Historical collections of the Danvers Historical Society

Class„ . ..

CHARLES NEWHALL

THE

HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS

OF THE

DANVERS
HISTORICAL SOCIETY

VOLUME 7

Edited by the Committee on Publication

DANVERS. MASS.
PUBUSHED BY THE SOCIETY

1919

Nkwoomb & Gauss, Printers
SALEM, MASS.

y'/r^

7

CONTENTS.

The Danvers Post Office, by Charles Newhall
(Illustrated), ......

Newspaper Items Relating to Danvers, .

The Old Ipswich Eoad, by Ezra D. Hines, .

Center of Salem Village in 1700, by Sidney Perley
(Illustrated), ......

Henry Putnam's Journey, ....

Physicians of Danvers, by Harriet S. Tapley,

Journal of Doctor Samuel Holten, .

Wife of One of the "Signers," ....

Buildings Erected in Danvers in 1918,

Danvers People and Their Homes, by Rev. A. P
Putnam, D. D., (Continued), .

"The Elm-Tree Story," a poem, by Miss E. Josephine
Roache, .......

An Old Tree,

Bill for Teaching at Danversport,

Governor Endecott an Horticnlturalist, by Samuel P
Fowler, .... ...

Some Account of the Reverend Benjamin Balch, .

From Rev. Dr. William Bentley's Diary, .

The Plains: Part of Salem in 1700, by Sidney Perley
(Illustrated), ......

Recollections, by Samuel Preston,

Necrology, ......

1

22
29

33
54
56
59
67
67

68

75
77

77

78
86
94

97
125
131

OFFICERS FOE 1918-19.

President, Charles H. Preston,

Vice-Presidents, George B, Sears, Lester S. Couch,

Secretary, Miss Harriet S. Tapley,

Treasurer, Wallace P, Perry,

Curator, Capt, Henry N, Comey.

Librarian, Miss Bessie P, Popes.

Historian, Ezra D. Hines,

Executive Committee, Walter A. Tapley, Loring B. Good-
ale, George W. Emerson, Miss Annie G. Perley and
Miss Annie W. Hammond,

Committee on Publication, Ezra D. Hines, Andrew Nich-
ols AND Miss Harriet S. Tapley,

On March 26, 1919, the Society received, at the Page
House, the bequest of furniture, china, glass, shawls and pic-
tures from the estate of Mrs. Carrie W., widow of Fred H.
Woodbury, In this large and interesting collection, particular
mention might be made of a silver lustre tea set, a liqueur set,
with gilt ornamentation, a Jackfield teapot, a variety of Staf-
fordshire printed ware, glass cup-plates, a swell-front ma-
hogany bureau, mahogany sofa, nine mahogany chairs, secre-
tary, tip table, light stand, game table, very old slat-back rush
bottom chair, Windsor chairs, wing chair, old samplers, two
large ottomans, with worked seats, and four large framed pic-
tures worked in colors, in cross-stitch ])attern, on canvas. The
largest picture is a hunting scene, and measures 3x4^ feet;
the others are "The Lord's Supper," "Knight on Horseback,^'
and a Biblical scene. It is said that Miss Frances A. Wood-
bury spent fifteen years in producing these remarkable ex-
amples of needlework. The colors are brilliant, and the shad-
ings in the figures of men and aninuils, as well as in the land-
scapes, produce a very realistic effect. The Woodbury col-
lection will be a material help in furnishing the rooms of the
Page House.

HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS

OF THE

DANVERS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Vol, 7. Danvers, Mass. 1919

THE UANVEES POST OFFICE: ITS ESTABLISH-
MENT AND HISTORY.

By Charles Newhall.

Read at a Meeting of this Society, Mar. 18, 1918.

On the United States Post Office at Washin^on is the fol-
lowing inscription: "Messenger of Sympathy and Love;
Servant of Parted Friends; Consoler of the Lonely; Bond of
Scattered Family; Enlarger of the Common Life; Carrier
of News and Knowledge; Instrument of Trade and Industry;
Promoter of Mutual Acquaintance of Peace and Goodwill
among Men and Nations." I am indebted very much to
Daniel C. Roper's new book entitled "The United States Post
Office" for many of the facts and statements which I shall
give you.

When your Secretary wrote, asking me to make a sketch of
the Post Offices of Danvers, and Postmasters, I thought it
would be impossible to do justice to it, but later on decided
to try. So, while I can give you many facts and statistics, it
will be in no sense a literary production. It occurred to me,
that with a history of our Post Office, a sketch of the first
known Posts or Post Offices might not be amiss.

The communication between nations and individuals is
older by centuries than the Christian Era. It ante-dates even
the alphabet ; for the first messages were rude hieroglyphics ;
and up to today the postal service is indicative of the civiliza-
tion of the nation. The Post Office gets its name from the
earliest known means of carrying messages. In every civiliza-
tion there has been some organized way of communication by

(1)

2 THE DANVERS POST OFFICE

runners or mounted carriers, and people as remote as the
Persians and Peruvians seems to have been the earliest who
used relays for securing greater speed.

The Persians under King Cyrus had a postal service in the
sixth century before Christ. The Postmaster was an appointee
of the Imperial Government. He maintained a place for
horses and employed grooms to care for them. He supervised
the work of the couriers and received packages of letters from
other couriers, and forwarded them to the next post towards
their destination. The manner of recording and accounting
for the packets was highly developed. It may be said that
parcel post was not unknown, even to the Persians, for to a
limited extent they received and forwarded merchandise.
Darius, the last Persian King, was Postmaster General
before he ascended the throne. Eeference to this early postal
system is found in the Bible, in the book of Esther, Chapter
8, Verse 10, "And he wrote in the King's name, and sealed
it with the King's ring, and sent letters by posts on horse-
back, and riders on mules, camels and young dromedaries."
The Eomans called the place where relays were effected,
"Posts." These Posts were the first Post Offices, as they
marked the spot where different roads converged, and where
the exchanges were made. The ancient highways were the
first Post roads. The English Postal service is the forerun-
ner of our own, and is an interesting study of the various
forms and methods adopted to promote and maintain deliver-
ies. In 1753, Benjamin Franklin was one of the two Post-
master Generals appointed for the Colonies, by the British
Post Office Department. He was removed in 1774 by the
British Government.

In 1775 the Congress established the Constitutional Post
Office, with Benjamin Franklin as Postmaster General. In
1789 there were only seventy-five postmasters in the thirteen
states, and the annual cost of carrying the mails was less
than $25,000. In 1900 there were 76,688 Post Offices in the
United States. These were reduced to 55,000 by 1917, with
an income of $330,000,000. This reduction in the number of
the Post Offices was caused by establishing Rural Free Deliv-
ery, and making branch offices and stations of offices near
any large First Class office. Branches were established in the
larger towns and stations in the smaller. These are governed
by a superintendent instead of a Postmaster and receive all
their supplies and employees from, and are accountable to
the First Class office, and not to the Post Office Department

THE DANVERS POST OFFICE 3

in Washington. This reduces the work in Washington and
distributes it among the larger offices. For instance, there are
86 Branches and Stations connected with tlie Boston Post
Office, consisting of all the cities and towns within a few
miles, in what is called Greater Boston. Business is just the
same in them as in all Post Offices except their headquarters
are in Boston or the larger office they are attached to, and
not Washington. As the Post Office Department has to keep
a book account with every office this makes a very considerable
reduction in their Avork.

The first Foreign ]\Iail Treaty of the United States was
made in 1847, with the Hanseatic Republic, or League of
Bremen, which dated back of the 14th century, and comprised
eighty-five of tlie great trading cities of Europe, and main-
tained a i)ostal system for commercial purposes. Two years
later a formal treaty was entered into with Great Britain.

The First Post Office.

In 1828 at a Town Meeting a committee was appointed to
"Devise or digest any scheme relative to the establishment of
Post Offices in this town." The Committee was Dr. ISTichols,
Jonathan Shove, N"athaniel Putnam and Samuel and John
Preston. When the committee reported, it was voted "To
have one Post Oiffice in this town," then to add one more
Post Office, and then voted to reconsider all the votes, and
after all to accept the report of the committee, in which it
was recommended to petition for two Post Offices; one to be
between "The Old Meeting House and Poole's Bridge, to be
called Danvers, and one to be at New Mills, to be called, the
North Danvers Post Office," and the action was recommended
to the Postmaster General. After considerable delay, an order
was received, Nov. 30, 1831, establishing an office in the
South Parish, to be called Danvers, and Joseph Osgood was
appointed postmaster.

Some trouble must ensued, for the office was discon-
tinued in only two weeks, on Dec. 13, 1831. But the difficulty
was soon settled, for on Jan. 18, 1832, Joseph Osgood was
appointed to the newly established office, and performed the
duties apparently satisfactoril}^, as he continued in office until
Sept. 23, 1845, when Sylvanus Dodge was placed in charge.
Mr. Dodge handled the mails until Nov. 13, 1852, when Caleb
Lowe was appointed. This was evidently a political appoint-
ment, as Mr. Lowe only held the office until May 23, 1853,

4 THE DANVERS POST OFFICE

whou Sylvanus Dodge was reappointed just after a change in
the Administration.

On the 27th of June, 1855, the town having been divided,
the name of the office was changed to South Danvers, and
Mr. Dodge was recoimnissioned. He was the father of Maj.
Gen. Grenville M. Dodge and when appointed was living in
Tapleyville in the house just above the Square, on what is
now the School house lot. He later moved to South Danvers.
This dissolves the connection of the office with Danvers.

New Mills or Danverspokt.

The first petition from Danvers for a Post Office was in
1828, to be located at New Mills, which was then the real
business center of the town. There was much shipping com-
ing in, laden with corn, lumber, lime, cement, etc. In 1848
there were 178 arrivals; in 1860, 198. The founding of the
Village Bank and locating it at the Plains in 1836 changed
the center of business to where the bank was, so that the first
Post Office at New Mills was not established until Dec. 31,
1844.

Mr. Henry Potter was appointed postmaster. He was born
in Wenham and came here to look for work, which he found
witli Col. Jeremiah Page, at whose house he lived ; while there
it is said he was sick with typhoid fever and our friend and
former owner of this house. Miss Anne Page, took care of
him. He later opened a grocery store in the Citizens' Hall
building, where he placed the Post Office. He lived on the
corner of River and Water streets and was a popular man.
He must have travelled considerably, for he was an entertain-
ing talker, and a great reader. He was a good citizen and a
good postmaster, and put the Post Office on a fine footing.
He removed to Marblehead later where he became a director
of the bank and during his leisure hours is said to have read
every book in the public library. He was injured in a rail-
road accident at Lynn, and died in the hospital, aged 87
years, 6 months. His son, E. P. Potter, is now living on North

On Sept. 24, 1849, William Alley took the office. Mr. Alley
was a tailor and had a shop in the opposite corner of the Cit-
izens' Hall building and he kept the Post Office there. He
built and lived in the house on the corner of Purchase and
High streets, where Capt. Thomas Johnson lived later. On
Jan. 10, 1852 the name of the Post Office was changed to
Danversport, and Mr. James M. Trow was appointed postmas-

THE DANVERS POST OFFICE 6

ter. The office was kept in his store, now oAvned by F. 0.
Staples. He lived in the house next to Mr. B. F. Sylvester
on High Street. Later on he moved to Lynn where he died.

From him, on Feb. 19, 1853 the office went to David Mead,
who placed it first in the shop next to William Morrill's build-
ing, but later on moved it to the store of Osgood Richards,
where F. 0. Staples' store now is. At one time he had a
stitching shopf in the Morrill building. He was a Justice of
the Peace and a Trial Justice and held court in a room in the
house where he lived, which stood on the lot where the school
house now stands. Mr. Mead was quite a character and did
many eccentric things, but witbal was quite popular. On
holidays he would take the letter mail to his house where he
delivered to the owners who called. If you called and had a
card, he was very likely to read it to you before delivery, and
seemed to think it was his duty to keep posted on all news
on the cards, and if he had not time to read them would lay
them on a shelf to be read later. He was very sympathetic
and called on the sick and injured, and would tell them he
knew just how they felt as he had been through it all and
could sympathize with them. After holding the office longer
than any one in Danvers, 33 years, 5 months, he relinquished
it to Henry Warren on March 25, 1886. He died in Everett,
Mass., aged 97 years.

Mr. Warren moved the office to the Citizens' Hall building
where he had a store and Miss Anna E. Manassa was clerk
for him. He was a currier by trade, is living at 85 Liberty
Street and Avorks at the Cresse & Cook Co. He only held
the office about 1-1 months, when he gave it up to Miss Anna
E. ]\ranassa on July 5, 1887.

There was no change of quarters and Miss Manassa per-
formed ver}' satisfactory duty until IMr. John P. Withey was
appointed on May 21, 1889. Mr. Withey, on taking posses-
sion, removed the office to the new building, next to F. 0.
Staples' store, and later on to the small shop near the Morrill
building and next to the house on the corner of Mill and
Water Streets. Mr. Withey was a Civil War Veteran of Com-
pany D, First Mass. Heavy Artillery, a Sergeant, was
wounded at the Battle of Spottsylvania Court House and
carried the bullet till his death, of which in a large measure
it was the cause. He had a father and two brothers in the
service. He was a member of AVard Post 90, G. A. R. and a
good comrade. He was engineer for Sanger, Hood & Co., and
had a daughter Helen B. who married Dr. Varney Kelley, the

b THE DANVER8 POST OFFICE

dentist, and who now lives in Seattle, Washington. He served
until June 27, 1893, when Mr. Timothy J. Gallivan took the
office and opened it in the shop next F. 0. Staples' store.

Mr. Gallivan now lives at 59 Endieott street and is in the
wood and brick business. His sister Anna assisted him in the
office and store. He gave way to his successor, Mr. J. W.
Mead, on June 27, 1897, who did not remove the office till
later on when he went to the Dr. Batchelder building, just
below the Morrill store. Mr. Mead surely believed in th6
soothing influence of tobacco in the worries of his office,
for 'tis said he lighted his pipe when he rose in the morning
and it did not go out until he retired for the night. On clos-
ing his office on Nov. 30, 1900, by orders from the Post Office
Department, he delivered all stamps, stamped paper and gov-
ernment property to the Danvers Post Office, preparatory to
establishing Free Delivery service in Danvers.

Danvers Centre.

Danvers, being a town of several villages, it was natural
when a Post Office was established at Danvers Plains, for
each section to want one; so in the latter part of 1849, the
people of Danvers Centre and Tapleyville ])etitioned the Post
Office Department, and on Feb. 5, 1850. Mr. Geo. W. French
was appointed Postmaster, and the office established in his
store on the corner of Holten and Pine Streets. Mr. French
kept a general store, and for four years handled the mails for
Tapleyville and Danvers Centre very acceptablv. until Feb. 7,

1854, when Henry Prentiss succeeded him. Mr. French, on
the removal of the Post Office, formed a partnership with
Geo. Tapley, for the manufacture of shoes. French & Tapley
had their factory on the opposite corner of Holten Street.
Mr. French sold his store to N". P. Merriam, a young man
who came from Topsfield to work for him. After a few years
the firm of French & Tapley dissolved, and Mr. French went
into the flour business in Boston. He lived in the large white
house on Holten Street, now numbered 150.

Henry Prentiss removed the Post Office to his store on
Centre Street. He lived in the same ])uilding. On June 27,

1855, the date of the division of the town, the name of the
Post Office was changed to Danvers Centre, and Mr. Prentiss,
being recommissioned, removed the office to his new build-
ing opposite, where he did quite a large grocery business. Mr.
Prentiss was well known and did quite a large business in
hides, lands, tallow, etc. in the West. He held the office uniil

THE DANVERS POST OFFICE 7

18G5 when he was succeeded by Albert H. Mudge who re-
moved it to a small store near the E. & A. Mudge shoe factory,
and later on to a new store near by. Mr. Mudge was a son of
Josiah Mudge and nephew of Edwin and Augustus Mudge of
the firm of E. & A. Mudge & Co. He married Mary Russell
and lived in his father's house next to the office. Many a
good time I have had with tlie young people there, of whom he
and his wife were part. On Oct. 21, 18G9, Mr. F. A. Wilkins
was appointed and removed the office to the building at or
about 23 Centre Street, near Walnut Street. Mr. Wilkins
lived close by and was much interested in politics. He had
two brothers who differed from him, and many discussions
took place in the "Senate Chamber," so called, a room in the
rear of the Post Office. Each evening men would congregate
to hear or to take part in the hot arguments on National,
State, County and Town affairs; and presumably none were
convinced against their Avill, for all seemed of the "same opin-
ion still." Mr. Wilkins tendered his resignation during the
summer but died before it was accepted, on Sept. 23, 1895,
and Mr. W. S. Grey who lived at the corner of Centre and
Prince Streets was appointed by the bondsmen to carry on
the office until a successor was appointed. On Oct. 10, 1895,
Miss Gr. C. Clancy received the office from Mr. Grey and con-
tinued it in the same place until Nov. 30, 1900. Then in ac-
cordance with an order from the Post Office Department all
the mail and Government property were delivered at the
Danvers Office, preparatory to Free Delivery.

Several weeks after this, I, then Postmaster at Danvers,
received from Washington a letter containing a draft, drawn
on Miss Clancy for (2 cents) two cents, in settlement of the
accounts of the Danvers Centre Post Office, which I was
ordered to collect and charge myself with, and incorporate
in my next quarterly report. Right here, I may say that a
similar instance occurred in settling the accounts of Mr. J.
W. Mead at Danversport, as I received a draft drawn on
myself for (3 cents) three cents, which I had to cash, pay to
him, and charge on the quarterly report. The Government
must have accounts exact, whether for one cent or a thousand
dollars. One is as important as the other.

Tapleyville.

When 'Mr. Henry Prentiss removed the Post Office to
Danvers Centre, the people of Tapleyville were about midway
between his office and the Plains, so called, and it was decided,

8 THE DANVERS POST OFFICE

since they could not have a Government Office, to try one of
their own. Arrangements were made with Mr. Levi Merrill,
then Postmaster at the North Danvers Office, to have the mail
of their members delivered every day to a messenger for Tap-
leyville. Mr. IST. P. Merriam, who had bought out the store
of G. W. French, agreed to provide the room and look after
it. This arrangement succeeded fairly well for a while. G.
W. French, Jr., and T. P. Hawkes were two of the messengers.
Business at Tapleyville increasing, a petition for a Post Office
there was sent to the Postmaster General, and on June 28,
1873 an office was established, with N. P. Merriam as Post-
master. It was kept at the old stand a little over thirteen
years. Mr. Merriam kept a real country store ; hay and grain,
groceries, boots and shoes, and dry goods; in fact, almost
everything to be bought. On Sept. 17, 1885, the office was
removed to the Red Men's building, on the opposite side of
Holten Street, and Mr. Daniel Fuller was commissioned
Postmaster. Mr. Fuller was a Civil War veteran of Company
B, 23d Mass. Infantry. He was a very nervous man, and any
disturbance excited him. The boys knowing this delighted
to bother him, and he was frequently seen rushing from the
office, bareheaded, to chase boys up or down the street.
Mr. Fuller kept a little store in connection with the office,
which he held until Feb. 23, 1887, when a turn of the wheel
came and Norris S. Bean was appointed. Mr. Bean kept the
office in the same place until Jan. 1, 1891, when his health
failing, Mr. 0. D. Eobertson was assigned as Acting Postmas-
ter, until the appointment of Archie W. Sillars on July 1,
1891 relieved him.

Archie was a brother of Malcolm Sillars, well known in
town, and retained his position at the same place until he was
succeeded by John A. Logan, June 5, 1894. No change in
location was made, and Mr. Logan must have satisfied the
people very well, for he continued to hold the office for a full
four-year term, until June 30, 1898, when A. W. Sillars again
assumed the reins. These he held till Nov. 30, 1900, when
in accordance with an order from Washington, the office was
discontinued, and all mail and government property was or-
dered to be delivered at the Danvers Post Office, preparatory
to Free Delivery Service, Dec. 1, 1900.

Hathorne.

The desirability of having a local Post Office near Swan's
Crossing Station was apparent by the time the Insane Hos-

THE DANVERS POST OFFICE 9

pital was completed ; and application being made to the Post
Office Department, on Sept. 10, 1878 a Post Office was estab-
lished under tlie name of Asylum Station, the railroad name
having then been changed.

Samuel S. Pratt was appointed Postmaster. Mr. Pratt was
a Civil War Veteran, Sergeant of Company H, First Mass,
Infantry, and afterwards Commander of Ward Post 90, G. A.
E. He was a popular man, and would have made a good
postmaster, but it seems as though it was not compatible in
connection with his duties as manager of the Hospital farm,
for nothing was done until Oct. 2, 1878, when George W,
Dudley, who was engineer at the Hospital, was appointed. He
at once established the office in the waiting room at the Rail-
road Station, and placed Mr. J. W. Pierce as clerk to attend
to the business. On Jan. 29, 1880, Mr. Pierce was appointed
Postmaster. He was the son-in-law of S. S. Pratt, and a
new depot having been built, the Post Office was placed there,
Mr. Pierce held the office until Mr. Pratt resigned his posi-
tion as Farm Manager of the Hospital and removed with his
family to Revere.

On March 9, 1891, Andrew Nichols, Jr., succeeded Mr.
Pierce as Postmaster. He was the son of our well known
townsman Andrew Nichols, who is a member of the Histori-
cal Society, and he continued the Post Office in the depot
very successfully, until April, 1893, when ill health obliged
him to try a change of climate and his brother J. W. Nichols
discharged the duties for him, until a change of Administra-
tion brought the appointment of Mrs. Ellen Hines on June
20, 1895. Mrs, Hines removed the office to the Street Rail-
way Station where she conducted a store and the business was
attended to by her daughter, Mary E. Hines, until Oct. 26,
1899, when, the name was changed to Hathorne and J. W.
Nichols was appointed Postmaster,

The Railroad Station name was also changed to Hathorne.
The name undoubtedly was suggested by Hathorne Hill on
which the Insane Hospital was located. It derived its name
from the first owner, Wm. Hathorne, who in 1636 received
from the Crown a grant of 200 acres of land which included
the hill and land towards Middleton.

Mr. Nichols erected a building across Maple Street, and.
removed the office there, in connection with his store. On
Jan. 13, 1910, the building and contents were almost entirely
destroyed by fire. The Post Office at Danvers was able to
supply his immediate wants, however, and a new building

.10 THE DANVERS POST OFFICE

soon rose on the spot and business was resumed in it in March,
1910. During the interval the Post Office was kept in Mrs.
Hines' store. The business increased much in volume under
Mr. Nichols' administration, until his resignation and the
appointment of Mr. C. F. Skillings, on Jan. 16, 1913. Mr.
Skillings continued the office at the same place, and in
October, 1916, it was raised to the third class. It is still in
Mr. Nichols' building, with Mr. Skillings as Postmaster, and
is progressing, as the location of the Essex County Agricul-
tural School near there has of course enhanced the receipts of
the office.

North Danvers.

The establishing of the Village Bank transfeiTed the busi-
ness center from New Mills to North Danvers and as the
petition of 1828 to the Postmaster General for two Post
Offices was not entirely complied with, I have no doubt,
though I cannot find any authority, that a new petition was
sent to Washington after the bank was opened, for on Jan. 28,
1837 an office was established under the name of North
Danvers and Mr. William Wallis was appointed Postmaster.
Mr. Wallis was a new comer, having recently moved here from
Salem. The record also says that he had been appointed No-
tary Public by the Governor and Council. The office was near
the Village Bank, possibly in the store in the other part of
the bank building, though I have been informed that at some
time in those early days there was a Post Office in the Hotel
but cannot find out under whose administration. There seems
to be no record in Danvers at all of Mr, Wallis being here
as a citizen. Mr. Wallis held the office 23 months when on
Dec. 29, 1838, Mr. Thomas Bowen took charge and moved
the office to a small building which stood between Mr. Perley's
store and what is now the Bank Building. Evidently the
office was later moved to the other side of Maple Street, for at
the great fire on June 10, 1845, a new building which held
the Post Office and Mr. D. P. Clough's restorator was burned.
The following is a sketch of Mr. Bowen by his daughter, Mrs.
Mary F. Richards :

"Thomas M. Bowen was born in Marblehead on March 20,
1811. He first came to Danvers when a boy about twelve years
of age. He took his fathers horse and started for Danvers
where relatives of his mother lived. He ran away from home
because he disliked his stepmother, and upon arrival left his
horse upon the street and disappeared. When his father

THE DANVERS POST OFFICE 11

reached the Plains in pursuit, the horse recognized his o^v^ler
and the father was obliged to take both horses back to Marble-
head. A few days later the boy was apprenticed to a shoemaker
of Wenham, named Ezra Shattuck. Mr. Bowcn followed the
sea for several years and was not quite twenty-one when he
came to Danvers again and worked for Mr. Joshua Silvester,
whose sister he married on December 25, 1838. Their home was
in the Stimpson house, corner of ]\Iaple and School streets,
but which is now located in the rear of the lot on School
street. Mrs. Martin, who afterwards married Mr. Proctor
Perley, lived in the other half of this house.

"Mr. Bowen was very much interested in politics, a very
enthusiastic Abolitionist and was one of the promoters of the
Underground railway. An event which impressed me very
much as a young child was that one evening after we were all
through supper, my mother told me I could stay up if I would
be good and not ask any questions. She began setting the table
for four people, and was cooking meat and other things. Soon
we heard footsteps on the back stairs, and in walked a black
man, woman and child. They did not talk much but as soon
as they were through, went as stealthily as they came. We
heard the wagon as it left the barn and they went away. Mr.
Bowen and a Mr. Batchelder were partners in a dramatic
club which held entertainments in the old factory at the foot
of Conaut Street on Poplar Street. Mr. Bowen served as
constable for several years and was a member of the Uni-
versalist choir for a long time and in other ways identified
himself with the town. Five children were born in Danvers to
Thomas and Mary Ann (Silvester) Bowen, four of whom sur-
vived; Thomas Edmund, Mary F., Joshua Loring and Sarah
Silvester. Mr. Bowen moved to East Danvers, then a part of
Beverly in 1853, and to Salem in 1855, where another child
Harriet was born. He died in Salem on Aug. 25, 1889. Two
daughters are still living, Mrs. Mary F. Richards of Wenham
and Miss Harriet Bowen, now a member of an Episcopal Sis-
terhood at Peekskill, N. Y."

Levi Merrill was appointed Postmaster on July 16, 1846.
He had a drug store in the building that stood next the Vil-
lage Bank Building, which was evidently moved there after
the great fire in 1845, for I have the testimony of Eben G.
Berry, former owner of the hotel, that it was a part of the old
hotel. As everything on that side was burned and the hotel
was sold before the fire to be moved away, it would seem that
it had stood somewhere away from the fire and moved on the

12 THE DANVERS POST OrFICE

new street line when laid out. At any rate Mr. Merrill had
the Post Office there five and one-half years, when on Jan.
6, 1852, Mr. Daniel Emerson received the appointment and
moved the office to the store of Emerson & Gould at the comer
of Locust and Maple Streets where they kept a large stock of
everything in the country store line. When I first knew Mr.
Emerson, he lived on the corner of Locust and Poplar Streets
and Mr. C. H. Gould on the opposite corner. Later on he
moved to the comer of Locust and Lindall, and a daughter
who was well known married Lawyer Hadley and they located
at Washington Court House, Ohio. ]\Ir, Emerson's appoint-
ment was evidently political for it was during the last of
President Fillmore's administration and the next year Frank-
lin Pierce was president and j\Ir. Levi Merrill was reappointed
on Sept. 16, 1853, giving Mr. Emerson less than a 20 months'
term. Mr. Merrill moved the office back to his drug store.
When the new liank building was erected Mr. Merrill moved
in where the Savings Bank is now.

On June 27, 1855, the name of the Post Office was changed
to Dan vers in consequence of the division of the town and Mr.
Merrill received a new commission which he held until claimed
by Sylvanus D, Shattuck on April 22, 1861. Mr. Merrill was
well known and well liked and made a very satisfactory Post-
master. Mr. Shattuck was one of the early appointed postmas-
ters under the administration of the new Republican party. He
was a very active and popular man and made a good Postmas-
ter. He was an officer of the Union League, formed to
help carry on the war of 1861 to 1865. The office
was kept in the brick block, corner Maple and Elm Streets
in the northern end. He was an applicant for re-
appointment in 1865 but had as an opponent Joseph
E. Hood, a young man just home wounded from the war,
having lost a leg before Petersburg, July 30, 1864, a member
of Company F, 35th Mass. Infantry. Many people who would
have been glad to have had Mr. Shattuck reappointed were
induced to sign ]\fr. Hoods' papers on account of his service,
and crippled condition. Mr. Hood was commissioned July
18, 1865. The office was moved back to the old stand where
Mr. Merrill was formerly located and kept there until the
Fall of 1879, when it was moved to the new bank building,
where the National Bank is now. In the same room was the
AVestcm Union Telegi-aph Company, and the telephone con-
necting with the Insane Hospital at Asylum Station. Mr.
Hood kept his store in connection with the office. J. S. Lea-

THE DAN VERS POST OFFICE 13

royd was clerk there at one time and also Charles A. Spofford,
who besides was agent for the Western Union Telegraph Com-
pany. Mr. Hood was very active in the town, built several
houses, was also at one time Town Collector of Taxes, and
held a financial office in the Lodge of Odd Fellows. Mr. Hood
held his office 20 years and 10 months.

On ]\ray 21, 188(5, Mr. C. N. Perley received his commis-
sion as Postmaster and continued the office in the same room
a few months, imtil the building he was having erected just
below the bank where the open sheds used to be, was com-
pleted, when he moved the office there. The office now had
reached the third class where there was an allowance for clerk
hire, but the clerk was not registered in Washington, being
simply an employe of the postmaster. Mr. Perley is now liv-
ing, and is one of our prominent business men, owner of the
large grocery store on the old stand of Perley & Currier. He
has represented the town in the Legislature, been towii select-
man, and on numerous committees on Town affairs. On July
1, 1890, he was succeeded by Capt. 0. W. Kenney, who was a
Civil War Veteran, Captain of Company G, 17th Mass. Vol-
unteers, and 29th Company of Unattached Heavy Artillery,
and a past commander of Ward Post 90, G. A. R. Capt. Ken-
ney was a travelling salesman for C. C. Farwell & Co., before
taking the office. His health was not good and early in 1891
he was compelled to give the active charge of the office to W.
J. Gorman, who was his clerk. He died March 9, 1891, and
Mr. Gorman was placed in charge by the bondsmen until a
new appointment was made. On May 1, 1891, Mrs. Gertrude
Kenney was commissioned. There was considerable opposi-
tion to her appointment, mostly I think because there never
had been a woman appointed in Danvers, but influential
friends secured it for her. The office was well managed and
was satisfactory to the people. She was assisted by her daugh-
ter. Miss Edith V. Kenney and served out her term to and in-
cluding Jan. 31, 1896. On Feb. 1, 1896, Mr. C. N". Perley
was recommissioned. The office now had reached second class
and Mr. Perley was entitled to an allowance for one clerk and
enough over for extra service needed. There was much talk
about Free Delivery but the receipts were not large enough.
Mr. Perley gave as satisfactory service as was possible in
such an office, but still people wanted more. There was much
complaint, because the window was closed during the sorting
of the mails but that was unavoidable, as it was impossible to
sort the mail with any help he had, and wait on the people

14 THE DANVERS POST OFFICE

who were in the lobby claiming attention. Mr. Perley's time-
was up Jan. 20, 1900, when Charles N'ewhall was appointed
but as there was some delay in receiving papers and commis-
sion, he did not assume the office until March 1, 1900. At
that time postmasters' bonds were personal and he had to have
three bondsmen sign the papers. They were then sent to the
Postmaster General to be again referred to the Chief Inspec-
tor in Boston, who had to examine into the character and
financial standing of the signers, and report before bonds
could be accepted.

The question of Free Delivery service had been much dis-
cussed but no direct efforts had been made to secure it. After
I assumed the office on March 1, 1900, the question was in-
creasingly agitated and at a town meeting soon after, the
matter was proposed and a Committee was appointed to see
what could be done. They were Hon. S. L. Sawyer, C. N.
Perley and M. C. Pettingell. After many conferences, we
decided that the peculiar conditions here seemed to render it
advisable to make a personal appeal to the Postmaster General,
and find out exactly what we must do. Mr. Sawyer went to
Washington, but all the satisfaction he received was "we will
take it under consideration when you can show $10,000 re-
ceipts or 10,000 population," neither of which could be done.
Soon after a letter was received, suggestmg the consolidation
of all the offices for a year and see what the result would be,
but we did not care to consider it. We had interested Mr.
W. H. Moody, our Congressman, and he being in town one
day, I requested him to come into the office that he might see
the condition. He stood in the center of the room, looked it
over, and said, "I had no idea the office was in such a condi-
tion, I will do all I can for you," and he did, for not very
long after that a notice came from Washington that Free De-
livery Service would be established, Dec. 1, 1900.

The owner of the building where the Post Office is located
had to furnish the equipment, which would be leased for ten
years at a rental which would secure him from loss if the
office should be moved after the lease was out. Mr, Perley at
once got in touch with the McLane Office Equipment Com-
pany and their salesman came do^vn, made his measurements
and in two days a blue print came for us to make such changes
as we considered to be needed. Agreement Avas made for it
to be in position Dec. 1, 1900, An Inspector was sent to exam-
ine the streets, and I drove him all over town. He said we
could have four carriers. It seemed a small number to me

THE DAN VERS POST OFFICE 15

but as it was all new work, we had to accept, and I procured
the best map possible of the town, and we marked out the dif-
ferent routes and places where street letter boxes should be,
and sent it to Washington. Next there were to be examina-
tions for an eligible list for clerks and carriers to be selected
from. So we tried to work up good material to go to Boston
and take the examinations. After it was ascertained who had
passed, the papers all had to be sent to the Civil Service Com-
mission in Washington, for their examination and then I
could make my selections.

Every Free Delivery Post OflEice is under Civil Service and
must have an eligible list of, candidates who have passed the
Civil Service examinations. When appointments are to be
made the Postmaster must select one from the three highest.
He then adds one fi'oni the list and makes the selection from
the three for his second employee, and so on to the third. If
after selecting the third there are any of the first three names
who have not been chosen they are dropped off the list and the
next one taken up and so on so long as there are employees
wanted. The eligible list lasts one year unless as is sometimes
the case, when the examiners are pushed for time, the Civil
Service Commission order it good for two years.

The new equipment came Tuesday, Nov. 27, and we were
busy getting ready when in the afternoon I received a tele-
gram to come at once to Washington as the Civil Service Com-
mission had not reached the Danvers list, and they were afraid
there would not be time to send them to me for selection. I
had to leave all and start. I left at 5 P. M. and at 10 A. M.
Wednesday was in Washington and met Mr. Moody at the
Department Building, as I had wired him. The Commission
had not reported. I had a good chance to talk over the busi-
ness with Mr. Moody and the First Assistant, Mr. Madden.
The Chief of the Free Delivery Division told me we were to
have six carriers, which pleased me, as I felt sure four would
not do, and they left it to me to rearrange the routes. After
getting dinner we went back and found the Commission had
adjourned until Friday, Thursday being Thanksgiving Day.
From the names passed I selected four carriers and it was
decided that I would better go home rather than wait until
Friday, so I left the names I wanted, if they passed, and the
First Assistant agreed to make the selection as soon as possi-
ble Friday and wire me.

I reached home at 9 A. M., Thanksgiving morning. At that
time it seemed almost impossible to put the service on Dec.

