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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
Ej: Libris
Charles Knowles Bolton
Ethel Stanwood Bolton
We grew beneath Tom Bewick's hands :
But noic, clear Reader, we do grace
The antient mansion house that stands
In Shirley town at Pound IliU Place.
u
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 00084 0899
"^iA^C^ ,^^04.1^
HISTORICAL SKETCH
AND
MATTERS APPERTAINING
TO THE
Copp's Hill Burial-Ground.
HISTORICAL SKETCH
MAHERS APPERTAININ(J
TO THE
CoPFS Hill Burial-Gkound
Published by the Cemetery Department of the City of Benton
TRUSTEES
.1. Albert Braokett, Chairman
Jacob Morse Albert W. Hekse^
William J. Fallon Frederick K. Atteai x
Albert E. Smith-. Secretary
BOSTON
MUNICIPAL PRINTING OFFICE
190 1
1419145
On
I
I.
N
HULL STREET ENTRANCE, COPP S HILL BURI AL GROUND,
¥
HISTORY OF COPP'S HILL
In early days the well to do of Boston dwelt largely in
the North End, a very pleasant and convenient part of the
peninsula. Until the time just succeeding the Revolution, the
North End retained its social prominence ; then the notables
and fashionables began to leave it. It was quite natural, there-
fore, in accordance with the custom of the time, that the town
should early provide a burial-ground in this comparatively well
settled section. In 1659 there was bought a lot of laud on the
summit of Copp's Hill, which formed the nucleus of the present
cemetery.
Copp's Hill was an eminently suitable spot for the purpose.
Although lower than Beacon Hill and Fort Hill, it was scarcely
less commanding and seemed, equally a topographical feature.
The rectangular plateau on the summit easily lent it^ieli to
burial needs. Wood, among the first travellers to record his
impressions of Boston, says in his "New England Prospect"
(London, 1634) : " On the North side is another Hill, equall in
bignesse (to Fort Hill), whereon stands a Winde-mill.''''
This was the first windmill erected in the colony. These old
windmills, in the days when corn was legal tender, were useful
servants to the community and were a feature of the landscape.
Winthrop records a mill built on Windmill Point in 1686, and
three others were put up by 1650. After Boston had become
a city, the two last surviving windmills still stood on Windmill
Point. On July .31, 16-43, the town granted Henry Simons,
John Button and others all the land between the Town Cove
and the marshes beyond, on condition that they erect " one
or more corne mills, and maynteyne the same forever." The
" south " and " north " mills were accordingly constructed on
the shore of the Mill Pond ; and others gradually followed,
including later a sawmill and a chocolate mill.
During the first century of its existence tlie l)urial ground
was called the North Cemetery, tliis name giving way to that of
the hill itself. On the hill, in turn, three names were succes- .
sively bestowed.
At first it was generally known as the Mill Hill, and the
entire district about the hill was also known as the "• Mylne
Field " or " Mill-field," being frequently so named in grants and
conveyances of land. The early settlers in Watertown had
there built a windmill ; and Govern'or Winthrop notes in his
diary that on August 14-, 1632, "the Avindmill was l)rought
downe to Boston, because (where it stoode neere Newtown)
it would not grind but with a westerly winde." It was set up
on the summit of Copp's Hill, where for years it ground corn
for the settlers and served as a landmark to skippers woi-king
into the harbor. The windmill also gave its name to "ye
Mylne Field."
As the old windmill thus lost its uniqueness, the name it had
given the north hill also lost its hold, being supplanted by that
of " Snow Hill." This title is now kept only in Snowhill
street near by. The name may be due to the drifts that succes-
sive northeasters left piled upon the hill late into the si:)ring,
but is more probably derived from a certain Snow Hill street in
London.
In its turn this second name gave way to Copp's Hill, so
called after William Copp, who from about the time of the
settlement owned and dwelt upon a half-acre 'lot on the south-
east corner, near Prince street. The possessions of William
Copp, who was a worthy shoemaker and an elder in Dr.
Mather's Church, as set forth in the Boston Book of Posses-
sions, were : " One house tfe lott of halfe an Acre in the Mill
field bounded with Thomas Buttolph southeast : John Button
northeast : the marsh on the southwest : & the River on the
Northwest." The date of this change in name is not precisely
known. Some of the maps made at the time of the Revolution
have the name Copp's Hill attached to that part of the hill
north-west of Snowhill street, where Coj)}) dwelt.
The present aspect of Copp's Hill and its surroundings differs
considerably from that of the early days. Like the other two
hills, Cojip's Hill was quite bare, there being scarcely a tree
on the peninsula. Dr. Snow, in his history of Boston, gives the
following descrij^tion of the hill as it apj^eared in the early
days : " The hill at the north, rising to the height of about fifty
feet above the sea, presented then . on its north-west brow an
abrupt declivity, long after known as Copp's Hill steeps. Its
summit, almost level, extended between Prince and Charter
streets towards Christ Church ; thence south a gentle slope led
to the water, which washed the south side of Prince street
below, and the north side above Thacher street as far as Salem ;
eastward from the church, a gradual ascent led to the North
Battery, which was considered the bottom of the hill. South-
easterly the slope was still more gradual, and terminated at the
foot of North square, leaving a knoll on the right, where at
present stands the meeting-house of the Second Church."
" On the southerly slope of this hill," says Dr. Shurtlelf in
his " Topographical Description of Boston," " was Stanley's
pasture, extending to Hanover street, and covering the large
tract of land lying between Prince and Charter streets, the
westerly end of Bennet street at its junction with Salem street
being the centre of the lot." The owner, a tailor, who died in
March, 1646, deserves to be remembered as the first person to
bequeath the town property for the support of public schools,
one of the items of his will reading, " I give to the maintenance
of the free-schools of Boston a parcell of land lying neere to
the waterside & foure roads in length backward." "
In the early days, Copp's Hill and the land around its base
were formed almost into an island by the two coves running up
into the peninsula, — Mill Cove or Pond, or North Cove, as it
was first called, on the north, and Town Cove on the south. The
North Cove stretched over to the point extending north-west
from the Tramount, or Beacon Hill, and high tides often swept
oyer the intervening lowlands. The Town Cove, on the other
side, reached inland almost to the foot of Brattle street.
At the foot of the headland was a small stretch of beach,
where Commercial street (formerly Lynn street) now runs, the
material for the street being taken from the summit of tlie liill,
where Snowhill street was cut across.
Three of the half-dozen points then prominent in the shoi-e
line were grouped in the Copp's Hill promontory'. Where the
gasometer now stands. Windmill, later Wheeler's Point, pro-
jected. At the junction of Charter and Commercial streets was
"Ye Mylne Point," so called in 1635, and later known as Hud-
son's Point, whence Fi-ancis Hudson, the fisherman who became
a ferry-man, ran his ferry to Charlestown and Chelsea, Merry's
Point, whereon the famous North Battery was built, was situ-
ated between the Winnisimmet Ferry and l>attery Wharf, and
was so called after Walter Merry, the first Boston sliipwright,
who there built his wharf a few years after the settlement.
