibf Ct>wp Jny's D^t, «« jtrtm«'» nUarf, «t itl« folfawin^ hgvf

nOaio:i «I3} 0«n «Vw« the Dejxii, fsot «f Wa»toi«gtan-<rtr«er, «t the ftllowins hou««

Ill « A. W. 1} 4i « p. x^,

■11 '* A. m. i ? - " P- M.

mmmxmsgmmmmAmmm

©tiweei. i-EWtS's WMARf and S4LEW ORP«»T3f, - .=5«» Cents.

|3etc/s<"- r-'>STON aad tVNIV, - - ' ., . Si CertJs.

iW*<f^s^-rt a^'i^OWi and MA1tBl.EHEA0 DEI»«*r, ' - 31 Cents.

S^.'^jve-n iSAf^EM ' »nd tVWftf, - - . / * » . 25 C«nt»-

••t.i ■!■- -T^-sint Mill 5li-p e< tb^ tvwi jD^/i-o^ o"<t lh« Trains kavlna 8«a?(»\ at ft *. &I. aad 8i P. M- ai"*

5jt»^ ^r 3 A. >V ifirit P. KJ, v^** »fev nt ilv >*nr*W»(W O^^w^t fat J*t<;> MjJ Vi»vfl y^fwo^l^'^

. . ■ ., .X ,>,., isfj EaiJf^B Stajfc C'omp»n» will be W 1lv« S»|»t (*« ft«t«<n 5«>'t8k« i«»«ngrr» to

■ :,, ...^.n .. OI III. •"I" ■- „j,rf,^t(„,rri,,!^l*»7.«.ltt!l«a»iTr.imfhlsn>B<«to<v ^

-r- '.li.r Poftomouth siid 0ov»r, who tokir th» T«'elu<K TT«i» frort S.^hMVoeit^i^*: it «<'N«f p(ac«

.. ■ ■ '' ..' !,*„ ih/o'oVlock Train wiM arrii'« »t SI»«bai7Bciit at I o'dotfc.ar.d at Pertimo'-'tSat 4, P M

'''^*'C''7',^V»iTr.m will W «.*«"«■'■ »«N"«>'«ryP''''* ' -

0J,> ng r» J ' ..^^j. ^ch, jdovr Train* will bf Uh»n t« iMwsw^Jair frfjic?*, »s tiual.
■'■'""'"- '" ^ VtX. SAOO.&OB WHX Be AT TKE BXI^K. OF TTS OWNEIFS.

,_, *.aS9. STEIPJafml;; A. CHASE. Sup^rintendecTt

,»iL*j»^s« ,^ .i>&4: ;#i:,3A,:.*(

FIRST TIME TABLE OF THE EASTERN RAILROAD, 1836.

Which served Residents of Danvers in the Trip from Salem to Boston until 1848, when the

Essex Railroad was opened.

From F. B. C. Bradlee's " History of the Eastern Railroad."

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN^^ERS 155

of wheels and the cloud of dust approach, to welcome
the aged parent, the coining guest, the daughter home
from school. Famous levelers were the old stage
coaches and masters in etiquette also! What chance
medley of social elements they brought about! What
jostling of ribs and elbows, what a test of good nature,
what a tax on forbearance ! For how else could a dozen
strangers consent to be boxed up and shaken together,
but upon condition that each was to exhibit the best
side of his nature, and that only. To this generation
the old stage coach is a shadowy and unreal thing, but
the memory of its usefulness will long live."

Opening of the Railroads. — The matter of trans-
portation facilities for the town of Danvers was one of
the most discussed topics of this period, and the town
was divided into several factions, favoring as many
different railroad routes. There were some who argued
like the narrow-minded correspondent in the Salem
Gazette, when the Eastern Railroad was contemplated,
"Let us construct our own railroads, north and south,
but, as we hope to prosper, let us not have one to Bos-
ton!" Even before the Eastern Railroad was built, and
when the different routes were under discussion, there
was an attempt made to survey a road from Danvers to
Boston.^ At this time there were two roads proposed,
one called the Eastern, with a terminus at East Boston,
and the other called the Western, passing through
Charlestown Neck, West Lynn, Danvers, Salem and
Beverly, with a terminus over Chelsea Bridge. At the
annual meeting in Danvers in 1836, resolutions were
adopted in favor of the latter course, because it avoided
the ferry, and a memorial to that effect was sent to the
Legislature, but the Eastern route was finally selected^
as the most direct, cheapest to construct, and passing

1 Salem Gazette, Ansriist 25 and 28, 1835.

2 April 11, 1836. The Eastern Eailroad was incorporated April 14,
1836, and the road opened from Boston to Salem, August 27, 1838.

156 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

through the most populous district. For the next fifteen
years the peace of the community was periodically dis-
turbed by bitter factions favoring this or that route, and
it was made the paramount issue at all the Representa-
tive elections. Indeed, it served in no small measura
to keep alive the sectional feeling that ultimately re-
sulted in the division of the town. The shoe manufac-
turers did all in their power to create an influence in
favor of a road to Boston, and finally obtained a charter
for a road from Georgetown to Danvers, the proposi-
tion being to continue the road already built from New-
buryport to Georgetown. The road, known as the
Georgetown and Danvers Railroad, was duly incorpo-
rated on Nov. 16, 1844, the incorporators from Danvers
being Elias Putnam, Samuel Preston, Joshua Silvester,
John W. Proctor, Esq., Robert S. Daniels, Henry
Poor, Elijah W. Upton, Kendall Osborne, Lew^s Allen,
David Daniels, Fitch Poole, Eben Sutton and Dr.
George Osborn. The road did not materialize, probably
from lack of funds to finance it. The Danvers Courier,
commenting on the failure of the project, thus face-
tiously remarks: "No accident has happened to any one,
if we except the trifling pecuniary damage to those who
obtained the charter. All are delighted with the invis-
ible cars which render the motion at greatest speed
imperceptible. The grade is perfectly level the whole
distance, the rails not being laid on sleepers but on good
substantial drawing-paper." It might be added that
the Courier was published in the southern part of the
town.

"One day in the summer of 1845, two Danvers men
might have been seen on the summit of the hill which
is now crowned by the Hospital, eagerly scanning the
winding valleys to the south and to the north. Pres-
ently they went on, and climbing one of the high hills
of Andover, followed again the course of the lowland

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 157

to where the great mills in the new manufacturing town
of Lawrence on the Merrimac were soon to rise. These
two men, Elias Putnam and Joshua Silvester, always
progressive, were full of the new idea of steam and iron,
which had already begun to revolutionize travel. These
men on the hilltops saw in the valleys the course of an
iron highway, which, uniting Lawrence to the main
line at Salem, would bring the railroad to Danvers.

"And soon it came (1847). Cutting through the
high ridge south of Waters river, it crossed the stream
almost at the little cove where Governor Endecott is
said to have landed from his shallop; passed within a
gunshot of the ancient pear tree which the Governor
planted; bridged the river down which was floated the
little cooper's shop, the beginning of Danversport;
entered Parson Skelton's grant close by the old home
of the Revolutionary hero. Colonel Hutchinson ; pushed
on across the old Ipswich road through Porter's Plains ;
beyond Beaver Dam, almost under the windows of that
little room where 'Old Put' was born, and so on north-
ward, — a truly historic route."^

While the new railroad was of great benefit to the
people of the town, its opening was the means of finally
ruining the shipping business of Danversport. Car-
goes of supplies which, in the old days, arrived by water,
now began to come by freight over the railroad at a
much less expense to the purchaser. One by one the
storekeepers and other citizens turned their backs upon
the vessels, and welcomed the railroad freight system.
The old-time shipping business received its death blow.
Coal and lumber are now the principal cargoes arrivini^
at Danversport, and even a considerable portion of the
coal consumed in town today comes by way of the rail-
roads.

1 From Hon. Alden P. White's "History of Danvers," in Essex County
History.

158 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

In 1846, Joseph S. Cabot, Elias Putnam, Gayton P.
Osgood, Albert Thorndike and others were incorporated
as the Essex Railroad Company, to operate a road from
Salem to Lawrence. It was fathered by the Eastern
Railroad Company from the first, on account of the
prospects of tapping the Boston and Maine Railroad's
lines in the northern town and of bringing travel to
their main line at Salem, and it was finally absorbed by
that company.^

In 1852, William D. Northend, George J. Tenney,
Asa Pingree, Joseph S. Black and Gilbert Tapley were
incorporated as the Danvers Railroad Company, for a
line to connect with the Danvers and Georgetown Rail-
road, already planned, and continuing to South Read-
ing, now Wakefield, to connect with another new line
to Boston. It was opened to the public in 1854, and
operated under lease to the Boston and Maine Railroad,
thus giving through trains from Newburyport to Bos-
ton. The Danvers Railroad as a corporation continued
until 1906, when its officers, who were officials of the
Boston and Maine, voted to buy all outstanding stock,
and the latter road was authorized to issue bonds to
acquire title to the old Danvers road.^

Attitude of Danvers in Mexican War. — The
town, true to its old-time fearlessness, boldly declared
itself, with the rest of New England, as opposed to a
war with the feeble republic of Mexico (1847). The
citizens in town meeting voted this war wrong in its
origin, in its progress, and in its continuance; that the
acqusition of new territory by the United States would
not counterbalance in any measure a warfare so unjust
and unnatural ; and that the representatives of the town
in Congress and in the State use all lawful influence in

1 See "The Eastern Railroad," by Francis B. C. Bradlee.

2 See "The Newburyport and Danvers Railroad," by Henry F. Long.

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 159

their power to bring the unrighteous war to a speedy-
close. Seven men from Danvers helped win the vic-
tories in this one-sided conquest.^

The FoRTY-lSTiNERs and the Gold Fever. — Stories
of the wonderful discovery of gold in California in
1849 did not escape this town. The people shared in
the general excitement and many a head was filled with
dreams of sudden wealth. The local paper urged on
the frenzy by printing letters from the scene of the gold
fields, which related that "the people were running over
the country and picking the gold out of the earth here
and there, just as a thousand hogs let loose in the forest,
root up the ground-nuts." This seemed easy. How-
ever, these accounts failed to tell of the terrible hard-
ships the miners were obliged to endure. Several Dan-
vers men joined parties for that then far-distant land,
but no records of fabulous wealth are reported.

GEORGE PEABODY AND HIS GIFTS.

Holten High School Established. — The estab-
lishment of the High School was a hard struggle. For
ten years a few progressive men of the town courage-
ously fought for this higher education, but the town as
a whole was apparently not ready for it. There were
those who thought the grammar school education suf-
ficient, and others considered the extra expense not war-
ranted; but the few energetic ones persisted. Finally
the State helped them out by passing a law compelling
towms of the size of Danvers to establish a High School.
If such towns neglected to comply with the law, a heavy
penalty was to be imposed. So, in 1850, Danvers found
herself under the absolute necessity of supporting such
an institution. However, as the town, which then in-

1 See Military and Naval Annals of Danvers.

160 CHRONICLES OF DAN^^RS

eluded the present city of Peabody, was so large terri-
torially, and the population so scattered, it would be
folly to expect one school to cover all; hence the town
found itself obliged to form two schools, one in the
south and the other in the north part of the town.

Accordingly the first session of the Holten High
School, which was named for Judge Samuel Holten,
was held in a small building which stood on Conant
street, next to Charles N. Perley's barn. It was a long,
narrow structure, a little back from the road, with two
large trees before it. The room in which the school
was held was very low-studded, with a desk at one end
and at the other end the recitation platform; between
were only three rows of double seats. This building was
known as "Belvidere Hall," after it had outlived its
usefulness as a schoolhouse. It now stands in the rear
of Unity Chapel and is converted into a dwelling. The
school soon outgrew these small quarters and it became
necessary for the committee to find a more commodious
place. A short time before this a building had been
moved from the south part of the town to the spot now
occupied by the wSoldiers' monument. It was used for
Methodist meetings, but when this society discontinued
services, it was secured for the High School. It was
known as "The Quail Trap," and was later moved to
Essex street, where it now stands, owned by George
W. Howe. Two or three years later there was a de-
mand for a Town Hall in this part of the town, and,
when erected, the High School was moved (1855) to a
room in that building.

The principals of the High School have been: John
Marshall, 1850-1851; Ambrose P. S. Stewart, 1852-
1853; Nathaniel Hills, 1853-1865; John C. Proctor,
1865-1866; James Fletcher, 1866-1871; Orville B.
Grant, 1871-1872; Myi-on O. Harrington, 1872-1873;

' i'lV^^^^i-i^

ARCH AT DANVERSPORT ERECTED FOR THE PEABODY RECEPTION

ARCH ON HIGH STREET ERECTED FOR THE PEABODY RECEPTION
Residence of Hon. James D. Black. Later the estate of Gilbert Augustus Tapley.

DANVERS' CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Tents erected in the South Parish for the occasion
From a wood-cut in "Gleason's Pictorial'' in 1852.

._^^^.^ ^^^/^.

The inscription on the envelope in which the first donation to the town of Danvers was received.
The seal was broken at the Centennial Celebration in 1852.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 161

Albert W. Bachelor, 1873-1874; Edward D. Mason,
1875; Joseph W. Keene, 1875; Henrj^ H. Hart, 1875;
Frank M. Hawes, 1875-1879; Howard R. Burrington,
1879-1890; Ernest J. Powers, 1890-1900; Herbert J.
Chase, 1900-1904; William J. Rushmore, 1904-1907;
Fred C. Mitchell, 1907-1909; Charles F. Abbott, 1909-
1912; William A. Spooner, 1912-1919; Edward L.
Montgomery, 1919-1920; Roy M. Strout, 1920-1921;
Lester Williams, 1921-1922; Ivan Smith, 1922.

Dan^^rs' Centennial; Mr. Peabody's Toast. —
The year 1852 marked the one hundredth anniversary
of the separation of Danvers from Salem, and the event
was celebrated in royal style in the south part of the
town. It was one of the greatest days in Danvers'
history. A procession a mile and a half long was one
of the principal features, not to mention the banquet
which followed. It was the day of days for the engine
companies. The trades also were well represented.
The 1,500 school children, gaily attired, added to the
beautiful scene, while a cavalcade of 300 horsemen
brought up the rear. The whole town was decorated
with banners and beautiful arches spanned many of the
streets. The Governor and all the distinguished men
from far and near were there.

There was one, however, a native of Danvers, who,
although invited, was not able to be present. He was
then in London. It was fifteen years since he had seen
his native land, and he had not visited the place of his
birth since he was sixteen, when he started out to seek
his fortune. George Peabody, the London banker, did
not forget the old town of Danvers. With his regrets
to the committee's invitation to be present at the cele-
bration, he sent a sealed letter, with instructions as
follows: "The seal of this envelope is not to be broken
till the toasts are being prepared by the chairman at

162 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

the dinner, 16th June, at Danvers, in commemoration
of the one hundredth year since its severance from
Salem. It contains a sentiment for the occasion from
George Peabody of London."

At the proper time the seal was broken. The senti-
ment contained is well known to all of the present day :
"Education, a debt due from present to future gener-
ations."

A gift of $20,000 to the town was also included, for
the erection and maintenance of a library and lecture
hall. Thus came George Peabody's first large gift to
the town of Danvers. The building designated was
erected the next year in the south part of the town on
Main street, and named "The Peabody Institute." It
was under the management of a committee chosen from
both parts of the town. They were: Eben King, Joseph
S. Black, William L. Weston, Aaron F. Clark, Francis
Baker, Joseph Poor, Ehjah W. Upton, Miles Osborne,
Joseph Osgood, Eben Sutton, Robert S. Daniels,
Samuel P. Fowler, William F. Poole, the latter the
author of Poole's "Index of Literature."

High School Prizes. — The year following (1853)
the first donation to the town, a Danvers business man
who was in London, found an opportunity to call at
the small, dark office which Mr. Peabody occupied in
one of the courts leading out of Throgmorton street,
where from ten to four o'clock each day he attended
to his great business interests. The banker had much
to ask him, during this and subsequent visits, concern-
ing the progress of the building of the Institute, and in
one of these conversations in 1853 it happened that
Mr. Peabody spoke of his intention of presenting prizes
to the pupils of the High School in the southern part
of the town, which school had been named for him.
The Danvers man suggested that there was also a High
School in his part of the town, something which Mr.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 163

Peabody expressed himself as glad to learn, and he
promptly agreed to treat both parts of the town impar-
tially. Accordingly, in 1854, he sent $200, with a prom-
ise of a similar annual donation. Early in 1856 it was
decided that the prizes should be in the form of medals,
and the Peabody medal was evolved by the celebrated
engraver, Francis L. Mitchell of Boston.^

Early Life of Mr. Peabody. — This well known
philanthropist was born on Feb. 18, 1795, in that part
of old Danvers, now Peabody, in a house still standing
near the junction of Washington and Foster streets.
His parents were able to give him only a meager educa-
tion, and at the age of 12 years he secured a position
as grocer's clerk for Captain Sylvester Proctor, whose
friendship he cherished to the last. The first dollar he
ever earned was while he was yet a schoolboy, for tend-
ing a little booth at a certain celebration, for the sale
of apples and other edibles. He stuck to his post in
spite of the fascination of the sports about him, and
was rewarded for his faithfulness with a dollar, — ^the
foundation of his colossal fortune.

Success in Business. — At the age of 16, with no
capital but a good character and a persistent energy,
he started out in life as clerk in his brother's dry-goods
store at Newburyport. Before he reached his majority
he was taken into partnership by Elisha Riggs, a
wealthy New York dry-goods merchant, and the next
year the firm moved its business to Baltimore, estab-
lishing branch houses in New York and Philadelphia.
During the next ten or twelve years the business of the
firm increased to such an extent that Mr. Peabody made
several trips to England in furtherance of his interests.
Owing chiefly to his talent and industry the business
flourished, and when, by the retirement of Elisha Riggs,

1 See Danvers Historical Collections, Vol. 2, p. 4.

164 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

he became the senior member of the firm, the house of
Peabody, Riggs & Co. took rank with the leading con-
cerns of the country. So trustworthy was Mr. Peabody
that at times the United States Government, taking
advantage of his business sagacity, employed him to
transact important financial negotiations. At the age
of 45, he went to London to live, where he made his
home during the remainder of his life, and established
the great banking firm of George Peabody, a concern
which was known all over the civilized world. He
enjoyed the highest position in the mercantile world of
any American up to that time.

As a factor in creating a friendly international feel-
ing between England and America at a time when rela-
tions were strained in the years following the War of
1812, he was a greater power, in the estimation of Hon.
R. C. Winthrop, than "all the diplomacy of London
or Washington." So, too, in 1837, in that critical period
of American finance, he alone sustained the American
credit. It was said that no other person would have
been listened to for a moment in the parlor of the Bank
of England upon the subject of American securities,
yet he was able to negotiate a loan which saved the com-
mercial credit of the nation.

His Acts of Philanthrophy. — There is no act of
philanthrophy in George Peabody's long life that shines
with a brighter lustre than his first. He believed that
"charity begins at home," and as soon as he began to be
successful in business, he gave freely of his earnings to
provide a comfortable home for his mother and sisters.
His subsequent gifts of millions of dollars for charity
have seldom been equalled in the world's history. When
Congress refused to appropriate money to aid in the
American exhibition in London (1851), Mr. Peabody
came to the rescue of his countrymen by generous con-

<~-^ C^^Z^^^

^' yj'-^rf:

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 165

tributions, securing to the American nation its proper
place. He provided the means to fit out Dr. Kane's
Arctic expedition in search of Sir John Franklin
(1852). He founded the Peabody Institute in Balti-
more (1857) , to which he gave in all one million dollars.
He established libraries in Thetford, Vt., and George-
town, Mass., and devoted in all three millions to the
Southern educational fund. Yale and Harvard Col-
leges received $150,000 each; Peabody Academy of
Science, in Salem, $140,000; Phillips Academy, And-
over $25,000. His greatest liberality was shown in
his munificent gift of $3,000,000 for the erection of
tenement houses for the deserving poor of London,
where, for small rentals, needy families live in com-
parative comfort. As the interest on the fund accumu-
lates, new houses are built, so that if the money is
properly handled, the good work will go on forever.
His generous donations to his native town will be men-
tioned later. All these gifts, and many more, amount-
ing to nearly $9,000,000, were made in his lifetime,
while he could be a witness to the great good accom-
plished. At his death, $4,000,000 more were disposed
of by will.

His Visit to Danvers and the Reception. — When
in 1856, the people of South Danvers learned that Mr.
Peabody was soon to visit the United States, they deter-
mined, with the aid of Danvers, to give him a magnifi-
cent reception. He declined all other attentions show-
ered upon him in the large cities, preferring rather to
receive his first greeting at the hands of the people of
his native town. The two towns, just divided, united
enthusiastically in the welcome to their former son, and
a committee was sent to New York to meet Mr. Pea-
body on his arrival.

The day of the reception, October 9, 1856, was a

166 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

perfect Indian summer day. The guest of honor drove
from Georgetown with his sisters and a nephew, and
met the committee at the Maple Street Church, where
a sakite of one hundred guns announced his arrival.
Here he was seated in an elegant barouche, drawn by
six horses, and accompanied by Rev. Milton P. Braman,
Robert S. Daniels and Joshua Silvester, commenced his
triumphal drive^ through streets gay with flags and
bunting and arches of flowers, by the way of Danvers-
port to South Danvers.

"The scene at the starting point was very beautiful.
The spire of the church and private buildings were gaily
dressed with flags and streamers, and in full view was
an elegant threefold arch spanning the wide street, the
centre arch rising above the others and being adorned
with evergreens, wreaths, medallions, flowers and flags.
Coming first in a long series of decorations with which
the streets of both towns were adorned, the sight im-
pressed Mr. Peabody, who expressed his surprise and
gratification. Two cavalcades were drawn up just be-
low the arch, one wholly of ladies, who threw into Mr.
Peabody's carriage bouquets of flowers as he passed.
The procession moved on through the streets lined with
decorated houses and vmder waving flags and triumphal
arches, attended by the booming of cannon and strains
of martial music. Thousands of people from all over
the countrj^ came to witness the grand celebration. It
was the day of all days for Danvers and South Danvers.
The shouts and salutations of the people were gratefully
acknowledged by INIr. Peabody, as he bowed to the
throng on either side."

At Peabody Institute, South Danvers, the exercises
of the day took place, and here Mr. Peabody's voice was
heard for the first time. His words to the school chil-

1 See "The Peabody Reception," published by the Committee in 1856.

THE OLD TOWN OF DANVERS 167

dren are worthy of mention. Said he: "There is not a
youth within the sound of mj'^ voice whose early oppor-
tunities and advantages are not very much greater than
were my OAvn, and I have since achieved nothing that
is impossible to the most humble boy among you. Bear
in mind that to be truly great it is not necessary that
you should gain wealth or importance. Every boy may
become a great man, in whatever sphere Providence
may call him to move. Steadfast and undeviating truth,
fearless and straightforward integrity, and an honor
ever unsullied by an unworthy word or action, make
their possessor greater than worldlj^ success or pros-
perity. These qualities constitute greatness. May the
advice I have given you be impressed upon j^our young
hearts. It is given with much sincerity by one who has
had much experience in the world ; and although Provi-
dence has smiled on all his labors, he has never ceasCvd
to feel and lament the want of that early education
which is now so freely offered to each one of you."

Later, at the dinner, he said, in reference to England
and America: "If there are two nations on the face of
the earth which ought to be connected by the closest ties
of mutual good will, thej?^ are these two countries. . . .
I am sure that, notwithstanding the little outbursts of
jealousy which occasionally show themselves, England
is not less proud of her offspring than is America of
the parent stock."

Mr. Peabody returned to Georgetown the next day.
At Danvers Square he found his way blocked by the
school children, who, hand in hand, formed a chain
across the street. His greeting to the children from the
carriage was a fitting close to the wonderful ovation.

Me. Peabody's Gifts to Dan\ters. — A few days
after the reception, JNIr. Peabody announced to Joshua
Silvester of Danvers, who had previously known him in

168 CHRONICLES OF DAN^TLRS

London, his intention of presenting the sum of $10,000
for the estabhshment of a branch hbrary in Danvers.
He asked Mr. Silvester to bring to him at the Revere
Plouse in Boston, a hst of names of suitable persons
to receive the gift, they to act with the library com-
mittee of South Danvers. They were: Rev. Milton P.
Braman, Samuel Preston, James D. Black, Matthew
Hooper and William L. Weston. Mr. Silvester was
added by Mr. Peabody. A room for the library was
secured at the Town Hall, and here it was located for
the next twelve years. In the meantime the committee
purchased the beautiful grounds on which our present
Institute stands today, planted over 250 rock maple
trees, laid out avenues and walks, and named it "Pea-
body Park," in anticipation of a building on that spot
some day.

Mr. Peabody made two other visits to Danvers, one
on August 5, 1857, when he was entertained at the
residence of John R. Langley on Sylvan street, now
the residence of Henry M. Melcher, and where a recep-
tion was held, followed by a drive about town and a
call at the High School, his autograph being preserved
in the "Visitors' Book." In the spring of 1866, when
it became known that he contemplated making another
visit to this country, the citizens of South Danvers, rep-
resented by Gen. William Sutton, Henry Poor, Elijah
W. Upton and Warren M. Jacobs, and those of North
Danvers, by Rev. Dr. Braman, Joshua Silvester and
Daniel Richards, were delegated to meet him in New
York, they having been advised by Blake Brothers &
Co., bankers of New York, of his arrival on the "Scotia,"
on May 1.

On another visit, April 13, 1867, he was given a recep-
tion by the school children of Danvers, which was made
a gala occasion. He was met at the noon train from
Salem by about one thousand young people, who con-

THE PEABODY INSTITUTE
Dedicated in 1869. Destroyed by fire in i8go.

/l^^.C<^ ^^.'*^gX-^ /V>»*-f^ £Zyz.crt>e>f*^ y'ic^*^ y'^cc2^^^
t2<n.a6 e-cA^^ O-trz'cjL. ^5^*'^-^<A^^'«^.*<- ^^t^^e-^

POKM READ BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES
From the original manuscript in possession of the Peabody Institute, Peabody

THE OLD TOWN OF DANAT:RS 169

ducted him to the Universahst Church, where, amid
elaborate decorations of flags of all nations, the exercises
took place. INIr. Peabody addressed the assembly, was
later entertained by Joshua Silvester on Peabody ave-
nue, and in the evening by Francis Peabody, Esq., at
*'The Lindens," where the trustees first showed him the
plans of the new Institute, which he heartily approved.
His total donation to this town was about $100,000.

The Peabody Institute. — In 1866, Mr. Peabody
donated a further sum of $40,000 for the erection of a
building in Danvers and support of a library and lec-
ture course, to be conducted in the same manner as the
Peabody Institute, South Danvers. One of the rules
laid down by the donor was that the new Institute
should never be used for the discussion of sectarian
theology or party politics. Henceforth the two Insti-
tutes were distinct corporations, although having the
same name, the same objects, and supported by the gen-
erosit}'- of one man. Peabody Institute, Danvers, was
completed in 1869, and upon the 14th of July, the occa-
sion of the dedication, Mr. Peabody was present.

Two days after the dedication of the Institute, Mr.
Peabody invited thirtj^ of his personal friends and a
few chosen from the trustees of his various charities,
to meet him at the Peabody Institute, Peabody, for
luncheon. The guests came in a special train from
Boston, and at noon Cassell furnished a "superb lunch,
surpassing his own reputation." This was probably as
notable a gathering of wealth and distinction as this
county had ever seen. The names of the guests follow:
Gov. William Claflin, Robert C. Winthrop, Charles
Sumner, John H. Clifford, Thomas Aspinwall, Charles
Francis Adams, Jacob Bigelow, Alexander H. Rice,
George Tyler Bigelow, C. N. Warren, Stephen Salis-
bury, William Gray, Samuel P. Fowler, Francis

170 CHRONICLES OF DANVEES

Peabody, Joshua Silvester, Sidney Bartlett, William
Amory, Peter Butler, Nathaniel S. Shurtleff, Nath-
aniel Thayer, William C. Endicott, George Peabody
Russell, Robert Singleton Peabody, John Amory
Lowell, George Lunt, George N. Eaton, S. K. Lothrop,
Samuel T. Dana, James M. Beebe, Thomas Russell,
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Lincoln F. Brigham and
Robert M. Mason. The Hon. A. A. Abbott presided
over this gathering, and there were remarks by Hon.
R. C. Winthrop. The following original poem was read
by Oliver Wendell Holmes, and afterwards published:

"Bankrupt! Our pockets inside out!

Empty of words to speak his praises !
Worcester and Webster up the spout !

Dead broke of laudatory praises!
Yet why witli flowery speeches tease,

With vain superlatives distress him?
Has language better words than these —

The Friend of all his race, God Bless Him !

"A simple prayer, but words more sweet

By human lips were never uttered
Since Adam left the country seat

Where angel wings around him fluttered.
The old look on with tear-dimmed eyes.

The children cluster to caress him,
And every voice, unbidden, cries,

The Friend of all his race— God Bless Him!"

Later, the guests took carriages for Danvers. On the
way they were entertained by Francis Peabody, Esq.,
at "The Lindens," and upon arrival at the Peabody In-
stitute, Danvers, there were remarks by Dr. Lothrop,
Charles Sumner and Governor Claflin. The building
met the approbation of all, and they echoed the senti-
ment offered by Mr. Peabody at the dedication, when
he said, "The architect, building committee, and all

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN^T:RS 171

others connected with the erection of the Institute have
performed their duty in good taste, and I have nothing
to find fault with."^

The hf e trustees, appointed by the donor, were : Rev.
Milton P. Braman, Joshua Silvester, Francis Peabody,
Jr., Samuel P. Fowler, Daniel Richards, Israel W. An-
drews, Jacob Perry, Charles P. Preston and Israel H.
Putnam.

The Presidents of the Board of Trustees have been:
Rev. Dr. M. P. Braman, 1866-1872; Samuel P. Fowler,
1872-1878; Charles P. Preston, 1878-1883; Israel W.
Andrews, 1883-1888; Israel H. Putnam, 1888-1896;
George Augustus Peabody, 1896-1916; Herbert S.
Tapley, 1916.

The Librarians have been: Nathaniel Hills, Samuel
P. Fowler, pro tem., William Rankin, Jr., A. Sumner
Howard, Lizzie INI. Howard, Mrs. Emilie K. Patch, and
Miss Bessie P. Ropes.

The library contains over 31,000 volumes. This
building was burned in 1890, and the present building
was completed in 1892. The children's room was made
possible in 1896 by the generosity of George Augustus
Peabody, Esq.

His Last Years. — To the last, George Peabody was
most active in the business world. In 1869, having
visited this country, he returned in faihng health to
England, where he died November 4, 1869. His death
was mourned by every civilized nation of the world, and
the land of his birth and that of his adoption vied with
one another in paying tribute to his memory. Queen
Victoria, who had always admired the modest American
merchant, mourned the death of this great benefactor
of England and America. A public service was held in
Westminster Abbey, which was attended by the Queen

iDanvers Monitor, July 21, 1869.

172 CHRONICLES OF DAN^^RS

and Royal Family. His body was conveyed across the
Atlantic in Her Majesty's ship-of-war "Monarch," an
honor never before or since accorded an American citi-
zen. Its arrival at Portland harbor was announced by
the cannon of the noble ship, and accompanied by Prince
Arthur, representing Great Britain, together with the
officials of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and
those of his native town, all that was mortal of this
illustrious man was borne in a funeral train to Peabody.
Here, according to his own request, this man, honored
in life and death by Kings and Queens, admired by the
mercantile world, and worshipped by the common peo-
ple, was buried from the church in the little town in
which he first saw the light. The eulogy was by Hon.
Robert C. Winthrop, and the service was conducted by
Rev. Daniel Marsh of Georgetown. His remains lie
in Harmony Grove Cemetery.