16 THE DAN VERS POST OFFICE

1. We were doing as well as possible but the situation re-
minded me of the School Conmiittee in a town where there
was to be a new School house. The town voted to put the
new School house on the spot where the old one now stands,
then to use as much of the material of the old house as pos-
sible in the new one, and lastly not to tear down the old one
until the new one was built. We could not take out the old
outfit until after the mail was sorted and delivered Friday
night and Saturday morning we were to need the new. How-
ever we managed. Friday afternoon we received a telegram
from Washington, giving me the names of the carriers and
a peremptory order to begin the service Saturday morning,
Dec. 1, 1900. We had to summon the six carriers and instruct
them ; make over the four routes to six, giving minute instruc-
tions that no one should be missed and after closing Friday
night slide the new outfit of boxes and windows as near into
place as possible and then sort up all the matter of the three
offices brought in and what was not delivered of the last mail
into the carriers' delivery boxes and get ready for the morning
mails. That took Mr. Lord and myself all night. Several of
the carriers stayed late and helped, and on Dec. 1, 1900, we
sent them out on the first Free Delivery. It was hardly be-
lieved in the Salem and Peabody offices that we could make
more than one delivery if we did that, but we did give two
full deliveries and one noon business delivery. I had then
and continued to have until I gave up the office as loyal a
force as could be found and one not to be bettered anywhere.
We began business on Dec. 1, 1900 with M. C. Lord, As-
sistant Postmaster, A. W. Sillars, Clerk, and myself. Mr.
Sillars, as Postmaster of one of the offices consolidated, was
by law entitled to a clerkship, if he desired. Our six carriers
were J. W. Bates, F. C. Patterson, W. A. Sillars, Patrick H.
Lyons, Sumner Perkins and E. A. Dodge. J. W. Kirby and
H. W. Eaton were substitute carriers. All employees of the
office are under bonds of some Surety Company, accepted by
the Post Office Department, for the faithful performance of
their duties. In 1907, we were so crowded that the Depart-
ment made an agreement with Mr. Perley to add 20 feet to
the office, fix it up suitably, and a new lease- would be made
for ten years, which was done on Aug. 1, 1907. I hold four
commissions of four years each, one signed by William Mc-
Kinley, two by Theodore Roosevelt, and one by William H.
Taft. The last would expire Dec. 20, 1915, but I was expected
to continue in office until my successor was commissioned and

THE DANViERS POST OFFICE 17

ready^, which I did, and on closing the office on Oct. 17, 1916,
I handed the keys to R. T. Fennessey, my successor, having
served Uncle Sam in the Post Office Department, 16 years, 7//<
months. When I took the office the receipts were $8,000 ; when I
left $20,650, for the last year. The force increased from one
assistant Postmaster, 1^^ clerks to 1 assistant Postmaster, 4
clerks, 1 substitute clerk, 3 clerks of stations, 8 carriers, 2 sub-
stitute carriers, 1 R. P. D. carrier, 1 substitute, 1 special mes-
senger, 1 mail messenger, and myself, 24 in all.

On Aug. 1, 1917, the lease of tlie office room would be out
80 Mr. Casey, the Inspector, advertised for proposals for quar-
ters, finally selecting two stores in James Fossa's building on
Elm Street, to make one large room. The new outfit was or-
dered and on Sept. 1, 1917, the office was moved to the new
room. It is large, light and convenient, and well located, and
can take care of a large increase of business. There will un-
doubtedly be an increase in the office force soon, judging from
appearances.

Of the eight carriers and substitutes, on Dec. 1, 1900, seven
are at work now, six as carriers, and one as clerk, one carrier,
Patrick Lyons, having resigned. Only one death has occurred
since Dec. 1, 1900, that was A. W. Sillars who died in Novem-
ber, 1905. We needed additional help almost at once, and on
Feb. 1, 1901, Miss F. N. Kimball was appointed clerk. She
resigned later but is still in touch with the office, in a way, as
the wife of Carrier No. 1, James W. Bates. R. P. Spofford
was appointed July 1, 1902, E. H. Pierce, Jan. 1, 1906, Ar-
thur K. Bates, Dec. 1, 1909, but later on he exchanged with
F. C. Patterson and became Carrier No. 2, mounted, and to-
day is Captain of the Parcel Post Auto, F. L. Morrison, Clerk,
Mar. 1, 1913. J. W. Kirby was made Carrier No. 4, when
Lyons resigned and H. W. Eaton Carrier No. 7 and E. R.
Guppy, No. 8, C. V. Comer, Substitute Carrier, works regu-
larly five hours per day and no doubt will soon be carrier
No. 9.

Tlie large extent of territory covered by our carriers nec-
essitated at first two mounted Carriers so called, though they
were not mounted on horses but rode in Mail delivery wagons.
Later on thig was reduced to one, and we received an allow-
ance from tlie Department for car tickets to help out on the
long routes. The Carrier owned his team, and was paid so
much a year for the use of it. Later on the Carrier had an
auto and finally after the Parcel Post law was in force the
Department gave permission to lease an auto especially for

18 THE DANVERS POST OFFICE

Carrier and Parcel Post work which is now done and insures
prompt delivery of packages.

In addition to Free Delivery Service, the Department or-
dered a Rural Free Delivery route. With the help of an In-
spector, we located a route which almost went round the town,
touched Topsfield, Wenham, and ended in East Danvers at
the Beverly line, 24i/^ miles, one trip a day. F. W. Fisher
was the first carrier. He was a naval veteran. The work was
too much for him and D. W. Lovejoy, another veteran of Civil
War, Company H, 61st Mass. Infantry, was appointed. He is
a member of Ward Post 90, G. A. E. and is in the service
today. He began with handling 2,500 pieces a month, but
now averages nearly 10,000. In the Rural Delivery the pa-
trons must place regulation boxes where the carrier can drive
to them for he is not obliged to leave his team unless he has a
special or register to deliver. He has a stock of stamps, and
stamped paper and can give money orders and register
receipts, etc.

Two Post Office Stations were also ordered. One at Danvers-
port with Miss Adelaide Fowler as clerk and the other at Tap-
leyville with T. P. Hawkes as clerk. These stations carried
all postal supplies issued, money orders and registered letters,
etc. Mr. Hawkes resigned after a year or two and the station
went to F. S. Caird, who kept a store just above Pine on
Holten Street. He only held it for a year, thinking the salary
was not enough for the work and trouble and Mr. Hawkes
concluded to accept it again and is in charge now. On May
1, 1907, an application was received for a station at Danvers
Centre which was granted and R. L. Cleveland was appointed,
but there was not enough business and after a year it was dis-
continued. After Free Delivery Service was extended to East
Danvers an application was received for a Station there. No.
3 was accordingly located at A. J. Bradstreet's Store and
he was appointed clerk. Miss Fowler of Station No. 1 re-
signed on May 31, 1916, and P. H. Gallivan, clerk for Morrill,
was appointed and had the station in the store until the busi-
ness was closed out, when on April 9, 1917, Mr. James Cahill
took it on at his store on Liberty Street.

We had a special Delivery Messenger, whose duty it was to
deliver the special letters immediately after they were re-
corded and stamped, anywhere in the Free Delivery Sections,
and outside the district within a mile from the office. The
last year there were 2,794 specials delivered.

In 1911, the Postal Savings System was introduced in the

THE DANVER8 POST OFFICE 19

oflBce. Often we had parties buy money orders payable
to themselves as a safe place to keep their money until they
needed it. They did not have confidence in the banks but did
in Uncle Sam's Government. The Postal Savings supplies
that need to encourage children and small savers. There is a
card issued for 10 cents marked for 9 stamps which they can
buy for 10 cents each and when they get the card full they
can open an account for $1. On Jan. 1, 1913 the Parcel Post
System went into service. Individual shipments were lim-
ited to 11 ])Ounds and paid for according to a zone system of
rates. The weight of packages has been gradually increased
and the rates reduced and a new order has just been issued,
permitting packages of TO pounds to be received for places
in the first three zones and 50 pounds throughout the rest of
the country. Certain articles are prohibited in the mails and
much care must be taken in packing to have the packages
received. Articles can be insured and indemnity will be paid
if they are lost or injured. Patent holders are sold under
authority of the Government, in which eggs or fragile articles
can be packed and delivered without injury. A C. 0. D. system
is also in force by which the postal officials deliver the goods
and collect the bill aJid send you a money order for the
amount. In fact the Post Office is handling a large part of
the express matter of the country. War Savings Stamps and
Certificates are being sold at the Post Office and Danvers
stands way up in the amounts sold by the carriers and clerks.
Danvers is as usual on the map.

The system of Government Postage Stamps came in 1847,.
after England introduced them in 18-40 and some postmasters
and private mail delivery companies had stamps printed and
sold to their patrons to indicate that the postage and local
delivery was paid. Envelopes were then becoming common
and the prepayment of postage was the established practice.
A few years later, official stamped envelopes were authorized.
In 1855 prepayment of postage was made compulsory. In
July, 1855, the Registry Service was established. The service
at first was not considered as fixing the responsibility on the
Government in case of loss, but merely as providing a means
of tracing letters, etc., but later on an indemnity was ar-
ranged for. The first street letter box was put up in New
York City in 1858, but the local collection and delivery of
mail was left to private carriers. In 1863 the first free delivery
was undertaken in 49 cities with 449 carriers at a cost of
$300,000 per year. Now there are over 34,000 carriers, costing
over $40,000,000.

20 THE DANVERS POST OFFICE

111 1864 the Money Order System was established. Many
complaints of loss of soldiers' letters containing money were
received, and the money order was designed as a safe way of
transmitting money. It proved very successful and profitable.
In 1864 there were 138 offices issuing and paying money or-
ders, and 74,000 orders valued at $125,000 were issued. In
1915, 55,000,000 orders valued at over $665,000,000 were
issued. In 1867 by agreement with a numl)er of nations the
International Money Order System was established. Today
practically ever}'- nation in the world is in the Union, over 60.
The cheapness and safety does away in a large measure with
the foolish practice of inclosing money in letters. In 1885
Special Delivery Service was inaugurated and one million
letters were handled. In 1917 over 35,000,000 were delivered.
On Jan. 3, 1911 the Postal Savings System went into effect.

Many business people considered this a doubtful experiment
but today more than half a million depositors, aggTcgating de-
posits of over $80,000,000, proves its value, for in many cases
this is money that was kept hidden away in the house, and is
now in circulation. In 1913, Jan. 1, the Parcel Post System
went into effect, which I have explained. Over 70,000,000,
Registered, Insured and C. 0. D. pieces of mail were handled
in 1916, the fees for which were over live and a quarter mil-
lion dollars.

I doubt if the general public really realizes the amount
of work done by the Post Office employees. Every carrier
averages to handle from 500 to 600 pieces of mail per day,
equal to one and a half to two million pieces per year and it
must be handled two or three times each iiiece. They must
keep in touch with all the patrons, keep their office record
with all the removals and addresses checked up, report all
changes to the Superintendent, also a record of all first class
matter not delivered and travel for all over one hundred
miles per day. They must work eight full hours per day and
this must be made within ten hours as required by the law
passed by Congress a few years ago. Thus if a carrier rings
in at 7 A. M. he must be through his work at 5 P. M. which
will show you why all the mail of the later afternoon arrivals
cannot be delivered, for every one wants the early morning
mail and it takes every carrier to deliver it, and so mail arriv-
ing about 4 P. M. cannot all be delivered by 5 P. M. Much
time is saved the carrier by having proper receptacles or slots
in the door for the mail, and also in the door nearest the
street. Where this is not done the carrier is limited to one-

THE DANVERS POST OFFICE 21

half a minute after ringing. The clerks handle double the
mail of the carriers as they have both outgoing and incom-
ing and handle it more times. There are over one hundred
separations to be made in the sorting. In making up outgo-
ing mail there is a facing slip on each package and if a letter
is misplaced in any package the Postmaster receiving it makes
the entry of the error on the back and sends it to the Superin-
tendent of Railway Mail Service at Boston who sends it to the
Postmaster in Danvers as a record against the clerk who made
the error. In the examinations on outgoing mails there are 864
cards used, divided into 41 separations. The time used, the
number per minute and the accuracy, is considered and they
must make 95 per cent, correct to pass. Our record is from
97 to 100 per cent, correct. Carriers and clerks are not sup-
posed to handle less than 16 per minute.

There are three wa3'^s to receive mail in a Free Delivery
Office: through lock boxes in the office, by carrier delivery
and by the general delivery. It is for the patron to choose
which, as he can have only one. People who have the carrier
delivery cannot claim the right to call at the office for mail
in the evening or between deliveries. Of course in emergency
the clerks will accommodate through courtesy, but emergencies
do not come every da}', in which case the clerk is perfectly
right in declining to look over the Carrier's mail and taking
up time he should give to his regular work.

Carriers, except tlie IJural delivery, do not issue or take
money for money orders, but they may register packages.
Carriers are not allowed to receive unstamped mail with the
money to buy and put on stamps. Patrons should keep them-
selves supplied with stamps. They may put money in an
envelope with a request to the Postmaster to send stamps
which will be done. It seems to me there should be co-opera-
tion by the public with the Post Office for the general benefit.
From the income of the office depend largely the privileges
which can be given, and every dollar's worth of stamps or
stamped paper bought outside of this Post Office reduces the
income and at the same time cuts off your benefits. Visit
your Post Office. The officials will always be glad to show
you around and you surely will be interested.

NEWSPAPER ITEMS RELATING TO DANVERS.

Danvers, April 19. — Last evening died here, Madam
Mary Prescott, in the 81st Year of her Age, the Amiable
Consort of Benjamin Prescott, Esq. : She was eldest Daughter
of the late Hon. William Pepperell, Bart. — it may be asserted
without Flattery, that as Madam Prescott passed through
the various Stages, Stations and Relations of a protracted
Life, she richly adorned them All, by a fair exhibition of
those graces and qualities which compleat the character of
the Christian and Gentlewoman. Her form was beauteous —
But,

"The Second Temple of the Rising Just,
''Shall far exceed the Glories of the First."

Boston Evening Post, Apr. 28, 1766.

We hear that Mr. William Clark, Son of the Rev. Mr. Peter
Clark, of Danvers, intends for England to obtain Episcopal
Ordination, but for what Parish we do not learn.

Boston Evening Post, Apnl 18, 1768.

Last Friday se'night died at Danvers, after a languishing

Confinement, in the 76th year of his Age and 51st of his

Ministry, the Rev. Mr. Peter Clark, Pastor of the first

Church in that Town.

Boston Evening Post, June 20, 1768.
TAKEN up in Danvers, an Ox Chain. The Owner, by in-
quiring of Benjamin Daland of Salem, may have it again.
Said Daland wants to purchase 4 or 5 good Chaise and Saddle
HORSES.

Essex Gazette, June 7-14, 1774.

TO BE SOLD.
A Good Dwelling House, situate in Danvers, and a choice
Lot of Land on which it stands, opposite the Bell-T!avern,
about one mile from Salem Town-House. Any person in-
clining to purchase may know the Price and Condition of
Sale, by applying to the Subscriber in Danvers.

Danvers, June 10, 1774. Amos Putnam.

Essex Gazette, June 14-21, 1774.

The Ship Lady Gage, Capt. Mesnard, is arrived at New

York in 52 Days from London, in whom came Passenger the

Hon. Mrs. Gage, Lady of his p]xcellency, our Governor.

Essex Gazette, July 5-12, 1774.

(22)

NEWSPAPER ITEMS RELATING TO DANVERS 23

Last Thursday two Companies of the 64th Heginient ar-
rived here from Castle William. The next Day they landed,
and marched throiio;!! the Town on their Way to his Ex-
cellency's Seat ["King'' Hooper house], near which they are
now encamped.

Taken up at the Door of the Bell Inn in Danvers, a Coat,
a Waistcoat, and a Beaver Hat. The Owner may have them
by applying to the Inn-Keeper and paying the Charge of ad-
vertising. Danvers, July, 1774. N. B. The above Garment,
called a Waistcoat, it\s like might be more projxjrly called a
Jacket as far as I know, for it is a thick Garment lined.

Essex Gazette, July 19-26, 1774.

Part of the 64th Regiment, encamped near the Governor's,
we hear, were under Arms all last Friday Night.

Essex Gazette, Aug. 23-30, 1774.

It is supposed that tJie Place of the Governor's Residence,
in future, will be in Boston. Some of his House Furniture
was removed from Danvers last Week.

Essex Gazette, Aug. 30-Sept. 6, 1774.

At a meeting of the Delegates from every town in the
county of Essex, held at Ipswich on Sept. 6 and 7, 1774,
Danvers was represented by Dr. Samuel Holten and Capt
William Shillaber. Jeremiah Lee of Marblehead was Chair-
man.

"The delegates appointed by the several towns in this
county to meet together at this alarming crisis to consider and
determine on such measures as shall appear to be expedient
for the county to adopt : deeply impressed with a sense of the
importance of this delegation, of the abilities and qualifica-
tions necessary for conducting our public affairs with wisdom
and prudence, but with the firmness and resolution becoming
freemen: With the respect and deference due to the senti-
ments of our brethren in tiie other counties of the pro\'ince,
with submission to the future determinations of a provincial
assembly, and the decisions of the grand American congress,
do in the name of the county, make the following Resolves,
viz.

"1. That the several acts of parliament which infringe
the just rights of the colonies, and of this province in par-
ticular, being such objects of deliberation before the continen-
tal congress, renders it expedient for this county to suspend
their determination respecting them ; except so far as their
immediate operation requires immediate opposition. That the

24 NEWSPAPER ITEMS RELATING TO DANVERS

act of parliament entitled 'An Act for the better regulating
the government of the province of the Massachusetts Bay in
New England/ being a most dangerous infraction of our
constitutional and charter rights, and tending to a total sub-
version of the government of the province, and destruction of
our liberties; and having been with uncommon zeal, with
arbitrar}^ exertions and military violence attempted to be car-
ried into execution; and this zeal, these exertions and this
violence still continuing, from the sacred regard, the inviol-
able attachment we owe to those rights which are essential to
and distinguish us as Englishmen and freemen; and from a
tender concern for the peace of this county, we are bound
to pursue all reasonable measures by which any attempts to
enforce an immediate obedience to tjiat act may be defeated.

"2, That the Judges, Justices and other civil officers in
this county appointed agreeably to the charter and the laws of
the province are the only civil officers in the county whom we
may lawfully obey : That no authority whatever can remove
these officers, except that which is constituted pursuant to the
charter and those laws: That it is the duty of these officers
to continue in the execution of their respective truths, as if
the aforesaid act of parliament had never been made: And
that while they thus continue, untainted by any official con-
duct in conformity to that act, we will vigorously
support them therein to the utmost of our power, indemnify
them in their persons and property, and to their lawful doings
yield a ready obedience,

"3. That all civil officers in the province, as well as pri-
vate persons, who shall dare to conduct in conformity to the
aforementioned act for violating the charter and constitu-
tion of the province, are, and will be considered by this county
as its unnatural and malignant enemies; and, in the
opinion of this body, such men while they persist in such
conduct, and so contribute to involve the colonies in all the
horrors of a civil war, are unfit for civil society; their lands
ought not to be tilled by the labor of an American, nor their
families supplied with his clothing or food.

"4. [This 4th Eesolve which respected Peter Frye, Esq.
is omitted by the Direction of the Delegates of Salem, Marble-
head and Danvers, they supposing his frank and generous
declarations inserted in this paper would give full satisfac-
tion to the county, and render a publication of this resolve
superfluous and improper.]

"5. That a Committee be raised to wait on the Hon. Wil-

NEWSPAPER ITEMS RELATING TO DAN VERS 25

liam Brown. Esq. of Salem, and acquaint him that with grief
the county has viewed his exertions for carrying into execu-
tion acts of parliament calculated to enslave and ruin his
native land: that while the county would continue the re-
spect for several years paid him it firmly resolves to detach
from every future connection all such as shall persist in sup-
porting or any wa3'^s countenancing the late arbitrary edicts of
parliament; that the delegates in the name of the county re-
quest him to excuse them from the painful necessity of con-
sidering and treating him as an enemy to his country, and
therefore that he would resign his office as counsellor on the
late establishment, and decline as a Judge (and in every other
capacity) to execute the late acts of parliment, and all others
deemed by the province unconstitutional and oppressive.

"6. That is the opinion of tJiis body, all town meetings in
this county ought to be called agreeably to the laws of this
province and the ancient usage of the county.

"7. That it is the opinion of this body of delegates, that
a provincial congress is absolutely necessary in our present
unhappy situation; and as writs are now issued for the elec-
tion of representatives for a general assembly, to be held at
Salem on the 5th day of October next, the representatives so
elected will properly form such provisional congress. And
it is further our opinion, that those representatives should be
instructed by their several towns to resolve themselves into a
provincial congress accordingly; in order to consult and de-
termine on such measures as they judge will tend to promote
the true interest of his Majesty, and the peace, welfare and
prosperity of the province.

"8. Deeply affected with a sense of the miseries and ca-
lamities now impending over the colonies, and this pro\nnce in
particular, we are compelled to form these resolutions; which
(as we apprehend) being founded in justice and necessity, on
the principals of our natural, essential and unalienable rights,
we are determined to abide by. At the same time we frankly
and with sincerity declare that we still hold ourselves subjects
of his Majesty King George the third — as such will bear him
true allegiance, and are ready with our lives and fortunes to
support and defend his person, crown and dignity, and his
constitutional authority over us. But by the horrors of
slavery — by the dignity and happiness attending virtuous
freedom, we are constrained to declare, that we hold our lib-
erties too dear to be sported with, and are therefore
most seriously determined to defend them. This, in the pres-

26 NEWSPAPER ITEMS RELATING TO DAN VERS

ent dispute, we conceive may be effected by peaceable
measures: But, though above all things (slavery excepted)
we deprecate the evils of a civil war, though we are deeply
anxious to restore and preserve a harmony with our brethren
in Great Britain; yet, if the depotism and violence of our
enemies should finally reduce us to the sad necessity-, we.
undaunted, are ready to appeal to the last resort of states;
and will in support of our rights encounter even death, 'sen-
sible that he can never die too soon who lays down his life in
support of the laws and liberties of his country.'

"Voted, That Jeremiah Lee, Esq., Dr. Samuel Holten
and Mr. Elbridge Gerry, be a Committee to wait on the
Hon. William Brown, Esq., agreeable to the fifth Eesolve."

Last Friday, Jeremiah Lee, Esq., Dr. Samuel Holten and
Mr. Elbridge Gerry waited on tlie Hon. William Browne,
Esq., at Boston, with the 5th Eesolve of the Delegates of this
County, and received the following answer:
"Gentlemen,

"I cannot consent to defeat his Majesty's Intentions and
disappoint his Expectations by abandoning a Post to which
he has been graciously pleased to appoint me, — An appoint-
ment made without my Solicitation or Privity, and accepted
by me from a Sense of Duty to the King and the Hopes of
serving my Country. I wish therefore to give him no Cause
to suspect my Fidelity, and I assure you I will do nothing
without a due Regard to their true Interest. 'As a Judge and
in every other Capacity I Intend to act with Honour and In-
tegrity and to exert my best Abilities; and be assured that
neither Persuasions can allure me nor shall Menaces compel
me to do any Thing derogatory to the Character of a Coun-
sellor of his Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay.

"Boston, Sept. 9, 1774. Wm. Browne."

Essex Gazette, Sept. 6-13, 1774.

We are just favoured with a New York Gazetteer of
Sept. 8, by which we learn that the Inhabitants of that City
were greatly alarmed on Monday Morning last, by an Express
arriving there from COL. PUTNAM of POMFRET, with
Dispatches to the Committee of Correspondence, informing
them six Persons were killed, and Numbers wounded by thie
Soldiery in Boston, that the Artillery had been playing all
night on the Town, etc., begging they would rally all their
Forces and march immediately to the relief of the Inhabitants
of Boston.

NEWSPAPER ITEMS RELATING TO DANVERS 27

The 59th Iie<?iment from this Town, and 2 Companies of
the 64th from Danvers, marched to Boston la,st Saturday.

Essex Gazette, Sept. 6-13, 1774.

At a meeting of the following commissioned Officers of the
first Regiment in Essex (under the Command of Wm.
BroAvne, Esq.,) held at Danvers, 4th Day of October, 1774,
William Putnam, William Piekman, BenJ. Ward, tertius,
Capt. Low, Joseph Gowen, Samuel Flagg, Jeremiah Page,
Ephram Fuller, Samuel Gardner, Christopher Osgood,
William Brown, Ezekiel Marsh, Nathaniel Sherman,
Robert Foster, Enoch Putnam, Samuel Eppes, John
Hathorne, Samuel King, John Dodge, James Bancroft, Amos
Curtis, Ebenezer Proctor, Elias Endicott. Voted unanimously.
That they resign their Commissions as Officers in said Regi-
ment, and they do hereby declare their Resignation thereof.

N. B. The above Vote passed in Consequence of the said
Col. Browne's refusing to resign his Seat at tJie Council
Board.

Essex Gazette, Oct. 18-25, 1774.

At a Meeting of the People (both the Alarm and Training
Band) of tlic third Company in Danvers, being part of the
first Regiment in the County of Essex, held at Danvers, 27th
October, 1774, for the Purpose of choosing Officers for said
Company, in Consequence of their former Officers resigning
their Post of office.

Capt. Jeremiah Page, Chairman,

Voted, Capt. Jeremiah Page, Captain.

Voted, Lieut. Enoch Putnam, First Lieut.

Voted, Mr. William Towne, Second Lieut.

Voted, Mr. Joseph Porter, Ensign.

Voted, That the said Officers be acknowledged by the said
People as their Officers, until the said Company shall be
otherwise settled in the old constitutional way.

Attest, Arch. Dale, Clerk.
Essex Gazette, Oct. 25, 1774.

At a Meeting of the People (both of the Alarm and Train-
ing Band) of the first Company in Danvers, being Part of
the first Regiment in the County of Essex, held at Danvers,
9th Day of November, 1774, for the purpose of choosing of-
ficers for said Company in Observance of the Recommenda-
tion of the Provincial Congress.

Dr. Samuel Holten, Chairman.

Voted, Mr. Samuel Flint, Captain.

Voted, Mr. Daniel Putnam, 1st Lieut.

28 NEWSPAPER ITEMS RELATING TO DANVERS

Voted, Mr. Joseph Putnam, 2nd Lieut.

Voted, Mr. Asa Prince, Ensign.

Attest, Asa Putnam, Clerk.

Died at Dan vers, Mr. Thomas N"elson, in the 104th year
of his Age. He was born at Norwich in England, June,
1671, in the Eeign of Charles II. At the Revolution he was an
Apprentice to a Weaver in that City, when he inlisted as a
Soldier under King William to go over to Ireland to drive out
James II. He served also in Queen Anne's Wars ; was a Sailor
in the Fleet under Sir Cloudesley Shovel at the Siege and
Taking of Barcelona, and was in the expedition to Canada,
1711, at which Time he settled at Danvers, and, till within
this year or two, was able to come to Salem on foot. He had
but one Eye, and his Hair white like the driven snow, but
retained his Reason and walked remarkably erect.

Essex Gazette, Nov. 8, 1774.

At a meeting of the Training Band of the second Foot
Company in Danvers, on 28, Nov., 1774, agreeable to advice
of the Provincial Congress, to choose officers for said Com-
pany. The Meeting was opened with Prayer by the Rev.
Nathan Holt. Voted, Jonathan Tarbel, Chairman.

Voted, Samuel Eppes, Captain.

Voted, Benjamin Jacobs, 1st Lieut.

Voted, Gideon Foster, 2nd Lieut.

Voted, Francis Symonds, jr.. Ensign.

Attest, Samuel Eppes, Clerk.

At a meeting of the Alarm List on Dec. 5, 1774. A^'oted,
Deacon Malachi Felton, Chairman.

Voted, Caleb Low, Captain.

Voted, Ezekiel Marsh, jr., Lieut.

Voted, John Dodge, Ensign.

Attest, Sylvester Proctor, Clerk.
Essex Gazette, Dec. 6, 1774.

SOME THOUGHTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE OLD
IPSWICH ROAD.

By Ezra D. Hines.

Eead at an Informal Meeting of this Society, July 7, 1890.

The Fourth of July has passed. John Adams, one of the
men who signed that remarkable document, the Declaration of
Independence, and thus forever immortalized himself, said
concerning the 2d clay of July, 1776, "It will be the most
memorable epoch in the History of America. I am apt to
believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as
the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated
as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God
Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade,
with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illumina-
tions from one end of this continent to the other, from this
time forward forevermore."*

The 2d day of July, 1776, was the day on which the resolu-
tion of Independence was passed, but it was not until the
4th day of the said July, that the form of the declaration
itself was unanimously agreed to. Succeeding generations
have observed the 4th instead of the 2d day, but ever with the
spirit and enthusiasm which Adams predicted for the 2d day.

But what has this to do wdth the "Old Ipswich Eoad?"
Wait, and you shall learn. But first let me tell you, what, of
course, you all ought to know, that the said road or path,
commences in our town at the Peabody line on Sylvan street,
and is our present Sylvan street as far as Ash street — all of
Ash street — Elm street, from the Eastern Division Railroad
station to the Square, and Conant street to the Beverly line.
This road is a very old road, one of the oldest, having been a
road or path as early as 1630. Let us go back in imagination
to that time. John Endicott is here. So is the Old Ipswich
road, in fact, some of his land borders upon it. Governor

*Tn Letter to Mrs. Adams, July 3d, 1776, from Philadelphia.

f In Letter dated Philadelphia, July 3, 1776, to Mrs. Adains,
•"Yesterday, the greatest question was decided which ever was
debated in America, and a greater perhaps, never was nor will
be decided among men."

(29)

30 THE OLD IPSWICH KOAD

Winthrop visits Endicott, the Ipswich course is in sight. Over
it, perhaps, he walked or rode. We are a colony, and the old
path is one of our colonial roads. We become a province, and
this old way is one of the province highways. We are a Dis-
trict by the name of Danvers and this pleasant route is still
here. We become a Tovm. and this path or way remains. We
are a State and between Boston, our capitol, and Ipswich, the
beautiful and picturesque old town, the Ipswich road is the
connecting link. We become a part of that great and grand
whole, the United States of America, and still the pleasant
course is traveled every day. Could the soil and the rocks
break forth into intelligent speech what interesting facts
would they reveal! How many distinguished people have
passed over this old way — the Mathers, Justices Ha-wthome
and Curwen, the victims and accusers in the days of Witch-
craft, notably the good and now sainted Rebecca Nourse, who
had the courage like Daniel of old, not only to dare, but to do
the right. Over this way comes Rev. James Allen, the min-
ister of the First Church in Boston, with his bride. Here,
too, comes the English General and Governor, Thomas Gage,
and with him the English troops from their homes far away
across the water. Along this old course Henry Dearborn,
then a Captain, and afterwards Jefferson's Secretary of War,
through both terms, and Rev. Samuel Spring, who afterwards
became the great preacher, passed, and so, too, did Benedict
Arnold with his troops on that wonderful march from Cam-
bridge to Quebec, encamping for the night on Porter's plain.
Also Daniel Morgan, the Captain of the celebrated rifle com-
pany, the hardy huntsmen of the Shenandoah, from the moun-
tains of Virginia, Morgan, the bold, brave man, who said that
"on the night of the storming of Quebec, in the deep dark-
ness, he felt his heart sink, and going aside, loielt down by
one of the cannon, and prayed that the Lord God Almighty
would be his shield and defence." And many, so many more
that I might speak of, could be mentioned, who have trav-
eled this old way, did time allow.

Let me, however, relate concerning two men, who were at
the time of which I write, distinguished, and who after-
wards became more noted, who in the early part of the year
1774, on Monday, March 28th, drove together from Boston
over this old road. They were none other than John Adams
and Josiah Quincy, Junior. Adams and Quincy, names of
which we are proud, and to which we love to refer. Now

THE OLD IPSWICH ROAD 31

you will observe why I quoted from the writings of one of
these men in the beginning.

These two men are on their way to Ipswich to attend Court.
On the evening of the day before referred to^ they stop in
Danvers. Adams, in his Diary, says: "Rode with Josiah
Quincy to Ipswich Court. Arrived at Piemonts in Danvers,
in good order and well conditioned. Spent the evening and
lodged agreeably. Walked out in the morning to hear the
birds sing. Piemont says, there is a report that the Sons of
Liberty have received some advice from England which
makes them look down ; that they have received a letter from
Mr. Bollam that they must submit, and other letters which
they keep secret." After tarrying here for a night they
proceed to Ipswich. Much as you all know might be said
of Adams, let my quotations from Mm already given suffice,
and let me now relate something to you in reference to Josiah
Quincy, Junior. He is, like Adams, a sterling patriot. Adams
and Quincy are lawyers. In less than a year, after their
stop in Danvers, Quincy goes to England, hoping he may
there be of service to his country. He embarks privately
from Salem, Sept. 28th, 1774. Arriving in Ijondon, he
dines with Dr. Franklin. Visits Lord North, talks over with
him for two hours the condition of American affairs, es-
pecially of the Boston Port Bill.

He attends the Court of Chancery, King's Bench and Com-
mon Pleas. Visits Governor Pownal. Has a long conversa-
tion mth Lord Dartmouth. Lord D. being called out for
a few moments, said, "I would entertain you with a pamphlet,
(Observations on the Port Bill),* during my absence, but I
fancy you have seen this. I tliink you know the author of it."
Is received by Lord Chatham. Dines with Lady Hunting-
ton. Attends Parliament at its opening.

Lord Chatham is alluded to afterwards by Washington, in
his instructions to Arnold, given on the eve of his departure
on his march from Cambridge to Quebec. Washington writes :

"If Lord Chatham's son should be in Canada, and in any
way should fall into your power you are enjoined to treat
him with all possible deference and respect. You cannot err
in pacing too much honor to the son of so illustrious a charac-
ter, and so true a friend to America."

Quincy is now in the House of Peers, at the foot of the
throne, and listens to the Bang's delivery of his speech from
the throne above.

♦Written by Josiah Quincy, Jr.

32 THE OLD IPSWICH ROAD

Now he sees Lord Camden who said, "Were I an American
I would resist to the last drop of my blood."

He hears the great speech of Ix)rd Chatham in the House
of Lords, in January^ 1775, in the course of which he said
concerning America, "They say you have no right to tax
them without their consent — they say truly. Representation
and taxation must go together — they are inseparable."

On the same day, and in the same place, he also listens,
and hears fall from the lips of Lord Camden :

"My Lords, you have no right to tax America." Lord Shel-
bume also spoke, favorable to America. Quincy himself,
afterwards, said of this event :

"Last Friday was a day of great happiness to me. I heard
a Chatham and a Camden speak for hours on the concerns
of my country,"

Quincy embarks for home March 16th, 1775, and on tlie
homeward journey he is sick and weary. He grows worse,
and April 26th, 1775, just before reaching the shores of his
native land which he so much desired to reach, he expires. As
death approached, he remarked, "that his one desire and
prayer was, that he might Kve long enough to have an inter-
view with Samuel Adams, or Joseph Warren, that granted,
he would die content,"

He died just before reaching Gloucester, and all that was
mortal of Josiah Quincy was laid away in the cemetery at that
place.

Let me leave this thought with you tonight. I want you
to connect these men of whom I have related, and especially
Adams and Quincy, with our Old Ipswich Road, over which
they once passed. As we walk or ride over this road, surely,
may the heroic lives of Adams and Quincy, of Dearborn,
of Morgan, and of others, which they lived, and the brave
deeds they performed, serve to brighten and strengthen us in
our life work, and may we say of them, the founders of our
republic, as is said of our country's latest defenders,

"For what they did, and what they dared, remember them
today."