Around these points gradually grew up a considerable ship-
wrighting industr}', many grants to " wharf out " being recorded
by 1660. Most notable of the shipyards was that of Joshua
Gee, as prominent a ship-builder in his day as later was "Billy"
Gray. In 1698 Governor Bellomont said that Boston owned
194 good ships, or more than were possessed by all Scotland
and Ireland.
A great change in the surroundings of Copp's Hill was inau-
gurated by the chartering on March 9, 1804, of the Boston Mill
Corporation, successors to Simons, Button, and others, for the
purpose of filling up the Mill Pond. After 25 years' work,
an area of 70 acres was thus added to the town. Beacon Hill was
mainly resorted to for filling, but beginning with 1806 earth
was also taken during several years from Copp's Hill, lowering
its height about seven feet.
At the north-eastern base of the hill dwelt Boston's first col-
ored colony, then called " New Guinea." Inland, as far as the
neck crossed by the Mill Creek, ran the quaint, gar.leii-
fringed streets of the old North End, the good end of the town.
It was then of limited area, containing, according to Shnrtk'ff,
but 680 houses at the beginning of its social decay at the end of
the Revolution, and measuring but 803 yards in length and 7'26
yards in breadth. From this territory, during a century aixl a
half, came most of the tenants of Copp's Hill.
The cemetery itself comprises four successively acquired
parcels of land and is the largest in the City proper, the total
area aggregating 88,800 square feet, or about two acres. It
lies to-day between Hull, Snowhill, and Charter streets, the exact
boundaries being as follows: On the north-east, about 314 feet
by Charter street ; on the north-west, about 324 feet by Snowhill
street, above which the cemetery rises twenty feet, being sup-
ported by a granite wall ; on the south-west, about 330 feet by
Hull street ; on the north-east again by Marshall place, about
120 feet by Marshall place and about 127 feet by private prop-
erty ; and on the south-east, about 123 feet by private property
and the Hull-street Primary School.
The land for the North Burying- Ground was purchased of
John Baker and Daniel Turell, and in 1735 the transaction is
recorded as follows, under date of February 20, 16.59, in the
Suffolk Deeds, lib. 53, fol. 153: "John Baker and Daniel
Turell, sell to the Selectmen of Boston, a lot of land, 294 feet
on the northerly side, 252 feet on the southerly side ; in breadth
on the easterl}^ end 126 feet. Butting on the way that leadeth
from the new meeting-house in Boston towards Charlestown
Ferry, on the north ; on the land of William Phillips, southerly;
on the land of John Baker and Daniel Turell, easterly ; and on
the way that leadeth from Senter haven to Charlestown Ferry,
westerly."
The North Burying-Ground is thus second in point of time to
King's Chapel, although the Granary is practically contem-
l^oraneous with it. Concerning the piece of land that had been
bought, the town passed the following order November 5, 1660 :
" Itt is ordered that the old burying place shall bee wholly
deserted for some convenient season, and the new places ap-
pointed for burying onely be made use of." The only entrance
at the time was. from Charter street until the next addition was
made, forty years later.
By the beginning of the eighteenth century, enlargement had
become necessary, l)ut, as was usual with the town cemeteries,
was effected only with difficulty and when it could no longer be
postponed by overcrowding the existing space. The town had
voted for enlargement some time before it was accomplished,
appointing a committee which seems rather to have neglected
its duty. It was discharged and another appointed, consisting
of Hon. Thomas Hutchinson, Timothy Thornton, and Edward
Martyn, b}^ whom the necessary land was j^romptly purchased,
January 7, 1708. It was sold to the town by Judge Samuel
Sewall and his wife Hannah, and formed a corresponding
section to the old groi;nd on the south-west, fronting on Hull
street. It was part of the pasture which Mrs. Sewall had
inherited from her fathei', John Hull, master of the mint. The
deed is dated December 17, 1711 (Suffolk Deeds, lib. 26, fol.
97). The tract thus added was nearly square in shape and on
three sides was bounded by streets. It was included in the old
North Burying-Ground. The principal patli on the east hill,
east of the tool house and parallel to Charter street, follows
approximately the boundary separating the Sewall purchase
from the original burial-ground.
The tract long known as the New North Kurying-Ground,
and now called simply the Small Ground, was added by pur-
chase in 1809. The deed is recorded as follows undtr date of
December 18, 1809: "For §10,000, Benjamin Weld, and his
wife Nabby, sold to the Town of Boston a parcel of land,
bounded south-west on Hull street 148 feet ; north-west on the
burial-ground, 148 feet and 6 inches ; north-east on land of
Goodwin and others, 153 feet; south-east on land of Jonathan
Merrv, 1*23 feet ; being land conveyed to Weld by Merry,
October 21, 1809, recorded lib. 230, fol 191."
This lot also is nearly square and somewhat less than one-
half the size of the old yard. It comprised part of Jonathan
Merry's pasture. Merry selling it to Mr. Weld, who disposed of
it to the town. It was long known as the New North Burying-
Ground, and is now called the Small Ground.
In 1814 Hon. Charles W^ells, later mayor of Boston, built
52 tombs around the, sides of this enclosure; and in 1827
Edw^ard Bell built 15 more on the site of the old gun-house of
the Columbian artillery. The new ground was laid out sym-
metrically in tiers and several bodies were interred in each
grave. The first interment w^as that of John Richardson, July
6, 1810, who had been drowned a few days before.
Again, in 1819, Hon. Charles Wells became the owner of a
small tract, usually called the Charter Street Burying-Ground,
betw^een the old and new grounds and Marshall place and
fronting on Charter street. The purchase is recorded as fol-
lows in Suffolk Deeds, lib. 262, fol. 296: "June 3, 1819, John
Bishop, of Medford, sold to Charles Wells, for *1,051.30, land
in Charter street, bounded north-east on said street 20 feet;
north-easterly on the burying-ground 20 feet wide ; then con-
tinuing westerly, 70 feet on the burying-ground 20 feet wide ;
then continuing 50 feet more, 28 feet wide ; south-west 28 feet
on land formerly of Dr. W^m. Clark, but now a burying-ground ;
then south-east 50 feet, 28 feet wide, then continuing 70 feet
more 20 feet wide, on land formerly owned by William Fowle ;
being the land which Stephen Gorham, as administrator of
Nathaniel Holmes, sold to said Bishop, December 14, 1791,
recorded lib. 184, fol. 59."
This small lot Mr. Wells had fenced in and upon it, with the
consent of the town, he erected 34 tombs. The intervening
fence was later removed, and the yard became part of the old
cemetery.
In 1832 a final purchase was made by Mr. Jacob Hall and
others of a strip of land adjoining the north-western side of
the old burial-ground, which was given the title of "Hull-
Street Cemetery." In 1853 this section was discontinue*! and
the bodies it contained removed to Mt. Hope in February, 1861.
This strip was on the present site of the gasometer and con-
tained several rows of tombs. The proprietors at the same
time relinquished certain rights of way to that part of Snow-
hill street from Hull to Charter street, which had been merely
a private foot-passage, and the City agreed to maintain* here a
public walk 33 feet wide.