His Character. — The secret of George Peabody's
great success in life was his industry, honesty and per-
severance. He was a diligent worker from the very
first, and even when, at times, his prospects looked dark,
he would resolutely rise above it and push on to still
greater achievements. In his business transactions he
was above reproach, never exhibiting any of the tricks
which so often characterize a certain type of business
man. He was never jealous of others' success. "Live
and let live," was his motto. Having a wide knowledge
of the world's finances, his judgment was always to be
depended upon. Punctuality was one of his particular
virtues ; it is said that he never violated the most trivial
engagements. He was extremely modest, too, in receiv-
ing praise for his generous acts. Offered a baronetcy,
he declined the honor, with the loyal independence of
an American citizen, and when asked what gift he
would accept from the Queen for his princely benefac-

THE FIRST PEABODY MEDAL

Presented to early graduates of the

Holten High School

-^fejL

British War Vessels, Screwship "Monarch" the "Mantonomah," the "Terror" and the Corvette

"Plymouth", conveying the Remains of George Peabody up Portland Harbor, Maine, Jan. 26, 1870.

From a wood-cut in "Frank Leslie's Illustrated. "

THE OLD TOWN OF DAN VERS 173

tions to the City of London, he expressed only the mod-
est desh'e for an autograph letter from Her Majesty.
This was accorded him, together with a miniature por-
trait of the Queen in a gold frame, valued at $30,000,
which is now preserved in the Peabody Institute, Pea-
body. The inscription on the portrait is as follows :

"This Portrait of Victoria, Queen of Great Britain,
the Gift of Her Majesty to George Peabody, as 'a
token of her appreciation of his noble act of more than
princely munificence to the Poor of London,' has been
by him confided to the perpetual charge and custody of
the Trustees of Peabodv Institute at South Danvers,
the place of his nativity^ A. D. MDCCCLXVII."

It was ever his object to create a bond of sympathy
between England and America, and at a time when
public sentiment in this respect was not broad. To this
end he gave a dinner every Fourth of July, to which
representatives of both countries were invited. On
such an occasion (1852) he said: "I have lived a
great many years in this country without weakening
my attachment to my own land, but at the same time
too long not to respect and honor the institutions and
people of Great Britain; it has, therefore, been my con-
stant desire, while showing such attentions as were in
my power to my own countrymen, to promote to the
very utmost, kind and brotherly feelings between Eng-
lishmen and Americans. . . . There has recently been
much excitement in America in reference to the main-
tenance of the Union of the States, — an excitement that
has placed the Union on a firmer basis than ever. I
have felt that, important to us as is this bond of union,
there is another which is no less important to the whole
civilized world, — I refer to the moral and friendly union
between Great Britain and the United States. May
both these unions still continue and gather strength with
the gathering years."

174< CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

George Peabodj^ was tall, large and dignified, with
a native simplicity of manner. His benevolence was
from the heart, and his private gifts lighted many a
friend whose sky was overcast by distress and adversity.
With all his wealth, his own manner of living was very
simple, never employing regular servants nor support-
ing a home of his own. He never married. Of him
it has been said: "His life had no shades, no dark spots
which his friends would desire to conceal or remove, no
eccentricity to detract from its merit. His well-balanced
mind led him to right views on every subject. His acute
moral sense always kept him in the path of rectitude.
He possessed honesty that could not be corrupted, and
integrity that could not be shaken by adversity. Such
was George Peabody, a worthy example to be followed
by every child of Danvers."

Joshua Silvester, whom Judge "White has said "seems
to have been connected more intimately with Mr. Pea-
body than any other of our citizens," was born in Wis-
casset, Me., July 9, 1803, the son of Joshua and Sally
(Stacey) Silvester. His early forbears on both sides
came to this countrj?- from England in the sixteen-thir-
ties, and later generations were merchants and ship-
owners in Marblehead and Wiscasset. In 1806 his par-
ents removed to Andover, Mass., upon whose deaths in
early life, the young man, the eldest of five children,
came to Danvers and learned the shoe business of Caleb
Oakes at the Port. After a term at Atkinson (N. H.)
Academy, he was employed as clerk for Jonas Warren,
and at the age of twenty-five began the manufacture
of shoes, in which business he continued for many years
at Danvers, Derry, N. H., and Philadelphia. He mar-
ried Harriet, daughter of Nathaniel and Sally (Poor)
Noyes of Atkinson. After the fire of 1845, which de-
stroyed his house and factory, he crossed the ocean and
introduced the manufacture of pegged shoes into Eng-

(.OVER OF THK SPECIAL TIME TABLE

Issued by the Eastern Railroad for the accommodation of H. R. H. Prince Arthur,

at the George Peabody Funeral.

THE OLI) TOWN OF DAN\^RS 175

land, subsequently making four other trips in the in-
terest of the shoe, leather and rubber business. The
design of his residence on Peabody avenue, also the
Universalist Church, and the laying out of Peabody
Park, were the result of English studies. From 1853,
when he first attended one of Mr. Peabody's Fourth of
July dinners in London, to the death of the great
philanthropist, the two men were on friendly terms.
Of Mr. Silvester, Judge White has further written:
"To fairly estimate his character, one should have known
him intimately through the busy, successful years of
his prime, down to the peaceful end of old age. This
much is clear, that he was first and always a true gentle-
man. Truth and honor were his guiding principles.
Simplicity and modesty were apparent in his manners.
Many have died richer, but none more thoroughly re-
spected. His monument is everywhere where the num-
berless trees which he was instrumental in setting out
are growing yearly more and more beautiful. In them
he has left a precious legacy to us and future genera-
tions which no money could buJ^" He died on July
9, 1887.

III. DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION.

1855-1923.

PROGRESS OF THE TOWN FROM THE
CIVIL WAR TO THE WORLD WAR.

Why the Town Was Divided; South Danvers
Set Off. — The town of Danvers was fast increasing
in population, and with its growth many important
questions arose. Here were practically two large vil-
lages, each having a town hall in its midst, with no
common interests, trying to conduct their affairs as a
common municipality. Sectional feelings sprang up,
caused in large measure by the manner of holding town
meetings. When the annual meeting was held in South
Danvers, the people there "packed the meeting" and
secured any vote or appropriation desired. So also
with North Danvers, — when the meetings were held
there the town orators left no debateable point un-
touched, with a result that gratified all their desires.
If one section secured a certain advantage or improve-
ment, there was no peace until the other obtained the
same or its equivalent. Such a state of affairs was not
conducive to a successful and economical carrjang on
of a town's business. A feeling of dissatisfaction, which
had been growing for the past eighty jj^ears in the south
part of the town, now (1855) burst forth in a petition
for a division of the old town. This was opposed to a
man, of course, by the citizens of North Danvers, who
fought hard to keep the old town intact. But it was
of no avail, and on May 18, 1855, the town of South
Danvers, afterwards Peabody (1868) was duly incor-

(176)

DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION 177

porated, since which time each town has gone its sepa-
rate waj^ Although the division at the time caused
much bitter feehng, it was in the nature of things a
necessity, an act which has in no wise proved detrimental
to either section.

Settling Up Affairs. — Then came the final score,
the settling up^ between the towns. The division of
town paupers, town property, town debts, State and
county taxes, the management of the Peabody Institute,
books and records, and other important matters had to
be adjusted. A committee from each town w^as ap-
pointed for this purpose, consisting of William Dodge,
Jr., Henry Fowler, Aaron Putnam, Francis Dodge,
Nathaniel Pope, JNTathan Tapley, George Tapley, for
North Danvers; George Osborne, Henry Poor, Robert
S. Daniels, Francis Baker, Eben King and Abel Pres-
ton for South Danvers. It was accomplished, after a
time, to the satisfaction of all, the final balance showing
that South Danvers was indebted to the old town in
the sum of $33,931.86.

Dr. Joseph Shed, who had charge of the town records
prevous to the division, was a notable character. Born
in Tewksbury, June 30, 1782, he came to Danvers in
1807, keeping an apothecary shop in the south part of
the town. He also practiced medicine. Dr. Shed was
chosen town clerk in 1835, and that he made a model
one is confirmed by a glance at the records of that time.
During his eighteen years of service he performed a
work which will be appreciated more and more as the
years go by. In addition to copying the old books o^
births, marriages and deaths, he spent much time visit-
ing the old families of the town for the purpose of
obtaining vital records which previous clerks had failed

1 Seef Hon. Alden P. White's "History of Danvers," in Essex County
History, pp. 513-14.

178 CHRONICLES OF DAN\^RS

to note. These he arranged neatly in new books, accord-
ing to families. The news of Dr. Shed's death was
received at a town meeting, April 10, 1853, when reso-
lutions of respect were passed.

Roman Catholic Church. — The first Roman Cath-
olic service in Dan vers was held in the house of Edward
McKeigue, Nov. 1, 1854, when Rev. Thos. H. Shahan,
of the Immaculate Conception Church, Salem, officiated.
Afterwards regular services were held at Franklin Hall
in the brick block on Maple street, now owned by John
F. Kirby, and later a chapel for their use was erected
south of High Street Cemetery. When the Universal-
ists built their new church (1858), the Roman Catholics
bought the old structure, which, many times remodeled,
is now known as Annunciation Church. The parish
includes, besides Danvers, the towns of Middleton and
Topsfield. Land was purchased at Sylvan and Adams
streets for a cemetery, and in 1897 a large and beautiful
tract of land was purchased off Hobart street, where a
gateway marks the entrance to '^Annunciation Ceme-
tery." The Catholic Total Abstinence Society, formed
in 1871, has been a leading factor in preserving morality
and temperance in the town.

For many years the house known as the Dwinnell
house, next to the church edifice, was used as a rectory,
but during the pastorate of Rev. Thomas Power, the
old building was removed and a new rectory built in
the rear of the church. The grounds were also laid out
and improved in appearance.

The pastors of this church have been: Rev. Charles
Ranoni, 1871-1872; Rev. Fr. O'Reilly, 1872; Rev. Pat-
rick J. Halley, 1873-1882; Rev. D. B. Kennedy, 1882-
1885; Rev. T. E. Power, 1885-1902; Rev. Henry A.
Sullivan, 1902-1914; Rev. Francis Maley, 1914-1915;
Rev. Daniel F. Horgan, 1915.

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CALVARY (Episcopal) CHURCH

MAPLE STREET (Congregational) CHURCH

ANNUNCIATION (Roman Catholic) CHURCH

dan^t:rs since the division 179

Calvary Episcopal Church. — This parish was
organized April 14, 1858, in Bank Hall. The first
rector was Rev. Robert F. Chase. The present church,
corner Holten and Cherry streets, was built in 1859,
and consecrated by Bishop Eastman the next year.

The rectors of this church have been : Rev. Robert F.
Chase, 1858-1865; Rev. William W. Silvester, 1867-
1868; Rev. S. J. Evans, 1869-1871; Rev. W. P. Magill,
1872-1877; Rev. George Walker, 1877-1888; Rev. A.
W. Griffin, 1888-1890; Rev. J. W. Hyde, 1890-1899;
Rev. Dr. Robert W. Hudgell, 1899-1904; Rev. Marcus
Carroll, 1904-1907; Rev. Henry W. Winkley, 1908-
1918; Rev. Nathan Matthews, 1918.

Portion of Be^terly Annexed. — The land on the
east of Porter's river, now called East Danvers, up to
this time (1858) belonged to the town of Beverly. By
agreement, this territory was now annexed to Danvers
and the boundaries changed.

Feeling Before the War. — The strained conditions
between North and South on account of negro slavery
increased with every year, until mutterings of rebellion
could be plainly heard along the Southern lines. "And
yet, at the North there prevailed an optimistic feeHng
of security — a reluctance to believe that these brethren
of the South were willing to sever a Union of States
baptized with the blood of their fathers and presenting,
with all its defects, such a grand illustration of a suc-
cessful government by the people and for the people.
To the last, they hugged the hope that the Southern
bluster would evaporate, and, in some manner, the dif-
ferences between the sections be healed. The first shot
on Sumter awakened the people from this dream, and
although poorly prepared for war, they arose in great
strength to the task of preserving the Union at any
cost."

180 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

THE CIVIL WAR.

Preparation for War. — A week before the first
shot, which openly announced rebelHon, was fired at
Fort Sumter, the citizens of Danvers, anticipating a
struggle between the North and South, had called a
town meeting to see if provision would be made for the
families of such citizens as might enlist in the volunteer
militia. But the news from Fort Sumter aroused the
people to immediate action, and before the time for the
petitioned meeting arrived, a rousing war meeting was
held, at the conclusion of which enlistments were
received.

Danvers Light Infantry. — Danvers had no militia
company at the breaking out of the war, as had many
of her sister towns, but the old spirit of the Revolu-
tionary sires was not wanting in the sons of '61. In
six days a full roll was announced and the company,
under command of Nehemiah P. Fuller, was organized
under the name of the Danvers Light Infantry. Quite
a number of Danvers men enlisted in Salem companies
and went to the seat of war before the Danvers com-
panies. Company drill soon began, eight hours a day
of hard work. Captain Fuller was a veteran soldier,
having served in the Mexican war, and was anxious to
have his company present a good appearance. The men
had no arms and were boarding themselves. In vain
did they appeal to the Governor to assign them to ser-
vice. Such a state of affairs could not long exist, for
the men had families depending upon them and were
fast becoming discontented. Finally the company went
into camp at West Gloucester, where, with old muskets
loaned them, and living on the generosity of Danvers
citizens, they managed to exist for six weeks. At the
end of that time, however, the men began to grow dis-
couraged and threatened to join a New York regiment

DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION 181

for immediate service. Governor Andrew objected to
their leaving the Commonwealth, and at last the Dan-
vers Light Infantry was ordered to join the 17th Mas-
sachusetts Volunteers at Lynnfield/

The first military funeral of the war in Danvers was
that of Thomas A. Musgrave of Captain Fuller's com-
pany, who died August 9, 1861, from injuries received
in the camp at Lynnfield. The services were held in
the Universalist church and were attended by the whole
regiment from the Lynnfield camp. On July 22, 1861,
the Danvers Light Infantry became Company C of the
17th Volunteer Infantry, and just a month later left
for a three years' service at the front.

After a few months' garrison duty at Baltimore, the
17th reported at Newbern, N. C. It was engaged at
Kinston and Goldsborough. On December 16, 1863, an
attack was made on Newbern by a strong force of the
enemy, and the 17th lost heavily in repelling it. Later
it was engaged at Washington, D. C. Subsequently,
March 8, 1865, the regiment was heavily engaged at
Wise Forks, N. C, in the advance made from the coast
to connect with General Sherman. Garrisoning Greens-
boro, N. C, until July 11, 1865, the regiment was then
mustered out of service.

The Putnam Guards. — A day or two after the
famous "war meeting," Arthur A. Putnam, then a
young lawyer, began to organize a company, which was
later named "The Putnam Guards." It was composed
of 50 strong, j^oung, able-bodied men of the town. It
made its headquarters in the first floor of the Maple
Street School building. As soon as commissioned,
Captain Putnam made an attempt to secure a supply
of muskets from the State, but since all organized com-
panies in Massachusetts were making the same clamor,

1 For names of Civil War soldiers, see "History of Danvers," pp.
536-41, in Essex County History.

182 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

it seemed next to impossible to procure the arms. At
last, however, through a combination of influences, they
were secured, much to the gratification of the entire
company. The receipt of the muskets lent much enthu-
siasm to the cause. A majority of the men had never
had military training, but under an able officer from the
Salem Cadets, officers and men soon learned the manual
of arms. The usual training ground was "Berry's pas-
ture," the public park of today. The company made
marches into all the neighboring towns. On one occa-
sion, when they invaded Marblehead, they received a
great demonstration, the people throwing open their
doors at night for a camp, and loading their tables with
substantial rations for the soldier boys.

On June 24, the Putnam Guards reported at Fort
Warren, and on the 5th of July following were mus-
tered into the service of the United States as Com-
pany I, 14th Volunteer Infantry. This company was
transferred, January 1, 1862, to the First Massachusetts
Heaw Artillery. It saw hard service in many impor-
tant battles of the war. In 1862 it had charge of the
heavy guns in different fortresses in the belt around
Washington, at Maryland Heights and elsewhere. In
General Pope's campaign in 1862, it was ordered as
infantry to the front and participated in the battle of
Centreville. After another period of service in garri-
son, it again took the field. May 14, 1864, and in Tyler's
powerful division of heavy artilleiy lost heavily at
Spottsylvania. It took a distinguished part in the work
of the Army of the Potomac until Lee's surrender.

Their Uniforms; Presentation of Banners. —
No sooner had these two companies been recruited than
the women of the town began to organize to make uni-
forms for the men. The Infantry were given dark blue
jackets and trousers with red trimmings; the Guards,

DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION 183

light blue, also with red trimmings. The suits of the
officers of the Guards were gray, of a shade similar to
that which later became the Confederate color. The
townspeople furnished the material, and Gothic Hall,
now the Universalist vestry, was suddenly transformed
into a grand tailoring establishment, with the women
in full charge. The uniforms were indeed fearfully and
wonderfully put together, and the appearance the sol-
diers presented when arrayed in these costumes of war,
was startling in the extreme, for they had been made
with no regard to size or fit, and it was not infrequent
to see the short, stout youth attired in a suit which ought
to have been appropriated by his tall, thin comrade.

Before their final departure, the Putnam Guards
were presented witii a flag of heavy silk, a silver plate
upon its oaken staff bearing this inscription: "Presented
to the Putnam Guards of Danvers, Mass., by Miss
Catherine Putnam, daughter of a son of Danvers. Our
Birthright is Freedom and God is our Trust. May,
1861."

The Danvers Light Infantry was also given a recep-
tion and presented with a silk banner by the citizens ; a
sash and sword from Miss Putnam was presented Cap-
tain Fuller. Both companies were supplied with Bibles
and Testaments. Both banners are now preserved by
Ward Post 90, G. A, R. Miss Putnam lived in Peter-
borough, N. H., and upon the suggestion of Mrs. Julia
A. Philbrick, she offered to give a flag provided the
company be named "The Putnam Guards."

Major D. J. Preston, Capt. A. G. Allen, Capt. G.
W. Kenney, and Capt. William Smith were the Dan-
vers men in command of troops at different times during
the war. Lieut. Charles H. Masury served as Captain
during the latter part of his service.

184 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

The First Struggle. — "During July it was daily
expected that our army would advance, and as the
enemy were now known to be in some force in its front,
a decisive action was anticipated. The month wore on,
full of earnest work, and with an underlying feeling
of suppressed excitement and strained expectation, until
at last the day came, — that day of sorrow and deep
mortification. When the particulars were at hand, the
full extent of the defeat at Bull Run struck the people
of Danvers, as the entire North, like a blow." The
Northern soldiers had expected easily to put to rout
the rebellious young Virginians. Then the war would
be over. Instead, the Union army, after an encounter,
fell back into Washington. No wonder one of the
leaders of the Southern forces cried out, "We'll go into
Washington tonight, boys, and m}^ headquarters will
be at Willard's Hotel !" No wonder that the Northern
people, stunned at first, began to grasp the full mean-
ing of the situation, and to realize that a great war had
only just begun. The South was terribly in earnest.
The novelty of the situation had passed. Men and
women were sobered, and realized the heavy burden of
grief and loss that they must bear. Even while the
Northern soldiers were retreating to Washington, Con-
gress passed a vote calling for 500,000 volunteers.

It is impossible here to give anything like an indi-
vidual record of the brave men who went from Danvers
during those long four years. Both in the army and
the navy they were loyal to the Union. Each call for
troops was quickly and fully responded to, in every
instance. At home all the principal victories were cele-
brated by the ringing of bells and other joyful demon-
strations. Then came the news of those who had fallen
in the struggle, and joy in many a household was turned
to sorrow for the loved ones, whose faces they were never
to see again. Scarcely a week passed that some name

THE REA-DODGE HOUSE, HATHORNE HILL
Birthplace of Gen. Francis S. Dodge

jK i ;t|'

THE SALEM AND DANVERS OMNIBUS ON ESSEX STREET, SALEM, i8
I'roiii a broadside in possession of tlie Essex Institute

PUTNAM-SEARS HOUSE, LOCUST STREET

Birthplace of Elias Putnam. In an ell of this house, now removed,

Gen. Grenville M. Dodge was born.

^aS^Ml^SQM

HOUSE ON HOI.TEN STREET, TAPLEYVILLE
Formerly the Schonlhouse in No. 3. Demolished in 1895

DAXTERS SIXCE THE DIVISION 185

was not added to the death roll, or that did not witness
the return of some disabled patriot. It would require
a volume of itself to record the trials and hardships of
the Danvers men during the war.

Soldiers' Families. — It was only a few months after
the first "war meeting/' that Danvers began to make
provision for the families of those who had volunteered
in the service, and be it said to the town's credit, that
during all the long struggle, such families did not want
for the necessaries of life. The war cost the town
$36,596, regardless of State aid, which figured up
to $66,068.11 more. Besides this, no one can estimate
the thousands of dollars in money, materials and labor
which were freely given by the townspeople during
those four years.

In the second year of the war, calls from the Presi-
dent for men came thick and fast, and the town from
that time (July 25) paid a bounty of $125 to every
man who was mustered into the United States service,
whether volunteer or drafted. Danvers furnished 792
men for the war. Forty-four were commissioned offi-
cers. Ninety-five laid down their lives for their country.
Many peacefully lie in the soldiers' lot in Walnut
Grove; others rest in more secluded sepulchers; but by
far the greater number still sleep upon the battlefield.

End of the War. — "If the soldier of the Union
could justly rejoice in the triumph of his cause and the
victory won, the Confederate soldier, who suffered de-
feat, shared in that victory. He, too, returned to enjoy
the blessings of a united country and to clasp hands
across the graves of tens of thousands of comrades who
had fallen on both sides, in conscientious devotion to
what both believed to be a duty." Not one loyal heart
in this broad land but felt truly thankful when the war
was over. The Southerners were no longer our enemies,

186 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

but our brothers and fellow-citizens. They had made
a glorious fight, then manfully surrendered and became
loyal to our flag and country. That the Confederate
soldier should still cherish the memory of those long,
eventful years of battle and suffering is quite natural.
They, too, feel a comradeship endeared by a thousand
ties and sealed by the blood of their brothers.

Distinguished Service. — One native of Danvers
who distinguished himself in the war, and afterwards
as chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad,
was Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, who was born in
Putnam ville, April 12, 1831, in a house still standing.
He later lived in Taple;^r^ille, and finally located in
Iowa, where he enlisted in the Civil War. He was the
trusted friend of both Generals Grant and Sherman,
and his ability was recognized in times of peace as well
as war. His career was one succession of victories, in
business as well as in militarj^ life. He was concerned
in vast projects, and when confronted by opposition it
was to him only the call to battle. For this reason he
stood among the gi'eat men of the nation throughout
his long life. He died January 3, 1916, at Council
Bluffs, lowa.^

Capt. Warren Porter was one of the forty-seven men
from this town who served in the Navy. He was an
experienced and competent sailor at the beginning of
the war, having shipped before the mast in 1849, and
was commissioned as Ensign in 1863, on the U. S. S.
"Savannah." Shortly after he distinguished himself
while cruising in the Gulf of Mexico in the U. S. S,
"Magnolia." One afternoon the rebel steamer "Mata-
gorda" was seen in the distance, and chase was immedi-
ately given. For a time she was lost to view, but only
for a time. Porter, with permanent injury to his eyes,

1 See Danvers Historical Collections, Vol. 2, p. 67.

DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION 187

sighted her long and intently through the hawser-hole
as the pursuit was continued for about eight hours, when
this far-famed blockade runner was overtaken. Porter
was the first to board her, and as prize-master he took
the ship to Boston, when, with her cargo, she was sold
for $355,000. He was at once promoted to commander
of the U. S. S. "Nita," later the U. S. S. "Sunflower,"
and afterwards captured several smaller vessels, still
scouring the seas until his discharge at the close of the
war. Captain Porter was son of Col. Warren Porter,
and in later life was a practicing dentist in Salem.

Brigadier-General Francis S. Dodge, also a native
of Danvers, is another who has brought honor to the
place of his birth. He was the son of Francis and Re-
becca (Brown) Dodge, born in 1842, at the old Dodge
homestead, which stood on the top of Hathorne hill and
which was removed when the Hospital was erected. At
the age of nineteen, in 1861, he enlisted in the army, in
the famous company of Col. George M. Whipple of
Salem, "Whipple's Jewels." His entire service of four
years was distinguished by unusual bravery under fire,
which earned for him a Captaincy in the 2d U. S. Cav-
alry in 1865. Four years' service apparently had not
impaired his taste for militarj'- life, and in 1866 he
received an appointment in the regular army. As Cap-
tain of the 9th Cavalry, from 1867 to 1879, during which
time he took part in some of the most thrilling conflicts
with the Indians in the West, he was breveted and
received a vote of thanks from the Wyoming legisla-
ture and a medal from Congress. In further recogni-
tion of his services the President, in 1879, made him a
Christmas present of the appointment of Paymaster.
From that time until the breaking out of the Spanish
war his work often took him to the remotest parts of

1 See Essex Institute Hist. Coll., Vol. 46, p. 97.

188 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

the country, and in 1896 he was promoted to Chief
Paymaster of the Department of Texas. In 1898, he
was transferred to Atlanta, as Chief Paymaster of the
Department of the Gulf, and in the summer of that
year was ordered to Santiago, Cuba, and thence to
Porto Rico, sailing with 18 safes containing a million
dollars, stowed away in two staterooms. He also had
charge of the payment of the three million dollars or-
dered by our government to be paid to the Cuban army.
In 1901 General Dodge, then holding the rank of
Major, became Lieutenant- Colonel and Deputy Pay-
master-General, and in 1904 he was appointed Pay-
master-General with the rank of Brigadier-General.

General Dodge contracted the yellow fever in Cuba,
which seriously impaired his health, but upon his retire-
ment in 1906, he bought a house in Washington, expect-
ing to make it his home. He passed away February 19,
1908, and was buried in the National Cemetery at Ar-
lington. General Dodge had a high sense of honor in
public and private life; loyalty to his country and liis
friends were marked characteristics, with intolerance of
deceit, dishonesty and shams.^

Soldiers' Monument; The G. A. R. — Three years
after the close of the war (1868) a soldiers' monument
was proposed, to be erected by the town in memory of
the men who were killed. For two years the matter
was discussed in town meetings, the location being the
great bone of contention. Some favored Peabody Park,
others the Training Field at the Highlands; but at
length the site in front of Town Hall was agreed upon
as the most central and suitable. The monument was
dedicated on Nov. 30, 1870. On its sides are inscribed

1 See Essex Institute Hist. Coll., Vol. 46, p. 97.

DAN VERS SINCE THE DIVISION 189

the names^ of the 95 men from Danvers who lost their
lives. Its cost was $6,298.20, toward which sum Edwin
Mudge, Esq., contributed the larger part of his salary
for his two years' service in the Legislature. The mon-
ument is of Hallowell granite, 33^/4 feet high and 7%
feet square at the base.

In 1869 the local post of the Grand Army was organ-
ized, and was named Ward Post, No. 90, in memory
of the two Ward brothers who died in the service. Its
main object, to care for the families of the veterans of
the war, has been faithfully carried out, in which work
the townspeople have ahvays lent a willing hand. Ward
Relief Corps, its woman's auxiliary organization, has
been most efficient in assisting in the charitable work
of the post, and the George J. Sanger Sons of Veterans
has also aided. A few years after the organization of
the Post, the town made an appropriation for the decor-
ation of soldiers' graves on Memorial Da}'-, May 30, a
custom which still continues.

1 Major Wallace A. Putnam, Lieut. James Hill, Hector A. Aiken,
Henry F. Allen, James Battye, Edwin Beckford, Isaac Bodwell, Syl-
vester Brown, James H. Burrows, Lewis Britton, John H. Bridges,
William H. Croft, Simeon Coffin, H. Cuthbertson, Thomas Collins,
William H. Channell, Charles W. Dodge, George H. Dwinell, Moses
Deland, William C. Dale, George A. Ewell, George W. Earl, Eeuben
Ellis, George A. Elliott, William S. Evans, Nathaniel P. Fish, Benjamin
M. Fuller, Ephraim Getchell, E. I. Getchell, William P. Gilford, John
Goodwin, C. W. C. Goudy, Alonzo Gray, Daniel H. Gould, Samuel S.
Grout, Ambrose Hinds, Levi Howard, James J. Hurley, Thomas Hart-
man, Abiel A. Home, James H. Ham, Everson Hall, Charles Hiller,
T. C. Jeffs, William W. Jessup, James W. Kelley, IMoses A. Kent,
James E. Lowell, Samuel A. Lefl9au, Joseph Leavitt, Charles H. Lyons,
Charles E. IMeader, John Merrill, T. A. Musgrave, James Morgan,
Michael McAuliff, William IMetzger, Allen Nourse, William H. Ogden,
William H. Parker, George W. Peabody, J. Frank Perkins, George W.
Porter, Samuel M. Porter, Alfred Porter, Robert W. Putnam, Isaac
N. Roberts, S. P. Richardson, S. A. Rodgers, Israel Roach, Daniel
Smith, Henry A. Smith, William E. Sheldon, Charles W. Sheldon, John
Shackley, Frank Scampton, Cornelius Sullivan, Patrick F. Shea, Joseph
T. Smart, Edward Splane, Milford Tedford, Patrick Trainer, William
F. Tu'iss, John N. TTiompson, Austin Upton, Angus Ward, William
Ward, Joseph Woods, C. E. M. Welch, George Woodman, John Withey,
Nathaniel K. Wells, George T, Whitney, Joseph F. Wiggin, Charles
H. Young.

190 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

Noted Scientist, — Among Essex County scientific
men, there is none who achieved greater success than
Prof. John H. Sears, for many j^ears curator of geology
and mineralogy in the Peabody Academy of Science in
Salem. He was born in Putnamville, June 18, 1843,
the son of John A. Sears, one of the early shoe manu-
facturers there. The house in which he was born, known
now as the Lawrence W. Jenkins house, was his home
until his father built the house now owned by W. W.
Wilkins. The farm house to which his father finally
removed, now known as the Sears farm, was at one time
the home of Hon. Elias Putnam, and in a part of this
house, since moved to another location, Gen. Grenville
M. Dodge was born. It is a house of much interest to
Danvers. From early life Professor Sears was a stu-
dent of the natural features of his native town, which
work developed in later years to include the whole of
Essex County. He contributed to many scientific pub-
lications, and his life work, "The Geology of Essex
County," published a few j^ears before his death in 1910,
is invaluable.

Unitarian Church. — Up to this time families of
the Unitarian faith had attended the Universalist
church, but in 1865 a distinctly Unitarian society was
formed, principally through the influence of Mr. and
Mrs. Philip H. Wentworth. Services were held in
Town Hall for six years, and in 1871, Unity Chapel
was erected and dedicated. The first pastor was Rev.
L. J. Livermore, who preached here from 1867 to 1886.
Other ministers have been: Rev. John C. Mitchell,
1887-89; Rev. Eugene De Normandie, 1890-97; Rev.
Kenneth E. Evans, 1897-1902; Rev. John Haynes
Holmes, 1902-1904; Rev. Edward H. Brenan, 1908-
1911; Rev. Edward H. Cotton, 1912-1920 (union with
Universalists during Mr. Cotton's pastorate) ; Rev. Mr.
Hayes, 1921-22; Rev. Llewellyn A. Owen, 1922.

DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION 191

Methodist Episcopal Church. — An attempt had
been made previously to organize a Methodist church
at the Plains, but it was not successful. Tapleyville had
no place of worship near at hand, and the erection of
the Methodist church in that section was the outcome
of a demand for religious services. The church was
built in 1873, after holding meetings in Lincoln hall
for a year or two. Throuorh the generosity of Col. Gil-
bert Tapley and his son, Gilbert A. Tapley, the society
received the gift of a valuable lot of land and a sub-
stantial sum of money. The ministers of this church
have been: Rev. Ehas Hodge. 1872-1875; Rev. R. H.
Howard, 1875-1877; Rev. Garrett Beekman, 1877-
1880; Rev. W. J. Hambleton, 1880-1883; Rev. W. M.
Ayres, 1883-1886; Rev. C. A. Merrill, 1886-1888; Rev.
J.'H. Thompson, 1888-1891; Rev. L. W. Adams, 1891-
1894; Rev. W. F. Lawford, 1894-1897; Rev. H. H.
Paine, 1897-1898; Rev. H. B. King, 1898-1901; Rev.
George E, Sanderson, 1901-1904; Rev. WilHam M.
Cassidv, 1904-1909; Rev. Nathaniel B. Fisk, 1909-
1911; JRev. Edward T. Curnick, 1911-1917; Rev. Jona-
than Cartmill, 1917.

Seventh Day Advent. — In the summer of 1877, a
large tent was erected on Hobart street, where Ropes'
grain store now stands. Large congregations heard
Elder Canright expound the doctrines of this faith and
many were converted. In 1878 the chapel on Putnam
street was erected.

Danvers Water System. — The old-fashioned hand
engines, including the "General Scott" at Tapleyville,
the "Ocean" at Danversport, and the "General Put-
nam" at the Plains, were the only apparatus in use in
Danvers up to 1873, when the first steamer was pur-
chased and named the "General Putnam." Water for
drinking purposes was obtained from wells, while rain-

192 CHBONICLES OF DANVERS

water served for other household uses. The town pro-
vided reservoirs or wells sunk in the ground at con-
venient intervals on the principal streets, several of
which may still he seen where modern road-building has
not obliterated them.

The matter of a water system first came before the
town in 1873. On April 24, 1874, the Danvers Water
Act was passed by the Legislature, authorizing the town
to take water from both Middleton and Swan's ponds
and to construct works at a cost of not more than
$300,000. Just here an alty of the new water project
appeared. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in
1873, looking about for a location for the new hospital
for the insane, selected Hathorne hill in Danvers. The
institution would of necessity require a large quantity
of water, and the Commonwealth agreed to co-operate
with the town in building the system, which was com-
pleted in 1876 by Contractor George H. Normon. The
Commonwealth built the reservoir on the hill and pays
the town annually for the use of water. The water is
pumped from Middleton and Swan's ponds to the reser-
voirs, and the force was found to be so great that the
fire steamer which was purchased by the town four years
before was considered needless, and was accordingly
sold. A new reservoir on Wills Hill was built in 1895.

Danvers State Hospital. — Work on the immense
brick building was begun in 1874 and completed four
years later. Additions and improvements have been
made from time to time, and in 1897 a nurses' home was
erected near the main building, a school for trained
nurses having been established in 1889. The original
cost of the building and land was $1,599,287.49. The
hospital is a settlement in itself, the number of inmates
in 1923 being about 1,600. Hathorne hill is 240 feet
above the sea level. It received its name from the fact

DANVERS STATE HOSPITAL

INDEPENDENT AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL OF THE COUNTY OF ESSEX, AT HATHORNE

DAN VERS SINCE THE DIVISION 193

that its first owner was Major William Hathorne, who
was the emigrant ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
This institution is a noticeable landmark for miles
around, commanding a view of ocean and hills that is
unsurpassed.

Introduction of the Tet-ephone. — Danvers was
one of the first towns to experiment with the new inven-
tion, the telephone, very soon after the successful trials
at Salem in the autumn of 1877, bj^ Prof. Alexander
Graham Bell and Thomas Watson had astonished the
country. It was exhibited at a fair held by the Univer-
salist Society in Gothic Hall in December, 1877, as an
attraction advertised for afternoons and evenings, "with
one end at the hall and the other at H. H. Pillsbury's
new building on Maple street" — next to the present
Wheelright building. The Mirror account states that
"the Bell telephone worked perfectly and was a source
of much wonder and interest to a large number. This
wonderful instrument was first shown to the public at
Salem, some six months ago, and since that time has
attained a world-wide fame, the demand for them being
so great in this country that it cannot be readily sup-
plied." A local sheet, The Meteor, published in con-
nection with the fair, gives the following information :

"Messrs. Stearns & George of Boston, agents of the
Bell Telephone Company, on Monday ran a wire from
the hall of the north entrance of this church, over the
Danvers Hotel, across the square to J. F. Porter's fur-
niture store, thence to Deacon F. Howe's dwelling, over
Mr. Stimpson's house and into the second story of Mr.
H. H. Pillsbury's harness shop, between his dwelling
and W. M. Currier's store. The telephone was ready
for action at 3 o'clock, when for half an hour the writer
and several gentlemen indulged in a conversation over
the wire, an eighth of a mile in length, which was most

194 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

pleasing and satisfactory. Talking, laughing, whistling
and singing was correctly and distinctly transmitted, as
rapidly as could be uttered. We anticipate much pleas-
ure and considerable money from the use of the newly
discovered electrical wonder, during this three-days'
Fair. People who may wish to observe its working with-
out visiting the Hall, can do so at jNIr. Pillsbury's build-
ing any afternoon and evening, for which ten cents
admission will be charged."

After these experiments at Gothic Hall, the Danvers
Miri'or records, on Feb. 23, 1878, that Powers' drug
store and Dr. Lewis Foss' dentist office, on opposite
sides of Maple street, had connected their establish-
ments by a linen string terminating in tin dippers, "into
which they can speak and be distinctly heard by one
another. It works perfectly, although the distance is
some 200 feet, and delivers its messages as clearly as did
the Bell telephone on exhibition." This line was in-
stalled by Fred Couch, a clerk in Powers' drug store,
whose brother, Perley Couch, had already connected his
father's house and carpenter's shop on Oak street. The
next month this paper further records that "The tele-
phone is becoming a mania. The latest is between the
stores of Andrew Elwell and Henry Newhall." These
were probably experimental private lines.

Editor Charles H. Shepard, in the Danvers Mirror
of July 26, 1880, describes the introduction of the wires
of the telephone company into Danvers as follows: "The
telephone reached Danvers from Salem, and established
an office at the clothing store of Mr. Andrew Elwell,
corner of Maple and Elm streets, last Monday after-
noon. For a few days our citizens are invited to call
and examine its working. We gave it a trial Tuesdaj^
calling for Mr. N. A. Horton of the Salem Ga:2ette,
whose office is connected with the wires in Salem. Mr.
Elwell gave us a few points on the management of the

DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION 195

thing, after which we turned a little crank and placing
the receiver to our ear heard a quick response of 'Hello';
to which we answered to the little box on the wall 'Hello/
and then said we would like to speak with Mr. Horton.
This was speaking with the Central office at Salem, and
keeping the bell at our ear were soon greeted with a
sweet and tuneful 'Hello,' to which we said again, in
our most pleasing accents, 'Hello,' and then the sweet
voice replied, 'You can now speak with Mr. Horton,'
— and that was the last we heard of it. But before those
musical tones had ceased to flutter in our ear, they were
driven away by a gruff, 'Who speaks?' and we replied
to the little box, "Shepard — good morning, Mr. Hor-
ton.' Then followed a pleasant conversation in which
we were able to communicate a report just heard of the
drowning of a Mr. Symonds and his son in Topsfield
the day before, and which furnished an item of Tops-
field news in the 3Iercury printed that day." He fur-
ther says that he was instructed to stand back some
two feet from the transmitter when speaking, which he
said made the voice sound much clearer. The line was
then completed between Danvers and Boston, and was
to be extended to Haverhill and Newburyport, and
from there back to Salem. The rate for messages had
not been announced.

By September, it was connected with Boston, Lynn,
Swampscott, Nahant, Danvers, Topsfield, Peabody,
LaAvrence, Lowell, Haverhill and Newburyport. In
October a telephone office was established at Danvers-
port, at the old store of Mead & Webb. In November,
the line was extended through Elm and Holten streets
to N. P. Merriam's store, where an office was opened at
Taple\wille. In July, 1881, the office was moved from
Elweli's to Powers' drug store, now the Ropes Drug
Company, the former not caring to keep it at the price
allowed by the company, and the next year the "Asylum

196 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

line" at the Plains was moved from the postoffice to
Powers' store also. On April 29, 1882, communication
with Portland, Me., was first opened, the line from
Salem having been completed. In 1882 there was ap-
parently an exchange in town, as there is an item to the
effect that the exchange was to be removed to Peabody,
there not being a sufficient number of subscribers to
warrant the expense. The public office was still main-
tained at Powers' drug store, where a telegraph office
was also located. In 1882, the company was known as
the Boston and Northern, and in 1886 it became the
New England Telephone and Telegraph Company.
The Danvers exchange was opened in Perry's block in
1899, and in 1912 it was removed to its present building
on Page street.

Street Railway. — During the year 1884, the streets
of Danvers were treated to an unfamiliar process of
digging and laying rails for the new street railway from
Salem. Trips were first made with horse-cars to the
Square, and as soon as possible thereafter, the Hathorne
(1888), Putnamville and Highlands routes were con-
structed. The fare was established at ten cents, and as
soon as the new road was in active operation the old
coach line to Salem was forced out of existence. The
horse-car was succeeded by the trollej^-car in 1892. In
1889, the first cars between Beverly and Danvers were
put in operation, and in 1885 the Salem line from Dan-
vers connecting with Peabody was opened.

Danvers Women's Association. — In 1882, a call
was sent to many women of the town to meet at the
home of Miss Anne L. Page, for the purpose of form-
ing an organization for consideration of matters of com-
mon interest, furtherance of woman's work, general
improvement and social intercourse. Thus, from these
smaU beginnings, has developed the important and sue-

DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION 197

cessfiil woman's club, numbering today 440 members.
The first meetings were held at private houses, but soon
Grand Army Hall was secured until 1884, when rooms
were fitted up in the Ropes building especially for their
use. Later they occupied the two upper floors of the
C. N. Perley building, known then as the Postofiice
building, and during recent years the large membership
has necessitated the use of Town Hall. This organiza-
tion has been a main factor in breaking down sectional
and religious barriers and in promoting good fellowship
among all the women of the tovni.

The Presidents of the Danvers Women's Association
have been: Harriet L. Wentworth, 1882-89; Ellen A.
Spofford, 1889-91; Evelyn F. Masury, 1891-96; Sarah
E. Hunt, 1896-99; Mary W. Nichols, 1899-1902; Isa-
dora E. Kenney, 1902-04; Kate R. Crowley, 1904-07
Ella J. Porter, 1907-08 ;Evelyn F. Masury, 1908-11
Sarah E. Hunt, 1911-14; Ehzabeth F. Hood, 1914-17
Minerva H. Strong, 1917-18; Nellie C. Preston, 1918-
20; Maria Grey Kimball, 1920.

Danvers Improvement Society. — The desire of
several citizens of Danvers to form a society for the
improvement of the general appearance of the town,
resulted in 1886 in the organization of the Danvers Im-
provement Society, which was instrumental in having
fences taken away, lawns kept in good order, unsightly
obstacles removed, and in the observation of Arbor Day
for the planting of trees. In 1894, at the instigation of
members of the society, the town appointed a Forester,
which has helped to make Danvers one of the most beau-
tiful towns in the State, on account of the care taken
of the wonderful trees on its streets. These natural
attractions invariably elicit the admiration of the
stranger. The dense and beautiful foliage in summer
and autumn is a delight to the artistic eye, while there

198 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

is hardly a street in town, no matter how obscure, that
cannot boast of a wealth of trees. This society has
proved a stimulus for the improvement of estates, as
well as public property, and has successfully urged the
advice of the old Scotch laird to his son, "Be always
sticking out a tree, for that grows while you are asleep."

The public park on Conant street, which had been
laid out as a trotting park and used as such for many
years, was purchased from the estate of Eben G. Berry
with funds raised by the society, and presented to the
town in 1913. Here trees and shrubs have been planted
and an athletic field laid out, which, with playgrounds
for the children, will be more and more appreciated as
time goes on. With more funds available, this plot of
ground, bordering on a pretty stream of water, will be
developed into one of the town's beauty spots. A Park
Commission, which was first chosen in 1913, has charge
of this and other parks of the town.

The Presidents of the Society have been: Dudley A.
Massey, 1886-1893; Dr. W. "W. Eaton, 1893-1910;
Hon. J. Frank Porter, 1910-1913; Hon. George B.
Sears, 1913-1923.

Danvers Historical Society. — This society was
organized in 1889 at the instigation of Rev. Alfred P.
Putnam, D. D., who was its President for many years.
He was the son of Hon. Elias Putnam, and was born
in Danvers, January 10, 1827. At the age of 15 he
entered the Village Bank, of which his father was Presi-
dent, and later worked for a short time as a bookkeeper
in Boston. He decided to attend college, and having
fitted at Pembroke, N. H., he entered Dartmouth, re-
maining a year. The subsequent three years were spent
at Brown University, from which he graduated in 1852,
and Avhich conferred the degree of D. D. upon him in
1871. After teaching in his native town three months.

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THE REV. ALFRED PORTER PUTNAM, D. D.

DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION 199

he entered the Harvard Divinity School, graduating in
1855, and settHng in Roxbiuy as pastor of a Unitarian
church. The next year he was married to Louisa P.
Preston of Danvers, who died in 1860. Two years later
he made an extensive tour of Europe and the Holy
Land, remaining abroad over a year, and gathering
information which he later incorporated in a series of
lectures. In 1864, he received a call to the wealthy and
influential First Unitarian Society of Brooklyn, N. Y.,
where he continued to labor for more than 22 years.
In 1865, he married Eliza K. Buttrick of Concord,
Mass., who passed awaj^ in 1922. His work in Brook-
lyn, not only in his own parish, but in the city at large,
was recognized by electing him to positions of honor and
trust in many charitable enterprises. He was instru-
mental in forming the Third Unitarian Church in
Brooklyn. So greatly did he endear himself to the
people of his parish that in 1883, when his health began
to fail under his accumulating labors, they sent him
abroad for six months at the expense of the parish. He
returned to his post, but his health did not prove equal
to the demands and he resigned, to the great regret of
the church and the city with which he had been identi-
fied for nearly a quarter of a century. His parish ten-
dered him a substantial testimonial of their love and
respect when he departed. The books which he pub-
lished are numbered by the hundred. In the lecture
field he was a notable success, his rich and musical voice,
pure and well chosen English, and the personal charms
of the finished speaker, made his words a delight to the
listener.

Dr. Putnam's interest in local history and especially
in the work of the Danvers Historical Society was un-
tiring. His love for his native town strengthened with
the years, and his return, after a long life of distin-
guished service, to spend his last years near his ancestral

200 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

home was a source of much gratification to him. He
died in Salem, May 15, 1906, a memorial service being
held in the Unitarian Church, Danvers, on June 3, fol-
lowing.

Other Presidents have been Judge Alden P. White,
1906-1913; William B. Sullivan, 1913-1915; and Charles
H. Preston, 1915.

The Historical Society has in its possession many
valuable books, pictures, manuscripts and museum ob-
jects of especial interest to Danvers. In 1914 the society
purchased the historic Page house and moved it to its
present location on Page street, as its headquarters.
The last occupant, Anne L. Page, who died in 1913,
was a pioneer in the kindergarten movement in this
state, conducting a school at the North End in Boston
for many years, and later a normal kindergarten train-
ing school at the Page house.

Gen. Israel Putnam Chapter. — This local Chapter
of the Daughters of the American Revolution was
organized in 1895. Through the activities of the mem-
bers, a bronze tablet was placed on General Putnam's
birthplace in 1897, and in 1900, a memorial tablet to
Judge Holten was placed in the assembly hall of the
Holten High School. In 1915, a drinking fountain was
placed in Danvers Square, in memory of soldiers and
sailors from Danvers who served in the American Revo-
lution. In 1921, the Judge Samuel Holten house, at
Holten Square, was purchased and is being restored as
a memorial to that distinguished Danvers patriot. The
eastern end is the original house, which was built about
1670 by Benjamin Holten, in whose family it remained
until the middle of the eighteenth century, when Judge
Holten's father purchased it and made extensive alter-
ations and additions. In 1777, upon the marriage of a
dauo-hter of Samuel Holten, another addition was made

<; ^

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r ^

X Ji

DAN VERS SINCE THE DIVISION 201

to the western side, converting it into a two-family
house, as the double porch suggests. The room on the
back at the eastern end, called the "garden room," was
built at a later date, probably about 1825, as indicated
by the Grecian design used in the finish. Descendants
of Judge Holten continued in possession of this prop-
erty until about the time of the Civil War, when it was
sold to Thomas Palmer, from whom the Chapter pur-
chased it.

The Regents have been: Mrs. Evelyn F. Masury,
1895; Harriet S. Tapley, 1895-96; Mrs. Ellen M.
Gould, 1896-97; Mrs. Evelyn F. Masury, 1897-1902;
Mrs. Elizabeth F. Hood, 1902-1914; Mrs. Carrie F. B.
Wilkins, 1914-18; Mrs. Helen Robinson, 1918-21; Mrs.
W. G. Sticknev, 1921-22; Mrs. S. Mabel Emerson,
1923.

St. John's School. — This Roman Catholic institu-
tion was opened under direction of the Xaverian Broth-
ers in 1891, as a Normal College for the preparation of
young men for the Brotherhood. The building pur-
chased was the mansion of Jacob E. Spring, built about
1880, and known as "Porphory Hall." In 1907 it was
organized as a boys' preparatory school for college. It
has added several buildings, including a chapel, g^^mna-
sium and dormitories, and has an attendance of 400 or
more.

Danvers liTGHT Infantry, Company K, 8th Regi-
ment, M. V. M. — Upon the disbandment of Company
K, 8th Regiment, of Salem, which had been in existence
82 years, in 1889, the place made vacant in the Regi-
ment was given to Danvers in 1891, upon petition to
Gov. William E. Russell. Adj.-Gen. Samuel Dalton
inspected the prospective company, and on March 25,
the company of 51 men was mustered in at Old Berry
Tavern, where the old-time militia men were accustomed

202 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

to assemble years ago. The town leased the old skating
rink building on Maple street, which was subsequently
remodeled and fitted up as an armory. The company
continued until after the Spanish War, being disbanded
in 1900. The first officers were: Frank C. Damon,
Captain; F. Pierce Tebbetts, 1st Lieutenant; Fred U.
French, 2d Lieutenant.

School and Town Improvements. — In 1885, the
town inaugurated the text-book supply system, fur-
nishing text-books and other necessaries which had
hitherto been bought at the expense of each pupil. The
following year (1886) out-of-town pupils were first
admitted to the High School upon the payment of a
tuition fee. In 1891, a modern system of ventilation
was introduced into all the school buildings, as required
by law. In 1893, the High School course was changed
from a three to a four years' course. In 1894, a Super-
intendent of Schools was appointed.

In 1893, a new eight-room building was erected at
Danversport on the site of the old one, at a cost of
$15,500. The following year (1895) the Tapley school
was erected on the site of the old building at a cost of
$18,500. In 1897, the Wadsworth building at the High-
lands Avas erected at a cost of $10,000. In 1898, the
town voted to erect an eight-room building on the front
of the IMaple Street School lot, moving the old building
to a position in the rear, at a cost of about $23,000.

In 1895, the old Town Hall and High School was
remodelled at a cost of about $32,000, presenting the
same appearance as it does today (1923). During the
process of remodeling, the town officials had quarters
in the J. A. Putnam building, now the Ideal Baby Shoe
Company, and the High School used the new school-
house at Tapleyville. The electric tower clock was the
gift of George Augustus Peabody.

DANA^ERS SINCE THE DIVISION 203

Darners was the first town in the Commonwealth to
establish municipal lighting (1888), which continued
until 1919, when it was found more economical to buy
power from the Tenney Service. Gas had been used for
lighting since 1860. In 1895, the electric fire alarm was
introduced. In 1897, the electric lighting plant was
increased in capacity and incandescent electric lighting
introduced. In 1899, the town began to furnish power
for factories.

In 1888. INIassachusetts adopted the Australian ballot
sj^stem, being the first State in the country to use it.
Danvers adopted it in 1891.

In 1892, after various attempts by different commit-
tees, the design of the present town seal was accepted:
"The Town Meeting: The Purest of all Democracies;
The Strongest of all Citadels of Civil Liberty."

In 1900, postal free delivery was established, with
sub-stations at Danversport and Tapleyville, under
direction of Charles Newhall, postmaster.

The Spanish War. — War against Spain was de-
clared by the United States on April 15, 1898, and the
volunteer militia was subject to call. Captain A. Pres-
ton Chase of Company K, began to receive enlistments
of recruits on April 23, and on the 5th of the next month
a full company left Danvers to join the Eighth Regi-
ment at tlie camp at Framingham. Their departure
was the signal for great enthusiasm, the decorations
along the line of march being profuse and handsome.
They were escorted by Ward Post 90, G. A. R., who
carried the banners presented to the old volunteer com-
panies when they marched away to the Civil War. At
the Eastern Railroad station there was a large assembly
to bid them "God speed." Company K was the first
company of the Eighth Regiment to reach Boston. Six
days later (May 11) its 174 men and three officers were

204 CHRONICLES OF DAN\^RS

mustered into the United States service, and the Regi-
ment was assigned to the Second Brigade, Third Di-
vision, First Army Corps. On May 23, they were
assigned to duty at Chickamauga, Ga., where in a dense
grove, they remained during the warm summer months.
The second week in June each company was ordered
recruited to 106 men, and three officers and a detach-
ment from Company K came north to obtain the re-
quired number, returning to Chickamauga in about two
weeks. Camp Thomas, Chickamauga, proved a mala-
rial district, and the company, both here and in other
Southern camps, suffered to a great extent from typhoid
and other malarial fevers. Many were sent home on
furloughs, and there was hardly a man who did not
spend some time in the hospital. The only death in
Company K was that of Bugler Spencer S. Hobbs of
Danvers, which occurred at Chickamauga, August 19,
1898. He was given a military funeral in Danvers, a
detachment from the Salem Cadets performing escort
duty. With the mustering of the company into the
United States service, the existence of Company K, as
an organization, ceased.

The citizens responded generously toward supplying
clothing and other necessaries for the company before
it went to camp at Framingham, and private individuals
and organizations were liberal in donations of money
to Company K during the war. The Avomen of Danvers
organized the Danvers Volunteer Aid Association, meet-
ing in Unity Chapel, to make supplies for the hospital
ship "Bay State," which was fitted out in Boston.

Dan^ters' 150th Anniversary. — The celebration of
the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of the town
was held on June 15, 16 and 17, 1902, and eclipsed any-
thing ever before attempted. It began on Sunday with
appropriate historical sermons by the pastors of the

DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION 205

various churches, followed on Monday by a banquet in
Town Hall, an historical address by Ezra D. Hines,
Esq., and a ball in the evening. On Tuesday, a monster
parade was the feature, and it is safe to say that the
old town never before witnessed such a spectacle. Every
street-car and every railroad train brought its quota of
visitors, and it is estimated that seventy-five thousand
persons viewed the procession, which was six miles in
length and took two hours to pass a given point, of which
number it was reported that "7,500 came in private
carriages, 5,000 on bicycles, and the remainder by steam
and trolley cars." One of the features was the mounted
escort to the chief marshal, William Penn Hussey, over
one thousand horsemen taking part. The floats entered
by the schools, societies and business firms, many of an
historic nature, were ingeniously arranged and attrac-
tively presented. The citizens vied with one another in
the decoration of their homes and places of business, and
the town was one blaze of color, in which "Old Glory"
predominated, the center of the town presenting one of
the handsomest sights ever seen in the state. With
sports at the park, a bonfire, band concerts and enter-
tainment for children, the three days' observance was
brought to a close with a display of fireworks which far
surpassed anything ever seen in this vicinity. The ap-
propriation of $2,125 by the town was augmented by
contributions from private sources. The proceedings of
the celebration were afterwards ordered to be published
under the direction of Rev. Charles B. Rice, William B.
Sulhvan, Esq., Charles H. Preston and Ezra D. Hines.

Danvers Home for the Aged. — This home, which
was opened in 1906, was made possible by a bequest of
Harvey H. Pillsbury. The charter was granted in 1901.
It is open to both sexes, upon approval by the Board
of Directors, and payment of a fixed fee. It provides
a splendid home, under the management of a compe-

206 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

tent matron. The house was the home of Mr. Pillsbury,
and was built by Hon. EHas Putnam about 1843. The
Presidents have been: Mrs. E. A. Spofford, 1906; Mrs.
William A. Gorton, 1907; Mrs. Andrew C. Watts,
1908-1912; Mrs. Andrew Nichols, 1913; Mrs. William
H. Creese, 1914; John S. Learoyd, 1915.

Danvers Visiting Nurse Association. — This most
worthy charity was organized in 1908, and has been
conducted under the direction of a Board of Managers
representing the various parts of the town. It is non-
sectarian and ministers to the needs of all classes. The
Presidents have been: Miss Emily Fowler, 1909-10;
Mrs. George W. Towne, 1911.

Independent Agricultural School of the
County of Essex. — In 1913, the County of Essex pur-
chased the estate at Hathorne, known for many years
as "Maplewood," for an agricultural school. At first
the old mansion house was used for school purposes,
but fire destroyed it on January 1, 1918, after which
modern buildings were erected on the land. The classes
are open to boys and girls of this county, and include
agriculture in its many branches, stock raising, domestic
science and fruit raising.

The Putnam Home. — This house, which was built
in 1856 by Simeon Putnam, was the residence of his
granddaughter. Miss Bessie Putnam, upon whose death
in 1914, it was given to a Board of Trustees to be con-
ducted as a rest house for women. It was opened in
1917. Here, at small expense, such persons as are
approved by the trustees are privileged to spend short
vacations for recuperation. Miss Margaret Howe has
been President of the organization since its incorpora-
tion.

THE COL. JESSE PUTNAM HOUSE, MAPLE STREET

RESIDENCE OF HON. ELIAS PUTNAM. PARK STREET
Puilt in 1843. Now the "Home for the Aged. ' '

m] f

DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION 207

THE WORLD WAR.

A history of Danvers in the World War is yet to be
written/ but a few of the most important events will be
given here as a matter of record. Soon after war was
declared in Europe in 1914, volunteers from this town
enlisted in the Canadian and French service, but it was
not until the spring of 1917, when the entrance of this
country into the struggle was a foregone conclusion,
that preparations for the inevitable were made, both in
civil and military life. War with Germany was declared
by the United States on April 6, 1917. Many Danvers
men had been connected with the two military organ-
izations in Salem, the Salem Cadets and Company H of
the Eighth Regiment, both of Avhich had been recruited
to full complement, the Cadets having been changed, a
year or two before, from an infantry to an artillery
outfit.

However, what was anxiously awaited by the men of
the country and their families was the now historic draft,
which took place at Washington, beginning at 9.45
A. M. on July 20th, and being completed the following
day at 2.18 A. M., by which every man between the
ages of 21 and 31 was assigned a number, subject to
call. Early in April the Cadets as Batterys D, E and F
of the First Massachusetts Field Artillery, together with
Company H, were ready for duty. On July 26th, the
first outfit left Salem, it being Battery E, followed in
short order by D and F, bound for camp at Boxford.
The next dav Company H also left Salem for camp at
Lvnnfield, later being transferred, on August 21st, to
Westfield. The artillery left Boxford on September
7th, for "somewhere in France," and was henceforth
known as the 101st Regiment, U. S. Field Artillery.

1 See "Danvers in the World War," 3 vols., clippings from newspapers,
at the Danvers Historical Society.

208 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

The 102d Regiment, U. S. Field Artillery, of which
the Hospital Corps from Danvers formed a part, also
left on September 21st. Company H of the Eighth
Regiment was divided, some of its members being trans-
ferred to camp at Charlotte, N. C., and helping to make
up the Fifth Pioneer Regiment of U. S. Infantry, while
others joined the 104th Regiment of U. S. Infantry.
Thus both organizations were included in the 26th Divi-
sion, the famous "Yankee Division," commanded by
Gen. Clarence G. Edwards, which arrived in France in
the latter part of September. The departure of the
first quota of draft men on October 5th, was the occa-
sion of a parade and public demonstration by the towns-
people generally. Then followed manj^ months of hard
work on the part of the men and women at home. The
Committee of Public Safety, which had charge of the
various war activities, consisted of Walter T. Creese,
Benjamin S. Newhall, Walter A. Tapley, Wallace P.
Hood, George O. Stimpson, Harry E. Jackson, J.
Frederick Hussey, Walter J. Budgell, George A. Pea-
body, Charles A. Cook, Frank A. Poor, George D.
Morse and Peter J. Widen. Timothy J. Lynch also
was the leader in many of the public demonstrations.

The financial men of the town put through the drives
for the sale of Liberty bonds, for the Red Cross to pro-
vide hospital and other supplies, and also for Y. M.
C. A. work. The Liberty Loan Committee was com-
posed of George O. Stimpson, Walter A. Tapley, Jas-
per Marsh, Charles H. Preston, M. J. Cashman, Leland
J. Ross, Edward F. Strong, Henry W. Cook, Ralph
TYlieelright, Albert G. Allen, J. Ellis Nightingale,
Carl F. A. Morse, I^oring B. Goodale, James J. Gaff-
ney, Winsor C. Nickerson, W. Arthur Donnell, Peter
J. Widen, Thurman Leslie, Adam D. Smith, C. RalpH
Tapley, Frank A. Poor, Sanford E. Gillette, Albert
T. Armitage, George H. Parker.

DANVERS SINCE THE DIVISION 209

The churches flung service flags to the breeze, with
a star for every boy enhsted in the army or navy or air
service, and many a home paid similar tribute to the
son across the sea. An ambulance, purchased by pop-
ular subscription, was presented to the Hospital Corps
of the 102d Regiment, to which several Danvers boys
belonged.

In June, 1917, a Home Guard was organized, with
Fred H. Nowers as Captain, composed of the older
military and other citizens, which held drills twice a
week in Town Hall. They were provided with uniforms
with money raised by popular subscription.

The women of Danvers were untiring in their work
throughout the war. As early as January, 1916, work
was commenced by the Civics Committee of the Danvers
Women's Association, Mrs. Susan E. Hale, Mrs. L.
Grace Creese, Mrs. Marion B. Crehore, Mrs. Clara T.
Spoff^ord and Mrs. Claire H. Tapley, for the American
Fund for the French Wounded, and continued until
April, 1918, with the additional assistance of Miss Janet
L. Gorton, Mrs. Alice P. Leach, Mrs. Annie L. Mar-
ston, Mrs. Edith C. Merrow, Mrs. Mary E. Smith and
Miss Ruth Winkley. In April, the Danvers Branch,
American Fund for the French Wounded was formed,
whose officers were Mrs. S. E. Hale, Mrs. C. H. Tapley,
Mrs. L. Grace Creese, Mrs. Grace Harvey and Mrs.
Grace Towne. Work was at first distributed and fin-
ished articles received at the D. W. A. meetings, but
later, use was made of G. A. R. Hall and Town Hall,
and, in the fall of 1917, Fossa's Hall, where this organ-
ization continued until March, 1919. There were more
than 500 enrolled members, and they produced a total
of 143,377 articles, including surgical dressings, knitted
goods, hospital garments and supplies and refugee gar-
ments, being one of the leading contributors of the State
to the New England branch.