And of our old colonial path or way,
"Though men may come,
And men may go,"
May the Ipswich Road remain forever.

Scale : i inch = 70 rods

CENTER OF SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700

CENTER OF SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY.

This section of Salem Village is somewhat irregular in
shape, and measures about a mile and a quarter in length
north and south, and nearly a mile in width at the widest
part east and west. It runs from a short distance south-
erly of Holten street to Beaver brook, and from Dayton
street to the eastern slope of Whipple's hill.

Salem Village was called New Salem in 1685.

Whipple's hill was first known as Thorndick hill, be-
cause John Thorndick owned a part or the whole of it ;
and, later, after the Whipple family came to live on its
eastern side, it became known as Whipple's hill. The
latter name has clung to it ever since, although the Whip-
pies have been gone from the old homestead for a cen-
tury.

Beaver brook was called Beaver dam brook in 1761,
but has been and is more generally known as Beaver
brook.

Holten street was laid out before 1674 by John Porter,
sr., and Thomas Putnam, who deposed in the Salem quar-
terly court June 30, 1674, that they were appointed to
lay out some highways at the Farms, and " they Com to
Ingesels brouk & began neare a marked tree that standes
b}^ nathanel Putnams fence on the north sid the brouk &
laid out a way as neare as they Could betwixt the farmes
of Mr. Endecotes on the south: & hedloks & Joseph hol-
tones on the north."* It was called ye country highway
in 1697; the highway leading to Salem in 1701 ; and
Holten street in 1864. The easterly part of Holten street
now runs as shown by the parallel dotted lines.

♦Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County,
volume V, page 323.

(33)

34 CENTER OF SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700,

Center street, southerly from the meeting house, was a
highway in 1692, and was so called in tliat year; the
highway leading to Salem in 1701 ; the country road in
1703 ; the county road in 1819 ; Village street in 1847 ;
and Center street as early as 1863. In 1868, a deed
calls it Holten street. That part of Center street leading
northwesterly from the meeting house was a highway
many years before the witchcraft period (probably laid
out in 1674) ; and was called the country road in 1708 ;
ye country road from Salem to Andover in 1716 ; An-
dover road in 1731 ; Andover road to Salem in 1788 ;
the road leading to Middleton in 1842 ; the Middleton
road in 1847 ; and Center street as early as 1864.

Pine street is an ancient road. It was called ye coun-
try highway in 1674 ; highway leading to Salem in 1748;
the highway leading from the north part of Middleton to
Salem in 1788 ; and Pine street as early as 1872.

Hobart street was laid out in 1674, when the meeting
house was built ; and was called ye highway in 1700 ; ye
country highway in 1709 ; ye old meeting house road in
1731 ; road to the meeting house in 1748 ; highway lead-
ing from the house of James Smith to the North meeting
house in Danvers in 1788 ; and Hobart street as early as
1864.

Forest street was an old way to the meeting house, be-
ing laid out in 1675, " for ye Inhabitants ye farmers to
Come to ye meeting howfe ;"* and was called ye highway
in 1708 ; the way laid out into the common road to Salem
in 1723; ye old meeting house way in 1731 ; the high-
way that leads up to Hathorne's hill in 1744 ; a way to go
to the meeting way in 1750 ; ye way leading to Thomas
Andrews' in 1751 ; the road leading from the North meet-
ing house in 1849 ; and Forest street in 1864.

IngersoU street was begun to be used as a way about
the time of the Revolution. It was called the way laid
out by the selectmen of Danvers to acconnnodate Captain
IngersoU in 1800 ; a road leading by the Peabody farm
so called to the Newburyport turnpike in 1874 ; and In-
gersoU street in 1882.

Ganson's lane was created as a way, four rods wide,

*Town Records of Salem, volume II, pages 207 and 221.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 35

from the hiirhway to the house and hind of Samuel Sibley
in 1686.* The Ganson family afterwards lived there,
and it came to be called the lane to Gansou's land in
1787 ; and Ganson's lane in 1801.
• Brown street was so called in 1864.

Benjamin Hutchinson Lot. This was the northwestern
corner of the tract of land which was granted by the
town of Salem to Francis Weston in 1636. Mr. Weston
followed Roger Williams to Rhode Island, and this part
of the grant became tlie property of John Pease, who
conveyed it to Richard IngersoU June 13, 1641. f Mr.
IngersoU died in the winter of 1644-5, havini^ devised it
to his son Nathaniel IngersoU. Nathaniel Ingersoll of
Salem, yeoman, conveyed it to " my adopted sou " Ben-
jamin Hutchinson, who had been given to him by Benja-
min's parents, Mr. Ingersoll having no children that lived
to matarit3^ Benjamin Hutchinson owned it in 1700.

Nathaniel Putnam Lot. This was perhaps a part of
the fifty acres granted by the town of Salem to Nathaniel
Putnam " lying beyond Elias Stilemans ffarme bounding
upon mr Thorndicke & soe vpon Captaine Hathornes
ffarnies " Nov. 26, 1649 ; and it belonged to Nathaniel
Putnam in 1700.

Joseph Hutchinson Lot. The northerly part of this lot
was probal)ly part of the farm of John Thorndike in
1611 ; and the southerly part was a portion of the farm
of Elias Stileman, the elder, which was granted to him
by the town of Salem before 1641. Mr. Stileman con-
veyed it to Richard Hutchinson June 6, 1648. + Richard
Hutchinson of Salem, husbandman, for love, conveyed
this tract of land to his son Joseph Hutchinson of Salem
May 16, 1666 ;§ and Joseph Hutchinson owned it in
1700.

Upon the southerly end of this lot the first meetino-
house of Salem village was built in 1673. It is said to
have been a plain two-story building, and it remained in
use until 1701, when a new meeting house was erected

♦Essex Registry of Deeds, book 11, leaf 115.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 1.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 4.
§ Essex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf 18.

36 CENTER OF SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700,

upon the site of the present church. The old meeting
house was taken down and reconstructed as a barn on the
opposite side of the road, where it remained until about
1800, when it rotted and fell and its ruins allowed to
decay.

Estate of Jonathan Waleott House. This lot belonged
to Richard Ingersoll, who died in 1644, having devised it
to his son Nathaniel Ingersoll. Nathaniel Ingersoll of
Salem and his wife Hannah conveyed to Jonathan Wall-
cut of Salem that part of the lot lying northerly of the
dashes July 1, 1669 ;* and that part of the lot lying
southerly of the dashes Nov. 24, 1685.* Captain Wal-
eott died Dec. 16, 1699, having devised " my now man-
tion house,"' barn and land belonging thereunto to his
wife Deliverance for her life and at her decease the al)so-
lute estate to his four youngest sons, Thomas, William,
Ebenezer and Benjamin. The last three named sons
agreed to support the widow, and with her consent they
made a division of the estate among themselves Feb. 24,
1722, the house, barn and land adjoining them being
assigned to Ebenezer Walcott.f Ebenezer Waleott of
Reading, planter, for one hundred and seventy pounds,
conveyed the house, barn and land to his brother Benja-
min Walcot of Salem, blacksmith, April 29, 1723.$ Ben-
jamin Waleott removed to Boston, where he continued
his business of a blacksmith, and, for two hundred and
ten pounds, conveyed the land and buildings to Ebenezer
Hutchinson of Salem, yeoman, June 6, 1726. § For forty
pounds, Mr. Hutchinson conveyed to Samuel Ingersoll
of Marblehead, cooper, the dwelling house, barn and land
under and adjoining the same May 29, 1728. || Mary
Cox and Ruth Fowles, widows, both of Salem, John In-
gersoll of Lynn, husbandman, Elizabeth Knights, widow,
John Ingersoll and Richard Ingersoll, mariners, and Dan-
iel Cresey, cordwainer, and wife Sarah, Ruth Hibbert,
widow, and Sarah Ropes, widow, all of Salem, descend-
ants and heirs of John Ingersoll, formerly of Salem, yeo-

♦Essex Registry of Deeds, book 7, leaf 57.
tEssei Registry of Deeds, book 40, leaf 217.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 41, leaf 164.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 47, leaf 166.
llEssex Registry of Deeds, book 51, leaf 86.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 37

Dian, deceased, Mathew Pettingal of Salisbur}^ husband-
man, Nicholas Jacknian, husbandman, and wife Abigail,
Daniel Lunt, husbandman, and wife Mary, Hannah Pet-
tingal, guardian of Benjamin Pettingal and Humphrey
Pettingall, minors, and Samuel Pettingall, husbandman,
all of Newbury, descendants and heirs of Richard Pet-
tingall, formerly of Newbur}^ yeoman, deceased, Thomas
Haines of Haverhill, husbandman, Moses Aborn of Salem,
husbandman, and George Flint of Salem, husbandman,
and wife Sarah, descendants and heirs of William Haines,
formerly of Salem, yeoman, for one hundred and ninety
pounds, conveyed to Samuel Ingersoll, sr., of Marblehead,
cooper, their interest in the })remises Feb. 3, 1728-9.*
Mr. Ingersoll removed to Salem, and pursued his trade of
a cooper. He conveyed one-sixth of the estate to Thomas
Haynes of Haverhill, husbandman, and his brothers and
sisters, Jonathan Haynes and Joseph Haynes, now at
Canada, William Corbet of Lebanon, Conn., and wife
Sarah, John Heath of Norwich, Conn., and wife Hannah,
Thomas Kingsbery of Windham, Conn., and wife Marga-
ret, John Preston of Windham and wife Mary, John Cor-
lis of Haverhill and wife Ruth, to the heirs of Jacob
Warren and wife Abigail, since deceased, and to Isaac
Spalden of Plainfield, Conn., and wife Elizabeth, Se})t. 17,
itSl.f Benjamin Haynes of Salem, Salem county, in
West New Jersey, weaver, for himself and as attorney of
Joseph Haynes, jr., and Thomas Haynes, plantation man,
and Daniel Haynes, carpenter, all of Maning town, in
said county, and Roger Hugings of Pilsgrove and wife
Sarah, descendants of John Ingersoll, Richard Pettengell
and William Haynes, conveyed the estate to Samuel In-
gersoll of Salem, cooper, Nov. 6, 1731.$ George Flint
of Salem, husbandman, and wife Sarah (daughter of
Sarah Haines, who was daughter of William Haynes,
who was son-in-law of Richard Ingersoll, formerly of
Salem, deceased), conveyed to Samuel Ingersoll of Salem
their interest in this lot and buildings thereon July 11,
1733. § Mr. Ingersoll conveyed the buildings and land

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 63, leaf 197.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 59, leaf 59.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 59, leaf 269.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 03, leaf 187.

38 CENTER OF SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700,

to Ebenezer Hawks of Marblehead and Samuel Pope of
Salem, blacksmiths, Oct. 22, 1735;* and these grantees
conveyed the same estate to William Hutchinson of Salem,
husbandman, and wife Joanna March 23, 1735.f The
house was probably gone soon afterward.

Nathaniel Ingersoll House. This lot of land was a part
of the tract granted by the town of Salem to Francis
Weston. John Pease conveyed this part of it, with a
house thereon, to Richard Ingersoll, June 13, 16444 ^^^'
Ingersoll had already moved into the house, which was
still unlinislied, and died there in that year, having in his
will, devised the land, and "a little frame" thereon, to
his son Nathaniel Ingersoll. Captain Ingersoll finished
the house and lived in it. Nathaniel Ingersoll of Salem
Village, husbandman, and his wife Hannah, " for love for
the public worship of God, and encouragement of their
pastor," Kev. Samuel Parris, " who hath lately taken that
office amongst them," etc., conveyed to him and his wife
Elizabeth foi- their joint lives that part of the lot lying
between the dashes Jan. 2, 1689 ;§ and Mr. Parris, for
eighteen pounds, reconveyed it to Mr. Ingersoll Aug. — ,
1697. II Deacon Ingersoll died Jan. 27, 1718-9, having
devised the income of his estate to his wife Hannah dur-
ing her life, and subject to her life estate he devised to
" Benjamin Hutchinson (my adopted son) who was very
dutyfull to me while he lived with me & helpful to me
since he has gone from me " all his real estate, except
two acres at the western end of this lot, " whh I give to
the inhabitants of Salem Village for a training place for
ever." Benjamin Hutchinson and Nathaniel Hutchinson,
both of Salem, husbandmen, conveyed to Samuel Inger-
soll of Salem, cooper, that part of the lot lying easterly
of the dashes, with " an old dwelling house standing
thereon," Sept. 17, 1731.^ But as Nathaniel Ingersoll
died leaving no issue releases from his heirs-at-law were
secured. Samuel Ingersoll of Salem, cooper, released his

* Essex Registry of Deeds, book 08, leaf 225.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 71, leaf 79.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 1.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 9, leaf 71.
llEssex Registry of Deeds, book 14, leaf 172.
TIEssex Registry of Deeds, book 59, leaf 31.

BY SIDNEY PEKLEY. 39

one-fifth interest in the old house, bavn and homestead
land to Thomas Haynes of Haverhill, husbandman, Jona-
than Hayues and Joseph Haynes, " now at Canada," Wil-
liam Corbet of Lebanon, Conn., and wife Sarah, John
Heath of Norwich, Conn., and wife Hannah, Thomas
Kingsbeiry of Windham, Conn., and wife Margaret, John
Preston of Windham and wife Mary, John Corlis of
Haverhill and wife Ruth, heirs of Jacob Warren and wife
Abigail, now deceased, Isaac Spalden and wife Elizabeth
of Plainfield, Conn., all brothers and sisters of said
Thomas Haynes, Sept. 17, 1731.* Benjamin Haynes of
Salem, Salem county, in West New Jersey, weaver, for
himself and as attorney of Joseph Haynes, jr., and Thomas
Haynes, plantation men, and Daniel Haynes, carpenter,
all of Maning town, in said county, and Roger Hugings
of Pilsgrove and wife Sarah release their interests in this
homestead to Samuel Ingersoll, sr., of Salem, cooper,
Nov. 6, 1731. f Sarah Ropes of Salem, widow, released
her interest in the estate to Samuel Ingersoll June 8,
1732 ;:{; and George Flint of Salem, husbandman, and
wife Sarah (daughter of Sarah Haines, who was daughter
of William Haynes, who was son-in-law of Richard Inger-
soll, formerly of Salem, deceased) released her interest
July 11, 1733. § Samuel Ingersoll conveyed the land
and buildings to Ebenezer Hawks of Marblehead and
Samuel Pope of Salem, blacksmiths, Oct. 22, 1735.||
Messrs. Hawks and Pope conveyed the same to Joseph
Cross of Salem, mariner, Jan. 31, 1736 ;^[ and Mr. Cross
removed the old house and erected a new one in its stead
before 1762.

Parsonage. That part of this lot lying southerly of
the dashes, upon which the parsonage was built in or be-
fore 1681, was probably donated by Nathaniel Ingersoll
for that purpose at that time.

That part of the lot lying northeasterly of the dashes
was conveyed, for six pounds and ten shillings, by Joseph

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 59, leaf 59.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 59, leaf 269.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 59, leaf 270.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 63, leaf 187.
IIEssex Registry of Deeds, book 68, leaf 225.
lEssex Registry of Deeds, book 71, leaf 277.

40 CENTER OF SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700,

Hutchinson of Salem, husbandman, to the " inhabitants
of y« farmes of Salem Village " April 13, 1681.*

That part of the lot lying southwesterly of the dashes
was conveyed by Joseph Holton, sr., of Salem, husband-
man, to " the inhabitants of the farmes of Salem Village"
April 15, 1681. t This was a part of the tract of land
conveyed by John Pease to Richard Ingersoll June 13,
16444

Upon the severance of the relation of Rev. Samuel
Parris to the church and parish, the question of title to
the parsonage property and ministry land arose, and it was
submitted to arbitration by Mr. Parris and Nathaniel
Putnam, Daniel Andrew, Joseph Herrick, Thomas Put-
nam and Joseph Putnam, all of Salem, on behalf of the
inhabitants of Salem Village, and, Aug, 30, 1697, an
award was made, by which Mr. Parris should release his
interest in the messuao^e known as the ministry house and
land and in the copper in the leanto of the house, and,
also, in all land bought by the Village of Joseph Holton,
and he accordingly released the same Sept. 24, 1697.§

The parsonage house, which was built for the minister,
was forty-two feet long, twenty feet wide, and of eleven
feet post. It had four chimneys, and no gables. In
1734, it was repaired for the occupancy of Rev. Peter
Clark, and an addition to it was made twenty-three feet
long, eighteen feet wide, and fifteen feet post. This old
parsonage house was demolished by Rev. Benjamin Wads-
worth in 1784.

The parish disposed of the land in 1864 and 1866.

Samuel Sihley House. This lot of land early belonged
to Benjamin Hutchinson of Salem, husbandman, and he
conveyed it to his son Joseph Hutchinson of Salem, yeo-
man. May 16, 1666. || Joseph Hutchinson conveyed it,
with the road (four rods wide) to the street, to Samuel
Sibley of Salem, cooper, Sept. 2, 1686 ;^ and Mr. Sibley
built a house and barn and planted an orchard upon the

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 7, leaf 40.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 7, leaf 40; book 11, leaf 139.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 1.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 14, leaf 245.
II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf 18.
iJEssex Registry of Deeds, book 11, leaf 115.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 41

lot. For twenty-five pounds, he conveyed the estate to
Samuel Lano of Salem, blacksmith, June 6, 1696 ;* and,
for thirty-three pounds, Mr. Lane conveyed to John Gan-
son of Salem, weaver, " ray now dwelling house," barns,
orchards and land, April 2, 1707. f He died in January,
1723-4, and his widow Abigail married, secondly, Capt.
Thomas Flint of Salem, and disposed of this estate to
her children, under the power and direction in his will,
Feb. 19, 1734-5. ij: Lois Ganson of Salem, singlewoman,
released one-ninth of the " mansion house," barn and
land to her brotlier Benjamin Ganson of Salem, weaver,
Feb. 21, 1734-5.^ John Ganson of Salem, housewright,
released one-fifth of it to his brother Benjamin Ganson,
who was then living in the house, Oct. 7, 1740 ;|| and on
the same day Jonathan Hutchinson of Salem, husband-
man, and wife Elizabeth released her interest in it to her
brother Benjamin Ganson. 1^ Nathan Ganson of Salem,
housewright, released his one-fifth interest in the house,
barn and land to his brother Benjamin Ganson April 4,
1744.** Benjamin Ganson died in the spring of 1749,
when his twelve acres of land and the buildings were ap-
praised at one hundred and fifty pounds. The house
was gone before 1788, when the lane was described as "a
lane leading from the highway leading to the meeting
house to the cellar where Ganson's house formerly
stood."tt

James Bayley House. That part of this lot lying west-
erly of the dashes next the highway early belonged to
Richard Hutchinson of Salem, husbandman, and he con-
veyed it to his son Joseph Hutchinson of Salem May 16,
1666. U Joseph Hutchinson conveyed it to Rev. James
Bayley of Salem March 25, 1681. §§ Mr. Bayley had
preached here from 1672 to 1680.

•Essex Registry of Deeds, book 19, leaf 86.

tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 19, leaf 160.

JEssex Registry of Deeds, book^Sl, leaf 91.

§Essex Registry of Deeds, book'si, leaf 83.

IIEssex Registry of Deeds, book 81, leaf 84.

ITEssex Registry of Deeds, book.81, leaf 104.
**Essex Registry of Deeds, book 86, leaf 44.
ttEssex Registry of Deeds, book 147, leaf 95.
ItEssex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf 18.
§§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 7, leaf 79.

42 CENTER OP SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700,

That part of the lot lying northerly of the northern-
most dashes was a part of the estate of Richard Hutchin-
son and conveyed by him to his son Joseph as above
stated. Joseph Hutchinson of Salem Village, for thir-
teen pounds and six shillings, conveyed it to James Bay-
ley of Roxbury, physician, May 2, 1693.*

That part of tliis lot lying between the dashes was also
a part of the estate of Richard Hutchinson, and conveyed
by him to his son Joseph as above stated. Joseph Hutch-
inson, sr., of Salem, yeoman, conveyed it to Rev. James
Bayley of Salem Village, who " hath bene in y® exercise
of his gifts by preaching amongst us several years, having
had a call thereunto by y^ inhabitants of y* place, and att
y® sd Mr. Baylee's first coming amonst us, . . for his
more comfortable subsistence amonge us ; but the
Providence of God having so ordered it, y'^ y*" sd Mr.
Bayley doth not continue amongst us in y® worke of y®
ministry, yet considering y*' premisses, & as a testimonie
of our good affection to y^ sd Mr. Bayley," May 6,
1680.1

The rest of the lot probably early belonged to Richard
Hutchinson, and later to his son-in-law Nathaniel Putnam
of Salem, husband of his daughter Elizabeth. Nathaniel
Putnam conveyed to Mr. Bayley the lot, '* whereon y®
said Mr. Bayley's now dwelling house now standeth,"
May 6, 1680, f Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Putnam joining
in one deed.

Thus the whole lot became the property of Mr. Bayley
in 1700. He removed to Roxbury, where he continued
the practice of a physician, and, for one hundred pounds,
conveyed the dwelling house, orchard and land to Nicho-
las Hayward of Salem May 23, 1700.$ Mr. Hayward
died in the spring of 1748 ; and in the division of his
estate his homestead land and buildings were assigned to
his son Paul Hayward. Paul Hayward of Salem, cord-
wainer, for forty-two pounds, six siiillings and eight pence,
conveyed to James Smith, jr., this house, barn and land

♦Essex Registry of Deeds, book 13, leaf 279.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book;?, leaf 79.
t Essex Registry of Deeds, book 21, leaf 24.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 43

around them Feb. 27, 1750.* In 1788 it was called "the
house where Israel Smith lives." The house Avas proba-
bly gone a few years later.

John Shepard House. Tliis lot of land was a part of
the great lot of Richard Hutchinson ; and it came into
the ownership of Nathaniel Putnam very early. Mr.
Putnam sold or gave it to his father before 1680 ; but no
deed of it was given until Feb. 19, 1682-3, when it legally
passed to his father John Putnam, sr., of Salem. f Capt.
John Putnam gave it to John Shepard to be disi)0sed of
to his children before 1680, and before he had acquired a
deed of it. Mr. She])ard bnilt a house thereon immedi-
ately ; and, when of Rowley, tailor, for love, he con-
veyed the "mansion house" and land to his children,
John Shepard and Hannah (Shepard) Clark, both of
Haverhill, William Shepard of Hampton, N. H., and
Eleazer Shepard of Salem (who was then at sea) Feb. 23,
1710-1.1 Mr. Shepard died July 8, 1726, and his heirs
sold it to James Ross of Salem, shoemaker. Mr. Ross
conveyed the buildings and land to Samuel Hayward, jr.,
of Salem, weaver, June 14, 1742.§ It next belonged to
Nicholas Hayward of Salem, who died in 174-. The
next owner was his son Paul Hayward of Salem, yeoman,
who conveyed this homestead to Nathaniel Browne of
Salem, gentleman, March 10, 1748. || For one hundred
pounds, Mr. Browne conveyed the dwelling house, barn
and land to James Smith, jr., of Salem, cooper, April 10,
1749 ;^ and the buildings were apparently gone before
1788, when the land was still owned by Mr. Smith.

Samuel P arris Lot. This lot early belonged to James
Hadlock of Salem Village, and he sold it to John Shepard
of Salem Village, tailor, Oct. 30, 1688. Mr. Shepard
had his orchard here. He removed to Rowley, and, for
ten pounds, conveyed the lot and some buildings thereon
to Samuel Parris of Salem Village Feb. 15, 1691.** Rev.

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 96, leaf 118.
f Essex Registry of Deeds, book 6, leaf 77.
:}:Essex Registry of Deeds, book 24, leaf 2.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 84, leaf 197.
II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 9.3, leaf 155.
ITEssex Registry of Deeds, book 93, leaf 149.
**Essex Registry of Deeds, book 9, leaf 70.

4-1 CENTER OF SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700,

Mr. Parris removed to Newton, and owned the lot in
1700.

Jo9eph Hutchinson House. This was part of the farm
of Elias Stileman, the elder, which was granted to him
by the town of Salem before 1641. Mr. Stileman
conveyed it to Richard Hutchinson June 6, 1648.* Mr.
Hutchinson was of Salem, husbandman, and, for love,
conveyed to his son Joseph Hutchinson of Salem this
tract of land, with the house and barn thereon. May 16,
1666. f Richard Hutchinson apparently continued to live
in this house with Joseph until his death in 1682, and his
widow also until her marriage with Thomas Roots of
Manchester a few months after his death. Joseph Hutch-
inson conveyed to his son Robert " my mansion house,"
barn and land, June 3, 17084 "^^^^ house was apparently
gone before 1729, when the land was sold.

Nathaniel IngersoU Lot. This lot of land belonged to
Richard IngersoU, who died in 1644, possessed of it, hav-
ing devised it to his wife Ann. She married, secondly,
John Knight, sr., and died in the summer of 1670. It
came into the hands of her son Nathaniel IngersoU, who
owned it in 1700.

The watchhouse of King Philip's war time stood on the
western end of this lot ; and, in 1701, the second meeting
house of Salem Village was built upon the same site,
and there it aud its successors have since stood.

Thomas Haines House. This lot of land belonged to
Richard IngersoU, who died in 1644, having devised it to
his wife Ann. She married, secondly, John Knight, sr.,
and died in 1670. It came into the possession of her
daughter Sarah, who married, first, William Haines, aud,
second, Joseph Houlton. Joseph Houlton was a husband-
man, and lived just below on the same side of the street.
He released this lot to his step-son Thomas Haines of
Salem Aug. 9, 1681. § Mr. Haines built a house upon
this lot and became an innholder. He removed to Salem,
in New West Jersey, and conveyed the house and land

•Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 4.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf IS.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 30, leaf 179.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 6, leaf 13.

THOMAS HAINES HOUSE

JOHN HOULTON HOUSE

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 45

to John Allen of Salem, gunsmith, March 23, 1703-4.*
Mr. Allen removed to Marblehead, and conveyed the land
and house, " in which 1 formerly dwelt," to Ebenezer
Buxton of Salem, cooper, June 12, 1731.t Mr. Buxton
conveyed the land and buildings to John Putnam, jr., of
Salem, husbandman, June 13, 1736;:]: and Mr. Putnam
conveyed the dwelling house and land to Benjamin Chase
of Danvers, weaver, Sept. 20, 1754. § Mr. Chase died,
in old age, in the winter of 1813-4, having devised his
estate to his friend and housekeeper widow Elizabeth
Flint of Danvers. She conveyed the land and buildinofs
to Salmon Phinney of Danvers, yeoman, Feb. 1, 1816 ;||
and Mr. Phinne}' conveyed the same to Daniel King of
Danvers, gentleman, April 1, 1817.^ For eight hundred
dollars, Mr. King conveyed the house and land around it
to Elijah Pope, jr., of Danvers, cordwainer, March 9,
1833 ;** and Mr. Pope mortgaged the estate to widow
Elizabeth Wyman of Salem April 23, ISlO.ff Mrs.
Wyman removed to Marblehead, and died in August,
1856 ; having devised her estate (except a few small
bequests) to her son Isaac C. Wyman of Salem, attorney-
at-law, who as her executor foreclosed this mortgage by
taking possession of the premises June 2, 1868.JJ Mr.
Wyman conveyed the estate to Alvira T. Martin, wife of
George B. Martin of Danvers, manufacturer, May 1,
1868.§§ Mrs. Martin died Aug. 14, 1878, intestate, and
their children, Walter T. Martin, Caroline M. Martin and
Alice B. Martin, all of Danvers, released their interest in
the " Pope place '' to their father George B. Martin of
Danvers March 20, 1886.|||| Mr. Martin died April 26,
1889, intestate ; and Gilbert A. Tapley and another, ad-
ministrators of his estate, conveyed this property to Wil-

•Essex Registry of Deeds, book 95, leaf 268.

tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 62, leaf 12.

tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 74, leaf 120,

§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 101, leaf 88.

IIEssex Registry of Deeds, book 210, leaf 2.

IfEssex Registry of Deeds, book 215, leaf 125.
*»Essex Registry of Deeds, book 270, leaf 45.
ttEssex Registry of Deeds, book 318, leaf 133.
tJEssex Registry of Deeds, book 750, leaf 240.
§§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 752, leaf 244.
II II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1180, leaf 132.

46 CENTER OF SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700,

liam H. Hood of Danvers Sept, — , 1891.* For nine
hundred and fifty dollars, Mr. Hood conveyed it to Eliza-
beth R. Roberts, wife of Daniel C. Roberts of Danvers,
Jan. 1, 1892 ;| and Mr. and Mrs. Roberts conveyed the
land and buildings to Everett L. Wentworth of Danvers
March 10, 1908.:]; Mr. Wentworth conveyed the same
estate to Bertha L. Durkee, wife of Wendell U. Durkee
of Danvers, Aug. 5, 1912 ;§ and Mrs. Durkeo now owns
the place.

Henry Hoidton Lot. This lot of land belonged to
Richard Ingersoll, who died in 1644, having devised it to
his wife Ann. She married, secondly, John Knight, sr.,
and died in 1670. It came into the possession of her
daughter Sarah, who married, secondly, Joseph Houlton.
Joseph Houlton lived in Salem, and was a husbandman.
He and his wife Sarah conveyed to their son Henry Houl-
ton this lot, which contained one acre and was planted to
an orchard, Sept. 22, 1694 ;|| and Henry Houlton owned
it in 1700.

John Houlton House. This lot of land belonged to
Richard Ingersoll, who died in 1644, having devised it to
his wife Ann. She married, secondly, John Knight, sr.,
and died in 1670. It came into the possession of her
daughter Sarah, who married, secondly, Joseph Houlton.
Joseph lived in Salem, and was a husbandman. He con-
veyed to their son John Houlton this lot " on which the
dwelling house of the grantee stands " Jan. 21, 1692. ^
John Holton lived here, and was a cooper. He died in
the winter of 1721, having devised the use of his housing,
barn and land to his wife Mary for her life, and then ab-
solutely to Joseph Buxton, son of his sister Elizabeth
Buxton. Joseph Buxton died in the summer of 1750,
having devised this house and land to his wife Abigail
for her life, and then absolutely to his son Joseph Buxton.
The son Joseph Buxton of Danvers, cooper, for one hun-
dred pounds, conveyed the house, barn and land to his

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1411, page 136.
t Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1:389, page 342.
t Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1908, page 540.
§ Essex Registry of Deeds, book 21G4, page 522.
II Essex Itegistry of Deeds, book 24, leaf 187.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 14, leaf 206.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 47

son Anthony Buxton of Danvers April 22, 1754 ;* and
Anthony Buxton, then a cooper, conve3'ed the same estate
to widow Miriam Giffards of Marblehead Aug. 18, 1777. f
John Cross of Danvers, housewright, owned the house,
barn and land as early as 1801 ; and, Feb. 26, 1805, when
it was conveyed to Elijah Huteliinson of Middleton, house-
wright, by Daniel Dutch of Ipswich, a deputy sheriff, on
an execution issued on a judgment recovered by Mr.
Hutchinson in a suit against Mr. Cross.:}; Mr. Cross re-
leased the title to the estate to Mr. Hutchinson two days
later.§ jSIr. Hutchison removed to this place, and contin-
ued his trade of a housewright. He died Sept. 9, 1818 ;
and, as administrator of his estate, Joseph Hutchinson
conveyed the land and buildings to David Wilkins of
Danvers, blacksmith, May 7, 1819.|| Mr. Wilkins' shop
stood southerly from his house on land of Samuel Small.
Mr. Wilkins conveyed the house, barn, shop and land to
Solomon Wilkins of Middleton, esquire, Dec. 30, 1823 ;^
and Solomon Wilkins conveyed the same estate to David
S. Wilkins of Danvers, laborer, April 22, 1833.** David
S. Wilkins, who had become a yeoman, for seven hun-
dred dollars, convej^ed the same property to Frederick A.
Wilkins and Keuben Wilkins of Danvers, shoemakers,
July 14, 1842. If Reuben Wilkins released his interest
in the estate to Frederick A. Wilkins May 18, 1863. ^J
Frederick A. Wilkins died Sept. 23, 1895, having devised
this house and lot to his son George A. Wilkins of Dan-
vers. George A. Wilkins conveyed the estate to William
A. Douuell of Danvers Jan. 13, 1911 ;§§ and on the same
day Mr. Donnell conveyed it to Laura A. Wilkins, wife
of George A. Wilkins. |1 || Mrs. Wilkins still owns and
resides upon the old homestead.

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 123, leaf 255.

tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 180, leaf 80.

I Essex Registry of Deeds, book 174, leaf 298.

§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 174, leaf 299.

y Essex Registry of Deeds, book 22o, leaf 10.

tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 234, leaf 86.
**Essex Registry of Deeds, book 271, leaf 44.
ttEssex Registry of Deeds, book 344, leaf 286.
t+Essex Registry of Deeds, book 052, leaf 18.
§§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 2065, page 9.
II II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 2005, page 10.

48 CENTER OF SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700.

Joseph Houlton House. This lot of laud belonged to
Richard Ingeisoll, who died in 1644, having devised it to
his wife Ann. She married, secondly, John Knight, sr.,
and died in 1670. It came into the possession of her
daughter Sarah, who married, secondly, Joseph Houlton
of Salem. Mr. Houlton built a house on this lot and
lived in it. He conveyed "my dwelling house" and this
lot of land to his son James Houlton Aug. 19, 1701.*
James Houlton lived in Salem, and died in the autumn of
1722, liaving devised to his wife Mary the income of his
real estate for her life, and then to their son Joseph " all
my land and housing in Salem Village that I bad of my
father," etc. Joseph Holton was only eleven years old
at the time of his father's decease. His mother married,
secondly, William Stacey of Marblehead Aug. 22, 1723,
and they removed to Boston about five years later. He
was a cordwainer, and married Rebecca Felton in 1731.
He conveyed the estate to Bartholomew Rea of Salem,
tailor, April 4, 1732 ;f and removed to Hopkinton. Mr.
Rea became a yeoman, and lived here. He died in the
spring of 1784, having devised to his wife the use of the
lower room in the west end of the house for ten years,
and to his son John Rea of Danvers, yeoman, his home-
stead land, with the buildings thereon, subject to the in-
terest of the wife as above stated. John Rea died April
20, 1797. Daniel Rea of Andover, yeoman, a distant
relative, owned the dwelling house, barn and land Nov.
29, 1805, when he conveyed the estate to Ebenezer Good-
ale of Danvers, esquire iX ^^^^ Mr. Goodale conveyed the
same estate on the same day to Samuel Small of Middle-
ton, house Wright.;}; Mr. Small lived here, becoming a
yeoman ; and conveyed the house, shop, barn and land to
Moses Gould of Danvers, victualer. May 5, 1826. § Mr.
Gould was sued by Ebenezer Goodale of Danvers, esquire,
and on the execution which issued upon the judgment
recovered in the action Daniel Dutch of Salem, a deputy

♦Essex Registry of Deeds, book 14, leaf 222.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 60, leaf 151.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 178, leaf 36.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 240, leaf 213.