A similar private burial-ground of much more ancient date
and of smaller extent is still kept intact in the very centre of
the cemetery. Judge Sewall and his wife on January 7, 1708,
sold to Joshua Gee, the noted ship-builder, a small portion of
their pasture " one rodd square, in consideration of two and
thirty shillings paid them, being part of their pasture adjoin-
ing to the north burying-place, in which parcel of ground Mrs.
Mary Thacher now lyeth buried ; bounded northerly by the
said burying-ground and on all other sides by the land of the
said Samuel and Hannah Sewall, with no right of way except
through the old burying-place." Mr. Gee bought it at the
urging of his wife, who did not care to be buried among the
common multitude. The only restriction Avas that he should
maintain one-half the fence. The Mrs. Thacher who lay
buried therein was the wife of Judah Thacher of Yarmouth,
and had died November 30, 1708, aged 68. Her gravestone is
standing in the north-east corner of the little plot.
This enclosure later became the property of Deacon Moses
Grant, one of the leaders of the Boston Tea Party. It is yet
held in the family, being in possession of the heirs of the late
Moses Grant, the temperance lecturer, and contains the remains
of three generations. The spot is still private property, quite
exempt from control of the cemetery authorities.
By 1840 burials on Copp's Hill had become comparatively
infrequent, and there was no further need of expansion. Beside
the changes during 180 years, there were minor alterations in
the apj^earance of the cemetery.
When Snowhill street was cut through the edge of the old
bluff and extended northerly to Charter street it encountered a
row of old tombs, having a walk leading from end to end, with
steps at each extremity. The entrances to these tombs and the
tablets thereon were transferred within the fence. About 1837
the whole western slope beyond Snowhill street was dug away
and the existing heavy granite wall erected to protect the
cemetery.
During the period from the Revolution to 1830 the cemetery
began to be neglected, until on May 27, 1833, the City appro-
priated *50 for the purchase of trees to ornament the grounds.
To-day there are almost 200 trees in the cemetery. New walks
were laid out in 1838, and many stones were then or since
removed or altered in position with the same mistaken effoi'ts
at symmetry that have been remarked in the case of King's
Chapel.
9
By 1878 the hill had again fallen into decay, and become sub-
ject to all kinds of depredations. In that year the Board of
Health appointed the present superintendent, Mr. E. MacDonald,
by whose care the neglected tombs and paths have been re-
stored to oi'derliness and many lost tombstones recovered.
Two hundred and twenty-seven tombs are contained within
the cemetery. Two of the number belong to the City, one for
adults near Charter street, and one for children near Hull street,
built in June, 1833. Nearby is a large tomb, set aside about
1840 for mariners. The oldest tombs were built in 1717,
shortly after the Sewall purchase, and front on Hull street.
In 1722 a new range of tombs, running north, was started at the
south-east corner on Hull street. The selectmen's records down
to 1806 contain numerous grants of permission to erect tombs,
almost invariably with the provision that " the brick wall thereof
be carried up so as to be a sufficient fence." In 1805 were con-
structed the tombs on Snowhill stx*eet, and in 1807 those front-
ing on Charter street. We have already recorded the later
erection of tombs in 1814, 1819, 1827, and 1832. The latter
date practically ends the growth of the cemetery.
During the century to 1760, it is estimated that one-fourth the
population of the town was buried on Copp's Hill. The de-
caying stones form a rude epitome of most of the North End's
history.
That part of the cemeterj^ near Si^owhill street was at first
reserved for slaves and freedmen. The remainder contains gen-
erations of the old North Enders, some of them famous in local
history, others simple folk who have left merely a name.
The date of the first interment is unknown, although probably
occurring around 1660, and there is some doubt as to the iden-
tity of the oldest stone. Apparently it is that erected to the
memory of Grace Berry, wife of Thomas Berry, who, according
to the inscription, died May 17, 1625, or five years before Boston
was settled. The stone is of old Welsh slate, well preserved and
with the carving quite distinct ; the edges are ornamented with
curves and at the top are carved two cherubs and the angel of
death. There is also cut a shield, without quartering of arms.
The marks of British bullets are visible, this stone, like many
others on the hill, having been a target for the British soldiers
during the siege of Boston.
It has generallv been held that the true date on the Grace
Berry stone is 1695, a boyish freak of Mr. George Darracott
having led him to change \he figure 9 with his jack knife into
the figure 2 ; in the same fashion the date on the stone of John
Thwing in King's Chapel was altered from 1690 to 1620. In
like manner the dates upon the stones of John White and of
Joanna, the six-months-old daughter of William and Anne Copp,
has been altered to 1625, and that of Abigail Everden's death to
1626. Like vandalism is evident in the old Charlestown ceme-
tery.
10
Custodian MacDoiiald, however, accepts the date of 1625,,
and supposes the stone one of the oldest in New England, He
relates a visit to Copp's Hill, in July, 1878, of an old gentleman
from the West, who produced a memorandum book, yellow with
age, on the first page of which was a facsimile drawing of the
stone with the coat of arms (without the bullet marks). On
the first two pages was a footnote stating that the stone, together
wnth the remains of Mrs. Berry, had been removed from Plym-
outh in 1659. "No record of Grace Berry's death can be
found at City Hall. — MacDonald."
There is little likelihood that the trouble would be taken, in
the early days of perilous traveling, to transport the remains of
a person of no particular note over the long journey from Plym-
outh to Boston, and at a date 35 years after interment.
Beyond this, moreover, the fact is that Grace Berry, who was
the daughter of Major John Jayman, a rope-maker, was living
in the flesh with her husband, Thomas Berry, in their house
near the Ship Tavern, at the junction of Ship (North) and
Clark streets, very many years after her reputed death in
1625.
The oldest stone, accordingly, is one bearing the date of 1661,
which was found buried beneath the surface in 1878. It
stands near the Shaw monument, and preserves the memory
of the grandchildren of William Copp in the following inscrip-
tion :
DAVID SON TO DAVID THOMAS, SON TO DAVID
COPP & OBEDIENCE HIS COPP & OBEDIENCE HIS WIFE
WIFE AGED 2 WEEKS AGED 2 YEARS & 3 QUARTERS
DYED DEC 22 DYED JULY YE 25
1661 1678
Near the centre of the yard is erected the stone commemorat-
ing the Kind children, long supposed the oldest stone, but really
second in point of age by some six months. It was dug up in
the 40's by Mr. Glidden, and reads :
MARY KIND WILLIAM KIND
AGED AGED ABOUT 1 YEAR DYED
DIED YE 15 OF AUGUST YE 14 OF FEBRUARY
1662 1666
THE CHILDREN OF ARTHUR AND JANE KIND.
William Copp, who gave his name to the hill, is buried in the
cemetery, but no stone to his memory is now extant, and not
much is known of him. In his will, dated Oct. 31, 1662, and
proved April 27, 1670, made after he had become "sick and
weak," he terms himself a cordwainer, or shoemaker, by trade,
and leaves his property to his wife " Goodeth," or Judith. The
inventory shows property of the respectable sum for those days
of almost £110, including houses, outhouses, orchard, garden and
land, to the value of £80.
11
The stone erected in memory of his wife Jiidith may "be found
in the northern part of the yard, between the Shaw moniiment
and the Grant tomb. It is small in size, and extends but a few
inches above the ground.