210 CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

The Danvers Branch of the Special Aid Society for
American Preparedness was organized in G. A. R. Hall
in March, 1917, through the interest and influence of
Mrs. Wilhs H. Ropes, with Mrs. Fred E. Wilkins, Miss
Sarah W. Mudge, Mrs. George O. Stimpson as officers,
others in charge being, Mrs. Lawrence W. Jenkins,
Mrs. Thomas Perkins, Mrs. George W. Towne, Mrs.
Harriot P. Neal, Mrs. Andrew H. Paton, Mrs. Lyman
Gould, Mrs. Charles E. Perkins, Mrs. Osborne Leach,
Mrs. Charles H. Preston, ]Mrs. Arthur W. Beckford,
Mrs. Helen (Cook) Danforth, Mrs. Eleanor (Couch)
Cook, Miss Nettie M. Pratt and Mrs. Herbert M. Flint.
Outfits valued at $5 each were given every Danvers boy
when he entered the service. The Special Aid Society
at first filled all the quotas required in Red Cross work,
raising over two-thirds of the money in various ways;
later a percentage of each Red Cross drive was given
for war work. As soon as our men were called into
service, the need of a Red Cross home service depart-
ment was found necessary, and in Juty, 1918, the chair-
man was Osborne Leach, followed by Miss Elizabeth
Campbell, and in October, 1918, Miss Nettie M. Pratt
took charge of this work, which she still (1923) con-
tinues. A branch of the Red Cross was organized in the
spring of 1918, with John Frederick Hussey, Mrs. Fred
E. Wilkins, Mrs. John H. Kimball and Charles O.
Merrill as officers, assisted by Miss Katherine Carr in
charge of garments; Mrs. Helen (Cook) Danforth and
Mrs. Eleanor (Couch) Cook, knitting; Miss Margaret
Howe, Mrs. George P. Bell, Mrs. S. Fred Low, Mrs.
Arthur W. Beckford, surgical dressings. Work on
surgical dressings ended in November, 1918, but sewing
and knitting for our own soldiers and French orphans
was continued into 1919.

The first Danvers boy to die in the service was Private
Arthur Drapeau, of Battery E, 101st Regiment, whose

DAN^TRS SINCE THE DIVISION 211

death occurred in N^ew York on December 21, 1917.
He was given a military funeral at Annunciation
Church. The 101st Field Artillery, to which so many
Danvers boys belonged, saw hard service in France,
being officially credited with being at the front five dif-
ferent times, 238 days in all, and taking part in all of
the great battles, to the number of fourteen. The 104th
Regiment also took part in practically the same engage-
ments and had the distinction of being the only regi-
ment in this vicinity to have its colors decorated by the
French. After the armistice on November 11, 1918,
which was a day long to be remembered in Danvers, the
event being celebrated by a monster parade in the even-
ing, it was only a question of how long the Americans
would have to remain in France. The 301st Artillery,
in which were a great number of the draft men from
this locality, arrived home on January 6, 1919. The
104th Regiment of Infantry reached home in April fol-
lowing, and the old Cadet outfit, or the 101st Field
Ai'tillery, arrived in June, in time for the enthusiastic
reception given by the town to all returning service men
in Town Hall on June 28th, when a patriotic address
was given by William B. Sullivan, Esq.

According to a private record kept by the Danvers
Historical Society, and now deposited at Town Hall,
there were about 730 Danvers men in the service.

Fifteen Danvers men lost their lives in the service.
They were: Ensign Merritt H. Barnes, Lieut. Ralph
W. I.ane, Sergt. Hadley M. McPhetres, John Braca-
montes, Ludwig Carmichael, Lawrence Crane, Arthur
F. Drapeau, Ralph Q. Hall, Marcus A. Jordan, Ray-
mond Knowlton, Harry E. Little, Robert B. Nangle,
Ernest J. St. Hilare, Francis J. Small, Herbert W.
Staples,

212 CHRONICLES OF BANTERS

The following were cited for bravery: William T.
Gorton, Paul H. Moore, William H. MuUins, Esmond
A. Farmer, Webster Blanchard, George Ferguson,
David Stambler.

The local post of the American Legion was named
Drapeau-MacPhetres Post.

IV. OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES.

General Israel Putnam's Birthplace. — This an-
cient gambrel-roofed homestead, at the junction of
Maple street and the Newburyport turnpike, is unique
among the historic houses of Danvers and perhaps of
the country, in that it has sheltered successive genera-
tions of one family for more than two hundred and
seventy-five years, never having passed out of the Put-
nam family. The oldest part of this house, originally
of four or five rooms, was built by Lieut. Thomas Put-
nam, son of the emigrant John, in the sixteen-forties.
He probably used this place as a summer farmstead,
retaining a home in Salem town. Upon his death in
1686, he bequeathed the house with 120 acres of land
to his second wife, Mary (Veren) Putnam, an d their
only son, Joseph Putnam. The latter is especially re-
membered and revered as an opponent of the witchcraft
delusion, upon whose death in 1723, the place descended
to his sons, David and Israel, the latter the Revolution-
ary hero. General Putnam was born here in 1718, in
a room in the second story of the back part of the pres-
ent house, which room is still preserved in its original
condition, with its oak beams uncased. Here, many of
the furnishings used by various generations of the family
are collected, among them a hooded cradle which has
rocked all generations since 1774, including the present
tenth generation, and an old wooden mortar found on
the place when the house was built. The wall-paper
now in the General's chamber was originally in the
library below, having been put on in 1804, and fifty
years later was soaked off and applied to the walls of
the historic room. When the General married he built

(213)

214 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

a house in the "upper field," so called, the cellar hole
of which is still to be seen, where he lived until after his
first child was born. Upon his removal to Pomfret,
Conn., he conveyed all interest in this property to his
brother, Col. David Putnam, who built the gambrel-
roof addition to the front of the house in 1744.

In connection with the history of this house, it may
not be uninteresting to include two other houses in this
locality owned and occupied by other descendants of
Colonel David, — the Putnam-Clark house, so called, on
Summer street, recently taken down, and the Col. Jesse
Putnam house on Maple street, across the street a short
distance from the General Israel birthplace. Mrs. Julia
A. Philbrick, a descendant, has written concerning these
Putnam houses :

"Lieut. David Putnam, the owner of them all, gave
them by will to three of his sons, — William, Joseph and
Israel. To William, the eldest, he gave the one known
as the Clark house, on Summer street, with its surround-
ing lands ; he gave much of his other property to Joseph
and Israel, to be equally divided, they to furnish their
young brother, Jesse, with money requisite to carry him
through college. This they did and he graduated from
Harvard in 1775. The property given to Joseph and
Israel included the two houses known to this generation
as the Gen. Israel Putnam house and the Col. Jesse
Putnam house and land. This land comprised some
fifty or more acres, part of which now belongs to the
State Hospital; also all that included in the farms of
Miss Susan Putnam, Mrs. Francis P. Putnam, John
M. Putnam, and the land on which are now the houses
of Mrs. Daniel Verry, Eben S. FHnt, Eben Jackson
and Mrs. Julia A. Philbrick; also the schoolhouse land,
which was given to the town by Daniel Putnam for

THE GEN. ISRAEL PUTNAM HOUSE

MAPLEWOOD," NKWHALL-MASSEY RESIDENCE

ENTRANCE TO "LOCUST LAWN," NICHOLS STREET

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 215

school purposes, and on which the present building
stands.

"After the death of Colonel David in 1769, these kind,
loving brothers, Joseph and Israel, divided this estate.
Tradition says that each selected the house he preferred,
and upon comparing their selections each found he had
the one he wished, that is, Joseph had the present Col.
Jesse house and Israel the Gen. Putnam house. Then
they went over the farm, each naming the field, pasture
or meadow he would like, until all was divided ; and here
they lived in peace and harmony until 1818, when Joseph
died and his estate became the property of his son Jesse.
In 1825, Israel died, and his house came to his son
Daniel. Jesse and Daniel never had other homes, but
lived all their long lives in these houses, rearing large
families, each having twelve children, and like their
fathers, they too dwelt side by side harmoniously, un-
like though they were in some respects. To really knov/
these homes one must have in childhood played in and
explored every nook and cranny, from the dark arches
supporting the ponderous chimneys to the cubby-holes
made by the joining together of the several additions
to the original house; and the dark cavernous place by
the side of one of the chimneys which we had to pass in
going to the attic, our favorite play-room. This hole
the sailor-boy of the family called the 'Black Hole of
Calcutta,' after his return from a voj^age to that place,
and we did not like to pass it any better after it received
that name.

"In 1812, when it was feared the British might land
in Salem, some of our wealthy friends and relatives in
that town brought their silver dollars, family plate and
jewels up to the General Putnam house for safe-keep-
ing, to the care of my father. He placed them in earthen

216 CPIRONICLES OF DAN VERS

pots or kegs, and deposited them in the long, dark arch
under the chimnej^ and there they remained safely until
the danger was over. Every old house had a barn near
it which was the delight of every child, and around
which cluster so many pleasant associations, with higli
beams and rafters for us to climb. The barn on the
Colonel Jesse farm was built from timber cut in Middle-
ton by Moses Wilson of New Mills in 1831. Between
the General Putnam house and barn was a brook where
we sailed our shingle boats, and Turtle pond, where,
with our brothers, we could sail on a raft, which was
also Colonel Jesse's ice pond, where all the boys of the
neighborhood went to skate. There was an old legend,
told by Calvin Putnam, son of Colonel Jesse, that dogs
without heads had been seen in Turtle pond, and it was,
therefore, an unsafe place for small boys to go alone,
which had the desired effect upon one small boy at least,
who did not stop to consider whether it might not be
important for a dog to have a head to make him dan-
gerous."

From Daniel Putnam, who further enlarged the
house and raised it to two stories, with an attic on the
west side, in 1831, the General Putnam house descended
to his son, William R. Putnam, in 1854, and in 1855 he
conveyed it to Mrs. Emma P. Kettelle and Miss Susan
Putnam, the latter coming into possession of the whole
upon Mrs. Kettelle's death in 1867. Connected with
this house were two well-known educators. John D.
Philbrick, who was a student teacher in this district
winters, while attending Dartmouth College, married a
daughter of this house and became Superintendent of
Schools in Boston, and an educator of international rep-
utation, being decorated by the French government.
Hon. Mellen Chamberlain, also a teacher there, and
afterwards the distinguished librarian of the Boston
Public Library, took his bride also from this Putnam

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 217

familj\ At the northern end of this farm is a burial
place, in which is the Thomas Putnam tomb, now over-
^Town, where is said to h'e the remains of Ann Putnam,
the girl who was one of the leaders in the witchcraft
accusations. She died in 1716, at the age of thirty-six,
and was the last person buried in the tomb. In the rear
of the house is a building which is doubtless the oldest
shoe factory in the United States now standing, having
been used as such in the eighteenth century. Here were
manufactured southern brogans, the account of which
transactions are still extant. In 1900, Miss Susan Put-
nam died, having bequeathed the ancient house and farm
to her grand-neice, Susan Mabel Hood, now the wife
of George W. Emerson. Here still under this old roof-
tree hospitality is dispensed by the present owners, and
the future of this historic landmark promises to be as
full of interest as the past.

Phiixips-Lawrence- Sanders House. — This fine
old residence on Spring street, owned by Mrs. Nathaniel
S. H. Sanders, was built on one of the most ancient and
historic farms of Danvers. The farm was originally the
eastern part of a one-hundred fifty acre lot granted by
the town of Salem to William Pester in 1638. In 1655
it came into the possession of the Prince family, in which
family it remained for about one hundred fifty years,
the old farmhouse having been the home of Sarah
(Prince) Osborne, who was convicted of witchcraft.
In 1800, the Princes sold the farm to Nathan Peirce of
Salem, a prosperous merchant, who dying in 1812, be-
queathed this estate to a son, but in 1826 it was pur-
chased by Capt. Stephen Phillips of Salem, whose wife
was a daughter of Mr. Peirce. In 1836, just previous
to Captain Phillips' death, he conveyed the estate to the
Lawrences, and for many years it continued as the resi-
dence of Charles Lawrence and his sisters, and later of
his neices, Miss Caroline Lawrence being especially re-

218 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

membered in Danvers by the older generation for her
benevolence and friendliness.

Charles Lawrence was the son of Abel Lawrence of
Salem, and was born in 1795, one of thirteen children.
He was graduated from Harvard in 1815, and married
Lucy A., daughter of Thomas Ward, the Boston
banker. Delicate health prevented him from entering
upon a business or professional career. For thirty years
or more on his farm in Danvers he indulged in his favor-
ite occupation of gardening, and his passion for flowers
seemed to be responded to by the plants themselves, for
they flourished wonderfully under his care. Combined
with these pursuits was a love of literature which did
not fail him while life lasted. The unlimited hospitality
of this beautiful home through many years was never
forgotten by those who shared it. Mr. Lawrence made
alterations and built an addition to the old Phillips
house and laid out gardens which were most attractive.
In 1869, in order to be nearer his friends as failing health
came, he removed to Ash street, where he had erected the
house now owned by J. Anderson Lord. Here he resided
until his death in 1879, laying out the grounds with
much taste and planting trees and shrubs which in a few
years transformed the place into one of the most attrac-
tive in town; and here his neice. Miss Caroline Law-
rence, continued his interest in horticulture until her
death in 1899. Charles Lawrence was beloved and re-
spected by all, his kindness toward the unfortunate was
known only to the recipients of his benevolences, and
his life may be said to have been one of unostentatious
virtues. He had no cliildren. His family was one long
honored in Salem and Danvers for the old puritan attri-
butes of integrity and piety.

Upon his removal from Spring street, he sold the
farm to John Horswell, of Pawtucket, R. I., whose
daughter, Mrs. Underwood, was then living in the

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 219

Driver house, and upon Mr. Underwood's disposing of
his house to Mr. Spring, the Underwoods took up their
residence with the Hors wells. A portion of this farm
was sold in 1879 to Mrs. Sylvia C. Pitcher of Boston,
who built a house which is today the residence of her
granddaughter, Mrs. Joshua Nichols. Miss Jennie
Horswell, a daughter, inherited this property, who sold
it in 1889 to Mrs. Harriet P. Pray of Lynn. She, in
1896, conveyed the property to Mrs. Sanders.

Stephen W. Phillips, Esq., of Salem, great-grandson
of Captain Phillips, in some reminiscences of this old
estate, writes:

"I know a good deal about the Beaver Brook Farm,
as I spent a large part of my childhood there, partly in
the house that Mr. Joshua Nichols occupies and partly
in the so-called Sanders house. This latter belonged,
in the early nineteenth century, to my great-grandfather,
and my father, as a boy, passed much time there. I
have often walked about the place with him and heard
him describe how it looked in his childhood in the early
thirties. The Beaver Brook Farm, when Captain Phil-
lips owned it, was bounded, roughly, by the railroad
track, then following the road behind the Gilford house
to the present Fishes Brook, up along the brook by the
Wentworth place, then across to the upper road or
Summer street near the ancient Clark house, recently
destroyed, down Summer street to the Woodman place,
and then along the Woodman place and across the marsh
to about where the railroad track is. It included about
all the property afterwards owned by the Horswell
estate and Mr. Spring. There was, of course, no Spring
street; that was merely a private avenue running in
from near Gilford's up as far as the old Prince house
above the stone barn. There was nothing but a cart-
track above that through to the upper road.

220 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

"The private road to this house at that time did not
follow the line of Spring street, but went around the
edge of the marsh and came up a hollow, afterwards
largely filled in when the stone barn was built. On the
edge of the marsh at the depot end of this road was an
ancient burial ground of the Prince family. When I
was a boy many of the stones were still there, and one
of the Princes had put up two new slate stones to mark
the site of the little cemetery. There was another house
on the site of the present Sanders house. I always un-
derstood from my father that the kitchen at the north
end of the Sanders house was part of this old building,
and that the present two front rooms and front door of
the Sanders house were built by Mr. Nathan Peirce
some time between 1800 and 1826, of whom more later.

"By deed dated January 6, 1800, John Prince sold
the farm, at that time embracing one hundred thirty
acres, to Nathan Peirce of Salem. Nathan Peirce was
a wealthy man, whose town house was the fine brick
mansion on Charter street used for many years by the
Salem Hospital. He left the place to his son, George
Peirce, and the latter to his children. Their guardian,
by deed dated July 7, 1826, sold it to Capt. Stephen
Phillips for $4,000. Captain Phillips was a retired
merchant of Salem. He had been in early life one of
Mr. Derby's favorite captains, and after 1800 had estab-
lished himself as a merchant and become a wealthy man.
He had married, as his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter
of Nathan Peirce, and so was already connected with
this farm. About 1825 he turned over the active man-
agement of his business to his only son, and spent a
great part of the rest of his life on this farm in Danvers,
amusing himself by trying to improve it. Like many
another country gentleman, it probably cost him a pretty
penny. There is a tradition in the family that before
he died he carefully destroyed all the bills and accounts,

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 221

as he didn't wish anybody to know how much he had
spent. It was then a favorite hobbj^ of old Salem mer-
chants to have a country place and indulge in farming.
Danvers is full of farms which once belonged to retired
Salem captains.

"When Mr. Phillips bought the place in 1826, he
found the house built by Mr. Nathan Peirce three stories
high, door in the middle, and only one room thick;
windows both back and front, with what remained of
the ancient Prince house as an ell on the north, where
the kitchen and servants' room was. Adjoining was a
chaise-house connected with the beautiful archway to
the kitchen chamber. It was only intended as a summer
house, and probably could not have been heated in win-
ter. Mr. Phillips in winter lived in his town house, still
standing. No. 17 Chestnut street, which he had built in
1805. Above the site of the stone barn was the still
older Prince house, which was used as a farmhouse,
where the caretakers lived all the year round. What
farm buildings there may have been I do not know, but
soon after he bought the place, Mr. Phillips set to work
to build the stone barn and lay out an avenue, the
present Spring street, from Gilford's up to his house.
Great walls were built on both sides and elms planted.
An immense amount of grading and hauling was neces-
sary. The late Andrew Verry used to often talk with
my father about the enormous amount of work that was
done in hauling rocks for the walls and the stone barn.
His father was a sort of teamster or foreman for Mr.
Phillips, and the older Verry boys had all worked on
the place. One of Mr. Phillips' pet plans was reducing
the rolling pasture back of his house to a great flat field.
This was at last accomplished, but rains and frost have
gradually been undoing the work, and the level field is
each year, I find, growing more uneven. Another plan
was draining the swamp in the rear of this field. Some

222 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

rather peculiar hollows in what was afterwards the Hors-
well woods used to be pointed out to me by my father
as sites of gravel pits from which filling had been
brought.

"Mr. Phillips from time to time added small tracts
to the farm, as on September 4, 1828, he bought a little
piece from Dwinnell, near the present depot, but the
general size of the place was not altered. On July 26,
1836, Mr. Phillips sold the whole place, then described
as one hundred fifty acres, to Charles Lawrence. Mr.
Lawrence intended to use the house all the year round,
and added the back rooms and the large western ell,
more than doubling its size, and planted evergreens
extensively on the place, as he was very much interested
in horticulture. My father said there were practically
no pines or spruces on the place in his boyhood. All of
the so-called Tlorswell Woods were open pastures, and
the trees dated from Mr. Lawrence's time. After living
on the place a few years, Mr. Lawrence evidently not
caring for farming, cut the place in halves, selling all
the place north of his house and east of Spring street,
including the stone barn and old farm house. This
passed through various hands, Mr. Driver, Mr. Under-
wood, and perhaps others whom I do not now recall, to
Mr. J. C. Spring. Driver, I think, had built the modern
frame house on the east side of the road, opposite and
above the stone barn. Spring lived there during the
construction of his great stone mansion in the early
eighties.

"Mr. Lawrence retained the western portion and it
was finally sold to Mr. Horswell, the father of the late
Miss Jennie Horswell, whom many people in Danvers
remember. They lived there for many years, and the
place was little altered from what it had been in Mr.
Lawrence's time. The woods grew up and were, in my
childhood, a very beautiful tract of pine, where were two

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 223

driveways which were kept clear and made walking easy.
As they were covered with fallen needles, that made a
most attractive playground for us children. The so-
called gravel meadow which Mr. Phillips had drained,
was a hay-field, and the large field back of the house
was a garden. All the rest was pine woods and a little
pasture along Spring street. The house where Mr.
Joshua Nichols lives, and the square field below it, where
]Mr. Benson of Salem afterwards built a bungalow, had
been sold by Mr. Horswell to Mrs. Pitcher, grand-
mother of Mrs. Joshua Nichols, on which Mrs. Pitcher,
about 1880, built the present house. The main Horswell
estate passed after several changes to Mrs. Nathaniel
S. H. Sanders, who extensively built over and altered
the house and cut down much of the woods."

"Locust Lawn." — This large and beautiful estate
of about one hundred acres, on Nichols street, now
owned by Dr. and Mrs. John H. Nichols, has an inter-
esting history. It was originally the western half of a
165 acre lot granted to William Pester by the town in
1638, and in 1655 it came into possession of the Prince
family. It remained in this family over a hundred
years, until 1761, when it was purchased by John
Nichols, who built a house there. From him it descended
to Abel Nichols, the artist, who, while residing in Rome,
Italy, conveyed the whole property in 1855 to Edward
D. Kimball of Salem, prominent merchant and ship
owner. Upon this beautiful tract of land, the following
year, Mr. Kimball erected a fine residence, the equal
of any in the town, especially in its setting, which was
upon the side of Dale hill, overlooking a broad stretch
of grass and trees. Upon the summit of this hill there
is a wonderful view of all the country round about, it is
believed unexcelled in the glory of autumn foliage and
in the verdure of spring-time. Mr. Kimball demolished
the old Nichols house, which stood on the main highway

224 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

north of his new house. He did not live long to enjoy
the home, for he died in Paris in 1867.

Philip H. Wentworth, who came here from Boston
with his family about 1865, was the next owner. He
was at the time engaged in a successful mercantile busi-
ness in Boston, which he conducted until 1872, when
the great Boston fire swept away in a few hours the
fortune which he had accumulated. He never quite re-
covered from the effects of this calamity, but with char-
acteristic courage he bore his heavy reverses, and having
the confidence of the business world was able to continue
for a few years longer. He and his wife were instru-
mental in forming a Unitarian church in Danvers, the
latter also being the organizer and first president of the
Danvers Women's Association. The Wentworths
named the estate "Locust Lawn," and here the family
entertained generously, the young people extending
their hospitality to friends from far and near. He
greatly improved the grounds, making avenues through
the wooded places, planting trees and shrubs and culti-
vating several acres of farm land. The view from the
front veranda of a broad expanse of lawn, with woods
in the distance and flowers in abundance, was and still is
unsurpassed in this vicinity. The elm tree which stands
at the entrance gates is one of the largest in Essex
County, and was planted there by one of the Princes
in 1760. Mr. Wentworth died in 1886, and for a while
the family continued their residence here, but ultimately
returned to Boston. About 1893, the heirs sold the
estate to Mrs. Leopold Morse of Boston, who made
many changes in the mansion house and rebuilt the barns
and other farm buildings. She, with her two sons, Tjder
and Isadore, resided here summers for many years.
After another short-term ownership, in 1917 the estate
was purchased by Mrs. Oda (Howe) Nichols, wife of
Dr. Nichols, superintendent of the State Infirmary at

"LOCUST LAWN"
The estate of Dr. and Mrs. John Holyoke Nichols

THE HOWE RESIDENCE, PEABODY AVENUE

"MAPLEBANK"
The Driver — Spring — De Normandie House, Spring Street

THE PHTLTJPS - LAWRENCE — SANPERS HOUSE

Simiiy .street
From a photograpli in the i86o's

OLD AXD HISTORIC ESTATES 225

Tewksbuiy, M^ho intend to make it their permanent resi-
dence. Thus the old place has returned to the possession
of the family that owned it and built the ancient house
more than one hundred and fifty years ago. On another
part of this original farm, Dr. Nichols' father, Andrew
Nichols, built his large residence at the corner of New-
bury and Preston streets in 1881.

"Maplewood." — This beautiful estate, which was the
residence of Stephen D. Massey and his family from
1864 to 1892, dates back to the earliest settlement of
Danvers, when the land was owned by John Putnam,
son of the emigrant. The next owner was Captain
Thomas Lothrop, the commander of "The Flower of
Essex" company at Bloody Brook, after whose death
it came into possession of the Cheever family. The old
house which stood here for so many years was built
about 1697 by Ezekiel Cheever, and it continued in
this family until about 1750, when it was purchased by
John Nichols. Later it was the home of Levi Preston,
who, in 1779, married Mehitable, a daughter of John
Nichols, and thus it descended to William Preston, re-
maining in that family about a hundred years. In 1852
Benjamin S. Newhall of Salem bought the farm and
erected a fine mansion on a high elevation directly across
the street from the old house. Here, with his wife, who
belonged to the Grays and Endicotts of Salem and
Danvers, and three sons, Benjamin E., Charles and
Heniy, and a daughter, he carried on the farm until
1864, when it was purchased by Stephen D. JNIassey, a
merchant of Boston. During Mr. Massey's ownership
the old house was torn down.

The mansion house stood about a hundred feet back
from the street and was surrounded by a grove of maple,
pine and other trees, while directly in front, dividing the
avenues of approach and departure, w^as a triangular
plot with a large and beautiful pine, flanked by two

226 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

immense maples. The house was forty feet square, with
an ell which was added by Mr. Massey. The farm com-
prised one hundred acres and the buildings connected
therewith were across the street, near the site of the old
Preston house, with a convenient "lodge" or farmhouse
occupied by the caretaker. The appointments were the
best that could be obtained and the stock was of the
highest grade, it being considered for years one of the
finest estates in the county. Upon the death of Mr.
Massey, the family continued to live there until 1892,
when Mrs. Lucretia (Derby) Massey and her son,
Dudley A. Massey, having erected the fine residence on
Holten street, now owned by William B. Sullivan, Esq.,
removed, after a residence here of nearly thirty years,
and the estate was purchased by Richard B. Harris of
Marblehead. Then followed various ownerships of short
duration, including Dr. W. A. Hitchcock, Mrs. Helen
J. Butler, F. W. Webb of Boston, and a Roman Cath-
olic school for boys, the "House of the Angel Guardian,"
until in 1913 the County of Essex purchased it and
established there the Essex Agricultural School. The
mansion house was burned January 1, 1918, and on its
site has been planted a memorial grove in memory of
the service men from this school who were killed in the
World War.

John Greenleaf Whittier and "Oak Knoll." —
One day in the early eighteen-forties, a Salem gentle-
man who was enjoying his favorite recreation, riding
horseback through the country, passed along the road
which is now known as Summer street. His eye rested
on a beautiful stretch of land, well wooded and some-
what neglected, but in which this lover of nature saw
great possibilities. He stopped and talked with the
owner, and before many months elapsed had negotiated
for the purchase of this property of over one hundred

OI>D AND HISTORIC ESTATES 227

acres. And so it happened that William A. Lander,
Esq., with his wife, the daughter of the famous Salem
merchant, Pickering Dodge, came to Danvers in 1842
and erected the residence which is now known as "Oak
Knoll." At that time the old Putnam house, the home
of the emigrant John Putnam, was standing near the
old well, which is still to be seen, and Mr. Lander's
farmer occupied the James A. Putnam house next be-
low, which a half-century before had sheltered Mrs.
Lander's great-uncle. Col. Timothy Pickering.

Of the emigrant John Putnam's house, which was de-
molished by the new owner, one who remembered it in
her youth, INIrs. Julia A. Philbrick, writes: "It was an
old unpainted house, with two front rooms and a long
kitchen in the rear, and it was in this kitchen, with its
capacious fireplace, its settle, its dressers with pewter
and crockery ware, with dried apples and squashes,
crooked-necked, and herbs adorning the walls or sus-
pended from the ceiling, we girls did have such nice
times, playing 'blind-man's buff' and other games; and
then, when hungry, we could pop corn or open a cup-
board under the dressers, where we were sure to find
doughnuts or pancakes."

IMr. Lander's estate was always known by the unpre-
tentious name of "The Farm." With a great love for
nature and art, cultivated by careful and extensive read-
ing and foreign travel, the owner devoted himself to
books rather than to business. He laid out and planted
the grounds most attractivelj^ and succeeded in plan-
ning, with the aid of nature, to produce an harmonious
effect, long before landscape gardening was practised
as a profession to any extent in this country. He pro-
duced a home at once beautiful, retired and cheerful,
and which, in the hands of its present owners, has been
more prominently brought to public notice.

Colonel Edmund Johnson of Boston, looking for a

228 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

quiet country residence in the early seventies, purchased
this estate of Mr. Lander and, with his daughters, in-
vited his cousin, John Greenleaf Whittier, to make his
home with them. Accordingly, in the spring of 1875,
Mr. Whittier gave up his home in Amesbury and, with
many of his most cherished personal effects, removed
to "Oak Knoll," as the poet named it.^ Although the
next year Mr. Whittier was offered by a friend and
admirer the gift of the beautiful estate of "Kernwood,"
in Salem, yet he chose to remain in Danvers. Here he
cast aside the cares of domestic life. Once asked about
his residence in Danvers, Mr. Whittier replied, "Say it
is my home. I retain my legal residence in Amesbury,
and I go there to vote, but my home is at 'Oak Knoll.' "
He loved its beautiful groves, its broad lawns, and its
quaint old gardens, with winding walks and fragrant
borders of box. He took much pleasure in driving along
the country roads and secluded byways of the town,
until he had become familiar with the surrounding
scenery. The mossy nooks, where wild flowers grew and
song-birds had their haunts, renewed their grace for him
with every fresh baptism of the morning. The last time
his footsteps wandered in the familiar paths, he returned
with his hands filled with wild flowers, remarking, as
he came, "I think I have never heard the birds sing so
loudly or so sweetly before." The oak tree, from its
position upon the knoll in front of the house, gave to
his mind the suggestion of naming the estate "Oak
Knoll." This tree retains its foliage long after the
elms and many other trees are bare. Its leaves become
like disks of gold, and when they are fully ripened they
fall in a day, like the dropping of a great curtain.

Mr. Whittier's birthdays were always observed as
holidays, and here, during the last sixteen years of his

1 From "Reminiscences of John Greenleaf Whittier's Life at Oak
Knoll," by Mrs. Abby J. Woodman, published by the Essex Institute
in 1908.

JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER

'OAK KNOLL

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 229

life, he received his friends. Large parties came to
greet him, bringing fruits and flowers and many other
appreciative tokens of love and esteem, which cheered
and warmed his heart and lightened the burdens of his
age. Letters of congratulation were received from all
parts of the country and from foreign lands. At other
times visitors came to "Oak Knoll" as pilgrims to a
shrine. They came as strangers to grasp his hand and,
departing, bore witli them the impress of a sympathetic
and abiding friendship.

Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes was a frequent visitor,
and on one occasion, while thej^ sat before a glowing fire
on a chilly autumn day, Mr. Whittier referred to the
then recent publication of Dr. Holmes' poem, "The
Broomstick Train." Dr. Holmes turned toward Mr.
Whittier, with his most genial smile, exclaiming, "Good,
isn't it?" "Capital," replied Mr. Whittier, "but thee
forgot one thing." "Did I? What is it?" said the
Doctor. "Why," replied Whittier, "thee gave Beverly
her beans all right, but thee defrauded Danvers of her
onions."

After Mr. Whittier passed his seventieth anniversary,
he published more than one hundred poems, nearly all
of which were written in the retirement of his home at
"Oak Knoll." He wrote the ballad, "The Witch of
Wenham," in the winter of 1877. The previous sum-
mer, with the little "Red Riding Hood" of his poem,
he rode over the rolling slopes of Cherry Hill, once
known as "Alford's Hill," and around the borders of
Wenham Lake, which lay embosomed in wild shrubbery
at its base. During the drive he improvised for his child
companion a marvellous tale of the sad days of witch-
craft in old Salem Village. From this httle romance
there came the happy conception of this beautiful ballad.
Near to "Oak Knoll" still stands "the farmhouse old,"
in which, according to tradition, an unfortunate victim

230 CHRONICLES OF DAN\^RS

of the "dreadful horror" was confined in its garret,
whence she escaped by shding down its roof to the arms
of one who had come to her rescue.

The desk, "deep scarred by raps official," used in the
Haverhill schoolhouse, which the poet attended, and
immortalized by him in the poem, "In School Days," is
now in the possession of the Danvers Historical Society.

Mr. Whittier died on September 7, 1892, while on a
visit with friends in Hampton, N. H.