JOSEPH HOULTON HOUSE

BENJAMIN HOULTON HOUSE

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 49

sheriff, sold the same to Mr. Goodale Feb. 19, 1828.* Mr.
Goodale conveyed the land and buildings to Gilbert Tap-
ley of Danvers, esquire, April 1, 1828 ;* and Mr. Tapley
conveyed the estate to Isaac Dempsey, jr., of Danvers,
cordwainer, Feb. 24, 1832. f Mr. Demsey died Jan. 10,
1862 ; and the real estate was divided among the heirs
Oct. 17, 1892, the old house and land around it being
assigned to Mary L. Demsey, Alden A. Demsey and
Althea L. Demsey. Mary L. Demsey had bought the
interest of Sally H. Morrison, wife of Joseph Morrison
of Peabody, a daughter of the deceased, Oct. 23, 1889.J
Alden A. Demsey of Danvers, son of the deceased, had
conveyed his interest to Herbert A. Denison of Danvers
Sept. 13, 1887 ;§ and Herbert A. Demsey conveyed it to
Alathea L. Demsey, wife of Alden A. Demsey, on the
same day. || Alden A. Demsey of Danvers conveyed his
one-third interest to Mrs. Mary T. Hawkes Dec. 11,
1890.^ Mary L. Demsey mortgaged two-thirds of the
house and lot Dec. 23, 1893 ;** and the mortgage was
foreclosed by Mrs. Mary T. Hawkes, wife of Thorndike
P. Hawkes, the then holder, by sale to Herbert A. Dem-
sey Dec. 11, 19 11. It Mr. Demsey reconveyed it to Mrs.
Hawkes on the same day ; and Mrs. Hawkes conveyed
the estate to James H. Perry of Danvers Sept. 26, 1914.^:};
Allie Gertrude Killam (daughter of Alden A. Demsey
and Alathea L. Demsey) of Reading released her interest
in the estate as the heir of her parents to Mr. Perry March
20, 1915. §§ Mr. Perry conveyed it to Lillian G. Kennison,
wife of Joseph L. Kennison of Salem, March 22, 1915 ;||||
and Mr. and Mrs. Kennison conveyed the house and land
to Edwin Dutcher of Danvers Oct. 21, 1916.<fl^ Mr.
Dutcher now owns the property.

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 248, leaf 182.

tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 267, leaf 30.

JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 1264, page 196.

§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1205, page 340.

II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1205, page 341.

fEssex Registry of Deeds, book 2116, page 556.
**Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1399, page 293.
ttEssex Registry of Deeds, book 2116, page 552.
tJEssex Registry of Deeds, book 2277, page 492.
§§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 2291, page 144.
llllEssex Registry of Deeds, book 2291, page 145.
miEssex Registry of Deeds, book 2346, page 367.

60 CEISTER OF SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700,

Benjamin Houlton House. This lot of land belonged to
Richard Ingersoll, who died in 1644, having devised it to
his wife Ann. She married, secondly, John Kniglit, sr.,
and died in 1670. The land came into the possession of
his daughter Sarah, who married, secondly, Joseph Houl-
ton of Salem Village, yeoman. For love, he gave this
lot to his son Benjamin Houlton, who lived thereon, prob-
ably in a house built by him or his father. He died Sept.
17, 1689; and in his will he devised the house and land
to his wife Sarah for her lifetime, with the power of dis-
posal by will to his brothers or sisters or their children.
His will was made the day before he died, and he as-
sumed that he would die childless. A posthumous child,
Benjamin, was born, however, Jan. 14, 1689-90 (about
four months after his death). Joseph Houlton had made
no legal conveyance of the estate apparently, and, after
the death of his son Benjamin, he gave a deed of the
estate to the latter's widow for her life and then to her
son Benjamin Houlton in 1701 (the deed being acknowl-
edged Dec. 23, 1701).* The latter lived here, and was a
yeoman. Captain Houlton died in the autumn of 1744,
having devised his real estate to his son John, who was
then eighteen years of age, but providing that if John
should decease before he became twenty-one the estate
should go to John's brothers Israel and James. The ex-
ecutor was Samuel Houlton of Salem, gentleman, the
" trusty friend " and cousin of the testator, and the estate
next belonged to Samuel Holton. He died Jan. 18, 1777.
The title to this place descended to Hon. Samuel Holton
of Danvers, son of the deceased, who lived here and died
Jan. 2, 1816, possessed of the house and land. In his
will he devised one-third of his estate to his daughter
Mary Putnam, wife of Jethro Putnam, and one-third to
his granddaughter Mary Ann Putnam, daughter of his
son-in-law Ezekiel Putnam, esquire. The estate was di-
vided among the devisees May 2, 1823 ; and the eastern
half of the house and land was assigned to Mary Putnam,
and the western half to Mary Ann Putnam. Mary Ann
Putnam apparently released her interest in the estate to
Mrs. Mary Putnam ; and Mrs. Putnam died April 29,

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 18, leaf 218.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 51

1840. Her sons, Hiram Putnam of Syracuse, N. Y., and
Philemon Putnam of Franconia, N. H., gentlemen, con-
veyed their interest in the property to their sister Har-
riet's husband, Israel Adams of Danvers, gentleman, Jan.
1, 1842.* Mr. Adams lived here, and died Feb. 28, 1857.
Philemon Putnam of Danvers, executor of his will, sold
the estate at auction, for fifteen hundred and thirty-five
dollars, to Thomas Palmer of Danvers, April 30, 1864.f
Mr. Palmer still owns the old house and land. The house
is now a tenement house.

Joseph Houlton Lot. This lot of land belonged to
Richard Ingersoll, who died in 1644, having devised it to
his wife Ann. She married, secondly, John Knight, sr.,
and died in 1670. It came into the possession of her
daughter Sarah, who married, secondly, Joseph Holton of
Salem, husbandman ; and they owned the lot in 1700.

Johyi Griles House. Kichard Hutchinson early owned
this lot of land, which was a part of the Stileman grant ;
and allowed his daughter Rebecca and her husband James
Hadlock of Salem Village, yeoman, to live upon it from
the time of their marriage, in May, 1658. Mr. Hutchin-
son conveyed it to them and their children March 11,
1680. :j; John Hadlock of Salem Village, husbandman,
for forty shillings, conveyed that part of this lot lying
easterly of the dashes to Henry Coombs of Lynn, tailor,
March 9, 1692-3. § On it, at that time, was « y^ house
that was Caled John Coombs house." Henry Coombs
apparently never came here to live, and the house was
occupied in 1694 by Samuel Rea. For ten pounds, Mr.
Coombs conveyed the dwelling house and land to John
Gyles, jr., of Beverly, cordwainer, April 26, 1695 ;|| and
Mr. Giles built a barn upon the northwestern corner of
this part of the lot in or before 1697.

That part of the lot lying westerly of the dashes was
conveyed by John Hadlock of Salem, yeoman, and his

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 329, leaf 34.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 668, leaf 123.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 15, leaf 101.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 9, leaf 97.
II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 10, leaf 162.

52 CENTER OF SALEM VILLAGE IN 1700,

wife Sarah, to Mr. Giles, who had come here to live, June
24, 1697.*

Mr. Giles conveyed "my now dwelling house" and
the land to Solomon Putnam of Salem, blacksmith, March
31, 1746.f Mr. Putnam's blacksmith shop was situated
diagonally across the ways, northeasterly from his house.
Mr. Putnam died in 17 — ; and in the division of his real
estate in 1757 this house and land was assigned to his
brother Gideon Putnam. Elizabeth Putnam of Danvers,
widow of Tarrant Putnam of Salem (probably father of
Solomon Putnam), deceased, and their children, Tarrant
Putnam of Sutton, gentleman, Gideon Putnam, house-
wright, Samuel Putnam, yeoman, and his wife Elizabeth,
both of Danvers, and Joseph Flint of Salem, housewright,
and his wife Sarah, conveyed to Israel Putnam of Dan-
vers, blacksmith, son of said Tarrant and Elizabeth, five-
sevenths of this house and land around it, the grantee
then living in the house, May 9, 1754.:j: Samuel Ende-
cott, jr., of Danvers, husbandman, and wife Mary, re-
leased her one-seventh interest in the buildings and land
to Israel Putnam, who owned the other six-sevenths, July
13, 1756.§ The house was apparently gone a few years
later.

John Hadloeh House. Richard Hutchinson early owned
this lot of land, which was a part of the Stileman grant ;
and allowed his daughter Rebecca and her husband James
Hadlock of Salem Village, yeoman, to live upon it from
the time of theirrmarriage, in May, 1658. Mr. Hutchin-
son conveyed it [to them and their children March 11,
1680.11 Their^son(?) John Hadlock of Salem, husband-
man, for seventy-eight pounds, conveyed to David Judd
of Salem, cordwainer, the dwelling house, barn and land,
" being ye homestead where I now dwell," Oct. 20, 1709;^
and Mr. Judd, still of Salem, cordwainer, for love, con-
veyed the house, barn and lot, after his wife's decease, to

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 12, leaf 9.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 88, leaf 99.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 104, leaf 60.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 103, leaf 178.
II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 15, leaf 101.
lEssex Registry of Deeds, book 35, leaf 223.

BY SIDNEY PBRLEY. 53

his daughters Rebecca and Mary Judd June 12, 1745.'*
The estate belonged to James Smith of Danvers, cooper,
March 8, 1765, when he conveyed it, including the dwell-
ing house, which was then called the David Judd house,
to his son Nathaniel Smith of Danvers, cooper.f Nathan-
iel Smith built a new house just south of the old one
soon afterward, and probably removed the old house at
that time.

•Essex Registry of Deeds, book 87, leaf 193.
: tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 135, leaf 5.

HENRY PUTNAM'S JOURNEY.

The following story of the marriage of an early resident
oE Salem Village is copied from a paper sent to Danvers in
1877 by a descendant, who states that it was furnished him
by the lady herself, when about ninety years of age. It was
printed in the Salem Village Gazette in October, 1877.

" When Mr. Henry Putnam was about twenty-two years
of age he went from Medford, Mass., into the State of Con-
necticut, about one hundred miles, at that day a very long
journey. Night coming on, he stopped at a farm house of
inviting appearance in the town of Bolton, and asked for
entertainment for himself and horse, as he travelled on horse-
back. His request was cordially received, and the hospitali-
ties of the house were freely given him. In the family circle
was Miss Hannah Boardman, the oldest daughter of his host.
Mr. Putnam became interested at once in the young lady, of
whom he dreamed much during the night. In the morning
he told the story of his love, and in return Miss Hannah gave
her consent to become his wife. Acting on the principle that
* a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,' and the fact
that a long ride was between him and his home, he decided
to live only in the company of his lady-love. So he arranged
to make her father's house his home until the slow laws of
Connecticut would allow the twain to become one ; but in due
time they were married. The next morning after the wed-
ding, Mrs. Putnam was presented by her father and friends
with a horse, a lady's saddle, and other travelling equipment,
also two cows and twelve sheep. Now came the tug of love
— separation from home and all its endearments — fond
caresses and hearty farewells were exchanged, and the youth-
ful bride of sixteen, with the husband, each mounted on the
saddle, took up the march for her new home in the old Bay
State, driving the cows and sheep before them."

The Gazette goes on to say, " Not many years later we
find Mr. Putnam Captain of a Company among the 3,000
Massachusetts troops, who, under the command of General
Shirley, were at the siege of Louisburg. A valuable sword
was there surrendered to him by a French ofiicer, which now
is in the possession of a great grandson living in central

(54)

HENRY Putnam's journey 66

New York. There is also a memorandum in his handwriting
well preserved, which reads thus : ' An invoise of ye goods
that I have carried with me on the present expedition to
Louisburg — viz., a small feather-bed, coverlid, a woolen
blanket, two checked shirts, fine shirt, two linen and tow
shirts, three pair of woolen stockings, two pair of shoes, blue
broadcloth coat, old Camlet coat, all-wool coat, double-breast-
ed jacket, cotton jacket, sword, pistol, gun, horn and belt,
Beaver hat, castor hat, pair mittens, white gloves, one Bible,
wig, razor, pair leather breeches, cotton and fustian breeches,
two glass bottles, portmanteau, hone, ink bottle, vol. of the
Spectator, Cromwell's Life of Vincent, Exposition on the
Catechism, Come and welcome to Jesus, four caps, pair ker-
sey buskins, knee buckles, one barrel. Signed, Henry Put-
nam. According to my estimation all are worth fifty -seven
pounds, eleven shillings, old tenor.'

" Later at the battle of Lexington, although by age exempt
from military duty, and having five sous in the army, he
followed them, and was killed by the British on their retreat
in the town of West Cambridge. He was the youngest son
of Deacon Eleazer Putnam, aud sold what was his father's
homestead about 1745 to Phineas Putnam, the great-grand-
father of the present occupant, Charles P. Preston, Esq."

PHYSICIANS OF DANVERS.

BY HARRIET S. TAPLEY.

(^Continued /ro7ri Vol. 6, p. 83.)

Dr. Edward P. Hale.

Dr. Edward Preston Hale, son of Moses H. and Clarissa
A. (Preston) Hale, was born in Newbury port, Aug. 26, 1860.
He graduated from the Holten High School in the class of
1877, and studied medicine with Dr. H. B. Fowler in Bristol,
N. H. He attended Bellevue Hospital Medical School, from
which he was graduated in 1881. He settled in Pittsfield
for a while, and later removed to Lenox, where he has a
large practice. He married, on December 9, 1908, Miss
Annie P. Walker of Lenox.

Dr. John J. McGuigan.

Dr. McGuigan was born in Danvers, Feb. 24, 1864, the son
of James and Margaret McGuigan. He was educated in the
public schools, graduating from the Holten High School in
the class of 1881. He then attended Boston College, from
which he was graduated in 1887, and from the Harvard Med-
ical School in 1890. Dr. McGuigan was a bright, energetic
young man, and settled in Lynn, where he built up a good
practice. He married, in 1893, Miss Margaret Barry of this
town. He died in Lynn, in June, 1907, where his widow
and several children now reside.

Dr. Samuel P. Fowler.

Samuel Page Fowler was the son of Samuel P. and Harriet
(Putnam) Fowler, and was born in Danvers, Dec. 6, 1838.
He graduated from the High School in the class of 1856. He
was a graduate of Amherst College and the Harvard Medical
School, where he received his degree of M. D. He never
practiced to any extent, and later studied for the ministry.
He died at the Peabody Hospital on Dec. 25, 1915.

(56)

physicians of danvers 57

Dr. John H. ISTichols.

Dr. Nichols was born in Danvers, Apr. 9, 1866, the son of
Andrew and Elizabeth P. (Stanley) Nichols. He graduated
from the Holten High School in tlie class of 1883, and
three years later from the Harvaxd Medical school. After
practicing for a while at the Gary hospital, he settled in
Chelmsford. His private practice was brief, however, for in
1903, he was called to the superintendency of the State Hos-
pital at Tewksbury, which position he still occupies. Dr.
Nichols, as head of this institution, has put tremendous
energy into the work, and through his wonderful executive
ability has brought the hospital from a small state charitable
institution to one of the most highly efficient in the country,
with many buildings devoted to special departments. Last
year he tendered his resignation, having purchased the Morse
estate on Nichols street in this town, which, by the way, was
an old Nichols farm, but the hospital trustees refused to ac-
cept it, granting him a leave of absence. It is the intention
of Dr. -Nichols to return to Danvers and open a private
hospital on this fine old estate. Dr. Nichols married, on Oct.
2, 1903, Miss Oda Howe of Danvers.

Dr. Otis P. Mudge.

Dr. Mudge was born in Danvers on July 10, 1879, the son
of Albert and Mary E. (Russell) Mudge. He graduated
from the Holten High school in 1899, Dartmouth College in
1903 and Harvard Medical school in 1907. He served as an
intern in the Boston City Hospital for some time after gradu-
ation. He married Miss Florence Rundlett of this town in
January, 1909, and settled that year in Amesbury, where he
has a successful practice.

Dr. Anna (Peabody) Marsh.

Dr. Anna (Peabody) Marsh was bom in Danvers on Oct.
31, 1876, the daughter of George H. and Augusta (Mudge)
Peabody. After graduating from the Holten High school in
1895, she attended Mount Holyoke College, graduating in
1899. She then entered Tufts Medical school, graduating
with the degree of M. D., in 1902. In 1902 and 1903, she
took a medical course in University of Vienna, and was at
the Worcester Memorial Hospital in 1903 and 1904. In 1905

68 PHYSICIANS OF DANVERS

she was appointed assistant physician at the Danvers State
Hospital, and continued there until her marriage in 1913 to
Jasper Marsh of Danvers.

Dr. Harry D. Abbott.

Dr. Abbott was born in Danvers on March 21, 1879, the
son of Eoxbury and Mary L. (^Vhite) Abbott. He attended the
public schools of the town, also the Holteu High school, and
learned the drug business. He became a registered pharm-
acist and was engaged in Danvers and Lynn in that capacity
for a few years. Having a desire to study medicine, he at-
tended Tufts Medical school, from which he was gi'aduated
in 1906. Dr. Abbott immediately settled in Danvers, where
in the seven remaining years of his life he built up a large
practice, his genial personality winning many friends. He
married on Sept. 1, 1910, in Worcester, Miss Adella G.
Hallows, daughter of Joseph and Lillie (Holmes) Hallows.
Dr. Abbott died in Danvers, July 16, 1913, after a brief
illness, leaving a widow and one son.

Dr. Harry C. Boutelle.
Dr. Harry C. Boutelle, son of Henry P. and Mary D.
(Pierce) Boutelle, was born in Fitchburg. He came to
Danvers in 1903 and bought the practice of Dr. E. A. Kemp-
and the latter's house on Putnam street. He was of a retir-
ing nature and was considered skilful in his profession. On
Sept. 16, 1912, he married Miss Katherine Y. Kearney,
daughter of Aaron T. and Edith K. (Yardie) Kearney, a na-
tive of Eoxbury. Dr. Boutelle died on Jan. 24, 1915, after
a short illness with pneumonia, at the age of forty years. A
widow and one son survive him.

Dr. Andrew Nichols, 3d.
Dr. Mchols was born in Danvers, July 13, 1890, the son
of Andrew and Mary (Bill) Nichols. He graduated from the
Holten High school in the class of 1908, Harvard University
in 1912, and Harvard Medical school in 1916. Dr. Nichols
was serving as intern at the Boston City Hospital, when he
was called in the first draft and was stationed at Camp
Devens. He is now in France, as surgeon in the 116th Base
Hospital of the American Expeditionary Forces.

The present resident physicians are Frederick W. Baldwin,
Edward H. Magee, Edward H. Niles, Susan H. Gibbs, Charles
F. Deering, Herbert L. Mains, John J. Moriarty and Clifton
L. Buck.

JOURNAL OF DOCTOR SAMUEL HOLTEN.

While in the Continental Congress, From May, 1778-
AuGUST, 1780.

From the Original Now in the Possession of This Society.

Minutes. I am desired to attend to the re^ilations of the
Gen'. Hospital. Jt is said the Stuard of the Hospital had
better be accountable for the Fire arms of Sick Soldiers than
the Captains and that the Surgeons of the Hospital ought
not to make use of so much of the wine etc. conveyed in to
said Hospital for the sick.

I am desired to attend to the Loan office, there being no
allowance made to pay the person that attends said office for
paying the Inf Annually and the Commissions are said to
be small.

July 14, 1778. I let the Hon. Samuel Adams, Esq"* have
£4, of which he is to pay unto James Otis (a min'') being my
part of what the Delegates of our State have agreed to
advance to s** min"", and M'" Adams is to write to his friends
and procure the money, & ace* with me for the same.

July 27, 1778. The Hon. John Hancock, Esq""— D^ to cash
paid for two Bottles of Moradant's Anti-Scorbutic drops,
£3, sent forward to Thaddeus Burr, Esq.,* of Connecticut.

Minutes. When I shall arrive at Congi-ess to procure Blank
Commissions for Connnanders of Ai'med Vessels to be sent to
M' Avery, D. Sec'' of the State of Massachusetts Bay,

I am desired to attend to M"" Otis & Andrews affairs & to M"^
Williams' affair, who lost part of his estate on Noddles
Island, by our Troops in the year 1775.

N. B. The following Gentlemen have asked me to Cor-
respond \nth them froin York To^\ti, viz. : — The Rev** D"" W"
Gordon of Roxbm-y (7), The Rev^ M"" Wadsworth, Danvers
(9), Hon. Tho. Gushing, Boston (9), Moses Gill, Boston
(4), Joseph Palmer,f Braintree (13), Josiah Batchelder,
Jun"", Esq"", Beverly (11), Col. Israel Hutchinson, Danvers
(13), Capt. George Williams, Salem, Capt. W" Shillaber,

*Rev. Thaddeus Burr of Fairfield, a kinsman of Hancock, at
whose home the latter had married Dorothy Quincy two years
before. He wns an uncle of Aaron Burr.

fOen. Joseph Palmer, commanding' the Massachusetts troops
in the defense of Rhode Island.

(68)

60 JOURNAL OF DOCTOR SAMUEL HOLTEN

Danvers (2), Amos Putnam, Esq"", Dan vers (2), Joseph Hall
of Boston (6), Nath* Appleton of Boston.*

May 1, 1T78. I borrowed of Broth'' Elias E. Warner, a pair
of Pistols (small) and eleven bullets, Flask & some gun
powder & mould to run bullets, which I am to return to him
Avhen I shall return from York Town or otherwise make them
good to him. Aug. 23**, 1780. I returned the Pistols.

May 7. I Bargained with Jer. Shelden to go with me to
York Town, as my waiter & if I like him I am to pay him
hansomly for his trouble, & if I dont like him I am at
liberty to Discharge him when I please, paying him well for his
Services. N. B. Jan. V^ 1779, I p<^ Jere. Sheldon in full to this
day and agreed with him for five months further at £12 p""
month.

May 25. I set out from Danvers for York To\\m in the
State of Pennsylvania to take my seat in Congress. I was
accompanied to the Town of Lynn by about 20 of the prin-
cipal Gentlemen of Danvers, where we dined together & drank
13 toasts, & after receiving great Honor and respect from
s** Gentlemen, took my leave of them & got safe to Boston
this evening.

26. M"" Hancock not being ready to set out with me, I at-
tended my duty at the Council Board,

27. Gen, Election, Boston. I was in my place at the
Council Board & dined in public with them.

28. I took formal leave of the Hon, Board in order to pro-
ceed to Congress.

29. I dined at my lodgings & drank Tea at M"" Warner's.

30. Three Acts of the British Parliament came to hand
from Gov*" Tnmibel, I vrrote a long letter to my wife this
day & sent it by Col, Hutchinson.

June 1. It being rainy prevented my setting out. Wrote
to Capt. Prince of Danvers.

3. I set out from Boston with the Hon. M"" Hancock at 1
o'clock & a large number of Gentlemen with tlieir servants &
Carriages accompanyed us to Watertown, where an elegant
dinner was provided, I rode in M*" Hancock's Can-iage with

*The figures following- each name denote the number of letters
Dr, Holteti wrote to the several gentlemen during the two years.

JOURNAL OF DOCTOR SAMUEL HOLTEN 61

M' Hancock, D"" Cooper* & Gen^ Heathf. After we had dined,
a large number of toasts were drank & a salute of Cannon and
upon our setting out, tliree cheers was given from a very large
number of people assembled on y^ occasion. We proceeded to
West Town where we Lodged.

4. We traveled from Westown to Worcester, very heavy
traveling, rained and uncomfortable.

5. We traveled from Worcester to Brookfield & lodged
at one M"" Eice's. The ways very bad.

6. We traveled from Brookfield to Springfield where we
propose to Lodge & Gen' Hancock is much indisposed with
the Gout. Upon our arrival here there was a discharge of
Caimon by order of the commanding officer.

7. Sabbath day. Being somewhat indisposed did not at-
tend public worship, but read three of D'' Elliot's sermons. N.
B. M*^ Brick, the minister of this place is said to be a Tory.

8. Traveled from Springfield to Hartford. Eoads very
good. Spent some time with Gen' Putnam,} This Town is
very pleasant. Wrote to my wife by M"" Bart.

9. We traveled from Hartford to Lichfield, 30 miles, the
roads very Bad. At Farmington there was the finest parcel of
Cannon I ever saw & the Town very pleasant.

10. Traveled from Lichfield in to the State of New York
& lodged at one Colo. Morehouse's. The road the worst I
ever saw. The People very kind.

11. Traveled to the house of one Griffis, five miles short of
Fish Kills & 9 miles of the North Eiver.

12. Crossed the North Eiver & dined at a good Duch
house, and proceeded 18 miles to the House of one Townsend,
and was hansomelv entertained without charge.

13. Traveled 9\niles before Breakfast & Breakfasted at M""
Bierds, & to Sussex Court house, there lodged, but we dine by
the way at M"" Waller's. Poor accommodations.

14. Sabbath day, traveled to the Block jail Town & dined
and then 16 miles & lodged in an old log House in the Jersies,
but the people are kind. N. B. This day I traveled with the
greatest difficulty as to my health.

*Rev. Samuel Cooper (1725-1783), pastor of the Brattle Street
Church, who has been credited Avith the authorship of Hancock's
political papers.

fGen. William Heath (1737-1814), a distinfruished officer,
member of the Provincial Congress, Constitutional Convention
and State Senator.

+Gen. Israel Putnam, a native of Danvers, who had settled in
Brooklyn, Conn.

62 JOURNAL OF DOCTOR SAMUEL HOLTEN

15. Crossed the River Delaware, dined at Eastown, trav-
eled 12 miles to Bethlehem, took a view of the town & went
thro' most of the departments & see the Ladies at their par-
ticular work.* The Inn was the best I ever put up at.

16. To Reading 40 miles. This is one of the Capitol
Towns in this State. The General is in health & high spirits.

17. To Lancaster 31 miles, very hot. This is the 2d
Town in this State & the Largest inland Towm I have ever
seen, the buildings chiefly Brick & stone.

18. To York Town, 23 miles, besides crossing the Susque-
hanna which is about 1 1-2 miles by water. Lodged at one
Wid" More's and the woman & her Daughters were not oblig-
ing. I do not intend to tarry at this House any Longer than
I can procure a place that suits better.

19. Being somewhat indisposed & not having proper lodg-
ings, I did not take my seat in Congress. We are informed
by Gen. Washington tliat the Enemy have left the City of
Philadelphia & our people have taken possession. The people
here are not at all obliging. I want to git from this house.

20. I have not taken my seat in Congress for the reasons
mentioned yesterday,

21. Sabbath day, being somewhat indisposed did not at-
tend public worship.

22. I took my seat in Congress, and it is a very august
assembly.

23. Attended in Congress and the chief of the day was
taken up in Disputing on the Articles of Confederation.

24. Attended in Congress, dined with the President.!

25. Attended in Congress. Toward night, I walked out
with a number of gentlemen of Congress about a mile to a
farmhouse. The people was kind, we eat Cheries & drank
whiskey.

26. Attended in Congress, and it is the hottest day T ever
knew. Went & drank with y*^ President &■ drank tea with y'^
Secretary.

27. Congi-ess adjourned to the City of Philadelphia to
meet on Thursday next, 10 o'Clock.

28. Sabbath day. Traveled from York Town, Cros** the
Susquehanna 20 miles lower then where I did before. Dined
at a good Inn but have a small room to lodge in. N. B. The
bugs drove us out.

29. Traveled 12 miles before breakfast, breakfasted on

*Probably the silk and knitting- mills.
fHon. Henry Laurens of South Carolina.

JOURNAL OF DOCTOR SAMUEL HOLTEN 63

Whortelbery Hill out doors, then Trav^ 7 miles, dined at a
good Inn, then Trav'' 15 miles to Newart in one of the lower
Counties in Delaware State.

30. To Wilmanlon 11 miles, had Breakfast & dined, we
passed thro' part of the State of Ma.rv'la.Tul & Wilmanton is a
princi])al Town in the State of Delaware. The buildings are
chiefly Brick & very commodious. We then Trav*^ to Chester
where we are likely to be well accommodated.

July 1. To y^ City of Philadelphia, 15 miles, before
breakfast. Dined at a pubic house, then took Tx)dging at the
Wid" Kobbinson's on Chestnut Street.

4. It being the anniversary of the Independence of Amer-
ica, the Congi'ess dined together at the city Tavern & a
number of y*^ Council of this State, several Gen. officers &
other Gentlemen of Distinction & while we were dining there
was an Agreeable band of ]\Iusick & we had a vei-y elegant
dinner.

5 Sabbath day. Attended Church in the forenoon with
the Congress, and in the afternoon went to a Congregational
meeting. The Church minister Preached a political dis-
course. The other Gentleman I could not understand.

6. Attended in Congress.

7. Left letters at the post office to be forwarded to Boston.

8. Congress received a packet from France giving an ac-
count of a French Fleet coming here. I dined with General
Arnold.*

9. The Articles of Confederation was signed by all
the States that had received instructions for that ])urpose,
being 8 States.

10. A man came to this city this day & informs that a
French Fleet is off Maryland.

11. This day was the first time that I took any part in
the debates in Congress. We have certain accounts of the
arrival of a French Fleet off the Delaware, 12 Ships of the
line & -1 Frigots

12. Sabbath day. Attended at Church.

13. Yesterday Monsieur Gerard, the Ambassador, arrived
here, and I waited on him this day & welcomed him to the
United States of America.

15. Am some better as to my healtli. I sent a Packet of
Letters by M^ Hancock to M''^ Holten.f

*Benedict Arnold.

fDuringf the more than two years of his absence from home
he wrote 145 letters to his wife, each numbered in order of
posting.

64 JOURNAL OF DOCTOR SAMUEL HOLTEN

16. I was invited to dine at the city Tavern with Mons'
Grerard, but declined on account of my health.

17. M' Lovell* dined with us & M"^ Hazardf drank Tea.

18. Congress received a letter from y® Com""^ of the King
of Great Britain, but it was couched in such terms, no an-
swer is to be given.

19. Sabbath Day. Went to Church in the forenoon & in
the afternoon I went to the meeting house but could not find
any minister.

20. Eeceived an account that y^ French Admiral is send-
ing a number of Prisoners here.

21. Col. Partridge J from our Court paid me a visit & in-
formed me he was charged with several Public matters from
said Court to Congress.

23. I removed from y* Wid" Robbinson's to board at the
house of Miss DoUey & Clark in 2** street. I dined & drank
tea at Doct"" Shippin's,§ director Gen* of the continental
Hospital.

24. I dined with the President, & went & viewed the Hos-
pital, workhouse & City goal, they are very elegant & great
Buildings.

25. Two months this day since I left home. Col. Par-
tridge spent the afternoon with us.

26. Sabbath day. I went to S* Peter's Church in the
forenoon & in the afternoon to y*" College 1| where I heard the
best sermon since I left Boston. D' Weatherspoon^ & Colo.
Partridge Dined with us.

27. Eec'' by the Post a letter from M"" Hancock & the
Eev^ D"^ Gordon.

28. Walked out toward evening with M"" Gerry.**

*Jaraes Lovell, delegate from Massachusetts.

fProbably Ebenezer Hazard of Philadelphia (1745-1817), the
last Postniaster General under the Continental Congress.

JCol. George Partridge, a former delegate from Massachusetts.

§Dr. William Shippen was foremost in establishing the Medical
School of Philadelphia. Graduated at Princeton, 1754, and stud-
ied at Edinburgh. He belonged to a wealthy and distinguished
Philadelphia faniil3% It was his kinswoman, Margaret Shippen,
who married Benedict Arnold.

II College of Philadelphia.

^John Witherspoon (1722-1794), a Scotch minister, once presi-
dent of Princeton College:, and distinguished as an orator. He
was a delegate from New Jersey, and a signer of the
Declaration.

**Elbridge Gerry of Marblehead.

JOURNAL OF DOCTOR SAMUEL HOLTEN 65

29. Took a walk toward evening with M*" Gerry to Gen.
Robado's.*

30. Capt. Andrew of Salem called me out of Congress.
The Baron Steuben & his aids, Capt. White of Marblehead,
M' Williams of Boston and M" Smith, Commis'' of Loans
dined with i;s.

31. Capt. Andrew of Salem dined with me & I walked
out with M"" Gerry toward evening.

Aug. 1. Dined at M'' Smith's, Commissioner of Loans.

2. Sabbath day, attended public worship at the" Rev** M""
Sprouts & heard 2 good sermons. The Hon, Col. Leef of
Virginia spent the evening with us.

3. Rec'd a letter from y" Hon. M"" Gill of Boston by wliich
I have the agreeable news of my Family's being well the 20
Ultimo.

5. Congress sat from 9 till almost 3 & from 5 till almost
10 o'clock. I am much indisposed.

6, Monseiur Gerard, Minister Plenipotentiary from his
most Christian Majesty, had a public audience with Congress
& dined with them; the proceedings were conducted with
great decorum. The entertainment was grand & elegant, the
band of musick was very agreeable.

.7 Monsieur Gerard made a visit, in the edge of the even-
ing (about an hour) to the Delegates of the Mass. Bay agree-
able to the public ceremonies agreed on by Congress for a
Minister Plenipotentiary, my Colleagues being absent upon
his first coming in, I had the Honor of his company alone.

8. At 5 o'clock P. M. met a joint Com* of Congress & j^
Executive Council of this State in search after British
property in this City.

9. Sabbath day. Attended public worship. M"^ Davisson
delivered a good sermon & M"^ Sprout in y'^ afternoon.

11. Wrote to ]\Iiss* Holten & M"" Kittell by the Hon. M"^
Dana, t

12. Went & paid a visit to Mons"" Gerard but he was not
at home, left my name on a Card.

13. The following Gentlemen dined with the Delegates
of Mass"* Bay at their invitation, viz* Mons"" Gerard, his

*Daiiiel Roberdeaii, a deleg-ate from Pennsylvania.

fHetiry Lee (1756-1818), of Virg-inia, "Light Horse Harry," as
he was kno^vn, served throng-hout the' Revolution with distinc-
tion. He was the father of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

jFrancis Dana (1743-1811), a former delegate from Massachu-
setts, afterward Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the
Commonwealth and minister to France.

66 JOURNAL OF DOCTOR SAMUEL HOLTEN

Nephew and Secretary, The President of Congress, Hon.
Silas Deaue, Esq"-*, Hon. E. H. Lee,f Esq"-, Hon. Gen^ Eead,§
Gen' Putnam,! Gen' Arnohl, Baron Steuben & his aid.
We dined at 4 o'Clock and had a gi'and elegant dinner & I
think it was conducted with good decorum. We drank coffee
before we rose from Table.

14. Congress sit late, we dined, at four. I walked out
■with M"^ Gerry & visited the Gentlemen from Connecticut
& the Eev^ M'^ Duffel, our Chaplain.

15. An express arrived in five days from New Port & in-
formed that our army was on the Island & that 29 sail of
vessels was off the hai-bour & Count d'Estaign's fleet had
sailed in quest of them.

16. Sabbath day. Attended public worship in the fore-
noon at the Eev** M"" Duffield's meeting & heard a ver}^ good
sermon & in the afternoon attended at the College, heard D""
Hewen.

17. I received a letter by the post from Joseph Hall, Jun""
of Boston, a minor. Congress sit late, hearing M"" Dean.^

19. Dined at M"" E. Morris's** about 2 1-2 miles out of the
city. I hear there is a Ball at the City Tavern this evening.
I am sorry for it.

20. I walked out with M"" Gerry. A number of the
members of Congress spent the evening with us.

21. By a letter from Gen. Sullivan ff dat*i 17"^ Inst, we
"understand that he was almost ready to attack the enemy at
Rhode Island.

*Silas Deane (1737-1789) of Connecticut, Ambassador to
Prance wnth Franklin and Lee. Throug-h him the services of
Lafayette ^vere secured.

tRichard Henry Lee (1732-1794), delegfate from Virginia,
signer of the Declaration and later President of Congress.