Many of the name of Copp were buried here. Beside that of
little Joanna Copp, however, and the two grandchildren men-
tioned above, only eight stones still remain. David Copp was
the most notable member of the family. He was an elder in
Cotton Mather's Church, and of considerable prominence in the
North End, dwelling in a brick house at the head of Hull street.
He died November 20, 1713, aged 78. Amy, his second wife,
died November 28, 1718, at the age of 82. The stone is left
standing to record the name of his first wife, who Avas Obedience
Topliff. At his funeral Judge Sewall notes that there was
present a distinguished company, with " a pretty many Men,
but few Women."
The Colony records show that William Copp was made a
Freeman on Jxme 2, 1641, and David on October 11, 1670.
The other children of William Copp are recorded as follows :
Jonathan, born August 23, 1640 ; Rebecca, May 6, 1641, and
Ruth, September 24, 1643. In later days the Copp family
removed to Connecticut.
A long list might be made of the tenants of Copp's Hill who
possess claim to mention, as being at least of local note —
divines, scholars, and patriots.
Doubtless the most famous tomb in the yard is that near the
Charter-street gate, containing the remains of the Mathers, In-
crease, Cotton and Samuel — the " Mather dynasty," comprising
three generations of divines. The tomb is of brick, plainly
built, and is surrounded by iron railings. A great slab of
brownstone forms the lid, in which are set two squares of slate,
of different dates. On the more ancient, in almost illegible let-
tering, is carved the following inscription :
THE REVEREND DOCTORS
INCREASE, COTTON,
& SAMUEL MATHER
were intered in this Vault.
Tis the Tomb of our Father s
MATHER — CROCKER S.
I DIED Augt 27th 1723 M 84
C DIED FEB 13th 1727 M 65
S DIED June 27th 1785 M 79
Here lie together the three eminent figures in Boston's eccle-
siastical history between 1664 and the Revolution, men of great
general learning, of emphatic temperament and of remarkable
influence in the affairs of the age. Their history needs no re-
counting. They were buried with great solemnity. Six of the
leading ministers formed Cotton Mather's pallbearers, while in
the funeral procession w^alked the public dignitaries. The
narrow streets were thronged, and the " windows were filled
with sorrowfull spectators all the way to the burying-place."
12
Many of the numerous descendants of the Mathers also rest
in this tomb. Cotton Mather, for instance, had fifteen children
by the first two of his three wives. When the tomb was last
opened sixteen years ago for the interment of one of the
Crocker family, the remains of generations of the family were
found heaped in great disorder.
The Hutchinson tomb, in the south-east corner, was built
about 1711. Here were buried Elisha and Thomas Hutchinson,
father and gi-andfather of the governor, Thomas Hutchinson,
who died December 31, 1789, built at his own expense the first
school-house in the North End. On the sandstone slab covering
the entrance of tomb is beautifully carved the family coat of
arms. Like many other memorials in the Boston cemeteries,
it has not escaped vandalism. With incredible effi'ontery,
one Thomas Lewis, an undertaker, scattered the Hutchinson
remains to the winds, took possession of the tomb and in
place of the honored name of Hutchinson had carved his own.
Another notable stone is that commemorating the patriot,
Capt. Daniel Malcom. It is of hard blue slate, well preserved,
and bears the following inscription :
Here lies buried in a
Stone Grave 10 feet deep
CAPt DANIEL MALCOM MERCHt-
who departed this life
October 23d
1769
Aged 44 years.
a true son of Liberty
a Friend to the Publick
an Enemy to oppre/sion
and one of the foremcy't
in oppq/ing the Revenue Acts
on America.
The stone grave, however, is built of brick.
Malcom was a merchant, and his store on Fleet street was a
favorite resort of the haters of the revenue acts» He was also
a warden of Christ Church and vice president of the Charitable
Irish Society. In February, 1768, aided by friends armed with
clubs, he smuggled in at night a cargo of sixty casks of wine
from a vessel anchored five miles down the harbor. A little
later he presided over a meeting of business men, at which it
was resolved to import no more English goods, except those
needed for the fisheries, for a year and a half. Some months
afterward, he was one of the leaders in the mob which resisted
the seizure of John Hancock's sloop " Liberty " by the boats of
the British frigate " Romney." He was decidedly obnoxious to
the King's officers, and six years after his death the British
soldiers made his tombstone a particular target, the bullet marks
being very conspicuous.
In the north-western part of the yard is the stone of Capt.
Thomas Lake, bearing the following inscription :
13
Capt-
Thomas Lake
Aged 61 Yeeres
An EmineNet Faithfvll
ServaN of God & One
Of a Publick Spirit Was
Perfidovsl-v Slain By
ye Indians At Kennibeck
Avgvst ye 14*11 1676
lERE Interred IE 13
Of March Following
The story runs that the deep slit cut into the stone was filled
with melted bullets taken from his body. The knives of relic
hunters, however, have left no vestige of the lead.
Captain Lake was a man of fortune, being one of the earliest
proprietors of lands in Maine and New Hampshire and actively
engaged in commercial pursuits. He commanded the Ancient
and Honorable Artillery Company in 1662 and 1674. He served
in the early part of King Philip's War, then departing for
Arowsick Island, Maine, which he owned jointly with Captain
Thomas Clarke. His body was not discovered until seven
months after he had been slain, his fate being meanwhile
unknown.
Not far from the Lake stone is a large slate block preserving
the memory of Nicholas Upshall, who died in August, 1666, aged
about 70. He is notable as furnishing one of the good examples
of religious toleration in the early days, and although a man of
much property and influence, as well as a prominent member of
the church, he fell a victim to the intolerance of his fellow
townsmen. He owned land in 1637 from Hanover street to the
waterside on the northeast side of Richmond street, and was the
twenty-third original member of the Ancient and Honorable
Artillery Company. His main offence was his kindness towards
the Quakers, who were zealously prosecuted by certain authori-
ties from Governor Endicott down. For bribing the jail-keeper
to supply two imprisoned Quaker women with food he was
fined £20 and banished. He resided in Rhode Island during
the remaining six years of Governor Endicott's rule, and on
his return gave the Quakers the free use of a room in his house,
which for a long time subsequent was known as the " Old Red
Lyon Inn." He is referred to as follows in the " History of the
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company : " " Property, moral
worth, public services, wife, children, friends, cannot preserve a
man from the ruthless fangs of religious persecution. The
respectable Quakers of the present day (Lynn) have recently
reclaimed the remains of their former brethren from the old
Quaker burying-ground lest rapacious hands of speculation
should trespass further. Why do they not redeem the ashes of
those who may be considered among the first martyrs of their
sect?"
In December, 1878, there was discovered among five stones
14
closing the entrance to an old tomb one with the following
inscription : " Recompense Wadsworth, A.M. First Master of
ye Grammar Free School at ye North End of Boston. Aged
aboxit 25 years; Died June ye 9th, 1713." The establishment
of this school was voted at a town meeting on March 11,
1711-12, and on March 9, succeeding, the selectmen were
" empowered to introduce Mr. Recompense Wadsworth at the
North End, and to allow him sixty pounds for one year." The
yoiing teacher died after teaching for six months in the new
school-house, which was built -on Bennet street in 1713.