Stephen Dbivek House. — About 1854, another Sa-
lem business man, Stephen Driver, purchased of George
Nichols, Jr., of Salem, the Prince estate on the lane
now known as Spring street, and on land directly op-
posite the old house, erected a fine residence. He used
the old house as a farmhouse, and it was during his
ownership that the first story was built out even with
the second story, it being originally constructed with an
overhanging second story. Mr. Driver, who had been a
well-known and successful shoe manufacturer in Salem,
was quite advanced in j^ears v/hen he took up his resi-
dence in Danvers. At one time his partner in business
was Abel Lawrence, and his sons were also associated
with him. The grounds around the house were attrac-
tively laid out, the natural beauties of the locality, with
a deep ravine on one side, adding to its picturesque set-
ting. Mr. Driver died here in 1868, and the next owner
was George M. Underwood of Pawtucket, R. I., who
resided here until 1872. Mr. Underwood sold the place
to Jacob E. Spring, a wealthy wool merchant, who had
had extensive interests in South America, and who con-
tinued his residence here until 1880, when he built the
large stone mansion near by, now owned by St. John's
College. During the next ten years, short-term tenants
occupied the place. In 1890, the Rev. Eugene De
Normandie, having been called to the pastorate of the
Unitarian church, purchased it, naming it "Maplebank,**

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 231

and resided here until his death. The estate was sub-
sequently sold to Louis F. Gavet of Salem, and later,
about 1912, became the property of St. John's College.

"PoRPHORY Hall." — This pretentious residence,
which was erected in 1880 by Jacob E. Spring, at what
was then known as "Beaver Brook," was considered one
of the show places of the town during his ownership.
Mr. Spring was a native of Brownfield, Me., born in
1833, and in 1845 he went to Buenos Ayres, where he
passed the next twenty years engaged in the wool busi-
ness. In 1872 he bought the Stephen Driver farm and
immediately occupied it with his family, consisting of
his wife and seven children, the two eldest daughters
being at this time, however, at school in Germany. The
farm then included the old Prince house and also the
new house built by Mr. Driver across the way. Mr.
Spring was busily emploj^ed for several years in having
the stones on the land collected and converted into the
fine face wall which surrounds the property today, and
not only the wall but the cellar and much of the build-
ing Avere constructed of rocks found on the premises.
The house, which is 54 by 70 feet, is of Gothic architec-
ture and is most substantially built, if the description
at the time of its erection can be relied upon, which states
that "the cellar wall is an immense mass of rock and
masonry, upon which is placed split granite underpin-
ning from the Lynnfield quarry, 30 inches high and
8 inches thick, and inside that is a lining of brick. On
this is a hewn granite belt 9 inches high, setting out some
over the underpinning." The door and window sills
are of Nova Scotia freestone, and the arches are of face
brick. The building was said to have cost $40,000, a
large expenditiu-e for the time. There are at least forty
different kinds of stone represented and most of them
are of flinty hardness. They vary in color from
pure white to inky black, all of which were carefully

232 CHRONICLES OF DAN^^ERS

dressed and matched. There were twenty-five finished
rooms in this beautiful mansion and every modern con-
venience and hixury of adornment were provided.
Whittier suggested that the place be called "Stone-
croft," but "Porphory Hall" was finally selected, on
account of the variety of stone. Here the family enter-
tained for many years, until the vicissitudes of fortune
made it imperative to dispose of the estate, and it was
purchased in 1891 by the Xaverian Brotherhood, a Ro-
man Catholic institution. Since that time many new
buildings have been added, the place having been con-
verted into a large preparatory school for boys.

Howe Residence. — In 1880, Isaac B. Howe of
Clinton, Iowa, purchased of Joshua Silvester the resi-
dence on Peabody avenue, now occupied by his daugh-
ter. Miss Margaret Howe. Mr. Howe went from
Northfield, Vt., to the West in early life, and became
successful in his business undertakings. He settled in
Clinton in 1859, being one of the many civil engineers
whom Eastern capitahsts engaged to laj^ out the new
trans-continental line, now the Union Pacific Railroad.
Afterward he became superintendent of the Iowa Divi-
sion of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, and
later was leader in several engineering projects, until
his health failed. As both JNIr. and Mrs. Howe's for-
bears resided in the vicinity of Boxford and Middleton,
Danvers was not unfamiliar to them. Mr. Howe's
health did not improve and he passed away within the
year, but the family continued their residence here. This
house is probably one of the earliest concrete houses in
this country. It was built in 1857, on land owned orig-
inallj^ by Nathaniel Putnam, son of the emigrant John,
this lot being part of the orchard of Judge Samuel Put-
nam, from whose heirs it was purchased. This field is
historic, as Hanson says, in his history, that it was the
common belief during the witchcraft delusion, that here

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 233

was where Satan gathered his company for his midnight
riots, and where he appeared well-dressed in a suit of
black, "like an ordinary minister." That may be true,
but for two hundred and thirty years since those revels
took place, peace and quiet have prevailed in that neigh-
borhood. There was originally a concrete wall sur-
rounding the grounds, with pagoda-like concrete gate-
posts at both driveways, which were replaced by the fine
face wall which encloses the place today. Other im-
provements have been made from time to time, both in-
side and outside the house, all contributing to make
what is considered one of the finest private residences in
this vicinity. Situated in close proximity to the Pea-
body Institute grounds, with the pond on one side and
surrounded with fine old trees and well-kept lawns, it
has an attractive setting.

"RivERBANK." — The residence of John Frederick
Hussey stands on the site of the house of one of the
earliest families of Salem, the Waters family. It was
built probabh^ by Robert Cotta, who in 1664 sold it
to John Waters, and his descendants continued to own
and Occupy it until it was destroyed by fire about 1845.
There is a tradition in the Waters family that when
Indian wigwams were scattered among the trees and
on the banks of Waters river, the redmen were often
very friendly and made neighboring calls at the houses
of the white people, but on one occasion they were other
than friendly. One day a squaw asking for cider, which
they were accustomed to give to the Indians, was re-
fused, because the housewife was unusually busy with
domestic affairs. In the afternoon they left the baby
of the family and went across the river to do the daily
milking. When they returned, baby Lydia was missing,
and it took considerable tact and argument on the part
of the mother to get her restored from the Indian who
had kidnapped her. This child married Capt. Johnson

234 CHEONICLES OF DANVERS

Proctor of South Danvers, and became the ancestor of
many of Danvers' best citizens.

This place passed from the Waters family into the
possession of Matthew Hooper, a grandson of "King"
Hooper, who in 1843 had purchased the Danvers Iron
Works. He had lived in the house at the corner of
South Liberty street, which projected over the river,
and which was demolished when Waters river bridge
was rebuilt in 1898, and upon the burning of the old
Waters house he bought the land and erected the fine
brick residence and stone barn now standing there. The
bricks and the workmanship were said to have been sec-
ond to none in town. Here the Hoopers entertained
extensively, the large room on the left of the front door
being used for many a dancing party in the old days.
They were connected with the Universalist church and
were widely known for their generosity and sociability.
It was their custom to entertain people of different ages
at different times. Thej^ would give a dancing party
for the young people, a social for the middle-aged
and at other times an old people's party. It is need-
less to say that these affairs were enjoyed to the fullest
extent. It has been said that on more than one occa-
sion Mrs. Hooper was known to have entered into the
young people's dances with much vigor, and could show
the youngsters some steps when she was seventy or more.
Mr. Hooper inherited from his grandfather much of his
hospitality and genial disposition. He died in 1858,
and the house was sold in 1864 by Polly Hooper,
his widow, then the wife of William Lord, to Samuel
A. Merrill, for $9,650. Mr. Merrill, after about twenty
years' ownership, partly as a residence, disposed of the
property about 1883 to William Penn Hussey, who
made extensive alterations, and upon w^hose death in
1910, it came into the possession of his son John Fred-
erick Hussey. Mr. Hussey has greatly improved the

Courtesy " Old-Time New England " '

"THE LINDENS," THE RESIDENCE OF WARD THORON, ESQ.

Built about 1754, by Robert Hooper, Esq., of Marblehead

Occupied by Gen. Gage, the Royal Governor, as headquarters, in 1774

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 235

estate and has revived much of the old-time hospitality
which the house enjoyed in its early days.

"The Lindens." — This historic house was built by
Robert Hooper, Esq., of Marblehead, about 1754. It
still remains a fine example of eighteenth century archi-
tecture, having been altered very little by its successive
owners. It is an interesting fact that the land upon
which this house is built is part of the "Governor's
Plain," a two-hundred-acre tract west of the "Orchard
Farm," granted in 1636 by the town of Salem to Gov-
ernor Endicott. The account of the occupation of this
house by Governor Gage, from June to September,
1774, is related elsewhere in this volume, and we have
the curious coincidence of associating with this estate
the first Governor of Massachusetts under the Colonial
Charter, who was the first private owner of the land,
and the last Governor of this Commonwealth under the
Provincial Charter, who occupied this house on the same
land just previous to the Revolution. This estate is
still within the limits of the present town of Danvers.

The Revolution found Robert Hooper's affairs much
involved, and his loyalty to the King helped little to
disentangle them. He was obliged in 1774 to mortgage
all of his property in Danvers to his English corres-
pondents, to protect large advances made by them ; and
eventually, in 1798, this estate passed almost directly
from the mortgagees into the possession of Judge
Collins.

Upon Judge Collins' death, in 1820, a pleasant tra-
dition recalls that it occurred in midwinter, and that his
body was preserved in the cellar of his mansion until the
spring thaw permitted the digging of his grave in the
field opposite. The cofhn was filled with peppercorns.
There, for many years, an imposing monument marked
the spot. Although his widow, Susanna (Tracey) Col-
lins, died in 1827, his family continued in possession

236 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

until 1832, when his daughter, Miss Deborah Colhns,
sold the property to her brother-in-law, Capt. Jeremiah
Briggs, of Salem, who had just previously married her
sister Hepsebeth. The famous White murder, which
had recently taken place in Salem, made Miss Collins
feel she did not want to reside in the country, and was
the immediate cause of her disposing of "The Lindens."

In a few months, however, Captain Briggs conveyed
it to Gideon Barstow, also of Salem, a prominent mer-
chant engaged in foreign trade, who, in 1836, conveyed
the "great house" and twenty-four acres of land to Gil-
bert and Nathan Tapley for $3,000, the latter continu-
ing in the ownership until 1844. The next owner was
the Rev. Petrus Stuyvesant Ten Broeck, a retired cler-
gyman, who opened here a private school which he con-
ducted for about five years. On his death his widow
disposed of it, and during the next ten years it was
successively owned hj John W. Treadwell, William H.
Jackson, Joseph Rider, and Charles F. Eaton, mer-
chant, of Boston.

Mr. Eaton conveyed it in 1860 to Francis Peabody,
Esq., son of Col. Francis Peabody of Salem, and de-
scended in the eighth generation from Governor Endi-
eott, the original owner of the land. The house, which
had been much neglected since the days of the Collins',
was thoroughly repaired bj^ Mr. Peabody, whose natural
good taste and architectural training made it possible
for him to tactfully adapt the original house, with slight
alterations, to modern ideas of comfort. The result of
his work was the conversion of a very dilapidated coun-
try estate into a most attractive country residence. The
kitchen wing to the north and the sun porch on the south
were added bj^ JNIr. Peabody. He also altered three
chimney breasts by substituting, in 1860, two mantel-
pieces from his grandfather, Joseph Peabody's house in
Salem, and one from "Oak Hill." The Joseph Peabody

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 237

mantelpieces are in the room on the right of the entrance
door and in the bedroom on the right at the head of the
stairs. The one from "Oak Hill," placed there in 1873, is
in the northwest bedroom on the second floor. All these
were designed by Samuel JNIcIntire. The farmhouse,
which was probably built by Samuel Endicott, from
whom the portion of the estate on the east side of Sylvan
Street was acquired, and the farm buildings were reno-
vated by Mr. Peabody. He also constructed a lodge on
Collins Street, the stables and sheds near the mansion,
and laid out the gardens to the west of it on the site of
the old slave quarters of Mr. Hooper's time. In this
attractive house INIr. and INIrs. Peabody lived for a full
half century, until their respective deaths in 1910 and
1911.

Mr. Peabody served for forty-four years as Treasurer
of the Peabody Institute of Danvers, having been one
of the original Trustees appointed by George Peabody.
His death severed the last personal tie with the town's
benefactor. The resolutions adopted by the Board of
Trustees may be said to truly express the thoughts of
all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance: "His inter-
est in the Institute has been unfailing; his courtesy, his
consideration of others, and his gracious personality
have been enjoyed and appreciated by the many trustees
with whom he has been associated during these many
years."

After the death of his mother in 1911, Capt. Jacob
Crowninshield Rogers Peabody occupied the Lindens
until December, 1914, when it was sold to the present!
owner, Ward Thoron, Esq.

In regard to the extent of lands forming part of the
estate known as "The Lindens," the following notes will
be of interest :

Mr. Hooper's original purchase, made December,
1753, was of 28 acres, at the northerly end of a 40-acre

238 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

tract belonging to Dr. Amos Putnam and his wife,
Hannah PhilHps Putnam. The Putnam land had an
easterly frontage of about 90 rods on the Ipswich high-
way, extending northerly from Rum Bridge Creek.
Mr. Hooper acquired the northerly 60 rods frontage.
The "Great House," M^hich was finished in 1754, was
located at about the centre of the estate. In 1755 and
1767, Mr. Hooper increased his holdings by the pur-
chase of an additional 12 acres to the north, so that his
northern boundary coincided with the southern bound-
ary of the famous Allen farm.

When he mortgaged his Danvers property, in April,
1774, to Messrs. Alexander Champion and Thomas
Dickson, merchants of London, to secure "the payment
of £24,417/9/1 balance of amount due them by said
Hooper as appears by their account rendered December
31, 1772," this estate was one of three then owned by
him in Danvers, and was described as follows : —

"Containing about 40 acres whereon the Great House
stands, bounding easterly on the road leading to Ips-
wich, southerly on land of Dr. Amos Putnam, westerly
on land of John Felton partly and partly on Tapley's
land, northerly partly on Tapley's land and partly on
Tarbell's land."

These 40 acres were kept intact until 1832, when
Jeremiah Briggs, Judge Collins' son-in-law, divided it
into three parcels, viz. : Twelve acres on the south, which
he sold in 1836 to Daniel Buxton; the house with 24
acres, which he sold in 1832 to Gideon Barstow; four
acres on the northeasterly corner, the disposition of
which has not been traced.

In 1844, Nathan Tapley still further partitioned the
property, and the estate conveyed to Petrus Stuyvesant
Ten Broeck consisted only of the southernmost portion
of the 24 acres, namely 7y2 acres with the dwelling house
and other buildings. When Mr. Peabody acquired

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 239

*'The Lindens" in 1860 there were but 7^/^ acres of land.
He added 18 acres to the south, besides 20 acres oppo-
site on the east side of Colhns Street. After his death
the property was again divided into the three parcels
he had separately acquired, and the mansion was sold
to the present owner with about six acres of land. Since
then the twenty-acre tract on the east side of Sylvan
Street has been re-acquired and the estate now consists
of about twenty-six acres.

BuRLEY Farm. — This old estate, known for more
than a hundred years as "Burley Farm," is one of Dan-
vers' most beautiful spots, situated in the heart of the
town, yet so secluded that it seems far remoA-ed from
busy traffic. It is the residence of George Augustus
Peabody, Esq., and is one of the few, if not the only
estate in Danvers, that has retained practically its orig-
inal 250 acres for more than two hundred years. Later
owners have also added to that number.

In the 17th century this locality was known as "Gott's
corner," and its owner then. Deacon Charles Gott, with
others, conveyed this farm to John Porter, the pioneer
owner of Danvers Plains. Porter, in 1673, bequeathed
it to his son Benjamin, who, dying unmarried in 1700,
in turn bequeathed the farm to his brother Israel Porter.
From Israel, through his son William Porter, it was
finall}^ purchased in 17o0 by Robert Hooper, Esq., of
Marblehead. In 1763, when Hooper conveyed the
estate to William Burnet Browne, son of William
Browne, of "Folly Hill" fame, there was a dwelling
house, with barn and other buildings, upon the land,
then in occupation of Samuel Leach, who probably had
charge of the farm. In 1773, Squire Browne, then of
the County of King William in Virginia, conveyed the
estate to Thomas Fairweather of Boston and Abijah
Willard of Lancaster. During the Revolution, in 1779,

240 CHRONICLES OF DAN^TERS

Fairweather disposed of his share to Richard Derby,
Jr., of Salem, and in 1781, Willard, being a loyalist,
an "absentee and conspiritor," as the deed states, suf-
fered confiscation of his share, which was sold at public
vendue to Larkin Thorndike, Esq., a native of Beverb/,
then residing in Ipswich. There was apparently upon
the estate at that time "a large mansion house, barn and
other buildings, together with a landing-place so-called,
containing half an acre on Frost Fish brook, on the
south side of the road, near the bridge."

The next owner was Capt. William Burley, then a
resident of Boston, who purchased of Thorndike in
1793, and from whom the name "Burley Farm" has
descended to the present time. His holdings also in-
cluded the Lindall Hill section of the town, that eleva-
tion being known as "Burley Hill" for many years.
Captain Burley was a native of Ipswich, the son of
Andrew and Hannah (Cogswell) Burley. His father
was a graduate of Har^^ard in 1742, and the family had
been prominent in Ipswich for generations. The son
had taken an active part in the Revolutionary War, and
as a prisoner had been confined a year and nine months
by the British after the battle of White Plains. He
held a commission as Captain in the Continental ser-
vice. At the close of the war, in 1786, he married
Susanna, daughter of Gen. Michael and Elizabeth
(Choate) Farley of Ipswich, and removed to Boston,
where he resided until his purchase of this Danvers
estate. He died, aged 72 years, at "Burley Farm," in
1822, "at Beverley," as the records state, that portion
of the present town of Danvers, east of Frostfish Brook,
being at that time included in the town of Beverly.
Captain Burley left legacies to the towns of Ipswich
and Beverly, to be expended for the instruction of poor
children in reading and the principles of the Christian
religion.

RESIDENCE OF GEORGE AUGUSTU.-? PEAi;OliY, BURLEY FARM

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY SUiM.AIER HOUSE ON THE PEABODY FARM

CHESTNUT TREES IN BURLEY WOODS

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 241

Upon his death the estate came into the possession of
his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Frederick Howes, Esq.,
of Salem. Mr. Howes was a practising attorney with
an office in Salem, and represented Danvers in the Leg-
islature of 1817. He served as President of the Essex
Agricultural Society and of the Salem Marine Insur-
ance Company. Just previous to 1850 he built the
present mansion house, now occupied by Mr. Peabody,
of which Edward Cabot of Boston was the architect.
]Mr. Howes died in 1855, but the family continued in
ownership for many years. The tragic death of Miss
Lucy Howes, a daughter, in the summer of 1854, nat-
urally resulted in the family giving up their residence
in Danvers. Miss Howes was driving with her sister
through Hobart Street, when a train on the Essex Rail-
road, which was obscured by the high banking on either
side of the road passing over the Hobart Street cross-
ing, struck the carriage, throwing out both occupants
and fatally injuring one. This shocking accident cast
a gloom over the whole community. After the removal
of the Howes, the house was occupied during the sum-
mer by Dr. Upham of Salem, the Cabots, the Bradlees,
the Blacks, the Endicotts, and others. Samuel Endicott
Peabody, Esq., resided there during the summer of
1878, upon his return to this country from England,
where he had been engaged in the banking business with
the house of J. S. Morgan & Co., which succeeded the
firm of George Peabody & Co. — the philanthropist —
the same year in which he purchased "Kernwood," in
North Salem for a permanent residence.

The farmhouse had been occupied for many years
by various families who were either employed by the
owners or who worked the farm on their own account.
Among these in the eighteen-sixties were the parents
of the Hon. William Henry Moody, who became one
of the ablest members of the bar of Essex County and

242 CHRONICLES OF DAN^^RS

the most distinguished citizen of Danvers. He was born
in Newbury, December 23, 1853, the son of Henry L.
and Melissa A. (Emerson) Moody. He graduated
from the Holten High School in 1869, and from Phil-
lips Academy, Andover, Mass., in 1872 ; A. B. Harvard,
1876, and studied law in the office of Richard H. Dana
in Boston. Admitted to the Bar in 1878, he began prac-
tice at Haverhill. In 1890 he was elected District At-
torney of Essex County, serving in that capacity until
his election to Congress in 1895, to fill the unexpired
term of Gen. William Cogswell, deceased. He served
in Congress until 1902, when he was appointed Secre-
tary of the Navy by President Roosevelt. In 1904 he
was appointed Attorney General of the United States,
which position he occupied until his appointment as a
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, in
1906, serving until ill health forced him to retire. He
returned to Haverhill, where he passed away, July 2,
1917.

In 1880, "Burley Farm" was purchased from the
Howes family, probably for speculation, by Fred
Adams, who the following year, sold it to George Au-
gustus Peabody, Esq., brother of Mrs. William Crown-
inshield Endicott, now the owner of the Joseph Pea-
body farm at Danvers Highlands, and cousin of Francis
Peabody, Esq., then owner of "The Lindens," making
three fine Danvers estates in the possession of members
of the Peabody family. In 1882, the new owner brought
his wife, Augusta Balch Neilson, daughter of the Rev.
Lewis Penn Witherspoon Balch and Anna (Jay), his
wife, who was a granddaughter of Chief Justice John
Jay, to this house, where she lived until her death in
April, 1888. Mr. Peabody is a graduate of Hansard
in the class of 1852, being at present (1923) its oldest
alumnus. He has been an extensive traveller in his own
country, in South America and in Europe, lias been a

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 243

famous sportsman, noted as a wonderful shot, and has
lived the last forty years the life ofa country gentleman
upon his Danvers estate. He studied law in Salem in
the famous office of Nathaniel J. Lord, and was ad-
mitted to the Essex County Bar, but never actively
practiced his profession. Mr. Peabody served for
twenty-four years as a Trustee of the Peabody Insti-
tute, Danvers, previous to his retirement in 1916, and
has been most generous in his donations to local public
institutions, as well as to institutions outside of Danvers.

The Peabody Farm. — This estate, which has long
been known as one of the town's beauty spots, is the
residence of Mrs. William Crowninshield Endicott, and
of her son, William Crowninshield Endicott, Esq., and
Mrs. Endicott. In the early days this farm was in the
possession of the Ingersoll family, and in 1814 was sold
by Capt. Jonathan Ingersoll, a Salem shipmaster, to
Joseph Peabody, the eminent Salem merchant. It has
been related that he removed to Danvers during the War
of 1812, when it was feared that Salem would be bom-
barded, and established this home as a safe retreat for
his family. It is also said that he hired the place at
first, during those troublous times, for storage of the
valuable cargoes from his ships, for which the barns
were used, one of which is now standing. Mr. Peabody
continued to reside here until his death in 1844. His
widow occupied it as a summer residence, and upon her
death in 1854, her son, George Peabody, Esq., who had
purchased the place from the estate of his father, con-
tinued the ownership. For many years Mr. Peabody
and his family were accustomed to pass a few weeks
here each season, and when he died in 1892, it came into
possession of his daughter, Mrs. Endicott.

At the time of the witchcraft delusion in 1692, accord-
ing to Upham's map, a house was standing upon the

244 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

site of the present mansion. Originally the house was
two stories high, had one room on each side of a porch,
with rooms in the second story which faced to the north.
When Mr. Peabody purchased the place he made addi-
tions, and Mrs. Endicott also has greatly enlarged and
improved it. The parlor has the same furniture and
the same carpet that it had over one hundred years ago,
and in the present library is the old crane which was in
the fireplace in that room at the time of the witchcraft
delusion. The gray mantelpiece in the dining-room,
and a pair of mahogany doors, with carvings by Samuel
Mclntire, which now divide the hall and the large draw-
ing-room, are heirlooms from some of the old Salem
houses.

Trees of ancient growth surround the old mansion,
the long avenue of approach being most attractive. The
gardens are of especial beauty. In the center of one
garden is a large tulip tree, one of the most beautiful
examples in this part of the country ; and distinguishing
features of the place are the oak and elm trees, and the
buckthorn and arbor vitae hedges, fine specimens of
their kind. At the end of the garden stands a little
summer-house with a quaint pineapple on top, which
was designed by the late Francis Peabody, Esq., some
sixty or more years ago. Beyond is a long walk bor-
dered by high hedges, at the end of which is a carved
wooden figure, a replica of one at Currymore in Ireland,
the estate of the present Marquis of Waterford. This
figure, with two others in the garden — the Dancing
Girls of Canova — were carved by Ferdinand Demetz
St. Ulrich Groden, in the Austrian Tyrol, in 1903.

Overlooking a marvellous rose garden there is a
unique summer-house, two stories high and about twenty
feet square. It was built for Elias Haskett Derby,
the famous Salem merchant, at his residence in Dan-
vers, now Peabody, from designs made by Mclntire,

OLD AND HISTORIC ESTATES 245

and was completed in July, 1793, at a cost of £lOO.
The noted architect's exquisite taste is no better illus-
trated than in this structure. An arch runs through it,
with four doors, two on either side. On the left the
doors lead into two small rooms; on the right, a door
opens upon a little staircase which ascends to a room
about eighteen feet square with eight windows. The
summer-house is furnished with Chinese furniture, a
Chinese lantern and some Chinese figures. In the spring
of 1901 Mrs. Endicott purchased this house and re-
moved it to the farm. Although moved a distance of
four miles, this century-old building was not damaged
in the least, the plaster being not even cracked. At
present there is a figure upon the front of the summer-
house and four urns, one on each corner; the figure is
that of a man whetting his scythe, all of which were
designed and carved by Mclntire.

Joseph Augustus Peabody, eldest son of Joseph Pea-
body, planted, in 1817, the avenue of elms, which add
so much to the beauty of the place.

Judge Endicott, a lineal descendant of the first settler
in Danvers, Governor John Endecott, was a native of
Salem and a graduate of Harvard in the class of 1847.
He was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Judicial
Court of Massachusetts in 1873, and, in 1885, was
ofi'ered by President Cleveland, the position of Secre-
tary of War, which he accepted and ably filled for four
years. Since the earliest days the Endicott family has
been identified with the town of Danvers.

This estate, which has been in the Peabody family for
more than a century, laid out with extreme care and
receiving constant attention, constitutes what is con-
ceded to be one of the largest and finest private resi-
dences in this vicinity.

246 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

CLERGYMEN.

The following natives of Danvers have become clergymen :
William P. Page, born 1790; Israel W. Putnam, born 1786, Con-
gregationalist ; Hiram B. Putnam, born 1841, Congregationalist ;
Allen Putnam, born 1803, Unitarian; Moses K. Cross, born 1812,
Congregationalist; Alfred P. Putnam, born 1827, Unitarian;
Charles H. Learoyd, born 1834, Episcopalian; William W. Silves-
ter, born 1833, Episcopalian; J. Herbert Colcord, born 1851, Con-
gregationalist; Francis A. Gray, born 1857, Universalist ; John
Daley, C. SS. E., born 1858, Eoman Catholic; Austin Eice, born
1871, Congregationalist; Elliott 0. Foster, born 1883, Congi'ega-
tionalist; Thomas Moriarty, born 1883, Eoman Catholic; James
McDewell, C. P., born 1889, Eoman Catholic.

Others, not natives, who have entered the ministry from Danvers :
William Clark, James Eichmond, Charles E. Ewing, George Henry
Ewing, Addison A. Ewing, H. William Hook, Leonard Murphy,
S.J.

PHYSICIANS.

William Griggs, 1692-1698; Jonathan Prince, 1729-1753; Amos
Putnam, 1744-1803; Ebenezer Putnam, 1745-1788; Jonathan
Prince, Jr., 1754-1759; Samuel Holten, 1756-1774; Jonathan
Cutler, 1758-1780 ; Caleb Eea, 1747-1760 ; James Phillips Putnam,
1768-1824; Archelaus Putnam, 1765-1800; Caleb Eea, Jr., 1778-
1796; Benjamin Putnam, 1771-1801; Samuel Endieott, 1775-
1800; John Fritz Folkersamb, 1783-1785; Andrew Putnam, 1774-
1782; Joseph Shed, 1805-1853; Ebenezer Dale, 1805-1834; George
Osgood, 1814-1863 ; Archelaus Fuller Putnam, 1826-1859 ; Andrew
Nichols, 1808-1853; Jeremiah S. Putnam, 1820; Ebenezer Hunt,
1824-1874; John Bush, 1825-1826; Charles Carleton, 1835; John
E. Patten, 1840-1846; Humphrey Gould, 1832; David A. Gros-
venor, 1839-1889; Samuel P. Fowler, 1872; Jesse W. Snow. 1850-
1867 ; Preston M. Chase, 1858-1887 ; John W. Sawyer, 1867-1881,
Butler Hospital; W. Winslow Eaton, 1867-1910; Lewis Whiting,
1868-1895; Woodbury G. Frost, 1878-1915; Daniel H. Batchelder,
1876; Edgar 0. Fowler, 1876-1884; Edward A. Kemp, 1884-1903;
Henry F. Batchelder, 1885-1901 ; Charles B. Learoyd, 1890-1895 ;
John H. Nichols, from 1903 at Tewksbury Hospital; Edward P.
Hale, from 1881 at Lenox; John J. McGuigan, began in 1890 at
Lynn; Otis P. Mudge, from 1907 at Amesbury; Anna (Peabody),

CI-ERGYMEN, PHYSICIANS AND LAWYERS 247

Marsh, 1905-1913, Danvers State Hospital; Harry D. Abbott,
190G-1913; Harry C. Boutelle, 1903-1915; Susan H. Gibbs.

Eesident Physicians, 1923. — Frederick W. Baldwin, Edward
H. Niles, Edward H. Magee, Charles H. Deering, Herbert L.
Mains, John J. Moriarty, Clifton L. Buck, John F. Valentine,
Oliver Sartwell, Mrs. Blanche Sartwell, Andrew Nichols.

Superintendents op Danvees State Hospital. — Calvin S.
May, 1878-1880; Henry E. Steadman, 1880; William B. Gold-
smith, 1881-1886; William A. Gorton, 1886-1888; Charles W.
Page, 1888-1898; Arthur H. Harrington, 1898-1903; Charles W.
Page, 1903-1910; Harry W. Mitchell, 1910-1912; George M. Kline,
1912-1916; John B. McDonald, 1916.

LAWYERS.

Samuel Holten, Judge of Probate and the Court of Common
Pleas for Essex County.

James Putnam, Attorney-General of Massachusetts, and Judge
of Supreme Court of New Brunswick.

Timothy Pickering, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of
Essex County.

Samuel Putnam, Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts.

Benajah Collins, Judge of a Court at Liverpool, N. S.

Rufus P. Tapley, Justice of the Supreme Court of Maine.

Nathan Eead, Special Justice of the Court of Common Pleas of
Essex County and Chief Justice for Hancock County, Maine.

Arthur A. Putnam, Judge of District Court, Worcester Comity.

William C. Endicott, Justice of the Supreme Court of Massa-
chusetts.

David Cummings, Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts.

William H. Moody, Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Horace L. Hadley, Judge of a Court in Washington Court House,
Ohio.

Alden P. Wliite, Judge of Probate for Essex County.

Mellen Chamberlain, Chief Justice of the Municipal Court,
Boston.

George B. Sears, Judge of District Court, Salem.

Israel W. Andrews, Trial Justice, Danvers.

David Mead, Trial Justice, Danvers.

Harry E. Jackson, Associate Justice of the Ipswich Police
Court.