§0611. Joseph Reed (1741-1785), of New Jersey, served with
distinction under Washington, and at this time was President
of Pennsylvania.

II Probably Gen. Israel Putnam.

j[Hon. Silas Deane was recalled from France, called before
Congress, and an audito rappointed to look over his accounts.
He returned to Fi-ance, lived in the Netherlands with little
money for support, and died in England. He was a man of
eminent ability and misrepresented.

**Kobert Morris (1735-1806), one of the wealthiest merchants
of Philadelphia, who gave such substantial aid in loans of money
during the war. His house was called the most sumptuous in
the city and he entertained lavishly.

ttGen. John Sullivan of Massachusets.

JOURNAL OF DOCTOR SAMUEL HOLTEN 67

22. Colo. Robedo, Colo. Bartlet* & Colo, liossy dined
with us & Colo. Lee drank Coffee with us.

23. Sabbath day. I attended public worship at the Rev''
M"" Duffield's meeting & heard two good sermons, A Presby-
terian meeting.

24. Congress sit late. Dined at four. A hot evening &
I am much worried with writing.

*Josiah Bartlett (1727-1795), delegate from New Hampshire,
signer of the Declaration, and afterwards Governor of the
State.

tProbably George Ross (1730-1779), delegate from Delaware,
one of the "Signers" and at this time Judge of the Court of
Admiralty for Pennsylvania.

(To be continued)

WIFE OF ONE OF THE "SIGNERS."

Roger Sherman was one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence from Connecticut, and married for his second
wife, Miss Rebecca Prescott, daughter of the Rev. Benjamin
Prescott, minister in the South Parish of the old town of
Danvers for forty years. Mrs. Sherman being an intel-
ligent lady, it is fair to presume that upon so important a
question as the severance of the Colonies from Great Britain,
her husband would, like a sensible man that he was, have had
a consultation with his wife upon the subject of the separa-
tion. Mrs. Sherman having been born and brought up in our
patriotic old town and imbibed its love of liberty must have
imparted to her husband much of the spirit of freedom of
this town. This we have no doubt was the case and so we
claim that an influence though latent was present in the
mind of Mr. Sherman in, the discussion of the separation of
the Colonies, derived from the patriotism of a lady of the old
town of Danvers. Some of the descendants of Rev. Benjamin
are now living in Danvers.

Danvers Mirror, Jan. 12, 1878.

BUILDINGS ERECTED IN DANVERS IN 1918.

LoRiNQ B. GoODALE, Corner Pope's I^ane and Centre Street;
J. Bush, Hillcrest Avenue.

DANVEES PEOPLE AND THEIK HOMES.

By Key. Alfred P. Putnam, D.D.

(Continued from Vol. 5, p. 83.)

From the old journal and account book of Daniel Kea,
Zerubbabel Eea and Benjamin Porter, concerning which I
wrote in my last letter, I copied as one of my entries, the fol-
lowing: "Jan. 24, 1729, then Jonathan Payment and Hepzi-
bah Leach was married together." I am interested in Hep-
zibah and for reason which will be evident as I proceed. It
would appear from this and from other parts of the record
which I made use of that a sister of Zerubbabel Rea, also
named Hepzibah, as was her mother, too, had married a
Leach and that tlie first named Hepzibah was their daughter.
The latter, her mother and perhaps her father having died,
came to live with the Peas and afterward went to live with her
brother, John Leach. The Leaches were a Beverly family
and so were the Raymonds. In looking over the History of
Lexington, I found this: "Jonathan Raymond married Hep-
zibah . They were admitted to the church in Lexington,

May 9, 1756, by a letter from Beverly. He died Aug. 9, 1760,
and she married Dec. 29, 1763, Thomas Munroe of Concord."
Then follows a list of her nine children by Jonathan, her
first husband, the first being Hepzibah, who was born Sept. 19,
1729, married here Dr. Joseph Fiske, named one of her
daughters Hepzibah and lived till she was 91; and the second
being a son John, who was born Sept. 5, 1731, and of whom
I must make more particular mention, as he was one of the
victims of the murderous violence of the British soldiers as
they came to Lexington on the memorable 19th of April,
1775.

One of the most interesting old liouses in Concord is the
Munroe tavern. A dark-colored, weather-stained, ancient
looking building, it is yet in a good state of preservation. It
st,ands on rising ground and is still in the possession of the
]\Iunroe family, though now occupied as a residence by a
family of Livermores. The William Munroe who kept it as
a tavern in the Revolutionary times was distinguished in mil-
itary service. He was Orderly Sergeant of Capt. Parker's
company. . . . When the British were making their retreat
(68)

DAN VERS PEOPLE AND THEIR HMEOS 69

from Concord and were greatly harassed by the pursuing
Americans, they met at this point Lord Percy and his Ma-
rines whom Gen. Gage had sent out from Boston to rein-
force them. The rest of the story is in the historian's words :
^'The conduct of the King's troops, after they were met by
Percy was marked by a vandalism totally unworthy the char-
acter of a soldier. In addition to a wanton destruction of
property, they practiced a system of personal insult, treach-
ery and murder, which reflects disgrace and infamy upon the
commanders and the men. A party entered the Muuroe
tavern, and helping themselves or rather compelling the in-
mates of the house to help them to anything tliey wanted, they
treacherously and ruthlessly shot down John Raymond, an
infirm man residing with the family, only because he, becom-
ing alarmed at their roughness and brutal conduct, was about
leaving the house to seek a place of greater safety. The brutal-
ity here commenced was continued throughout the remainder
of their retreat." It appears that John Raymond was the son
of that young damsel who lived more than a century and a
half ago at the old Zerubbabel Rea (later Zerubabbel Porter's)
house in Danvers.

Another of the entries which I copied from the little old
book was this, "Feb. 26, 1745. Then Bartholomew Brown
and Sarah Rea was married togetlier. And here also is a
brief record that interests me not a little. Bartholomew prob-
ably came to the Zerubbabel Rea house from Brown's pond, in
what is now Peabody. At all events, that is the place where
his immediate ancestors lived, and thence it was, doubtless,
that the pond received its name. Two sons of Bartholomew
and Sarah were Bartholomew and John, each of whom had
a son I must write about in this connection. That of Bartho-
lomew Brown, Jr., was Edward Brown, who was born in
Salem, his father having removed to that town and fixed his
residence in Beekman street. Edward's name appears in the
list of those who organized the Universalist society in Dan-
vers in 1815. He had come up, about ten years before at the
age of sixteen to live at his father's birthplace to learn the
tanner's and currier's trade of Zerubbabel Porter. During the
winter of 1811-12, he, Warren Porter, Samuel Cummings
and Elias Putnam were students at Bradford Academy, then,
if I mistake not, under the charge of Mr. Richard Kimball,
as Preceptor. The institution seems to have been a favorite
resort of the young men of Danvers from that time as suffi-

70 DANVEBS PEOPLE AND THEIR HOMES

ciently appears in its semi-centennial catalog published in
1853. The above party were the first that hailed from our
town, with the exception of Cummings who belonged to Tops-
field. Elias Putnam gave much offense to the officers and
instructors of the Academy by a composition which he wrote
as one of the required and regular exercises, and in which he
boldly and vigorously arraigned the prevalent Orthodoxy of
the times as contrary to the teachings of Scripture and the
dictates of reason. The faith of his father and grandfather
had tlius early found a sure lodgment in his own mind and
heart, and from then until his death in 1847, he continued
to be a firm believer in the doctrine of the ultimate and uni-
versal salvation. Finding Bradford too uncongenial a relig-
ious atmosphere, he withdrew and came down to Topsfield
where he pursued his studies during the rest of the winter
under the private tuition of Mr. Israel Balch; and Brown,
Porter and Cummings also left the school and accompanied
him, and so were his classmates still. I am under the im-
pression that Nathaniel Boardman joined them after their
removal. All five of them were subsequently contributors to
the funds necessary to the maintenance of Universalist
preaching in District No. 3. Brown was cousin to Warren
Porter, their fathers being children of Sarah Eea by her two
husbands, Bartholomew Brown, Sr., and Benjamin Porter,
Sr. He also married his cousin Eunice Porter, who was a
daughter of Aaron, son of Benjamin and brother of Zerub-
babel. Edward lived in his master's house in Danvers until he
was about thirty years of age when he moved with his wife
and two children, Harriet and Edward, to Plaistow, N. H.
Here he engaged on quite a large scale in the business to
which he had been trained, having a shop, tanyard, barkmill,
etc. Wliile there he preached occasionally in the town hall,
and also in Atkinson, in the interest of Uuiversalism. It is
said that one reason why he entered on this sei"vice was
that he was afflicted with the rheumatism and could not there-
fore work at his trade. It has often been complained that
men when they are unfit for anything else take to the minis-
try, but this is the only instance I remember ever to have
heard of where the pidpit was the coveted refuge of the dis-
ability referred to, or where the disease in question was in any
way regarded as a qualification for the clerical profession, or
where there was any supposed fitness of things of whatever
kind between such bodily pain and infirmity and the propaga-
tion of Christian truth. If I may be allowed to indulge in

DANVERS PEOPLE AND THEIR HOMES 71

what old Dr. Osgood used to call a "remiscence," I can only-
say for one that having a very distinct recollection of certain
aches and twinges which 1 endnred many years ago, if ever
I seriously thought of quitting the sacred desk and going back
into the leather business, it must liave been just about that
time. Doubtless I was wrong. I ought to have seen how
efficacious a little inflammation in one or more of the joints
could be made in building up the Kingdom, or how an occa-
sional sharp catch in the l)ack or side would promote one's
usefulness in the work of the Lord, or how much more eloquent
or impressive for the conversion of siniiers a dismal
groan or frightful yell, now and then, would render one's pri-
vate or public administration of religion.

As to Edward Brown, I doubt not that he was impelled to
the service by his deep and earnest faith in the views he had
come to embrace at the old brick schoolhouse. While he was
at Plaistow, six more children were born to him, the last of
them being named for John ]\Iurray, the founder of Uni-
versalism in America. His wife having died in 1836, he soon
settled as a minister at Waitsfield, Yt., and removed his
family thither in the following year. In 1838, he went to
live in Roxbury, Vt., on a farm which was given him by
Benjamin Porter, Jr., an uncle, who, as I remarked in some
previous letter, had finally fixed his home in Randolph of the
same State, after having taught school in various places. Here,
also, as well as in other neighboring places. Brown contm-
ued to preach for two or three years, speaking to one or
another of his small aiidiences not oftener perhaps than every
other Sunday, and occupying the remainder of his time
chiefly in working on his land and in writing for a Montpelicr
paper and two monthly journals. From Roxbury, he finally
went to Rochester, Vt., and resided there until ISS-l, when
he died at the age of sixty-five. In his later years he had
married a second time. His death was very sudden, being
caused by the croup. His children have been widely scattered
over the country from the East to the farthest West; but
wherever they have gone, they have carried with them the
liberal views of their father. Three of the daughters married
and still live in the Green Mountain state. Another is in
California and a fifth is dead. A son, Edward Warren, died
at Cincimiati in 1867; Jolm Murray was killed by an ex-
plosion in California a year or two ago ; and Willard Hathorne
resides in Salem and attends the old First Church of tliat

72 DANVERS PEOPLE AND THEIR HOMES

city. I have seen in Willard's stately house which looks out
upon the common, a fine picture of his father taken from an
old dagnerreotype. It represents the preacher with his gray
hair and white cravat as a solid substantial man, having just
such an open, honest face as all the accounts given of him
would lead us to expect. He had no great pulpit power or ex-
tensive culture, hut he had fair ability, was truthful, inde-
pendent and courageous, and loved the faith he set himself to
advocate and defend.

But now we must go back a little way to Bartholomew and
John Brown, the two sons of Bartholomew Brown, Sr. John
also had a son Bartholomew, who was born, says Dr. Osgood,
on Danvers Plains, "in a house that formerly stood near
where Mr. W. Legroo's house now stands," and who came to
be quite a distinguished man. In a search for materials for
a brief sketch of his life, I found that Ebenezer Alden, M. D.,
of Eandolph, Mass., had read a very interesting memoir of
him before the New England Historic Genealogical Society
of Boston, Feb. 5, 1862. Portions of the sketch follow:

Bartholomew Brown, Esq., son of John, was bom at the
place above designated, Sept. 8, 1772. His mother was Ginger
Hutchinson, daughter of Col. Israel Hutchinson of Danvers,
well known to all as an able and efficient officer in the Eevolu-
tionary war. John and Ginger after their marriage removed
to Sterling where they had a numerous family of children.
Bartholomew graduated at Harvard in 1799. He was a good
classical scholar and the Greek oration was assigned him at
Commencement. He was both Poet and Orator of the famous
Hasty Pudding Club and was also an active member of the
Harvard Singmg Club and the Handel Sodality. He had
great taste and skill in music as well as im^usual talent for
literary composition. He was a popular teacher of both vocal
and instrumental music in the counties of Middlesex, Worces-
ter and Plymouth, and thus acquired largely the means for
his collegiate and professional education. He studied law
under the direction of Judge Thomas of Plymouth and was
admitted afterward to practice at the Plymouth county bar.
He married, Nov. 26, 1801, Betsey, daughter of Gen. Sylvanus
and Abigail (Eobinson) Lazell of Bridgewater, and subse-
quently settled at Sterling where he lived seven years. He
was representative to the General Court and served as Cap-
tain of the Sterling Light Infantry, In 1809 he removed to
Boston where with a partner he engaged for a few years in
the wholesale commission business. We next find him prac-

DANVERS PEOPLE AND THEIR HOMES 73

tising his profession at Bridgewater, serving again in the L<?g-
islature and once more chosen to many local offices. He was
almost invariably elected to preside at town meetings, his
promptness and energy in facilitating public business often
eliciting from the farmers the remark, "If you want to get
home in season to take care of your cattle, choose Brown Mod-
erator." In 1825 he was appointed Su[)erintendent of the
South Boston Eefomi School, then just established, but soon
relinquished the position and once more took up his residence
in Bridgewater. He was a prolific writer for the press, and
for several years assisted his son George H. Brown in editing
the Amaranth, a literary publication. He was one of the
founders of the Handel and Haydn Society and its president
in 1835. In 1838, he was editor of the Boston Musical Gazette.
When Daniel Webster pronounced his great Plymouth ora-
tion in 1820, Mr. BrowTi sang to the music of his own compo-
sition, tlie famous song, "Two Hundred Years Ago," which
drew from the illustrious statesman the remark that "it ex-
ceeded all the song singing he had ever heard." He was the
author of many anthems, glees, choruses and hymn tunes,
among the latter being "Sumner," "Tilden," "Mount Zion,"
*'Evel}Ti," and "Messenger." The very last that he composed
at the age of four score, he named for himself, "Bartholomew."
Many a one among the older residents of Danvers will not
forget the famous "Bridgewater Collection" of sacred music.
Mr. Brown was one of the compilers and with others pre-
pared its successive editions for about twenty years. "It was
its music," once said the editor of D wight's Musical Review,
*'that first came dowai to us from the high gallery of a New
England church on Sunday, and beguiled us on week days
from our exiJeriments in miniature navigation to join the
social circle around the old hearthstone. We were then bliss-
fully ignorant of Philharmonic and Julian symphonies and
oratorios. The village band was the most extensive musical
organization of which we had any conception; the Bridgewa-
ter Collection was a miracle of elaborateness and artistic
beauty. We have heard much music of a high order since,
but none that gave us half so much pleasure, none so gilded
by the halcyon light of childhood." I dare say that many of
the friends of the Mirror have in days long gone, sung thus
with joy from that old collection without knowing at the time
that it was a son of Danvers to whom they were indebted for
all the good old tunes they liked so weU. And I venture to
say that there was another service which he rendered them

74 DANVERS PEOPLE AND THEIR HOMES

for long, long years, with as little knowledge on their part as
to who and whence was their wise and witty annual visitor
and constant benefactor. Who does not recall "Thomas' Old
Farmer's Almanac?" As Dr. Alden well says, "This ancient
almanac, established in 1793, as all know, was a favorite in
every household and formerly constituted no inconsiderable
part of the literature of many families. It was widely cir-
culated and more generally read than the newspapers. Sus-
pended by a loop at the side of the old fireplace, it was always
at hand for consultation; and how much it was used its well
thumbed pages showed ; often supplying not only the place of
a calendar but also of a diary and family record." Well, the-
author of the Farmer's Calendar in this almanac for fifty-
two years, from 1804-1856, was no other than Bartholomew
Brown, he having sent previous to his death, April 14, 1854,
two years' matter in advance ! Hon. Robert B. Hall, formerly
member of Congress from the Plymouth district, in a glowing
tribute to the memory of Mr. Brown, compared his labors in
Thomas' almanac to Dr. Franklin's in Poor Richard's.

Although the subject of this sketch was interested in so
many different pursuits, he maintained a high rank as a
lawyer. He was not an office-seeker, but was ready to serve
his fellow-citizens in whatever capacity when summoned by
their voice or vote. He was a devoted friend of temperance
and religion. He was for many years a member of the Uni-
tarian church, adorning his profession by ready cooperation
in every good work. Virtuous, kind, unostentatious and full
of generous and helpful deeds, he was loving to all and was
loved by all in return. "Gifted by nature," says Dr. Alden,
"with a commanding presence, a voice remarkable for its
sweetness as well as power, an eye that looked on every man
as a neighbor, a winning address, a mind well trained and an
extensive knowledge of men and things, always seeming to do
the right thing at the right time, no wonder he was a uni-
versal favorite." He spent his last years in Boston and it
was here that he died, at the age of eighty-one. The children
of Bartholomew and Betsey Brown were : Lucy Ann Lazell,
who married Dr. A. K. Borden of North Bridgewater ; James
Tilden, who died in Boston in 1809 ; George Henry, who mar-
ried Hannah Porter of Sterling; Harriet Mitchell, who mar-
ried Michael Everett Francis of Dighton. — Danvers Mirror,
Aug. 3, 1878.

THE ELM-TREE'S STORY.

By Miss E. Josephine Roache.

Written for Danvers' 150th Anniversary Celebration.

If we could understand the language old

That hides from us in voices of the pine,
Could guess the secret of June's murmuring leaves,

What stories of the past could we divine !
What revelation of a distant day

When this, our well-beloved town, was young,
If we could learn the meaning of that speech

In which the trees have since creation sung.

As thus I mused beneath an aged tree,

An old inhabitant of Danvers town,
The great elm swayed from trunk to topmost branch.

And thrice it bowed its verdant leafy crown ;
Then spake in slow and stately harmonies.

I listened while the tree its story told,
And on my vision under that green shade

The changing pageant of the past unrolled.

A picturesque procession wound along;

Quaint Puritanic ruff and doublet came
In friendly march with Quakers' quiet garb ;

In coif and kerchief followed maid and dame;

A sachem's feathers proudly waved beside
The martial Continental bluff and blue;

Now farthingale swept by; now towered calash;
Now girls in college gowns were full in view.

The elm-tree said : "My kinsfolk saw the barge

Of Endicott float on the river's tide;
I watched the Indian's forest camp-fire blaze

\Vhere now his children's children bide.
In my green branches brown Tituba saw

The gleam of witches' weird and baleful glance;
Once in their piteous delusion came

The children from the dreary haunted manse.

(76)

76 THE elm-tree's story

"One early April morn, a little group

Of Danvers townsmen gathered here ;
The volunteers for Lexington marched by

To soimd of dnmi and bell and ringing cheer.
Here, too, one April night, were sadly borne

The Danvers minute-men Avho bravely died,
Swept onward by that glorious impulse strong

^Vhen rose, full flood, the patriotic tide.

"When cannon sounded through the waiting air,

From far-off fighting on old Bunker Hill,
The elm-tree listened with its townsfolk dear.

And felt with them the breath of freedom thrill.
'Twas mine to see how in that rising grand,

Which kept the Union sacred and secure,
The old town held to ancient lineage true.

Ah, long that golden record shall endure !

"How many midnights closest shade I drew

Around the fugitive from slavery's shame !
How oft^n whispered courage to his soul,

How mth him hailed that morn when freedom came !
Here sometimes strolled a poet, honored guest;

He sang the slave and freeman's brotherhood.
For Whittier was Mother Nature's child

And all her signs and voices understood.

"I saw long since the earliest schoolhouse built.
And now I mark the happy morning throng

Of hurrying children, whom to greet I bend,
And whom my orioles welcome with a song.

What names the beadroll of my memory bears !

Holten and Bowditch sported 'neath my shade ;
How many Porters, Putnams, have I known!

'Twas yesterday that Moody round me played.

''How many times on each town meeting day

Have citizens returning' here discussed.
Under the stars, the elms all listening round,

With trenchant jest and controversial thrust,
The plans propounded for the common weal !

For liberty must keep her watch and ward.
At last from seeming discords of debate

The people's voice is heard in wise accord.

AN OLD TREE 77

"The town and I grew up together, strong

And sturdy growths, from youth to this, her prime ;
And in our riper years we wait to hail

The coming of that bett^er, gentler time
When fame shall write the highest on her scroll,

As here in Danvers, so in all the world,
The men who victories of Peace have won.

Who bear her stainless standard wide imf urled."

AN" OLD TREE.

Just in the comer of the fence as it turns in from the road
at the entrance to Joel Putnam's yard, on Locust street, is a
large and beautiful elm tree, two feet or more in diameter
at the base and fifty or sixty feet high, which was located
there by an incident that calls attention to it at this time.
The tree was planted there forty-eight years ago, and thus it
came about: Daniel Richards owned Mr. Putnam's place in
1840, and that being the year Gen. William Henry Harrison
was a candidate for President, and Mr. Richards being a
Harrison man, made a bet of ten dollars with a man from
Middleton, that Harrison would win. Mr. Richards won
the bet, and as his Van Buren opponent complained of being
poor, Mr. Richards told him if he would bring a good elm
tree and set it in his yard, that should discharge the debt.
The otfer was accepted, and the Harrison tree was planted,
which has gl•o^vn and flourished, and awaits the election of
Gen. Benjamin Harrison as President in the year 1888,

Danvers Mirror, Aug. 18, 1888.

BILL FOR TEACHING AT DANVERSPORT.

"The Town of Danvers to Jos. H. Jackson, Dr.
"To teaching tlie Grammar School in Dis-
trict No. 2, in said Town from Oct. 27,
1807 to March 7th, 1808, 4 mos. and 9

days at $33 per month, $141 90

"By three days lost, 3 30

$138 60
'March 9, 1808.
"Received payment by the hand of Capt. Samuel Page.

"Jos. H. Jackson."

GOVEENOE ENDECOTT AN HOETICULTUEALIST.

By Samuel P. Fowler.

Written for the New England Farmer, September, 1852.

Perhaps it is not generally kno\vTi that Gov. John Endecott
was probably one of the first persons who cultivated fruit,
and planted nurseries in Massachusetts. In proof of the asser-
tion that he had a love for the cultivation of fruits and for
agriculture in general, we find in the first letters he sent
home, he requested his friends in England to send over to him
fruit stones and kernels, grains for seeds, wheat, barley and
rye and domestic animals. In answer to this request, a letter
was received the 19th of April, 1629, wherein the Company of
England inform him that they are disappointed in not send-
ing the things ordered, but (God willing) they propose to
send them by the next vessel. Eev. j\Ir. Higginson, the first
minister of Salem, who arrived there Jime 30, 1629, says they
found abundance of com planted, and our Governor hath a
store of gi'een peas grown in his garden as good as he ever ate
in England. He adds that he had already planted a vineyard,
also in his garden were mulberries, plum raspberries, currants,
chestnuts, filberts, walnuts, small nuts, hurtleberries and
haws of white thorn. By this we learn that Mr. Endecott had
thus early made considerable progress in gardening. And it
would seem from the observation of Mr. Higginson that
green peas were about as early in 1629 as with us at the
present day. It was here in this garden in Salem that he
probably planted his famous pear tree, together with other
fruits, and upon receiving the grant of the Orchard farm,
they were removed there probably after the land was broken
up by the plow, which was in 1633. This venerable tree, now
more than 220 years old, we visited today [Aug. 9,
1852], and found on some of its branches it had made a
growth of three or four inches this season, although it bears
the mark of extreme decrepit old age. I should think it would
produce this autumn a peck of pears, very fair in their ap-
pearance. The tree has thorny wood and was undoubtedly
never grafted.

In 1648, Governor Endecott appears to have devoted much
attention to the cultivation of fruit trees. We find at this

(78)

GOVERNOR ENDECOTT AN HORTICULTURALIST 79

period that he exchanged five hundred apple trees of three
years' growth with William Trask, for two hundred acres of
land ! Only think of those sales of the olden time, ye nursery-
men of the present day, two ai)ple trees for one acre of land. In
a letter to Governor Winthrop in 1643, Governor Endecott
says, "The maid is now going along with us to the Orchard,
where your sonne shall be heartily welcome." That he was
in the habit of inviting his friends to visit liis grounds and
partake of his fruits we may also infer from this letter. From
a letter to Governor Winthrop, dated Apr. 12, 1631, we find
that Mr. Endecott attached more importance to agriculture
than to legislation. He says, "I thought good further to
write what my judgment is for the dismissing of the Court
'till the corne be sett. It will hinder us that are afarre off ex-
ceedingly, and not further you there. ]\Ien's labor is precious
here in corne setting time, the plantation being as yet so
weak." The value of the crop of Indian com has never ap-
peared before to us so great as it did upon reading tlus
extract. \Miat would the farmers in our Legislature think
when sitting in the State House late in spring to have the
General Court dismissed by the Governor and they sent home
to plant their corn or perform other necessary business on
their farms? We are not certain however but this method of
closing our long sessions would be an improvement in our
Legislature. The Indians likewise attached gi'eat value to the
com crop, and it was considered in our early wars with them
a great stroke of policy to destroy their corn in the field, or
prevent its being planted by them in the spring. In either
case starvation or severe suffering to the poor Indian was
sure to follow. The Indian corn was about the first thing dis-
covered by the Pilgrims upon their landing at PljTiiouth, and
their knowledge of it and mode of culture by planting it on
the intervale land by the rivers, and in hills, by raising the
soil around the crown of the roots was obtained from the
aborigines of the country.

]\Iany are the traditions related by the Indians in relation
to the maize or Indian com. Mr. Neal, one of the early his-
torians of New England, says, ''The Indians have a IVadi-
tion that a crow brought the first Bean and a Blackbird the
first grain of Indian Corn into New England; for which
reason those Birds are accounted sacred by them, tho' they
are so mischievous that the English contrive all ways they
can tJiink of to destroy them." There is like^^^se a tradition
with the Indians that a beautiful squaw sent by the Great

80 GOVERNOR ENDECOTT AN HORTICULTURALIST

Spirit once visited them and with her right hand presented
to them the Maize or Com; with her left hand she gave
them the beans and seeds of the squash and from the warm
earth on which she sat, after she had left them, up sprung the
tobacco.

There is a tradition that Governor Endecott cultivated in
his garden at his Orchard farm the white weed as a flower
or for medicinal purposes, and that a long time since it
spread into the adjoining fields, and probably may now be
found on most of tlie farms in New England. For this sup-
posed act he has received the maledictions of many farmers.
Our own opinion is that the white weed was brought over from
England with the grass seed first used upon the Orchard
Farm — when the mowing lands there were first laid dowm to
grass. The land on this farm was first broken up by the plow
in the spring of 1633. On this occasion we may suppose that
Governor Endecott left his residence in Salem to witness the
operation of this new plow probably brought over in the ship
William, which arrived at Plymouth on Feb. 22 of the same
year. His usual manner of visiting his fann in those days
was by embarking in his shallop and passing up Bass and
Waters river and landing at a small cove near his mansions.
Upon leaving his house in Salem, which stood at the comer of
Washington and Church streets, he met his beloved minis-
terial friend and pastor, Mr. Skelton, and after passing the
usual salutations, invited him to take a seat in his boat and
visit the "Necke of land," the worthy minister's lately ac-
quired grant of two hundred acres, and adjoining the Orchard
farm. Mr. Skelton excused himself from complying by inform-
ing him that he had been called to visit Roger Conant, jr.,
"the first born chDd in Salem," who lay sick of a fever. After
a pleasant sail up the river he landed at the cove near the
spring, where he found all things in readiness to commence
plowing.

There were upon the grounds waiting William Poole and
Edward Grover. Groodman Grover held the plow. What
an interesting event are we about to record, which took place
upon a fine day in May in 1633? Probably no tiling less than
the turning up of the first soil to the sun in the county of
Essex, with the plowshare by one of the early Governors of
Massachusetts.

Here was substituted the venerated plow for the rude im-
plements of the Indian. The aborigines were accustomed in
the preparing of their grounds for the cultivation of corn.

GOVERNOR ENDECOTT AN HORTICULTURALIST 81

when covered with wood, to destroy the tree* by beating off
wath stones the bark around their trunks near the roots, thus
girdling them. They would tlien open the ground around the
dead trees with sharp sticks and plant their corn in hills. In
1637 there were but tliirty-seven plows in Massachusetts. The
town of Salem in the same year passed a vote granting
Richard Hutchinson twenty acres of land "if he would set up
plowing." And as John Blackleach, in 1638, had not "suffi-
cient ground to mayntaine on liis farm of 300 acres, the town
for the furthering of his endeavors in plowing and for his in-
couradgement therein," allow him more land ! It is interest-
ing to notice the high enconiums given by the early planters
to the value of the Indian corn. But its value has never as
yet been overrated. The celebrated English cultivator,
Arthur Young, once said, "that a country capable of growing
Indian corn was singularly blessed above all others." The
Rev. Mr. Higginson, the teacher in the Salem church, and the
particular friend of Mr. Endecott, sent home to England on
the return of the ship Four Sisters a glowing account of the
cultivation of the maize. He says : "The abundant increase of
com proves this country to be a wonderment. It is almost
incredible what great gain some of our English planters have
had by our Indian corn. Credible persons have assured me
and the party himself avouches the truth of it to me that of
the setting of thirteen gallons of corn, he hath had increase
of it fifty-two hogsheads, every hogshead holding seven
bushels of London measure, and every bushel was by him sold
and trusted to the Indians for so much a beaver as was worth
eighteen shillings, and so of this thirteen gallons of com
which was worth six shillings eight pence, he made about
£327 of it the year following, when you may see how God
blesseth husbandry in this land." Aye, Master Higginson,
God has continued up to the present day to bless the labors of
husbandry in this country and we have the promise that he
always will.

It vrill be seen from this extract of one of the early planters
what was the quantity of corn raised upon an acre of ground,
and the profits to be derived from it. And here it would be well
before we enter upon our calculations to notice the appliances
made in 1629 to stimulate the growth of corn. Master Tliomas
Graves, sent over by the company as a man of science and
required to visit Naumkeag and exercise his scientific quali-
fications, when spealcing of its soil, says, "it hath not at any
time been manured or husbanded." The principal or only

82 GOVERNOR ENDECOTT AN HOKTICULTURALIST

manure used in the cultivation of corn in those da3'S was the
fish caught in the bays and rivers and these applied but once
in tliree years. Wood says, when speaking of the soil of Salem
more than two centuries since, "For seven years together, it
has brought forth exceeding good corn by being fished but
every third year." Then corn was planted in hills, where was
placed one or more of the fish called ale wives, hardheads or
bluebacks, and required to be watched until they were decayed,
which was usually in fourteen days, to prevent the corn being
disturbed by the wolves in their desire to obtain the fish.
The mossbunker or hardhead is still used as manure in some
of the towns on Cape Cod.

Weirs for the taking of fish were placed across Waters
river and fish was used probably in the planting of the first
com in 1633. Corn standing in the fields was subject to man}
more depredations than are to be found at the present day,
which would probably serve to diminish their crops. In a
diary kept by the Eev. Joseph Green of Salem Village, 1711,
we find the following: "Killed grey squirrels that devour my
corn exceedingly. They have eaten one-quarter of my corn.
It is said there are millions of tliem in this village." Swine
being permitted to run at large became very troublesome in
fields of corn and after much legislation upon the subject
of their restraint, a law was finally passed whereby an owner
of a cornfield was permitted to kill any swine found in them.
This summary manner of dealing with strays in the olden
times no doubt had a good effect. Mr. Higginson in 1629
wrote a pamphlet entitled, "New England's Plantation. Or
a Short and True Description of the Commodities and Dis-
commodities of that Coimtry." In describing the natural pro-
ductions of the soil around Naumkeag, he says, "Excellent
vines are here, up and down in the woods. Our Governor
hath already planted a vineyard with great hope of increase."
Tradition says that Governor Endecott entered largely into
the cultivation of the native grape for the purpose of making
wine, but with what success we are unable to say. These
vines were planted at his Orchard farm and extended from
his mansion house in two lines to the banks of the river. It is
a singular fact that the early discoverers and settlers of this
country entertained sanguine liopes of being able successfully
to cultivate our native grapes and furnish wine for exporta-
tion. We find in the records of the Massachusetts company
a memorandum of articles to be sent over from England for
the use of the Plantation at Naumkeag. Amongst those were

GOVERNOR ENDECOTT AN HORTICULTURALIST 83

^'Ministers, Men skillful in making of pitch and of salt and
Vine Planters." In the London Company's first general
letter of instructions to Endecott and his council, under date
of 17th of April, 1629, we find the following: "We take notice
that you desire to have Frenchmen sent you, that you might
be experienced in making of salt and planting of vines. We
have inquired diligently for such but cannot meet with any
of that nation. Nevertheless God has not left us altogether
unprovided of man, able to undertake that work; for that
we have entertained Mr. Thomas Graves, a man commended
to us as well for his honesty as skill in many things very
useful." In a letter sent home from "New England by
Master Graves, engineer, now the resident," we find in a
flowing account of the fruitfulness of the country, there were
some of the "biggest grapes that I ever saw; some I have
seen four inches about. So that I am bold to say of this
country, as it is commonly said in Germany, of Hungaria,
that for cattle, corn and wine it excelleth." These grapes were
exceedingly large, nearly the size of the imperial gage plum.
Our largest native plums are about three inches in cir-
cumference.

Eev, ]\Ir. Hubbard, in his "History of New England,"
written about the year 1680, when describing the fertility of
the soil and its vegetable productions, says, "That great hopes
of fruitful vineyards was entertained in after time; but as
yet either skill is wanting to cultivate the fruits of those
wild vines and reduce them to a pleasant sweetness or time
is not yet to be spared to looke after the culture of such fruits
S.S rather tend to the bene or melius esse of a place than to
the bare esse and substance thereof." Alas, the climate of
New England forbids these fond anticipations of the Puritans
from ever l)eing realized by us. The subject in regard to the
propriety of cultivating the tobacco early engaged the atten-
tion of the planters at Naumkeag, as well as the company in
England. In their first and second general letters of instruc-
tion to Endecott and his council, they say, "The planting of
tobacco is by this whole company generally disavowed and
utterly disclaimed by some of the greatest adventurers, who
absolutely declared themselves unwilling to have any hand in
this plantation if we cherish or permit the planting tliereof.
And we especially desire that no tobacco be planted by any of
the new planters under your government unless it be some
small quantity for mere necessity and for physic and for the
preservation of their healths; and that the same be taken pri-

84 GOVERNOR ENDECOTT AN HORTICULTURALIST

vately by ancient men, and none other." In this manner and
"with very great caution was tobacco first introduced into
Massachusetts.