One of the most finely carved armorial bearings in the ceme-
tery is that chiselled on the well-preserved slate stone over the
Clark tomb near the main gate. The inscription reads :
HEBE LYES THE MORTAL PART
of
(William Clark Esqr-)
An Eminent Merchant of this Town, and
An Honorable Coun/ellor for the Province ;
Who Di/tingui/hed Him/elf as
A Faithful and Affectionate Friend
A Fair and generous Trader ;
Loyal to his (Prince), Yet always
Zealous for the Freedom of his Countrey;
A De/pi/'er of Sorry Per/ons and tiecle Actions,
An Enemy to Priestcraft and Enthusiasm
Keady to relieve and help the Wretched;
A Lover of good Men of Various Denominations
And a Reverent Woryhipper of the (Deity)
William Clark was one of the wealthiest ship-owners of the
time and an original member of Christ Church. His brick
mansion on the corner of Garden Court and Prince Street, later
occupied by Sir Henry Frankland, the collector of customs, was
among the finest in town. In the French wars he suffered the
loss of forty ships, which, with other reverses, is said to have
hastened his end.
His stone suffered the same fate as that over the Hutchinson
tomb. One Samuel Winslow, sexton of the First Baptist
Church, boldly appropriated the tomb, ejecting the occupants,
and inscribed his own name above that of the rightful owner.
In the adjoining tomb sleeps Dr. John Clark, brother to the
merchant, a very worthy physician according to the Latin
eulogy upon his finely caiwed tombstone. The seven succeed-
ing generations of the family each produced a physician of the
same name.
Among the most illustrious by birth of the cemetery's ten-
ants were the Mountforts, long a prominent North End family.
Tomb No. 17, on the Hull street side, built in 1711, bears the
name of John Mountfort ; and No. 59, erected in 1724, that of
Jonathan Mountfort, together with the family coat of arms.
The two were sons of Edmund Mountfort, who fled from
15
London in 1656 on account of political offences. He married
a granddaughter of Nicholas Upshall, and died in 1723, being
buried in the Granary. The Mountforts traced their descent to
an ancient Norman family, scions of which came over with the
Conquest. Turstain de Mountfort, 1030, is mentioned in
Dugdale's " History of Warwickshire."
Jonathan Mountfort was a wealthy physician and apothecary,
his shop being long known as " Mountfort's Corner," and was
of a decidedly eccentric temperament. He was one of the
seceders from the New North Church in 1719, and helped build
the " New Brick " or " Weathercock " Church, of which he was
chosen treasurer.
John Mountfort was a member of the Ancient and Honorable
Artillery Company in 1696, and owner of Mountfort's wharf.
His descendants long resided on Prince street.
Another tomb emblazoned with family arms is that of the
family of Joshua Gee, one of the most famous of the old ship-
wrights, who, as we have noted, purchased the small private lot
in the centre of the cemeterj^ The inscription on his tomb
reads simply : " The Arms and Tomb belonging to the family of
Gee." The noted Gee shipyard was located on the south-west
side of Prince street, while the family mansion stood on the
corner of Salem and Prince streets, known as " Gee's Corner."
The adjoining lands were also in possession of the Gees. Judge
Sewall frequently mentions dining with the Gees.
A plain white stone in the north-west corner, bearing the
simple inscription : " Edmund Hartt's Tomb, 1806," records the
memory of the yet more famous builder of the " Constitution "
and the " Boston."
In the western part of the yard is the Mariners' Tomb,
^' Dedicated to the Seamen of All Nations, by Phineas Stowe,
Pastor of the First Baptist Bethel Church, Boston, 1851." It
contains the remains of Emily, wife of Dr. Stowe, who died on
the day the monument over the tomb was completed, and also
those of four sailors. The cost of erection was met by contri-
butions from seamen and their friends, the crew of the United
States sloop-of-war Albany giving $52.
A tragic history is told by the large triple stone near the tool-
house, which preserves in intricate lettering the memory of
George Worthylake, aged 45 ; his wife Ann, 40, and their
daughter, Ruth,"^ 13. AVorthylake, who had been brought up on
George's Island, was the iirs^t keeper of Boston Light. On No-
vember 8, 1718, the family set sail for Noddle's Island, but, the
craft capsizing, they " took in heaven by the Avay," according to
the old historian. Franklin, then a printer's apprentice to his
brother, at the latter's urging, took this incident as the theme for
a street ballad, called the "Lighthouse Tragedy." Although
« wretched stuff," according to the author, and severely criti-
cised by his father, it had a considerable sale. Unfortunately no
cojjy is now extant.
16
In the northern part of the yard, in a plain brick vault, lie
the remains of Chief Justice Parker, Near the north-west
angle is the much more pretentious monument to Charles Jar-
vis, a noted local politician, who died in 1807, aged 59, "a
Statesman, a Patriot, and an honest Man, whose dignified De-
portment, sublime Eloquence, unbounded Philanthropy, and
other Virtues endeared his memory to his Fellow Citizens." A
few feet away is the vault once owned by Governor Christopher
Gore.
Perhaps the most ornate monument in the cemetery is that
erected by Isaac Dupee, and bearing a beautifully carved coat-
of-arms, together with the following tribute in verse :
MY NAME FROM THE PALMS OF HIS HANDS
ETERNITY WILL NOT ERASE ;
IMPRESSED ON HIS HEART, IT REMAINS
IN MARKS OF INDELIBLE GRACE.
YES, I TO THE END SHALL ENDURE,
AS SURE AS THE EARNEST IS GIVEN.
MORE HAPPY, BUT NOT MORE SECURE,
THE GLORIFIED SPIRITS IN HEAVEN.
A simply inscribed stone records the death in 1778, at the
age of 66, of Dr. Andrew Eliot, the well beloved pastor of the
New North Church. A beautiful coat-of-arms, said not to be-
long to the family, is carved on the obverse side. Dr. Eliot's
house is still standing at the corner of Hanover and Tileston
streets.
Timothy Thornton, who died Sept. 19, 1726, aged 79, was one
of the committee which negotiated the Sewall purchase. He
was also ■ prominent in town affairs, being several times town
commissioner and selectman, as well as in the General Court
and serving on the committee appointed to issue bills of credit
to pay the "debts incurred in the French and Indian wars — the
first i^aper currency issued in Massachusetts,
Edward Martyn, another of the committee, sleeps at the right
of the Hull-street entrance. His tombstone bears an elaborate
coat-of-arms. He commanded the Ancient and Honorable Ar-
tillery Company in 1715, and once owned most of the land from
Hanover street to the sea.
Beside the Ellis tomb and monument in the north-east corner
of the yard for over forty years grew a willow tree of interest-
ing origin. It was brought as a slip from the willow that
shades the grave of Napoleon at St. Helena by Capt. Joseph
Leonard in 1844, and here transplanted by Roland Ellis. It
was destroyed by the great gale of 1888.