Frederick Howes, Stephen H. Phillips, Abner C. Goodell,
William Oakes, Joseph W. Howe, Willis E. Flint, John W. Porter,
Ernest J. Powers, Edward L. Hill, William C. Endicott, Jr.,
Daniel N. Crowley, Oscar E. Jackson, William B. Sullivan,

248 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

A. Preston Chase, Edward G. Carr, Elliott Perkins^ Edward N.
Eobinson, William E. Clapp, Dennis Lyons, James J. Gaffney,
Patrick H. Lyons, Daniel J. O'Eourke, J. Frank Hughes, John
H. O'Neil, Benjamin Crowley, William B. Sullivan, Jr., Arthur P.
Sullivan, Norman Wilks, Thomas 0. Jenkins, Edward J. Carey,
Horace J. H. Sears.

V. CIVIL HISTORY.

MODEEATORS.

Daniel Epes, Esq., 1752, '53.

Capt. Thomas Porter, 1754.

Daniel Epes, Jr., Esq., 1755-57, '59, '60, '65-67.

Samuel Flint, 1758.

Thomas Porter, 1761-63, '71, '72.

Deacon Malachi Eelton, 1764.

Samuel Holten, Jr., 1768, '81, '84, '86, '87, '89, '90, 1796-1812

(24 years).
Gideon Putnam, 1769, '79, '83, '85, '93, '94, '95.
Archelaus Dale, 1770, '73, '76.

Capt. William Shillaber, 1774, '75, '77, '78, '88, '91, '92.
Amos Putnam, 1780, '82.
Samuel Page, 1813, '14.
Dr. Andrew Nichols, 1815-17.
Dr. Joseph Shed, 1818.
Dr. George Osgood, 1819, '21, '25, '35.
Capt. Thomas Putnam, 1820.
Nathan Poor, 1822, '23, '24.
Robert S. Daniels, 1826.
Elias Putnam, 1827, '29, '31.
Lewis Allen, 1828, '46, '48, '50, '52, '54.
John W. Proctor, Esq., 1830, '32, '34, '36, '38, '40.
John Preston, 1833, '43.
Abel Nichols, 1841.
Daniel P. King, 1842.
Jonathan Shove, 1844.
Moses Black, Jr., 1845, '47, '51.
James D. Black, 1849, '53, '55, '57, '65.
Israel W. Andrews, 1856, '70, '77.
William Endicott, 1858, '59, '62, '63, '66-69.
Arthur A. Putnam, Esq., 1860, '61.
Charles P. Preston, 1864.
George Tapley, 1871, '72, '74, '78-81.
George J. Sanger, 1873, '75, '76, '82-84.

(249)

250 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

Daniel N. Crowley, Esq., 1885-86, '91, '93, 1900.

Alden P. White, Esq., 1887, '89, '90, '92.

Israel W. Andrews, 1888.

Addison P. Learoyd, 1894-1900.

Frank C. Damon, 1901.

A. Preston Chase, 1902-11, '13-21.

Jacob C. E. Peabody, 1912.

J. Prank Hughes, 1922.

TOWN CLERKS.

1752-53.— Daniel Epes, Jr. 1778-86.— Stephen Needham.

1754-56. — James Prince. 1787. — Jonathan Sawyer.

1757.— Benjamin Prescott, Jr. 1788-90.— James Porter.

1758-60.— James Prince. 1791-94.— Gideon Foster.

1761.— Benjamin Prescott, Jr. 1795-1800.— Joseph Osborn, Jr.

1762.— Gideon Putnam. 1801-28.— Nathan Felton.

1763.— Thomas Porter. 1829-34.— Benjamin Jacobs.

1764-66.— Archelaus Dale. 1835-53.— Joseph Shed.

1767.— Thomas Porter. 1854-55.— Nathan H. Poor.

1768-71.— Samuel Holten, Jr. 1856.— Edwin F. Putnam .

1772.— Gideon Putnam. 1857-85.— A. Sumner Howard.

1773-75.— Samuel Holten, Jr. 1886-88.— Joseph E. Hood.

1776.— Stephen Needham. 1889-1921.— Julius Peale.

1777.— Samuel Flint. 1921.— A. Preston Chase.

TREASDEERS.

1752-53.— James Prince. 1815-18.— Ward Poole.

1754.— Samuel King. 1819-24.— Edward Southwick.

1755-56.— Joseph Osborn. 1825-31.— Ebenezer Shillaber.

1757-58.— Cornet Sam'l Holten. 1832, '41-48.— Robert S. Daniels.

1759.— Joseph Southwick. 1833-40.— Stephen Upton.

1760-69.— James Smith. 1849.— Abner Sanger.

1770-72.— Thomas Porter. 1850-55.— Francis Baker.

1773-74.— Jeremiah Page. 1856-82.— William L. Weston
1775-83.— Stephen Proctor. (27 years).

1784-88.— Gideon Putnam. 1882-1888.— x\. Frank Welch.

1789-1812.— Dr. Samuel Holten 1889-1905.— Addison P. Learoyd.

(24 years). 1905-23.— A. Preston Chase.
1813-14.— Samuel Page.

CIVIL HISTORY

251

SELECTMEN.

1752.— Daniel Epes.

Capt. Samuel Flint.

Deacon Cornelius Tarbell.

Stephen Putnam.

Samuel King.

Daniel Gardner.

Joseph Gardner.
1753.— Daniel Epes, Jr.

Capt. Thomas Flint.

Cornet Samuel Holten.

Samuel King.

Lieut. David Putnam.

Ensign John Procter.

Jasper jSTeedham.
1754. — Daniel Epes, Jr.

Jasper Needham.

Samuel Putnam.

James Prince.

Ebenezer Goodale.
1755. — Daniel Epes, Jr.

Jasper Needham.

Capt. John Proctor.

James Prince.

Capt. Samuel Flint.
1756. — Daniel Epes, Jr.

Daniel Marble.

Capt. Thomas Flint.

Deacon Cornelius Tarble.

James Prince.
1757. — ^John Preston.

Francis Nurse.

Daniel Gardner.

Benj. Prescott, Jr.

Joseph Southwick.
1758. — James Prince.

Nathan Procter.

Jasper Needham.

Bartholomew Eea.

Benjamin Upton.

1759. — James Prince.

Capt. Samuel Flint.

John Epes.

Ezekiel Marsh, Jr.

Ebenezer Jacobs.
1760. — James Prince.

Jasper Needham.

John Epes.

John Nichols.

John Preston.
1761.— Samuel Holten.

Nathaniel Pope.

Abel Mackintire.

Lieut. Samuel King.

Benj. Prescott, Jr.
1762.— Abel Mclntire.

Benj. Eussell, Jr.

Daniel Purrington.

Gideon Putnam.

Joseph Putnam.
1763.— Thomas Porter.

Samuel Holten.

John Epes.

John Proctor, Jr.

John Preston.
1764.— Benj. Putnam.

Archelaus Dale.

John Putnam.

Stephen Procter.

Benj. Moulton.
1765.— Benj. Moulton.

John Putnam.

Stephen Procter.

Jona. Buxton.

Arch. Dale.
1766.— Archalaus Dale.

Benj. Upton.

Jonathan Buxton.

John Swinerton.

Jonathan Tarble.

252

CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

1767.— Samuel Holten, Jr.
John Epes.
Jonathan Tarbell.
Jonathan Buxton.
Ebenezer Groodell.
1768. — Jonathan Buxton.
John Epes.

Samuel Holten, Jr.

Ebenezer Goodell.

Gideon Putnam.
1769.— Samuel Holten, Jr.

Ebenezer Goodale.

Samuel Gardner.

William Shillaber.

Samuel King.
1770.— Samuel Holten, Jr.

Lieut. John Preston.

John Putnam.

Jonathan Buxton,

Capt. Wm. Shillaber.
1771.— Capt. Wm. Shillaber.

Jonathan Buxton.

Gideon Putnam.

Benj. Proctor.

Samuel Holten, Jr.
1772.— Samuel Flint.

Wm. Shillaber.

Gideon Putnam.

Jonathan Buxton.

Benj. Procter.
1773.— Samuel Holten, Jr.

John Putnam.

Lieut. Arch. Putnam.

Benj. Porter.

Stephen Needham.
1774._Samuel Holten, Jr.

Lieut. Arch. Putnam.

William Poole.

Stephen Needham.

Jonathan Buxton.
1775.— Dr. Samuel Holten.

Capt. Wm. Shillaber.

Capt. Wm. Putnam.

1776.

1777.

Stephen Needham.

Ezra Upton.
-John Epes.

Wm. Shillaber.

Stephen Needham.

Ezra Upton.

Edmund Putnam,
-Capt. John Putnam.

Capt. Samuel Flint.

Capt. Wm. Shillaber.

Stephen Needham.

Phineas Putnam.
1778.— Stephen Needham.

Capt. Wm. Shillaber.

Benj. Procter.

Capt. John Putnam.

Phineas Putnam.

-Col. Enoch Putnam.

Ezra Upton.

Stephen Needham.

Major Samuel Epes.

James Prince.

-Jona. Sawyer.

Daniel Putnam.

Capt. Joseph Porter.

Ezra Upton.
1781. — Capt. Joseph Porter.

Daniel Putnam.

Stephen ISTeedliam.

Samuel White.

Major Samuel Epes.
1782. — Stephen N'eedham.

Daniel Putnam.

Jonathan Sawyer.

Capt. Joseph Porter.

Capt. Gideon Foster.
. — Capt. Gideon Foster.

Daniel Putnam.
John Walcott.

Aaron Putnam.
Stephen Needham.

1779.

1780.-

1783.

CIVIL HISTORY

258

1784. — Stephen Needham.

Major Caleb Low.

Aaron Pntnam,

Capt. Gideon Foster.

Daniel Putnam.
1785.— David Prince.

Jonathan Sawyer.

Stephen Needham.

Daniel Putnam.

Col. Jeremiah Page.
1786.— Stephen Needham.

Stephen Putnam.

Daniel Putnam.

Capt. Jona. Procter.

Capt. Gideon Foster.
1787. — Jona. Sawyer.

Samuel Gardner.

Amos Tapley.

David Prince.

Timothy Leech.
1788.— David Prince.

Capt. Samuel Page.

Amos Tapley.

James Porter.

Stephen Keedham.
1789.— David Prince.

Samuel Page.

John Kettell.

Amos Tapley.

James Porter.
1790.— David Prince.

Capt. Samuel Page.

John Kettell.

James Porter.

John Brown.
1791. — Stephen Needham.

Gideon Foster.

John Kettell.

David Prince.

Amos Tapley.
1792.— Gideon Foster.

David Prince.

Samuel Page.

John Kettell.

Stephen Needham.
1793.— Gideon Foster.

David Prince.

John Kettell.

Joseph Putnam.

Stephen Needham.
1794.— David Prince.

Stephen Needliam.

Samuel Page.

John Kettell.

Gideon Foster.
1795. — Joseph Osborn, Jr.

Stephen Needham.

David Prince.

John Kettell.

Zerubbabel Porter.
1796. — Joseph Osborn, Jr.

Samuel Page.

John Kettell.

Stephen Needham.

Daniel Putnam.
1797.— Joseph Osborn, Jr.

Nathl. Webb.

Zerubbabel Porter.

Amos Tapley.

Elijah Flint.
1798.— Joseph Osborn, Jr.

Samuel Page.

John Kettell.

Daniel Putnam.

Nathan Felton.
1799.— Nathan Felton.

Daniel Putnam.

John Kettell.

Amos Tapley.

Joseph Osborn, Jr.
1800. — Joseph Osborn, Jr.

Daniel Putnam.

Samuel Page.

John KetteU. •

Nathan Felton.

254

CHRONICLES OF DANYERS

1801.— Samuel Page.

Joseph Putnam.

Nathan Felton.

Zerubbabel Porter.

Elijah Flint.
1802.— N^athan Felton.

Johnson Procter.

Sylvester shorn.

Jona. Walcut.

John Fowler.
1803.— Nathan Felton.

Sylvester Osbom.

John Preston.

Jona. Walcut.

John Fowler.
1804.— Nathan Felton.

Sylvester Osbom.

Jonathan Walcut.

Johnson Procter.

John Fowler.
1805.— Nathan Felton.

Amos Tapley.

Sylvester Osbom.

Jonathan Walcut.

John Fowler.
1806.— Nathan Felton.

Sylvester Osbom.

Jonathan Walcut.

Thomas Putnam.

John Fowler.
1807.— Nathan Felton.

Sylvester Osbom.

Jonathan Walcut.

John Fowler.

Amos Tapley.
1808. — Thomas Putnam.

Nathan Felton.

Sylvester Procter.

Daniel Putnam.

Amos Tapley.
1809.— Nathan Felton.

Amos Tapley.

Levi Preston.

Thos. Putnam.

Daniel Putnam.
1810.— Nathan Felton.

Nathaniel Putnam.

Sylvester Procter.

Daniel Putnam.

Peter Cross, Jr.
1811.— Nathan Felton.

Levi Preston.

Jonathan Walcut.

Daniel Putnam.

Andrew Nichols, Jr.
1812.— Nathan Felton.

Jonathan Walcut.

Eichard Osborn.

Daniel Putnam.

Nathaniel Putnam,
1813.— Nathan Felton.

Jonathan Walcut.

Daniel Putnam.

Nathaniel Putnam.

Eichard Osborn.
1814.— Nathan Felton.

Jonathan Walcut.

Nathaniel Putnam.

James Brown.

Jolin Page.
1815.— Nathan Felton.

Nathaniel Putnam.

Jonathan Walcut.

John Page.

Sylvester Procter.
1816.— Nathan Felton.

Sylvester Procter.

Nathaniel Putnam.

Jonathan Walcut.

Daniel Putnam,
1817.— Nathan Felton.

Jonathan Walcut.

Sylvester Procter.

Daniel Putnam.

Nathaniel Putnam.

CIVIL HISTORY

255

1818.— Joseph Shed.

Israel Putnam, Jr.

Thomas Putnam.

Jesse Putnam.

Moses Preston, Jr.
1819. — Israel Putnam, Jr.

Thomas Putnam.

Jesse Putnam.

Joseph Shed.

Moses Preston, Jr.
1820. — Israel Putnam, Jr.

Thomas Putnam.

Jesse Putnam.

Joseph Shed.

Moses Preston, Jr.
1821. — Thomas Putnam.

Joseph Shed.

Jesse Putnam.

Moses Preston, Jr.

Elias Putnam.
1822. — Jesse Putnam.

Elias Putnam.

Nathan Pelton.

Moses Preston, Jr.

Joseph Stearns.
1823. — Jesse Putnam.

Joseph Steams.

Elias Putnam.

Moses Preston, Jr.

Jonathan Shove.
1824. — Jesse Putnam.

Joseph Steams.

Elias Putnam,

Moses Preston.

Jonathan Shove.
1825, — Jesse Putnam.

Elias Putnam.

Joseph Steams.

Moses Preston.

Jonathan Shove.
1826. — Jesse Putnam.

Jonathan Shove.

Joseph Steams.

Elias Putnam.

Moses Preston.
1827. — Jesse Putnam.

Elias Putnam.

Jonathan Shove.

Robert S. Daniels.

Nathan Felton.
1828. — Jesse Putnam.

Jonathan Shove.

Eobert S. Daniels.

Nathan Poor.

Elias Putnam.
1829. — Jesse Putnam.

Elias Putnam.

Jonathan Shove.

Nathan Poor.

Daniel P. King.
1830.— Elias Putnam.

Jonathan Shove.

Nathan Poor.

Jesse Putnam.

Benjamin Jacobs.
1831. — John Preston.

Benjamin Jacobs.

Jacob F. Perry.

Eben Putnam, Jr.

Joseph Shed.
1832. — Benjamin Jacobs,

Kendall shorn.

Lewis Allen.

John Preston.

Jacob F. Perry.
1833. — John Preston.

Kendall Osborn.

Jacob F. Perry.

Benjamin Jacobs.

Nathaniel Pope.
1834. — John Preston.

Joseph Tufts, Jr.

Benjamin Jacobs.

Nathaniel Pope.

Kendall Osborn.

256

CHRONICLES OF DAN VERS

1835. — Nathaniel Pope.

Samuel P. Fowler.

Eben Putnam.

Lewis Allen.

Henry Poor.
1836. — Lewis Allen.

Nathaniel Pope.

Eben S. Upton.

Samuel P. Fowler.

Joseph Tufts, Jr.
1837. — Nathaniel Pope.

Abel Nichols.

Samuel P. Fowler.

Joseph Tufts, Jr.

Ebenezer Sutton.
1838.— Samuel P. Fowler.

Elijah Upton.

Joseph Tufts, Jr.

Eben Sutton.

Nathaniel Pope.
1839.— Elijah Upton.

Nathaniel Pope.

Samuel P. Fowler.

Joseph Tufts, Jr.

Abel Nichols.
1840.— Elijah Upton.

Nathaniel Pope.

Andrew Torr.

Andrew Lunt.

Samuel P. Fowler.
1841. — Henry Poor.

William Black.

Nathaniel Pope.

Elijah Upton.

Joshua Silvester.
1842.— Elijah Upton.

Joshua Silvester.

William Black.

Joseph Poor, Jr.

Wingate Merrill.
1843.— Wingate Merrill.

Joseph Poor, Jr.

Joshua Silvester.

WilHam Black.

Perley Goodale.
1844.— Wingate Merrill.

Joshua Silvester.

Joseph Poor, Jr.

Henry Fowler.

Eben King.
1845.— Wingate Merrill.

Lewis Allen.

Henry Fowler.

Nathaniel Pope.

William Dodge, Jr.
1846.— Wingate Merrill.

Kendall Osborn.

Nathaniel Pope.

William Dodge, Jr.

Lewis Allen.
1847. — Lewis Allen.

Wingate Merrill.

Nathaniel Pope.

William Dodge, Jr.

Moses Black, Jr.
1848. — Nathaniel Pope.

Wingate Merrill.

Moses Black, Jr.

Lewis Allen.

Kendall Osborn.
1849.— Otis Mudge.

Elias Savage.

Abel Preston.

William Dodge, Jr.

Eben S. Upton.
1850. — Lewis Allen.

Eichard Osborn.

Samuel Preston.

Kendall Osborn.

Francis Dodge.
1851. — Kendall Osborn.

Francis Dodge.

William Endicott.

Daniel Emerson.

Aaron F. Clark.

1852.—

1853.

1854.

1855.—

1856.—

1857.—

1858.—

1859,

I860.—

1861.—

1862.—

1863

CIVIL

HISTORY 2

— Kendall Osborn.

John A, Putnam.

Richard Osborn.

1864.-

—Jacob F. Perry.

William Endicott.

John A. Putnam.

Aaron F. Clark.

William Dodge, Jr.

Edwin Mudge.

1865.-

—Jacob F. Periy.

— Kendall Osborn.

William Dodge, Jr.

Leonard Poole.

John A. Putnam.

Edwin Miidge.

1866.-

—Jacob F. Perry.

Aaron Putnam.

William Dodge, Jr.

Elias Savage.

John A. Putnam.

— Lewis Allen.

1867.-

—William Dodge, Jr.

Leonard Poole.

Simeon Putnam.

Joel Putna^m.

Henry A. Perkins.

Benj. F. Hutchinson.

1868.-

—William Dodge, Jr.

Nathan H. Poor.

Simeon Putnam.

— Abel Preston.

Henry A. Perkins.

William Walcott.

1869.-

—William Dodge, Jr.

Nathaniel Bodge.

Simeon Putnam.

Moses J. Currier.

Henry A. Perkins.

Augustus Fowler.

1870.-

—William Dodge, Jr.

— William Dodge, Jr.

Henry A. Perkins.

Augustus Fowler.

Josiah Ross.

Charles P. Preston.

1871.-

—William Dodge, Jr.

— Augustus Fowler.

Henry A. Perkins.

Charles P. Preston.

Josiah Ross.

William Dodge, Jr.

1872.-

—William Dodge, Jr.

— Rufus Putnam.

Henry A. Perkins.

Charles P. Preston.

Joshua Bragdon.

Otis Mudge.

1873.-

—Henry A. Perkins.

— ^Eufus Putnam.

Joshua Bragdon.

Charles P. Preston.

Samuel W. Spaulding.

William Dodge, Jr.

1874.-

—Joshua Bragdon.

. — Rufus Putnam.

Henry A. Perkins.

Charles P. Preston.

Otis F. Putnam.

James M. Perry.

1875.-

—Henry A. Perkins.

. — Francis Dodge.

Joshua Bragdon.

William Dodge, Jr.

Otis F. Putnam.

Charles Chaplin.

1876.-

—Henry A. Perkins.

. — William Dodge, Jr.

Joshua Bragdon.

Charles Chaplin.

Otis F. Putnam.

Augustus Fowler.

1877.-

—Henry A. Perkins.

. — James M. Perry.

Joshua Bragdon.

Jacob F. Perry.

Otis F. Putnam.

257

258

CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

1878.— Charles H. Adams.

Otis F. Putnam.

Josiah Eoss.
1879. — Henry A. Perkins.

Josiah Eoss.

Harrison 0. Warren.
1880. — Henry A. Perkins.

Harrison 0. Warren.

Daniel P. Pope.
1881. — Henry A. Perkins.

Daniel P. Pope.

Josiah Eoss.
1882.— Daniel P. Pope.

Otis F. Putnam.

Joshua Bragdon.
1883.— Daniel P. Pope.

Otis F. Putnam,

Joshua Bragdon.
1884.— Daniel P. Pope.

Joshua Bragdon.

Otis F. Putnam.
1885.— Daniel P. Pope.

Joshua Bragdon.

Otis F. Putnam.
1886.— Daniel P. Pope.

Joshua Bragdon.

Otis F. Putnam.
1887.— Daniel P. Pope.

Joshua Bragdon,

Otis F. Putnam.
1888.— Otis F. Putnam.

Daniel P. Pope.

Joseph W. Woodman,
1889,— Daniel P. Pope.

Joseph W. Woodman.

Otis F. Putnam,
1890.— Daniel P. Pope.

Chauncey S. Eichards.

Otis F. Putnam.
1891.— Daniel P. Pope.

Chauncey S. Eichards.

Jacob Marston.

Otis F. Putnam,

1892.— Daniel P. Pope.

Otis F. Putnam.

Jacob Marston.
1893,— Daniel P. Pope.

Eoswell D. Bates.

Charles N. Perley.
1894.— Daniel P. Pope.

Charles H. Preston.

Frank C. Damon.
1895.— Daniel P. Pope.

Albert A. Bates.

George W. Baker.
1896.— Daniel P. Pope,

Ceorge W, Baker.

Albert A. Bates.
1897.— Daniel P. Pope.

Albert A. Bates.

George W. Baker.
1898.— Daniel P. Pope.

Albert A. Bates.

George W. Baker.
1899.— Daniel P, Pope.

George W, Baker.

Walter T, Creese,
1900,— Daniel P, Pope.

Albert A. Bates.

Eoswell D. Bates.
1901.— Daniel P. Pope.

Eoswell D. Bates.

Albert A. Bates.
1902.— Daniel P, Pope.

Eoswell D. Bates.

Charles N. Perley.
1903.— Daniel P. Pope,

Eoswell D, Bates.

John T. Carroll.
1904.— Daniel P, Pope.

Charles IST. Perley.

John T. Carroll."
1905.— Daniel P. Pope.

Charles H. Preston.

John T. Carroll.

CIVIL HISTORY

259

190G.— Daniel P. Pope.

John T. Carroll.

Charles H. Preston.
1907.— Daniel P. Pope.

Charles H. Preston.

David S. Brown.
1908.— Daniel P. Pope.

Charles H. Preston.

J. Ellis ISTightingale.
1909.— Daniel P. Pope.

Charles H. Preston.

J. Ellis Nightingale.
1910.— Daniel P. Pope.

J. Ellis Nightingale.

Alvah J. Bradstreet.
1911.— Daniel P. Pope.

J. Ellis Nightingale.

Andrew H. Paton.
1912.— Daniel P. Pope.

James 0. Perry.

Poland G-. Eaton.
1913.— David S. Brown.

J. Ellis Nightingale.

Poland G. Eaton.
1914.— David S. Brown.

J. Ellis Nightingale.

Roland G. Eaton.
1915.— David S. Brown,

J. Ellis Nightingale.

Roland G. Eaton.
1916.— David S. Brown.

J. Ellis Nightingale.

Roland C Eaton.
1917.— David S. Brown.

W. Arthur Donnell.

J. Anderson Lord.
1918.— David S. Brown.

Raymond U. Lynch.

J. Ellis Nightingale.
1919.— David S. Brown.

J. Ellis Nightingale.

W. Arthur Webb.
1920.— David S. Brown.

W. Arthur Webb.

J. Ellis Nightingale.
1921.— David S. Brown.

W. Arthur Webb.

J. Ellis Nightingale.
1922.— W. Arthur Webb.

Harold D. Stone.

Albert F. Learoyd.

SENATORS.

Samuel Holten, 1784, '86, '89-92, Robert S. Daniels, 1851.

'95, '96.
Samuel Putnam, 1813-14.
Rufus Choate, 1829.
Elias Putnam, 1831-32.
Jonathan Shove, 1834-36.
Daniel P. King, 1839-41.
Henry Poor, 1846.
George Osborn.

Alfred A. Abbott, 1853.
James D. Black, 1855.
Israel W. Andrews, 1863-64.
Augustus Mudge, 1882.
Samuel L. Sawyer, 1893-94.
J. Frank Porter, 1901-03.
A. Preston Chase, 1913-14.
Walter T. Creese, 1923.

REPRESENTATIVES.

Daniel Epes, Jr., 1754-57, '65, '67.
Daniel Gardner, 1759.
Thomas Porter, 1760-63, '65.

260 CHRONICLES OF DANVEES

John Preston, 1764.

Samuel Holten, Jr., 1768-73, '75, '80, '87.

WiUiam Shillaber, 1775.

Samuel Epes, 1776.

Jeremiah Hutchinson, 1777-83, '85-88.

Gideon Putnam, 1784.

Col. Israel Hutchmson, 1789, '91-95, '97, '98.

Caleb Low, 1790.

Gideon Foster, 1796, '99, 1800-02.

1804. — Gideon Foster, Capt. Samuel Page, Dr. Nathan Bead.

1805. — Gideon Foster, Samuel Page, Nathan Felton.

1806. — Gideon Foster, Samuel Page, Nathan Felton.

1807.— Nathan Felton.

1808. — Samuel Page, Nathan Felton, Squiers Shove.

1809. — Samuel Page, Nathan Felton, Squiers Shove.

1810. — Samuel Page, Nathan Felton, Dennison Wallis.

1811. — Samuel Page, Nathan Felton, Dennison Wallis, Daniel
Putnam.

1812. — Samuel Page, Nathan Felton, Dennison Wallis, James
Foster.

1813. — Samuel Page, Nathan Felton, Dennison Wallis, James
Foster.

1814. — Samuel Page, Nathan Felton, Sylvester Osborn, Heze-
kiah Flint.

1815. — Nathan Felton, Sylvester Osborn, Hezekiah Flint, Wil-
liam P. Page.

1816. — Nathan Felton, William P. Page, Frederick Howes, John
Swinnerton, Jr.

1817. — Daniel Putnam, Sylvester Osborn, Frederick Howes,
Thomas Putnam.

1818, — Frederick Howes.

1819. — Nathan Felton, Dennison Wallis, Daniel Putnam, Thomas
Putnam.

1820-21.— Nathan Felton.

1822.— William Sutton.

1823. — Ebenezer Shillaber, John Page, Nathan Poor, Nathaniel
Putnam.

1824.— Nathan Poor.

1825. — John Page, John Endicott.

1826. — Jonathan Shove, Rufus Choate.

1827. — Rufus Choate, Jonathan Shove.

1828. — Jonathan Shove, Nathan Poor, Robert S. Daniels.

1829. — Jonathan Shove, Elias Putnam.

CIVIL HISTORY 261

1830. — Elias Putnam, Jonathan Shove, Eobert S. Daniels,
Nathan Poor.

1831 (May). — Nathan Poor, John Page, William Sutton, John
Preston.

1831 (November). — John Page, John Preston, Nathan Poor,
Jonathan Shove.

1832. — John Preston, John Page, Ebenezer Shillaber, Jonathan
Shove.

1833. — Jonathan Shove, Henry Cook, John Preston, John Page.

1834. — John Preston, Henry Cook, Andrew Lunt, Eben Putnam,
Jacob F. Perry.

1835. — Jacob F. Perry, Andrew Lunt, Daniel P. King, Allen
Putnam, Joshua H. Ward.

1836. — Joshua H. Ward, Jacob F. Perry, Andrew Lunt, Caleb
L. Frost.

1837. — Caleb L. Frost, Eben Putnam, Samuel P. Fowler, Lewis
Allen.

1838. — Lewis Allen, Samuel P. Fowler, Henry Poor, Abel
Nichols.

1839. — Joshua H. Ward, Henry Poor, Samuel P. Fowler, Allen
Putnam.

1840.— Allen Putnam, Fitch Poole.

1841. — ^Fitch Poole, Samuel Preston.

1842. — Daniel P. King, Samuel Preston.

1843. — Frederick Morrill, Joshua Silvester.

1844. — Eichard Osborn, Henry Fowler.

1845. — Henry Fowler, Eichard Osborn.

1846.— Henry Fowler, Elijah W. Upton.

1847.— Elijah W. Tipton, Joshua Silvester.

1848.— William Walcott, William Dodge.

1849.— A. A. Abbott, John Hines.

1850. — William Walcott, Otis Mudge, Henry A. Hary.

1851. — John Hines, Philemon Putnam, Alfred A. Abbott.

1852.— William Walcott.

1853. — David Daniels, Philemon Putnam, James P. King.

1854. — Joseph Jacobs, Francis Dodge, Israel W. Andrews.

1855. — Israel W. Andrews, Eben S. Poor, Alonzo P. Phillips.

1856. — Arthur A. Putnam, Israel W. Andrews, Eichard Smith.

1857-58.— Francis P. Putnam.

1859.— Arthur A. Putnam.

I860.— George Tapley.

1861-62.— James W. Putnam.

1863-64.— Charles P. Preston.

262 CHRONICLES OF DANVERS

1865-66.— Simeon Putnam.
1867-68.— Edwin Mudge.
1870-71.— George H. Peabody.
1872-73.— George J. Sanger.
1875-76.— Charles B. Rice.
1877.— Israel W. Andrews.
1878.— Charles B. Rice.
1880-81.— Gilbert A. Tapley.
1882.— Alonzo J. Stetson.
1883.— Andrew H. Paton.
1885-86.— Malcolm Sillars.
1891-92.— Samuel L. Sawyer.
1894-95.— J. Frank Porter.
1896-97.— Joseph W. Woodman.
1898-99.— Addison P. Learoyd.
1901-02.— Charles H. Preston.
1903.— Thomas E. Dougherty.
1906.— Nathan H. Poor.
1907.— Melvin B. Putnam.
1909-10.— Arthur Preston Chase.
1913-14.— Alvah J. Bradstreet.
1917-18.— George D. Morse.
1920-21.— Walter T. Creese.

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.

Page 5, Hue 1, read Francis instead of Richard Weston.

Page 36. Since the foregoing pages were printed, the Browne
portraits have been purchased and presented to a Baltimore mu-
seum.

Page 43. Sir Danvers Osborn was born at the family seat of
Chicksands Priory, Shefford, County of Bedford, on Nov. 17, 1715,
and was thus in the thirty-eighth year of his age when he took
charge of the Government of New York. Plunged into incon-
solable grief at the death of his wife, this office was secured for
him in the hope that entire change of scene, as well as enforced
activity, would be beneficial. He arrived in New York on Oct. 6,
1753, and soon after the inaugural ceremonies, Oct. 12, which were
attended with much pomp and dignity, he committed suicide in
the garden of a member of the Council. Sir Danvers had previ-
ously spent some time in Canada with his brother-in-law, the Earl
of Halifax. It is said that he was very popular, and his untimely
death was greatly lamented. His private secretary was Thomas
Pownall, who, four years later, received a commission as Governor
of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The remains of the un-
fortunate Governor were conveyed across the Atlantic and buried
in the churchyard of his native parish. He left two children, and
the title has descended to his great-great-great grandson, Sir Alger-
non Kerr Butler Osborn (born 1870), who occupies the old family
seat of Chicksands Priory.