There was likewise a law in Massachusetts in 1634, "That
no person should be permitted publici to use tobacco on fine
of 2s. 6d., or privately in his own dwelling or dwelling of
another, before strangers; and they also forbid two or more
to use it in any place together." In Winslow's Relation, we
find that the Indians were accustomed to take much tobacco;
but for their boys so to do, they account it odious. The idea
that tobacco, like rum, should be used only by persons of
suitable age and taken moderately was not confined to the
Puritans. We well remember when a lad being present when
rum was used or tobacco taken, being told that we were not
old enough to use it, and must wait until we became men.
And it was not uncommon in those days for very polite men
who chewed tobacco to turn their backs or put one hand to
their mouths to conceal the act of taking a quid. But we
have noticed that such modest and polite men at the present
day are exceedingly rare; indeed we do not recollect having
seen one for many years. They must, we think, much to our
regret have all passed away. The quiet, sober and secret way
tobacco was taken by the Pilgrims is in strange contrast with
its use at the present day. Many amusing anecdotes are con-
nected with its early use and history. The Rev. Mr. Ersking,
the author of the Gospel Sonnets, wrote a religious doggerel,
wherein he supposed the smoking of tobacco a proper subject
for religious meditation. It was addressed to smokers, and
called upon them to spiritualize smoking. It was written in
1770. The first stanzas are as follows :

The Indian weed, now withered quite,

Though green at noon, cut down at night,

Shows thy decay ;

All flesh is hay,
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

Doth juice medicinal proceed.
From such a naughty, foreign weed;

Then what's the power,

Of Jesse's flower.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

The superior benefits Capt. John Underbill supposed him-
self to have derived from what he is pleased to call "the good

GOVERNOR ENDECOTT AN HORTICULTURALIST 85

creature tobacco," is amusing. Mistress Wilbore was dealt
with for coming to a lecture in Boston where Master ex-
pounded, and wearing a pair of gloves slit at the thumbs and
fingers for the purpose of taking snuff, as was supposed.
Master Cotton observed for what purpose should those vain
openings be but for the intent of taking snuff ! And he began
to quote Gregory Naziazen upon good works.

The culture of tobacco by the planters early engaged their
attention, and notwithstanding its prohibition by the London
company many were anxious to cultivate it at Naumkeag.
Grovernor Endecott and some of his company opposed its culti-
vation on the ground of its being highly injurious to the
health and morals of the planters. This decision is the more
remarkable when we consider the great and marvelous prop-
erties it was supposed at that time to possess, Joselyn in his
"Account of Two Voyages to New England," when speaking
of the tobacco, says, "It's virtues are these, it helps digestion,
the Gout, the Toothache, prevents infection by scents, it heats
the cold, and cools them that sweats, feedeth the hungry,
spent spirits restoreth, purgeth the stomach, killeth nits and
lice, healeth green wounds; the Syrup is good for many dis-
eases, the Smoake for Phiths and all diseases of a cold and
moist cause, good for all bodies cold and moist, taken upon
an emptie stomach."

In taking leave of Governor Endecott as a cultivator of the
soil, we will quote tJie language of Dr. Bentley, who says,
"Posterity has fully approved the choice of Governor Endecott,
and more circumstances distinguish the grounds on which he
planted than are recollected respecting any of the leaders of
the Pilgrims."

SOME ACCOUNT OF REVEREND BENJAMIN BALCH.

By G. W. Balch, Esq.

Read at a Meeting of this Society^ March 13, 1894.

Inasmuch as the Reverend Benjamin Balch was a resident
of the town of Danvers during the period of the Revolutionary
War, in which he performed almost constant service either in
the military or naval establishment, it would seem as if some
account of him, his public services and of his family would be
of value.*

He was bom at Dedham in 1743, his father being Reverend
Thomas Balch and his mother Mary Sumner Balch, the latter
a daughter of Edward Sumner of Roxbury, and aunt of Gov-
ernor Increase Sumner. His father was intensely patriotic
and served in the French and Indian war.

On both sides. Rev. Benjamin Balch came from dis-
tinguished New Englanders. He was graduated at Harvard
in 1763, and having been tutored by his father with especial
reference to the ministry, seems to have commenced religious
work soon afterwards, probably as a mere licenciate, for he
was scarcely more than twenty-one years of age, when he was
said to have been engaged in preaching at Machias. It was there
he first met his future wife, a pretty Protestant Irish girl, one
of his congregation, the daughter of Morris O'Brien. This mar-
riage, which occurred in 1764, was undoubtedly quite roman-
tic, and is said to have been a pure love-match of a pronounced
kind and as fanciful in inception as it proved afterwards
happy in results. The O'Briens were prominent people, and
very patriotic, as the subsequent career of several members of
that family, brothers of Mrs. Balch, proved them to be.
Cooper's Naval History gives considerable space to the ex-

*Benjamin Balch was in Danvers from 1774-1784. On Mar. 29,
1774, he bought of Walter Perkins, two acres of land and a
dwelling house at New Mills, bounded on the east by the high-
way from New Mills to Topsfield, on the north by land of Tar-
rant Putnam, Jr., on the west by Patrick Carrell and on the
south by Aaron Cheever. Tliis house stood about where the
brick house of the late Dr. W. G. Frost now stands. He was-
licensed as an innholder here in 1783-4.

(86)

SOME ACCOUNT OF llEVEKEND BENJAMIN BALCH 87

ploits of Colonel Jeremiah O'Brien, who, it is claimed, won at
Machias the first naval victory of the Revolution. The fol-
lowing letter is interesting in this connection, also the al-
lusion to the young Irish beauty, with her pretty brogue. It
is an extract from a letter written by Major Jervis Cutler to
the late Judge Ephraim Cutler, son of Rev. Manasseh Cutler,
and an illustrious citizen of Ohio.

"Evansville, Ind., Dec. 30th, 1841.
"Dear Brother,

"I have forwarded one of our Papers in which you will see
an article from Cooper's Naval History, The Hero in that
article is nearly connected with our family. You, most likely,
remember all about it, but lest you do not, I will tell you now
what I can remember of the matter. Our uncle Rev. Ben-
jamin Balch was preaching at Machias and fell in love with
Miss O'Brien (sister to Jeremiah O'Brien) whom he married.
She was a beautiful little Irish woman, spoke broad Irish,
but in such a pleasant way as to delight those who heard her
speak. I recollect her vividly, and more so than any of those
old ancient people. They were settled at Danvers New Mills,
and many is the time I ran away there to play with my
cousins."

The young couple took up their residence at Scarboro for a
while, and there, in 1765, their first child, Thomas, was born.
In 1768, Rev. Benjamin became first pastor of the Congrega-
tional Church at Mendon, South Precinct, Mass., having,
however, in 1767 temporarily supplied that pulpit, under a
regularly drawn up contract. This agreement seems to have
been productive of no end of woes for all concerned. Trouble
first arose from a misunderstanding about the firewood for
the parsonage. The Pastor claimed that it should be delivered
by his parishioners at his door, while the contract did not
mention the family firewood at all. Contentions followed,
eventuating in a quarrel and the abrupt departure of the
Pastor from Mendon. But insult seems, in the minds of the
Mendonites, to have been added to injury, when the preacher
sold his farm and most of his belongings to a Quaker, an
offence quite unbearable in days marked in a manner almost
inexplicable to us, by narrowness and bigotry.

Leaving Mendon, the young preacher tarried for a while
at his paternal home in Dedham, where he presumably gave a
critical account of his stewardship at Mendon, and then ac-
cepted ministerial employment elsewhere. He was thus tem-

88 SOME ACCOCTNT OF REVEREXD BENJAMIN BALCH

porarily employed at the beginning of 1775, at or about which
time he took up his family residence in the town of Danvers,
probably in the vicinity of New Mills. At this period political
troubles had increased to the culminating point. The British
officers were imperious and the soldiery insolent. Outrages to
citizens were of frequent occurrence, and cautious people kept
well to their homes. Danvers and points near Boston were
scarcely so safe as Boston itself, and all were kept in constant
ferment and alarm. All classes were stirred and none more
so than the clergy; and here it may well be remarked that
from thenceforward, during the entire Revolutionary period,
the latter were leaders and the most potent factors in re-
sistance to British oppression. Faith in spiritual things begat
a like sentiment with regard to mundane attributes, and
"building better than they knew," for at that time liberty had
no prototype on the face of the earth, there was evidently an
obscure but inherent prescience of something yet attainable,
looking to the political happiness of a people, akin to their
spiritual aspirations. In the absence of a numerous news-
paper press, the political education of the people then as now
in sparsely settled regions was conducted largely from the
pulpit — or the stump. This manifestation evidently found easy
place in Danvers, for there, in forming one of the first so-
called Alarm Companies, March 6th, 1775, the place of Cap-
tain was accorded to Deacon Edmund Putnam, that of Lieu-
tenant to Rev. Benjamin Balch, while another Deacon was
made Ensign. The official muster-roll of this Company shows
that it was present at the Battle of Lexington on the 19th of
the following month, Lieut. Balch being credited therein Avith
forty miles traveled. Prom this time forward to the establish-
ment of peace, the activity of the preacher, either in military
or naval employment, seems to have been nearly constant and
unabated, the course of which was, according to his own ac-
count, interrupted only at intervals by the necessities of a
young and increasing family for sustenance, compelling him at
times to occupy temporarily various pulpits in Massachusetts.
After the Battle of Lexington he became attached to Col.
Ephraim Doolittle's Regiment as Chaplain but as his general
history from the commencement of hostilities up to the mid-
summer of 1778, when he was in temporary occupancy of Rev.
Mr. Hitchcock's pulpit at Beverly, is best told by himself in a
petition, the original of which is on file in the State depart-
ment at Boston, the latter is here given in full. At this time
his children numbered seven, and the eldest, Thomas, was

SOME ACCOUNT OF REVEREND BENJAMIN BALCH 89

scarcely more than twelve years of age. Two of the children
born in 1777 were twins, and were patriotically given the
names respectively of George Washington and Horatio Gates,

"To the Honorable Council and House of Representatives
of the State of Massachusetts Bay : —

"The Petition of Benjamin Balch humbly sheweth that
your petitioner has from the Commencement of the War been
employed as Chaplain either in the Army or Navy, excepting
some intervals of short duration and is still ready and will-
ing to serve his country in the same capacity should a door
open for it, and which for several months past he has been
wishing for, which time he has improved in preaching to
vacant congregations which yields him a very scanty pittance
for the support of himself and wife and seven small children;
notwithstanding which the militia officers of the towTi of
Danvers have draughted your petitioner to go as a common
soldier into the Army, or to pay a heavy fine, which will
greatly distress his family. Therefore your petitioner humbly
prays that the Honorable Court will be pleased to give such
orders for relief as they in their wisdom and goodness shall
see fit. And your petitioner as in duty bound shall ever
pray,

"Benj. Balch.
"Boston, June, 8th, 1778."

While this petition seems to have been acted on adversely
as to the impending fine, probably from reasons creative of
exceptions in any case, the desire for better employment than
that of a common soldier, whereon to support a large family,
was soon gratified, for in October of that year his name is
found enrolled amongst the staff-officers as Chaplain of the
frigate Boston. It was while thus employed, or else a year
or two later, while occupying the post of Chaplain in the new
frigate Alliance, that, according to family tradition, his two
sons, Thomas and Benjamin, were also with him, the two boys
being "entered and drawing pay as one man," The name of
Thomas Balch appears as of the same date, entered as lands-
man, hence the inference that the two sons were thus employed
on the frigate Boston. His eldest son Thomas, was, however,
nearly always the companion of his father in sea-service, the
only exception known being when the former served for a
time (1780) in the private armed ship Hannibal, with his
uncle Capt. O'Brien, which ship wasi captured by a British
cruiser, the officers and crew being sent to the famous Jersey

90 SOME ACCOUNT OF REVEREND BENJAMIN BALCH

prison-ship at New York. Capt. O'Brien was too formidable
an opponent for lenient treatment, and exchange in his case
was refused, and he was sent to England and kept there until
peace was restored. His nephew, young Thomas, was duly-
exchanged and returned to Boston, where he immediately
joined the Continental frigate Alliance, Capt. Barry, of which
his father, the Eev. Benjamin, was Chaplain, having been
transferred from the Boston.

The story of this famous ship is one of great interest to
Americans. The Alliance was said to have been the first frigate
built for the Continental Congress. The builder was John
Hackett of Salisbury, an educated and skilful designer, and
whose patriotism induced the imdertiiking, alone and unaided,
even when every other ship-builder had declined the risk on
account of the uncertainty of political affairs and a depre-
ciated govermnental currency; nor could any be induced to
even join in the construction. The Alliance was a great suc-
cess in every way. She was fast, strong and easily handled.
The vessel was known to have made an average of fifteen knots
for many consecutive hours, and when General Lafayette
returned to France in her in 1781, the Alliance made the
voyage in twenty-three days. After the war, she, with many
other Grovernment vessels, was sold. The Alliance made
several East Indian voA^ages in the merchant service. Some
remains of this famous ship were lying on an island in the
Delaware up to some fifty years ago, and, until finally all
traces disappeared, piecemeal, as souvenirs of the E^volution
and as mementoes of her honorable career.

Richard Hackett, son of Jolui Hackett of Salisbury, the
patriotic and skilful builder of the Alliance and other ships,
became in 1806, the husband of Martha, daughter of Rev.
Benj. Balch. Their son, Horatio Balch Hackett, born in
1808, became illustrious as an erudite Biblical scholar and au-
thor, whose multitudinous writings on Biblical subjects and
researches have world-wide repute. Rev. William Balch, born
in 1775, son of Rev. Benjamin, married in 1805, Mary, daugh-
ter of Rev. Dr. Benjamin Wadsworth, who for fifty-three years
occupied a Danvers pulpit, and who is said to have constantly
aided his parishioners with respect to worldly as well as guid-
ing them in spiritual things. A daughter, born of the latter
marriage, Mary Wadsworth Balch, became the wife of Rev.
Horatio Balch Hackett mentioned above, the latter thus
marrying his cousin. Three children of the last named mar-
riage are now honored and respected residents of Kewi;on-

SOME ACCOUNT OF REVEREND BENJAMIN BALCH 91

ville. Eev. William Balch died at Dedham, Mass., in 1842.
He was Chaplain of the frigate Congress in 1799. At Harvard,
he was a classmate of Judge Storj- and also of Dr. Channing,

Beyond his service as Chaplain of the Alliance in 1781, the
career of Rev. Benjamin Balch is not easily traceahle, by
reason of misplaced personal papers, but 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. An exploit, located by family
tradition, as occurring on one of the cruises of the Alliance
in May, 1781, in which the E^verend gentleman earned the
designation of the "fighting parson" is worth mentioning. The
Alliance having fallen in with a British armed ship and a
brig, the three vessels became engaged, but on account of a
prevailing dead calm, the Alliance was at one time placed
in great peril from the enemy's superior position, and the
ability of the two vessels to deliver "raking" shots. The peril
the ship was in brought out the desperate courage of every
man on board the Alliance, the "cloth" being no exception.
Reverend Benjamin, armed cap-a-pie, was seen in the midst
of the fray, and thereafter is said to have become known on
that ship as the "fighting parson." His son Thomas was also
in the fight, and when father and son met afterwards, it was
with an embrace and with the words, "Thank God, my son."
A favoring breeze having sprung up, the fleet Alliance came
to her own, and captured both vessels.

In 1820, five years after his father's death, the son Thomas
herein mentioned, then of Newburyport, became an applicant
for a pension from the Federal government, in support of
which several affidavits were presented, and the pension was
duly granted, one of which dated Sept. 18, 1820, follows : "I,
Phoebe White, wife of Henry White of Beverly, on oath do
testify that I was intimately acquainted with the Rev. Benj.
Balch and his wife Joanna from 1775 to 1784 and that in
the year 1781, I frequently conversed with her respecting the
absence of her husband and her son Thomas Balch then on a
cruise in the Ship Alliance, James Barry Commander. The
said Benjamin was at that time Chaplain to said ship and on
the return of the ship T saw the said Benjamin and his wife
and he the said Benjamin Balch stated that he and his son
Thomas Balch had been very much exposed, had had a severe
engagement and the conduct of his son was becoming a
mariner."

After the close of the war, Rev. Benjamin Balch was settled

92 SOME ACCOUNT OF REVEREND BENJAMIN BALCH

as pastor of the Congregational Church, East Barrington,
New Hampshire (1784) and there he remained to the year
of his death in 1815, thus completing his thirty-first year
in that charge. His health became much broken near the end,
and his memory was so impaired that, in forgetfulness, it was
said that he would often read the hymn the second time. It
was deemed best by family friends and parishioners alike to
terminate the pastorate, and the latter made liberal provision
for the future support of the minister, but death intervened
a few days after his farewell discourse.

The treatment accorded to this worthy man by the par-
ishioners of Barrington when bodily infirmities occurred was
in pleasant contrast to the beginning of his ministerial career
at Mendon ; but the lapse of fifty years had then, as ever since,
softened hearts, removed bigotry and carried popular sen-
timent along a little further towards the ultimate goal, the
brotherhood of man. Never rich in worldly goods, but always
a stipendiary on the bounty of his parishioners, the domestic
life of a New England clergyman of an hundred years ago
retained many of the traditional features of earlier times. If
the flour sack ran low or the pork barrel gave out, the bounty
of the parish was expected to supply the deficiency in one way
or another, and so with the wood-pile. If the minister pos-
sessed a few acres of land, as was commonly the case, the par-
ishioners, by turns, performed most of the labor of cultivating
the soil.

Rev. Benjamin Balch's family of twelve children was reared
under conditions akin to the means of subsistence described,
and yet each of them received fair and many of them excellent
educational advantages. The sons, each and all, became worthy
citizens, nearly all making their mark in business and pro-
fessional life. None failed to acquit themselves honorably.
The daughters of the family made exceptionally good mar-
riage alliances, and all, sons and daughters alike, with a single
exception, lived to a ripe old age. Without attempting to
trace more intimately the career of Eev. Benjamin Balch, a
task rendered most difficult by the disorganized condition of
public records relating to Revolutionary service, nor to deal
with innumerable family traditions of misty and conse-
quently unreliable authenticity, enough has already been
gathered to enable us to state reliably, that in his career both
as a minist-er of the Gospel and a patriot, he marked the true
standard of excellence. As a follower of Christ, his life was
a constant contribution to religious and moral advancement;

SOME ACCOUNT OF REVEREND BENJAMIN BALCH 93

and his military and naval services were marked by earnest-
ness comporting with his calling as a minister of the Gospel.
His associates, in whatever relation found, were of the best
and most patriotic, and comprise names illustrious then, or
whose descendants since have made their mark in the history
of this country. Of these may be mentioned the Everetts, the
Deans, Cutlers, Tappans and Parsons.

His parental home at Dedham, presided over by the courtly
Eeverend Thomas and his cultured and accomplished wife,
Mary Sumner Balch, and their gifted daughters, seems to
have been the rendezvous for many years of those of moral
worth and social standing; marking, according to good au-
thority, the best of Massachusetts people. And Reverend Ben-
jamin seems to have always maintained in his social surround-
ings and affiliations, and to have inculcated in his numerous
progeny, the standard of excellence entirely in keeping with
his education and parentage. The painstaking care with
which he and his accomplished wife, with resources bounded
by the limited income of a modest New England pastor,
brought up and successfully educated a large family, is further
evidence of worth, and is quite in keeping with the ISTew
England character of the period.

Children of Rev. Benjamin & Joanna O'Brien Balch:
Thomas, born 1765, a revolutionary soldier and sailor, as
stated; Benjamin, born 1768, a revolutionary soldier and
sailor, was drowned at sea; Mary, born 1770, married Ben-
jamin Garland; John, bom 1772, ship-ouaier of Newbury-
port, Boston and New York, became wealthy, but lost largely
with the substitution of larger vessels; Rev. William, born in
Danvers, 1775, Chaplain of frigate Congress and minister at
Salisbury and many other places; Dr. Horatio Gates, born in
Danvers, in 1777, and baptized at the Middle precinct, on
Oct. 26, physician, member of Legislature of Maine, poli-
tician, collector of Customs, etc. ; George Washington, born in
Danvers, in 1777, and baptized at the Middle precinct on Oct.
26, removed to North Carolina and was engaged in War of
1812; Joanna, born in Danvers 1780, married Deacon Webs-
ter, who was a near relative of the great Daniel ; Martha, born
1783, married Richard Hackett of Salisbury, mother of Pro-
fessor Horatio Balch Hackett; Jeremiah O'Brien, born 1785,
died at Chicago 1875, editor and publisher, finely educated,
accomplished Latin scholar; Hannah, born 1791, married Mr.
Church; Joseph, born 1794, youngest, died in infancy.

FROM REV. DR. WILLIAM BENTLEY'S DIARY.

May 15, 1785, Sunday. Changed with Revd: Wadsworth.

June 14. Association meeting at my house. Present : Revd.
Diman, Barnard, Prince, Holt, Wadsworth, Swain & Parsons.

Deer. 19. Set out with Miss Allen for Tewkesbury, dined
at Widow Upton in Danvers, drank Tea at Esqr. Ford's in
Wilmington, and arrived at Madam Boardman's in Tewkes-
bury at 6 in the evening. The day was of clear sunshine, but
the roads very bad as far as Reading.

Nov. 10, 1789. Association at Wadsworth's, Danvers.

Feb. 18, 1790. On Tuesday last the Officers from Danvers,
Beverly, & Middleton chose the field Officers of their Militia,
& hereby compleat the Brigade — Chosen in this To^^al.

Feb. 20. The Officers chosen in the Militia last Tiiesday
were Col. Foster of Danvers^ Lieu. Col. Francis of Beverly,
Major Peabody of Middleton.

Feb. 25. Last Evening before 7 o'clock a fire broke out in the
Barn belonging to the Estate of Richard Derby Esq"* deceased
in the North Parish of Beverley. The Estate is known by the
name of Brown's folly from the House formerly standing on
the top of the Hill, & now moved near the road. It was after-
wards the property of one Willard & Fairweather, who dis-
posed of it in divisions on the South Side of the Road to R.
Derby including the Mansion House, & on the North side to
Col. Thorndike of Beverley. All the Cattle, Hay & contents
of the Barn were consumed, damage exceeding £300. About
2y2 miles geog: north of Salem, 4 measured miles.

May 23. Was buried at Marblehead, Robert Hooper, Esq"",
aet. 80. He had long been the most eminent Merchant in the
place, but by the events of war, became a bankrupt. He was
entrusted by his creditors with the improvement of his real
estate, during his natural life, & was called King Hooper by
the people. The highest affection was shewn to him at his
death & his memory honored by his numerous former de-
pendants. The Vessels were all dressed in mourning, the Pro-
cession exceeded anything before known in honor of a mer-
chant, in that place.

June 22. I went to ride with Capt. S. Chever into Danvers.
(94)

FROM KEV. DR. WILLIAM BENTLEY's DIARY" 95

Saw the Garden of Mr. E. H. Derby. The Dutch Gardener
was very attentive. The Principal Garden is in three parts di-
vided by an oj)en slat fence painted white, & the fence white
washed. It includes 7/8 of an Acre. We ascend from the
house two steps in each division. The passages have no gate's,
only a naked arch with a key stone frame^ of wood painted
white above 10 feet high. Going into the Garden they look
better than in returning, in the latter view they appear from
the unequal surface to incline towards the Hill. The Straw-
berry beds are in the upper garden, & the whole division are
not according to the plants they contain. The unnatural
opening of the Branches of the trees is attempted with very
bad effect. Beyond the Garden is a Spot as large as the Gar-
den which would form an admirable orchard now improved
as a Kitchen garden, &• has not an ill effect in its present
state. The Gardener has only come this year, & is not ac-
countable for the arrangement. It was extremely neat, & in
comparison had by no means an ill effect. The House is with
a superb fence^ but is itself a mere country House, one story
higher than conunon with a rich oAATier.

July 27. A very large party at a Turtle at Putnam's.

Aug. 18. I attended the funeral of Mary Whittemore from
Deacon Seccombe's in Danvers, as it was her last request to
lay in the old ground with her relations.

Aug. 20. Set out for Tewksbury, returned as far as Upton's
& lodged on account of the indisposition of one of the
company.

Aug. 21. Expense at Upton's 2/10.

Sept. 16. The Review at Danvers near Putnam's, I was
not present. This was part of the Regiment conjointly with
Beverley and they have now a petition at Court for a Sepa-
ration.

Oct. 11. In the agitation of my mind, I went to Danvers
and spent an hour with M"* Holt.

Oct. 25. Mr. Read, formerly a Tutor of the College has
married a young woman* of fortune in this place, & this
day offered a public collation.

Nov. 9. Census of Danvers: 372 houses, 460 families, 626
free white males over 16 years of age, including heads of fam-
ilies, 486 free white males under 16 j^ears, 1279 free white
females, including heads of families, 34 other free persons,
total, 2425.t

•Nathan Read married Elizabeth, daughter of William Jeffry.
tAt this time Danvers, which then included Peabody, had a popu-
lation greater than Lynn.

96 FROM REV. DR. WILLIAM BENTLEY's DIARY

Nov. 17. This afternoon came on the case of Moriarty, an
Irishman, before the Supreme Court. This man has lived
sometime in Salem, & Danvers, & after suffering imprison-
ment was taken in by his daughter in law, cloathed & fed for
three years. Since the death of her husband she has boarded
him, without any returns. Upon some present proposals of
marriage Moriarty objected, & took some steps at Law to re-
cover some property out of her hands upon which she brings
an action of debt [314] for boarding, lodging, washing &
loans of money since July, 1787, amounting to 106£. Mori-
arty against her brought an account of 209£ charging 69£ for
the use of a Cow, beside the keeping, 33£ p"" annum for doing
the business of a woman keeping shop of a stock of 50 dollars,
& other things in like proportion. Being admitted to his
oath of original entries in his petite debt book, the Court
gave it as their opinion that the whole was drawn out but
three months before, from the dates of the charges, uniform-
ity of ink, same elegant leisurely writing, the agreement of
the paper with paper given at this time by Esq*" Osgood, by
testimony of Auctioneer & Wharfinger that he came & took
from their Books accounts for the time specified. There were
other circumstances in the book such as the insertion of only
a few trifling accounts in the whole time, with different ink
in void spaces left in writing, to be judged from the want of
agreement of the inserted dates with the subsequent ones.
Judge Paine delivered the Case to the Jury with a just degree
of spirit, & pertinent observations. This Moriarty has im-
posed upon the vulgar, being a good accountant, with a pre-
tended knowledge of law, is an intemperate man, & litigious,
& a just object of the highest public punishment.

[315] 18. The jury's verdict ag: Moriarty was 75£ to the
daughter, & he is to pay cost of suit.

ScA.Li ■ I incli =; 200 To3

THE PLAINS: PART OF SALEM IN 1700

THE PLAINS: PART OF SALEM IN 1700.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY.

This section of Salem in 1700 is now the central part
of Danvers. It extends from Waters' river on the south
to the Topsfield line on the north, a distance of about four
miles, and from Whipple's hill on the west to the Frost
Fish stream on the east, a distance of about two miles,
and comprises an area of about seven square miles.

This is the eastern end or side of the district of Dan-
vers as it was bounded in 1752.

The Ipswich road was the southern boundary of the
Salem Village parish.

Smith's hill, over which runs the line between Danvers
and Topsfield, was so called very early, because it was
included within the grant of Thomas Smith in 1639.

Solomon's hill, near Blind hole, was so called as early
as 1716. Blind hole is mentioned by that name in 1660.

Davenport's hill was so called very early because it
was included within the grant to Capt. Richard Daven-
port, afterwards Putnam's hill when it belonged to the
Putnams.

Porter's river was so called because John Porter owned
all the land on its western side from 1646. Above Conant
street, the stream was known from a very early date as
Frost Fish brook or river, from the fact, it is said, that

(97)

98 THE PLAINS: PART OP SALEM IN 1700,

frost fish were very abundant in its waters. It was so
called as early as 1637.

Crane river was called Duck river in 1632, and Crane
river as early as 1650. Beaver brook, which is one of
the sources of Crane river, was so called very early in the
settlement of Salem Village, and was called the great
brook in 1800.

The most ancient highway through this region was the
old Ipswich road so called, running from Boston to
Ipswich, having been laid out in 1643. It is now known,
in its several parts, as Ash, Elm and Conant streets. The
Ash street section was called the country road in 1741 ;
Ipswich road in 1759 ; the country road on Porter's
plains in 1783 ; the highway leading from Putnam's tav-
ern to Leech's tavern in 1806 ; the old road leading from
Danvers to Salem in 1850 ; and Ash street in 1854. Elm
street was called ye country road in 1741 ; Ipswich road
in 1782 ; and Elm street in 1872. Conant street was
called Ipswich road in 1715; Willow street in 1872; and
Conant street in 1882. The bridge over Crane river at
Ash street was probably constructed about 1685. In the
county court, under date of Feb. 25, 1650-1, is the record :
" Town of Salem, presented for want of a foot bridge at
Crane river, ordered to make it, on penalty of X5."*
Nothing was done about its construction immediately, so
far as the records of the town show. The bridge is men-
tioned in 1692.

High street was laid out before 1780 ; and was called
the road leading to the new mills in 1783 ; the county
road in 1784; the highway leading to Salem in 1794 ; the
road from Gideon Putnam's tavern to Salem by the neck
so called in 1794 ; the road leading from Putnam's tavern
to the neck so called in 1796 ; the road leading from Salem
to Topstield in 1810 ; the Salem road in 1815 ; the road
leading from New mills to Topsfield in 1849; and High
street in 1850.

Water street was called the highway running by the
new mills in 1780 ; and Water street in 1872.

Purchase street was so called in 1854.

•Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, vol-
ume I, page 208.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 99

Park street was so called in 1850.

Sylvan street was so called in 1854.

That part of Maple street between the Square and Lo-
cust street and Locust street comprised the highway to
Topsfield laid out by the county court Oct. 22, 1657,
as follows : —

the 22, 8. 57

We hose names ar under written being apointed by the too
Tonnes to lay out a cuntrie way betwine the too Townes Salem &
Topsfeld we began vpon John Porters farme accordinge as the
trees ar marked and so alonge vpon Daniell Rayes farme too pole brod
and so thoroh the woods to a farme of John Porters wich was for-
merly mr Kenistones and so thoroh the woods to a farme of John
Porters wich was formerly mr Dounings and so thoroh the woods to
the Rever against Gudman Tonnes house and this we have done
accordinge to our best descresion

John Porter
William bodge
Thomas Borman
frances pabody

This was alowed of by the court (as it is layd out) held at Salem
29th of June 1658

Robert Lord cleric*

Its course was practically the same as now, except at
two places. At Porter's hill it went around a part of the
hill to the west, and just northerly of the point where the
new Valley road, so called, connects with it it made a
slight detour to the right. In each of these two places
the road has been straightened, — the former place before
1810, and the other before 1869. It was called the Tops-
field road in 1720 ; the country highway in 1722; the
highway leading from Salem to Topsfield in 1774 ; the
country road leading from Haverhill to Salem in 1807 ;
the main road in 1841 ; the road leading from Danvers
Plains so called to Topsfield in 1850 ; and that part now
Locust street was so called in 1857.

Wenham street was in existence as early as 1646, when
it was called a way from John Porter's farm to Wenham,
being called the Wenham road in 1815 ; and Wenham
street in 1882.

North street was in existence in 1683. It was called
the highway leading to Topsfield in 1772 ; the count}' road

•Original on file in the office of the clerk of courts, at Salem, and
printed in the Quarterly Court Records and Files of Essex County,
▼olume II, page 105.

100 THE PLAINS : PART OF SALEM IN 1700,

leading from Salem toTopsfield in 1813 ; the road leading
from the Newburyport turnpike to the brick schoolhouse
in 1862 ; and North street in 1865.

Summer street is an ancient way. It was called the
highway in 1714 ; the way called Blind Hole road in 1780 ;
the country road leading to Topsfield in 1829 ; and Sum-
mer street in 1866.

The Newburyport and Boston turnpike, indicated upon
the map by parallel lines of dashes, was laid out in 1803.
It was called the county road in 1867 ; and Newbury
street in 1875.

Nichols and Pine streets and that part of Maple street
which connects them probably constituted the highway
that was laid out under the order of the selectmen of
Salem, dated July 10, 1650, viz.: —

William Dodg Jacob Barney and Nathanell Putnam are apoynted
to lay out the hie way ffrom the ffurther syde of that ffarme that
was mr Bishops now in the hands of John Porter vnto Crane
Riuer.*

The selectmen of Salem, June 8, 1657,

Ordered that John Porter and Thomas Putnam shall forthwi^i^
make such repayre of a highway leading from mr John Endicots his
farme to goodman huchissons house as in their discressions they
shall Judg meete & to be paid by the towne.t

The selectmen of Salem, June 10, 1668,

Ordered that a highway shalbe layd out beginginge at Rich Huch-
enfons feild and foe to run to the beauer dame neare to Serg Porters
meadow & fo to the extend of the bounds and w^i flint & ferg Rich
Leech ar Impowrd to lay it out, and to make a return to the felect
men.t

Oct. 22, 1668, Messrs. Flint and Leech made the fol-
lowing return of the laying out of this new way : —

By an order of the selectmen dated the 10 4 mo 68 Sergant lech &
Willum flint were to laye out a hiewaye from Richard Hutchsones
feeld to the extent of the boundes the way is layed out as foleth:
from a great whit oak stump be twixt the said hutchsons feld where
the waye turnes to beuer dam we apoynt the waye to Rune where it
is to the top of the hill neare where free mens hous was & so by

•Salem Town Records, volume I, page 165 (printed).
tSalem Town Records, volume I, page 200 (printed).
tSalem Town Records, volume II, page 103.

o3 g^<iD

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 101

the side of the fil to two trees at beuer dam: the trees be one on
one sid the brouk & the other on the other sid neare the bound tree
betwixt Tho Putnam & Robert Prince & from there to tlie uper end
of Thomas Putnams feld two pole with out the fenc to a bound tree
that be long^es to Tho Putnam Robert Princ Jo Putnam & henry
keney the stump to be in the midel of the hieway & the way to Run
straight from thenc betwixt two walenut trees marked entring in to
a ualea on the East sid of Tho Putnams bound tree : & from the
north end of the ualea to a rock neare mr Rukes boundes that is in
the way with a litel tre marked on the south East sid tlie waye neare
the Rock from thenc Cros mr Ruckes land as the waye Runes to a
Red oake marked neare to a great whit oake burned at the bottom
that stands neare about the line be twixt nath Putnam & mr. Ruck
«& this hiway to be tow pole wid from one end to the other witnes
our handes 22th 8mo 68

William flint
the mak of Ricuard leach.*

Dec. 1, 1G70, John Porter, sr., agreed with John and
Joseph Hutchinson that the latter two have liberty to
set up a saw mill on the dam, " pvided that they dam not
upp the water untill the first of Noveml/ and that they
lett it out on the tenth of the second m° followinge that
by longer stoppinge the water the sd Porters meadow doe
not suffer damage unless the sd Porter shall consent to
any longer time. That soe longe as the sd Hutchinsons
doe continue a mill on that dam they doe consent and
agree to maintaine and preserue the sd dam and since at
theire owne charge," etc.f Lt. Thomas Putnam complained
that the Hutchinsons allowed the highway at Beaver dam
to be unsafe and impassable for travelers by reason of
the mill and dam ; and, after hearing, March 2G, 1672,
the Ipswich court ordered that the dam be pulled down,
so as to make the way passable, or else sufficiently repair
it. In his complaint, Lieutenant Putnam declared that
as he was riding over the causeway and bridge here at
Beaver dam the water had so washed away the gravel on
the causeway that his horse fell in with his hind legs ; that
" Allso I haue no cart way ouer : the bridg is part of
it Careyed out the Place : there is no font way ouer but
by wadding : the Cunstebel nath Ingrson Com to my house
& said he was faint to put ofe his shoues & stockinges to

♦Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, toI-
ume V, page 26.

tRecords and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, vol-
ume V, page 27.