In the centre oi the yard stands the tombstone of one of the
foremost of the Quakers, William Mumford, who died in No-
vember, 1718, at the age of 77. He was a stonecutter and
builder, and on July 10, 1694, bought a lot in Brattle square,
whereon he erected the first Quaker meeting-house, which was
as well the first brick church built in the town. In January,
COPP'S HILL BURIAL-GROUND. (CENTRAL PART.)
17
1708, he purchased another lot on Congress street, and there
built a second meeting-house, to which the Quakers repaired
after selling the earlier edifice. Part of this lot constituted the
Quaker burying-ground, until the remains contained therein
were removed to Lynn in 1825.
On the northern slope of the yard is the monument erected in
1848 to Major Samuel Shaw by his grandson, Robert G. Shaw.
The story of the soldier's life is briefly told by the inscription,
which runs :
[MAJOR SAMUEL SHAW,]
third son of
Francis & Sarali, served as an
Officer in the Revokitionary War,
from its commencement to
its close.
On the 22d of Feb. 1784, he sailed
from New Yoi-k in the Ship
Empress of China, for Canton, as
Supercargo & part owner;
this being the first vessel that
sailed from the U. States for
that place
he was appointed by Washington
Consul to China, which office he
held until his death in 1794
Near the front gate sleeps a fellow-soldier. Major Thomas
ScAvard, who " gallantly fought in our late Revolutionary War
and through its various Scenes behaved with Patriotic Fortitude
and died in the Calms of Domestic Felicity as becomes a Uni-
versal Christian, -November 27th, 1800, jE 60."
The following commanders of the Ancient and Honorable
Artillery Company are interred in the cemetery : Capt. Thomas
Lake, Capt. Ralph Hart, Col. John Carnes, Capt. Caleb Lyman,
and Capt. Edward Martyn.
On the western slope of the hill is the stone recording the
name of Deacon Shemm Drowne, Hawthorne's famous carver in
wood, who wrought the grasshopper on the Faneuil Hall vane.
He died in 1774 at the ripe age of 90.
Nearby rests Captain John Pulling, died January 25, 1787, at
the age of 51, after whom was named the headland in Chelsea
fronting on the water.
Another noteworthy stone is that erected in memory of Prince
Hall, first Grand Master of the colored Grand Lodge of Masons
in Massachusetts.
A rather pathetic inscription is that on a stone near the Snow-
hill-street path, reading :
In memory of
BETSY,
Wife of David Darling,
died March 23d, 1809 JE 43
She was the mother of 17 children, and around
her lies 12 of them, and 2 were lost at sea.
BROTHER SEXTONS,
please leave a clear berth for me
near by this Stone.
18
The request was not heeded, as Mr. Darling, who was sexton
of the North Church and also a grave-digger in the yard, was
buried in another part of the yard.
Mention should not be neglected of a tiny stone in the northern
part of the yard, reading :
SARAH RULE
aged 9 years
died
July ye 5 1G90
This little lass is the one who daubed with ink the papers of
Cotton Mather, moving the worthy divine to great wrath.
These are a few of the more notable stones that claim the
attention of the rambler in Copp's Hill. Almost equally note-
worthy are the old epitaphs, many of them, as is usual in old
cemeteries, quaint and curious, some incoherent and ungram-
matical. Doubtless the oddest and most puzzling is that over
the grave of Mrs. Ammey Hunt, who died in 1769. We have
no clue to the neighborhood gossip hinted at in these peculiar
lines :
A sister of Sarah Lucas lieth here,
Whom I did Love mq/t Dear;
And now her Soul hath took its Flight,
And bid her Spightful Foes good Night.
Even more amusing is the tradition connected with the fol-
lowing conventional stanza on the stone of Mrs. Mary Huntley :
Stop here my friends & cast an eye,
As you are now, so once was I;
As I am now, so you must be,
Prepare for death and follow me.
A young wag is said to have added in chalk :
To follow you I'm not content
Unless I know which way you went.
Some of the other more interesting epitaphs follow :
Henry D. Emerson, d. Aug. 16, 1840, aged 4 :
" Like a bright flower he was cut down."
Peter Oilman, April 12, 1807, aged 42 :
''Stop my friends, and in a mirroiryee
What you, though e'er so healthy, soon mu/t be.
Beauty, with all her rosebuds, paints each face;
Approaching death will strip you of each gx-ace."
Mrs. Betsy Pitman, 1784, aged 27 :
19
" Ha/te: ha/te: he lies in wait, He's at the door.
Insidious Death: yhould his/trong hand arre/t,
No composition sets the prisoner free."
Elijah Swift, May 9, 1803, aged 73 :
"A wits a feather, and a chief s a rod ;
An honest man's tlie noblest Avork of (iod."
Mrs. Eliza Fuller, Sept. 16, 180G, aged 22:
" An angel's arm can t snatch me from the grave,
Legions of angels can't confine me there."
On an old monument near the Winslow tomb:
"A SAMUEL returned to God in Christ*
After a short abode on earth
To shun earths harmes and crimes
Was here well put to bed betimes
The grave's as short as you prepare
Lest thy death come at unaware.''
James Seward, died 1792, aged 6 months :
" He bore a lingering sickness with patience, and met the I\ing of
Terrors with a smile."
The prophecy contained in the following inscription on the
stone of Major John Kuddock, who died in 1772, Avas literally
fulfilled, the words having almost entirely disappeared :
" Time may efface this monumental stone,
But time nor malice can his worth dethrone
For villains living oft may buy a name,
But virtue only swells posthumous fame."
The following lines are carved on an old foot-stimc, without
name or date, probably erected about 1700 :
"What is t fond mortal yt thou wouldst obtain
By spining out a painful life of cares;
Thou livest to act thy childhood ore again.
And nought intends but grief and seeing years.
Who leaves this world like me just in my prime
Speeds all my business in a litel time."
Mrs. Eliza Meria Revere, died 1S04, aged 28:
" Death with his dart has pierced my heart.
When I was in my prime ;
When this you /ee grieve not for me,
Twas God's appointed time."
20
Capt. Robert Newman, died 1806, aged 51 :
"Though, Neptune's waves and boreas's blasts
Have tost' me to and fro:
Novr well escaped from all their rage,
I'm anchored here below,
Safely I ride in trium]>h here,
With many of our fleet.
Till signals call to weigh again,
Our admiral Christ to meet.
O may all those I've left behind
Be wash'd in Jesus's blood,
And when they leave the world of sin
Be ever with the Lord."
Elizabeth Kenney, Sept. 10, 1807,-42.
In the cold mansions of the silent tomb.
How still the solitude, how deep the gloom,
Here sleeps the du/t, unconcious close confin'd
But far, far distant dwells the immortal mind.
Eliza StaiT died June 8, 1800,-6 yrs. 3 mos.
Nor Youth nor Innocence could /ave,
Eliza from the in/atiable Grave!
But cease our Tears ; no longer weep*,
The little Maid doth ontyy leep:
Anon /he'll wake and ri/e again.
And in her Saviour's arms remain.
John Crease, Dec. 8, 1800,-3:3.
How lov'd how valued once, avails the not
To whome related or by whome begot;
A heap of du/ts alone remains of thee,
Tis all thou art and all the proud /hall be.
Rebecca Perkins, March 16, 1802,-19 yrs. 7 mo.