Page 55. Under "Incorporation of Danvers," add that the
Council concurred on June 9, and the act was published on
June 16.

Page 64. Add to note, Samuel Porter, a noted lawyer, born in
the Putnam-Dodge-Sears house in Putnamville, in 1743, was also
a Tory, and died in London in 1798.

Page 175. Joshua Silvester died July 29, instead of July 9,
1887.

(263)

INDEX

Abbey, Thomas, 19, 20.
Abbott, Alfred A., 170, 259, 261.

Charles F., 161.

George, opp. 110.

H. D., 247.
Abolition, 147-1-51.
Adams, Charles Francis, 169.

Charles H., 258.

Fred, 242.

H. C, 18,

John, 8, opp. 55, 101.

John Quincy, 8, 67, 97, 102.

L. W., 191.

Samuel, 97.
Agan, Patrick, 145.
Aiken, Hector A., 189.
Alarm companies, 110.
Alford, William, 9.
Allen, Albert G., 123, 183, 208.

Henry F., 189.

John, opp. 29.

Lewis, opp. 105, 156, 249, 255-257,
261.
Allen farm, 238.
Alley, William, 1-34, 149.
Alliance (frigate), 86.
Amity Lodge, 111.
Amory, William, 170.
Anchor factory, 98.

Andrew, , 12, 83.

Andrews, Ginger, 45.

Israel W., 35, 67, 171, 247, 249,
2.50, 259, 261, 262.

John, 45.

John D., 149.

Joseph, 35.

Winthrop, 140, 149.
Andros, Edmund, 22.
Annunciation Cemetery, 178.
Anstis (negro), 62.
Antwerp, Belgium, 43.
Appleton, Samuel, 19.
Armitage, A. T., 208,

Joshua, 128.
Armory, 202.
Arnold, Benedict, 8, 67, 76.

Arnold's march to Quebec, 8, 9.
Arthur, Prince, 171, 173.
Artillery, 110.
Aspinwall, Thomas, 169.
Australian ballot, 203.
Avery, J. Humphrey, 92.
Ayres, W. M., 191.

Baker, Francis, 162, 177, 250.

George W., 258.
Balch, Anna, 242.

Benjamin, 85, 86, 111.

Joseph. 21.

Lewis P. W.. 242.

Mary, 86.

William, 86.
Baldwin, F. W., 247.

Ballou, , 120.

Bancroft, Jonathan, 52.
Bank Hall, 179.
Banks, 127, 128.
Baptist Church, 91, 120, 148.
Barker, Lemuel, opp. 110.
Barnaby, James, 91.
Barnes, Merritt H., 211.
Barney, Jacob, 10, 16.
Barrett, Jonathan, opp. 110.
Barry, James, 86.

Michael, opp. 105,
Barstow, Gideon, 236, 238.
Bartlett, Sidney, 70.
Batchelder, Albert W., 161.

H. F., 246.

Joseph, opp. 105.
Bates, Albert A., 258.

Roswell D., 258.
"Battle of Bunker Hill," painting

of, 76.
Battle of Lexington, 9, 70-73, 114.
Battye, James, 189.
Bayley, , 17, 18.

Thomas, 21.
Bean, Norris S., 134.
Beche-de-Mer, 116.
Beckford, Mrs. A. W., 210.

Edwin, 189.

(265)

266

INDEX

Beebe, James M., 170.
Beekman, Garrett. 191.
Belcher, L. & W. S., VA2.
Bell, Alexander Graham, 193.

Mrs. G. P., 210.

Thomas, 19.
Bell Tavern, 88,
Belvidere Hall, 160.
Benjamin, Charles, 150.

Benson, , 223.

Bentley, , 103.

Berry, , 154.

Eben G., 55, 149, 198.

Ebenezer, 55, opp. 110.
Berry, see Barry.
Berry Tavern, 45, 47, 55, 111, opp.

125, 201.
Betsey (sch.), 115.
Beverly annexed, portion of, 179.
Bigelow, George T., 169.

Jacob, 169.
"Birchwood," 5.
Bishop, Bridget, opp. 24, 30.

John, 21.

Townsend, 9, 27, opp. 29.
Black, , 241.

Archelaus P., 149.

James D., 149, 168, 249, 259.

Joseph S., 123, 158, 162.

Moses, 113, opp. 115, 132, 149, 249,
25G.

William, 132, 256.
Blake, J. Albert, 124.
Blanchard, Webster, 212.
Bloody Brook, 20.
Boardman, , 132.

Israel P., 123.

N. Holten, 123.

:N'athaniel, 123.
Boardman & Gould, 132.
Bodge, G. M., 19.

Nathaniel, 257.
Bodwell, C. S., 18.

Isaac, 189.
Booth, Elizabeth, 23.
Borland, Francis, 33.
"Boston," frigate, 86.
Boswell, James A., 91.
Boundaries, 1.
Boutelle, H. C, 247.
Bovpditch, Nathaniel, 115.
Bowen, Thomas M., 134, 149.
Bracamontes, John, 211.
Brackett, Josiah, 132.
Bradlee, , 241.

Francis B. C, 98, 158.

Bradstreet, Alvah J., 259, 262.

Dudley, opp. 16.
Bragdon, Joshua, 257, 258.
Braman, , 137, 168.

Milton P., 18, 139, 166, 168, 171.
Brand, James, 146.
Brenan, Edward H., 190.
Brick School, 112.
Brick manufacturing, 126, 127.
Bridges, John H., 189.
Briggs, Jeremiah, 236, 238.
Brigham, Lincoln F., 170.
Brimblecom, Samuel, 120, 149.
British soldiers' graves, 66.
British troops in Danvers, 65-67.
BrovFU, Browne, David S., 259.

Edward, opp. 105.

James, 254.

John, 253.

Louis, 55.

Oliver O., 150.

Parker, 117.

Stephen, 117.

Sylvester, 189.

William, 36, 37, 39, 45, 239, 263.

William B., 239.

William Burnet, 39.
Browne's Folly, 36-41.
Buck, C. L., 247.
Buckley, Thomas, 21.
Budgell, Walter J., 208.
Bulkley, S. C, 120.

Andrew, 240.

Hannah, 240.

William, 33, 240.
Burley Farm, 10,239.
Burley Hill, 240.
Burnet, Mary, 37.
Burr, Aaron, 108.
Burrington, Howard R., 161.
Burroughs, , 30.

George, 18, 30.
Burrows, James H., 189.
Bush, John, 246.
Butler, John C, 123.

O. S., 139.

Peter, 170.

Stephen, 19.
Button, Lewis, 189.
Buttrick, Eliza K., 199.

Samuel B., 127.
Buxton, , 12.

Daniel, 238.

John, 35.

Jonathan, 251, 252.

INDEX

267

Cabot, , 241.

Edward, 241.

Joseph S., 158.
Callahan, Abraham, 123.
Calvary Episcopal Church, 179.
Campbell, Elizabeth, 210.
Canright, Elder, 191.
Carey, E. J., 248.
Carleton, Charles, 246,

Loring, 124.
Carmichael, Ludwig, 211.
Carpet manufacturing, 135, 136, 140,

141.
Carr, , 127.

Edward G., 248.

Katherine, 210.
Carrier, Martha, 30.
Carroll, , 61.

John T., 258, 259.

Marcus, 179.

Nathaniel, 15.
Carruthers, William, 146.
Cartmill, Jonathan, 191.
Case, S„ 132.
Cashman, M. J., 208.

Cassell, , 169.

Cassidy, William M,, 191.

Cate (negro), 52, 61.

Celebration, 150th Anniversary, 204.

Cemeteries, 143, 144.

Centennial celebration, 161.

Central fire station, 112.

Chaffin, A. W., 92.

Chamberlain, Mellen, 216, 247.

Champion, Alexander, 238.

Channell, William H., 189.

Chaplin, Charles, 257.

Jeremiah, 85, 91, 103, 124.
Chase, A. Preston, 203, 248, 250,
259, 262.

Herbert J., 161.

Preston M., 246.

Robert F., 179.
Cheever, Aaron, 66.

H. C, 150.

Samuel, 73.

Thomas, 117.

William, 117.,
Cherry Hill, 9.
Chickamauga, Ga., 204.
Choate, Rufus, 259, 260.
Churchill, Sarah, 23.
Civil War, 112, 179, 180.
Claflin, , 170.

William, 169.
Clancy, G. C, 134.

Clapp, Granville W., 124.

W. E., 248.
Clarissa (sch.), 115.
Clark, Aaron F., 162, 256, 257.

Caleb, 92.

Peter, 18, 45, 57, 64, opp. 75.

Samuel, opp. 75.

William, 64, 246.
Clark house, 214.
Clergymen, 246.
Clerks of the Town, 250.
Clifford, John H., 169.
Clinton, Iowa, 232.
Clock, electric, 202.
Clough, Ira P., 150.

James, 35.
Coard, Francis, 20.
Coffin, Simeon, 189.
Cogswell, William, 242.
Colcord, J. Herbert, 246.
Cole, Gideon, 92.

Robert, 13.
Cole grant, 13,
Collins, , 103, 104.

Judge, 235.

Benajah, 103, 247.

Deborah, 104, 236.

Hepsebeth, 104, 236,

Susanna, 235,

Thomas, 189.

Triphenia, 104.
Collins house, 103.
Columbiana (vessel), 131.
Combo (negro), 52, 61.
Come-outers, 148.

Company K, 8th Regt., 201, 203, 204.
Conamabsquenooncant River, 5.
Conant, Roger, 2.

Silas, 123.

Connors, , 132.

Cook, , 1.50.

Benjamin, opp. 110.

Charles A., 208.

Mrs. Eleanor, 210.

George T., opp. 105.

Henry, 261.

Henry W., 208.

Samuel, 71.
Corey, Giles, 16, 26, 30.

Martha, 26, 30.
Corning, Phineas, 123.
Corwin, George, opp. 24.

Jonathan, 8, 25.
Cotta, Robert, 233.
Cotton, Edward H., 120, 190.

268

INDEX

Couch, Fred, 194.

Lester S., 144.

Parley, 194.
Country stores, 122, 124-126, 141.
Cowhouse River, 5.
Craddock, Matthew, 3.
Crane, Lawrence, 211.
Crane River, 9, 43, 44, 46.
Crane River bridge, 46.
Creese, , 150.

Mrs. W. H., 206, 209.

Walter T., 208, 258, 259, 262.
Creese & Cook, 150.
Crehore, Marion B., 209.
Croft, William H., 189.
Crosby, Joseph, 124.
Cross, Jacob, 124, 131.

Michael, 73.

Moses K., 246.

Peter, 254.
Crowley, Benjamin, 248.

Daniel, 145.

D. K, 247, 250.

Kate R., 197.
Crowninshield, Benjamin, 98.

Jacob, 108.

John, opp. 121.
Cudjo (negro), 51.
Cummings, Cyrus, opp. 105.

David, 247.

Samuel, opp. 110.
Currier, Moses J., 124, 125, 257.

W. M., 193.
Currier's shop, 89, 91.
Cuthberton, H., 189.
Cutler, John, 149.

Jonathan, 246.

Daland, Deland, Benjamin, 71.

Katherina, 34.

Moses, 189.
Dale, Archelaus, 73, 249-251.

Ebenezer, 246.

William C, 189.
Daley, John, 246.
Damon, , 140.

Frank C, 134, 202, 250, 258.
Dana, Richard H., 242.

Samuel T., 170.
Danforth, Mrs. Helen, 210.
Daniels, David, 156, 261.

Robert S., 156, 162, 166, 177, 249,
250, 255, 259-261.
Danvers, Eleanor, 43.
Danvers, origin of name of, 42.
Danvers, 111., 42.

Danvers, Montana, 42.

Danvers Carpet Co., 141.

Danvers Centennial, 161.

Danvers Co-operative Bank, 128.

Danvers Courier, 151.

Danvers Eagle, 151.

Danvers Herald, 151.

Danvers Historical Society, 84, 198.

Danvers Home for the Aged, 205.

Danvers Hotel, 193,

Danvers Ice Co., 153.

Danvers Improvement Society, 197.

Danvers Incorporated, 42, 54, 263.

Danvers Iron Works, 98, 234.

Danvers Light Infantry, 112, 180,
181, 183, 201.

Danvers Mirror, 151.

Danvers Monitor, 151.

Danvers Moral Society, 111.

Danvers National Bank, 127.

Danvers Plains, 13, 122-135.

Danvers Railroad Co., 158.

Danvers River, 5.

Danvers Savings Bank, 128.

Danvers State Hospital, 192.

Danvers Social Library, 102.

Danvers Whig, 151.

Danvers Women's Association, 197.

Danversport, 9, 42-49, 113-119, 143,
157.

Danvers Visiting Nurse Associa-
tion, 206.

Danvers Volunteer Aid Assoc, 204.

Darling, John, opp. 65.
Jonathan, 35.

Davenport, , 19.

Richard, 10.

Davis, A. A., 120.

Day, , 127.

Dearborn, Henry, 8.

Deering, C. H., 247.

Dehly, Gerhardt, 120.

Deliverance (negro), 52, 61.

DeLong, H. C, 120.

Demsey, Alden, 123.

Dennison, , 14.

De Normandie, Eugene, 190.

Derby, Elias Haskett, 103, 244.
Richard, 37, 39, 240.

Dickinson, E. W., 91.

Dickson, Thomas, 238.

Dill (negro), 52, 61, 62.

Dillingham, F. A., 120.

Dinah (negro), 52,

District school system, 105.

Division of Danvers, 176, 177.

INDEX

269

Dodge, Charles W., 189.

Francis, 177, opp. 1S4, 187, 256,
257, 261.

Granville M., opp. 185, 186, 190.

John, 20.

Josiah, 21.

Mary W., opp. 12.

Rebecca, 187.

Uzziel, opp. 110.

William, 20, 177, 256, 257, 261.

William B., opp. 105.
Dolphin (sch.), 115.
Donnell, W. Arthur, 2C8, 259.
Dougherty, Thomas E., 262.
Douty, Jacob, opp. 105.
Downing, , 141.

Emanuel, 13, opp. 16.

George, 13.
Downing grant, 13.
Drapeau, Arthur, 210, 211.
Drapeau-MacPhetres Post, 212.
Drinkwater, Arthur, 91.
Driver, Stephen, 231.
Drury, Lucien, 92.
Dudley, G. W., 134.

Dwinnell, , 178.

Dwinell, George H., 189.

Eagle Carpet Co., 141.
Earl, George W., 159.
Earthen ware, 126.
Earthquake, 37.
Eastern Railroad Co., 155, 158.
Eastman, Bishop, 179.
Easty, Mary, 30.
Eaton, Charles F., 236.

E. Everett, 123.

George N., 170.

Joseph W., 92.

Roland G., 259.

W. W., 143, 198, 246.
Electric lighting, 203.
Eliza (sch.), 115, 116.
Elliott, , 117.

Charles L., 124.

George A., 189.
Ellis, Reuben, 189.
Elmere, Magdalene D., 151.
Elwell, Andrew, 194.
Emerson, Daniel, 134, 256.

George W,, 217.

Mrs. S. Mabel, 201, 217.
Endecott pear tree, 6.
Endecott Tavern, 101.

Endicott, Endecott, ,5, 6, 9, 11,

13, 27, 144, 157, 241.

Charles M., 6.

Elias, 123.

Israel, 117.

John, 1, 2, opp, 29, opp. 32, 117,
235, 245, 260.

Lewis, 117.

Moses, 117.

Samuel, 101, 117, 237, 245, 246.

William, 116, opp. 121, 149, 249,
256, 257.

William C, 5, 6, 170, 242, 243, 245,
247.
Eppes, Eps, — , 69.

Daniel, 41, 43, 51, 249-251, 259.

John, 251, 252.

Samuel, 68, 70, 86, 252, 260.
Essex (frigate), 98. ,
Essex bridge, 46.
Essex bridge controversy, 95-97.
Essex County Agricultural School,

206.
Essex Institute, 128.
Essex Railroad Co., 158.
Evans, Kenneth E., 190.

S. J., 179.

William S., 189,
Eveleth, Jonathan, 150.
Ewell, George A., 189.
Ewing, Addison A., 246.

Charles E., 246.

E. C, 146.

George H., 246.

Fairfield, , 117.

Samuel, 111.

William, opp. 121.
Fairweather, Thomas, 239.
Faneuil Hall Convention, 56.
Farley, Elizabeth, 240.

Michael, 240.

Susanna, 240.
Farmer, E. A., 212.
Farrar, J. E., 123.
Farwell, C. C, 123.
Fellows, , 132.

Alfred, 123, 150.
Felton, , 12.

Daniel, opp. 105.

J. S., opp. 110.

John, 238.

Malachi, 41, 249.

Nathan, 250, 253-255, 260.
Fennessey, R. T., 134.
Ferguson, George, 212.
Fires, 151.

270

INDEX

First Church, 17, 18, 21, 22, 30, 31.

Fire department, 105,

First Mass. Heavy Artillery, 182.

Fish, Nathaniel P., 189.

Fiske, George W., 33, 144.

Fisk, N. B., 191.

Five Sisters (sch.), 11.5.

Fletcher, .James, 146, 160.

Flint, , 12.

Eben S., 214.

Elijah, 253, 2.54.

Hezekiah, 260.

Mrs. H. M., 210.

Samuel, 41, 43, 68, 70, 86, 249-252.

Thomas, 16, 19, 31, 251.

W. E., 247.

William, 133.
•'Flower of Essex," 20.
Folger, Abiah, 99.

Bethseda, 99.

Peter, 99.
Folkersamb, John F., 246.
Folly Hill, 36-41.
Forbes, H. P., 120.
Fort at Waters River, 110.
Forty-niners, 159.
Foss, LevFis, 194.
Foster, Benjamin, 91.

Elliott, 246.

Gideon, 70, 79, 80, 133, 250, 252,
253, 260.

James, 260.

Samuel, 35.
Fountain, 200.
Fourteenth Infantry, 182.
Fow^le, Samuel, 121.
Fowler, , opp. 48, 88.

Augustus, 257.

E. O., 246.

Emily, opp. 199, 206.

Harriet, 146.

Henry, 116, opp. 121, 177, 256, 261.

John, opp. 110, J27, 254.

John P., opp. 105.

Samuel, jr., 117.

Samuel P., opp. 105, 113, 143, 141,
150, 162, 169, 171, 246, 256, 266.

Sara, opp. 114.
Fox Hill, 44.
Francis, William, 149.
Franklin, Benjamin, 99.

John, 165.

Joseph, 99.
Franklin Hall, 178.
Freemasonry, 102,110, 111.

French, Fred U., 124, 202.

George W., 124, 134.

Mary, 37.

Philip, 37.
French and Indian War, Danvers

Men in, 31, 32, 49.
French neutrals, 50.
Frost, Caleb L.,132, 261.

George W., opp. 105.

John, opp. 110.
Frostfish River, 10, 13.
Fuller, , 112.

Benjamin M., 189.

Daniel, 134.

Nehemiah, 113.

Nehemiah P., ISO, 183.

Thomas, 16.
Fulton, , 97.

Robert, 97.

Gaffney, James J., 208, 248.
Gage.Thomas, 8, 63, 66, opp. 68, 84,

101, 235.
Gallivan, , 127.

T. J., 134.
Gallows hill, 27, 28.
"The Gambrel Roof," 61.
Gardner, Daniel, 43, 251, 259.

Joseph, 19, 251.

Samuel, 252, 253.

Thomas, 10.
Gas, 203.
Gavet, L. F., 231.
Geer, C. M., 18.
Gen. Israel Putnam Chapter, D. A.

R., 57, 77, 200.
•'General Putnam" (engine), 106.
Georgetown and Danvers Railroad,

156, 158.
Getchell, Ephraim, 189.
Gibbs, Susan H.,247.
Giddings, Solomon, 117.
Gifford, , 219.

William F., 189.
Gillette, S. E., 208.
Gingill, John, 16.
Glide (ship), 116.
Gold fever, 159.
Goldsmith, VV. B., 247.
Goldthwait, Eben, 71.
Good, Sarah, 25, 30.
Goodale, Goodell, , 12, 144.

A. C, 247.

Asa, 135.

Ebenezer, 251, 252.

Isaac, 15.

INDEX

271

Goodale, James, 123, 135.

Joshua, 117.

Loring B., 208.

Perley, 256.

Robert, 10, 15, 16.

Zachery, 15.
Goodhue, J. A., 92.
Goodridge, Benjamin, 132.
Goodwin, John, 189.
Gorton, Janet L., 209.

W. A., 247.

Mrs. William A., 206.

William T., 212.
Gothic Hall, 183, 193, 194.
Gott, Charles, 10, 239.
Goudy, C. W. C, 189.
Gould, , 132.

Andrew, opp. 110.

Charles H., 123.

Daniel H., 189.

Ellen M., 201.

Humphrey, 246.

Mrs. Lyman, 210.
Gould's Tavern, 106.
Gove, John G., 131.
Grand Army, 189.
Grand Banks, 115.
Grand Turk (privateer), 88.
Grant, Eugene M., 120.

Orville B., 160.
Grants, 2, 5, 9.
Gray, , 127.

Alonzo, 189.

Francis A., 246.

William, 169.
Green, Joseph, 18, 32, 34.

Thomas, 91.
Griffin, A. W., 179.
Griggs, , 24, 34.

William, 246.
Grosvenor, D. A., 246.
Grout, John, 154.

Samuel S., 189.
Grubaugh, Leon E., 146.

Hadley, H. L., 247.
Hadlock, James, 16.
Hale, E. P., 246.

John, 30.

Susan E., 209.
Hall, Everson, 189.

Ralph Q.,211.
Halley, Patrick J., 178.
Ham, James H., 189.
Hambleton, W. J., 191.
Hamilton, , 108.

Hancock, John, 97.
Hanson, , 141.

J. W., 120.
Hardy, Henry A., 261.

Isaac, 139.
Harlequin (privateer), 88.
Harriman, Jesse P., 149.
Harrington, A. H., 247.

Myron O., 160.
Hart, Henry H., 161.
Hartman, Thomas, 189.
Harvey, Mrs. Grace, 209.
Haskell, , 117.

D. C, 131.
Hathorne, Anna, opp. 16.

Eunice, 150.

John, 25.

William, 10, opp. W, 19, 25.
Hathorne Hill, 10, 187, 192.
Hawes, Frank M., 161.
Hawk (sch.), 115.
Hawkins, C. J., 146.
Hawthorne, , 8.

Nathaniel, 37,
Hayes, Rev., 120, 190.
Haynes, William, 5.
Hebbert, Samuel, 19.
Henderson, David, 140.
Henry, Foster, 92.
Herrick, Benjamin J., opp, 105.

Israel, 19.

Joseph, 20.
Herring, E. A., 92.
Higgins, Ralph S., 127.
High Street Cemetery, 144.
Hill, E. L., 247.

James, 189.
Hiller, Charles, 189.
Hills, Nathaniel, 160, 171.
Hinds, Ambrose, 189.
Hines, Ezra D., 13, 37, 205.

John, 149, 261.

Mary E., 135.
Hobbs, Spencer S., 204.

Theodore, 131.
Hodge, Elias, 191.
Hodson, F. A., 120.
Holbrook, Charles F., 92.
Holmes, John Haynes, 190.

Oliver Wendell, 24, 170, 190.
Holroyd, John, 91.

Holten, Houlton, , 56, 58, 59,

101, 102, 104, 107, 144.

Benjamin, 35, 59, 101.

John, opp. 33.

Joseph, opp. 8, 10, 15, 19.

272

INDEX

Holten, Samuel, 56, 57, 63, 73, 111,

160, 200, 246-252, 259, 260.
Holten High School, 159-161, 200,

202.
Holten High School prizes, 162.
Holten house, 101, 200.
Holten Royal Arch Chapter, 111.
Holten Tavern, 101.
Home Guard, 209.
Hood, Elizabeth F., 197, 201.

John, 149.

Joseph E., 134, 250.

Richard, 149.

Wallace P., 208.
Hook, H. William, 246.

John, opp. 65.
Hooper, Joseph, 65.

Matthew, 98, 136, 168, 234.

Polly, 234.

Robert, 47, 64, 66, 103, 234, 235,
239.

Stephen, 65.

Swett, 65.
Hooper house, 63-66, 101.
Horgan, Daniel F., 178.
Home, Abiel A., 189.
Horswell, Jennie, 219, 222.

John, 218, 222.
Horton, N. A., 194.
Houlton, Me., 36.
House, A. v., 18, 36.
Houses, Early, 7.
Howard, A. Sumner, 171, 250.

Jonathan, opp. 110.

Levi, 189.

Lizzie M., 171.

R. H., 191.

Thomas, 19.
Howe, How, Albert, 123.

Elizabeth, 30.

Frederick, 150, 193.

George, 123.

George W., 160.

Isaac B. , 232.

Joseph W., 247.

Margaret, 206, 210, 232.
Howes, Elizabeth, 241.

Frederick, 241, 247, 260.

Lucy, 241.
Hoyt, Joseph, opp. 105.
Hubbard, Elizabeth, 23.
Huckins, Austin, 124.
Hudgell, Robert V., 179.
Hughes, J. F., 248, 250.
Humphrey, John, 9.
Hunt. Ebenezer, 150, 246.
Hurley, James J., 189.

Huse, John, 132.

Hussey, J. Frederick, 208, 210, 233.

William Penn, 205, 234.

Hutchinson, , 12, 66, 72, 144,

157.

Ambrose, opp. 17.

Benjamin F., 257.

E. H., 149.

Eben, 123.

Edward, 123.

Elijah, 101.

Elisha, opp. 65.

Israel, 70, 73, 81-83, 85, 96, 114,
260,

James, 123.

Jeremiah, 260.

John, 16.

Joseph, 16, 17, 19.

Richard, 10, 16, opp. 17.

Thomas, 37.
Hyde, J. W., 179.

William L., opp. 137.

Ice exported to England, 152.
Ideal Baby Shoe Co., 202.
Incorporation as a District, 42.
Incorporation as a Town, 54, 263.
Independent Agricultural School,

206.
Indians, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 19-21, 78.
IngersoU, , 34.

Jonathan, opp. 65, 243.

Nathaniel, 15, 16, 18, 20, 31, 101.

Richard, 5, 9.
Inoculation, 90"
Intemperance, 111.
Ipswich road, 8.
Ireland, 25.
Irish settlers, 144.

Jackson, Andrew, 128.

Eben, 214.

Harry E., 128, 208, 247.

O. E., 247.

William H., 236.
Jacobs, , 131, 144.

Benjamin, opp. 110, 250, 255.

Ebenezer, 51, 251.

George, 29, 30.

Henry, 71.

Joseph, 261.

Primus (negro), 52.

Warren M., 168.
Jay, John, 242.

Jefferson, , 8.

Jeffs, T. C, 189.

INDEX

273

Jenkins, L. W., 190.

Mrs. L. W., 210.

T. O., 248.
Jeremiah (sch.), 115.
Jessup, William W., 189.
Johnson, Daniel, 132.

George, 117.

Henry, 117.

James A., 117.

Thomas, 117.

William, opp. 105, 117.
Jones, John Paul, 86.

Reed, 123.
Jordan, Marcus A., 211.
Jordan Lodge, 110.
Josselyn, Hercules, 149.

John, 73, 133.
Jupiter (privateer), 88.

Kane, , 165.

Kain, John, 145.
Kate (negro), 54.

George, 149.
Keene, Joseph W., 161.
Keith, C. A., 124.
Kelley, Dennis M., 135.

James, 149.

James W., 189.

Martin, 124.
Kellum, Lott, 16.
Kennedy, D. B., 178.
Kenney, G. W., 134, 183.

Gertrude S., 134.

Henry, 16, 19.

Isadora E., 197.

Thomas, 19.

W. J. C, 117, 139.
Kenniston, Allen, 10.
Kent, , 88.

Benjamin, 117.

Irene, 149.

Moses A., 189.
Kemp, E. A., 246.
"Kernwood," 241.
Kettelle, Emma P., 216.

John, 73, 111, 253.
Kimball, Dean, opp. 105.

Edward D., 223.

Mrs. Maria Grey, 197, 210.

O., 131.
Kindergarten, 200.
King, Daniel P., 249, 255, 259, 261.

Eben, 1G2, 177, 2.56.

H. B., 191.

James P., 261.

Joseph, 21.

Samuel, 43, 250-252.

King Philip's War, Danvers men in,

19, 20.
Kirby, John F., 178.
Kitchen, Bethia, 33.

Robert, .33.
Kline, G. M., 247.
Knapp, , 141.

W. H., 120.
Knapp & Downing, 141.
Knight, Allen, 150.

Charles, 19.

Jonathan, 15, 16.

Philip, 15, 16.

Samuel, 131.
Knowlton, Raymond, 211.

Thomas, opp. 64.
Knox, , 77.

Lane, Ralph W., 211.

Langley, John R., 123, 131, 149, 168.

Larcom, Lucy. 61, opp. 68.

Lawford, W. F., 191.

Lawrence, Abel, 218.

Caroline, 217, 218.

Charles, 217, 218, 222.
Lawsou, Deodat, 18.
Lawyers, 247, 263.
Leach, Leech, Alice P., 209.

John, 10, 16.

Mrs. Osborne, 210.

Richard, 10, 16.

Robert, 19, 20.

Samuel, 239.

Timothy, 253.
Learovd, Addison P., 250, 262.

Albert F., 2.59.

Charles B., 246.

Charles H., 246.

John A., 91, 131, 146, 150.

John S., 206.
Leather, 14, 89, 90.
Leather introduced into England,

129.
Leather manufacturers, 131, 132.
Leavitt, Alexander A., 150.

Joseph, 189.
Lee, John, 88.
Leech's Tavern, 101.
Lefiflan, Samuel A., 189.
Legro, Edmund, 123.

Joseph W., 149.
Leslie, , 69.

Thurman, 208.
Lewis, Mercy, 23.

Phebe, 51.
Lexington Monument, 133.
Liberty bridge, 97.

274

INDEX

Libraries, 102, 103, 168-171.

Lincoln Hall, 191.

Lindall, Timothy, 32, 33,

Lindall Hill, 32, 91, 240.

"The Lindens," 64, 103-105, 170,

235.
Little, Elbridge, 150.

Harry E., 211.
Livermore, D. P., 120.

L. J., 190.
Liverpool, 153.
Liverpool, N. S., 103, 104.
Locust Lawn, 223.
Log cabin, 138.
Logan, John A., 134.
Long, Henry F., 158.

Longfellow, , 50,

Lord, J. Anderson, 218, 259.

Nathaniel J., 242.

William, 234.
Lothrop, , 170.

S. K., 170.

Thomas, 20.
Lowe, Low, Caleb, 70, 86, 253, 260.

Mrs. S. F., 210.
Lowell, James E., 189.

John Amory, 170.
Lunt, Andrew, opp. 105, 256, 261.

George, 170.
Lynch, Raymond U., 259.

Timothy J., 208.
Lyndsey, Eleazer, 19.
Lynn, C. B., 120.
Lynnfield, 181.
Lyons, Charles H., 189.

Dennis, 248.

P. H., 248.

McAuliff, Michael, 189.
McCuUough, G. W., 92.
McDowell, James, 246.
McDonald, J. B., 247.
MacFadden, Robert A., 146.
McGuigan, J. J., 246.
Mclntire, James F., 149,

Samuel, 237, 244.
McKeigue, Edward, 178,
Mackintire, Abel, 251.

Solomon, opp. 110.
Mclntire, Ingalls K., 149.
MacPetres, Hadley, 211.
Magee, E. H., 247.
Magill, W. P., 179.
Magnolia (vessel), 186.
Mains, H. L., 247.
Maley, Francis, 178.
Manassa, Anna E., 134.