102 THE PLAINS : PART OP SALEM IN 1700,

Com ouer : I was greatly depriued of my neborhod ; I
am also depriued of the benefit of my on land where I
formerly lined hauing Eight or tenn akers fenced in that
hath much Tnglish gras for sheep & lames & nether sheep
nor lames Can pase in the hieway with safty at beuer
dam : I was faint to Carey my goodes to toune on horse
bake that went with mr grafton wich is a great damag to
me to go so often : «& if I should be shut up wich I shall
if they Can for ther Counant with John Porter senor is
from a bout the first of nouember to the tenth of apriel :
to be this long kept Prisnor will be the way to Ruene me
& mine for euer, hauing no other way laid out to my
farme but that : & they that spoyle the way Is Joseph
huchinson & John huchinson by stoping the water with
there dam at there saw mill from time to time before the
mill went & sine," etc.*

William Nichols and John Nichols, both of Topsfield,
and Zachery Curtis of Rowley (Boxford) also complained
of " want of the hiewaye at beuer dam wich is there waye
to salam to the in Joyeing godes ordenences to the mill &
to the market : the bridg being part of it Careyed out of
the Place the water being Rased neare a foote aboue the
timber that is left : the water being Rased in the hiewaye
neare twelue fete together except upone on banke wich
is a verey great damag unto them in there busines &
might be a great damag to there Cattel & there one per-
sones if they should venter ouer wich they dare not do :
there fore they humbly sue for relefe it being both a
toune & Cuntry hiewaye."f

William Nichols deposed that " he was Riding to Mr.
Endecottes & henry keney told him he Could not get ouer
at beuer dam : but I Road to se & when I Came there the
water was Rased so hie with the dam stoping of it at the
sae mill : . . . I durst not Rid ouer the bridg but went
about by John Putnams : & sine I was Riding to mill
with a grist & durst not Rid ouer but went with my grist
by John Putnams : I haue Corne to Carey to Salem with

•Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, vol-
ume V, page 25.

t Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, vol-
ume V, page 26.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 103

my Cart the bridge at beuer dam is so spoyled that I Can
not go ouer with my cart : & haue no other way but that
exept I go a great way about where is wores way for me
& my oxen than that was : the time that I have bin put
by at this bridg hath bine this mo. of March 71-72."*

This mill was probably removed down stream about
thirty rods at this time or soon after.

Nichols street was called a county road in 1854 ; and
Nichols street in 1882.

Pine street was called the highway in 1718 ; ye path in
1734 ; ye country road in 1758 ; a road leading to Salem
in 1785 ; road leading to Middleton in 1842 ; and Pine
street in 1855. Giles bridge on Pine street was so called
in 1718.

Maple street was called the highway (near Forest
street) in 1709 ; the Topsfield road (near the Square) in
1754 ; a road leading to Beverly in 1785 ; the county
road leading to Middleton in 1853 ; the Middleton road
in 1866 ; and Maple street in the same year. The bridge
over the brook near Vineyard street was built before
1763. Vineyard street was there as early as 1734 ; and
was so called in 1879.

Forest street was laid out in 1675 as a way to the Vil-
lage meeting house. It was called ye highway laid out
from Beaver dam to ye meeting house in 1705 ; and For-
est street in 1882.

Hobart street was so called in 1858.

Holten street was called the road leading from the
Holten place to the Plains in 1836 ; Village street in
1844 ; and Holten street in 1872.

Cherry street was so called in 1844.

Essex street was called Ropes street in 1845.

Putnam street was called a new street in 1859 ; and
Putnam street in 1882.

The Burial Place. This is probably the oldest burial
place in Danvers. Probably the earlier Porters and Put-
nams were buried here. The oldest stones now standing
in it are of the family of Jonathan Putnam, and bear
dates of 1682.

•Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, vol-
ume V, page 29.

104 THE PLAINS: PART OF SALEM IN 1700,

Estate of John Porter Lot. This tract of land was the
grant made to Rev, Samuel Skelton, pastor of the church
in Salem, by the general court, July 3, 1632, being de-
scribed in the record of the grant as a " necke of land,
lyeing aboute 3 myles fro Salem, cont aboute 200 ac, . .
called by the Indeans Wahquack, bounded on the south
vpon a little ryv' called by the Indeans Conamabsqnoon-
cant ; vpon the north abutting on another ryver, called
by the Indeans Pouomeneuhcant; & on the east, on the
same ryv'."*

A caveat of the sale of one neck of land in Salem, lying
between Crane river and Woolastons river, by Samuel
Skelton, for forty-one pounds, to John Porter of Salem,
reserving to said Samuel Skelton sixty acres of said neck
lying further west, is recorded, dated March 8, 1649.f

John Porter died Sept. 6, 1676, possessed of the tract,
which was then appraised at four hundred pounds. He
gave in his will sixty acres, that had been received of Mr.
Skelton's daughter, to his son Israel Porter ; and the re-
maining one hundred and fifty acres to his sons Joseph,
Benjamin and Israel. This neck remained undivided
until 1716, when a division occurred according to a plan
on file in the office of the probate court at Salem, which
plan is herewith reproduced.

Upon Crane river, at the old Ipswich road, was erected
a saw mill by John Porter and Mr. Endecott before 1673.
In John Porter's will, proved in 1676, his interest in it
was devised to his son Israel Porter, who probably owned
it in 1700.

Israel Porter House. This tract of land was the three
hundred acres granted by the town of Salem to Elder
Samuel Sharp Jan. 23, 1636-7 ; and was conveyed by him
to John Porter of Salem, yeoman, for one hundred and
ten pounds, Sept. 12, 1646. J Mr. Porter built a house
thereon, and died Sept. 6, 1676, having in his will devised
the land and buildings to his son Israel Porter. The
dwelling house, barn and land were then appraised at six

*Records of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, volume I,
page 97.
tKssex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 8.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 3.

3 m

i o

BY SIDNEY PEKLEY. 105

hundred pounds. Israel Porter lived here, and died Nov.
-, 1706, havinir devised his housing and lands to his son
Benjamin, subject to the Hfe estate of his wife in one-half
of the same. Benjamin Porter died Dec. — , 1726, liaving
in his will devised this real estate to his sons John and
Benjamin Porter, both of Salem, yeomen. John Porter
released the buildings and hind to his brother Benjamin
Porter April 8, 1741.* Benjamin Porter lived here, and
died June 10, 1794, possessed of the house and land. The
real estate was divided April 2, 1796; and the western
half of the house and land around it was assigned to his
daughter Huldah Kimball, wife of Thomas Kimball of
Wenham, and the other half of the house to her brother
James Porter. Mrs. Kimball and her husband conveyed
her part of the house and land to Caleb Oakes of Dan-
vers, cordwainer, Feb. 29, 1796.t Mr. Oakes fell from
his barn window Sept. 19, 1831, and died in an hour or
two, leaving children, William, Nancy and Mehitable.
His widow Mehitable died in 1837. William Oakes of
Ipswich, esquire, conveyed his one-third interest in the
house and land to his sister Nancy Oakes of Dan vers, sin-
glewoman, Feb. 8, 1838.J Nancy Oakes became insane,
and her guardian, John G. King, conveyed her two-thirds
interest in the estate to Alfred Trask of Danvers, drover,
July 6, 1849 ;§ and on the same day her sister, Mehitable
O. Williams of Salem, widow of John S. Williams, re-
leased her interest to Mr. Trask. || Mr. Trask owned the
house when it was destroyed by fire Sept. 19, 1865, the
anniversary of Mr. Oakes' fatality. The following ac-
count of the fire was given in the South Danvers Wizard,
in its issue of Sept. 27, 1865 : —

Fire in Danvers. About eleven o'clock on Tuesday nigbt, of
last week, there was an alarm of fire, caused by the burning of the
old Jacobs' house, long unoccupied, near the Univcrsalist church,
Danvers.

The house faced toward the south, and was two stories in
height, with a leanto. The front door was midway of the

•Essex Registry of Deeds, book 81, leaf 154.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 160, leaf 189.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 310, leaf 242.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 413, leaf 289.
II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 413, leaf 290.

106 THE PLAINS : PART OF SALEM IN 1700,

house, with large rooms on either side in both stories, and
each of these rooms had two windows in front. There
was a window over the front door, in the upper hall. The
chimney was of immense size, and furnished large fire-
places in each of the chambers and the front rooms down
stairs. The kitchen fireplace was also great. There were
doors in each end of the house, and on the eastern end a
small entry. Each gable contained a small window, and
each room in the main part of the house had one window
in either end. The kitchen also had a window at each end
of the leanto. The walls of the front and ends of the
house were lined with brick its full height.

The well was located near the northeastern corner of
the house.

Nathaniel Putnam House. The southwestern portion of
this lot of land was conveyed by Richard Hutchinson to
Nathaniel Putnam in 1651.* The remainder of the lot is
the hundred acres of land which was granted by the town
of Salem to fJohn Putnam of Salem, yeoman, Jan. 20,
1640-1, it being described as "one hundred acres of land
at the head of Mr. Skelton's ffarme betweene it & Elias
Stileman the elder his fl'arme, if there be an hundred
acres of it." Mr. Putnam conveyed one-half of the lot
to his son Nathaniel Putnam of Salem March 2, 1653-4,f
and the other half was conveyed to Nathaniel by his
brothers Thomas and John Putnam of Salem, farmers,
with their father's consent, April 17, 1662.J Nathaniel
Putnam built a dwelling house upon the lot, in which he
lived. He died July 23, 1700, having devised "the farm
where I now dwell " to his son Benjamin Putnam. Capt.
Benjamin Putnam died in 1715(?), having devised to his
sons Nathaniel and Tarrant Putnam " the ffarm I now
dwell upon." Tarrant Putnam had the buildings and
land, and he died in 1732. The buildings and seventy
acres of land were then appraised at eight hundred and
seventy-five pounds. The northern part of the house,
which was two stories in height and large, was assigned
to his widow Elizabeth as a part of her dower July 18,

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 17.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 2, leaf 57.
t Essex Registry of Deeds, book 2, leaf 56.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 107

1757 ; and the southern part to his son Gideon Putnam.
Gideon Putnam became the sole owner of the house and
land around it; and he died May 17, 1811. The estate
then descended to his son Judge Samuel Putnam, who
removed the old house in 1818.

The lot marked " Pease's meadow " was conveyed by
John Pease to Richard Hutchinson of Salem, husband-
man, who conveyed it to his son Joseph Hutchinson of
Salem, yeoman, in 1666.* Joseph Hutchinson owned it
in 1700.

Sarah Whipple House. Richard Hutchinson of Salem,
husbandman, for love, conveyed to his son John Hutchin-
son of Salem " my now dwelling house," barn and land,
May 16, 1666. f John Hutchinson was dead in the sum-
mer of 1676, at the age of thirty-three, and the estate
descended to his only child Sarah, who was then only
three years of age. She married Joseph Whipple in 1691 ;
and lived in this house. She and her husband, for love,
conveyed to their son Joseph Whipple of Salem, yeoman,
the western half of the house and land on its western
side Dec. 31, 1726;:}; and the rest of the house, barn and
land " where I now live " Dec. 2, 1734.§ Dea. Joseph
Whipple died in the summer of 1740. The house faced
the south, was two-storied, and then called a small house.
His wife survived him, and married, secondly, Solomon
Martain of Andover. The real estate was assigned to
their eldest son Matthew Whipple April 20, 1752. The
house was then described as ** an Old Houfe Eftemeed
Uninhabitable." Matthew Whipple lived here, and died
June 26, 1756. His widow Sarah married, secondly, Sam-
uel Herrick of Reading Oct. 13, 1761. In the appraisal
of Mr. Whipple's estate, the dwelling is called " an old
house." The title descended to his son Matthew Whip-
ple, who died in 1783. His widow and administratrix,
Mercy Whipple, conveyed four-sixths of the house and
land assigned as dower to her husband's mother to James
Smith of Danvers, yeoman, Nov. 29, 1785. || The house

•Essex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf 18.
tEssei Registry of Deeds, book 2, leaf 120.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 67, leaf 231.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 67, leaf 232.
IIEssex Registry of Deeds, book 147, leaf 284.

108 THE PLAINS : PART OF SALEM IN 1700,

was standing in 1798,* and is said to have been removed
about 1808, when the highway was straightened. It
stood in the course of the new road, as it now runs, about
two hundred feet westerly of the present railroad bridge
on Maple street.

Benjamin Porter Lot. This lot was probably the one
hundred acres granted by the town of Salera to John
Stratton of Salem March 31, 1638. f But he went away,
and the grant was made over to Daniel Denison of Ipswich,
esquire, and afterwards conveyed to Simon Bradstreet of
Boston, esquire. Nov. 27, 1656, the selectmen of Salem
laid it out " as conveniently as may be for Serg. Jn**
Porter."^ Sergeant Porter had already bought this land
of Mr. Bradstreet, but no deed was passed until Feb. 11,
1679.§

The one and a half acres of meadow land on the west-
erly side of the brook was conveyed by John Hutchinson,
of Salem to John Porter, sr., of Salem, farmer, Nov. 80,
1670.11 It had been a part of the grantor's *' father Rich-
ard Huchessons fence, that was given to him by the Towne
of Salem."

Sergeant Porter died Sept. 6, 1676, having devised the
entire lot to his son Benjamin Porter, who owned it in
1700.

James Prince House. This was the eastern part of the
one hundred and fifty acres granted to William Pester by
the town of Salem July 16, 1638. It belonged to Wil-
liam Trask of Salem Dec. 20, 1655, when he conveyed it
to Robert Prince of Salem.^ Mr. Prince built a house
upon the lot and lived in it. He died June 4, 1674,
having devised to his sons James and Joseph Prince " all
my houses and fences and land." They were both under
age, and the land was to be divided when they became of
age. His widow Sarah was to " have the hous and land
untille my sons Come unto age," etc. Mrs. Prince mar-

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 164, leaf 87.
tSalem Town Records, volum« I, page 68 (printed).
JSalem Town Records, volume I, page 194 (printed).
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 7, leaf 16.
II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 4, leaf 78.
HEssex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 51.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 109

ried, secondly, Alexander Osborne, an Irishman, who
vainly attempted to hold the property after the boys were
of age. She was bedridden, and convicted as a witch.
She died in Boston jail May 10, 1692. The sons divided
the estate May 21, 1696, this part, with the house tliere-
on, being assigned to James Prince.* James Prince lived
here, being a yeoman, and died in 1724, having devised
the estate to his sons James and David, both of Salem,
yeomen. These brothers made a division of the estate
April 5, 1727, and the buildings and land around them
were released to James Prince, f James Prince lived
here, and died in 1775. In his will he devised the estate
to his sons David and John. The buildings and one hun-
dred and ten acres of land were then appraised at eleven
hundred pounds. David Prince of Danvers, cordwainer,
died Jan. 28, 1797, having in his will devised his interest
in the place to his brother John Prince of Danvers. John
Prince of Danvers, yeoman, conveyed the farm and build-
ings to Nathan Peirce of Salem Jan. 6, 1800 ;:{: and thus
the old homestead went out of the possession of the fam-
ily. Mr. Peirce never lived here probably, and died pos-
sessed of the place in 1812. He left a will which had
but two witnesses, and was therefore not allowed by the
court ; but as the heirs-at-law requested in writing that it
be allowed it was recorded. In it, this farm was devised
to his son George Peirce of Salem, merchant. June 1,
1812, Kebecca Peirce, widow of the deceased, and Sarah
Needham, widow, Nathan Peirce, merchant, Stephen Phil-
lips, merchant, and wife Elizabeth, and Samuel Upton,
merchant, and wife Rebecca, in a division of the estate,
released this farm to George Prince, in compliance with
the terms of the will.§ George Peirce died in 1822,
probably never having lived here. In his will, ho devised
all his estate to his wife Elizabeth. She died in March,
1826, intestate, and the property descended to her chil-
dren, George, William Putnam, Elizabeth Phillips, Sarah
Rebecca and Susan Clark, all minors. Their guardian,

•Essex Registry of Deeds, book 38, leaf 54.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 51, leaf 213.
:!:Essex Registry of Deeds, book 160, leaf 133.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 197, leaf 32.

110 THE plains: PART OF SALEM IN 1700,

Michael Shepard of Salem, merchant, conveyed the farm,
with the dwelling house thereon, to Stephen Phillips of
Salem, merchant, July 7, 1826.* Mr. Phillips never
lived here probably, and conveyed it to Charles Law-
rence and George W. Endicott, both of Salem, mer-
chants, July 7, 1838.1 These grantees conveyed
three-fourths of their interest in the estate to Abby
P. Lawrence, Eliza C. Lawrence and Mary N. Lawrence,
all of Salem, singlewomen, Sept. 17, 1838 ;$ and the re-
maining quarter to Abigail Lawrence of Salem, widow,
Sept. 7, 1838. § Charles Lawrence, Eliza C. Lawrence
and Mary N. Lawrence, all of Danvers, Abel Lawrence,
Abel L. Peirson and wife Harriet,Mary W. Lawrence, Car-
oline W. Lawrence, Elizabeth C. Lawrence, Edward B.
Lawrence, Abel L. Pierson, jr., Abby L. Peirson and
Harriet L. Peirson, all of Salem, Benjamin Perkins and
wife Jane L., Charles L. Perkins, Benjamin Perkins, jr.,
Mary L. Perkins, Jane L. Perkins, jr., Francis B. Perkins
and George E. Perkins, all of Roxbury, conveyed the
estate to George Nichols, jr., of Salem, tanner, April 5,
1853. II Mr. Nichols removed to this farm and became a
farmer ; and, for eighty-five hundred dollars, conveyed
the land and buildings to Stephen Driver of Salem, shoe
manufacturer, Nov. 18, 1854.1^ To this date, the second
story of the house projected over the first story the cus-
tomary distance, and Mr. Driver built out the first story
to make it even with the second, except for a slight dis-
tance a few inches were left overhanging at the western
end. The rooms were not enlarged, however, the inside
of the wall not being changed. Mr. Driver died Sept. 16,
1868, intestate, leaving widow Susan P. Driver and chil-
dren Helen E. Brooks, wife of David Brainard Brooks,
and Stephen P. Driver, all of Salem, Susan S. Driver of
Danvers, George H. S. Driver and Samuel Driver, both
of Lynn, and William P. Fuller and Helen E. Fuller,
children of a deceased daughter M. B. Fuller. The farm

•Essex Registry of Deeds, book 242, leaf 86.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 307, leaf 64.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 308, leaf 156.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 308, leaf 156.
II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 476, leaf 96.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 503, leaf 169.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. Ill

then consisted of the house, etc., and one hundred and
twelve acres of land, and was appraised at twelve thousand
dollars. Susan P. Driver, widow, Stephen P. Driver,
David Brainard Brooks and wife Helen E. Brooks, Susan
S. Driver, singlewoman, and William P. Fuller, the
younger, all of Salem, and George H. S. Driver and Sam-
uel Driver, both of Lynn, for twelve thousand and five
hundred dollars, conveyed the estate to George M. Under-
wood of Pawtucket, R. I., April 28, 1869* Mr. Under-
wood removed to Danvers, and conveyed the estate to
Jacob E. Spring of Brownfield, Me., Feb. 7, 1872.1 Mr.
Sprhig removed to Danvers, and mortgaged the property
to the Chelsea Savings Bank Feb. 26, 1887. J The mort-
gage was foreclosed by auction sale to Eben Hutchinson
of Chelsea June 14, 1890 ;§ and Mr. Hutchinson recon-
veyed the estate to the bank June 21, 1890.^ The bank
conveyed it to John B. Van der Wee and John B. Ridder,
both of Baltimore, Md., and John Griffin of Lowell Aug.
3, 1891 ;|| and John B. Van der Wee of Boston, John G.
Ridder of Baltimore, Md., and John Griffin of Richmond,
Va., conveyed it to the St. John's Normal College of Dan-
vers (a Massachusetts corporation) Oct. 9, 1891.** The
corporation continued to own the house until about 1915,
when it was sold to Daniel Cahill, who removed it to
Maple street, where it is still used for its original pur-
pose.

John Putnam, sr., and Nathaniel Ingersoll deposed that
Lt. Thomas Putnam, sr., deceased, possessed and planted
two or three acres of land at the northeast corner of this
lot from 1652 to 1662, and afterwards as long as he lived,
and that now Joseph Putnam is in possession of it, and
Thomas Putnam often said that he had bought it of Capt.
William Trask and that Captain Trask said that he had
sold it to Thomas Putnam. Sworn to June 25, 1700. ff

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 771, leaf 184.

tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 847, leaf 91.

JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 1191, leaf 265.

§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1284, page 208.

II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1284, page 216.

i[Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1319, page 541.
••Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1324, page 409.
ttEssex Registry of Deeds, book 18, leaf 301.

112 THE PLAINS ; PART OF SALEM IN 1700.

Joseph Prince House. This was the western portion of
the one hundred and sixty-five acres granted by the town
of Salem to William Pester July 16, 1638. It belonged
to William Trask of Salem Dec. 20, 1655, when he con-
veyed it to Robert Prince of Salem.* Mr. Prince died
June 4, 1674, having devised the estate to his sons James
and Joseph. These brothers made a division of the estate
May 21, 1696, and this part was assigned to Joseph
Prince, who built a house thereon. f Mr. Prince was a
yeoman, and lived here. He died in 1744, and the estate
descended to his son Timothy Prince of Danvers, hus-
bandman. Timothy Prince conveyed the land and build-
ings to John Nichols of Danvers, yeoman, March 23,
1761. :{: Mr. Nichols died in the winter of 1792-3, having
in his will devised the land and buildings " where I now
live " to his daughter Eunice, wife of Andrew Nichols.
The one hundred and two acres of land and the buildings
were then appraised at six hundred and sixty-one pounds
and ten shillings. Eunice Nichols of Danvers, widow,
for one thousand dollars, convoyed the house and land
around it to her son Abel Nichols of Danvers, yeoman.
May 27, 1836.§ Abel Nichols died April 23, 1846, in-
testate, leaving widow Sally and children Abel Nichols
and Sarah P. Page, wife of Charles Page. Sally Nichols
of Danvers, widow, and Charles Page of Lawrence, yeo-
man, and wife Sarah P. Page, for twenty-five hundred
dollars, released the estate to Abel Nichols of Danvers,
artist, Jan. 1, 1850 ;|| and Abel Nichols of Danvers, now
cormorant in Italy, artist, for fifty-five hundred dollars,
conveyed the house, barn and land to Susan S. Kimball,
wife of Edward D. Kimball of Salem, Sept. 25, 1855.^
The house was removed in 1857 by Mrs. Kimball.

Benjamin Porter and Israel Porter Lot. This was the
seventy-five acres early granted by the town of Salem to
Charles Gott of Salem ; and he conveyed it to John Por-

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 51.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 38, leaf 54.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 156, leaf 66.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 289, leaf 131.
II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 421, leaf 290.
lIEssex Registry of Deeds, book 521, leaf 21.

BY STDNEY PERLEY. 113

ter of Salem, yeoman, March 4, 1653-4.* Mr. Porter
died Sept. 6, 1676, having devised it to his son Benjamin
Porter of Salem, husbandman, who conveyed one-half of
it to his brother Israel Porter Jan. 29, 1676-7.t The lot
belonged to Benjamin Porter and Israel Porter in 1700.

Daniel Rea House. The town of Salem granted this
tract of land to Daniel Rea about 1637. He died in 1662 ;
and he stated orally just before his death that he wished
his son Joshua Rea to have the improvement of the whole
farm " where he lives " until the latter's son Daniel shall
become of age, when Daniel shall have the farm, subject
to a life estate of Joshua in one-half of it. Joshua Rea
died in the autumn of 1710 ; and his son Daniel Rea died
in the winter of 1714-5. In his will he gave to his son
Daniel land he had " given him by deed of gift," and
the rest of this farm to his son Zerubabel Rea ; but
*' Some Small time before his Death did Declare that his
mind was altered relating to this farme and had Declared
his mind to severall of his friends, but had not an opper-
tunity to make an alteration of his will in writing . . .
being that farm he did Dwell upon." Therefore they
amicably divided the farm, as their father wished, March
8, 1714-54 ^^ t^^i^ division, Zerubabel Rea received the
buildings and land around them. Zerubabel Rea died in
the winter of 1789-40, intestate. In the division of his
real estate, made among his children Nov. 3, 1752, the
buildings and land around them were assigned to his
daughter Sarah Brown. The title is not clear for some
years after this time. Later in the century the owner
was Edmund Putnam. Edmund Putnam of Danvers,
gentleman, and his wife Anna conveyed to Israel Putnam,
3d, of Danvers, yeoman, these buildings and land Jan.
10, 1800. § This was called " the south farm." Israel
Putnam died in 1820 ; and his son Elias Putnam, yeoman,
and wife Eunice, and Nathaniel Boardman, cordwainer,
and wife Nancy, daughter of the deceased, conveyed their
interest in the buildings and land to their sister Polly Put-

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 22; book 16, leaf 106.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 4, leaf 178.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 27, leaf 112.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 166, leaf 136.

114 THE PLAINS: PART OF SALEM IN 1700,

nam, minor, Jan. 21, 1823.* Polly Putnam married
Israel Endicott, jr., mariner ; and she and her husband
conveyed the house, barn and land to Elias Putnam of
Danvers, yeoman, Dec. 25, 1827. f Hon. Elias Putnam
died July 8, 1847. The ♦* old house " and land were then
appraised at sixteen hundred dollars. His real estate was
divided Jan. 10, 1850 ; and this part of the land, with
the dwelling house and barn thereon, was released to Rev.
Clarence Fowler and Albert A. Fowler, both of Danvers,
children of Emily Fowler, deceased, who was daughter
of the deceased.:}: These brothers released the property
to their father Augustus Fowler of Danvers, farmer, May
10, 1866.§ Mr. Fowler died Feb. 12, 1894 ; and under a
compromise of his will this estate was transferred to his
grandchildren, the children of his son Clarence, namely^
Mary Bigelow, wife of P. Challis Bartlett, Emily Fowler
and Albert Brown Fowler, all of Danvers. They still
own " the old mansion house " and land.

Daniel Andrew Houses. The principal part of that part
of this lot lying easterly of the dashes was the two hun-
dred acres granted by the town of Salem to Allen Kenis-
ton of Salem Feb. 4, 1638-9. || He died late in the
autumn of 1648, having devised his estate to his wife
Dorothy. She married, secondly, Philip Cromwell of
Salem, butcher, and they conveyed the farm to John Por-
ter of Salem, yeoman, Oct. 22, 1653.^ Mr. Porter died
Sept. 6, 1676, having devised this tract to his daughters
Mary, wife of Thomas Gardner, and Sarah, wife of Dan-
iel Andrew of Salem, mason. Mr. Gardner conveyed
his wife's half of it to Mr. Andrew Dec. 17,
1677.** Mr. Andrew erected a house upon the prem-
ises, and died of small pox Dec. 3, 1702. In his
will he had devised the estate to his sons Daniel
and Thomas Andrew. Thomas Andrew, cooper, John
Andrew, tailor, and Samuel Andrew, tanner, all of

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 242, leaf 30,
tKssex Registry of Deeds, book 247, leaf 240.
JP^ssex Registry of Deeds, book 422, leaf 252,
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 731, leaf 31.
llSalem Town Records, volume I, page 81 (printed).
lEssex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 20.
*»Essex Registry of Deeds, book 8, leaf 119.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 115

Salem, released their interest in the dwelling house, barn
and land to their brother Daniel Andrew of Salem, hus-
bandman, May 3, 1737.* The next owner appears to be
Samuel Andrew. Samuel Andrew of Danvers, tailorf for
eight hundred and twenty-five pounds, conveyed the land
and buildings to John Lee of Marblehead March 23,
1778 ;t and.for two hundred and twenty-five pounds, Mr.
Lee conveyed the same to John Shelden of Danvers, hus-
bandman, April 13, 1784.:}: Mr. Shelden, for three hun-
dred and nine pounds, conveyed the land and buildings to
Zadoc Wilkins of Danvers, husbandman, May 28, 1788.§
Mr. Wilkins died March 22, 1832; and his son Joel Wil-
kins came into the possession of the estate, and lived here.
He conveyed to his sister Betsey Sears for her life and to
her daughter Mary Ann Sears, while she remained un-
married, the east lower room and west chamber " in my
house occupied by me," etc., March 12, 1838 ;|| and Mrs.
Sears released the above interests to Mr. Wilkins, the
house being " the late house of my father Zadoc Wil-
kins," May 23, 1851.^ Mr. Wilkins removed the old
house, and erected a new one in its place soon after.

That part of this lot lying westerly of the dashes was
conveyed by Daniel Andrew to Peter Cloyce of Salem
Village, yeoman, before 1682. Mr. Cloyce probably
built a house thereon in which he lived, and from which
his wife Sarah was taken to prison as a witch in 1692.
She was a sister of Rebecca Nurse. Mrs. Cloyce was
convicted, but escaped execution. For eighty pounds,
Mr. Cloyce conveyed this house and land to Mr, Andrew
Oct. 23, 1693.** Mr. Andrew died possessed of the same
Dec. 3, 1702, having devised the estate to his daughter
Sarah Andrew. She married Francis Dodge, yeoman.
The house was gone before 1737, apparently.

Jonathan Putnam House. That part of this lot lying
easterly of the northeasterly dashes was probably the

♦Essex Registry of Deeds, book 75, leaf T9.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 137, leaf 31.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 137, leaf 208.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 151, leaf 133.
II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 305, leaf 38.
•JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 445, leaf 121.
**Essex Registry of Deeds, book 9, leaf 200.

116 THE PLAINS: PART OF SALEM IN 1700,

thirty acres of land granted by the town of Salem to the
widow Scarlett about 1636. It came into the hands of
Thomas Rix of Salem, barber, who conveyed it to John
Putnam, jr., of Salem Jan. 14, 1660.*

That part of the lot lying between the dashes was prob-
ably the eighty acres of land which was granted by the
town of Salem to Richard Waterman in 1637. He " de-
serted it," and the town granted it to Lieutenant Daven-
port and Thomas Lathrop Nov. 29, 1642. f Nathaniel
Putnam of Salem, yeoman, conveyed to John Putnam,
sr., of Salem, yeoman, his interest in the Waterman orrant
Feb. 19, 1682-3.+

That part of the lot lying westerly of the westerly
dashes was granted by the town of Salem to Ralph Fogg
of Salem very earl}' ; and he conveyed it to John Putnam
April 14, 1652.§

For love, John Putnam conveyed the entire lot to his
son Jonathan Putnam Jan. 23, 1690; || and Jonathan Put-
nam probably built a house thereon. He conveyed to
James Bound of Salem, tailor, three-quarters of an acre
of his lot on the highway Feb. 15, 1715-6;^ and to his
son Jonathan Putnam, jr., of Salem, husbandman, the
dwelling house " the grantee now dwells in " and one-
third of the farm the grantor then lived upon June 10,
1718.** Apparently the son Jonathan sold his house to
Mr. Bound, who removed it to his lot, and Mr. Putnam
erected a new house on his own lot. Mr. Bound recon-
veyed to Mr. Putnam his land with the dwelling house
thereon, for seventy pounds, Jan. 29, 1725-6 ;f f and Mr.
Putnam died Jan. 17, 1732, possessed of the two houses
and farm. In the division of his real estate, Oct. 1 2,
1741, there was assigned to his son David Putnam a piece
of land with " an old dwelling house standing thereon
called Bound's house," the house and barn being valued

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 2, leaf 9.
tSalem Town Kecords, volume I, page 114 (printed).
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 6, leaf 77.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 22; book 6, leaf 77.
II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 9, leaf 42.
lEssex Registry of Deeds, book 33, leaf 232.
*»Essex Registry of Deeds, book 43, leaf 200.
ttEssex Registry of Deeds, book 45, leaf 190.

BY SIDNEY' PBRLEY. 117

at twenty-five pounds and the fifty-five acres of land at
seven pounds. The old house probably existed only a
short time longer.

James Putnam House. That part of this lot of land
lying northerly of the dashes was a part of the grant
made by the town of Salem to Lt. Richard Davenport
Nov. 26, 1638 ;* and Captain Davenport conveyed the
entire grant to John Putnam, sr., Richard Huchinson and
Daniel Ray of Salem and Mr. John Hathorne of Lynn
Oct. 31, 1661. t Apparently, the house upon the Daven-
port farm was situated on this portion of it, and was oc-
cupied for two years about 1647 by Thomas Hobbs, who
hired a part of the farm. The house was probably the
home of the original John Putnam from that time until
his death.

That part of the lot lying southerly of the dashes was
granted to Ralph Fogg of Salem very early ; and he con-
veyed it to John Putnam April 14, 1652,:}: In this deed,
the land is located as " betweene old father Putnam's
farm & Daniel Raies."

John Putnam died Dec. 30, 1662, possessed of the en-
tire lot. The estate descended to his son Capt. John
Putnam of Salem, who, for love, conveyed the house and
land to his son Lt. James Putnam of Salem, husbandman,
Jan. 25, 1690. § Lieutenant Putnam conveyed the estate
to his son Jethro Putnam of Salem, yeoman, Jan. 5,
1721-2. II Jethro Putnam probably removed the old
house.

The road from this house out to Beaver dam (a part of
which is now Spring street) was a private way and so
called ever since as late as 1869.

Benjamin Putnam Lot. This lot of land was a portion
of the grant of the town of Salem to Lt. Richard Daven-
port Nov. 26, 1638 ;* and Captain Davenport conveyed
the whole of his grant to John Putnam, sr., Richard
Huchesson and Daniel Ray of Salem and Mr. John

*Salem Town Records, volume I, page 75 (printed).
^Essex Registry of Deeds, book 2, leaf 55.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 1, leaf 22; book 6, leaf 77.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 13, leaf 30.
IIEssex Registry of Deeds, book 38, leaf 234.

118 THE PLAINS: PART OF SALEM IN 1700,

Hathorne of Lynn Oct. 31, 1661.* Mr. Putnam, the
elder, of Salem, yeoman, conveyed this part of the farm
to his son Nathaniel Putnam of Salem March 2, 1653-4 ;t
and Richard Huchenson of Salem, yeoman, in considera-
tion of the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth to Nathan-
iel Putnam of Salem, yeoman, conveyed to Elizabeth and
her husband the grantor's fourth part of the Davenport
farm Aug. 10, 1656. J Nathaniel Putnam, for love, con-
veyed it to his son Benjamin Putnam of Salem Dec. 8,
1695. § Benjamin Putnam owned the lot in 1700.

Joseph Putnam Lot. This lot was a part of the Daven-
port farm, and it belonged to Jonathan Putnam in 1662
and to Joseph Putnam in 1693 and 1700.