My friends and Parents do not mourn,
Nor drop one tear now I am gone;
Where I am gone, I am at re/t;
Pray think me number'd with the ble/t.
John James, Dec. 22, 1803,-47
Tho' worms destroy this Body's skin.
Yet I shall see my Lord;
He'll build my Body up again.
For I believe his word,
My God that lives above the skies
Shall safely guard my clay,
Till he shall bid it to arise
At the great Judgement day.
William N. Steel, Dec. 21, 1815, — 3 mo. 6 ds.
21
Just like an early rose,
We've seen an infant bloom,
But sadder oft before it blows
Deatli lays in the tomb.
Susanna Gray, July 9, 1798, — -42.
Stranger as this spot you tread.
And meditate upon the Dead;
Improve the moments as they fly,
For all that live must shortly die.
Stephen Kent Chadwick, Apr. 27, 1790, — 2 yrs. 8 mo.
Beneath this Stone doth lye
as much Virtue, as could dye,
Which when alive did vigor give,
to as much Beauty as could live.
John Goff, Feb. 26, 1807,— 44.
My glass is run, my life is spent
My earthly temple was but lent;
Why sh(mld I wish a length of years,
To spend in such a vale of tears.
Hannah Newhall, Apr. 2!l, 1785.
O cruel death that would not to me spare,
A loving wife a kind companion dear,
She now her saviour's beauty does behold.
And joins to sing his prai/e on harps of gold.
Elizabeth Brown, Dec. 11, 1803,-35.
When the last scene the closing hour drew nigh,
And earth receded from her swooning eye.
Tranquil she left this transitory scene.
With decent triumph and a look serene;
By faith she tix'd her ardent hopes on high
In .lesus mercies, and in him did die,
So shall her grave with rising flowers be drest,
And the green turf lie liglitly on lier breast;
Here shall the morn her earliest tears bestow;
Here tlie lirst roses of the year shall blow.
While angels with their silver wings o'er shade
The ground now sacred by her relics made.
Then rest in peace beneath this sculptur'd stone.
Till Jesus' trumpet call thee to his throne.
Nathaniel Lewis, May 12, 1778, — 42.
What's Fame, a fancy'd life in other's breath
A thing beyond us ev'n before our Death.
A Wits's a feather and a Chief's rod
An hone/t Man's the noble Work of God.
99
Sally Goodwin, Aug. 23, 1781,-25.
My hope is fix'd my Spirit's free,
Longing my Saviour for to See;
Such joy and bli/s, doth lill my/oul,
Nothing on earth doth me control,
My loving Hu/ band and Infant /mall
My Parents dear I leave you all;
My Soul doth wing the heavenly way.
My Saviour's call I mu/t obey,
Read this and weep but not for me.
Who willing was to part with thee;
That I may re/t with Chri/ 1 above,
In peace and joy and endless love.
Elijah Adams, Aug. 25, 1798, —61.
( ) Death thou ha/ 1 conquer'd me,
I by thy Dart am slain.
But Chriy t will conquer thee,
And I shall riy'e again.
4 Children of Jabez & Lydia Sweet, aged 4, 10, 12 & 14 mos.
Stay gentle reader, view this spot of Earth,
Sacred to virtue, innocence, and worth.
Four infant roses, budding in the morn.
Shed their sweet fragrance in life's early dawn,
Entwin'd their parent stems, so fond care/'d
Each gave one smile, to glad the pensive brea/'t,
And dropp'd and wither'd, died! Here seek repose,
Till Christ transplant them in the groves above.
To bloom immortal in the joys of love.
John Buckley, Jr., Aug. 23, 1798,-23.
In Peace here reAs a Traveller's Du/t,
His .lourney's at an End;
He priz'd E/ teem among the Ju/t,
A Cen/ure from a Friend,
" Broke loq/e from Time's tenacious Chains,
And Earth's revolving Glf)om,
To range at large in va/t Domains,
Of radiant World's to come."
Mrs. Deborah Blake, d. in 1791, aged 21 years :
" Friend, as you pass, suppress the falling tear;
You wish her out of heaven to wish her here."
Mrs. Martha Cabot, d. in 1809, aged 60 :
" So unaffected, so compos'd a mind,
So lirm, yet soft, so strong, yet so retin'd,
Wasteing disease and pahi severely tri'd.
The saint sustain'd it, but the woman di'd."
Capt. William and Mrs. Mary Burke, d. in 1787 :
" They were lovely and pleasant in their lives,
and in their deaths they were not divided."
T^
^Si'>^
I
\ 'jy.
' ->-^-^
•^0mmtmtltmif$.
: jP^
23
Mrs. Mary Hughes, d. in 1765, aged 46 :
" Time, what an empty vapour tis,
And days, how /wift tliey flay:
Our life is ever on the Wing,
And Death is ever nigh.
The Moment when our Lives begin,
We all begin to die."
Timothy Gay, d. in 1799, aged 36 :
He was diligent in bu/iness, faithful
to his friends, and affectionate to his family.
" Life's little Stage is a small Eminence,
Inch high the Grave above; that Home of Man,
Where dwells the Multitude: AVe gaze around;
We read their Monuments; We sigh; and while
We sigh, we sink; and are what we deplor'd."
A great deal of local history and tradition is connected with
Copp's Hill, but so fragmentary in cliaractcr that no proper
sequence can be found in the narration.
It is presumed that in 1621 the Plymouth folk landed under
the shadow of the hill, as told by Prince in his " Chronology":
"The Governor chuses 10 men Avith S(]uanto and two other
savages, to go in the shallop, Tuesday, Sept. IS; at midnight,
the tide serving, %ve set sail ; next day got into the bottom of
Massachusetts Bay, about 20 leagues north from Plymouth, and
anchor next morning, we land under a cliff. The sachem of
this place is Obbatinewat."
The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company is associated
more or less with Copp's Hill. The company once claimed
ownership of ])art of the hill, under the terms of an old mort-
gage, and tried to prevent the transfer of the Sewall ])urchase.
The matter was adjusted, and, after the evacuation of Boston
by the British, when the company again laid claim, the obliga-
tion was satisfactorily discharged. While the JJritish troops
were still in Boston the company was forced to use Copp's Hill
as a parade ground, instead of the Coninu)n, as thus told in the
company's minutes :
"In 1775, before the Artillery Company suspended its meetings, tiie
Common was occupied by tlie British army, and the Artillery Company
were refused admittance. Capt. Bell, therefore, marched to Copp's
Hill. Soon after the bridge over Cliarles Kiver was built, there was a
complaint against the street at the foot of tliis Iiill. It was supposed
the proprietors of that part of the hill enclosed from Snowliill street
ought to repair the wliarf and street at their own expense. Tills led to
inquiry, in town meeting, to wlioni it belonged; sAine one said it be-
longed to this company. Col. .Jackson, tlieir Treasurer, was sent for,
and declared lie considered it tlieir projicrty, a mortgage ujM.n it to
them having long run out, and that Capt. Hell, with his company, had
taken possession of it in 1775. Capt. Bell was then interrogated by Col.