Manchester, Eng., 131.
Maple Street Church, 145, 146.
Maple Street School, 112, 181.
Maplewood, 206.
Marble, Daniel, 251.
Margaret (ship), 117.
Marietta, Ohio, 93-95.
Mark, George A., 120.
Marsh, Anna P., 247.

Daniel, 172.

Ezekiel, 52, 251.

Jasper, 128, 208.
Marshall, John, 160.

William, 131.
Marston, Jacob, 258.
Martin, George B., 124.

Susanna, 30.
Marston, Annie L., 209.
Mason, Edward D., 161.

Robert M., 170.
Massachusetts Temperance Society,

111.
Massey, Dudley A., 198.
Master mariners, 117.
Masury, Charles H., 183,

Evelyn F., 197, 201.
Matagorda (vessel), 186,
Mather, Cotton, 2, 8, 26.
Matthews, Nathan, 179,
May, C. S,, 247,
Mead, Abner S., 150,

David, 134, 247,

J. W., 134.
Mead & Webb, 195.
Meader, Charles E., 189.
Meeting house, first, 17, 31.
Melcher, Henry M., 168.
Merriam, Nathaniel P., 134, 141,

195.
Merrick, F. W., 146.
Merrill, , 149,

C, A., 191.

C. O., 210.

Henry M., 123.

John, 189.

Levi, 134.

Samuel A., 234.

Wingate. opp. 105, 256.
Merrow, Edith C, 209.
Meteor, The, 193.
Methodist Episcopal Church, 191,
Metzger, William, 189,
Mexican War, 158.
Middle precinct, 32, 35, 36.
Militia, 10, 18, 19, 68, 109, 112, 113.
Mills, 44-46, 102, 118,

INDEX

275

Mitchell, Francis L., 163.

Fred C, 161.

H. W., 247.

John C, 190.

Maria, 100,
Moderators, 249.
Montague, Lady Mary, 43.
Montgomery, Edward L., 161.
Moody, Henry L., 242.

Melissa A., 242.

William H., 241, 247.
Moore, Paul H., 212.
Morgan, Daniel, 9.

James, 189.
Moriarty, J. J., 247.

Thomas, 246.
Morrill, Frederick, 261.
Morse, Carl F. A., 208.

George D., 208, 262.

Isadore, 224.

Mrs. Leopold, 224.

Tyler, 224.
Mosaic Lodge, 111.
Moulton, Benjamin, 251.

Robert, 15.
Moynahan, Frank E., 151.
Mudge, Albert H., 134.

Augustus, 123, 128, 259.

Edwin, 123, 257, 262.

O. P., 246.

Otis, 123, 256, 257, 261.

Sarah W., 210.

Simon, 73.
Mullins, W. H., 212.
Municipal lighting, 203.
Munroe, Harris, 131.

James M., 132.
Murphy, Leonard, 246.

Milan, 52.

Murray, , 120.

Musgrave, Thomas A., 181, 189.

Nail cutting machine, 98.
Nancy (sch.), 115.
Nangle, Robert B., 211.
Narragansett fight, 19, 20.
Neal, Harriot P., 210.
"Neck of Land," 48, 142.
Needham, , 12.

Jasper, 251.

Joseph, 20.

Stephen, opp. 105, 250-253.

William, 150.
Neilson, Augustus B., 242.
New Hampshire Iron Co., 116.
New Mills, 9, 42-49, 72, 87, 91, 92,
113-119, 143, 147-151.

New Mills Alarm Company, 110.
New Mills Lyceum, 103.
New Mills Social Library, 103.
New Salem Pioneers, 35.
Newbury port and Boston R. R., 158.
Newhall, Aaron F., opp. 110.

Benjamin E., 127.

Benjamin S., 208.

Charles, 133, 134, 203.

Henry, 194.

Josiah, opp. 105.
Newspapers, 151.
Niagara (engine), 106.
Nichols, Abel, 149, 223, 249, 256,
261.

Andrew, opp. 110, 134, 150, 246,
247, 249, 254.

Mrs. Andrew, 206.

Ezra, opp. 105.

John H., 223, 246.

Joshua, 135.

Mrs. Joshua, 219, 223.

Mary W., 197.

Oda Howe, 224.

William, 10.
Nickerson, W. C, 208.
Nightingale, C. S., 92.

J. Ellis, 208, 259.
Niles, E. H., 247.
Nita (vessel), 186.
Norman, George H., 192.
Norris & Preston, 131.
North bridge, 68, 69.
Northend, William D., 158.
Northwest Territory, 93-95.
Nowers, Fred H., 209.
Noyes, Francis, 123.

Harriet, 174.

John M. C, 123, 131.

Nathaniel, 174.

Nicholas, 26.

Sally, 174.
Nurse, Nourse, , 144.

Allen, 189.

Francis, 27, opp. 29, 73, 251.

Rebecca, 8, 27, 30.

Rogers, 73, 133.
Nurse farm, 9.
Nutting, Daniel, opp. 105.

Oak Hill, 9, 236, 237.
Oakes, Caleb, 117, 144, 174.

William, 100, 117, 247.
O'Brien, Jeremiah, 85.

John, 86.

Morris, 85.

276

INDEX

Oby, Maurice C, opp. 115.
Ogden, William H., 189.
Ohio Company, 93-95.
Oliver, B. L., opp. 110.
Omnibus line, 154.
O'Neil, J. H., 248.
Orchard Farm, 5, 6.
O'Keilly, Fr., 178.
O'Rourke, D. J., 248.
Orkhussunt River, 5.
Osborn, Osborne, , 12.

Alexander, 25.

Sir Danvers, 43, 263.

George, 156, 177, 259.

Joseph, 250, 253.

Kendall, 156, 255-257.

Miles, 162.

Peter 43,

Richard, 254, 256, 257, 261.

Sarah, 25, SO, 217.

Sylvester, 86, 133, 254, 260.

William, 20.
Osgood, Gayton P., 158.

George, 246, 249.

Joseph, 162.
Otis, Harrison Gray, 97.
Owen, Llewellyn A., 120, 190.

Page, , 62, 87, 144.

Anne L., 61, 197, 200.

Betsey, 115.

Charles W., 149, 247.

Clarissa, 115, 117.

Eliza, 115.

Jeremiah, 52, 70, 73, 83, 84, 86,
101, 115, 127, 250, 253.

John, 254, 260, 261.

Nancy, 115.

Nicholas, 20.

Rebecca, 115.

Sally, 115.

Samuel, 73, 86, 110, 111, 114, 117.
249, 250, 253, 254.

William, 115.

William P., 246, 260.
Page house, opp. 125, 200.
Page tea party, 60-63.
Paine, H. H., 191.
Palmer, Thomas, 124, 201.
Parish rate abolished, 119.
Park, public, 198.
Parker, Alice, 30.

George H., 44, 208.

Mary, 30.

William H., 189.

Parris, Elizabeth, 23.

Samuel, 18, 23.
Patch, Emilie K., 171.
Paton, Andrew H., 259, 262.

Mrs. A. H., 210.
Patten, John R., 149, 246.
Patterson, Jesse C, opp. 105.
Peabody, , 163, 164, 167-169,175.

Benjamin, opp. 110.

Francis, 64, 105, 169-171, 236, 237,
242, 244.

George, 159, 161, 162, 164-166, 168,
171, 172, 174, 175, 237, 243.

George Augustus, opp. 121, 171,
208, 239, 242.

George H., 124, 262.

George W., 189,

Jacob C, R., 237, 250.

John, 139.

Joseph, 236, 243, 245.

Joseph A., 245.

Robert Singleton, 170.

Samuel E., 241.
Peabody, Riggs & Co., 164.
Peabody Farm, 243.
Peabody Institute, 169-171, 242.
Peabody Library, 168-171.
Peabody Press, 151.
Peabody reception, 165-167.
Peale, Julius, 250.
Pegging machine, 128.
Peirce, Elizabeth, 220.

George, 220,

Nathan, 217, 220, 221.
Pepperell, William, 49,
Perkins, Mrs. C. E., 210.

Elliott, 248.

Henry A., 257, 258.

J. Frank, 189.

Mrs, Thomas, 210.
Perley, A. Procter, 124, 125.

Charles N,, 125, 134, 160, 197, 258.

Frederick, 123.

Jacob, 139.

John, 124, 125.

Nathaniel, 125.
Perley's store, 124-126.
Perry, Benjamin, opp, 105.

Jacob, 113, 171,

Jacob F., opp. 105, 255, 257, 261.

James M., 257,

James O., 259,
Pester, William, 217, 223.
Peters, Hugh, 9,
Petition for separate parish, 16.
Pequot War, 11,

INDEX

277

Phelps, Joseph, opp. 105.
Philbrick, John D., 216.

Julia A., 183, 214.
Phillips, Alouzo P., 139, 261.

John, 11.

Stephen, 217, 220-223.

Stephen H., 247.

Stephen W., 219.

Walter, 101.
Phillips-Lawrence-Sanders house,

217.
Phillips Tavern, 101.
Phips, , 30, 43.

William, 22.
Physicians, 74, 246.
Pickering, , 107, 108.

Octavius, 108.

Timothy, opp. 104, 106, 247.
Piemont, John, 101, 110.
Piemont's Tavern, 101, 102.
Pierce, J. W., 134.
Pillsbury, Harvey H., 193, 205, 206.
Pinder, Kent & Fovrler, 88.
Pines, The, 6.
Pingree, Asa, 158.
Pioneers, 35.

Pitcher, Sylvia C, 219, 223.
Poland & Connors, 132.
Pool & Jacobs, 131.
Poole, Pool, , 131.

Fitch, 139, 140, 158, 261.

Jane, 33.

Leonard, 116, opp. 121, 257.

Ward, 250.

William, opp. 110.

William F., 162,252.
Poor, Eben S., 261.

Ebenezer, opp. 105.

Frank A., 208.

Henry, 156, 168, 177, 256, 259,261.

Joseph, 162, 256.

Nathan, opp. 110, 249, 250, 255,
260, 261.

Nathan H., 257, 262.

Sally, 174.

Pope, , 12, 144.

Pope, Amos, 99, 101.

Bethseda, 99.

Daniel P., 124, 258, 259.

Fletcher, 128.

Hannah, 74.

Ira P., 123.

Joseph, 10, 99.

Nathaniel, 73, 177, 251, 255, 256.

Zephaniah, 101.
Porphory Hall, 231.

Porter, Aaron, 150.

Alfred, opp. 110, 189.

Alfred R., 149.

Benjamin, 45, 73, 77, 98, 117, 239,
252.

Ella J., 197.

Eunice, 150.

George W., 189.

Hathorne, 149, 1.50.

Israel, 32, 239.

Israel P. 117.

J. Frank! 128i 193, 198, 259, 262.

J. W., 247.

James, 250, 253.

John, 13, 14, 16, opp. 32, 45, opp.
105, 239.

Jonathan, 117, 123, 133.

Joseph, 16, opp. 16, 150, 252.

Moses, 73, 77, 79, 89, 150.

Samuel, 263.

Samuel M., 189.

Thomas, 56, 249-251, 259.

Warren, opp. 110, 113, 186.

William, 239.

Zerubbabel, 89, 119, 120, 150, 253,
254.
Porter's Plain, 13, 32.
Porter's River, 9, 13.
Porter's Tavern, 45, 47, 48, 55.
Postal free delivery, 203.
Post offices, 133, 134.
Potter, Benjamin, 149.

Henry, 134.

Henry A., 149.
Povrer, Thomas, 178.
Powers, , 194-196.

Ernest J., 161, 247.
Pratt, Amos, 113.

Nettie M., 210.

Samuel S., 134.
Pray, Harriet P., 219.
Prentiss, Prentice, Capt., 19.

Henry, 123, 134.

Joseph Gr., 123.
Prescott, Benjamin, 32, 250.

Peter, 20.
Preston, , 131, 132, 144.

Abel, 177, 256, 257.

Charles H., 128, 200, 205, 208, 258,
259, 262.

Mrs. C. H., 210.

Charles P., 131, 171, 249,257,261.

Daniel, opp. 110, 113.

D. J., 183.

Harriet Waters, 129.

Henry, 124.

Hiram, opp. 105.

278

INDEX

Preston, John, 35, 73, opp. 110, 249,

251, 252, 254, 255, 260, 261.

Levi, 73, 87, opp. 110, 133, 254.

Louisa P., 199.

Moses, opp. 105, 255.

Nellie C, 197.

Samuel, opp. 110, 122, opp. 125,
128, 143, 156, 168, 256, 261.

Thomas, 10.
Prince, , 144.

Arthur, 171, 173.

Asa, 70, 87.

David, 253.

Elzaphan, opp. 105.

James, 41, 43, 73, 250-252.

John, 220.

Jonathan, 57, 246.

Robert, 15, 25.

Sarah, 25.
Prince-Osborne house, 25.
Printing office, first, 88.
Privateer, 104.
Proctor, Abel, opp. 105

Benjamin, 252.

Daniel, opp. 110.

John, 30, 41, opp. 105, 251.

John C, 160.

John W., 156, 249.

Johnson, 73, 87, 133, 233, 254.

Jonathan, 253.

Joseph, 20.

Lydia W., 129,

Nathan, 251.

Stephen, opp. 105, 250, 251.

Sylvester, opp. 110, 163.
Province charter, 22.
Purrington, Daniel, 251.
Putnam, , 67, 94, 132, 144.

Aaron, 54, 123, 177, 252, 253, 257.

Albert, 117.

Alfred P., 138, 152, 198, 246.

Allen, 73, 117, 246, 261.

Amos, 35, 73, 74, 110, 238, 246,249.

Andrew, 101, 110, 246.

Andrew M., 117, 145.

Ann, 23, 29, 30, 217.

Archelaus, 44, 66, 87, opp. 105,107,
246, 252.

Archelaus F., 246.

Arthur A., 181, 247, 249, 261.

Benjamin, 73, 246, 251.

Bessie, 206.

Calvin, 98, 216.

Catherine, 183.

Daniel, 73, 123, 214-216, 252-254,
260.

Putnam, Daniel F., 123.
David, 54, 213, 214,251.
E. F., 250.

Eben, 42, 113, 122, 255, 256, 261.
Ebenezer, 246.
Edmund, opp. 48, 71, 73, 87, 119,

252.
Edward, 31.
Eleazer, 107.
Elias, opp. 48, 89, 121, 125, 127,

143, 145, 156-158, opp. 185, 190,

198, 206.
Elias E., 150, 249, 255, 259-261.
Enoch, 73, 84, 111, 252.
Francis P., 150, 261.
Mrs. F. P., 214.
Frank, 117.
George, 117.
George A., 123.
Gideon, 101, 102, 124, opp. 125,

249-252, 260.
Hannah P., 238.
Harriet, 146.
Henry F., 123.
Hiram, opp. 110, 117.
Hiram B., 246.
Holyoke, 31.
Horace B., 117.
Israel, 12, 29, 54, 59, 74, 76, 127,

218-215, 255.
Israel H., 123, 128, 132, 171.
Israel W., 246.
J. A., 202.
J. M., 214.
J. W-., 120.

James, 64, opp. 104, 247.
James F., opp. 110.
James P., 246.
James W., 261.
Jeremiah, 73, 87, 111, 117.
Jeremiah S., 246.
Jesse, 109, opp. 110, 150, 214-216,

255.
Jethro, 55, 73, 110.
Joel, 123, 257.

John, 5, 12, 16, 213, 251, 252.
John F., 257.
Jonathan, 123.
Joseph, 28, 43, 45, 73, 74, 127, 213-

215, 251, 253, 254.
Mary, 213.
Matthew, 73.
Melvin B., 123, 262.
Miriam, 54.
Moses, 90, 127, 146.
Nathan, 73.

INDEX

279

Putnam, Xathaniel, 16, 73, 117, 150,

232, 254, 260.

Otis P., 101, 257, 258,

Perley, 71, 114.

Philemon, 112, 117, 261.

Phineas, 54, 73, 252.

Robert W., 189.

Rufus, 93, 128, 257.

Samuel, 67, 101, 107, 123, 143, 232,
247, 251, 259.

Sarah, 44, 67.

Simeon, 113, 139, 206, 257, 262.

Stephen, 43, 53, 54, 73, 251, 253.

Susan, 214, 216, 217.

Tarrant, 63.

Thomas, 16, 19, 20, 23, 29, 73, 74,
117, 144, 213, 249, 254, 255, 260.

Timothy, 55, 73.

Wallace A., 189.

William, 214, 252.

William E., 123.

William R., 216.
Putnam & Fellows, 132.
Putnam Guards, 181-183.
Putnam, Gen. Israel, birthplace,

213.
Putnam (ship), 115.
Putnam Home, 206.
Putnam Mills, 45, 102.
Putnam Tavern, 101, 102.
Putnamville, 88, 120-122.

"Quail Trap," 160.
Quincy, Josiah, 8, opp, 55.

Railroads, 155, 156.
Eankin, William, 171.
Eanoni, Charles, 178.
Raymond, John, 19.

Thomas, 20.

William, 20.
Rea, , 12.

Bartholomew, 251.

Bethia, 20.

Caleb, 77, 246.

Daniel, 10, 20.

Joshua, 16.

Zerubbabel, 77.
Rea-Putnam-Fowler house, 20.
Rebecca (brig), 115.
Rebecca (sch.), 115.
Rebecca Nurse Association, 27, 28.
Red Cross episode, 10,
Reed, Read, Isaac, 19.

Nathan, 98, 97, 98, 247, 260.

Nicholas, 21.

Reed, Thomas, 9.

Wilmot, 30.
Reifsnider, Edson, 120.
Reith, John, opp. 110.
Representatives, 259.
Resolutions of town in 1773, 03.
Revolution, soldiers killed in, J 33.
Revolution, officers in tlie, 70.
Revolutionary soldiers' grraves, 73.
Revolutionary War, 68-87, 114, 115,
Rhoades, Charles, 117.
Rice, , 58, 103.

Alexander H., 169.

Austin, 246.

Charles B., 18, 205, 262.
Richards, Chauncey S., 258.

Daniel, 124, 125, 127, 153, 168, 171.
Richardson, Abel, 117.

Edward, opp. 110, 116, opp. 121.

Ezra, opp. 105.

Jonathan, 149.

S. P., 189.

Seth, 73, 87, 117.
Richmond, James, 246.
Rider, Joseph, 236.
Riggs, , 164.

Elisha, 163.
Riverbank, 233
Roach, Israel, 189.
Road, first, 8.

Road from Plains to Neck, contro-
versy on, 45-49.
Road to Salem opened, 46-48.
Roberts, Isaac N., 189.
Robinson, E. N., 248.

Helen, 201.
Rodgers, S. A., 189.
Rogers farm, 103.
Roman Catholic Church, 120, 178.
Ropes, Bessie P., 171.

Henry T., 153.

Joseph W., 153.

Mrs. W. H., 210.
Rose (negro), 53.
Ross, Josiah, 149, 257, 258.

Leland J., 208.
Rum Creek bridge, 238.
Rushmore, William J., 161.
Russell, , 144.

Benjamin, 251.

Ezekiel, 88, opp. 92.

George Peabody, 170.

Jason, 71.

Thomas, 170.
Ryan, Cornelius, 145.

280

INDEX

St. Hilare, Ernest J., 211.

St. John's College, 231.

St. John's Preparatory School, 201.

Salem Gazette, 151.

Salem Iron Factory Co., 98.

Salem Iron Works, 116.

Salem Marine Society, 116.

Salem Register, 151.

Salem Village, 11-41.

Salisbury, Stephen, 169.

Sally (sch.), 115, 116.

Sanders, Mrs. N. S. H., 217, 223.

Sanderson, George E., 191.

Sanger, Abner, opp. 105, 250.

George J., 120, 249, 262.
Sartwell, Mrs. Blanche, 247.

Oliver, 247.
Saunders, John, opp. 110.
Savage, Elias, 149, 256, 257.
Savannah (vessel), 186.
Saveyer, James B., 123.

J. W., 246.

Jonathan, 250-253.

Samuel L., 128, 259, 262.
Scampton, Frank, 189.
School, first established, 33, 34.
School at New Mills, 92.
School at Plains, 112.
School at Putnamville, 88, opp. 185.
School improvements, 202.
School Superintendent, 202.
Schools, 92, 105, 159.
Scott, Margaret, 30.
Seal of the town, 203.
Searl, Curtis, opp. 110.
Sears, George B., 198, 247.

H. J. H., 248.

John, 123.

John A., 190.

John H., 190.

Robert K., 123.
Selectmen, 251.
Senators, 259.

Separation from Salem, 36, 41.
Seventeenth Infantry, 181.
Seventh Day Advent Church, 191.
Shackley, John, 189.
Shafer, M. A., 146.
Shahan, Thomas H., 178.
Sharp, Samuel, 13.
Shattuck, Sylvanus, 134.
Shaw, Joseph, opp. 110, 133.
Shays, Daniel, 93.

John, opp. 110.
Shay's Rebellion, 92.
Shea, Patrick F., 189.

Shed, Joseph, opp. 110, 177, 246,

249, 250, 255.
Sheldon, Charles H., 189.

Godfrey, 21.

Jesse, opp. 105.

Susannah, 23.

Warren, opp. 105.

William E., 189.
Shepard, Charles H., 151, 194, 195.
Shillabcr, Ebenezar, 250, 260, 261.

John, 62.

William, 63, 249, 252, 260.
Shipbuilding at New Mills, 87, 88.
Shipping, 113-116.
Shipyards, 117.
Shoe manufacturers, 123, 124.
Shoe manufacturing, 89, 90, 118-

126, 128-133.
Shove, Jonathan, opp. 105, 249, 255,
259, 260, 261.

Samuel, opp. 110.

Squiers, 260.
ShurtlefE, Nathaniel S., 170.
Sillars, Archie W., 134.

Malcolm, 124, 262.
Silvester, , 168, 175.

Harriet, 174.

Joshua. 122, 129, 152, 156, 157,
166-171, 174, 232, 256, 261, 263.

Sally, 174.

William W., 179, 246.
Skelton, , 157.

Samuel, 9, opp. 32.
Skelton's Neck, 9, 44.
Skidmore, Richard, 68, 73, 111.
Skillings, C. F., 135.
Slaves, 50-54.
Small, Francis J., 211.

Thomas, 16.
Smart, Joseph T., 189.
Smith, Adam D., 208.

Daniel. 189.

Elizabeth, 136, 142.

Ephraim, 133.

Ernest M. W., 120.

Henry A., 189.

Ivan, 161.

James, 250.

John, 15, 16.

Jonathan, 117.

Joseph N.. 124.

Mary E., 209.

Richard, 261.

Thomas, 10, 21.

Walter, 101.

William, 183.
Snow, Jesse W., 246.

INDEX

281

Society for the Preservation of New

England Antiquities, 118.
Soewamapenessett River, 5.
Soldiers' monument, 188.
Sons of Veterans, 189.
South Danvers, 176.
South Danvrrs Wizard, 151.
Southwick, Edward, 127, 250.

George, 71.

Joseph, 250, 251.
Spalding, Samuel W., 154, 257.
Spanish War, 203.
Spite bridge, 97.
Splane, Edward, 189.
SpofEcrd, Clara T., 209.

E. A., 206.
Ellen A., 197.
Spooner, William H., 161.
Sprague, Joseph G., opp. 110.
Spring, J. E., 222, 231,
Stacey, John, 19, 110.

Sally, 174.
Stage-coaches, 154.
Stambler, David, 212.
Stamp Act, 56.
Staples, Herbert W., 211.
Steadman, H. R., 247.
Stearns, Joseph, 113, 255.
Stephens, Timothy, 87.
Stetson, Alonzo J., 262.
Stewart, Ambrose P. S., 160.
Stickney, Mrs. W. G., 201.
Stileman, Elias, 10.
Stimpson, , 193.

Edward, 150.

George O., 127, 208.

Mrs. G. O., 210.
Stone, Harold D., 259.
Story, Charles, 131.

Ira, 88.

Stoughton, , 11.

Street railway, 196.
Streeter, Gilbert L., 3.
Strong, Edward F., 208.

Minerva H., 197.
Strout, Roy M., 161.
Sunflower (vessel), 156.
Sullivan, Arthur P., 248.

Cornelius, 189.

Henry A., 178.

Patrick, 124.

William B., 200, 205, 211, 247, 248.
Sumner, Charles, 169, 170.
Sutton, Eben, 156, 162, 256.

William, opp. 105, 168, 260, 261.
Swan, Jonathan, opp. 110.

Swinerton, , 12, 144.

Job, 10, 15, 16.

John, 26, 251.
Sylvester, Benjamin F., 98.

Herbert W., 98.

John, 98.

Nathaniel, 123.
Sylvester, see Silvester.
Symonds, Samuel, opp. 110.

Tanner, 13, 118.
Tannery, 118, 127.
Tapley, , 144.

Amos, 73, 253, 254.

Asa, 73, 113, 133, 142.

C. R., 208.

Claire H., 209.

Daniel, 142.

Elizabeth, 142.

George, 123, 177, 249, 261.

Gilbert, 73, 113, 128, 135, 139, 141,
142, 158, 191, 236.

Gilbert A., 124, 127, 141, 142, 191,
262.

Herbert S., 171.

Harriet S., 201.

Jesse, 113, 123, 142.

John, 52.

Nathan, 65, 113, 142, 177, 236, 238.

Parley, 135,136, 138, 139, 142.

R. P., 247.

Walter A., 124, 208.
Tapleyville, 89, 135-142.
Tarbell, , 238.

Cornelius, 41, 43, 251.

Jonathan, 251, 252.
Tarr, David, 73.
Taverns, 45, 48,55, 101.
Tea episodes, 59-63.
Teacher, first, 34.
Teacher at New Mills, 92.
Tebbetts, F. Pierce, 202.
Tedford, Milford, 189.
Telephone introduced, 193.
Temperance, 111.
Ten Broeck, Petrus S., 236, 238.
Tenney, George J., 158.
Text books, free, 202.
Thayer, George L., 132.

Nathaniel, 170.
Thomas, Walter G., 92.
Thompson, A. F., 131.

B. F. & Co., 131.

J. H.,191.

John N., 189.
Thorndike, Albert, 158.

Larkin, 240.

282

INDEX

Thoron, Ward, 64, 237.
Tibbetts, B. Lewis, 124.

Benjamin B., opp. 105.
Tituba, 23, 25.
Tolman, Richard, 146.
Tories, 64, 65, 104, 263.
Torr, Andrew, opp. 105, 256.
Torrey, Joseph, 111.
Town clerks, 250,
Town Hall, 160, 202.
Town government proposed, 36, 41.
Town meetings, 43, 146.
Towne, Daniel- 73.

George W., 206.

Mrs. G. W., 210.

Grace, 209.
Training place, 18.
Trainor, Patrick, 189.
Trask, Edward, 21.

Elbridge, 123.
Travel, means of, 7.
Tread well, John W., 236.
Treasurers, 250.
Trickey, W. H., 120.
Trow, James M., 134.
Trumbull, John, 76.

Jonathan, 37.
Tufts, James, 21.

Joseph, 133, 255, 256.
Twiss, William F., 189.
Two Brothers (sch.), 115.
Tyler, Job, 149.

Underwood, Mrs. G. M., 218.
Uniforms of militia, 19, 109, 112.
Unitarian Church, 190.
United States Lodge, 102, 110.
Unity Chapel, 13, 204.
Universalist Church, 120, 169.
Universalists, 89, 119-121.
Upham, , 26.

Dr., 241.
Upton, Austin, 189.

Benjamin, 251.

Eben S., 256.

Edward, opp. 105.

Elijah, 256.

Elijah W., 156. 162, 168, 261.

Ezra, 252.

John, opp. 110.

Stephen, 250.
Upton Tavern, 101.
Usher, James M., 149.

Vaccination, 91.
Valentine, J. F., 247.

Verry, Andrew, 221.

Daniel, 214.

Samuel, 19.
Victoria, Queen, 172, 173.
Village Bank, opp. 125, 198.
Villagers killed by Indians, 21.
Villages of Danvers, 113.

Wadsworth, , 51, 57, 104.

Benjamin, 18, 33, 69, 86, 111.

Mary, 86.
Wadsworth Cemetery, 144.
Wahquack, 9.
Wahquainesehcok, 5.
Waitt, Wait, Charles F., 131.

Jonathan, 73.

Oliver C, 149.

Peter, 150.
Walcott, , 12.

John, 252.

Jonathan, 15, 254.

Mary, 23.

William, 257, 261.
Walden, Joseph, 131.
Walker, George, 179.
Wallis, Dennison, 87, 260.

William, 134.
Walnut Grove Cemetery Corp., 143.
War of 1812, 109, 110.
Ward, Angus, 189.

F. J., 92.

Joshua H., 261.

Lucy A., 218.

Thomas, 218.

William, 189.
Ward Relief Corps, 189.
Wardwell, Samuel, 30.
Warren, , 125.

C. H., 169.

Harrison O., 258.

Henry, 134.

Jonas, 101, 124, opp. 125, 174.

Mary, 23.
Warren's store, 124, 125.
Washington, George, 75, 77, 82.
Watch house, 21.
Watch house hill, 30.
Water system, 191, 192.
Waterman, Richard, 5.
Waters, John, 233.

Lydia, 233.

Richard, opp. 28.
Waters River, 5, 6, 9, 46.
Watson, Thomas, 193.
Watts, Andrew C, 89.

Mrs. A. C.,206.

INDEX

283

Wayne, , 115.

Weavers, 136, 141.

Webb, Jotham, 71, 72, opp. 115.

Nathaniel, 73, 127, 253.

W. Arthur, 259.
Webber, Parker, 154.
Webster, Daniel, 139.

Samuel H., 117.
Welch, A. Frank, 128, 250.

C. E. M., 189.
Wells, Nathaniel K., 189.
Wenham Lake Ice, 152.
Wentworth, Harriet L., 197.

Philip H., 190, 22-4.
Weston, Francis, 5, 263.

William L., 127, 128, 153, 162, 168,
250.
Wheeler, C. H., 92.
Wheelwright, Ralph, 208.
Wliipple, George M., 187.

John, 20.
Whipple's Hill, 10.
White, , 174, 175.

A. Alden, 123.

AldenP., 53, 157, 177, 200, 247,
250.

Charles H., 128.

Haffield, 93-95.

Samuel, 252.
Whiting, Lewis, 246.
Whitney, George T., 189.
Whittier, John Greenleaf, 28, 150,

232.
Widen, Peter J., 208.
Widen-Lord Co., 118.
Wiggin, Joseph F., 189.
Wildes, Sarah, 30.
Wilkins, Benjamin, 20.

Bray, 16, 32.

Carrie F. B., 201.

Charles, 117.

Daniel, 20.

F. A., 134.

Fred, 124.

Mrs. Fred E., 210.

John, 16.

Wilkins, Reuben, 124.

Stephen, opp. 110, 117.

W. W.. 190.
Wilks, Norman, 248.
Willard, Abigail, 239.

John, 30.
William (brig), 115.
Williams, Abigail, 23.

Lester, 161.

W. S., 120.
Wills Hill, 35, 192.
Wilson, Isaac, 60.

Moses, 216.

Robert, 21.
Winchester, Bancroft, opp. 110.
Winkley, Henry W., 179.

Ruth, 209.
Winnapurkitt, 4.
Winthrop, John, 8.

Lucy, 13.

Robert C, 33, 164, 169, 170, 172.

Thomas Lindall, 33.
Witch house, 25.
Witch pins, 25.
Witchcraft delusion, 23-30.
Withey, John, 189.

John P., 134.
Woodbury, Daniel, 149.

Peter, 21.
Woodman, George, 189.

Joseph W., 258, 262.

Wyatt B., 140.
Wood row, Benjamin, 16.
Woods, Joseph, 189.
Wooleston River, 5.
World War, 207-212.
"Wreck of the Glide," 116.
••Wreck of the Margaret," 117.
Wright, A. E., 120.

W. E. C, 146.
Wyatt, George, 73.

Young, Charles H., 189.
Young Men's Anti-Slavery Society,
147.