The northerly end of it was meadow land, and known
as Peter's meadow. The northern lot belonged to Ralph
Fogg ; and John Putnam, sr., of Salem, conveyed the
northerly half of it to his son Jonathan Putnam Jan. 23,
1690-1. II John Bullock of Salem, innkeeper, conveyed
ten acres on the northerly part of Peter's meadow to Mr.
Samuel Parris, minister, Jonathan Putnam, husbandman,
and John Putnam, 3d, husbandman, all of Salem, " bound-
ed on the Est & on the north w"' the upland & on the
weft w*^ the meadow of Joseph Putnam & on the South
w*^ the meadow of Henry Browne & the meadow of Joseph
Putnam," Aug. 13, 1693.^ John Putnam, sr., of Salem
and wife Elizabeth, for love, conveyed to his son John
Putnam, jr., ten acres in this meadow next to the meadow
of James Prince Dec. 26, 1696.*"^

John Putnam House. This lot of land was a portion of
the grant of the town of Salem to Lt. Richard Davenport
Nov. 26, 1638;ff and it became the estate of Capt. Thomas
Lathrop of Salem. Captain Lathrop removed to Beverly,
and was ambushed and massacred by the Indians, with his
military company, " The Flower of Essex," at South

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 2, leaf 55.

tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 2, leaf 57.

JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf 158.

§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 11, leaf 133.

II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 9, leaf 42.

lEssex Registry of Deeds, book 9, leaf 127.
**Essex Registry of Deeds, book 11, leaf 123.
ttSalem Town Records, volume I, page 75 (printed).

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 119

Deerfield, Sept. 18, 1675. He died, childless, and his
only heir was his sister Ellen, wife of Ezekiel Cheever of
Boston, schoolmaster. By the general court, the real es-
tate of the deceased was assigned to Captain Lathrop's
widow Bethiah for her life, and at her death to his sister,
Mrs. Cheever, May 19, 1680. Mr. and Mrs. Cheever, by
their attorney Thomas Cheever of Maiden, gentleman,
conveyed this lot, being one-third of Davenport's farm,
except the meadows on the western side, to Lt. John Put-
nam of Salem Nov. 29, 1682.* Mr. Putnam built upon
the lot a house for his son John Putnam before 1691,
when the son was living there ; and conveyed to him the
house, barn and land, for love, Dec. 26, 1695.f The house
was destroyed by fire April 1, 1709.

On the western side of this lot along the brook were
grants of meadow land. That one furtherest south was a
grant of ten acres to Gov. John Endecott made by the
town of Salem July 18, 1637.$

Benjamin Porter Lot. That portion of this lot lying
westerly of the dashes was the southern part of the tract
of laud which was granted by the town of Salem to Mr.
Townsend Bishop of Salem, gentleman, Feb, 26, 1638-9. §
It was the property of William Haynes and Richard
Haynes of Salem, husbandmen, in 1648. They sold one-
third of it to Abraham Page of Boston, tailor. Mr. Page
sold it to Simon Bradstreet of Andover, gentleman ; and,
for fifteen pounds, Mr. Bradstreet conveyed it, with the
house thereon, to John Porter, sr., of Salem, yeoman,
June 29, 1618. || On the same day, for thirty pounds,
Mr. Porter bought the remaining two-thirds of
William Haynes and Richard Haynes.*|[

That part of the lot lying easterly of the dashes was
the two hundred acres of " feeding ground " known as
Blind hole since 1660 at least, granted by the town of
Salem to Serg. John Porter, for " pasture for his Cattell,"
Sept. 30, 1647.**

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 14, leaf 292.
tEssex Kegistry of Deeds, book 11, leaf 123,
:J:Salein Town Records, volume I, page 53 (printed).
§Salem Town Records, volume I, page 85 (printed).
II Essex Registry of Deeds, book 14, leaf 253.
HEsscx Registry of Deeds, book 15, leaf 52.
**Salem Town Records, volume I, page 150 (printed).

120 THE PLAINS; PART OF SALEM IN 1700,

Mr. Porter died possessed of both tracts Sept. 6, 1676,
having devised them in his will to his son Benjamin Por-
ter, who owned them in 1700.

At the northwesterly part of this tract of land is five
acres of upland and three acres of meadow which was
originally included in this grant of Mr. Bishop. These
eight acres came into the hands of William Nichols of
Topsfield before Feb. 4, 1667, when he conveyed the
same to John Porter, sr., of Salem, yeoman, who then
owned the Bishop farm.*

At the southeasterly corner of this lot (easterly of the
dashes) were the Putnam, Rea and Cromwell meadows,
in Blind Hole meadow. At the southern end, running
from the Bishop farm to the Downing grant, was the
meadow of Thomas Putnam of Salem, from 1685 to 1702.
Next northerly was that of Jonathan Putnam, from 1685
to 1702.

Daniel Andrew and Sarah Andrew Lot. This tract of
eighty acres of land was early called Smith's farm, and
was probably the eighty acres granted to Thomas Smith
by the town of Salem May 15, 1639. It belonged to
John Porter in 1673, and he died possessed of it Sept. 6,
1676, having devised it to his daughter Mary, wife of
Thomas Gardner, and Sarah, wife of Daniel Andrew. Mr.
and Mrs. Andrew conveyed their interest in it to their
brother-in-law Daniel Andrew Dec. 17, 1677. f

Joseph Porter House. This tract of land was the five
hundred acres of land granted to Emanuel Downing of
Salem by the town of Salem July 16, 1638. Mr. Down-
ing conveyed it to John Porter of Salem, yeoman, April
15, 1650 ;:|: and Sergeant Porter conveyed it, Jan. 2, 1664,
to his son Joseph Porter, as a part of his portion upon
the latter's marriage with Anna, daughter of Maj. William
Hathorne.§ Joseph Porter erected a house thereon, in
which he lived (the northern house shown on the map).
Porter died in 1714, having in his will devised the north-
ern part of his homestead to his son Joseph Porter, who

•Essex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf 36.
jEssex Registry of Deeds, book 8, leaf 119.
JEssex Registry of Deeds, book 4, leaf 161.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf 139.

Br SIDNEY PERLEY. 121

had died in 1713, leaving widow Mary and children, Jo-
seph, Priscilla and Mary, who died soon after her father.
The widow married George Bixby Aug. 6, 1718; and
they continued to live upon the farm. The son Joseph
died Feb. — , 1747, owning the phice, and leaving widow
Mary, who married, secondly, Josei)h Perkins of Maiden,
and the only child that survived him was Joseph Porter.
This Joseph Porter died Feb. 12, 1805, having devised
the estate in his will to his sons Joseph and Jonathan.
The one hundred and eighty-five acres of land and build-
ings were then appraised at seven thousand dollars. Maj.
Jonathan Porter died soon after his father, and his broth-
er and sister were his heirs. The other children of their
father were Polly, wife of Capt. Dudley Bradstreet of
Topsfield, Sarah, wife of Daniel Putnam, Elizabeth,
Phebe, wife of Cornelius Gould, Lydia, wife of Nathaniel
Gould, and Ruth, wife of Joseph Gould. Joseph Porter
of Danvers, yeoman, conveyed his interest in the place to
his brother-in-law Captain Bradstreet of Topsfield, yeoman,
April 18, 1810;* and Cornelius Gould of Boxford, gen-
tleman, and wife Phebe, and Joseph Gould of Topsfield,
yeoman, and wife Ruth released their interest in the place
on the same day to Captain Bradstreet.f Sarah Putnam
of Newbury, Vt., widow, released her interest to him April
26, 1810 ;t and Nathaniel Gould of Middleton, yeoman,
as guardian of Betsey Porter Gould and Henry Lawrence
Gould, minor children of his wife Lydia, released their
interest to Captain Bradstreet Jan. 30, 1811.:}: Captain
Bradstreet removed to this farm, and lived here until his
death April 23, 1833. In his will he devised the estate
to his son John Bradstreet of Danvers, yeoman. John
Bradstreet lived here, and died Feb. 22, 1869, having de-
vised the estate to his son Harrison P. Bradstreet of Dan-
vers, yeoman. Mr. Bradstreet conveyed the property, for
eleven thousand and nine hundred dollars, to Elizabeth
Lawton Ellis, wife of George Ellis of Bridgewater, Oct.
21, 1869. § Mrs. Ellis mortgaged the place to William

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 191, leaf 24.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 191, leaf 23.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 194, leaf 282.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 786, leaf 216.

122 THE PLAINS : PART OF SALEM IN 1700,

B. Morgan of Wenhara and Calvin Putnam of Danvers
March 25, 1871 ;* and the mortgage was foreclosed by
public sale to Calvin Putnam of Danvers, for nine thou-
sand and three hundred dollars, April 5, 1872. f Mr.
Putnam died Nov. 14, 1904; and Charles P. Searle of
Boston, the executor of Mr. Putnam's will, for eight
thousand dollars, conveyed the farm and buildings to
Daniel J. Connors of Danvers Dec. 26, 1906. :{: Mr. Con-
nors now owns and resides upon the place.

The original house is still standing in excellent condi-
tion, and apparently able to weather the storms of several
centuries more. It is fifty feet in length and twenty-odd
feet in width, two stories in height and faces the south.
The chimney is large, and the rooms on both floors are
twenty feet square. The original barn is now adjoining
the house, and its frame is like that of the house. The
posts and beams are hewn of white oak and are a foot
square.

About fifty I'ods northeasterly from the house is the
family burial place, near a swamp. Some half a dozen
graves are thei-e, marked with as many field rocks. Some
of them lie in the ground and the others lie upon the
surface. They are surrounded or overgrown with briars
and bushes, and during the past winter apparently wood
has been sledded from the swamp by or over the graves.
Two of the stones, lying loosely upon the ground, are
each about two feet in length and a foot and a half in
breadth, and thin at the edges. Probably they were orig-
inally set upright in the ground. They seem to be of trap
rock, and cleft from a large round boulder or ledge. One
side is even and flat and the other side is convex. On one
of them are inscribed the letters "A. P." and above them
is at least a figure " 2 ". The only early member of the
family that lived on the farm whose initials these would
be is the wife of Joseph Porter, the original occupant of
the farm. She was Anna, daughter of Maj. William
Hathorne. It is not known when she died, but she was
not alive when Mr. Porter made his will in 1713, and it

♦Essex Registry of Deeds, book 826, leaf 214.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 850, leaf 193.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 1853, page 353.

BY SIDNEY PERLEY. 123

may be that the figure " 2 " on this stone is a part of the
date "1712". Passing over or near these stones no one
would ever suspect that this was a sacred place, and that
here have reposed for more than two centuries the remains
of a daughter of Major Hathorne. Standing at the spot,
these lines of Whittier are bound to be remembered: —

The dreariest spot in all the land

To death they set apart;
With scanty grace from nature's hand,

And none from that of art.

Upon the marriage of his son Samuel Porter, in 1696,
apparently Joseph Porter built for him the house on the
southern part of the homestead as shown on the plan, and
also gave into his possession a large tract of land around
it. Joseph Porter died Dec. 12, 1714, having devised in
his will to his son Samuel "ye land which he now lives
upon and hath improved, together with the dwelling house
or housing standing on said land where he how dwells,
together with an hundred acres of land adjoining to ye
land he now lives upon, it being ye southerly part of my
farm." Samuel Porter, sr., of Salem, yeoman, for love,
conveyed to his sons Eleazer Porter and Samuel Porter,
both of Salem, one-half of the house and land " that I
now dwell upon," Nov. 10, 1722;* and Samuel Porter,
jr., released his interest in the same property to his brother
Eleazer Porter Aug. 20, 1737.t (Their father apparent-
ly built a new house about fifty rods southerly of the old
one, and lived in it, Sept. 8, 1737, when he conveyed it
and that part of the lot to his son Samuel Porter, jr., hus-
bandman.:}: Samuel Porter, jr., released his interest in that
house and barn and land " which I now live upon," to his
brother Eleazer Porter of Salem, husbandman, May 8,
1738§). Samuel Porter, the father, of Salem, yeoman,
for love, conveyed to his son Eleazer Porter of Salem,
husbandman, the old house and that part of the lot grantee
■" now dwells upon," June 8, 1738. || Eleazer Porter died

♦Essex Registry of Deeds, book 48, leaf 90.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 77, leaf 20.
tEssex Registry of Deeds, book 75, leaf 227.
§Essex Registry of Deeds, book 77, leaf 21.
ilEssex Registry of Deeds, book 75, leaf 268.

124 THE PLAINS : PART OF SALEM IN 1700.

in the autumn of 1756 ; and in the division of the real
estate," May 12, 1760, the old house was assigned to his
son Samuel Porter. Samuel Porter graduated at Harvard
College and became a lawyer in Ipswich. Ths house was
burned before April 28, 1769, when Mr. Porter conveyed
its site, " it being the land where his late dwelling houfe
ftood that was burnt down with fire," to his brother-in-
law Tarrant Putnam of Danvers, yeoman.*

Cornelius Baker Lot. This lot of land belonged to Cor-
nelius Baker in 1700.

*Essex Registry of Deeds, book 150, leaf 61.

RECOLLECTIONS BY SAMUEL PRESTON.

Written for the Salem Village Gazette, Dec. 8, 1869.

I was born late in 1792, the year of the reign of terror in
Erance, and I clearly remember much which transpired be-
fore 1800. While I was very young, the stories of our Rev-
olution and the then present deeds and aggressions of Napo-
leon Bonaparte in Europe were matters of daily conversation
amongst the reading people, and my ears were never closed
when either of these topics was under discussion. Another
thing in those days made a very deep impression on my mind.
It was the closing of the eighteenth and the opening of the
nineteenth century. The thought that 1700, of which I had
seen so little, was never naore to be written as a date of pass-
ing time, and that 1800, which appeared as an immense
void, was to be entered upon and filled with what scenes of
joy or sorrow none could tell, completely absorbed my mind.
It is difficult sometimes to put thoughts into words — it is
well nigh impossible to do the same with feelings, and I
shall not attempt it, but the impression then made upon my
mind has lasted until now, and the words " never more "
have ever been solemn words to me.

In those days Dr. Wadsworth was in his prime, and being
a man of a good deal of dignity, he impressed the children
with special awe and reverence, and his parochial visits and
his yearly catechisings at the different schoolhouses were
looked forward to as epochs in the history of the years. He
never lost sight of the children. He was what is called a
gentleman of the old school, very benign and polite in speech
and deportment, courteous and kind to everyone. I can see
him now precisely at the minute appointed, with a dignified
step passing up the broad aisle, dressed in surplice and band,
cocked hat in hand, the curls of his auburn wig gracefully
waving over his shoulders, slightly recognizing the powdered
dignitaries, such as Judge Holten, Judge Collins and others,
as he passed, ascending with agile step the stairs of his high
pulpit, and taking his seat under the high canopy or sound-
ing board, which hung suspended over his head. The sound-

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126 RECOLLECTIONS BY SAMUEL PRESTON

ing board was formed something like au open umbrella, and
was supposed to aid in sending the voice of the speaker with

more or less ease to the distant part of the audience au

idea entirely discarded now. The pulpit Bible and two mas-
sive silver communion cups now in use in our church and
society, were a present from Judge Benajah Collins. Judge
Collins was not a member of this church, but he was a re-
specter of religion and a constant attendant on divine wor-
ship. May his gifts long remain in their place in our ser-
vice, as pleasant memorials of the honored giver.

The house of worship which was standing at that time,,
and which I distinctly remember, was not the original meet-
ing house of the parish. Of the primitive church edifice
existing when that terrible delusion, the ancient spiritualism,
known to the world as the Salem Witchcraft, was passing
over the minds of this good people, I cannot be expected to
speak, for that event took place just one hundred years be-
fore I was born. Nor need I dwell on that tragedy, since
our friend Mr. Upham, with such wonderful tact and perse-
verance, has collated so great a body of facts relating thereto
and placed them on the pages of enduring history, for the
use of all time, for which he deserves the thanks and grati-
tude of the present and all coming generations. The first
meeting house that I remember occupied in part the same
ground as the present. It was nearly square, and the steeple,
which was a decently tall one, was on the side or end toward
the parsonage, which was not a parsonage then, but was
owned by Mr. Pope, grandfather of Messrs. Nathaniel, Jas-
per, and the late Mr. Elijah Fope, and likewise of Mr. Zeph-
aniah Pope. The first time I ever saw Nathaniel Pope was
there. He was something of a stout boy, and wore dark
clothes with some white in them. I think his mother was-
with him. I went there with some other boys one Sabbath
noon to get some water to drink — but this is a digression.
The steeple end of the meeting house, as I have said, was
toward the present parsonage. It was always called the
steeple end. There was a large front door on the side toward
the street, entering directly into the broad aisle. The pews
were all of the square form, and the seats were hung with
hinges, so that by turning up the better to convene the stand-
ing posture. By this plan a large portion of the audience
would sit facing the aisle or the entrance door. It would nob
be so convenient to do the polite thing in passing up the
broad aisle now, as all the audience would be sitting back ta

BECOLLECTIONS BY SAMUEL PRESTON 127

the person approaching, I have said that all the seats were
hung with hinges — this plan was continued a long time in
the brick house even after Dr, Braman was settled. The
seats made a great noise when they were all being let down
together ; sometimes it was like a volley of musketry. At
one time a Southern merchant, a Philadelphian, and a cus-
tomer of mine, was passing the Sabbath with me, and I in-
vited him to go to church. It was in Mr. Braman's time,
and as we were returning he said, " Well, you have reason
to be proud of your minister, but what was that clapping for
after the prayer ? " I told him it was merely letting down
the seats, and had no particular meaning. " Ah ! that's it,"
said he, " I thought it was meant for applause."

The surroundings of the old house of which I have been
speaking were very different from those of the one which
followed it, or from the present. A chaise or a covered
carriage of any kind was a rarity in those days. There were
but two chaise stables in the whole parish then. They were
owned by Captains Moses and John Endicott of the Port,
descendants of the old Governor Endicott. These stables
stood a little north of where our sexton's house now stands.
There were several clusters of horse stables from two or three
to perhaps five or six in a place. There were some I think
where the chapel stands and others near Mr. Rice's garden,
or where his garden should be, and in one or more other
places. They all had the appearance of an earlier date than
the meeting house itself, but were not quite so ragged as our
stables are now. They would accommodate one or two horses,
where Dobbin, with saddle and pillion, could be comfortable
while his master was attending service in the church, or
perchance passing the intermission at the nooning house
(which was sometimes a tavern), eating his grub, and at the
same time discussing the merits of the sermon, or possibly
glancing at other topics or news of the day. A very impor-
tant appendage to the meeting house yard was the large
horseblock. This was a massive stone, with a capacious,
well-faced top, and steps to ascend, whence the lady easily
took her seat on the elegant pillion behind her lord, one arm
embracing him, her neat, well-clad foot in the shining stirrup,
ready for an airing, or a ride to or from church. There were
two horseblocks at the old church — the one at the steeple end
was very spacious, being ten or twelve feet long, three or
four feet broad, and some three or more feet high, with steps
at each end. The pillion was fast fading from use at my

128 RECOLLECTIONS BY SAMUEL PEESTON

earliest recollection. The most distinct image of it in my
mind is a vision of the appearance at this great horseblock
of old Mr. Dwinell, and his wife, father and mother of the
present Mr. Dwinell, now eighty-five years old. They rode on
a black horse, with white face and legs. Dobbin would place
himself snugly against the horseblock to receive his precious
burden, as a drilled soldier would perform his evolutions.

You have heard of the Deaconing of the hymn for singing :
this was done when books were scarce. There was a choir of
singers in the gallery at my earliest recollection, and the
whole hymn was read before singing, but I have been several
times present as a spectator in the gallery, while the com-
munion service was being administered, when the feat of
deaconing was performed. The senior deacon rising and
naming a tune, read the first two lines of the hymn, then
those who could sing or thought they could, tried to sing as
far as he had read. Two more lines were then read and sung
in the same manner, and so on to the end. It was anything
but edifying to the spectator, and is well outgrown. There
was a boy in our neighborhood who was taken from the Mar-
blehead poor house, perhaps a dozen or more years old, and
extremely ignorant, and one of whom the older boys made
all manner of fun. He was fixed up by his master and sent
to church with the other boys, and with them took his seat
in the gallery during communion service. The next day the
boys began to question him as to what he saw and heard, and
he said, " One man get up and say,

" Buck a massa, buck a boo,
Buck a massa, buck a boo ! "

imitating the rhyme of the hymn, and then he imitated the
music, which it is impossible for me to describe. You will
excv;se me for telling this ridiculous story ; it was a part of
the times, and this was about as much as any spectator could
make of it.

I was twelve years old when the meeting house was
burned, and consequently thirteen when the brick meeting
house was dedicated. I have spoken of the previous condi-
tion of music. There was an effort at this time to improve
it. There was an educated lawyer in Topsfield, who, after
he had, as he said, plead one thief clear, left his profession
and took up that of writing and teaching music. His name
was Jacob Kimball. He was a tall, portly man, not quite
faultless in his habits, and was employed to teach six

RECOLLECTIONS BY SAMUEL PRESTON 129

months, which the brick house was building, with a view to
having a well-drilled class ready to smg at the dedication.
There were about half a dozen boys of neaidy the same age,
of whom Xathaniel Pope and myself alone now remain, who
sang counter. Music has taken many new names since then.
Fa, sol, la, and mi, were all the names to notes that we knew
in those days. Master Kimball had taken considerable pains
to drill us for the dedication, as we had an important part
to perform there. We were to sing on that day the old Selby
anthem, "Behold God is my salvation, I will trust and not
be afraid," in which there is a counter solo of some impor-
tance to the tune, and as it was to be the first time we ever
sang in public. Mr. Kimball felt rather solicitous about
our pluck, and I can see him now, partly turned around, for
he had placed us near him, in his rear, his trembling hand
beating time for us, while we performed the feat. I believe
we did it to his entire satisfaction, as he called us "brave
boys," when it was over. There was a good old lady present,
one of the best-natured women in the world, the same who
rode on the pOlion. She did not perhaps understand music
very well, and in relating to her companions the incidents of
the dedication she said : "the singing was beautiful, but in
singing one tune, they all got stopped but the boys ;" and she
thought they deserved a great deal of credit for carrying them
through. Master Kimball wrote a piece of music expressly
for the dedication. It was made applicable to the words of
Dr. Watts' 48th psalm, 2d part, short metre. The words were
perhaps better adapted to Solomon's Temple than to our new
house, though that, for the place, was quite a noble structure,
and was much praised at the time.

I have alluded to a time when books were scarce. To tlie
great credit of our fathers (I do not mean your fathers, my
young friends, I mean my father, who died nearly twenty
years ago in the ninety-fourth year of his age and to his
compeers, with Dr. Wadsworth at their head). Tb their great
credit, I say, they established in this place a very important
library for their day. It was called the Danvers Social
Library. The label on the books, which was a very handsome
one, was dated late in the last century. I do not recollect the
exact year but at any rate at my earliest reading recollection
there was a good, well-kept library here, and I have been many
times sent to exchange books. It was not very expensive, and
the books were nearly all either historical, biographical or
religious, and principally standard works. There were very

130 RECOLLECTIONS BY SAMUEL PRESTON

few other books. I recollect one small volume^ entitled
^'Foolish Frights." There were in those days more than now,
old crones, who took special delight in telling children fright-
ful stories to make them good. This book was written as an
antidote to that abominable practice. The frightful story was
told, and then it was explained, showing that throngh the
imagination or even some innocent reality, the fright had hap-
pened— that it was fiction, and no cause of fear. There were
no novels in those days^ and the sciences had made small
progTess. Natural history was to us confined to birds, beasts
and a few fishes. The geography of our own country, even,
was but partially known, astronomy had a few devotees, phil-
osophy was on the wing, and has not yet found a restmg place.
Perhaps Eichardson's novels, Clarissa, Pamela and Sir
Charles Grandison might have commenced their career, but
one of Eichardson's novels in that Library would have been
looked upon as a h^^ena amongst the lambs. The books were
all well bound, and in addition, Avere neatly covered with
sheepskin leather to give them endurance. They were well
read and exchanged at appointed periods.

A word more about the fire. The day after the burning of
the church was a sad day in the North parish of Danvers.
The fire was discovered too late to allow of getting at the bell
rope, and no alarm could be given. Thus a large portion of
the people knew notliing of it until the news was spread in
the morning, and when told of the occurrence, "it seemed to
them,'' as Dr. Wadsworth said in his sermon on the following
Sabbath, which was preached in the district school house,
"as one telling a dream, they could not believe it." The text
for that sermon was from Isaiah, Iviv. II. "Our holy and
beautiful house where our fathers praised thee is burnt up
with fire, and all our pleasant things are laid waste;" and
few were the dry eyes in that crowded congi'egation, while
that sermon was being delivered. I suppose there are many,
at present as there have been in the past, who would be glad
to know how that fire originated, by whose vandal hands it
was kindled. It has always remained too much a mystery to
convict and punish anyone for the crime. Strong suspicions
were indulged and expressed, but the guilty party, whoever
it might be, never at the hands of man suffered justice. The
reason for the commission of the crime was more apparent.
There was a valuable silver communion service in the closet
under the pulpit, which when searched for among the ashes
■was not to be found. How small a temptation for so foul a
deed !

NECROLOGY,

Alfred Hutchinson died at his home, 101 Centre Street,
Danvers, Saturday, June 29, 1918, aged eighty-two years,
eight months and twenty-six days. He was born at the Hutch-
inson homestead, which was known in oklen times as the
Upton Tavern, and this overlooked the historical IngersoU
green. He was the son of Deacon Elijah & Ruthy (Nourse)
Hutchinson, and was one of a family of eight children. Mr.
Hutchinson was a resident of Danvers all his life, with the
exception of two years spent in Salem. He came in 1872 to
the home where he died. He was associated with the whole-
sale shoe business from 1867, until becoming connected
with the Consolidated Electric Lamp Company about twenty
years ago. On May 3, 1874, he united with the First Church
and filled the office of Deacon from January, 1886, until his
death. Mr. Hutchinson was greatly beloved by all who knew
him and his death leaves a large place vacant in Church and
community.

Jasper R. Pope, of the firm of J. F. Pope & Son. lumber
dealers of Beverly, died quite suddenly Aug. 22, 1918, at Port-
land, Me., where he had gone on a short visit to his camp in
that state. Mr. Pope was born in Danvers on Aug. 29, 1863,
and when a young man went to Beverly. He was educated in
the public schools of Danvers and then entered the lumber
business with his father in 1891, his father having removed to
Beverly in 1876. After his father's death some years
ago, he continued the business. Mr. Pope was a mem-
ber of Liberty Lodge of IMasons, Unity club, Beverly
Business Men's Association, Beverly Board of Trade, Beverly
Building Association, director of the Beverly Hospital Cor-
poration, vice-president and director of the Beverly National
Bank. He attended the First Parish church. Besides a wife,
formerly IMiss Hitty Couch of Danvers, he leaves two
sons, Ruel P. Pope and Chester C. Pope, who were associ-
ated in business with him.

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132 NECROLOGY

Frank 0. Staples, who conducted a large grocery and pro-
vision business at Danversport, died at his home, 8 Mill
street, on Aug. 23, 1918, Although he had been in poor health
for several years, he had been able to attend to business to the
last, and he passed away as he was entering the house. He
was born in Danvers on September 6, 1859, the son of James
and Julia A. (Stone) Staples. After graduating from the
Holten High School in the class of 1876, he attended the
Bryant & Stratton School in Boston. He had served on the
Danvers school board and had been otherwise active in town
affairs. He was prominent in Masonic circles, having been
past master of Mosaic Lodge of Danvers, past high priest of
Holten Eoyal Arch Chapter, and past commander of St.
George's Commandery, Knights Templar of Beverly. He was
also a trustee of the First Universalist Church. He is sur-
vived by a sister and a half sister.

Miss Lydia Webb passed away at her home, 26 Central
avenue, Danvers, on Oct. 3, 1918, after a comparatively short
illness from pneumonia. The death of Miss Webb was particu-
larly sad, inasmuch as her brother died just a week before. The
death of her only brother, of whom she was very fond, was a
great shock to her, and not being well at the time weakened
her condition so that she was not able to stand the severe ill-
ness which followed. Miss Webb was a native of Danvers, a
graduate of the Holten High school, class of 1907, and had
for several years been a clerk in the dry goods store of Lewis
B. Alley. She was thirty years of age, and was universally
respected and esteemed. Her mother has the heartfelt sym-
pathy of the entire community in her double affliction.

George A. Bates, son of Albert A. and Maria (Webster)
Bates, was bom at Danversport, and died on Oct. 3, 1918, at
his home on Central Avenue, from pneumonia. He worked in
the leather business and made his home with his sister. He
was unmarried.

D. Webster King died at Annisquam Oct. 21, 1918. He
■was born in that part of Danvers which is now Peabody,
March 1, 1833, the son of David Putnam King (member of
Congress from 1843 until his death, in 1850) and Sarah Page
King. He began his mercantile life in Boston in 1862. He

NECROLOGY 133

■was president and treasurer of the D. Webster King Glue
Company for many years, and in 1894 he organized the
American Glue Company, and was president and treasurer
until 1902, when he retired. He was also vice-president of
the National Security Bank and a director from its incorpora-
tion, in 1867, until 1910; vice-president and trustee of the
Boston Five Cents Savings Bank and director of the Mas-
sachusetts Loan & Trust Company. Mr. King was a member
of the Sons of the Eevolution, the Boston Chamber of Com-
merce, Commercial Club of Boston, Home ]\Iarket, Boston
Art and Unitarian clubs. He belonged to the following socie-
ties and organizations: Bostonian, Essex Agricultural, Bos-
ton Horticultural, Military Historical, corporation of the
Washingtonian Home, Peabody Historical, Essex Institute,
Danvers Historical, South Congi-egational Church, and a life
member of the American Unitarian Association and of the
Boston Y. M. C. A. He served at one time on the state board
of lunacy and charity, and was actively interested in the Cit-
izens' Law and Order League. In 1862, through his efforts
in raising a public subscription, the greater part of the land
now included in Copley square was bought and given to the
city with the understanding that the square should be laid
out as a public park. His first wife was ]\Iary Robinson Har-
wood of Salem, who died in 1859, and in 1866 he married
Jennie W. Purinton, who died in 1912. He is survived by one
son, Tarrant Putnam King, and four daughters, Mrs. Ed-
ward Henry Newbegin of Cambridge, Caroline W., Anne P.
and Grace W. King.

Granville W. Clapp, one of the best known and respected
business men of Danvers, died at his home on Holten street,
November 8, 19 IS, aged 69 years. Granville W. Clapp was
born in Boston, June 3, 1849. ^^^len a young boy he moved
to Topsfield with his parents, after a residence of several
years in Maiden. He received his education in the schools of
Boston and Maiden, and the Putnam free school at ISTewbury-
port. When eighteen years of age he came to Danvers and
worked cutting shoes for the late Charles H. Gould, afterward
buying out the business with his brother Fred. After the
death of his brother he entered into partnership with other
Danvers men under the firm name of Martin, Clapp &
French, which firm in time gave way to the firm of Clapp &
Tapley. Mr. Clapp was connected with this firm for over

134 NECROLOGY

thirty years, retiring from active business about two years
ago, although he was the president of the Clapp & Tapley
corporation at the time of his death. Mr. Clapp was a suc-
cessful business man, honorable in his business relations and
popular with all who knew him. His death is a distinct loss
to the community. Besides a widow, Adaline M. Clapp. he
leaves two children, William E. Clapp of this towm, and Mrs.
Helen C. Barnes of Seattle, Wash,

Willia:m L. Hyde, a well known and highly respected cit-
izen of Salem, died at his home, 274 Lafayette street, on
December 8, 1918. Mr. Hyde was born in Danvers, Nov. 20,
1835, in the house on the corner of Sylvan and Collins streets,
built by Robert Hooper of Marblehead, but later ovnied by
Judge Collins, and afterwards known for several years as the
Collins house. Mr. Hyde's father resided there from 1833
to 1836, going from there to the Asa Tapley farm, which he
subsequently purchased. William L. Hyde left the farm in
1852 and entered the employ of J. S. Black & Co., Putnam-
ville, shoe manufacturers, continuing seven years. In 1859 he
went west to the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas, travelling by
railroad to Memphis, by boat down the Mississippi
river and up the Arkansas river 600 miles. He kept
a retail shoe store in Fort Smith, his trade being
mostly with the Indians across the river in the
Indian territory. He was there when the Civil war
broke out and he was obliged to give up his business
and come north or be drafted into the Confederate army. As
there were no railroads there at that time, he came by the
overland stage and rode four days and three nights to the
terminus of the Union Pacific railroad, Sedalia, Mo. Arriv-
ing home, he obtained a position as clerk in a wholesale boot
and shoe store, in Boston, and in 1866 formed a partnership
with Alfred Hutchinson, in the wholesale boot and shoe trade,
the firm name being Hyde, Hutchinson & Co. He retired
from that in 1888 and engaged in the insurance business. He
was a director of the Mercantile National Bank twenty-eight
years, its president fifteen years, and when the bank was
merged with the Naumkeag Trust Company, he became a
director of the latter. He was a member of the Salem com-
mon council in 1885 and 1886, and two years afterwards was
an alderman. He joined Jordan lodge, A. F. & A. M,, of
South Danvers, in 1858, was a charter member of Amity lodge.

NECROLOGY 136

A. F. & A. M., Danvers, in 1862. In 1866, he came to Salem
and became a member of Essex lodge, and its master in the
70's. He was a member of Washington Koyal Arch chapter,
Sutton Lodge of Perfection, the Essex Institute, the Danvers
Historical Society and a trustee of the Salem Five Cents
Savings bank, j\lr. Hyde was a gentleman of the old school,
and it was always a perfect deliglit to meet him. He was a
great lover of nature and out-of-door life. He was a man of
fine appearance, which he maintained to the end of his long
and useful life. He was versed in local history, a splendid
conversationalist, and articles from his pen in recent publi-
cations of tlie Danvers Historical Society have been read with
a great deal of interest. His latest years reflected those of his
young manhood and he lias passed away, surrounded by all
"that which should accompany old age, as honor, love, obe-
dience, troops of friends." He leaves a son, George L. Hyde
of Swampscott, and two daughters, Mrs. Annie C. Johnson
and Miss Jennie P. Hyde of Salem.

Mrs. Caroline F. Wood, widow of George H. Wood, was
bom on Conant street, Beverly, now Danvers, on July 6,
1849, and died in Danvers, on Jan. 3, 1919, after a long ill-
ness. She was daughter of Edward T. and Mary A. Proctor
and attended the Danvers schools, graduating from the Holten
High School in the class of 1866. She was a teacher in the
Maple Street School under Benjamin F. Boyden and upon
her marriage to Mr. Wood w^ent to live in the so-called
Braman house on Pine street. After her husband's death
she resided for a while in Providence, R. I., but later returned
to Danvers. She was a woman of beautiful character and
was greatly beloved by all who were privileged to know her.
She leaves one daughter. Miss Margaret Wood, of the High
school faculty.

Mrs. Abby J. Pierce, widow of Charles F. Pierce, was
born in Danvers, Dec. 2, 1849, the daughter of Gilman and
Abigail (Welch) Parker, and died in Danvers, Jan. 27,
1919, at the home of Mrs. Millie Putnam on Pickering
street. She had been in failing health for some time and her
death was the result of pneumonia. She was an attendant at
the Universalist Church and was a member of Ward Relief
Corps. She leaves no immediate family.

186 NECROLOGY

Miss Cornelia H. Eeed, for fourteen years a resident of
Beverly, died on February 15, 1919, at the age of eighty-
seven years. She was born at Danvers, daughter of Briggs
Eogers Eeed. Her grandfather was Col. Israel Hutchinson
of revolutionary war fame. Much of her life Avas spent in
Boston, where she was active in religious and patriotic work.
She was one of the founders of the mission which later de-
veloped into the Euggles Street Baptist Church, and was long
a teacher in the Sunday school there. During the Civil war
she was a leader in the sanitary commission, as well as in every
kind of work by which she could promote the Union cause.
She was a member of Gen. Israel Putnam Chapter, D. A. R.
She is survived by several nephews and nieces.