Dawes, the Moderator: Why did you march your company to Copp's
Hill? Answer: I was prohibited from entering the Common; conceiv-
ing this hill to be the property of the company, I marched tliem there,
24
as a place no one bad a right to exclude them from. Question by
Moderator: .Supposing a party of British troops should have been in
possession of it, and should have forbid you entrance, what would you
have done? Answer: I would have charged bayonets, and forced my
way as surely as I would force my way into my dwelling-house, if taken
possession of by a gang of thieves. Tlie late Col. Wm. Tudor, who was
then present, said: 'Mr. Moderator, the hill clearly belongs to that
company, and 1 wish they would execute a quit claim deed of it to me
at a fair price.' The Mortgage was discharged afterwards, and the
street repaired by the town."
Closely connected with the history of the hill is the famous
North Battery beneath it on Hudson's point. It was built by
Major- General John Leverett in 1646, twenty years earlier than
the erection of its twin, the South Battery, or Sconce, at the
foot of Fort Hill. It was built on the petition of the North
Enders, and at their expense, they praying that they might "for
the future be freed from all rats and asscsments to what other
fortificacions be in tlie towne untill such time as the other part
of the towne not ioynninge with us herin shall have disbursed
and layd out in equall proporcion of their estats with ours as
by true Acount may apear,"
A committee of inspection reported on both batteries in
May, 1666, saying : " Wee also tooke survey of another worke
on the north side of Boston, called Merrjes Point, raysed with
stones. The foundation is defended from the violenc of the
sea w"' spyles & plancks ; the wall of a considerable thick-
nes, yet lesse safe then the other, by reason of the sharpe edges
next the cannon, & Avidenes of the ports w"^in, which beinge
faced w'*' strong timl)ers, as is intended, will be much better."
Capt. Edward Johnson of Woburn, in his " Wonder Work-
ing Providence of Sion s Saviour, in New England," speaks of
the " very strong battery built of whole Timber, and filled with
Earth, at the descent of the Hill in the extreme poynt thereof."
Daniel Neal, in his description of Boston in 1719 says:
" There are two Batteries at the North and South Ends of the
Town, which comnumd the whole Bay, and make it impossible
for an Enemy s Shij) of Burthen to ride there in safety."
In 1706 the battery was extended 120 feet, with a breadth of
40 feet, at an expense of £1,000. It was finally sold to Jeffrey
and Russell, and became Jeffrey's Wharf between 1787 and
1796. To-day it is appropriately called Battery Wharf.
The site of the North Battery was, })Ossibly, where Win-
throp's company lai'ided, and wJiere Anne Pollard, the first
white woman to tread on Boston soil, jumped ashore. Here,
too, was Francis Hudson's ferry landing. From the Battery
also, the 52d, 43d, and 47tli British regiments, together with
detachments of grenadiers, light infantry and marines, embarked
for Bunker Hill ; and here, after the battle, the wounded were
brought ashore. At the time of the evacuation, the Battery was
armed with seven 12-pounders, two 9-pounders, and four
6-pounders, all left dismantled. In the old days of short range
guns, the North Battery was regarded as of great importance.
1419145
25
because covering tlie harbor, the nioutli of the Cliarles, and the
entrance to the Town Cove.
In May, 1644, while the civil war was raging in Knglan<l, a
parliamentary man-of-war of 24 guns, Capt. Thomas Stagg,
sailed into the harbor and demanded the surrender of a Bristol
ship of 100 tons then in port. All the townspeople assembled
on Windmill Hill to watch the expected hostilities. The Bristol
craft, however, prudently surrendered.
In June, two years before, the windmill was struck by light-
ning, shattering the sail, breaking the standard and riving oft"
the boards of the sides, beside setting on tire the sacks in the
mill. "The miller, being under the mill upon the ground
chopping a piece of board, was struck dead ; but company
coming in found him to breathe, and within an hour or two he
began to stir, and strove with such force, as six men could scarce
hold him down. The next day he came to his senses, but knew
nothing of what had befallen him."
The surrender of Quebec was celebrated l)y a great bonfire
on Copp's Hill. "45 Tar Barrels, 2 Cords of Wood, a mast,
spars, and boanls, with 50 lbs of powder weic set in a blaze ;
this, with a similar illuininatit)n on Fort Hill, was paid for by
the province, together with o2 Gallons of Riufi and much l>cer."
In 1765, the year of the repeal of the Stamj) Act, Copp's
Hill was the scene of the part of the celebration of the anniver-
sary of the powder plot on Nov. 5, as thus told in the Massachu-
setts Gazette : " About noon the Pageantry, representing the
Pope, Devil and several other Effigies were brought in stages
and met at King-street, where the Union (between the factions
from the north and south ends) previously entered into by the
leaders, was established in a very cerenu)nial maniu'r, and
having given, three huzzas, they interchanged ground." After
parading, they " proceeded to the Tree of Liberty, under the
shadow of Avhicli they refreshed themselves for awhile, and then
retreated northward, agreeably to the plan. They reached
Copp's Hill before six o'clock, where they halted, and having
enkindled a fire, the whole Pageantry was committed to the
flames and consumed. This being finished, every person was
requested to their respective houses." '^Phis was tlu- «'ustomary
observance of the day.
On January 24, 179:], a barbecue was held on Copp's Hill in
honor of the French Revolution. After the feast the horns of
the ox were fixed to a pole sixty feet high and triunipliantly
raised in Liberty square.
Copp's Hill figured quite conspicuously in tiu' Revolution.
Works were erected by the British on the sumnut, near tiu'
south-western corner of the cemetery. They were hastily thrown
up and never completed, comprising but a few barrels of earth
arranged as parapets. There was a small earthwork to the rear
designed as a shelter for infantry. The battery consisted of
three 28-pounders, on carriages, which were left spiked after
26
the evacuation. Here Clinton and ]i>urgoyne witnessed the
battle of Bunker Hill and directed the fire of the little battery.
One of the shells from Copp's Hill, aiding the fire of the ships
in the harbor, is said to have started the conflagration in
Charlestown. Traces of the works remained on the hill until
the summit was lowered in 1807. It was from the North
Battery below, that Clinton rushing down the hill when he saw
his veterans quailing, took boat and crossed over to the Charles-
town shore to aid Howe.
On the south corner of the New Burying-Ground added in
1809 and fronting on Hull street, stood the old gun-house of the
Columbian artillery, afterwards removed to make room for
tombs built in 1827. At the celebration of the completion of
the bridge from the old ferry landing to Charlestown in 1786,
salutes were fired from Copp's Hill, as well as from the Castle
and Breed's Hill.
The gas-works at the foot of Copp's Hill, the most prominent
feature of the neighborhood, were erected in 1828, and gas first
made in December of that year. I*t was not used to illuminate
the City in general until 1834.
All this time the change in the character of the surroundings
of Copp's Hill which we described in the beginning has been
slowly going on, the old houses decaying or being replaced and
all but a few of the old families removing far from the vicinity.
There still dwell on Copp's Hill a number of the Dodds,
Goddards, Pitinans and Adamses of the early days, but the
place generally has acquired a new and changing appearance.
Perhaps the earliest example of the term " Copp's Hill," in
our printed records, is found in the Selectmen's minutes of
January 21, 1725-26.
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